Trip to Grand Rapids Reveals Wealth of Sports Options

by Fran Stuchbury
March 19, 2025 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
Grand Rapids Rise

Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a city with a variety of sports teams to support. Last weekend, Van Andel Arena had scheduled five games over a four-day period. The Pro Volleyball Federation's Grand Rapids Rise hosted the Atlanta Vibe on Thursday, the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins faced the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday, and Saturday featured a sports double header with the Rise welcoming the Indy Ignite, then Saturday evening the NBA G League's Grand Rapids Gold battled the Rip City Remix. The basketball matchup would be repeated on Sunday.

Grand Rapids has two additional minor league teams:

• Midwest League - West Michigan Whitecaps

• MLS NEXT Pro - West Michigan Soccer expected to start in 2027

Van Andel Arena holds over 12,000 fans, and has hosted many franchises.

• Grand Rapids Griffins - International Hockey League 1996- 2001 and American Hockey League 2001-present

• Grand Rapids Hoops - Continental Basketball Association 1996-2001

• Grand Rapids Rampage - Arena Football League 1998-2008. The ArenaBowl XV Championship banner they won in 2001 is still hanging in the rafters.

• Grand Rapids Gold - NBA G League 2022-present

• Grand Rapids Rise - Pro Volleyball Federation 2024-present.

Both the Rise and Griffins are owned by Dan DeVos.

The PVF is playing its second season with eight teams: the Atlanta Vibe, Columbus Fury, Grand Rapids Rise, Indy Ignite, Omaha Supernovas, Orlando Valkyries, San Diego Mojo and Las Vegas Thrill. Future expansion teams includes Dallas and Kansas City.

In their inaugural season the Rise made the playoffs in Omaha as the four seed where they upset top-seed Atlanta in five sets before falling in the inaugural PVF Championship.

Rise tickets range from $19-36 dollars.

Unlike indoor football in which footballs that go into the stands can be kept by fans, in the Pro Volleyball Federation volleyballs which travel into the crowd must be returned.

The good news is during the game they tossed volleyballs in the stands for fans to keep. They even used a machine to reach fans seated in the upper level.

The Rise rolled out tried and true promotion Thirsty Thursday with $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m. Plus, the first 1,000 fans received Rise flags. Fans were entertained during the game by team mascot Ember.

The Indy Ignite defeated Grand Rapids in four sets: 25-23, 25-27, 25-16, 25-22.

The second set was memorable for the home side as the Rise they faced a 24-20 deficit before rallying to win it, 27-25. While 25 points normally wins a set, they must be won by two points.

"I loved that we're just chipping away at it and say, 'Oh we're done now." Rise Head Coach Cathy George said of the second set. "We say to ourselves, 'Get back in the game and then close it out.' Loved that fight, saw that ebb and flow tonight. We have to make sure we are bringing that in every point in every game."

Carli Snyder and August Raskie led Grand Rapids with 19 digs each.

"We did some good things tonight," said setter Raskie. "We kind of got down on ourselves too early and not realizing we are still in it. Every point is just one point. There is no huge momentum thing with it."

Raskie played last season with the San Diego Mojo.

For Atlanta, outside hitter Leah Edmond, opposite hitter Merritt Beason, and outside hitter Pia Timmer all recorded 13 kills each.

During the game fans were shown dancing on the video board to the song YMCA. They also had a "rock, paper, scissors" cam.

On Friday the volleyball court disappeared in favor of ice for the AHL game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Milwaukee Admirals.

The American Hockey League is the top minor league for the National Hockey League. All 32 NHL teams have an AHL affiliate. The Griffins became a member of the league during the 2001-02 season following the collapse of the International Hockey League. They won Calder Cups after the 2012-13 and 2016-17 seasons. Their affiliates are the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and ECHL's Toledo Walleye.

Ticket prices range from $22 to $40.

Fellow IHL refugee Milwaukee has also been a member of the AHL since the 2001-02 season. The Admirals won one Calder Cup after the 2003-04 season. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashville Predators and ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators.

The Griffins lined up Friday for their 13th annual Purple Community games, wearing special purple jerseys for cancer awareness. The jerseys were auctioned off later to benefit the Van Andel Institute, which is dedicated to biomedical research.

As is typical with minor league hockey games, NHL scouts were on hand, including Mark White of the Winnipeg Jets, who's been working with the team since the 2015-16 season.

Grand Rapids mascot Griff shot t-shirts in the stands and feature a black Zamboni referred to as the Darth Vader Zamboni.

Like the Rise on Thursday the Griffins had a "rock, paper scissors" cam. Another feature that was very popular with fans was the Awkward Dad cam.

They also had a Simba Cam where a fan showed their dog.

The Griffins recorded a 3-2 shootout victory over the Admirals in front of 8,208 fans, evening the season series with Milwaukee at four games apiece.

The Griffins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from forward Austin Watson, his 15th of the season, and center Sheldon Dries, his 20th.

Watson was the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. This is Dries' first season with the Griffins.

The Admirals made it 2-1 on a score by left wing Chase De Leo, his fifth of the season. De Leo was taken in the fourth round, 99th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

Milwaukee evened the game at 2-2 in the third period thanks to Cal O'Reilly, his 10th of the year. O'Reilly was drafted in the fifth round of the NHL Draft, 150th overall by the Nashville Predators.

After a scoreless overtime, Griffins rookie center Nate Danielson struck in the third round of the shootout. Danielson was the ninth overall pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Draft.

"I thought we played well all game, said Grand Rapids Head Coach Dan Watson. "You can't leave a team like that hanging around, and that's what we did and they capitalized on a couple of their chances. We have to be comfortable playing in these close, tight games. I thought overtime was completely fine. You need a goaltender to make saves; you need a guy to make a goal. Goalie Sebastian Cossa and Nate Danielson did that and we come away with two points."

Cossa ended up making 16 saves.

Saturday afternoon the Rise were back with a Princess Day Party Promotion in which they featured a princess cam and a unicorn cam.

As on Thursday, t-shirts and volleyballs were tossed into the stands.

Grand Rapids again lost in four sets to the Indy Ignite: 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22.

The Ignite were up 24-16 in the first set. The Rise nearly rallied back with six straight points, making it 24-22, before the Ignite clinched the set.

Carly Skjodt led the team with 16 kills. She played last season with the Orlando Valkyries.

A larger crowd turned out for the weekend match.

"The crowd was fantastic," said George. "It was one of the first Saturday home games we had this season. We've been really having a lot of midweek games. The crowd came out; it was awesome. We appreciated everyone that came out to watch us."

George is no stranger to coaching volleyball in the state of Michigan having helmed Western Michigan from 1994 until 2004 and Michigan State from 2005 to 2021.

"That was so cute: little girls in the stands, little boys can like princesses, too, of course," said outside hitter Carli Snyder. "It was really adorable. It was nice to see a lot of families at the game. Volleyball is so fun and a spectacle to itself. It gave the families an extra reason: that it's sports and entertainment. That's something you can do with your family that's really great. I know that our team can come up with a few more points in each set to win some of these close games. We have been fighting in every match we have been in."

Snyder set a new franchise record for most aces in a single season, reaching 18. She was a two-time All-SEC selection (2017, 2016) when she played at Florida.

"There were definitely a lot of fans today. it was a lot louder here which we love," added libero Elena Oglivie. "One thing we really want to do is make some good plays to get the crowd going. We really appreciate their attendance and support. We want to play better for them."

Ogilvie was taken by the Rise in the fourth round of the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft after she played at Stanford and was a two-time Pac-12 Libero of the Year (2022, 2023). A libero is a specialized defensive player,

That evening the volleyball court was removed for the NBA G League's Grand Rapids Gold game against the Rip City Remix.

The NBA G League started in 2001 and has grown to 31 teams. All 30 NBA teams have an affiliate. The only independent team is the Mexico Capitaines.

The Grand Rapids Gold have a long history in the NBA G League. They started out as the Anaheim (Ca.) Arsenal from 2006 until 2009 before becoming the Springfield (Mass.) Armor from 2009 until 2014.

They became the Grand Rapids Drive from 2014 until 2020 when they were affiliated with the Detroit Pistons.

When Detroit switched its affiliate closer to home, they became affiliated with the Denver Nuggets in 2021 and were rebranded as the Grand Rapids Gold.

Steve Jbara is the Founder and President of the Grand Rapids Gold.

Andre Miller, a 17-year NBA vet, has been the Gold's Head Coach since 2022.

Their opponent, the Rip City Remix joined the league last season and are the affiliate of the Portland Trailblazers. They are coached by Sergi Oliva.

Ticket prices for the Gold ranged from $14 to $32 dollars. The game promotion for the game was Space Jam Night, where they wore GR Toon Squad jerseys.

The Gold Dance team cheered the team on and danced a little on the court. The Grand Rapids Gold Drumline played during parts of the game. Grand Rapids features a mascot named Buckets who entertained fans.

The Gold defeated Rip City 117-100 in front of 8,237 fans, pulling away after a 62-58 halftime lead. During halftime the Integrity Dance Arts Company performed on the court.

The Rise also had fun with cameras, featuring a Spin the Ball cam and an Emoji cam.

Two players accounted for almost half the Gold's scoring. Guard Trey Alexander poured in 26 points with 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Forward Spencer Jones added 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Alexander played college basketball at Creighton and was Second Team All-Big East in 2024. Jones attended Stanford and was on the Second Team All-Pac 12 squad in 2023.

For the Remix forward Rayan Rupert, guard Craig Randall II, and center Sterling Manley had 17 points apiece.

These teams faced off once again on Sunday with Grand Rapids winning 110-103 in front of 3,746 fans.

For the past 29 years Grand Rapids fans have been supporting various sports teams and leagues in the Van Andel Arena.

No matter your sports interests, Grand Rapids is a fun, affordable destination for fans to catch a game ... or five.

Grand Rapids Gold dancers (Fran Stuchbury)	A crowd watches the Grand Rapids Gold (Fran Stuchbury)	Grand Rapids Gold in action at the Van Andel Arena (Fran Stuchbury)
Grand Rapids Gold dancers (Fran Stuchbury)	A view of the Grand Rapids Rise from high in Van Andel Arena (Fran Stuchbury)	Princess Cam at the Grand Rapids Rise match (Fran Stuchbury)
Grand Rapids Rise in action (Fran Stuchbury)	Grand Rapids Griffins in action (Fran Stuchbury)	Grand Rapids Rise court in Van Andel Arena (Fran Stuchbury)
Grand Rapids Rise mascot ember (Fran Stuchbury)	Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids (Fran Stuchbury)	Grand Rapids Rampage banners in Van Andel Arena (Fran Stuchbury)
Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids (Fran Stuchbury)

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Pro Volleyball Federation Stories from March 19, 2025

• Ignite Youth Volleyball Night Match Comes at Perfect Time; Nike Mid-East Qualifier Participants to Swell Thursday's Crowd - Indy Ignite
• Atlanta Presents Heroes Night - Celebrating Everyday Heroes - Atlanta Vibe
• Fury Hit the Road to Face Ignite Thursday - Columbus Fury
• Trip to Grand Rapids Reveals Wealth of Sports Options - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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