This Week’s Matches
RISE (0-0) at Vegas Thrill (0-0) // Fri., Jan. 10 // 10 p.m. ET // Lee's Family Forum
Watch: YouTube at 10 p.m.
Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Lee’s Family Forum
All-Time Regular Season Series: 3-1 Overall, 1-1 Home, 2-0 Away
Noteworthy: For the first time in franchise history, the Rise open the season on the road. Grand Rapids went 3-1 against Vegas during the inaugural 2024 season, with all four matches going at least four sets and two going five. Both teams won their season opener last season, as the Rise swept Columbus and Vegas topped Omaha in five sets.
RISE vs. Omaha Supernovas (0-0) // Sun., Jan. 12 // 6 p.m. ET // Van Andel Arena
Listen: 96.1 The Game at 6 p.m.
Watch: FS1 at 6 p.m.
Season Series: First of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Regular Season Series: 1-3 Overall, 1-1 Home, 2-0 Away
Noteworthy: This is a rematch of the 2024 PVF championship, which the Supernovas won in straight sets in Omaha by set scores of 25-13, 26-24, 25-22. Prior to that, the Rise won the previous meeting against Omaha on May 12 at Van Andel Arena with a five-set victory to close out the regular season. Three former Rise players joined the Supernovas over the offseason (Kayla Caffey, Mac Podraza, and Camila Gómez), while outside hitter and Michigan native Paige Briggs-Romine switched from the Supernovas to the Rise.
Ready, Set, Go: Grand Rapids, Vegas, and Atlanta were the only three teams to win their season opener a season ago. Four out of the seven teams managed to pick up a victory in their first-ever home match (Grand Rapids, Atlanta, Columbus, and San Diego). No PVF team got off to an incredibly fast start last year, with all seven teams having at least three losses heading into their eighth match. The League has a more balanced scheduled this season with all eight teams (including new franchise Indy Ignite) starting the 2025 season on the same weekend (Jan. 9-12) and six teams playing twice: Grand Rapids, Omaha, San Diego, Orlando, Atlanta, and Vegas.
Welcome Back: The Rise roster underwent a handful of changes over the offseason, given the nature of players being signed to one-year contracts for the 2024 season. As such, player movement and turnover across the League was high. Rise Head Coach and Vice President of Volleyball Operations Cathy George re-signed four players who played for Grand Rapids last season: middle blockers Marin Grote and Alyssa Jensen, and outside hitters Erika Pritchard and Symone Abbott. The four of them combined to play 231 sets last year, with 398 kills (26.8% of the team’s total), 274 digs (15.6%), 109 blocks (44.5%), and 27 aces (34.6%). Grote led the team with 64 blocks in the regular season — third-best in the League.
Return to the Mitten: Five Michigan-born players made the 14-player active roster. New to the team are Macomb native Carli Snyder, who played six pro seasons in France, Marysville native Ali Bastianelli, who led the PVF in blocks per set (1.07) last year with the San Diego Mojo, and Ortonville native and PVF champion Briggs-Romine. They join two Michigander returnees in Abbott from Northville and Jensen from Holland.
The only other state to have multiple representatives on the Rise roster is California, with Sherridan Atkinson and Grote. The Rise also have a player each Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.
Rise Up: Grand Rapids boasts 11 players over 6-foot with opposite hitter Atkinson towering the tallest at 6-foot-5. Middle blockers Grote (6-foot-4), Jensen (6-foot-4), and Bastianelli (6-foot-3) provide even more height in the middle of the court. The average height of the team is 5-foot-11. Libero Valeria León comes in as the shortest player at 5-foot-6.
Making The Show: Four out of the 14 players on the active roster were selected in the 2024 PVF College Draft and recently completed their collegiate careers this past fall:
- Round 1, Pick #7 - Raven Colvin, MB, Purdue
- Round 2, Pick #13 - Naya Shime, OPP, SMU
- Round 3, Pick #22 - Camryn Turner, S, Kansas
- Round 4, Pick #29 - Elena Oglivie, L, Stanford
Libero Jena Otec is also looking to make her professional debut, after coaching two seasons with Western Kentucky (2023-24) and one season with Eastern Michigan (2022). In addition to those five players, the following veterans have yet to play in the PVF during their pro careers: Snyder, Atkinson, and Kaleigh Nelson.
Setting Expectations: Orchestrating the Rise offense to start the season will be new setters August Raskie and rookie Turner. Raskie spent last season with the Mojo behind eventual Setter of the Year Nootsara Tomkom. She recorded 145 assists, 51 digs, 13 kills, and three aces in 28 sets played. Turner is coming off back-to-back 1,000-plus assist seasons at Kansas.
Coaching Experience: George enters her 37th season as a head coach, supported by a new and highly experienced coaching staff. The team includes associate head coach Mike Gawlik (21 years), assistant head coach Jason Oliver (28 years), assistant coach Katie Gawlik (6 years), and director of volleyball operations and assistant coach Matt Jennings (22 years). Together, this seasoned group brings nearly 100 years of combined coaching experience and has led teams through more than 2,000 matches.
Mike Gawlik reunites with George after spending 11 seasons (2005–2015) on her staff at Michigan State. He joins the Rise alongside his wife, Katie Gawlik, both coming from Central Michigan, where Mike served as the head coach of the Chippewas and was named the 2024 North Region Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Oliver and Jennings also bring head coaching experience, having led programs at Toledo and Michigan Tech, respectively.
Rise – Thrill Connections: Reunions when Grand Rapids takes on Vegas:
- Rise middle blocker Bastianelli and setter Raskie played with Vegas Thrill opposite hitter Willow Johnson and outside hitter Grace Loberg last season with the San Diego Mojo. Johnson also played with Raskie at Oregon for three seasons (2016-18).
- A pair of PVF champions find themselves squaring off, with Rise outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine facing former Omaha teammate, libero Kendall White.
- Vegas setter Alisha Glass Childress is from Leland, Michigan. Last season, she was recognized with PVF's first Most Inspirational Player Award. A mother of three, she established a blog to help mothers be their very best. Glass Childress also leads a foundation dedicated to providing financial opportunities to students and athletes with limited resources.
Rise – Supernovas Connections: Paths crossing again when Grand Rapids faces Omaha:
- Former Rise players Kayla Caffey, Mac Podraza, and Camila Gómez are set to make their return to Van Andel Arena, while Rise outside hitter Briggs-Romine takes on her former team.
- PVF’s 2024 Rising Star Award (Rookie of the Year) winner Reagan Cooper faces her former college setter Turner from Kansas, and former Columbus Fury teammate León. Omaha rookie Toyosi Onabanjo (1st round, 8th overall), also played at Kansas with Turner for two seasons (2023-24).
- Rise outside hitter Pritchard and Omaha middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord played a season together in college at Penn State (2021). Hord also played last season with León and the Fury.
Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Rise