Grand Rapids Rise is set to return for its second season in the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) this January, following a competitive loss in the inaugural Championship match in May 2024.
Rise has its first home match set for Sunday, January 12 at 4 p.m., serving as a rematch against defending champions, Omaha Supernovas.
Led by returning Head Coach and Vice President of Volleyball Operations, Cathy George, Rise hopes to capitalize on last season’s success with a rebooted coaching staff and roster of new and returning athletes.
George had been retired from coaching for less than a year when the PVF approached her about building a Grand Rapids team for their newly established league.
“I don't think I had expectations coming in. I just really knew that this was all starting from scratch, everything,” George said about starting in a year one professional league after nearly four decades of coaching college volleyball.
Before retiring at the end of 2021 season, George became the winningest coach in program history at Michigan State University, with a record of 302-233 over her sixteen years. Beginning her career in the NCAA Division II at North Dakota State, George moved on to the NCAA Division I at the University of Texas at Arlington. George then spent the rest of her career in Michigan, starting at Western Michigan University for eleven years.
George spoke to the differences in coaching on the professional level compared to her time in the NCAA.
“The game of volleyball itself isn’t different, it’s the managing people somewhere in their 30s, all the way to their 20s, meshing this group of people that have had a great level of success doing things the way they do them,” she said. “Some are starting out. Some are the old wise ones who help the young ones and get everyone to understand that this is different, in the way that you look at the game and how you train. How you’re going to eat, how you’re going to sleep, how you’re going to be a professional. It’s not just the title of professional, it’s how are you going to act professional.”
Before the inception of the Pro Volleyball Federation, there were over 300 women from the United States participating in professional leagues abroad, including nearly the entire original 2024 Rise roster. At the end of the 2024 season, all PVF athletes became free agents, leaving players the opportunity to move more easily from team to team bringing about a lot of changes.
A fan favorite from the debut season, “Air” Claire Chaussee, will not be returning for the 2025 season. Chasussee joined the roster of a Madison, Wisc.-based team in an upcoming professional volleyball league, League One Volleyball, set to premiere in January with six teams across the nation.
Former US Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Sponcil will also be absent from the 2025 Rise roster, as she signed with San Diego Mojo in September.
Rise also returns to the court without Emiliya Dimitrova, last year’s top scorer who was named the 2024 PVF Opposite Hitter of the Year and made the All-League First Team. Dimitrova returned to her home country of Bulgaria with her husband, former Rise assistant coach Denislav Dimitrov.
As for the coaching staff, Dave Getsoff, the team’s head athletic trainer, will return for the upcoming season. Jason Oliver will join the team as assistant head coach in 2025, following a successful tenure as the head coach of the University of Toledo volleyball team. Oliver will be joined on the new coaching staff by associate head coach Mike Gawlik and assistant coach Katie Gawlik, both formerly at Central Michigan University.
The offseason was not all loss, however, as Rise signed liberos Valeria León from Columbus Fury and Jena Otec out of Purdue University.
The second PVF draft ushered in the most recent additions to the team on Monday.
Rise drafted middle blocker Raven Collin from Purdue University in the first round with the No. 7 overall pick.
Grand Rapids then drafted Naya Shime out of Southern Methodist University in the second round, Camryn Turner from Kansas University in the third, Elena Oglivie from Stanford University in the fourth and Jess Mruzik from Penn State University in the fifth.
The team hosted several clinics for youth leagues throughout their first season and engaged in various events around the city in hopes of further establishing community roots. The coaching staff hosted a clinic this year to engage directly with surrounding high school and college volleyball coaches.
“We’re here,” said George. “The fans have really come out and supported us, it’s awesome. … Our players have been entrenched in the community. We’ve been out doing community service throughout the year. We want to be accessible, we want to reach out, we want our players to invest in the community, and the community has invested in us. It’s been a great partnership.”
Van Andel Arena hosted 12 home matches in the 2024 season, drawing a total of 54,000 fans, about 4,500 per match.
In a multi-year broadcasting deal, CBS Sports Network will air up to 20 matches, featuring the PVF Championship’s two semifinal matches and its final. Additionally, CBS Television Network plans to broadcast the first-ever professional volleyball match on the air this season.
This brings the federation to an even eight teams, with the top four advancing to the single-elimination postseason championship on Friday, May 9, and Sunday, May 11. The championship location is still to be determined.
With the full roster set to report for practice in early December, Rise will kick off their season on the road in Las Vegas, facing the Vegas Thrill on Friday, Jan. 10.
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