1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,240 Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,720 who want to dig deep into what is going on in NCAA and international volleyball. 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:15,320 I'm your host Sarah Pavin, I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball world champion, former Nebraska 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,880 Cornhusker and longtime pro both indoor and on the beach. 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,840 And I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international volleyball coach and the resident 6 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,360 stat guy here on the podcast. 7 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:34,080 An NCAA women's volleyball champion has been crowned and the final four was nothing if 8 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,520 not incredibly exciting and historic. 9 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,920 The matches in Louisville will be our focus today, but we've got to take a look at the 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,240 All Americans obviously and a little bit more. 11 00:00:47,240 --> 00:01:05,000 It is going to be a jam packed episode, so let's get started. 12 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:12,520 First things first, congratulations to Penn State, the 2024 NCAA women's volleyball champions. 13 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,580 They defeated Louisville in four in a really exciting match. 14 00:01:16,580 --> 00:01:23,100 Now before we get into the games, we also ran two brackets for the championship. 15 00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:28,400 So shout out to Nittany Hopeful, who won the better bracket draft. 16 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,920 They had Penn State pit final and finished with 97 points, so you were close. 17 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:38,680 The second place person had 96 points, so that bracket came down to the wire. 18 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:39,920 Squeaked it out. 19 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:46,880 Gabriel Sundberg won our ESPN challenge with 1340 points, the next closest was 1160, so 20 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:48,920 that one definitely was not close. 21 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,200 Gabriel was the only person who picked Penn State to win and because of that ran away 22 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:54,440 with the title. 23 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,680 So congrats to both of our winners. 24 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:58,760 We really appreciate everybody who participated. 25 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,240 We had a lot of fun and I'm already hoping I do better next year. 26 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:04,240 I'm upset. 27 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,480 I did very poorly as well. 28 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:11,760 I will give a begrudging congratulations to the winners because I like to win a lot. 29 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,360 No, just kidding. 30 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,360 Congrats thanks to everybody who joined us. 31 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:20,080 Believe it or not, there has been other volleyball going on the last few weeks and the club volleyball 32 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,560 world championships for both men and women have been happening. 33 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,500 On the men's side, Sata Cruzero from Brazil won. 34 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:31,480 They beat Trentino Itas, 3-1 in the final. 35 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:38,240 So now those two teams are tied for the most club world championship titles ever. 36 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:45,080 And fun fact, Adam actually coached against Sata Cruzero when we lived in Brazil. 37 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:50,080 Adam worked for the team in Rio and Wallacy is still playing for them. 38 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:51,080 You've got to be kidding. 39 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:52,200 He has been there forever. 40 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,220 He is 37 years old now and pretty sure he has been part of every single one of those 41 00:02:56,220 --> 00:02:58,220 five world championships. 42 00:02:58,220 --> 00:03:00,000 The man does not age, I'm telling you. 43 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,760 He was unbelievable 14 years ago when we were there. 44 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:04,760 That's insane. 45 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,360 On the women's side, Imoko Valle Conigliano won. 46 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,120 They beat Tianjin Bohai Bank 3-0 in the final. 47 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,240 I mean, no shock there. 48 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,060 I would say Conigliano is stacked. 49 00:03:18,060 --> 00:03:20,360 They have been for many years now. 50 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:21,360 There you go. 51 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,240 A little taste of the outside world and we will be diving more into the professional 52 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:27,580 side of things in the new year. 53 00:03:27,580 --> 00:03:30,640 So just wanted to give a little update on that end. 54 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:34,800 Just for people who might not be familiar, Conigliano is an Italian team, correct? 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:35,800 It is. 56 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:37,640 It was actually my first pro team ever. 57 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:38,640 Oh, interesting. 58 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,480 So it all runs back through you is what you're saying. 59 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:42,480 I mean, basically. 60 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:43,480 I'm just kidding. 61 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:45,840 And Tianjin is a Chinese team, correct? 62 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,120 Tianjin is a Chinese team. 63 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:52,280 Tianjin, they were very good back when I played for Shanghai as well. 64 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,440 So overall, very good volleyball to be had. 65 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,720 On the men's side, if I didn't mention it, Trentino is an Italian team. 66 00:03:58,720 --> 00:03:59,720 Exciting nonetheless. 67 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,800 And I actually got to play in a club world championships when I was playing indoor. 68 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:05,720 My Brazilian team came second. 69 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:07,040 Fun facts for you today. 70 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,480 Now that we've given you the update around the world, let us get into what everybody 71 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,200 wants to talk about. 72 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:14,800 Final four time, baby. 73 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,420 Thursday was a write off. 74 00:04:16,420 --> 00:04:17,420 What a great day. 75 00:04:17,420 --> 00:04:20,640 I think we watched volleyball from three o'clock till 10 o'clock. 76 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:22,720 Again, being on the West Coast, it's perfect. 77 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,780 I hope my boss isn't listening to this. 78 00:04:24,780 --> 00:04:25,840 But where do you want to start? 79 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,160 I'm thinking Pitt Louisville, which is going order. 80 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:29,160 Yes. 81 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:30,160 All right. 82 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,360 What were your overall thoughts of that match? 83 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:37,720 My initial thoughts watching that match, Pitt came out unconscious. 84 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:39,420 They were outstanding. 85 00:04:39,420 --> 00:04:43,760 And I looked at you and I was like, if this continues, this is going to be very quick 86 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:44,760 work. 87 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:45,760 Bloodbath. 88 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:46,760 It did not continue. 89 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,720 I would say Pitt was unconscious for a set and a half. 90 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:52,200 Then they became human. 91 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,200 They gave up a huge lead in the second. 92 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:56,600 Had a massive lead at the end of set three. 93 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,360 I think they were up like 23, 19, gave it away, could not close it. 94 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:01,440 And the rest is history. 95 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,800 I thought Olivia Babcock played very well. 96 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:09,560 The wheels fell off starting with their setter, Rachel Fairbanks. 97 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,820 I thought she made questionable choices when it mattered. 98 00:05:13,820 --> 00:05:20,100 And I think her execution, set location, whatever was not as good as it had to be. 99 00:05:20,100 --> 00:05:21,440 And I was very surprised. 100 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:26,520 I would agree with you that things started with Fairbanks, but I'm going to go back a 101 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:27,720 little bit further. 102 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:33,640 I think her set selection was affected from the first set when Babcock was unconscious. 103 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:35,560 Well, so was Stafford though. 104 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:36,560 Fair enough. 105 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,640 But Babcock scored nine points, had nine kills in that first set. 106 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,360 She was unstoppable. 107 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:47,440 And I think the problem for me watching it was she just thought or wanted to feed the 108 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,000 hot player in Babcock and Stafford. 109 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:52,880 And she didn't get her middles going. 110 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:53,880 And that continued. 111 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,000 Bree Kelly is an important part of that offense. 112 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,660 And she only got 16 sets the whole game. 113 00:06:01,660 --> 00:06:07,360 And for me watching that, I don't know whether it was game plan, whether it was discussed, 114 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:12,080 but she went to those two hitters, Stafford and Babcock too often. 115 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:13,340 She didn't mix it up. 116 00:06:13,340 --> 00:06:18,560 And Louisville being a great blocking team started to get a rhythm, started to find the 117 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,560 block and started to be able to slow them down after that first set. 118 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,720 And she needed to establish the middle of the court more. 119 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:24,720 I can't disagree with that. 120 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:30,840 I mean, when I look at what happened from 2319 in the third until the end of the set, 121 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,680 it was just like Babcock over and over and over and over again. 122 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,480 Like you are right in that. 123 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,360 And I think she should have gone to somebody else. 124 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,300 I mean, Babcock scored her points, but made some errors, got blocked a few times. 125 00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:48,840 I think, but that comes back to the decision making for me. 126 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:53,760 I think there were opportunities in that run and I know I'm fixating on one run, but there 127 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:58,520 were opportunities in that run to run the middle and she didn't until it was too late. 128 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:04,720 Even in the set two, they were up what like 16-12 and then Louisville came back as well. 129 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,200 That was more hitting errors, wasn't it? 130 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:08,200 Correct. 131 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:09,200 So I don't know. 132 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:17,120 You just, I understand how it feels to be ranked at the top all year and then to all 133 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:23,400 of a sudden like come up against a team that is pushing you and in the biggest moment and 134 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:28,840 not rising to the occasion, I would say three out of my four years at Nebraska that happened. 135 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:30,120 So I get it. 136 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:35,560 And it just like broke my heart to see it because to put that kind of body of work together 137 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:42,160 that they did all year to have it end like that, it was, it was, I was sad watching it. 138 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,720 I thought, you know, Tori Stafford played very well defensively, particularly when they 139 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,960 had her playing in position one running Babcock on the pipe. 140 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:57,280 I can't say that pit just like threw the match away because that's doing Louisville a disservice. 141 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:03,240 I think Louisville ran their middle more often than we have seen and successfully. 142 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,960 I think PK Kong was very good. 143 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,520 I think Cressy scored very well. 144 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,480 And we said coming into the final four, they're going to have to establish their middles. 145 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,440 They're going to have to get them going. 146 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,680 And it really helped kind of balance the load. 147 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:19,960 I was very impressed with Maldonado Diaz. 148 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,360 I think she had picked up her performance significantly, especially during the tournament. 149 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,860 Louisville showed up. 150 00:08:26,860 --> 00:08:31,720 If pit is playing the way they did in that first set, there's nothing anybody can do. 151 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:32,720 Quite frankly. 152 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,200 It's unbelievable how on they were. 153 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,120 But to Louisville's credit, they didn't roll over. 154 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:45,840 Even when that momentum continued for pit in set two, they found a way to push back 155 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,120 and they played well. 156 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,320 To me, that was the most impressive thing. 157 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:50,320 And I couldn't tell. 158 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:51,360 I think it was a combination. 159 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,520 I think maybe there were a little bit of nerves there for Louisville being at home with the 160 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:01,480 crowd and not even bad nerves, just excited, not settling into the match. 161 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,240 And then pit came out guns blazing. 162 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:10,760 It would have been really easy for them to unravel or get frazzled in that situation. 163 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,500 And again, started down big in the second set, found a way to push back. 164 00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:20,600 I was impressed specifically with Cressy and De Beer from a leadership standpoint. 165 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,520 They each made plays. 166 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:24,080 They settled things down. 167 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:29,240 You could see them really leading the team through the little things. 168 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:34,720 I thought Cressy did a great job of getting off the net and being available for attacks 169 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:39,880 to kind of opening up the outside attacks for the other Louisville hitters. 170 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,000 She to me was the reason that they won. 171 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:44,200 And the other players played well. 172 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:45,200 Don't get me wrong there. 173 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:46,200 Outside hitters did well. 174 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:47,200 PK was good. 175 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,440 De Beers obviously clutch and did great things. 176 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,040 Looper was good. 177 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:55,880 But Cressy is kind of the linchpin there that opens everything up in my opinion when she's 178 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,720 on and she's an amazing blocker. 179 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,320 Like Louisville out blocked Pitt 12 to 4. 180 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:05,960 And Louisville's blocking got better as the match went on. 181 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:11,800 As they realized that Pitt was not using their middle and they were only setting two hitters, 182 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:17,480 they made life difficult for Torrey and for Babcock. 183 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,700 And I thought that was a huge difference in the match. 184 00:10:19,700 --> 00:10:21,960 And also the serving pressure. 185 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,340 They had eight aces to Pitt's two. 186 00:10:24,340 --> 00:10:29,040 And specifically from the service line to me, it looked like Pitt was just trying to 187 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:34,400 get the ball in and not lose or not be aggressive. 188 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:36,600 And Louisville was going after their serves. 189 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,840 And you could see that mindset shift throughout the match of Pitt not wanting to lose the 190 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:47,040 momentum and the way they were playing and being a little more safe. 191 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,480 And Louisville kept pushing and pushing and pushing. 192 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:55,800 I think you saw the pushing from a service pressure standpoint, particularly in set four. 193 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,280 They absolutely dismantled Pitt's serve receive. 194 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:03,840 I mean, obviously you're gaining confidence coming back from down 23-19 and winning that 195 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:04,840 set. 196 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:09,720 So obviously you have gained confidence, but you could just see that that kind of like 197 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:14,760 helped them add a little more from the service line and Pitt could not handle it. 198 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,600 They just completely fell apart. 199 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:22,280 People after that set three win just dismantled them, I thought, in set four. 200 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:23,280 Well, it's interesting. 201 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,880 The thing I noticed from Vasquez Gomez, who they served a whole bunch, was she stopped 202 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:27,880 moving her feet. 203 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,120 She got really squatty in her pass where she would just kind of drop and try and get her 204 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:37,120 body in the right angle instead of moving her hip out of the way or attacking the pass. 205 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:39,680 She was waiting for the ball to get on her. 206 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,640 And that's where it kind of broke down from what I saw for her specifically. 207 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:48,160 Well, and you just saw the communication decrease for Pitt and increase for Louisville. 208 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:53,560 And I mean, it's typical, particularly from younger athletes. 209 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:58,840 I understand that these are women there, but they are younger in the grand scheme of things. 210 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:04,000 And you know, the momentum and the ebbs and flows of the match, you could see it affect 211 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:09,580 the communication levels, the way the body language, et cetera. 212 00:12:09,580 --> 00:12:13,640 It came about, the pressure showed itself in different ways. 213 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:19,720 I do want to give a shout out to Danny Busboom Kelly for completely vacating the system that 214 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:25,400 they have run all season when their backs were against the wall and going into a 5-1. 215 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:26,500 That is ballsy. 216 00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:34,360 The system that got you to the final four, the system that helped you be successful all 217 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:39,240 season, the system that you thought was the best option for your team when the chips were 218 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:45,760 down in the most important match of the season, she flipped the script and it paid off. 219 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:51,320 This will come up again in the Nebraska Penn State game, but I have such an appreciation 220 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:56,480 for a coach who is willing to make changes. 221 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:02,720 You don't see it too often among the top, top teams, especially at that point in the 222 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:03,720 season. 223 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:09,000 But I have a lot of respect that she was willing to go for it and shout out to Cabello, a true 224 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,560 freshman setter. 225 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:12,120 I didn't see her crack. 226 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:13,200 I think that's a great point. 227 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,900 And it was something I was thinking about from pit side as I was watching them. 228 00:13:17,900 --> 00:13:23,640 You could see the demons sinking in, in the third and fourth set where they started to 229 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:28,000 think about, man, are we going to lose another semifinal? 230 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,800 Because it has happened, I believe this was the fourth time. 231 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:32,360 They needed to adjust something. 232 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:38,040 They needed to just say, hey, run the middle no matter what, or sub one player out, let 233 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:39,800 somebody relax. 234 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:45,100 The whole team almost looked shell shocked that it wasn't working. 235 00:13:45,100 --> 00:13:51,320 And the crazy thing is if you look at the numbers, if you take pits, three outside hitters, 236 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,680 they hit 325 on the match. 237 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,800 They played well enough to win. 238 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,400 And that's compared to Louisville's outside hitters hitting 270. 239 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:02,400 Which also wasn't bad. 240 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:03,400 No, it's not bad. 241 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:09,040 They played well enough to win, but the thing for me was Louisville found the little pieces 242 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,880 of the game where they could gain an advantage, whether it was on the serving, whether it 243 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:18,080 was on the block, whether it was making plays down the stretch, making adjustments. 244 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:19,560 That to me was a team win. 245 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,520 Staff players included, they kept going. 246 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:27,760 And it was surprising because I think pitch should have won that game. 247 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:32,200 You got to tip your cap to a team that's willing to make adjustments and take risks to win. 248 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:33,760 It was a very entertaining match. 249 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:39,840 I felt my heart kind of sink when Anna DeBeer went down in set four. 250 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,160 They showed her parents and her dad was crying. 251 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,200 And I think I started crying seeing that. 252 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:50,080 I cannot imagine being in that position as a senior. 253 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,880 You're playing in your hometown. 254 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,000 It's the end of your career. 255 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,000 And that happens. 256 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,360 My heart broke for her. 257 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,580 You never, you never want to see that. 258 00:14:59,580 --> 00:15:03,200 She has worked so hard and obviously we don't know her. 259 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:07,560 But all of the players have worked so hard, but it's like the, yeah. 260 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:12,720 But you can see that she's the rock and the leader and everybody looks up to her. 261 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,160 And to lose that player for the team, I think is, is really hard. 262 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:22,600 But I was incredibly impressed with the freshmen that came in for her. 263 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:23,600 Peyton Peterson. 264 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:24,600 Yeah. 265 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:25,600 Shout out for sure. 266 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,760 She did her job and allowed them to keep going. 267 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:33,760 And I honestly, I thought when that happened, that Pitt was going to be able to roll the 268 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,440 momentum back and win the match from there. 269 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:42,240 I said, I, I saw that happen and I saw her go off and go to the locker room. 270 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:47,960 And I thought this was what Pitt needed to have a reset and come back and win. 271 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,760 And to Louisville's credit, they hung in there and they kept going for their captain. 272 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:54,020 It was impressive to see. 273 00:15:54,020 --> 00:15:59,880 I love to see teams dig deep like that when an injury like that happens, like you that 274 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,160 team sports are so beautiful in that sense. 275 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:06,600 And that like everybody just found something extra that they could give. 276 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,340 And Peyton Peterson, she didn't have time to think about it. 277 00:16:09,340 --> 00:16:12,040 She didn't have time to think about how nervous she was, et cetera. 278 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:16,120 She came in, she served a couple of aces, she got several digs, she got the match winning 279 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,540 point, like excellent. 280 00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:23,040 As a freshman, if you have to play on a stage that day, having no notice is the best option. 281 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,480 100% just like surprise. 282 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,260 The longer they have to think about it, the worse it becomes, I think. 283 00:16:29,260 --> 00:16:32,920 And we'll talk about this in the final, but I thought that was going to really hurt them 284 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:35,000 because she had two days to think about it. 285 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,000 Yeah. 286 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,240 I think for me it was a well played match. 287 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,800 I mean, Pittsburgh's hitters were great. 288 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,120 Olivia Babcock played well enough for her team to win. 289 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:48,920 It was the little things around the ball, the blocking, the serving, the setting decisions 290 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,880 in my mind that made the difference in that match. 291 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:52,880 All right. 292 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:58,160 Let's move on to the second semifinal, Penn State versus Nebraska. 293 00:16:58,160 --> 00:16:59,720 Hit me with your thoughts. 294 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,960 I'm not sure where to start because I think I could talk about this match for an hour. 295 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:10,560 To be transparent, we had to go back and watch it again because the first time we were just 296 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:18,640 so stunned and overwhelmed that we ended up watching it more as fans than as like critiquers. 297 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:19,960 I don't even know if that's a word. 298 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,220 I think analyst is what you're looking for. 299 00:17:22,220 --> 00:17:24,120 Or that simple stuff. 300 00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:25,920 So we did go back and watch it again. 301 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,960 For me, this match came down to two things. 302 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:36,840 One, we've talked all season about Nebraska not having a star on the outside who could 303 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:38,000 carry the team. 304 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,200 And I thought that in this match, that was incredibly evident. 305 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,360 You know, the outsides for Nebraska didn't play poorly, but they don't have somebody 306 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:52,400 on that team who can drive them to win other than Andy Jackson. 307 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:58,080 And that team won and lost with how effective she was and how much they could get her the 308 00:17:58,080 --> 00:17:59,080 ball. 309 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:03,960 And at the end of the game, being sets three, four and five, they didn't get her the ball 310 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:05,600 and they didn't win. 311 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,400 And the second thing I will say, and we'll dive into all of this and I've got some interesting 312 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,240 stats for everybody out there. 313 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,660 I think they took their foot off the gas. 314 00:18:13,660 --> 00:18:17,860 I think in the fourth set, they thought they were going to win. 315 00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:20,360 You could see it on the coaching staff's face. 316 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,400 You could see it on the players face. 317 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,080 They were thinking about going to the national championship. 318 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,640 All the credit in the world to Penn State. 319 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,600 They never stopped coming no matter what. 320 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:35,040 And overarching of everything, that was the most impressive. 321 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:36,360 They never gave up. 322 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:40,180 Andy Jackson was dominant in sets one and two. 323 00:18:40,180 --> 00:18:41,520 The best player in the gym. 324 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,040 And the results spoke for themselves. 325 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:52,240 Nebraska actually unbalanced their offense, kind of, for the first time all season. 326 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:53,800 And we're just feeding Jackson. 327 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,720 And I was like, you know what? 328 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:56,720 Finally. 329 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,040 Finally, you have got a hot hand and you are feeding it. 330 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:02,040 Thank you. 331 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,000 This is what you need to do. 332 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,240 11 kills, no errors in the first two sets. 333 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:11,280 She was unconscious and unstoppable. 334 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,520 She was unstoppable. 335 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:20,240 And as we have said, as we have spoken about Nebraska throughout the past few months, it 336 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,400 opened everything else up for the other hitters. 337 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,920 So people were able to kind of get going. 338 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:30,960 I thought in sets one and two, Penn State was tipping too much. 339 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:32,760 In particular, Jess Merzik. 340 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,400 I thought she was tipping too frequently to her. 341 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:41,640 And I said at the end of set two, if she's going to go down, she better go down swinging. 342 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,040 Well, she was hitting under a hundred in the first two sets. 343 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:46,040 Yes. 344 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,120 She was a non-factor in the match. 345 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:53,360 And to her credit, I don't think I saw her tip again in sets three, four, and five. 346 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:56,280 And I think she finished the match, what, at 300? 347 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:57,280 Correct. 348 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:02,480 She went from 094, I believe it was, at the end of set two and finished the match hitting 349 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:03,600 300. 350 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:08,320 That is how she got Penn State to this point. 351 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,160 She put her team on her back all season. 352 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,680 And when she was tipping in sets one and two, I was really upset because I'm like, we've 353 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,000 seen this story before at the end of big 10 play. 354 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:23,080 I had so much respect for her that she just completely was like, no, this is not how this 355 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:24,080 is ending. 356 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:25,240 And just took over. 357 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,880 She was unbelievable. 358 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:32,800 My advice to her, she starts her pro career is to have a two set warmup from here on out 359 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:40,240 because that girl gets better as the match goes on and she finishes matches playing her 360 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:41,440 best volleyball. 361 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:46,520 And I'm kind of joking, but I'm kind of not because you saw it in both matches, in this 362 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,180 one and in the final. 363 00:20:48,180 --> 00:20:53,800 She didn't start super well, but man, when the game was on the line, as she kept going, 364 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,720 she was the best player by the end of the match. 365 00:20:57,720 --> 00:20:59,400 Her and Andy Jackson flip flopped. 366 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:00,400 Yes. 367 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,280 And it's not by any fault of Andy Jackson. 368 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:10,880 To Penn State's credit, I think they started serving a lot better and you saw Nebraska's 369 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:17,040 passing fall apart a little and like fall apart in the sense of it wasn't nearly as 370 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,240 good as it usually is. 371 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,200 Falling apart passing wise for Nebraska is you should still be able to run the middle. 372 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,600 I thought it was more decision than passing to be honest. 373 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:26,600 Oh, you do? 374 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:27,600 Yeah. 375 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,240 I thought at the end of set four, the passing was terrible. 376 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,780 I think the little, the littles for Nebraska killed them down the stretch. 377 00:21:34,780 --> 00:21:36,220 That might be a hot take. 378 00:21:36,220 --> 00:21:37,220 Come at me. 379 00:21:37,220 --> 00:21:38,840 I'm fine with that. 380 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:44,000 But you saw Lexi Rodriguez set her hitters very poorly. 381 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,240 I usually think that Lexi is a pretty good out of system setter. 382 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:52,220 She was trap setting her hitters when Bergen Riley was digging and then she tried to correct 383 00:21:52,220 --> 00:21:54,280 it and they were way too far off. 384 00:21:54,280 --> 00:22:02,000 So there's that, Choboy and Rodriguez got aced down the stretch in set four and I think 385 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,840 they were pulling the passes a little too far off. 386 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:14,120 Malk, who they rely on as their main serve scoring rotation looked like she saw a ghost. 387 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:15,120 Understandable. 388 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:16,120 She's a freshman. 389 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:19,040 You know, there were stretches in that four sets specifically. 390 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:24,740 I remember we talked about this where fine, maybe they couldn't run Andy behind, but they 391 00:22:24,740 --> 00:22:27,160 had chances in the third set to run her more. 392 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,200 They could have run her more at the beginning of the four set. 393 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,160 They didn't pass horribly in the fifth set and they only set Andy Jackson twice. 394 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,280 It was a combination in my opinion. 395 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,240 There was some passing issues and they obviously weren't as in system, but you can force the 396 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:40,240 middle. 397 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,840 Andy Jackson is physical enough that you can get her the ball and she can run behind and 398 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,080 in front audible out and run a 30 run close. 399 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:49,840 She is so dynamic. 400 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,960 She should have been able to score and they needed to get her the ball. 401 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,520 But at the end of the day, I mean, I'm going to stand by what I'm saying. 402 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:02,320 Like with the transition setting, Nebraska digs a lot of balls. 403 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,480 A, I don't love how they defended Jess Merzik once she really got going. 404 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:11,760 And B, when they did get digs, I thought the out of system setting was not good enough 405 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:13,000 to be able to score. 406 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:18,960 And then when it was the hitters weren't going up and being really aggressive for me, Penn 407 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,560 State won the outside hitter battle. 408 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,960 They won the out of system battle. 409 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:28,000 They won the we're going down swinging battle. 410 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,920 Like they didn't give up. 411 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:35,960 They left it all on the court and I'm very curious what Nebraska's postgame chat in their 412 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:36,960 locker room was. 413 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,480 Well, you talk about that. 414 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,040 So here are some numbers for you in the third set. 415 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:45,040 We're going to go all positions left side and right side for these stats. 416 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:52,440 In the third set, Penn State's outside hitters generated 13 kills to Nebraska's eight. 417 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:57,800 In set four, it was 17 kills to seven. 418 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,760 And in set five, it was nine to seven, which is closer. 419 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:07,780 But the interesting thing for me as well is if we look at set four, Penn State only tipped 420 00:24:07,780 --> 00:24:12,340 four balls as an outside core, Nebraska tipped eight. 421 00:24:12,340 --> 00:24:17,540 And so to me, you could see the mindset of the hitters go from scoring points to not 422 00:24:17,540 --> 00:24:18,980 making mistakes. 423 00:24:18,980 --> 00:24:23,800 Those stats, I did them myself, but they don't include bad sets where they had to put them 424 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:24,800 over. 425 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,880 Those were decisions where you could have hit the ball and you chose to tip. 426 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:34,640 And that to me, Penn State's ability to score points from the pins made a huge difference, 427 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,760 especially when Nebraska stopped running their middle. 428 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:42,680 Nebraska's up 24-22 in the fourth match point, two match points. 429 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:48,440 You get a perfect pass, Bergen-Riley, and you have Harper-Murray and Rebecca Alec in 430 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,440 the front row. 431 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:55,720 And you decide to set Rebecca Alec who tips the ball. 432 00:24:55,720 --> 00:25:00,000 You tipped the ball on match point on a perfect pass. 433 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,360 I mean, need I say anything else? 434 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:05,040 First of all, what are you doing even setting her? 435 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,040 Set Harper-Murray. 436 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:07,040 Okay. 437 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,560 And secondly, this is why Penn State won. 438 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:16,860 Because they hit the ball, because they took big rips, because they were being risky. 439 00:25:16,860 --> 00:25:19,880 They took those risks and it paid off. 440 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:24,760 You're telling me you think tipping a ball is going to win you a national championship, 441 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:25,940 is going to get you to the final? 442 00:25:25,940 --> 00:25:27,280 It's not, clearly. 443 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,200 My hands are sweating even talking about it. 444 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,080 I mean, you can look at that play in isolation and I don't disagree with you, but at the 445 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:38,640 same time, you needed Beeson to factor in offensively as well. 446 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:39,640 Beeson? 447 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,280 Oh boy. 448 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:43,520 What happened to her? 449 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:50,320 In fairness to Beeson, she did most things well except hit, which as a right side is 450 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,760 your primary responsibility. 451 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,320 I thought she served well. 452 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:56,880 I thought she blocked all right. 453 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,120 She played defense. 454 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:02,640 All of the skills around attacking, she was fine. 455 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:04,920 But they needed her to score more points. 456 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:10,320 She only had eight points and hit 2-0-7 on that match. 457 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:16,640 And I'm sorry, when you don't have a stud attacker and you rely on scoring points as 458 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,620 a committee, you have to be able to pull your weight. 459 00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:21,320 And she didn't. 460 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,540 And she hasn't all tournament. 461 00:26:23,540 --> 00:26:27,020 This is one of the things we don't see anybody else from Nebraska play. 462 00:26:27,020 --> 00:26:32,040 So I don't know who's on their bench, but put somebody else in through the front row. 463 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,960 Find the kid with the heaviest arm and go just go out and swing for three rotations. 464 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:37,000 Do something. 465 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,280 I don't understand why she played the whole time. 466 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,600 That is something that I was referring to when I made the statement of like, you need 467 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,920 to make a change sometimes. 468 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,800 And we saw it from Nebraska last year in the national championship match. 469 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:53,720 I'm sorry, Harper Murray got served off the court. 470 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,440 She should have been subbed out in that match last season. 471 00:26:58,440 --> 00:26:59,720 Didn't happen. 472 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:04,240 Mara Beeson disappeared during the NCAA tournament. 473 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,920 Did not produce at all. 474 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,640 She should have been subbed out. 475 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,360 They should have tried something different, but they didn't. 476 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:14,880 They just stick with what they do. 477 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:15,880 And that is that. 478 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:21,840 Honestly, I was so shocked when landfare actually replaced Crowzee partway through the season. 479 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,240 I think it needed to happen. 480 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:29,120 But because of what we have seen from Nebraska, I was shocked that they actually made a change. 481 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:30,560 So here's an observation. 482 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,380 We watched a decent number of Nebraska games. 483 00:27:34,380 --> 00:27:41,000 I think Nebraska is probably one of the most prepared teams for matches that they play, 484 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,720 but maybe one of the worst at deviating from their preparation. 485 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:46,880 Well, they haven't had to. 486 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:47,880 That's the thing. 487 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,160 I'm not saying you're wrong. 488 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,720 I am not saying you're wrong, but they have been able to get by on the game plans they 489 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,080 have. 490 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,760 If I was Nebraska, what would I have done? 491 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:03,720 I would have completely shut down the line on Jess Merzic and brought both defenders, 492 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:08,280 Rodriguez and the left side blocker off to dig the sharp angle. 493 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,300 Both of them load up the angle. 494 00:28:10,300 --> 00:28:15,160 We saw Louisville do it against them and they actually got quite a few digs or bring the 495 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:19,520 ball, bring the block way into the angle and dig down the line. 496 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:24,400 They just kept setting up on the ball, the same that's taking away the seam over and 497 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,280 over and over again. 498 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,020 Because you need to make adjustments. 499 00:28:29,020 --> 00:28:31,580 You need to try something new. 500 00:28:31,580 --> 00:28:32,580 And they didn't. 501 00:28:32,580 --> 00:28:38,080 But going back to Penn State, Jura Vicious picked some great times to have outstanding 502 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:39,080 matches. 503 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,020 She's going for it. 504 00:28:41,020 --> 00:28:42,440 She knows her role. 505 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,000 Jess Merzic flipped the switch, went for it. 506 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,000 It paid off. 507 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,880 Cameron Hanna, fearless, made great plays. 508 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:58,360 You know, it was so good to see Penn State regroup and rally and just keep coming. 509 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:03,040 And you saw Nebraska start to think and they just kept pushing. 510 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,240 You know, I have a lot of respect for that. 511 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:10,720 It is tough to be down 2-0 and come back to win. 512 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:15,560 It is tough, especially on that stage. 513 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,640 And they believed. 514 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,960 I think the impressive thing for me was their game plan was to be aggressive. 515 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,480 You could see it in everything they did. 516 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,360 Their serving, they made a ton of mistakes. 517 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,500 I think they had 14 service errors, but they kept coming. 518 00:29:31,500 --> 00:29:35,360 But down the stretch, those errors became aces. 519 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,400 And this to me was the difference in the game. 520 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:42,720 I don't know if I have all the numbers right off the top of my head, but I believe in the 521 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,920 second set as a team, they made 11 errors. 522 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:48,240 And they lost. 523 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:52,680 But when they settled down and came out in the third, fourth, and fifth, they played 524 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,880 the same way, but they settled into their style. 525 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,320 They found where the block was going to be. 526 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:00,800 They found a rhythm and they reduced those errors. 527 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,740 And I think it was 11 in the second, maybe two in the third. 528 00:30:05,740 --> 00:30:07,240 They were flawless in the third. 529 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:09,160 They made more in the fourth set. 530 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,400 But then in the fifth set, again, I think they made one or two errors as a team. 531 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:20,120 And they found a rhythm and made some adjustments and Nebraska didn't match them in that regard. 532 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,200 Penn State played to win. 533 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:28,280 I thought Nebraska played to win the first two sets and then got a little tentative and 534 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,300 were afraid to push over the line. 535 00:30:30,300 --> 00:30:32,000 And maybe that's set selection. 536 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,000 Maybe that's tight setting, serving. 537 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:39,200 I thought they, for me watching, to me, it looked like they thought they had it in the 538 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:40,820 bag personally. 539 00:30:40,820 --> 00:30:42,040 Do I know that for a fact? 540 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,040 No. 541 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,040 They were very relaxed in that interview between sets two and three. 542 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,240 Well, to me, the first assistant. 543 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:51,720 Oh, Reyes? 544 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,360 Reyes' body language changed. 545 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,760 In the second set, he was jumping up and down. 546 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:58,880 He was like screaming louder than the players. 547 00:30:58,880 --> 00:30:59,880 I'm sorry. 548 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:00,880 Fist pumping. 549 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:02,000 Like, let's be professional here. 550 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:03,000 That was weird. 551 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,520 But my point was he was excited. 552 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,840 He was in the match emotionally invested. 553 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:09,840 And that's fine. 554 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:14,680 Maybe that's your style, you know, you've played for some coaches who... 555 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:15,680 Rip their shirts off. 556 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,720 Yeah, I wasn't going to say that, but that's exactly what I was thinking of. 557 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,240 But the thing is, it's the same all the time. 558 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,980 And when your coach changes like that, and we talked about this with some other coaching 559 00:31:27,980 --> 00:31:29,280 staffs in previous episodes. 560 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,600 Yeah, we have brought it up, so it's fair. 561 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:38,960 He all of the sudden was hunkered down on his feet underneath the side of the court, 562 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:41,200 and he looked nervous. 563 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,680 And I said it, and I'll say it again, these are young athletes. 564 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:49,080 They look to their coach, and I think Penn State is a great example of that. 565 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:54,420 I have an incredible amount of respect for her. 566 00:31:54,420 --> 00:32:00,760 She showed up for her team day in and day out when she didn't have to, and nobody could 567 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,240 have blamed her. 568 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:03,240 And you know what? 569 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,040 When the chips were down, her athletes showed up for her. 570 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,440 She's just so calm on the sideline, she never changes. 571 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,360 Coach Cook doesn't change, he sits there, but... 572 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,960 I saw one fist bump. 573 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:22,940 So he's pretty consistent, but Reyes is the one that's moving the pieces around in match, 574 00:32:22,940 --> 00:32:24,000 you can tell. 575 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,180 But Katie Schumacher-Colley, she is just there. 576 00:32:28,180 --> 00:32:32,220 Her body language, it looks like her feedback doesn't change. 577 00:32:32,220 --> 00:32:37,620 From sets one and two, where it wasn't pretty, to three, four, five, there was definitely 578 00:32:37,620 --> 00:32:41,480 some more urgency, but it wasn't a drastic shift. 579 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:45,400 And that was an incredible match to watch. 580 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:49,720 Again, my heart broke for Nebraska because I have been there. 581 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:56,680 I get it, I understand it is the worst feeling in the world to be ranked that high all season 582 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,160 and not finish the job. 583 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,600 Kuda has off to Penn State, has off to Jess Merzuch. 584 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:06,120 Wow, that was something to behold. 585 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:14,200 Before we jump into the final match, the AVCA selection committee picked their All-Americans 586 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,240 this week as well. 587 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:19,440 Izzy Stark was named National Freshman of the Year. 588 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,040 Olivia Babcock, National Player of the Year. 589 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:27,320 Dan Fisher from Pitt, National Coach of the Year. 590 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:32,440 And Brian Rosen from Creighton was named the Assistant Coach of the Year. 591 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:38,840 What are your thoughts on those individual big time winners? 592 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:42,760 I honestly don't have any problems with any of those. 593 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:49,520 I think Izzy Stark, we've been fans of hers since we started. 594 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:56,860 I don't think she can get enough credit for being a freshman and having the composure 595 00:33:56,860 --> 00:33:59,460 that she had in this tournament. 596 00:33:59,460 --> 00:34:03,920 There were a few times where the camera panned to her in the middle of some of those matches 597 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:06,720 and she was white as a ghost. 598 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:12,400 There were two times specifically I saw her just take a deep breath in a tense moment, 599 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:18,080 exhale and you could see her talking to herself, you got this, you're going to do it. 600 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:23,080 And I think the composure that she showed, and she wasn't amazing all the time, she had 601 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:29,320 some setting issues in a few of those matches, but to bring it back and to lead that team 602 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:34,880 and have to touch the ball every single rally, outstanding, very well deserved. 603 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,640 I think she's going to be the Cammie Miner of the next four years. 604 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:39,640 Agreed. 605 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:41,040 I'm an Izzy Stark fan. 606 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:46,360 I would have been shocked if anybody else won freshman of the year and part of me still 607 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,840 thinks she should have been a first team All-American. 608 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:54,400 Granted the two setters that were picked, Cammie Miner and Rachel Fairbanks. 609 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:56,880 Okay, I can get behind that. 610 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:02,000 I can get behind those two being named first team over her, but if any other setter was 611 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,120 selected ahead of her, I would have called someone. 612 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:06,120 I'm just kidding. 613 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:10,160 Olivia Babcock was outstanding all year. 614 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,800 I mean for me, there wasn't even a consideration. 615 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:17,520 I think it was nice that Lexi Rodriguez got a nod. 616 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:19,640 I think she's had a great career. 617 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,340 I actually think she's incredibly important to that Nebraska team. 618 00:35:23,340 --> 00:35:29,400 So maybe more so than the stats itself, which are impressive. 619 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:33,520 Her importance to a very good team can't be argued. 620 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:38,640 And so I was fine with her being on the list, but Olivia Babcock does everything. 621 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:45,920 She hits, she serves, she blocks, she gets set a thousand times and she keeps coming. 622 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:46,920 She's impressive. 623 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:48,680 I would have lost it. 624 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:55,160 If anybody won player of the year other than her, honestly, you know, people know that 625 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:56,720 she's getting the ball. 626 00:35:56,720 --> 00:36:04,440 They know it's coming and they still can't stop her blocking wise, attacking, serving. 627 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:08,560 She obviously has some up and downs with her serve, but for the most part, the numbers 628 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:15,700 that she puts up night in and night out and nobody can stop her. 629 00:36:15,700 --> 00:36:19,040 And she's hitting her hitting percentage is so impressive as well. 630 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:27,240 Like the thing for me is like, how do you not win conference player of the year and 631 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:30,560 then win national player of the year? 632 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,800 That's that is the thing for me. 633 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,380 Franklin was named big 10 player of the year. 634 00:36:35,380 --> 00:36:40,220 You would think like it just something doesn't compute for me. 635 00:36:40,220 --> 00:36:46,480 I think there's a little bit of politicking going on in some of these selections and yeah, 636 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,320 I know you hate that, but that's it is what it is. 637 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,400 Well, the majority of your work throughout the season is done in conference play. 638 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,880 So if you're not going to be named conference player of the year, what makes you the best? 639 00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:00,360 If you're not the quote unquote best player in your conference, what makes you the best 640 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:02,280 player in the country? 641 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:04,460 That's my question. 642 00:37:04,460 --> 00:37:09,600 The other thing I was kind of confused about is Brooklyn delay from Kentucky was not on 643 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,160 the semi finalist list. 644 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,000 And then she popped up on the finalist list. 645 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:22,520 And I was like, if you're not making enough of an impact for the committee to notice you 646 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:28,160 to name you one of 14, how all of a sudden do you become that good in a few weeks to 647 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:29,840 jump to the finalist list? 648 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:34,760 Well, I've never seen anyone make the final without being in the semi final ever. 649 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,680 So that one is a little head scratcher. 650 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:39,800 That was a head scratcher for me as well. 651 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,360 100% Olivia Babcock, best player in the country. 652 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:45,280 I will die on that mountain. 653 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,040 Feel free to hit me up. 654 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:52,840 I think I think coach of the year is really hard to assess if you're not in the room day 655 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:53,840 in and day out. 656 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,360 I mean, all of these coaches work hard. 657 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,280 All of them are preparing. 658 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:03,280 All of them are anybody who was in the in the tournament for the round of 16, like all 659 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,460 of those coaches do an amazing job. 660 00:38:05,460 --> 00:38:07,560 This season pit was fantastic. 661 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:08,920 Number one all year. 662 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:14,720 And I, I definitely don't have any issue with Dan Fisher winning this award from an outside 663 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:15,720 perspective. 664 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:20,840 It looks like his players love playing for him, which is not a prerequisite of being 665 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,480 a great coach, but it definitely helps. 666 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:30,860 And I definitely think when it's not a professional league, these kids can leave, they can transfer. 667 00:38:30,860 --> 00:38:34,880 They can, they're managing so much in their lives in terms of school and sport. 668 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:39,520 I think enjoying your coach and wanting to play for them is a huge aspect of success 669 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:41,520 at this level. 670 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:43,840 And yeah, I think it's well deserved. 671 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:48,040 I think, you know, the first team all American list, it made sense to me. 672 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:52,880 Second, like, yeah, the list themselves, I can get behind. 673 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:59,280 We had two players who were four time all Americans, Lexi Rodriguez and Emma Grome, 674 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:05,960 the setter from Kentucky were the only two graduating players who had been an all American 675 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:06,960 four times. 676 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,760 So that was cool. 677 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:14,280 And Olivia Babcock is on her way to becoming a four time first team all Americans. 678 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,840 She was a first team or last year, obviously this year. 679 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:19,440 So we'll see what happens there. 680 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:21,680 She'll be joining you on that list. 681 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,240 Oh baby. 682 00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:32,760 All right, the main event, the national championship final, Penn State versus Louisville, Penn 683 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,160 State won it in four. 684 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,160 What are your thoughts? 685 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:41,320 Well, I think there were a couple interesting storylines coming into this match. 686 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:47,240 I think one was, this was going to be the first time a female coach has won the NCAA 687 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:51,880 division one title, which I think is fantastic for the sport. 688 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:56,920 And both of those coaches are phenomenal, have built programs. 689 00:39:56,920 --> 00:40:01,160 You know, I just want to say great job and so much respect for what they've done. 690 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,140 That was really cool to see. 691 00:40:03,140 --> 00:40:08,040 And I can't believe that a woman head coach has taken this long. 692 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:09,040 It's crazy. 693 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:11,440 I know Mary Wise has been in many finals. 694 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:17,440 She's gotten close to the head coach for Florida, but I'm shocked that it has taken so long. 695 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:22,800 And you know, as a former teammate of Danny Busboom Kelly, like I'm, she's done great 696 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,320 things for that Louisville program. 697 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:28,720 And with everything, as we mentioned before, that Katie Schumacher Colley has been through 698 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:35,400 and then to see her overcome or fight through that and come out victorious in the end, it 699 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,840 is like, you couldn't write it any better. 700 00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:40,340 Honestly, you could not. 701 00:40:40,340 --> 00:40:41,640 So that is outstanding. 702 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:46,220 I think the other storyline for me coming in, which I thought was going to be a huge 703 00:40:46,220 --> 00:40:50,000 factor on the match was, was the beer going to play? 704 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:54,260 You know, when we found out she wasn't going to play, they had to have known that Thursday 705 00:40:54,260 --> 00:40:59,900 after the match or Friday morning after her ankle obviously didn't get better. 706 00:40:59,900 --> 00:41:05,560 So my question immediately was, how was the little freshmen going to do? 707 00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,760 You know, we discussed this in the semifinal match. 708 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:12,960 It's one thing to be thrown into the fire and to not have time to think and to go out 709 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:14,900 and she did great. 710 00:41:14,900 --> 00:41:20,420 That's another thing to spend two days thinking about our captain, our leader is out and I 711 00:41:20,420 --> 00:41:24,520 have to replace her and have a lot of time to freak yourself out. 712 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,520 I will say to her credit, I think she had a great match. 713 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,520 They weren't going to be able to rely on her to score points. 714 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,240 However, she did not break under the service pressure. 715 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:37,780 She served incredibly well. 716 00:41:37,780 --> 00:41:40,480 She was not a liability on the block. 717 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,880 And I thought defensively she was very good. 718 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:48,600 I don't think from Louisville's perspective, they could have asked for anything more out 719 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:49,600 of her. 720 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:50,600 I agree. 721 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:55,320 I think and when you have an athlete in that position, I mean, I'm no expert. 722 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:56,560 I don't know. 723 00:41:56,560 --> 00:42:00,720 But when you have an athlete in that position, I feel like all you can do as her coaching 724 00:42:00,720 --> 00:42:06,920 staff and as her teammates is just do everything you can to build her up and give her confidence. 725 00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:13,040 Everybody including her knows that she is not going to be a one for one replacement 726 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:14,040 for Anna DeBeer. 727 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:16,040 A hundred percent. 728 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:17,400 She's aware. 729 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:18,400 Everybody's aware. 730 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:24,520 All you can do is make the kid feel as comfortable as possible, give her the information that 731 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:30,400 she needs to be effective and just encourage. 732 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:35,940 And I thought she definitely had trouble scoring, but everything else she did not break. 733 00:42:35,940 --> 00:42:37,840 Her passing was very good. 734 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:39,040 She dug a lot of balls. 735 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:43,760 She got like several aces that what more can you ask from her? 736 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:49,280 The thing that was disappointing, however, was that they barely ran the middle to make 737 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:50,280 up for it. 738 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:54,440 This, this in my opinion was the main thing that cost them the match. 739 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:56,600 You're losing four kills a set. 740 00:42:56,600 --> 00:43:01,360 You know that Charity Looper and Maldonado Diaz are going to have to score. 741 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:04,240 So like, let's help them out here. 742 00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:05,920 Let's get the middle going. 743 00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:13,000 Let's use the middle as often as possible in particular, Cressy who scores very well. 744 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:16,520 PK also has had a pretty good tournament. 745 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:21,120 Like I was, they set Cressy the first ball and I was like, okay, yes, they're going to 746 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:22,120 do it. 747 00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:23,120 They did not do it. 748 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:28,400 Well, I'm going to interrupt you and just give everybody some context for this. 749 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:34,480 All of the middles on Louisville only got 24 attempts all match and only had six kills 750 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:35,480 as a group. 751 00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:41,720 24 like all together, all together, all middles, 24 attempts and six kills. 752 00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:49,000 Compare that to Penn State's middles that had 29 attempts and 14 kills and Penn State's 753 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:51,880 middles are not what they're known for. 754 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:57,960 No, I would say that Penn State runs their middle less than, than most. 755 00:43:57,960 --> 00:43:59,760 And I've said that about them all season. 756 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:01,440 They don't run the middle enough. 757 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:02,440 They almost tripled. 758 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:07,440 They two and a half times the scoring production of the Louisville middle. 759 00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:10,680 And that to me was the difference. 760 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:12,240 Big picture in the match. 761 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:18,080 Kara Cressy, as soon as the beer was out, needed to be an offensive force for them and 762 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:21,400 they needed to get her a ton of balls and PK as well. 763 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:24,480 But for me, more Cressy and it didn't happen. 764 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:27,240 And I, for the life of me cannot figure out why. 765 00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:31,560 Again, Louisville switched to a five one again in, in set two. 766 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:36,760 Which I thought was really smart because it allowed Cressy to hit the slide, which she's 767 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:38,800 very good at, but they didn't use it. 768 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:40,240 Cabello is a freshman. 769 00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:46,680 I'm not making that excuse for her, but I want to be like, you, if she lost track of 770 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:52,560 it or was not being mindful of that, like as a staff, you need to like let her know, 771 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:55,400 like let's pump the middle because they weren't passing that poorly. 772 00:44:55,400 --> 00:44:56,960 No, they weren't. 773 00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:58,200 They didn't start great. 774 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:05,920 I thought Elena Scott in the first set for me looked like she was trying to do too much 775 00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:09,760 to fill in for the beer missing. 776 00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:11,360 She got on a couple hitters way. 777 00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:13,080 She took a set she should have taken. 778 00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:17,520 She looked a little tight, but I thought after that first set, when she settled in, she was 779 00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:19,720 very good for the rest of the match. 780 00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:20,720 I thought she was good. 781 00:45:20,720 --> 00:45:21,720 I thought Looper was good. 782 00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:23,940 I thought Maldonado Diaz was good. 783 00:45:23,940 --> 00:45:28,160 We talked about Peter said, like, I, I thought the players. 784 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:29,160 Played well. 785 00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:32,320 The only player to me who kind of looked out to lunch was PK. 786 00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:33,320 Yeah. 787 00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:34,840 She did not have a good match. 788 00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:40,680 There were taught like they took her out again, as we've been talking about PK was not performing. 789 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:41,680 They took her out. 790 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:42,680 Okay. 791 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:46,960 They put Sherman in, like those are the kind of adjustments that you need to make. 792 00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:49,680 Like at this point, it's not about people's feelings. 793 00:45:49,680 --> 00:45:52,200 It's about winning a national championship. 794 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:53,360 Okay. 795 00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:56,240 It should never be about people's feelings, but maybe I'm a psycho. 796 00:45:56,240 --> 00:45:57,240 I don't know. 797 00:45:57,240 --> 00:46:03,240 There were times I think of set three, for example, Penn State rant or no set two, the 798 00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:08,080 one that went 3432 Penn State ran out of subs. 799 00:46:08,080 --> 00:46:13,160 Not only did they have Quinn Manger, their serving specialist come through the front 800 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:14,640 row playing middle. 801 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:19,240 They had Ava Ful Dudo, who is another DS playing through the front row. 802 00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:23,840 I think their front row height was cut in half when that happened. 803 00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:29,200 It was wild and at one point you had like Izzy Stark, a DS and Jess Merzik in the front 804 00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,960 row and PK is commit jumping on Izzy Stark. 805 00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:33,960 I'm sorry. 806 00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:38,080 If that is your front row, you just move all of your hitters out to the left side and you 807 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:42,160 put a triple on Merzik and you go Izzy, if you want to dump, dump, we'll dig it. 808 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:45,600 But Merzik was one on one in that situation. 809 00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:46,600 Are you kidding me? 810 00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:47,820 Not once, but twice. 811 00:46:47,820 --> 00:46:49,160 Are you kidding me? 812 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:50,840 Who's going to hit the ball? 813 00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:52,000 The DS? 814 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,440 So obviously she was not very mindful. 815 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:58,460 She got subbed out because of it deserved in my opinion. 816 00:46:58,460 --> 00:47:04,160 So she is the only player to me from Louisville side that I was like, hello. 817 00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:09,580 But I mean, the Anna DeBeer hole was a big one to fill. 818 00:47:09,580 --> 00:47:17,200 And I thought from a high level that they didn't do a good job replacing her leadership 819 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:18,960 and energy on the floor. 820 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:22,160 They were flat for a lot of that game. 821 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:26,480 And there was a lot of looking to other players and not that they weren't playing well and 822 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:29,400 not that people weren't taking responsibility. 823 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:34,440 But DeBeer was always the one who would get a kill and come down and fire up her team 824 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:39,000 and maybe not vocally, but just by her attitude and her presence on the court. 825 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:45,720 And that's nobody's fault because you can't just replace that in one match, but it has 826 00:47:45,720 --> 00:47:46,980 an effect. 827 00:47:46,980 --> 00:47:51,280 And it took them too long to kind of figure out who was going to step up because Luper 828 00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:56,740 did that towards the end of the match and you could see her finding her rhythm and bringing 829 00:47:56,740 --> 00:47:58,220 some of that energy. 830 00:47:58,220 --> 00:48:01,920 But there was a definite hole on the court with DeBeer on the sideline. 831 00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:08,580 I'll be honest when DeBeer went down, I said to Adam, I was like, if she is not able to 832 00:48:08,580 --> 00:48:13,360 play on Sunday, whoever wins the Penn State Nebraska match is going to win it all. 833 00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:14,360 You did say that. 834 00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:17,040 And that is like, that's nothing against Louisville. 835 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:24,400 That is just like respect and acknowledgement of how important Anna DeBeer is to that Louisville 836 00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:25,400 team. 837 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:27,400 Well, we would have said the same thing for Penn State if Merzik went down. 838 00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:28,400 Oh, yes. 839 00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:29,400 Totally. 840 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:30,400 It's the same comparison. 841 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:32,040 You know, I was impressed with Cabello. 842 00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:38,400 I want to know when is the last time two true freshman setters went head to head in a national 843 00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:39,400 championship match? 844 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:43,500 I don't think the broadcasters knew she was a true freshman because they said it every 845 00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:48,160 time Izzy Stark touched the ball and not once when Cabello did. 846 00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:53,040 It wasn't like Izzy Stark, the setter, it was like freshman setter Izzy Stark. 847 00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:54,680 And I'm like, okay, we get it. 848 00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:55,880 We know she's a freshman. 849 00:48:55,880 --> 00:48:56,880 She's great. 850 00:48:56,880 --> 00:48:59,740 But there's a freshman setter on the other team too. 851 00:48:59,740 --> 00:49:00,740 And she's doing awesome. 852 00:49:00,740 --> 00:49:01,740 She didn't blink. 853 00:49:01,740 --> 00:49:03,220 No, didn't flinch. 854 00:49:03,220 --> 00:49:05,480 She was very good. 855 00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:10,040 When we were saying Izzy Stark looked like a ghost sometimes in this Final Four, I didn't 856 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:11,440 see that from Cabello at all. 857 00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:13,960 I was very impressed with her composure. 858 00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:19,120 And you lose your safety blanket in De Beer of somebody you can just set and expect to 859 00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:20,120 score points. 860 00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:22,120 That is not an easy position to be in. 861 00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:25,480 You know, maybe that's one of the reasons they didn't run the middle as much. 862 00:49:25,480 --> 00:49:27,320 Yeah, I thought she did a great job. 863 00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:32,600 I will say one person, and I'm guilty of this myself, who doesn't get enough credit, in 864 00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:34,760 my opinion, is Grimes. 865 00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:41,300 She went up in the semifinals against a libero that made player of the year nomination in 866 00:49:41,300 --> 00:49:47,120 Lexi Rodriguez and arguably one of the best liberos in the country. 867 00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:48,120 First team All-American. 868 00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:49,120 Yeah, exactly. 869 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:51,040 And Elena Scott. 870 00:49:51,040 --> 00:49:56,960 And in my opinion, outplayed both of them in both matches. 871 00:49:56,960 --> 00:50:00,960 It was phenomenal to watch. 872 00:50:00,960 --> 00:50:06,600 And she's interesting because she doesn't really make spectacular plays. 873 00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:09,080 There was one where she laid out and made a dig that was unreal. 874 00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:11,920 But in general, you just don't notice her. 875 00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:13,340 You don't notice her. 876 00:50:13,340 --> 00:50:14,340 No offense. 877 00:50:14,340 --> 00:50:15,340 You don't want to notice your libero. 878 00:50:15,340 --> 00:50:17,560 Because then they're real bad. 879 00:50:17,560 --> 00:50:18,560 I understand. 880 00:50:18,560 --> 00:50:19,560 I understand that. 881 00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:23,240 Elena Scott makes some outrageous digs. 882 00:50:23,240 --> 00:50:24,920 One handed diving for the ball. 883 00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:26,080 She's all over the court. 884 00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:27,240 She's very noticeable. 885 00:50:27,240 --> 00:50:28,240 She's jump setting. 886 00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:31,280 But you notice Elena Scott on the court in a good way. 887 00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:38,200 Grimes, you don't notice if you don't pay attention, but she quietly amasses digs and 888 00:50:38,200 --> 00:50:41,640 passes well and covers the court. 889 00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:43,320 It was fantastic to watch. 890 00:50:43,320 --> 00:50:47,000 And I'm going to give her a shout out because she probably doesn't get any credit. 891 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,440 And I think she did a fantastic job this week. 892 00:50:49,440 --> 00:50:50,440 I agree. 893 00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:52,580 She set really well. 894 00:50:52,580 --> 00:50:56,000 And she served very well. 895 00:50:56,000 --> 00:51:02,280 In that run at the end of set four, she was the one who got those aces on Rodriguez and 896 00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:04,000 Choboy. 897 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:05,480 Let's talk about Merzik. 898 00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:08,040 You want me to start or do you want to start? 899 00:51:08,040 --> 00:51:09,040 You can start. 900 00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:13,880 I mean, there's not a whole lot you can say because she just decided that Penn State was 901 00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:14,880 going to win. 902 00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:15,960 And that was that. 903 00:51:15,960 --> 00:51:18,360 And she got better as both matches went on. 904 00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:21,760 I think the thing for me that was the most impressive. 905 00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:29,360 So we saw her in Nebraska score on that sharp cross court swing uncontested to win the match. 906 00:51:29,360 --> 00:51:30,760 Louisville was ready for that. 907 00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:37,320 Elena Scott lined her up and made incredible digs, especially in the first and second sets 908 00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:39,640 and took her favorite shot away from her. 909 00:51:39,640 --> 00:51:45,280 The thing that impressed me the most about her was she said, OK, if that's going to happen, 910 00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:49,040 I'm going to swing to six and I'm going to go off the hands and I'm going to find the 911 00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:50,480 seams. 912 00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:57,040 And she changed how she was attacking in that match based off the defense. 913 00:51:57,040 --> 00:52:01,840 I don't know whether the staff gave her that information, whether she made that choice 914 00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:02,840 herself. 915 00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:04,480 But that won them the game. 916 00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:09,160 She went after the block and she found a way to score when Elena Scott was eating her up 917 00:52:09,160 --> 00:52:10,480 in the first two sets. 918 00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:15,960 Whether the coaches told her to do that or not, efficiency at which she was able to find 919 00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:20,080 those fingers was unbelievable. 920 00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:23,680 And honestly, that won them set four against Nebraska. 921 00:52:23,680 --> 00:52:29,600 She found the fingertips and just sailed those swings out of bounds so many times at the 922 00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:31,520 end of set four against Nebraska. 923 00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:32,960 And she did the same thing. 924 00:52:32,960 --> 00:52:37,320 And we talked about this last week when they played Creighton, how Creighton didn't do 925 00:52:37,320 --> 00:52:40,520 anything to reset the defense. 926 00:52:40,520 --> 00:52:45,880 When your favorite shot is taken away, take those swings to reset the defense. 927 00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:51,480 And she did that and she found a way to score anyway and then went back to the sharp angle 928 00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:53,560 and was able to score that way, too. 929 00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:55,120 Because Elena Scott, because they adjusted. 930 00:52:55,120 --> 00:53:00,680 I will say I noticed more adjustments in this match than I think I have all season in terms 931 00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:05,000 of how they were defending players, in terms of where they were serving, what the strategy 932 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:06,000 was. 933 00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:12,480 To me, that was a high level, a high intelligence level of making adjustments and trying to 934 00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:14,800 out battle your opponent in that way. 935 00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:20,640 I was a little worried when Penn State gave up the 24 19 lead in set two. 936 00:53:20,640 --> 00:53:23,880 I was like, oh dear, we saw this happen to Pitt. 937 00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:27,040 Like, what's going to happen to their credit? 938 00:53:27,040 --> 00:53:31,520 They ended up in the exact same position in set three and four. 939 00:53:31,520 --> 00:53:36,240 It was 1913 in sets two, three and four. 940 00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:39,800 Yeah, they didn't make the same mistake twice. 941 00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:44,200 They took care of business in sets three and four, but I was a little nervous there for 942 00:53:44,200 --> 00:53:45,200 a while. 943 00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:50,440 I think the thing for me about Penn State was they never changed their approach in the 944 00:53:50,440 --> 00:53:51,440 match. 945 00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:56,920 It didn't always go their way, but it was always an aggressive, we're playing to win 946 00:53:56,920 --> 00:54:00,000 mentality and that's not always easy to do. 947 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:01,880 And it paid off for them. 948 00:54:01,880 --> 00:54:07,080 Merzik was outstanding, but she wasn't the only person performing. 949 00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:08,440 Jura Vicious did well. 950 00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:10,400 Cameron Hanna did really well. 951 00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:12,320 Taylor Trammell was scoring. 952 00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:17,160 Mendelsohn was more steady than we have seen her in the previous two matches. 953 00:54:17,160 --> 00:54:20,440 We already mentioned Grimes, like Izzy Stark. 954 00:54:20,440 --> 00:54:24,600 She definitely had moments when the games were getting tight where she, you can see 955 00:54:24,600 --> 00:54:26,440 her get frustrated with herself. 956 00:54:26,440 --> 00:54:31,000 You could see her be a little unsure, but she always righted herself and was able to 957 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:35,840 get back on track, which is tough when you're really young. 958 00:54:35,840 --> 00:54:40,200 But I think top to bottom, Penn State showed up. 959 00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:47,400 They were the better team and I just loved seeing them all rise to the occasion. 960 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,960 Like Jess Merzik, she is what she is. 961 00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:53,560 She put the team on her back, but she wasn't alone. 962 00:54:53,560 --> 00:54:58,280 Yeah, you generally can't win off one player, but everybody pulled their weight and it was 963 00:54:58,280 --> 00:54:59,440 good to see. 964 00:54:59,440 --> 00:55:00,640 So one hypothetical for you. 965 00:55:00,640 --> 00:55:02,840 You don't have to spend a lot of time on it, but I'm curious. 966 00:55:02,840 --> 00:55:05,160 What do you think the match would have been like if De Beer was playing? 967 00:55:05,160 --> 00:55:06,760 I think it would have been a lot closer. 968 00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:10,080 I mean, she does every skill for Louisville. 969 00:55:10,080 --> 00:55:14,120 I mean, I can't predict because everybody showed up for Penn State too. 970 00:55:14,120 --> 00:55:18,220 Like Anna De Beer is a good blocker, so there's that piece that's added. 971 00:55:18,220 --> 00:55:23,120 She scores points for Louisville at a higher clip than Peterson did. 972 00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:27,000 I think it would have been a much more tight match than it was. 973 00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:29,240 I think Penn State still would have won though. 974 00:55:29,240 --> 00:55:30,240 Fair enough. 975 00:55:30,240 --> 00:55:34,920 I think for Louisville to win, they needed to dominate the middle. 976 00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:38,760 And I'm not sure if that changes if De Beer is there or not. 977 00:55:38,760 --> 00:55:42,360 But to me going into that match, that was the key for Louisville. 978 00:55:42,360 --> 00:55:46,880 Well, Penn State was winning the blocking stat heading into set four, I believe. 979 00:55:46,880 --> 00:55:51,680 I don't know what it ended up as, but Penn State was out blocking Louisville throughout 980 00:55:51,680 --> 00:55:53,720 that match, which I found interesting. 981 00:55:53,720 --> 00:55:55,200 So that was definitely true. 982 00:55:55,200 --> 00:55:58,480 The match ended with Louisville having 12 and Penn State having 11. 983 00:55:58,480 --> 00:56:00,240 Oh, never mind. 984 00:56:00,240 --> 00:56:04,240 Well, Louisville got a bunch of blocks in the four set, but they were ahead. 985 00:56:04,240 --> 00:56:09,280 And that is a staple of Louisville's game, which was a little surprising to see them 986 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:10,600 not do that as well. 987 00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:12,480 I cried at the end. 988 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:13,480 I think you might have too. 989 00:56:13,480 --> 00:56:16,480 I'm not going to lie. 990 00:56:16,480 --> 00:56:20,120 You know, that is the beauty of sport. 991 00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:24,080 Like I said at the beginning of the segment, it couldn't have been written any better, 992 00:56:24,080 --> 00:56:30,520 you know, to understand the sacrifice that Katie Schumacher Collie has made all season, 993 00:56:30,520 --> 00:56:35,680 the fact that she continued to show up and like be professional and be there for her 994 00:56:35,680 --> 00:56:38,360 team, but also that her team was there for her. 995 00:56:38,360 --> 00:56:40,720 You could make a movie about it, honestly. 996 00:56:40,720 --> 00:56:45,960 It was a great story and it was a good ending to the season. 997 00:56:45,960 --> 00:56:50,400 And you're happy for everybody in that program and surrounded with that. 998 00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:54,480 And at the same time, you know, a little disappointed for Louisville and Anna. 999 00:56:54,480 --> 00:57:00,960 Congrats to Penn State, our 2024 NCAA Women's Volleyball Champions, their first title since 1000 00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:02,280 2014. 1001 00:57:02,280 --> 00:57:07,120 And they're within striking distance of Stanford for total national championship victories. 1002 00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:08,440 They now have eight. 1003 00:57:08,440 --> 00:57:10,920 Stanford is first with nine. 1004 00:57:10,920 --> 00:57:12,840 So yeah. 1005 00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:14,080 They'll be interesting next year. 1006 00:57:14,080 --> 00:57:16,720 They're going to roll over quite a few players. 1007 00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:23,040 So it'll be interesting to see who ends up there, how they do, well, if they're competitive. 1008 00:57:23,040 --> 00:57:24,640 But it was a great college season. 1009 00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:25,640 I really enjoyed it. 1010 00:57:25,640 --> 00:57:30,880 It is holiday season and there is minimal volleyball being played this week aside from 1011 00:57:30,880 --> 00:57:33,460 the pro leagues overseas. 1012 00:57:33,460 --> 00:57:37,760 So next week is going to be a little more fun, a little more laid back. 1013 00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:42,880 We're not going to do deep dives on matches, but we will be answering several listener 1014 00:57:42,880 --> 00:57:43,880 questions. 1015 00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:47,140 We've answered several in the last couple of weeks, so we're going to address those. 1016 00:57:47,140 --> 00:57:51,000 But if you have something that you want us to talk about, be sure to get your questions 1017 00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:54,020 into us by email, by Instagram or on YouTube. 1018 00:57:54,020 --> 00:58:00,500 For those of you who watch the video version of the of the show, we are also going to be 1019 00:58:00,500 --> 00:58:03,360 exploring the transfer portal. 1020 00:58:03,360 --> 00:58:07,520 I have very strong opinions about the portal, but there is some crazy stuff happening. 1021 00:58:07,520 --> 00:58:15,280 So next week is going to be very fun as we get ready for the NCAA men's season, PVF, 1022 00:58:15,280 --> 00:58:18,440 and the launch of love in the new year. 1023 00:58:18,440 --> 00:58:20,880 That concludes this week's episode of Volley Talk. 1024 00:58:20,880 --> 00:58:25,200 There's always something shaking in the volleyball world and we hope you enjoyed this little 1025 00:58:25,200 --> 00:58:26,200 fix. 1026 00:58:26,200 --> 00:58:30,020 Be sure to follow the show so you don't miss any updates and we would be so grateful if 1027 00:58:30,020 --> 00:58:32,320 you would leave us a five star review. 1028 00:58:32,320 --> 00:58:37,420 You can also find us on Instagram at Volley Talk underscore podcast. 1029 00:58:37,420 --> 00:58:41,640 As I said, if you have a topic you want us to discuss, be sure to let us know by reaching 1030 00:58:41,640 --> 00:58:46,440 out to us on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin.com. 1031 00:58:46,440 --> 00:58:50,200 Thanks so much for joining us and we'll be back next week. 1032 00:58:50,200 --> 00:59:07,640 Happy Holidays everyone.