WEBVTT

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Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley

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Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers

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who want to dig deep into what is going on in

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NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host

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Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball

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world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and

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longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And

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I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international

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volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat

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guy. We are business as usual this week. And

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full disclosure, we are going to take more of

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an international focus as the Men's Champions

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League quarterfinals started up and the Women's

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Champions League semifinalists are now set. So

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we are pretty excited about that. Conference

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play in NCAA men's volleyball continues to roll

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on with things going pretty much as expected

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this week. For the most part, there were a couple

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upsets, but nothing crazy. And of course, we

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have our usual love and PVF roundup. We are so

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excited to talk volleyball with you all. So let's

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get started. Diving into our weekly highlights,

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let's start off with Champions League. That was

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like a little treat this week. It was all of

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a sudden out of nowhere we had some amazing volleyball,

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both on the men and women's side. Highly encourage

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you to check it out if you haven't been watching

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it already. We watched some men's and women's

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matches in the Champions League space. And to

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basically let you know why we are focusing so

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much on Champions League this week is because

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the Final Four isn't until May. So you're going

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to get your love in PVF and NCAA men's fix for

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the next month and a half because the Champions

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League semis aren't for a long time. So we wanted

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to touch on those today. But the away matches

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happened for the top teams in the men's side

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of Champions League. Things went as expected.

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Almost. Zavirze beats Lunenberg 3 -0. That one

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was decisive. Yes. Perugia took down Monza 3

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-1. I think the most shocking part to me for

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that game was that Monza crushed the first set.

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And then nothing. Yeah. The last three sets went

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pretty much as I expected. I feel like Perugia

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was definitely... is definitely the stronger

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team. And we did get a question that we touched

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on last week of like, how the heck is Monza in

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the quarterfinals of Champions League when they're

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literally second last in the Italian league?

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It's a fair question. It happens. Well, I think

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you see it sometimes where they can't get it

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together in their league. And for whatever reason,

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whenever they have to play a Champions League

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match, everything just clicks. You do see it

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from time to time. And it was, this is one of

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those cases. Check it out. It was a decent match,

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but not the one we're going to talk about today.

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Halkbank Ankara beat Warsaw 3 -1, and the one

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no one expected. Olympiakos Piraeus took down

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Jastrzewski Vigil 3 -2. That is the match we

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are going to talk about today, because, oh my

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gosh, it was wild. Well, and just as a little

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preview, the announcer was shocked. The announcer

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was just hoping that Olympiakos could just like

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make it respectable. Yes. And that theme continued

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even as they were winning. Even as they're winning,

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the announcer is like, what is happening? I was

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like, what is happening? I think Jastrzewski,

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even Olympiakos were like, what is happening?

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This was an upset for the ages. The odds on this

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and the prediction of this, nobody thought they

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would win. People lost a lot of money on this

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game. 100%. That's all I'm going to say. For

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the women, the final four is... So, yes, you

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heard that right. Three Italian teams and one

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Turkish team. All matches went 3 -0 again. Except...

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We are talking about that one because holy man,

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that was another very exciting one. And just

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as a little spoiler, we got our golden set, everybody.

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Okay. If you roll it back to last week when Adam

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was asking predictions about which matches are

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going to go past three sets, I was so convinced

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that Azibashi was going to get it together and

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win a set. I was wrong. The games were a lot

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closer. A lot closer. But Milano still won 3

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-0. Yeah, I was not expecting that. I also expected

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Fenerbahce to come out of the match we're going

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to talk about simply because they had two chances.

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They only had to win two sets in the match, and

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then they had a chance at the golden set, and

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it just did not happen. Yeah. As expected, Scandici

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and Corneliano, handy dandy. No problems there.

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Actually, Scandicci won way more decisively than

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I expected. It was a beatdown over Woods. But

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the matchups are... Conigliano is going to be

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playing Milano in the semi. And then Scandicci

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is playing Vakifbank. Istanbul is hosting. And

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the way that the final four works is it's just

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like one match. Like one match semifinal, one

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match bronze. you know, the typical tournament

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format. I feel because Istanbul's hosting, they

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really wanted to make sure that Vakafenk was

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in the final. So I... They got the third Italian

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team. They got, in my opinion, the weakest of

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the three Italian teams, and then the other two

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are going to battle it out. But very exciting

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stuff. It was a great week of volleyball. Great

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week. In NCAA men's volleyball, our only... I

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don't want to say major upset because there was

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one more baby upset, but the only major one saw

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Lindenwood take down number 14, Lewis, 3 -1.

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And then Lewis turned around and also lost in

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five to McKendree. Right after I said I really

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liked how Lewis was playing and how fundamentally

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solid they were. So I'm going to keep those opinions

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to myself from now on. We just can't play these

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games anymore. Which is what we're doing this

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week. And we just can't even. talk about the

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teams we like anymore because as soon as we talk

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about it they tank even like when i'm announcing

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or commentating games i'm like i'll say something

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so nice about a player which you guys know i'm

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pretty harsh so like those compliments are hard

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to come by but i'll say something so nice about

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a player and then the next play they'll just

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like do something ridiculous and i'm like okay

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great well and Again, we are talking about 18

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to 21 -year -old men, so there's not always the

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most consistency there. But man, I did not think

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Lewis was going to lose those two matches. But

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McKendree is holding on to their ranking. No,

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and McKendree was a little more... Predictable,

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because it was a 14 -10. Yeah. The Lindenwood

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one, Lewis probably wants that one back. Like,

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McKendree has legit climbed their way to number

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10, and they are proving that they belong there.

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The team that still has not proven it to me is

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CSUN, who is still ranked number 7, got crushed.

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By Long Beach State. I know it's not just CSUN

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getting crushed by Long Beach State. Long Beach

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State, I want to see them play somebody ranked

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in the top five. Okay, they've kind of cruised.

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UCLA, when they played them, were just like out

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to lunch. It was not good. So I want to see Long

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Beach State actually play a top five team. Anyway,

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confused how CSUN is in the top ten when they

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haven't really beaten anybody. I think they beat

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Pepperdine in one match and that's it. Well,

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that might change because they play a couple

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ranked teams. Coming up this week. They do play

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some decent teams this week. Number nine Pepperdine

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beat number 11 Stanford 3 -1 two times. Back

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to back in Palo Alto. I thought that would be

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better than it was. Well, I think this was a

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case of Stanford makes you beat them, but they're

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a little undersized. And Pepperdine is a very

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big physical team. So it's not a great matchup

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for Stanford. Fair. And finally, our baby upset.

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is USC won the Outrigger Invitational. They beat

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Hawaii 3 -1. So by the end, Hawaii and USC were

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unbeaten. Ball State and Penn State were also

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at the event. So this was technically like the

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final, even though everybody was playing everybody.

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And yeah, USC beat them 3 -1. I'm surprised.

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That was a 4 -5 matchup, so it's not like anything

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crazy, but I like... I need to stop saying that

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I love Hawaii so much because I'm like setting

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them up to fail, I think, against USC and against

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Long Beach when that comes. Well, it's hard to

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go into Hawaii and beat them. And I expected

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Hawaii to win that tournament. Now, that match

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happened late last night, so we haven't had a

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chance to watch it yet. That's on my viewing

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list for today. But I'm curious what USC's strategy

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was. I'm curious how they went about. dismantling

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hawaii because i thought hawaii would win or

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did hawaii dismantle themselves well that's also

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a possibility so maybe we can come back to that

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next week and we'll see what happens after we

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watch it overall i feel like the ranking like

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last week heading into this week the ranking

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stayed pretty steady uh particularly for the

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top 10 you saw like A couple teams move like

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one spot, nothing crazy. I think we'll see the

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same thing this week. Curious to think about

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if USC will take over the number four spot in

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place of Hawaii. What the heck is going to happen

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to Lewis? Are they going to plummet? Which given

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what we've seen down there in the rankings, I

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would be shocked if they punish them for this,

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but we will find out. So another good week in

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NCAA men's volleyball. Looking to love. We saw

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in the head -to -head match, Madison beat Omaha

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3 -1. Now, Madison is skyrocketing up the standings

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after being in dead last. They are now tied for

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third with Salt Lake. And we'll talk about this,

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but Madison and Salt Lake play this week. They

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have the same record. They have the same record.

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They have Madison ahead of them. I don't know

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if it's like how they've won, because I feel

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like Salt Lake goes five with everybody. Yeah,

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I'm unsure on their tie -breaking methodology,

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and I don't think it's posted anywhere, but they

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play this week, so there will be a clear -cut

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3 -4 coming up, and we'll predict that match

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later on in the episode. If we go to the weekend

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with love, Houston beat Atlanta, so Houston keeps

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winning, and then Atlanta recovered beating Salt

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Lake City. Houston also went on to beat Austin

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3 -1 over the weekend. Houston and Atlanta are

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definitely sitting at the top. They have kind

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of separated themselves. Houston has won the

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last couple meetings with Atlanta, but Atlanta

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holds a better record, so we'll see how that

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ends up panning out. And as we said, Madison

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and Salt Lake City are tied for third with their

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record currently. They play this week, so that

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will get sorted out. And Omaha and Austin have

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made their way to the bottom of the league. So

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we currently have Atlanta in first, followed

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by Houston. Madison and Salt Lake, quote unquote,

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tied for third. And then Austin followed with

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Omaha at the bottom of the league. So things

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are starting to kind of find their way to where

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we thought they would at the beginning of the

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season, which is interesting to see. And we'll

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see how the league pans out over the next few

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weeks. Now turning to the PVF, Orlando did not

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have a great week. They were stopped twice. San

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Diego defeated them 3 -2. And then Omaha came

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back for a little payback and beat them 3 -1.

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Just as I said from that game last week, oh,

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is Omaha going to beat Orlando? And I'm like,

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no, absolutely not. I've seen nothing to say

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that Orlando's going to crack. Guess what? They

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were a little egg being thrown against the wall

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this week. Holy. So we'll see how Orlando rebounds

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coming this week after dropping two. Atlanta

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had a really good week going 3 -0. They beat

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Indy and Grand Rapids 3 -1, and then they beat

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San Diego in a really close 3 -2 win that went

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16 -14 in the fifth. So they had a very good

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week. And Vegas continues to struggle, as we

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talked about last week. They lost their only

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match to Columbus 3 -0. So that does not seem

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like it's going to right itself anytime soon.

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I mean, they looked pretty rough and discombobulated

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last week, just like we kept talking about the

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panic that it seemed like with throwing subs

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in and out, in and out, like who the heck is

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even playing? Doesn't look like they've sorted

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that out. They need to find some sort of stability

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from somewhere, whether it's from the coaching

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staff, whether it's from a player. Nobody seems

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to have any idea what's going on. They started

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so well. I'm like, what happened? Is it an internal

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thing? Have teams just figured them out and they

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also were just coasting, didn't want to, not

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didn't want to, but didn't make any adjustments?

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Like, I'm wondering. I feel like it's a little

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similar to Omaha in love. They clicked. very

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well early in the season, and they just haven't

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been able to keep that going or make adjustments

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when teams have played them tough. So I don't

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expect that to change anytime soon. I don't know

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where it's going to come from, but it'll be interesting

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to see how they finish because if they don't

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turn it around, they're in trouble. We have both

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Omaha and Orlando continuing to push for the

00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:38.299
top of the league. Right now, Omaha has a record

00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:41.080
of 12 -4, which puts them at the very top. So

00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.139
this week they're winning. Last week, Orlando

00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:45.259
was winning. We'll see if they just keep flip

00:14:45.259 --> 00:14:48.100
-flopping. Correct. So we'll see how that ends

00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:50.299
up going. But then the two teams following them

00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:54.940
are Atlanta and Indy. So we have a close matchup

00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:58.779
kind of with 1 -2 and 3 -4. That's probably how

00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:00.340
the league is going to play out. Well, I think

00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:02.480
it's the same. Like 5 -6 are kind of similar

00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:04.960
and then 7 -8. So there's just like groupings

00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.100
of two that are like kind of competing against

00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:10.639
each other. So those... individual matchups will

00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.279
be really interesting to see in the coming weeks,

00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:15.440
especially when those teams go head -to -head.

00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:17.200
Those are the matches that are going to mean

00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:20.700
something because the gaps in between are relatively

00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:24.759
large. And it's like, can you win your head -to

00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:27.840
-head, but also just maybe squeak out a win from

00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:31.200
teams that are ranked higher than you? Or even

00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.279
push them to five. Yeah, make up the difference.

00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:37.600
So the league, there are... Starting to be some

00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:40.279
really interesting storylines in terms of individual

00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:42.679
teams, who they're up against, and where it's

00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:46.039
going to be. All right. Our first feature match

00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.419
of the week is on the men's side of Champions

00:15:49.419 --> 00:15:53.259
League. Olympiakos versus Jastrzewski -Wigil.

00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:56.679
And I'm going to refer to those as Greece and

00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:58.940
Poland just because my international pronunciation

00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:05.120
is not the best. Totally fair. So this... was

00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:09.500
very humbling for me personally. As I'm watching

00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:13.820
these teams warm up, I'm like, wow. Olympiacos

00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:16.720
looks like a bunch of players who are on the

00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:20.240
verge of retirement. They're so old. What are

00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:24.740
they, like in their 40s? I looked at this roster

00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:27.539
because I was like, these guys are just like...

00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:29.980
cruising through the end of their career, just

00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:32.600
living life in Greece, loving it. There were

00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:36.559
only two players that were my age, like literally

00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:40.720
born at my year and the rest were younger. And

00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.879
here I was being like, wow, these guys are so

00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:47.259
old. No, apparently I'm the old one. So that

00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:51.330
was incredibly humbling. So now that that's out

00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:53.610
of the way. Well, I think we should put a little

00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:57.210
context on this match for people who didn't watch

00:16:57.210 --> 00:16:59.610
it or don't follow internationally as closely.

00:17:00.169 --> 00:17:04.750
Greece is not the best league in Europe. Like,

00:17:04.890 --> 00:17:07.730
this team had to fight through, as we've been

00:17:07.730 --> 00:17:09.569
talking about champions, this team, Olympiakos,

00:17:09.589 --> 00:17:12.410
had to fight through the preliminary rounds.

00:17:12.609 --> 00:17:15.150
Like, Greece does not get a team directly in.

00:17:15.309 --> 00:17:19.359
Correct. So this team had to go through the preliminaries

00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:23.619
before even being able to compete. Yeah, and

00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:27.440
if you looked at the rosters and who's playing,

00:17:27.819 --> 00:17:30.720
the Greek team definitely has players who, like

00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:32.539
you mentioned, are kind of at the end of their

00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:34.960
career. I would say one of their best players,

00:17:35.319 --> 00:17:38.740
Gord Perrin, who's Canadian, has retired from

00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:41.759
the national team, no longer playing internationally

00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:44.809
for their country. Probably took this contract.

00:17:44.950 --> 00:17:47.450
You're living a good life in Greece. It's a good

00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:50.309
league to be in. It's a good country. It's not

00:17:50.309 --> 00:17:54.029
where people go for the highest level of competition.

00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:57.789
Or for the most money. Right. It's just comfortable.

00:17:58.430 --> 00:18:01.089
And from what I've heard, it's just very laid

00:18:01.089 --> 00:18:05.269
back. You practice a few times a week. But don't

00:18:05.269 --> 00:18:07.990
get me wrong. These guys on this team. They have

00:18:07.990 --> 00:18:11.089
resumes. Or legends, okay? 100%. They have resumes,

00:18:11.170 --> 00:18:14.250
but I was like, I didn't realize that we were

00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:17.210
legit the same age. Yeah. Or they were younger.

00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:19.650
I was impressed sitting on my couch watching

00:18:19.650 --> 00:18:22.089
these guys play who are a year younger than me.

00:18:22.509 --> 00:18:26.430
I mean, okay, so the setter is Dragan Travica,

00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:32.690
who he is Italian, Croatian, but he played for

00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:36.089
legendary teams like Forever, Trentino, Modena.

00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:41.460
His dad is a legendary coach. So he is very good.

00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:47.200
Like 2012 Olympian, Gord Perrin, Canadian, also

00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.339
great career. Masulovic and Pajink are the middles.

00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:56.500
So Serbian, Slovenian, Atanasievic is their opposite.

00:18:56.660 --> 00:18:59.259
So like these guys have a lot of international

00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:03.900
experience for Serbia, for their country. They

00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:06.839
just haven't. And some of them still are playing,

00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:10.140
but they just, like, compared to Jastrzewski,

00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.619
where you're seeing Polish national team guys,

00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:18.019
like, we've got Thomas Fornal, who is a starter

00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:21.480
for Poland on the outside, Norbert Huber, who

00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:23.880
starts for Poland in the middle, Anton Brem,

00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:28.160
German middle, Lukasz Kaczmarek, who is one of

00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:29.859
the better opposites in the world. I think he

00:19:29.859 --> 00:19:31.940
got VNL opposite of the year, like, a couple

00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:34.519
years ago. Benjamin Tony Uti is their setter,

00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:37.160
who's French. He's a little older. But looking

00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:41.099
at the rosters, we're talking about current stars

00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:44.940
for very strong national teams versus former

00:19:44.940 --> 00:19:50.019
stars for national teams. Listen, so this match

00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:52.839
was in Greece. None of the Greek fans thought

00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:55.200
they were going to win. Nobody on the Greek team

00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.640
thought they were going to win. Nobody watching

00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:00.170
the match. thought they were going to win, including

00:20:00.170 --> 00:20:02.230
the announcer, who's supposed to be unbiased.

00:20:03.269 --> 00:20:06.589
And, you know, the Polish team, they thought

00:20:06.589 --> 00:20:08.390
they were going to come in here and walk over

00:20:08.390 --> 00:20:10.690
this team, which they did in the first two sets.

00:20:10.789 --> 00:20:13.029
In the first two sets, yeah. It wasn't even close.

00:20:13.609 --> 00:20:16.130
You had to watch this match all the way through

00:20:16.130 --> 00:20:18.609
because if you watch the first two sets, the

00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:21.509
Polish team just dominated. They were physically

00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:26.410
better. I felt bad. Watching it almost. Agreed.

00:20:26.430 --> 00:20:28.950
Like, they were blowing up these guys with their

00:20:28.950 --> 00:20:32.670
serves. Like, with their attacks. They were going

00:20:32.670 --> 00:20:34.849
up. It was like one -on -ones. It looked like

00:20:34.849 --> 00:20:37.470
the other team didn't even know what to do. These

00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:39.849
guys were going up, hammering one -on -ones at,

00:20:39.869 --> 00:20:43.049
like, the five -foot line. I was like, oh, gosh.

00:20:43.430 --> 00:20:46.230
Yeah, it was, you know, watching it, you would

00:20:46.230 --> 00:20:48.410
have turned the match off after two sets and

00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:50.230
go, this one's over. They're heading back to

00:20:50.230 --> 00:20:52.519
Poland. Like, see you in the next round. And

00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:56.420
then the third set happened. And, you know, looking

00:20:56.420 --> 00:21:00.700
at the stats, it's still confusing because the

00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:04.640
Polish team, I mean, quite frankly, was better

00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:07.640
than them. They had a better balanced offense.

00:21:08.180 --> 00:21:13.140
Their setter did amazing. They passed the same.

00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:16.279
They won in most of the statistical categories

00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:20.420
that matter. But the difference to me was, and

00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:25.299
I hate to say this, The Greek team dug or got

00:21:25.299 --> 00:21:29.200
hit by balls on defense and found a way to score

00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:33.759
afterwards. Gord Perrin went off and was almost

00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:37.960
untouchable in the last three sets. He had 35

00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:42.779
swings and had 20 kills. It didn't matter what

00:21:42.779 --> 00:21:48.079
he did. He scored. And their opposite went 14

00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:51.619
for 32. on the match, and he wasn't very good

00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:54.259
in the first two sets, but he went back at one

00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:56.779
point. So the turning point in the third set

00:21:56.779 --> 00:22:00.079
for me was the opposite goes back and rips three

00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.579
aces, and we're talking hitting sidelines. No,

00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:07.759
it was just like they were just playing the first

00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:11.220
two sets, and then it's like this guy goes back,

00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:15.259
Atanasievich, and was like, you know what? We're

00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:18.000
getting absolutely demolished right now. I am

00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:21.559
going to yass this ball up here and hit it as

00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.200
hard as I possibly can. And whatever happens,

00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:28.700
happens. They stayed in. But we're talking one

00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:31.900
curls away from the libero who gets aced. The

00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:34.299
libero shifts over. The next one he hits into

00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:36.799
the seam. And then he goes to the other sideline.

00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:41.000
Three aces in a row. Poland sides out. And then

00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:43.559
they go back and they get three massive blocks.

00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:47.039
They scored six points in seven or eight rallies.

00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:50.380
And they never looked back after that. It was

00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:56.240
crazy. And they didn't set anybody else. Those

00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:59.319
two players. Well, I thought Trevika set the

00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:02.039
middle. I think his hands are beautiful. The

00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:04.240
man is not jump setting. He's like, forget it.

00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:07.440
I need to save my energy here. I'm just going

00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:10.019
to stand on the ground and set. The delivery,

00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:13.099
though. He puts those hitters in a perfect spot.

00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:15.779
He was running that middle. I understand they

00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:18.500
were setting Perrin and Atanasievich predominantly.

00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:23.180
But I would say their Greek outside, Dalakouras,

00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:26.099
he came out of nowhere. And he started doing

00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:28.660
really well. Well, he's a baby, too. Baby, baby.

00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:32.819
And then Travita was running the middle from

00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:36.009
all these angles. And I'm like. Whoa. But I want

00:23:36.009 --> 00:23:39.130
to go back to that because watching the match,

00:23:39.269 --> 00:23:41.930
you got the impression that he set the middle

00:23:41.930 --> 00:23:45.710
a ton. I did because when he did, I was like,

00:23:45.750 --> 00:23:48.490
dang, that delivery is so good. I did not expect

00:23:48.490 --> 00:23:51.470
you to set that. And I thought the exact same

00:23:51.470 --> 00:23:52.910
thing. Do you want to know how many sets their

00:23:52.910 --> 00:23:54.369
middles got? Oh my gosh, this always happens.

00:23:54.390 --> 00:23:57.890
This always happens. Go ahead. Nine and four.

00:23:58.130 --> 00:24:01.829
In five sets? In five sets. Oh my God. And this

00:24:01.829 --> 00:24:05.410
is the beauty. I'm going to call him a magician

00:24:05.410 --> 00:24:10.809
for a setter, is when you feel like he is setting

00:24:10.809 --> 00:24:13.490
the middle at an uncontrollable pace, but he's

00:24:13.490 --> 00:24:18.410
not. But that's the thing. As viewers who understand

00:24:18.410 --> 00:24:21.390
the game very well, if we're thinking that, as

00:24:21.390 --> 00:24:25.230
a player or something who is so invested in the

00:24:25.230 --> 00:24:27.069
moment and is so focused on the game, you're

00:24:27.069 --> 00:24:29.029
probably thinking the same thing. Like, I have

00:24:29.029 --> 00:24:30.769
no vested interest in this match, and I'm watching

00:24:30.769 --> 00:24:33.170
this man's set being like, wow. He runs the middle

00:24:33.170 --> 00:24:35.529
incredibly well. If you are under that much stress

00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:39.109
as a player, you're probably not processing it

00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:42.430
either. So that was one of the reasons why I

00:24:42.430 --> 00:24:44.049
thought they were able to turn that match. They're

00:24:44.049 --> 00:24:47.049
outside hitters. It played incredibly well. But

00:24:47.049 --> 00:24:49.410
it just felt like the middle was always an option.

00:24:49.650 --> 00:24:52.890
And that opens up the pins for Perrin and the

00:24:52.890 --> 00:24:55.609
opposite, who, again, scored when they had their

00:24:55.609 --> 00:24:58.359
chances and had great... third, fourth, and fifth

00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:02.759
sets. But that feeling that the middle is always

00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:06.880
an option goes a huge way to opening up and allowing

00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:10.680
those outsides to be efficient. I will say Olympiacos,

00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:13.180
it's like in the first two sets watching them,

00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:17.619
you could got the impression as a viewer that

00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:20.180
they felt like they didn't belong there. They

00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:23.519
were not cheering. They were just like head down.

00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:26.900
Do not make any waves. Like, we know we're not

00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:30.220
supposed to be here. Just like, sorry, we're

00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:33.259
just going to play. Keep quiet. And then after

00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:36.500
those aces that you were talking about by Atanasievich,

00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:39.160
all of a sudden they started getting animated.

00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:41.839
They started cheering. They started to be like,

00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:44.119
wait a minute. And even the fans started to be

00:25:44.119 --> 00:25:48.740
like, whoa. He dragged them into that match emotionally.

00:25:49.380 --> 00:25:53.299
Yes. It was. incredible to see so there were

00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:55.079
two things that stand out to me looking at the

00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:58.779
stats for the match one was they out aced poland

00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:01.539
eight to three three of those happened all in

00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:03.900
a row so over the course of the match it was

00:26:03.900 --> 00:26:07.980
really five to three which is neither here nor

00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:11.859
there statistically over five sets but that was

00:26:11.859 --> 00:26:15.400
the turning point and then for me greece had

00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:21.579
121 attack attempts to poland's 104 So they were

00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:24.099
digging the ball or getting hit by balls. But

00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:27.799
that's the thing. I don't like attributing luck

00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:33.700
to victories. But the ball luck that Greece found

00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:36.700
in those last three sets, there were situations

00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:40.220
where it was off the shoulder of the defender,

00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:43.119
chicken wing from somebody in the front row,

00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:46.759
perfect set. And there were a couple... It's

00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:48.579
situations where the setter went up and hit the

00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:50.380
third ball and there was no block because nobody

00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:52.900
understood what was happening. They were still

00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:56.299
under fire from Poland. And whether you credit

00:26:56.299 --> 00:26:59.000
it to defensive adjustments, to being in the

00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:01.380
right place, or to not being able to see the

00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:04.539
ball because it was coming so fast at them, they

00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:07.619
continued some rallies that were just spectacular.

00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:13.539
Watching it, though, I honestly felt bad for

00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:17.710
Jastrzewski because... you could see them just

00:27:17.710 --> 00:27:21.289
like not knowing what the heck is going on and

00:27:21.289 --> 00:27:24.329
not knowing what to do. And I can relate to that.

00:27:24.369 --> 00:27:26.490
I've been in those situations where you're playing

00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:31.589
a team that you are better than hands down. And

00:27:31.589 --> 00:27:33.910
for whatever reason, they are just unconscious

00:27:33.910 --> 00:27:36.410
and just everything is going their way. And you're

00:27:36.410 --> 00:27:39.769
just like, okay, let's keep going. Let's keep

00:27:39.769 --> 00:27:42.890
pushing. We can do this. We're going to figure

00:27:42.890 --> 00:27:44.589
it out. We're going to break through. And it

00:27:44.589 --> 00:27:46.490
just wasn't happening. And you could see them

00:27:46.490 --> 00:27:50.390
like, holy, what do we do here? And they had

00:27:50.390 --> 00:27:54.210
a couple pushes. Like the third set happened

00:27:54.210 --> 00:27:56.329
and everyone kind of, you could see the Greek

00:27:56.329 --> 00:27:58.670
team was kind of laughing about it. Like, wow,

00:27:59.230 --> 00:28:02.190
three aces in three blocks. Like, let's see if

00:28:02.190 --> 00:28:04.890
we can keep this going. And the Polish team came

00:28:04.890 --> 00:28:08.009
out. You could see them take a deep breath and

00:28:08.009 --> 00:28:09.609
come back and be like, okay, there's no chance

00:28:09.609 --> 00:28:12.450
that this is going to happen again. But I will

00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:15.829
say the Greek team kept the service pressure.

00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:21.440
They went after every serve. Nobody took a night

00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:24.920
off. Nobody played it safe. They came at Poland

00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:27.779
hard from the service line. Well, and I will

00:28:27.779 --> 00:28:33.079
say, Timotei Karl, the French left side for Jastrzewski,

00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:37.539
he struggled. So I thought that was an interesting

00:28:37.539 --> 00:28:39.420
tactic. He does not like passing with his forearms.

00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:42.059
Oh my gosh, he went down to his knees to pass

00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:44.180
with his hands a few times, and I'm like, my

00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:46.779
man, literally, let's learn how to use the platform,

00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:50.059
okay? They went after him with a couple float

00:28:50.059 --> 00:28:52.240
servers, dropping that ball in short where he

00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.819
was like going to the ground and not passing

00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:58.539
particularly well. And I thought that was a genius

00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:03.339
strategy by Greece. Oh, absolutely. I was watching

00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:05.539
this match being like, this guy needs to be subbed

00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:07.839
out. And they did not take him out. They kept

00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:10.180
him in because he was a liability passing for

00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:14.440
them and attacking. He was struggling too. But

00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:18.559
I think like Yastrzemski is loaded. With Huber

00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:21.759
and Brehm in the middle, like, come on now. And

00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:25.339
then you've got Fornal, who is, I really like

00:29:25.339 --> 00:29:28.619
him. Me too. He's got personality. I really like

00:29:28.619 --> 00:29:31.779
him. And Kosmarik on the right. Like, there is

00:29:31.779 --> 00:29:35.420
no reason why you should not be able to score

00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:39.200
if you're Yastrzemski. But Timotei Carl's passing

00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:42.410
was a problem. Totally agree with you. And attack

00:29:42.410 --> 00:29:46.410
wise, he got set 22 times. He had 12 kills, which

00:29:46.410 --> 00:29:48.670
isn't terrible, but he made seven errors getting

00:29:48.670 --> 00:29:52.069
blocked five times. Like Greece scored a whole

00:29:52.069 --> 00:29:55.529
bunch of points off of him directly. Him specifically.

00:29:55.630 --> 00:29:59.250
And why, why he stayed on the court. That was

00:29:59.250 --> 00:30:01.990
to me, that was the one kind of coaching error

00:30:01.990 --> 00:30:05.650
or head scratching piece. I was like, clearly

00:30:05.650 --> 00:30:07.750
you have really good players on your bench. Like

00:30:07.750 --> 00:30:10.619
why not take him off the floor? Well, they're

00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:14.019
loaded. They've got some Argentinians on the

00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:16.920
bench. They're stacked with Polish players. I

00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:19.359
was like, at least switch it up just for a few

00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:22.380
points to see if somebody can make a better impact,

00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:25.480
but they refused. It's like they didn't believe

00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:27.299
that they were going to lose. It's like, no,

00:30:27.339 --> 00:30:32.240
we are doing this, and we are not bending. I

00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:34.680
don't think they made a sub at all. No, I don't

00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:37.059
believe they did. Four and all started amazing.

00:30:38.009 --> 00:30:41.670
And then you could see, like, he started to go

00:30:41.670 --> 00:30:44.170
down a little bit as the passing broke down and

00:30:44.170 --> 00:30:46.930
then, like, some passing issues of his. Like,

00:30:47.089 --> 00:30:52.069
yeah, it was, I felt bad for them. Well, to me,

00:30:52.210 --> 00:30:56.509
this is the definition of this is why you play.

00:30:56.890 --> 00:31:01.029
Anything can happen. When you have skilled players

00:31:01.029 --> 00:31:04.660
on both sides. People can have matches of their

00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:06.940
life. They can come out. A team can click like

00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:10.380
this. This was a match to me of why you play

00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:12.980
sport. It was so much fun to watch. You could

00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:15.380
see the team shifting. You could see the tension.

00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:18.579
You could see Poland puckering a little and looking

00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:21.380
at each other and be like, I literally don't

00:31:21.380 --> 00:31:24.299
know what to do. We did not prepare for any of

00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:27.299
these guys to do these things. No. And they just

00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:30.549
couldn't get it back. So the thing working in

00:31:30.549 --> 00:31:33.390
Yastrzemski's favor here is that they went five.

00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:37.380
So you will probably remember us talking about

00:31:37.380 --> 00:31:40.640
the PVF scoring system. So that scoring system,

00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:42.880
as we have talked about, is used all over Europe.

00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:44.920
It's used in Champions League. So if you win

00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:48.240
in three or four sets, you get three points.

00:31:48.380 --> 00:31:51.519
If you win in five sets, you get two. If you

00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:54.640
lose in five, you get one. So Jastrzewski left

00:31:54.640 --> 00:31:58.119
there with one point. So basically, if they can

00:31:58.119 --> 00:32:00.940
manage to win at home next week in three or four,

00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:03.750
they win the series. I want no prediction. because

00:32:03.750 --> 00:32:05.970
this is coming later. I am not predicting anything,

00:32:06.410 --> 00:32:09.190
okay? So that is working in their favor. They

00:32:09.190 --> 00:32:11.829
do have an opportunity. And I will say that environment

00:32:11.829 --> 00:32:17.890
in Greece was hostile. Those fans were unhinged.

00:32:18.490 --> 00:32:21.690
Unhinged. I expected bottles to be thrown on

00:32:21.690 --> 00:32:23.970
the court eventually. And trust me, I've seen

00:32:23.970 --> 00:32:25.849
it. I've played in Southern Italy. It happens,

00:32:26.009 --> 00:32:28.890
okay? So don't come at me for hating Greek people.

00:32:28.970 --> 00:32:31.759
That's not it at all. The environment was amazing

00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:34.000
for the Greek team. I think everybody in that

00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:36.480
stadium sang for two and a half hours straight.

00:32:36.619 --> 00:32:39.779
And then as they won, it got unhinged. They were

00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:42.859
yelling at servers. It was wild. The Polish people

00:32:42.859 --> 00:32:45.940
love volleyball, so I expect them to really show

00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:48.619
out. But that environment is going to be hard

00:32:48.619 --> 00:32:52.579
to beat. If you're just looking for a volleyball

00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:55.059
match to watch for the sake of watching good

00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:59.759
volleyball, this was a really fun one to watch.

00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:03.400
It never was dull. You were always curious as

00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:06.579
to what was going to happen. The momentum shifted.

00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:11.660
The team dynamics changed. This was just great

00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:14.380
entertainment. Go wait until the beginning of

00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:16.619
April if you want so that you can get just by

00:33:16.619 --> 00:33:19.859
one month of Eurovalley TV just to last you until

00:33:19.859 --> 00:33:22.440
the final four. Eight euros. Just spend your

00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:25.680
eight euros, your ten bucks. Two coffees. If

00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:27.779
you don't want to get more than one month. Just

00:33:27.779 --> 00:33:30.000
wait a couple weeks and then binge all these

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:33.940
games because you will not regret it. Our second

00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:36.240
feature match of the week is another Champions

00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:39.059
League game, this time on the women's side between

00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:45.140
Vakifbank and Fenerbahce. Wowee. This was another

00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:50.940
one that just had us just enthralled. Okay, before

00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:53.200
we get into this, I have a question for you.

00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:56.349
Yeah. If you were to look at these two teams

00:33:56.349 --> 00:34:01.890
on paper, which one is better? Well, VacavBank

00:34:01.890 --> 00:34:04.470
was my pick to win this series. Remember when

00:34:04.470 --> 00:34:07.589
we played the game a couple weeks ago? So VacavBank

00:34:07.589 --> 00:34:14.489
was my pick. I knew that I wasn't aware of Fenerbahce's

00:34:14.489 --> 00:34:17.389
entire roster. I think if I had known that, I

00:34:17.389 --> 00:34:21.880
might have had a harder time picking. I knew

00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:25.400
that Melissa Vargas played for Fenerbahce, but

00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:28.960
then I knew some of the deeper into the roster

00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:31.760
for Vakavbank. Yeah, let's just go over these

00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:34.239
rosters real quick so people have an idea. So

00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:37.039
for Vakavbank, the outsides are Marina Markova

00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:41.639
and Katerina Bosetti. Markova is Russian. She

00:34:41.639 --> 00:34:44.719
played at Syracuse and Florida. And now she's

00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:47.860
in Turkey. Katerina Bosetti, of course, captain

00:34:47.860 --> 00:34:51.099
of the Italian national team. The middle blockers

00:34:51.099 --> 00:34:56.840
are Yuan Jinwei, the middle for China, and Zeyra

00:34:56.840 --> 00:35:00.340
Gunish, the middle for Turkey. The opposite is

00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:03.900
the Canadian Kira Van Rijk, and then the setter

00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:07.800
is Kansu Ojbe, and the libero is Aitsa Aykac.

00:35:08.099 --> 00:35:12.699
So the setter and libero are Turkish as well.

00:35:12.900 --> 00:35:15.900
For Fenerbahce, the outsides are Arina Fedoroceva,

00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:21.360
the young. Russian prodigy. She has turned into

00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:23.360
one of my favorites. Oh my gosh, I love her.

00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:26.880
And Ana Cristina from Brazil. The middles are

00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:31.400
Ada Erdem and Ajli Kalac. So two Turkish middles.

00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:33.500
Both have played national team. Ada Erdem is

00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:38.179
the legend, has played forever. Opposite, Melissa

00:35:38.179 --> 00:35:42.880
Vargas. Setter is Bojana Dirca, the Serbian setter.

00:35:43.550 --> 00:35:46.510
who replaced Maya Onyanovich internationally

00:35:46.510 --> 00:35:50.389
recently. And the libero is Gizem Orze. So a

00:35:50.389 --> 00:35:54.710
Turkish libero. Wow. That's, I mean. Studded.

00:35:54.710 --> 00:35:59.750
Star studded. Both rosters are solid. But like

00:35:59.750 --> 00:36:02.050
knowing what I know now, I probably would have

00:36:02.050 --> 00:36:03.929
picked Fenerbahce because that outside combo

00:36:03.929 --> 00:36:09.329
is loaded. It's impressive. So going into this

00:36:09.329 --> 00:36:13.710
match. As we know, Fenerbahce won last week 3

00:36:13.710 --> 00:36:18.730
-0. So basically they had to just win the match

00:36:18.730 --> 00:36:22.449
or push the match to five sets to win the series

00:36:22.449 --> 00:36:26.650
outright. Fenerbahce won the first set pretty

00:36:26.650 --> 00:36:30.349
much on the back of Melissa Vargas who went off.

00:36:31.030 --> 00:36:33.809
Chipped three clean aces to start the match.

00:36:34.210 --> 00:36:39.239
And then was like unstoppable offensively. You

00:36:39.239 --> 00:36:44.840
had the feeling watching her that she was just

00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:47.599
going to single -handedly win that match. Which

00:36:47.599 --> 00:36:50.619
we have seen her do before. 100%. You thought

00:36:50.619 --> 00:36:52.280
the match was over almost before it started.

00:36:52.619 --> 00:36:56.679
She unloaded on those serves. It was wild. Okay.

00:36:57.059 --> 00:36:59.820
You guys have so many listeners have asked questions

00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:03.000
like, why don't more women spin serve? Go watch

00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:06.400
this match. There are so many women spin serving

00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:09.619
in these matches. And you will see the difference

00:37:09.619 --> 00:37:13.300
between this and NCAA women's. There is no comparison.

00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:19.079
The women in this match were punishing these

00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:21.659
spin serves. And that, if you're going to do

00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:25.280
that, yes, spin serve. 100%. Their shoulders,

00:37:25.559 --> 00:37:29.780
the tosses, the sheer aggressiveness. The spin

00:37:29.780 --> 00:37:31.219
they're putting on it. From the baseline. The

00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:33.619
movement they're creating. Like, you do not see

00:37:33.619 --> 00:37:37.369
that from college volleyball. Well, and so I

00:37:37.369 --> 00:37:39.869
think it's important. This match to me makes

00:37:39.869 --> 00:37:42.429
sense to kind of go almost set by set because

00:37:42.429 --> 00:37:44.769
you saw the match kind of shift. So in the first

00:37:44.769 --> 00:37:49.269
set, the story for me was Vargas. She was untouchable.

00:37:49.289 --> 00:37:52.230
She had three aces. I thought Fenerbahce blocked

00:37:52.230 --> 00:37:55.710
really well in that set. And the key stats to

00:37:55.710 --> 00:37:57.710
me that made the difference in that first set,

00:37:57.769 --> 00:38:00.070
which they won 25 -19, so it wasn't really close,

00:38:00.250 --> 00:38:05.519
was Fenerbahce had five aces to... and they out

00:38:05.519 --> 00:38:10.039
-blocked 3 -2. So you had significant serving

00:38:10.039 --> 00:38:13.539
and blocking pressure from Fenerbahce that was

00:38:13.539 --> 00:38:15.579
just unmatched by back -of -the -bank in that

00:38:15.579 --> 00:38:18.460
first set. Well, and Melissa Vargas was going

00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:21.639
off, which completely opened things up for Federer

00:38:21.639 --> 00:38:24.960
at Ceiba, who things should not be opened up

00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:27.719
for Federer at Ceiba, okay? She hits a heavy

00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:31.760
ball. And high. Like all of these women, these

00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:35.840
outsides are hitting the ball so high and at

00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:39.320
such a great like angle. Like, okay, keep going.

00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:44.360
So at that point, watching Fenerbahce win the

00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:46.760
first set, they only have to win one more set.

00:38:46.840 --> 00:38:49.179
They literally just have to win one. You thought,

00:38:49.260 --> 00:38:51.460
I thought that the match was pretty much over

00:38:51.460 --> 00:38:53.849
at that point. The way that the first set went,

00:38:53.969 --> 00:38:56.469
absolutely, that was the feeling. And as the

00:38:56.469 --> 00:38:59.369
second set progressed, it was super close. And

00:38:59.369 --> 00:39:00.989
they were winning, weren't they, in the second

00:39:00.989 --> 00:39:03.570
set? They were up. What was interesting to me

00:39:03.570 --> 00:39:05.590
was you could feel the tension in the second

00:39:05.590 --> 00:39:08.010
set. There were two timeouts called in the first

00:39:08.010 --> 00:39:10.750
six points. So I believe, if I'm remembering

00:39:10.750 --> 00:39:13.670
correctly... Guidetti called a timeout at 2 -0.

00:39:13.789 --> 00:39:18.469
It was 2 -0 for Fenerbahce. Then it flipped to

00:39:18.469 --> 00:39:21.989
4 -2, Vakith Bank. Fenerbahce calls the timeout.

00:39:22.110 --> 00:39:26.570
There was so much tension in that second set.

00:39:26.789 --> 00:39:30.889
That, to me, was the match. I mean, it wasn't

00:39:30.889 --> 00:39:33.110
the match, but it was so interesting to watch

00:39:33.110 --> 00:39:35.010
the back and forth. Well, I want to say, wasn't

00:39:35.010 --> 00:39:37.030
Fenerbahce up like 22 -20 or something at one

00:39:37.030 --> 00:39:41.269
point? They were up going down the stretch. And

00:39:41.269 --> 00:39:45.179
I was like, oh my gosh, this is over. Vakith

00:39:45.179 --> 00:39:48.599
Bank changed their setter in the second set for

00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:52.159
a stretch of time to try and change the momentum

00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:57.340
and get it going. And they did. And you had Vakith

00:39:57.340 --> 00:40:00.780
Bank won that set at the end, three aces to one

00:40:00.780 --> 00:40:05.139
and five blocks to three. And you started to

00:40:05.139 --> 00:40:09.519
see Markova. come on in the second set for Vagath

00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:11.679
Bank. And we'll keep talking about her. Well,

00:40:11.699 --> 00:40:14.480
and Vargas decreased in performance. But you

00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:18.500
know what I think was so impressive? Zara Gunesh,

00:40:18.659 --> 00:40:22.320
her blocking. Yes. And when her and Markova are

00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:27.719
paired up together, holy, they caused a world

00:40:27.719 --> 00:40:31.059
of hurt for Melissa Vargas. So this might be

00:40:31.059 --> 00:40:34.840
a hot take, but I think Gunesh was the player.

00:40:35.449 --> 00:40:39.630
Of the match. She was so good. She. I think I'm

00:40:39.630 --> 00:40:43.150
like, did this woman have like 15 blocks? How

00:40:43.150 --> 00:40:45.190
many does she have? If you watch internationally,

00:40:45.429 --> 00:40:47.989
you know who she is. She is outstanding. She

00:40:47.989 --> 00:40:53.070
had nine of their 17 blocks. Nine. And these

00:40:53.070 --> 00:40:55.070
things were coming down fast. They were like

00:40:55.070 --> 00:40:58.469
hitting the center line. Okay. So Vakith Bank's

00:40:58.469 --> 00:41:03.329
strategy was to ride two players. You had Markova,

00:41:03.449 --> 00:41:08.599
who was. Lights out. She got set 53 times and

00:41:08.599 --> 00:41:13.300
had 26 kills. Almost half of the time she swung,

00:41:13.300 --> 00:41:16.980
she scored. And then, to her credit, Kira van

00:41:16.980 --> 00:41:21.719
Rijk had 41 sets with 17 kills. Now, I thought

00:41:21.719 --> 00:41:24.679
she started slowly, but I thought by the end

00:41:24.679 --> 00:41:29.289
of the match, she canceled Vargas out. There

00:41:29.289 --> 00:41:32.170
wasn't a significant difference minus the first

00:41:32.170 --> 00:41:35.610
set as to their point production. And it took

00:41:35.610 --> 00:41:37.510
her a little while, but she found her footing,

00:41:37.550 --> 00:41:40.210
and I thought she played very well. So keep this

00:41:40.210 --> 00:41:43.650
in mind, 53 sets and 41 sets. I'm going to read

00:41:43.650 --> 00:41:46.170
the totals of the other players who were set

00:41:46.170 --> 00:41:49.869
in this match. The next highest was 11, and then

00:41:49.869 --> 00:41:57.090
10, 9, and 6. Holy. But neither team really set

00:41:57.090 --> 00:42:00.329
their middles. This was essentially outside hitters

00:42:00.329 --> 00:42:04.789
versus outside hitters. And quite frankly, Markova

00:42:04.789 --> 00:42:08.309
just set herself above the rest. At the beginning,

00:42:08.329 --> 00:42:11.289
she was hitting insane angles. And then she started

00:42:11.289 --> 00:42:13.349
looking for hands more as the match progressed.

00:42:14.570 --> 00:42:17.869
Kira Van Rijk, give that girl line, she's going

00:42:17.869 --> 00:42:21.110
to take it. Okay, she doesn't have a great angle

00:42:21.110 --> 00:42:25.780
swing. She doesn't hit sharp. Do not let her

00:42:25.780 --> 00:42:28.099
hit line because I was impressed with how she

00:42:28.099 --> 00:42:30.659
was able to find it. And she hits a heavy ball

00:42:30.659 --> 00:42:35.760
too. Heavy. Yes. So those two. And then we had

00:42:35.760 --> 00:42:39.320
Vargas start great. Federer at Seva was pretty

00:42:39.320 --> 00:42:42.659
solid all match. Anna Christina was quiet in

00:42:42.659 --> 00:42:45.179
the first two sets, but I thought her set three

00:42:45.179 --> 00:42:48.579
and four were so good. Yeah. She was actually

00:42:48.579 --> 00:42:51.719
the most efficient player for Fenerbahce. So

00:42:51.719 --> 00:42:55.289
the set totals were interesting. For Fenerbahce

00:42:55.289 --> 00:43:00.730
as well. So Vargas had 47, while Federer -Tseva

00:43:00.730 --> 00:43:05.329
had 48, and Ana Cristina had 33. So they distributed

00:43:05.329 --> 00:43:08.530
the ball between all three pin hitters better

00:43:08.530 --> 00:43:13.130
than Vakithbank did. But Vargas was 18 for 47

00:43:13.130 --> 00:43:15.690
with 11 errors on the night. She got blocked

00:43:15.690 --> 00:43:18.469
a lot. She got blocked a ton. And to me, that

00:43:18.469 --> 00:43:21.929
was the difference. Like, those blocks, because...

00:43:22.829 --> 00:43:26.309
Vakith Bank out -blocked them 17 -11. Gunish,

00:43:26.309 --> 00:43:28.610
for me, was the difference in that regard. They

00:43:28.610 --> 00:43:31.550
didn't set her a ton, but she set the tone when

00:43:31.550 --> 00:43:35.230
she was in the front row. And emotionally, she

00:43:35.230 --> 00:43:39.190
was so engaged, so fired up. I mean, her and

00:43:39.190 --> 00:43:41.329
Vargas are international teammates, so there

00:43:41.329 --> 00:43:43.989
was a little bit of swagger going on there. Well,

00:43:43.989 --> 00:43:46.389
they're buddies, too, I think. And she let her

00:43:46.389 --> 00:43:50.360
have it. And it was, it was fun to watch. It

00:43:50.360 --> 00:43:53.159
was a little chippy and I'm all for it. But like,

00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:55.880
so going back to what you said, they distributed

00:43:55.880 --> 00:43:58.119
for all three attackers. Katerina Bosetti is

00:43:58.119 --> 00:44:00.260
not there to score points for back of bank. She

00:44:00.260 --> 00:44:03.460
is there to pass and play defense. When she was

00:44:03.460 --> 00:44:06.679
getting set, it was, it was a struggle. Like

00:44:06.679 --> 00:44:10.719
she's not as big. She's not jumping as touching

00:44:10.719 --> 00:44:13.639
as high as the other way. Like she is there.

00:44:14.269 --> 00:44:16.829
For ball control, and that's it. And defense.

00:44:17.070 --> 00:44:19.969
She dug a ton of balls. Ball control. Yeah, fair

00:44:19.969 --> 00:44:22.510
enough. Oh, I'm just saying she did her job well.

00:44:22.570 --> 00:44:25.409
She 100 % did her job, but every single set when

00:44:25.409 --> 00:44:27.630
it came down the stretch, they subbed in Daria

00:44:27.630 --> 00:44:31.449
Chebichoglu to score points, and I thought this

00:44:31.449 --> 00:44:36.690
young girl did outstanding. Like, got subbed

00:44:36.690 --> 00:44:38.769
in every set when Katarina went to the front

00:44:38.769 --> 00:44:41.690
row. did her job, scored some points for the

00:44:41.690 --> 00:44:44.670
team, and then Katarina came back in to pass

00:44:44.670 --> 00:44:47.849
again. So I think that was a really smart sub.

00:44:49.289 --> 00:44:53.510
I wanted to see them use Yuan Jinwei a little

00:44:53.510 --> 00:44:56.829
more. I think she's like 6 '8", and every time

00:44:56.829 --> 00:44:58.349
they were running her on the slide, she was pretty

00:44:58.349 --> 00:45:01.050
effective. I think I would have liked to have

00:45:01.050 --> 00:45:04.449
seen both teams run the middle more, but it was

00:45:04.449 --> 00:45:08.079
really fun watching the outsides go at it. Well,

00:45:08.119 --> 00:45:11.760
I totally agree. But I had to think, watching

00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:15.679
Fenerbahce, when Vargas kept getting a two -man

00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:19.179
solid block, that at some point they would have

00:45:19.179 --> 00:45:21.320
thought, hey, we need to run the middle a little

00:45:21.320 --> 00:45:23.380
bit more. Gunas is just going out to the pin,

00:45:23.559 --> 00:45:26.320
sealing the block. That was the adjustment that

00:45:26.320 --> 00:45:28.340
they could have made to make life a little bit

00:45:28.340 --> 00:45:31.219
easier for Vargas. Well, no, do you remember

00:45:31.219 --> 00:45:34.739
they were trying to run the middle early, Fenerbahce

00:45:34.739 --> 00:45:39.940
was, and Gunas was just... chomping on it and

00:45:39.940 --> 00:45:42.920
then they said like when you're running a quick

00:45:42.920 --> 00:45:47.139
do not run it create space because every time

00:45:47.139 --> 00:45:49.940
you're running a quick they're they're all over

00:45:49.940 --> 00:45:52.820
it so use the quick as a decoy only set the middle

00:45:52.820 --> 00:45:54.559
if you're gonna run something they said that

00:45:54.559 --> 00:45:57.280
at a time out well and and that's fine because

00:45:57.280 --> 00:45:59.579
you She got those blocks early, but you have

00:45:59.579 --> 00:46:01.840
to go back to it. You can't let a player shut

00:46:01.840 --> 00:46:04.659
your whole middle attack down at the beginning

00:46:04.659 --> 00:46:07.199
of a match and not use it again. The mindset

00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:11.260
of playing is just so, yeah, 100%. That is 100

00:46:11.260 --> 00:46:14.280
% right. But it's just like everybody gets so

00:46:14.280 --> 00:46:16.579
wrapped up. We saw the coaches sprint onto the

00:46:16.579 --> 00:46:19.800
court three times. These people are getting so

00:46:19.800 --> 00:46:24.219
wrapped up in the moment that you probably can't

00:46:24.219 --> 00:46:27.110
think. as clearly as you want. You know what

00:46:27.110 --> 00:46:29.510
I mean? But that's your job as the coaching staff.

00:46:29.570 --> 00:46:31.610
I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying

00:46:31.610 --> 00:46:35.130
you could see the emotions were just out of control.

00:46:35.369 --> 00:46:37.550
But yeah, they didn't go back to the middle at

00:46:37.550 --> 00:46:42.070
all. As fun as it was to watch the outsides and

00:46:42.070 --> 00:46:45.909
to watch the blocking on display, I was quite

00:46:45.909 --> 00:46:49.230
disappointed with the setting from both sides.

00:46:49.969 --> 00:46:53.030
I thought it hurt. So two things. I thought...

00:46:53.780 --> 00:46:56.599
Fenerbahce's setter straight out hurt them. I

00:46:56.599 --> 00:46:59.300
didn't think she played particularly well. And

00:46:59.300 --> 00:47:01.840
I thought Vakifbank's out -of -system setting

00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:06.380
hurt them. It was not very good. Yeah, agreed

00:47:06.380 --> 00:47:09.179
on both fronts. And honestly, is it any coincidence

00:47:09.179 --> 00:47:12.280
that Serbia had the worst international season

00:47:12.280 --> 00:47:14.699
in recent memory with this girl setting them

00:47:14.699 --> 00:47:18.719
last year? Seeing her set against Vakifbank,

00:47:18.800 --> 00:47:23.349
I was like, this is terrible. And VacavBank was

00:47:23.349 --> 00:47:26.809
digging so many balls, and they could not put

00:47:26.809 --> 00:47:28.469
any away because their out -of -system setting

00:47:28.469 --> 00:47:31.309
was all over the place. Yeah, it was crazy because,

00:47:31.389 --> 00:47:33.590
like you said, Bosetti was digging a ton of balls,

00:47:33.690 --> 00:47:37.170
and they would put over free balls. So many rallies

00:47:37.170 --> 00:47:39.750
lasted forever where it was just VacavBank getting

00:47:39.750 --> 00:47:42.349
bombed with these balls and then sending free

00:47:42.349 --> 00:47:45.530
balls over and over again until somebody finally

00:47:45.530 --> 00:47:49.650
executed it. It was, whoa. Well, and the last

00:47:49.650 --> 00:47:53.329
thing that I wanted to touch on was in set four,

00:47:53.650 --> 00:47:57.909
Fenerbahce had multiple leads. They were up 16

00:47:57.909 --> 00:48:01.429
-12. They were up 19 -16, and they couldn't close

00:48:01.429 --> 00:48:04.969
it out. This game was so exciting just for that

00:48:04.969 --> 00:48:07.329
fact. It's like they win the first set, and it's

00:48:07.329 --> 00:48:09.150
like, oh my gosh, Fenerbahce just needs to win

00:48:09.150 --> 00:48:11.690
one more set, and they make it to the final four.

00:48:11.809 --> 00:48:14.110
They're up in the second set. Vacavbank fights

00:48:14.110 --> 00:48:17.150
back, wins it. And it's like, holy crap, they

00:48:17.150 --> 00:48:19.789
just had that opportunity. Then VacavBank wins

00:48:19.789 --> 00:48:21.989
the third set. Then the fourth set, and it's

00:48:21.989 --> 00:48:25.170
like, okay, Fenerbahce, this is their last chance

00:48:25.170 --> 00:48:29.650
to win this outright. They're up big, and we

00:48:29.650 --> 00:48:32.250
looked at each other so many times, like, how

00:48:32.250 --> 00:48:34.789
did they lose this? Because they were up so big.

00:48:35.710 --> 00:48:38.750
VacavBank just, like, found a way, and it was

00:48:38.750 --> 00:48:42.769
insane. And they, like... pushed it to the golden

00:48:42.769 --> 00:48:45.369
set because they won in four. And Fenerbahce

00:48:45.369 --> 00:48:49.309
was up 6 -2 in the golden set? You guys, it is

00:48:49.309 --> 00:48:54.030
crazy. I don't even know. It was like they would

00:48:54.030 --> 00:48:56.949
come up with these aces at the most perfect times

00:48:56.949 --> 00:49:00.929
and they would get blocks at the most necessary

00:49:00.929 --> 00:49:04.710
times. So one other thing, we talked about not

00:49:04.710 --> 00:49:06.869
running the middle for Fenerbahce, which I thought

00:49:06.869 --> 00:49:08.789
was an issue. The other thing that kind of had

00:49:08.789 --> 00:49:10.909
me scratching my head from a game plan standpoint

00:49:10.909 --> 00:49:14.610
was I thought Fenerbahce served Bossetti too

00:49:14.610 --> 00:49:19.550
many balls. Like, her only job is ball control

00:49:19.550 --> 00:49:24.690
and passing. You need to make Markova pass every

00:49:24.690 --> 00:49:27.769
single ball. You need to serve her short. You

00:49:27.769 --> 00:49:30.449
need to move her around. And granted, Bossetti

00:49:30.449 --> 00:49:33.000
was... poaching balls and stepping in front of

00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:35.800
her, which was what they probably trained to

00:49:35.800 --> 00:49:40.059
do. But they did not try and exploit Markova

00:49:40.059 --> 00:49:43.320
enough from the service line. in my opinion.

00:49:43.360 --> 00:49:45.460
Now, you have a couple girls who go back and

00:49:45.460 --> 00:49:48.519
bomb. Vargas has the green light to go back and

00:49:48.519 --> 00:49:50.860
just hammer the ball wherever she wants. She

00:49:50.860 --> 00:49:53.440
hits it hard enough to cause trouble wherever

00:49:53.440 --> 00:49:56.119
she decides to serve. But with the other players

00:49:56.119 --> 00:49:59.079
who aren't serving with that much velocity, they

00:49:59.079 --> 00:50:01.599
didn't target her enough, and she was free to

00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:04.519
go out and swing far too often, in my opinion.

00:50:04.719 --> 00:50:08.739
I agree. Katarina Bosetti, her passing is impressive.

00:50:11.220 --> 00:50:14.679
Markova used to be a middle, and what she's doing

00:50:14.679 --> 00:50:16.940
transitioning to the outside and what she's able

00:50:16.940 --> 00:50:21.300
to do, it's quite frankly incredible. But challenge

00:50:21.300 --> 00:50:25.159
her. She's 6 '7". Like, serve her short. Make

00:50:25.159 --> 00:50:28.019
her move. Just keep the pressure on her. With

00:50:28.019 --> 00:50:30.280
somebody, you're going to, if you have a choice

00:50:30.280 --> 00:50:33.119
between serving Katarina Bosetti or Marina Markova,

00:50:33.260 --> 00:50:36.170
the choice is simple. Yeah, and if you look at

00:50:36.170 --> 00:50:39.170
the stats, Markova passed 30 balls, Katarina

00:50:39.170 --> 00:50:42.309
passed 16, but it was too much. And their libero

00:50:42.309 --> 00:50:46.429
passed 40. So, yeah, they just didn't generate

00:50:46.429 --> 00:50:49.929
enough trouble from the service line to the right

00:50:49.929 --> 00:50:54.010
person, in my opinion. Overall, so entertaining.

00:50:54.389 --> 00:50:59.269
Not just from a skill perspective, but from what

00:50:59.269 --> 00:51:02.219
was on the line. Is Fenerbahce going to do it?

00:51:02.260 --> 00:51:04.360
Are they not going to do it? Like, we love a

00:51:04.360 --> 00:51:06.719
golden set. We've talked about this so many times.

00:51:07.239 --> 00:51:11.219
And an iconic rivalry. An iconic rivalry. Like,

00:51:11.239 --> 00:51:16.039
up 6 -2 in the golden set. Like, there were so

00:51:16.039 --> 00:51:18.099
many times where, as a viewer, you're like, oh,

00:51:18.119 --> 00:51:21.039
Fenerbahce's got this in the bag. And then, Vakafeng

00:51:21.039 --> 00:51:24.760
just found a way. It was so entertaining on so

00:51:24.760 --> 00:51:27.900
many levels. It was, to watch this caliber of

00:51:27.900 --> 00:51:32.000
athlete, like, Federer -Otseva. her career is

00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:37.260
going to be incredible. She's 20 years old. Even

00:51:37.260 --> 00:51:41.099
these players, Anna Christina is early 20s, Melissa

00:51:41.099 --> 00:51:45.659
Vargas, say mid -20s. The future is going to

00:51:45.659 --> 00:51:49.199
be very exciting, and it was just so fun to be

00:51:49.199 --> 00:51:52.159
able to watch this. Totally agree. If you are

00:51:52.159 --> 00:51:56.539
a volleyball fan and you're looking for something

00:51:56.539 --> 00:51:59.139
to watch, and I know we say this. probably too

00:51:59.139 --> 00:52:02.219
often, but this is the best volleyball there

00:52:02.219 --> 00:52:06.219
is. It was incredible. Like you want to see what

00:52:06.219 --> 00:52:09.139
we mean about the Turkish leagues, the Italian

00:52:09.139 --> 00:52:13.019
leagues, go watch this and you will see the differences

00:52:13.019 --> 00:52:15.820
that we are talking about between these leagues

00:52:15.820 --> 00:52:20.820
and other ones. So we are in the heat of it.

00:52:20.880 --> 00:52:23.480
We're starting to see specific matchups. We're

00:52:23.480 --> 00:52:27.329
starting to see. Final fours in place for Champions

00:52:27.329 --> 00:52:32.010
League. So what I wanted to do this week is I've

00:52:32.010 --> 00:52:34.789
picked out a couple matches from each of the

00:52:34.789 --> 00:52:37.590
leagues that we follow, highlighted a few games

00:52:37.590 --> 00:52:41.130
that are coming up, and I want your take on what

00:52:41.130 --> 00:52:43.389
you think is going to happen in those matches.

00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:47.079
Well, should I do what I think or should I do

00:52:47.079 --> 00:52:50.239
opposite day? Because whenever I make these predictions,

00:52:50.340 --> 00:52:52.820
they're wrong. No, I want you to give me what

00:52:52.820 --> 00:52:56.480
you think, and I will do this as well. So let's

00:52:56.480 --> 00:52:59.760
start with the Women's Champions League. So we

00:52:59.760 --> 00:53:04.260
have the semifinals are set. And remember, these

00:53:04.260 --> 00:53:08.139
are one -off matches. So we have Milano versus

00:53:08.139 --> 00:53:10.980
Conigliano. Gut instinct, who's going to win?

00:53:11.119 --> 00:53:13.829
Conigliano. Give me a three, four, or five. I

00:53:13.829 --> 00:53:17.210
think they'll win in four. I'm going to say Canigliano

00:53:17.210 --> 00:53:20.050
in five. I think Milano's going to push them.

00:53:20.130 --> 00:53:24.650
That's an Italian Cup rematch, which was a really

00:53:24.650 --> 00:53:27.329
good match. So I'm going to say Canigliano in

00:53:27.329 --> 00:53:30.309
five. And the other semifinal, which we alluded

00:53:30.309 --> 00:53:34.530
to, is Vakith Bank versus Scandici. Where are

00:53:34.530 --> 00:53:37.849
you with that one? I'm going to say Vakith Bank

00:53:37.849 --> 00:53:41.010
in three. I'm going to say Vakith Bank in four.

00:53:41.929 --> 00:53:45.829
Okay, so there's our Women's Champions League

00:53:45.829 --> 00:53:48.849
predictions for their semifinal. Now I want to

00:53:48.849 --> 00:53:50.489
go back. I'm curious what you're going to think

00:53:50.489 --> 00:53:53.829
here. So we watched the Greece versus Poland.

00:53:53.989 --> 00:53:55.750
We talked about that at length. What a great

00:53:55.750 --> 00:53:59.030
game. Now that was the first round of the men's

00:53:59.030 --> 00:54:01.190
quarterfinals in Champions League. They are heading

00:54:01.190 --> 00:54:04.590
back to Poland. What do you think is going to

00:54:04.590 --> 00:54:08.070
happen in that match in Poland? My instinct is

00:54:08.070 --> 00:54:11.530
that Poland will win in three. But should I give

00:54:11.530 --> 00:54:15.409
Olympiakos a bit of respect and say four? Well,

00:54:15.469 --> 00:54:17.570
I was going to say that Poland's going to win

00:54:17.570 --> 00:54:20.409
in three, and my caveat was going to be they're

00:54:20.409 --> 00:54:22.250
going to hold them to 20 and under in each of

00:54:22.250 --> 00:54:24.969
the three sets. I think they will for sure have

00:54:24.969 --> 00:54:28.590
something to prove, and Olympiakos had no business

00:54:28.590 --> 00:54:31.489
winning that match. That was a match of a lifetime,

00:54:31.710 --> 00:54:35.570
in my opinion. It was one of those magical moments.

00:54:36.219 --> 00:54:39.039
And I just don't see that happening again. Okay,

00:54:39.079 --> 00:54:42.380
I'm going to say Ostrowski in three. Okay. So

00:54:42.380 --> 00:54:46.599
those are our Champions League predictions. One,

00:54:46.659 --> 00:54:48.800
we have to wait until May. The other one, we'll

00:54:48.800 --> 00:54:50.300
know what happens next year. Well, I think the

00:54:50.300 --> 00:54:53.699
other Champions League men's matches will all

00:54:53.699 --> 00:54:57.559
be the same result that we saw. Yeah, I agree.

00:54:57.739 --> 00:55:03.699
I agree. Moving forward to NCAA men's. So CSUN

00:55:03.699 --> 00:55:08.219
has two matches. this coming week against ranked

00:55:08.219 --> 00:55:10.639
opponents. And, you know, we've been talking

00:55:10.639 --> 00:55:13.340
about them having a ranking and not playing anybody

00:55:13.340 --> 00:55:19.260
quote unquote good. So CSUN, who is seven versus

00:55:19.260 --> 00:55:23.840
Lewis, who I sewered last week at 14. You were

00:55:23.840 --> 00:55:26.659
nice to them. That niceness sewered them. Exactly.

00:55:26.820 --> 00:55:29.860
I picked them as being very well ball controlled,

00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:32.219
you know, a team that makes you beat them and

00:55:32.219 --> 00:55:36.159
they went and lost both matches. CSUN and Lewis.

00:55:36.320 --> 00:55:38.760
What's your prediction? Full disclosure, I haven't

00:55:38.760 --> 00:55:40.860
watched CSUN at all. I'm just like, yeah, why

00:55:40.860 --> 00:55:42.880
are they ranked top 10? Maybe I should watch

00:55:42.880 --> 00:55:47.500
them. CSUN and Lewis. I'm going to say CSUN.

00:55:47.739 --> 00:55:52.179
Okay. And then CSUN and Loyola Chicago. That's

00:55:52.179 --> 00:55:55.099
a 7 -8 matchup later in the week. These are hard.

00:55:55.300 --> 00:55:59.960
I'll say Loyola. These aren't like informed predictions.

00:56:00.420 --> 00:56:03.619
No, that's fine. So we've watched Lewis and Loyola

00:56:03.619 --> 00:56:07.449
Chicago play. We haven't watched CSUN, like you

00:56:07.449 --> 00:56:11.469
said. I think Lewis wins in five and Loyola Chicago

00:56:11.469 --> 00:56:14.289
in four. You think CSUN's going on two? I think

00:56:14.289 --> 00:56:16.590
they're going to go 0 for this week. That's my

00:56:16.590 --> 00:56:22.739
prediction. Dang. Okay, moving on to PDF. We

00:56:22.739 --> 00:56:26.019
have the Orlando Valkyries and the Atlanta Vibe.

00:56:26.019 --> 00:56:29.039
Oh my gosh. Play this week. Last week I was like,

00:56:29.159 --> 00:56:31.260
Orlando's not going to lose. I've never seen

00:56:31.260 --> 00:56:33.860
it. They haven't given me any indication. But

00:56:33.860 --> 00:56:36.679
like momentum would say. Well, and this is the

00:56:36.679 --> 00:56:39.460
interesting thing. So they're close in the standings.

00:56:40.119 --> 00:56:43.780
Orlando's coming off an 0 -2 week. Atlanta's

00:56:43.780 --> 00:56:45.880
coming off a 3 -0 week. I think Orlando was 1

00:56:45.880 --> 00:56:47.940
-2. I think they also had three matches. But

00:56:47.940 --> 00:56:51.619
they've lost two in a row. Dang, Atlanta's off

00:56:51.619 --> 00:56:55.340
of a 3 -0 week. Who's hosting? Do we know where

00:56:55.340 --> 00:56:57.420
they're playing? That I actually don't know.

00:56:58.300 --> 00:57:01.340
Oh my gosh, this is a really tough one. I'd like

00:57:01.340 --> 00:57:03.219
to think that Orlando can turn it around again,

00:57:03.280 --> 00:57:05.119
but maybe people have figured something out.

00:57:05.400 --> 00:57:08.670
You know what? I love a momentum shift. Let's

00:57:08.670 --> 00:57:12.829
say Atlanta. I'm going to go Orlando in five.

00:57:12.929 --> 00:57:16.110
I think this one's going the distance. But I'm

00:57:16.110 --> 00:57:18.269
a fan of Orlando, so I think Orlando in five.

00:57:18.429 --> 00:57:22.070
Okay, okay. And our last prediction moves to

00:57:22.070 --> 00:57:26.710
love. So Madison and Salt Lake play each other

00:57:26.710 --> 00:57:32.469
this week. Records are tied for third. And I'm

00:57:32.469 --> 00:57:36.369
curious who you think is going to win. Well,

00:57:36.409 --> 00:57:40.409
I just said I love a momentum kind of play here,

00:57:40.530 --> 00:57:43.170
and Madison's on a roll, so why not continue

00:57:43.170 --> 00:57:48.110
it? I'll say Madison. I like the way Madison

00:57:48.110 --> 00:57:49.690
has been playing. I think they're also going

00:57:49.690 --> 00:57:50.849
to win. I actually think this one's going to

00:57:50.849 --> 00:57:53.690
be 3 -0. Madison's just like, surprise, everybody.

00:57:54.389 --> 00:57:59.070
This is the only team Adam has hated since we've

00:57:59.070 --> 00:58:01.210
started the podcast, and now look at them. They're

00:58:01.210 --> 00:58:04.489
like... Coming on. Hey, I am willing to change

00:58:04.489 --> 00:58:07.610
my opinion if they figure it out and teams change

00:58:07.610 --> 00:58:09.730
how they're playing. So those are my predictions.

00:58:10.369 --> 00:58:14.610
It is time for listener questions. I've got a

00:58:14.610 --> 00:58:19.030
larger roundup than usual this week. So question

00:58:19.030 --> 00:58:22.769
number one is, do you think the relaxing of the

00:58:22.769 --> 00:58:26.130
rules on carries and double touches is positive

00:58:26.130 --> 00:58:30.010
for the game? I'm so torn about this. You are?

00:58:30.639 --> 00:58:39.019
I am not, shocker. So do I think that it is good

00:58:39.019 --> 00:58:44.219
for the athletes? No. Do I think that it's good

00:58:44.219 --> 00:58:50.260
for the viewing experience? Yes. You don't want

00:58:50.260 --> 00:58:55.039
to have whistles and stop action. From a purely

00:58:55.039 --> 00:58:57.659
viewing standpoint, I understand why they made

00:58:57.659 --> 00:59:01.079
the rule. I think the thing that bothers me the

00:59:01.079 --> 00:59:05.420
most is when a team gains an advantage from being

00:59:05.420 --> 00:59:08.559
able to do something super sloppy. Like if I

00:59:08.559 --> 00:59:10.699
hit the ball at you really well and I run a good

00:59:10.699 --> 00:59:14.039
play and it's like off the shoulder and the setter

00:59:14.039 --> 00:59:16.539
like flicks it from their chest, like you should

00:59:16.539 --> 00:59:19.820
call that. If you're in good position and, you

00:59:19.820 --> 00:59:22.019
know, the middle doubles the ball on a set because

00:59:22.019 --> 00:59:24.650
they got stone hands, like let that go. You know

00:59:24.650 --> 00:59:28.030
what I mean? I think there needs to be, and I

00:59:28.030 --> 00:59:30.309
don't know how you referee this fairly, but a

00:59:30.309 --> 00:59:35.210
little more gains in advantage to the call. If

00:59:35.210 --> 00:59:37.510
I could do it properly, that's how I would do

00:59:37.510 --> 00:59:41.250
it. I am a volleyball purist. I think it is a

00:59:41.250 --> 00:59:43.650
beautiful game, and I think that these rule changes

00:59:43.650 --> 00:59:48.730
are making it sloppy and ugly. I don't like it,

00:59:48.789 --> 00:59:53.389
and quite frankly, if you can't set, go practice.

00:59:54.000 --> 00:59:57.079
How to set. I think I said this in a very early

00:59:57.079 --> 01:00:01.840
episode. It's called Volleyball for a reason.

01:00:01.880 --> 01:00:06.460
The title skill should not be mutilated. Okay.

01:00:07.239 --> 01:00:12.019
So I think that the game is supposed to be played

01:00:12.019 --> 01:00:16.420
in a very clean, beautiful way. And I do not

01:00:16.420 --> 01:00:18.360
like it. And that's all I have to say about it.

01:00:18.539 --> 01:00:21.119
So this question came. as we've been talking

01:00:21.119 --> 01:00:23.679
about players and national teams, and it was,

01:00:23.719 --> 01:00:26.440
do you think Liberos should really go overseas?

01:00:26.900 --> 01:00:29.219
And this person was specifically talking about

01:00:29.219 --> 01:00:32.000
Lexi Rodriguez and Elena Scott. Love has very

01:00:32.000 --> 01:00:34.679
good athletes, and it's not like Liberos get

01:00:34.679 --> 01:00:37.880
to sign with Italy and Turkey frequently. So

01:00:37.880 --> 01:00:41.480
they're kind of comparing... You know, are they

01:00:41.480 --> 01:00:44.579
getting better playing in love and PVF or is

01:00:44.579 --> 01:00:46.380
it worth going overseas if they're not going

01:00:46.380 --> 01:00:48.440
to make a ton of money or play in a lower league

01:00:48.440 --> 01:00:51.460
because they don't really sign liberos? I'm curious

01:00:51.460 --> 01:00:54.340
what you think about this. Okay, we have said

01:00:54.340 --> 01:00:58.880
that it is tough for liberos to make a career

01:00:58.880 --> 01:01:01.739
overseas. If people are bringing in foreign players,

01:01:02.019 --> 01:01:04.219
they're usually point scorers. So it is tough

01:01:04.219 --> 01:01:08.820
for foreign liberos to like make a lot of money

01:01:08.820 --> 01:01:12.539
overseas. And you typically, I mean, in Italy

01:01:12.539 --> 01:01:14.460
and Turkey, the liberos there are outstanding.

01:01:15.059 --> 01:01:19.920
Fair point. I get it. My question is, is it better

01:01:19.920 --> 01:01:24.119
to sit on the bench in love and get no playing

01:01:24.119 --> 01:01:28.000
experience, or is it better to play in the PVF,

01:01:28.039 --> 01:01:32.260
which I personally do not think that the level

01:01:32.260 --> 01:01:36.639
is quite there? than to go play in Germany and

01:01:36.639 --> 01:01:40.300
France. And we can argue about how Germany and

01:01:40.300 --> 01:01:44.739
France level compares to love all day. I'd be

01:01:44.739 --> 01:01:51.119
happy to. But there is something to be said for

01:01:51.119 --> 01:01:55.519
practicing with and against those types of players

01:01:55.519 --> 01:01:59.500
every day versus being on a B side and not getting

01:01:59.500 --> 01:02:03.829
adequate game experience. Add to that the fact

01:02:03.829 --> 01:02:06.429
that you have opportunities to play Champions

01:02:06.429 --> 01:02:10.190
League, Chev Cup, matches like that, where you

01:02:10.190 --> 01:02:12.630
are going against national team athletes. The

01:02:12.630 --> 01:02:15.090
ball is coming at you faster, different angles,

01:02:15.349 --> 01:02:18.010
which you will experience internationally. So

01:02:18.010 --> 01:02:21.909
quite frankly, yes, I do think that Lexi Rodriguez

01:02:21.909 --> 01:02:24.610
and Elena Scott should go overseas because the

01:02:24.610 --> 01:02:28.389
opportunities for them to see. the opponents

01:02:28.389 --> 01:02:30.550
and the level of competition that they will play

01:02:30.550 --> 01:02:33.730
at the international level is just more realistic

01:02:33.730 --> 01:02:36.210
and more likely to happen than it is in love.

01:02:36.489 --> 01:02:41.989
And again, I personally go watch some Champions

01:02:41.989 --> 01:02:43.909
League games. It doesn't even have to be the

01:02:43.909 --> 01:02:47.389
Turkey quarterfinal matches. Go watch them. The

01:02:47.389 --> 01:02:52.110
level is not the same. And so, yeah, I think

01:02:52.110 --> 01:02:53.769
it is important for them to do that if they want

01:02:53.769 --> 01:02:56.789
a national team career. And that's... That's

01:02:56.789 --> 01:02:59.070
exactly the case that I think makes sense. If

01:02:59.070 --> 01:03:02.409
your goal is to play internationally for the

01:03:02.409 --> 01:03:05.510
U .S., as I imagine that it is for Elena Scott

01:03:05.510 --> 01:03:10.769
and Lexi Rodriguez, go and be the second libero

01:03:10.769 --> 01:03:13.849
for one of those teams in those top leagues.

01:03:13.989 --> 01:03:16.730
And listen, national teams do this all the time.

01:03:16.829 --> 01:03:19.929
Everybody knows each other. They could go and

01:03:19.929 --> 01:03:23.590
make $2 ,000 a month. And play for those teams

01:03:23.590 --> 01:03:25.809
and be in the gym. Those arrangements can be

01:03:25.809 --> 01:03:29.650
made. And you will play defense against Vargas,

01:03:29.769 --> 01:03:32.510
against Markova, against all of these top players.

01:03:32.690 --> 01:03:35.070
And it's just different passing that ball every

01:03:35.070 --> 01:03:37.090
day in practice. It's not even about the competition.

01:03:37.309 --> 01:03:39.730
It's about understanding the speed and the angles

01:03:39.730 --> 01:03:43.469
of how the game is played at the highest international

01:03:43.469 --> 01:03:46.630
level. Are they going to make a living? No. And

01:03:46.630 --> 01:03:48.949
that's fair. But it depends on what your goals

01:03:48.949 --> 01:03:51.659
are. Okay, this one's for you. If you hadn't

01:03:51.659 --> 01:03:53.960
played for Nebraska, what program would you have

01:03:53.960 --> 01:03:56.719
chosen to play at? And if you played in the NCAA

01:03:56.719 --> 01:03:59.320
today, what program would you choose to play

01:03:59.320 --> 01:04:06.239
for? Ooh, okay. A little story time with Sarah,

01:04:06.280 --> 01:04:11.860
I guess. So my recruiting journey was very interesting.

01:04:12.880 --> 01:04:15.780
When it really came down to it, I would say my

01:04:15.780 --> 01:04:22.329
top four. choices were Nebraska, Minnesota, Stanford,

01:04:22.429 --> 01:04:26.730
and Penn State. I was choosing between those

01:04:26.730 --> 01:04:31.969
four programs. And then I guess after visiting

01:04:31.969 --> 01:04:37.449
them all, my final two were actually Nebraska

01:04:37.449 --> 01:04:41.449
and Minnesota. So if I hadn't gone to Nebraska,

01:04:41.769 --> 01:04:45.269
I probably would have chosen Minnesota at the

01:04:45.269 --> 01:04:48.070
time. And actually my freshman year, they made

01:04:48.070 --> 01:04:51.349
the final of the NCAA tournament. So back then

01:04:51.349 --> 01:04:56.769
they were like very good. Today, well, and actually

01:04:56.769 --> 01:04:59.150
I loved the coach, Mike Hebert. When I called

01:04:59.150 --> 01:05:01.449
him to tell him I wasn't going, I literally cried

01:05:01.449 --> 01:05:05.210
because he was such a nice man. And I loved the

01:05:05.210 --> 01:05:07.449
Twin Cities. Anyways, there was a lot of reason.

01:05:07.670 --> 01:05:09.809
Minnesota would have been a great fit for me,

01:05:09.849 --> 01:05:13.610
I think, as well. But Nebraska was where I was

01:05:13.610 --> 01:05:17.170
meant to be. Um, today, if I played in the NCAA,

01:05:17.590 --> 01:05:21.030
this is a very interesting question. I probably

01:05:21.030 --> 01:05:28.070
would still choose Nebraska or Pitt or Penn State.

01:05:28.250 --> 01:05:32.130
The reason I say Pitt and Penn State, well, I

01:05:32.130 --> 01:05:34.150
say Nebraska because I had an incredible experience

01:05:34.150 --> 01:05:37.570
there. I think it's like an incredible volleyball

01:05:37.570 --> 01:05:41.929
environment. It's second to none. Like I wouldn't

01:05:41.929 --> 01:05:45.840
have traded my experience for anything. But observing

01:05:45.840 --> 01:05:50.079
the NCAA now, what I see from Pitt and Penn State

01:05:50.079 --> 01:05:54.699
is just a culture that seems very conducive to

01:05:54.699 --> 01:05:59.800
who I am as a person. And I think it's so beautiful

01:05:59.800 --> 01:06:04.340
to see how much the athletes seem to respect

01:06:04.340 --> 01:06:09.980
Dan Fisher and Katie Schumacher -Cauley. It's

01:06:09.980 --> 01:06:13.449
just like... It seems like a real family atmosphere

01:06:13.449 --> 01:06:18.250
where excellence is at the core. And they're

01:06:18.250 --> 01:06:22.570
gritty. They're gritty. Like, I just have really

01:06:22.570 --> 01:06:26.329
liked what I've seen both on the court and interpersonally

01:06:26.329 --> 01:06:30.869
from the team, like the athletes, and how the

01:06:30.869 --> 01:06:33.309
athletes engage with the coaches in those programs.

01:06:33.389 --> 01:06:35.849
So I would pick one of those three probably.

01:06:36.539 --> 01:06:40.619
Question four is, can there be in -season trades

01:06:40.619 --> 01:06:46.119
in PVF and Love? So the short answer is in PVF,

01:06:46.119 --> 01:06:49.119
yes. Wait, really? Yep. Teams and general managers

01:06:49.119 --> 01:06:52.119
can trade players, trade picks. In -season. As

01:06:52.119 --> 01:06:56.340
far as I'm aware, I believe that that is the

01:06:56.340 --> 01:06:59.059
case. I don't think you see it very often as

01:06:59.059 --> 01:07:02.579
of right now, but I believe that it is allowed.

01:07:03.070 --> 01:07:05.289
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe

01:07:05.289 --> 01:07:07.530
that's the case. Now with Love, it's a little

01:07:07.530 --> 01:07:10.989
more tricky because none of the teams are singly

01:07:10.989 --> 01:07:13.349
owned and operated and it's done by the league.

01:07:13.570 --> 01:07:16.250
I'm not sure what the process is. Now I know,

01:07:16.269 --> 01:07:18.829
and I think it was either Omaha or Madison recently.

01:07:19.190 --> 01:07:22.130
Madison recently added a player to their roster.

01:07:22.369 --> 01:07:26.750
So if I had to guess. I'm guessing the teams

01:07:26.750 --> 01:07:28.969
go to the league and make a petition of like,

01:07:29.050 --> 01:07:31.449
hey, we have an injury or we have this, this

01:07:31.449 --> 01:07:33.650
player's available, you know, can we bring them

01:07:33.650 --> 01:07:35.789
in? But that's different than trades. I don't

01:07:35.789 --> 01:07:37.070
think there would be trades. Right, I don't think

01:07:37.070 --> 01:07:39.429
there are trades either. But I'm just, in terms

01:07:39.429 --> 01:07:41.510
of bringing players in, I looked at trades as

01:07:41.510 --> 01:07:44.969
in like modifying your team. So, yeah, I very

01:07:44.969 --> 01:07:47.050
much doubt that teams would trade between each

01:07:47.050 --> 01:07:49.090
other, but in terms of adding players to your

01:07:49.090 --> 01:07:52.150
roster, I don't know what the mechanism is, but

01:07:52.150 --> 01:07:57.090
it can be done. Question five is where does innovation

01:07:57.090 --> 01:08:00.510
separate from rule changes come from? Does it

01:08:00.510 --> 01:08:03.789
come from coaches or players? And this person

01:08:03.789 --> 01:08:08.730
by innovation meant a new technique that impacts

01:08:08.730 --> 01:08:11.670
the opposition or affects how the game is played

01:08:11.670 --> 01:08:15.949
and is adopted by others. Yeah, I mean, I think

01:08:15.949 --> 01:08:18.670
all of those kind of competitive advantages,

01:08:18.770 --> 01:08:21.989
which is essentially how I see the question come

01:08:21.989 --> 01:08:24.840
from. players and coaches trying to do things.

01:08:24.939 --> 01:08:28.199
You can think about servers lining up behind

01:08:28.199 --> 01:08:31.319
defenders and blockers so you can't see. You

01:08:31.319 --> 01:08:35.420
can think about people coming in and faking a

01:08:35.420 --> 01:08:38.399
hit on two and jump setting a ball. It's all

01:08:38.399 --> 01:08:41.319
of these things that some are driven by players,

01:08:41.460 --> 01:08:44.359
some are driven by stats guys, some are driven

01:08:44.359 --> 01:08:47.859
by coaches who have ideas and you try them in

01:08:47.859 --> 01:08:50.470
practice, you see what happens and then... You

01:08:50.470 --> 01:08:52.210
break them out in a match and someone goes, oh,

01:08:52.229 --> 01:08:54.050
I really like that. I'm going to do that as well.

01:08:54.189 --> 01:08:56.449
So yeah, I think generally by players and coaches

01:08:56.449 --> 01:08:59.689
as they try and find advantages over other teams.

01:09:00.170 --> 01:09:04.210
And I mean, I think the biggest type of change

01:09:04.210 --> 01:09:06.909
we've seen from an innovation perspective is

01:09:06.909 --> 01:09:08.829
on the beach volleyball side recently. I would

01:09:08.829 --> 01:09:14.270
say the game since 2021 Tokyo Olympics to now,

01:09:14.430 --> 01:09:19.510
it's a completely different game. They've relaxed

01:09:19.510 --> 01:09:21.649
the hand setting rules. So you're seeing women

01:09:21.649 --> 01:09:24.310
in particular, so many women hand setting. The

01:09:24.310 --> 01:09:26.250
speed of the game has increased tremendously.

01:09:26.270 --> 01:09:28.489
You're seeing the offense be run almost like

01:09:28.489 --> 01:09:30.710
indoor right now with like how it's run to the

01:09:30.710 --> 01:09:34.329
pin, the jump setting. And I would say the jump

01:09:34.329 --> 01:09:37.329
setting innovation was probably started by the

01:09:37.329 --> 01:09:40.949
Swedish men. They came on the scene. They were

01:09:40.949 --> 01:09:43.930
really young, 19, 18 years old, and they were

01:09:43.930 --> 01:09:46.069
jump setting and nobody had seen that before,

01:09:46.210 --> 01:09:50.439
but it was effective. so many teams trying to

01:09:50.439 --> 01:09:55.159
do it so I think yeah it's like coaches being

01:09:55.159 --> 01:09:58.140
like I wonder if this would work or players it's

01:09:58.140 --> 01:10:01.699
a collaboration for sure but yeah and the last

01:10:01.699 --> 01:10:04.239
question we have for today is regarding positions

01:10:04.239 --> 01:10:07.100
so Skinner moved to the opposite as a hitter

01:10:07.100 --> 01:10:09.859
for love and she played left side in college

01:10:09.859 --> 01:10:12.539
what are the differences in the roles between

01:10:12.539 --> 01:10:15.729
an opposite and an outside And then also, is

01:10:15.729 --> 01:10:17.930
there a difference between the two outside hitting

01:10:17.930 --> 01:10:22.029
positions on a team? Opposite is typically regarded

01:10:22.029 --> 01:10:25.670
as the point scorer. So their main role is to

01:10:25.670 --> 01:10:29.670
score points in the attack, blocking, and serving.

01:10:31.170 --> 01:10:34.390
Outside hitters, you typically see them be a

01:10:34.390 --> 01:10:38.050
little more well -rounded and perform all skills.

01:10:38.310 --> 01:10:41.930
So they are required to pass and play defense

01:10:41.930 --> 01:10:45.590
in addition to scoring points. So I would say

01:10:45.590 --> 01:10:48.510
that that is like the main difference between

01:10:48.510 --> 01:10:51.390
the two positions. As an outside, you have to

01:10:51.390 --> 01:10:54.250
focus on both sides of the game. Not that you

01:10:54.250 --> 01:10:57.090
don't as an opposite, but the expectation of

01:10:57.090 --> 01:11:00.899
your role is not. on the defensive side whereas

01:11:00.899 --> 01:11:03.340
like as an opposite it's mostly like a single

01:11:03.340 --> 01:11:09.340
-minded focus of just score points so it's definitely

01:11:09.340 --> 01:11:13.020
a different mindset shift and the expectation

01:11:13.020 --> 01:11:16.779
of what you need to do on the court changes there

01:11:16.779 --> 01:11:18.460
is a difference between the two outside hitting

01:11:18.460 --> 01:11:21.279
positions so as we know there are three rotations

01:11:21.279 --> 01:11:23.500
when the setter is in the back row so there are

01:11:23.500 --> 01:11:25.119
three hitters in the front row and then when

01:11:25.119 --> 01:11:26.479
the setter gets to the front row there's only

01:11:26.479 --> 01:11:29.529
two So typically when the setter is in the front

01:11:29.529 --> 01:11:32.109
row and you have one less attacker, you want

01:11:32.109 --> 01:11:35.310
your stronger attacking left side to be up front

01:11:35.310 --> 01:11:38.050
with the setter because you have less options.

01:11:38.090 --> 01:11:39.890
You want to make sure that you have a prolific

01:11:39.890 --> 01:11:43.829
score up there with them. The hitter who is typically

01:11:43.829 --> 01:11:45.970
in the front row when the setter's in the back

01:11:45.970 --> 01:11:49.689
row is usually better at ball control and defense.

01:11:49.810 --> 01:11:52.850
They aren't required to carry as heavy of an

01:11:52.850 --> 01:11:55.170
offensive load because there are other hitters

01:11:55.170 --> 01:11:58.010
in the front row with them. So I would say that

01:11:58.010 --> 01:12:00.609
that's the biggest difference, unless you have

01:12:00.609 --> 01:12:03.250
something to add. No, I think that that was very

01:12:03.250 --> 01:12:05.689
succinctly put. Thank you so much to everybody

01:12:05.689 --> 01:12:08.189
who submits questions. We still have a very long

01:12:08.189 --> 01:12:10.289
list that we have to get through, but we love

01:12:10.289 --> 01:12:13.449
hearing what you guys have to say, answering

01:12:13.449 --> 01:12:16.449
the things that you're curious about. So continue

01:12:16.449 --> 01:12:20.029
to send them in. We love to receive them. And

01:12:20.029 --> 01:12:22.590
this is always my favorite part of the show.

01:12:23.180 --> 01:12:25.340
All right, looking forward to this week. Now,

01:12:25.359 --> 01:12:26.939
we talked about some of these in our predictions,

01:12:27.020 --> 01:12:28.720
but we'll go over them here, and you'll see them

01:12:28.720 --> 01:12:32.859
in the description on YouTube. If we look at

01:12:32.859 --> 01:12:35.260
Love this week, the head -to -head match is on

01:12:35.260 --> 01:12:37.960
Thursday at 8 o 'clock Eastern, and that's between

01:12:37.960 --> 01:12:41.420
Madison and Salt Lake, Madison winning 3 -0.

01:12:43.060 --> 01:12:48.149
You can see that on Love Live or DAZN. The Weekend

01:12:48.149 --> 01:12:51.729
in Love is in Omaha, so we'll see if they can

01:12:51.729 --> 01:12:56.350
turn things around on Friday and Saturday. The

01:12:56.350 --> 01:12:58.989
Friday matches are Omaha and Austin. That's on

01:12:58.989 --> 01:13:01.750
ESPN+. And the Saturday matches can be found

01:13:01.750 --> 01:13:05.779
on Love Live or the Women's Sport Network. Champions

01:13:05.779 --> 01:13:08.619
League men's quarterfinals are going to finish

01:13:08.619 --> 01:13:11.819
up this week. Those matches are going to be Tuesday,

01:13:12.140 --> 01:13:15.119
Wednesday, and Thursday, and you can find those

01:13:15.119 --> 01:13:19.560
on eurovolley .tv. If we look at the NCAA men's

01:13:19.560 --> 01:13:23.260
action, Friday and Saturday at 9 o 'clock Eastern,

01:13:23.619 --> 01:13:27.680
Grand Canyon and BYU play a back -to -back series.

01:13:27.760 --> 01:13:30.479
That's going to be on Big Ten Plus. And then

01:13:30.479 --> 01:13:34.380
on Saturday, CSUN plays Loyola Chicago at 7 o

01:13:34.380 --> 01:13:36.779
'clock Eastern. Again, Loyola Chicago is going

01:13:36.779 --> 01:13:40.920
to win that one. Probably on ESPN+. And finally,

01:13:41.060 --> 01:13:43.979
if we look at the PVF, Wednesday at 10 o 'clock

01:13:43.979 --> 01:13:47.199
Eastern, San Diego and Orlando have a rematch

01:13:47.199 --> 01:13:49.779
from this past week, and that is going to be

01:13:49.779 --> 01:13:53.380
on the PVF YouTube channel. On Saturday at 7

01:13:53.380 --> 01:13:57.159
o 'clock PM Eastern, Omaha plays Indy, and that's

01:13:57.159 --> 01:14:00.729
on Fox Sports 1. That concludes this week's episode

01:14:00.729 --> 01:14:02.930
of Volley Talk. There's always something shaking

01:14:02.930 --> 01:14:04.750
in the volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed

01:14:04.750 --> 01:14:07.470
this little fix. Be sure to follow the show so

01:14:07.470 --> 01:14:09.890
you don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful

01:14:09.890 --> 01:14:12.590
if you'd leave us a five -star review. You can

01:14:12.590 --> 01:14:15.189
also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore

01:14:15.189 --> 01:14:17.989
podcast. If you have a topic that you want us

01:14:17.989 --> 01:14:19.970
to discuss, be sure to let us know by reaching

01:14:19.970 --> 01:14:23.170
out to us on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin

01:14:23.170 --> 01:14:26.149
.com. Thanks so much for joining us, and we'll

01:14:26.149 --> 01:14:27.369
be back next week.