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 had a couple firsts this week and Quite

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by coincidence, these occurrences lined up with

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the matches that we were going to talk about

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this week. So there's your hint as to which matches

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we're going to talk about. Any guesses? You've

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probably read the title already, so you already

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know. But if you haven't, take a guess. Other

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than those things, PVF was heavily backloaded

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this week, which unfortunately does not line

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up with our recording schedule. We are going

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to be a little sparse in that area, but the other

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leagues and news are business as usual. We always

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look forward to talking volleyball and sharing

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our thoughts with you guys. So let's get started.

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Okay, as we said, we wrapped up the Champions

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League quarterfinals last week. So the international

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leagues, if they haven't started already, are

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getting into their playoffs now. So we highly

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recommend if you have Volleyball World TV or

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anything like that, there are some league matches

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that you'll be able to check out. Playoffs are

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always a fun time. So I know for sure that Volleyball

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World TV has the Italian leagues for men and

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women, the Polish leagues. Maybe other ones,

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but I know those ones for sure. But we actually

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got a question this week that was basically asking

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if the Champions League Women's Tournament quarterfinals

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was last week and the men's and it's another

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month before they play again, what do they do

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in the meantime? That is what they're doing.

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They are playing their country leagues. So as

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we kind of explained, Champions League. brings

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teams from all the European countries to find

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out the continental champion. But in the meantime,

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while they're playing that, they're also playing

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their championships within their own countries.

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So that is what they're doing in the meantime.

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The leagues are finishing up and then the Champions

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League semis are like the culmination of the

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season. On the NCAA men's side, we had some very

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interesting results this week. Things were a

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little bit messy. So this is very entertaining

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given everything that's at stake with the NCAA

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tournament. Well, and what Sarah means by at

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stake is let's go over the national qualification

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process for NCAA men's in case anybody doesn't

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know. It's very different from the women's. So

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on the men's side, only eight teams qualify for

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nationals. As opposed to the 64 for women. A

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lot less opportunity here. So there are essentially

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six conferences that get an automatic bid into

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nationals if you win the conference. And those

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last two spots are... coaches pull based off

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the ranking of the team, which takes into account

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your record, strength of schedule, so on and

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so forth. So essentially what we're going to

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be looking at is an extra team coming out of

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the Big West Conference, which has Hawaii, UC

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Irvine, and Long Beach, and then the Mountain

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Pacific Conference, which has UCLA and USC. So

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those are most notably where those extra two

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teams are going to come from. I mean, that's

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the assumption. Those are the teams that are

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ranked in the top five. And those conferences

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are much stronger than the other ones. So it'll

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be interesting. So right now, teams are basically

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trying to get their position to set themselves

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up for their conference tournament. Because even

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if you win the regular season, it doesn't really

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matter. You have to win the conference tournament

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and then do well enough as well. to get the one

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of two at -large bids. It's absolutely wild.

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It's so hard to qualify. And coming first in

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your conference generally makes a huge difference

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because if you look at the conference, there's

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two or three legitimate contenders in each of

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those. So if you finish first in your conference,

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you get a quote -unquote easier semi, and you

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don't have to win back -to -back tough matches

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to qualify. So there's a lot on the line. Which

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brings us back to the results from this week.

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And let me tell you, some of these teams are

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probably really kicking themselves. Let's get

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started. Okay, number 14, Ball State. Not really

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in the conversation, but they got beat by Quincy

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in five. But then they followed that up by beating

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number 10, McKendree in four. Now, McKendree

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also dropped their second match of the week.

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To number 17, Ohio State in five. So going into

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this week, McKendree was on top of the Meva.

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And they have now put themselves in a really

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tough position. And they are tied with Loyola

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Chicago. Is that correct? That's correct. And

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looking at that McKendree game, not the best.

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Sam Hoskin had 33 attempts and hit 061. And Kevin

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Schuvel had 35 sets. and hit 171. Those were

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their top two players, and those numbers just

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aren't good enough to cut it. They hit 199 as

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a team. They had 16 blocks and 51 digs. They

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didn't play poorly, but their top players needed

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to be a little bit better. They kept the ball

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off the ground, but they couldn't put the ball

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on the ground on the other side, it seems like.

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Because if you look at the Ohio players, so Shane

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Wetzel, who was their top... guy who got set

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the most, had 46 attempts and hit 196, so better

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than both of them. Still not amazing, but...

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No, but just better than the opposing team. And

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then Stanislav Chichinsky hit 286 on that match,

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so he was actually the top player in terms of

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percentage. Now, the one big difference in that

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match was Ohio State had 8 aces to 16 errors,

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which is a pretty good ratio, but they only had

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6 blocks. compared to McKendree's 16. So McKendree

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out -blocked them, but Ohio State out -dug them

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and had a better hitting percentage. Ohio State

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out -dug them? 68 -51. That is like the highest

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dig total in men's volleyball like I've seen

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recently. Yeah, so back and forth, close game,

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but Ohio State managed to edge them, and that

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was not a great week for McKendree. They're going

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to want this week back because they're going

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to need to get it together or else they're going

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to end up matching up with Lewis probably in

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the semis for Meva, which I'd rather not. So

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that was one thing that happened. Going to the

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Big West, number 18 UC Santa Barbara beat number

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8 CSUN twice. First in five, then in four. So

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this puts CSUN... winless in the conference so

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far. And we'll get into this later on in our

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game, but they are hurting with those two losses.

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I don't want to say I told you so, but like you

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guys, we have been asking why the heck this team

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is ranked in the top 10 for weeks. Well, their

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star player, Jaden Phillips, did not have a good

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week. In the first match, he got set 35 times.

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He hit negative 057. And in the second match,

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he got set 33 times and hit 091. Oh, dear. And

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that is just not going to cut it. Now, statistically,

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the matches were incredibly close. Across the

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board, serving. Well, yeah, they will be close.

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A matchup like that, I'm sorry. I've seen UC

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Santa Barbara play a few times. They just aren't.

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They don't have it. Okay? I hate to say it. They're

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just, they're not. that good but I mean to me

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looking at this though CSUN it was like they

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played two different matches within that first

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game they hit 074 in the first set right but

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then they proceeded to hit 478 and 464 in sets

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two and three and then they dropped to 111 and

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163 in four and five there was just no consistency

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across that board and looking at it UCSB hit

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350 versus CSUN's 234. At the end of the day,

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that's the difference. But CSUN is winless in

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conference play. And they lost to Loyola last

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week on their week off. Yeah. And their conference

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is very challenging. So I don't want to say they

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were unprepared because I don't know, but that

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is not a week you can have in that conference.

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I mean, let's not kid ourselves. CSUN was not

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coming out of the Big West. Period. Unless something

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crazy happened, but they're really not doing

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themselves any favors. Neither of these teams

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are ranked, but you know how much I love talking

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about Penn State this season. So Charleston,

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West Virginia beat them again. Pretty sure they

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beat them earlier in the season, this time in

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four. Luckily, Penn State has finally dropped

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out of the rankings because I think the voters

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were just like, you know what? We tried our best

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to keep you here and we just can't anymore. George

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Mason. Finally broke into the top 20 this past

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week. And then they went and lost to Harvard

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3 -0. We are saying just, it was a week of inconsistency.

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It is. I was like, this is an insane week. Goodbye,

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George Mason. You're probably out of the top

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20 again. The last upset, I would say, is Long

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Beach State and UC Irvine. They traded sweeps.

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with both teams winning on the road. This was

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Long Beach State's first loss of the season,

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so we have no more unbeaten teams in NCAA men's

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volleyball. This was a 1 -5 matchup, but I think

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given the sentiment around Long Beach State and

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their dominance this year, people consider it

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an upset. We'll talk about this game. We're going

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to talk about this one. We have been ready and

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gearing up for this matchup. Beach playing Hawaii

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for a long time. So we will dive into that later

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on back on track. UCLA beat Pepperdine handily

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in both of their matches. They won in three and

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four and USC beat GCU in four in both of their

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matches. So there wasn't all unexpected things

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going on, but just like the teams. that were

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either making strides and needed to keep riding

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that wave or the teams that needed to stay consistent

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to give themselves a chance, really messed up

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this week. And it will be interesting to see

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how teams recover from this later. In love this

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week, we saw Atlanta and Houston battling it

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out for first in the division. Not really Atlanta's

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records better. Nobody can catch them. As the

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top two teams in the league, and Atlanta beat

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Houston for the first time 3 -1. We're going

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to talk about this match later on, but I think

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that was a really big win for Atlanta. The Weekend

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with Love saw Omaha finally getting a win, so

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there is now a green circle on the website next

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to Omaha, which is great. It hasn't been there

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for a while. They beat Austin 3 -2, but then

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they followed that up with a 3 -2 loss to Salt

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Lake City. At least they got a win, though. I

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think that's important for them. It would have

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been really rough if they've just been like,

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you know what, we lost seven in a row. Like them

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and Madison just completely switching places.

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So at least they have that little glimmer of

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happiness. Madison had a good weekend also beating

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Austin 3 -2. So they're continuing to put wins

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on the board and trying to solidify themselves

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in that third place spot. So if we look at the

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standings now, because there's only one week

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left in the season before the playoffs, Atlanta

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has locked up first. Houston is in second. Madison

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in third. Salt Lake in fourth. Austin and Omaha

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are at the bottom. They're tied for last place,

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so somebody will probably take that spot next

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week when they play. Somebody will just earn

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that spot outright. Yeah, so we'll see how that

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plays out. It's pretty much set, although Madison

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and Salt Lake both have a game in hand, and Madison's

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playing Houston next week, so they could finish

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second. We'll see how that shakes out. They could.

00:13:05.429 --> 00:13:10.350
Madison needs to win both. Yeah. And then, yeah,

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there's variables that have to happen here, but

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there is a chance that Madison could go from

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the basement to second. I personally think that's

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unlikely, but we will see if they can pull it

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off. Finishing up with the PVF, as we mentioned,

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there's a ton of games on Sunday. So as we record

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this, we don't know what those results are going

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to be. But what did happen was Atlanta had a

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good week. They beat both Columbus and San Diego.

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Grand Rapids beat Columbus in five. Omaha beat

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Vegas in three. So the win streak for Vegas is

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over. Yeah, that was short -lived. That was like

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the Omaha love situation. Correct. They came

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back for a brief. spotlight, and then that's

00:13:55.750 --> 00:13:59.309
it. So Atlanta has a couple more games than everybody

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else, but they are primed to take second over

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Orlando shortly. Orlando's looking like they

00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:07.690
could be dropping into fourth soon. We'll see

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what happens. But if those predictions hold true,

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we're looking at a result of Omaha first, Atlanta,

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Indy, and Orlando as the top four teams. the

00:14:18.990 --> 00:14:21.350
top four go into the playoffs. So this jockeying,

00:14:21.409 --> 00:14:23.450
these positions are important as the top four

00:14:23.450 --> 00:14:25.509
teams qualify for the playoffs. So as we come

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down the stretch, we'll see what happens. Vegas

00:14:28.250 --> 00:14:29.789
is knocking on the door. They're going to have

00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:34.629
to win. But those top four are looking solid

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-ish at this point. Vegas is going to have to

00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:38.889
make some big moves if they want a chance at

00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:42.039
this point, I think, because... I want to say

00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:45.799
the top four all have a minimum of 11 wins, and

00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:50.120
Vegas is in fifth with eight. And at least one

00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.179
game in hand, I believe. So we'll see. I mean,

00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:55.279
Atlanta has played so many more matches than

00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.039
everybody. Yeah. Vegas needs to start winning.

00:14:58.100 --> 00:14:59.740
They need a winning streak, period. Yeah, they

00:14:59.740 --> 00:15:02.500
need a winning streak, and Orlando needs to stop

00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:05.120
losing because they're about to plummet. Our

00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:08.220
first feature match of the week is Love Atlanta

00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:13.259
versus Houston. What were your initial thoughts

00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:18.039
or primary takeaways watching this one? So I

00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:20.539
thought Houston looked really good to start.

00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:23.320
I thought they served well. They put Atlanta

00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:27.980
in passing trouble. Adams struggled to pass.

00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.860
I thought their defensive system was really good.

00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:35.750
They dug a ton of tips. They kept the ball alive.

00:15:35.990 --> 00:15:38.090
It looked like they had a strategy of tipping

00:15:38.090 --> 00:15:41.309
at Atlanta who could not pick up those tips in

00:15:41.309 --> 00:15:42.950
the front court that were kind of halfway in

00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:46.289
between position one and position four. I thought

00:15:46.289 --> 00:15:49.629
Jordan Thompson looked good. I thought Houston

00:15:49.629 --> 00:15:52.789
was going to win 3 -0. Atlanta looked flat. They

00:15:52.789 --> 00:15:55.649
looked disengaged like they had already won the

00:15:55.649 --> 00:15:59.529
league. Which they have. Yeah, and so I can't

00:15:59.529 --> 00:16:01.809
say I was too surprised watching the first set.

00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:04.139
And I was like, all right, here we go, 3 -0,

00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:06.980
wrap it up, doesn't matter, we're moving on to

00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:10.720
the playoffs. What about you? It was a really,

00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:15.139
I want to say almost frustrating match to watch

00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:19.100
because it was just, like, really messy. Like,

00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:21.179
you were talking about Houston serving. I personally

00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:24.320
thought that Houston missed a ton of serves,

00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:28.200
like, the whole match. It was wild to me, just

00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:32.179
over and over again. Atlanta looked like they

00:16:32.179 --> 00:16:34.460
were on a different planet in the first set.

00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:37.899
I don't want to say not putting the effort in,

00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.659
but if a player was blocked, people were standing

00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:43.940
and watching. If a ball was tipped, people were

00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:47.720
standing and watching. It was just not clean,

00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:51.559
disciplined volleyball. And after the score of

00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:54.679
the first set, it was embarrassing. It was like

00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:58.059
25 -13 or something. So I want to go back to

00:16:58.059 --> 00:16:59.700
the serving for one point because I think it's

00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:00.980
really interesting. Because you're wrong and

00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:03.120
I definitely want to tell you. No, you're not

00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.000
wrong. But so they had 13 errors in four sets,

00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.859
which isn't terrible. They had seven aces. But

00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:13.579
the issue was they missed a serve every time

00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:16.000
there was a break or a stoppage in the play.

00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:20.900
Like seven aces, 13 errors is not bad. Like for

00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:22.920
women's volleyball, that might be like slightly

00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:27.890
high. Yeah. But. Yeah, maybe it was that. It

00:17:27.890 --> 00:17:29.170
just became very obvious. It was the timing of

00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:32.730
the misses. Yeah. And the other thing about this

00:17:32.730 --> 00:17:35.170
game, nobody's fault of their own. There were

00:17:35.170 --> 00:17:38.730
so many challenges and stoppages in play that

00:17:38.730 --> 00:17:42.490
the rhythm and the flow of the game was broken,

00:17:42.710 --> 00:17:45.029
in my opinion. Houston challenged everything.

00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.970
But I was like, how does he keep getting challenges?

00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:51.920
Because they didn't win many of them. Well, to

00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:53.480
a set, I mean, you can have up to eight and you

00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:56.460
have timeouts. It was very disjointed in that

00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:58.880
regard. But almost all of their service misses

00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.500
came after those breaks in play, which I thought

00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:05.380
killed them down the stretch. Okay, totally fair.

00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:09.619
But after the first set, it was like opposite

00:18:09.619 --> 00:18:14.160
day. And then Houston looked completely out to

00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:17.740
lunch. And then Atlanta seemed to find their

00:18:17.740 --> 00:18:21.819
rhythm. And players started scoring and whatnot.

00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:24.440
But it was just really hard for me to comprehend

00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:31.160
the massive swing in not just momentum, but just

00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:38.440
execution, attitude, intensity, what appeared

00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:43.869
to be focus. Just, yeah. I don't know. So there

00:18:43.869 --> 00:18:45.750
were a couple things that stuck out to me from

00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:49.170
a strategy standpoint. So Adam struggled at the

00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:51.549
beginning of that match. I believe she got pulled

00:18:51.549 --> 00:18:54.109
in the second set. Yeah, her passing was good.

00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:56.450
Her passing wasn't very good. So she came off

00:18:56.450 --> 00:19:00.809
the court, and then Houston targeted the libero

00:19:00.809 --> 00:19:04.099
for Atlanta. who I think struggled maybe for

00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:06.759
the first four passes, but then settled in and

00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.160
found her rhythm. And I thought passed really

00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.279
well. The first set in a bit, she struggled,

00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:15.519
yeah. But she found her rhythm and passed well.

00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:20.160
Adams came back into the match, and Houston never

00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:23.160
adjusted their serving strategy to go back at

00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:25.299
her. And I know they were pinching her, but I'm

00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:28.180
sorry, you can still get her the ball. And Adams

00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:31.910
went off. in the rest of that match from an attacking

00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:35.670
standpoint. She finished with 18 points, hitting

00:19:35.670 --> 00:19:40.609
462 on the match after struggling in the first

00:19:40.609 --> 00:19:42.849
set. So you know that that means... So take the

00:19:42.849 --> 00:19:46.190
first set away and it's like she hit like 700.

00:19:46.650 --> 00:19:50.670
Yeah, it was crazy how well she played. And they

00:19:50.670 --> 00:19:52.450
never did anything, in my opinion, to really

00:19:52.450 --> 00:19:55.289
slow her down. That was a very confusing thing

00:19:55.289 --> 00:19:59.440
to me too. Micah Hancock's serving definitely

00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:03.140
caused issues for Atlanta in set one, particularly

00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:06.059
for the libero in the passing left side, whoever

00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:10.119
it happened to be at that time. But my thing,

00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:12.619
and I agree with what you said, is once your

00:20:12.619 --> 00:20:16.900
serving target finds that rhythm, you need to

00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:20.740
make an adjustment. Because the Atlanta libero

00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:24.039
was just dialed in in sets three and four in

00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:27.150
particular. And it's like, okay, Kelsey Cook

00:20:27.150 --> 00:20:30.930
and the Libero were taking 80 % of the court,

00:20:31.029 --> 00:20:35.250
I would say. So they know, obviously. Sure. But

00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:40.109
try to serve Adams short. Try to, you know. Serve

00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:41.849
the seam between her and the Libero. So there's

00:20:41.849 --> 00:20:43.849
at least a decision. Yeah, make a decision happen.

00:20:44.009 --> 00:20:46.430
Or like serve the middle short. Try something.

00:20:46.589 --> 00:20:50.470
But they served the same person the whole match.

00:20:50.630 --> 00:20:54.250
And I'm like, this was a really good plan early.

00:20:54.910 --> 00:20:57.529
But they figured it out. It's time to adjust

00:20:57.529 --> 00:21:02.349
back. Now, the other thing that I saw was, to

00:21:02.349 --> 00:21:06.089
me, it looked like Houston was trying to tip

00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:09.549
the ball at Atlanta in that middle court between

00:21:09.549 --> 00:21:12.509
the left court digger and whoever was digging

00:21:12.509 --> 00:21:15.630
in one. Generally, that was Fairbanks. And they

00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:18.450
didn't do a good job of covering the court on

00:21:18.450 --> 00:21:23.799
those tip situations. It almost seemed to me

00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:27.220
that Houston was so focused on executing that

00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:30.400
tip game plan that they weren't swinging at the

00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.079
ball. They weren't scoring to swing when the

00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:35.960
defense moved in on the court and kind of packed

00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:37.900
it in a little bit. They didn't adjust in that

00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:41.460
regard either. And, you know, Jordan Thompson

00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:45.680
struggled after 20. She hit it to Kelsey Cook

00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:50.349
directly in six. No movement at all. So this

00:21:50.349 --> 00:21:52.049
was really interesting. I thought Kelsey Cook's

00:21:52.049 --> 00:21:55.089
defense was outstanding in this match. Oh, absolutely.

00:21:55.089 --> 00:21:57.769
It was. And I'm not trying to take anything away

00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:00.970
from her by saying that Jordan Thompson was hitting

00:22:00.970 --> 00:22:05.210
the ball right at her. No. Overall, Kelsey's

00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:09.829
defense kept Atlanta going and kept them in it

00:22:09.829 --> 00:22:12.930
because the read she had on the game, she was

00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:17.000
covering sideline to sideline. Reading everybody.

00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:21.960
It just so happened that after 20, Jordan Thompson

00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:24.660
was just hitting to six. And I don't know if

00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:26.500
that was on purpose and they wanted to funnel

00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:30.519
her to Kelsey, give her a visual maybe of a seam.

00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:35.789
But she just ate her up. It's not very often

00:22:35.789 --> 00:22:38.970
that the game plan against a top hitter is to

00:22:38.970 --> 00:22:41.789
neutralize them with a defender. But that's exactly

00:22:41.789 --> 00:22:43.970
what happened. Because when they were in one

00:22:43.970 --> 00:22:46.970
or two rotations with Kelsey in the front row

00:22:46.970 --> 00:22:48.670
with Jordan Thompson, Jordan Thompson scored.

00:22:48.930 --> 00:22:52.329
As soon as she rotated to the back row, Jordan

00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:54.210
Thompson couldn't score anymore. She was moving

00:22:54.210 --> 00:22:56.880
all over the place. I thought that was... either

00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:58.900
incredibly fortuitous that she was in the back

00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:00.980
row or a great game plan because... Well, they

00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:04.380
probably planned it. They probably wanted Kelsey

00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:08.039
defending their best attacker. I thought that

00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:10.039
was the difference in the match, quite frankly,

00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:12.359
because Jordan Thompson started scoring really

00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:14.940
well, and they took that away from her. No, we

00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:17.339
made numerous mentions while we were watching

00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:19.640
it live, and we were like, wow, her defense is

00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:24.190
outstanding. Yeah. She also performed offensively,

00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:26.730
too. Like, she found a new level. In set one,

00:23:26.910 --> 00:23:31.329
things were a little disjointed, but she found

00:23:31.329 --> 00:23:33.829
a new level and was very explosive offensively,

00:23:33.829 --> 00:23:37.450
too, which, as we've talked about, Cook's strengths

00:23:37.450 --> 00:23:41.750
are her ball control and defense. So, I mean,

00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:43.769
obviously her role in love has had to be different

00:23:43.769 --> 00:23:47.710
than it has been on past teams, but I think she

00:23:47.710 --> 00:23:49.480
was great. Those are the players that played

00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:52.480
well. Let's flip the script and talk about...

00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.740
Can I just say Halasheva's blocking for Atlanta?

00:23:56.900 --> 00:24:00.539
That really impressed me too. She... Atlanta

00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:04.259
put up a wall on Houston. Once they figured it

00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:08.539
out, it was nice. So give me your thoughts on

00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:15.980
Coutinho, who had 38 attempts and hit 079. And

00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.539
at the same time, if we flip sides to Houston,

00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:27.140
Jess Merzik had 26 attempts and hit 077. Katina,

00:24:27.259 --> 00:24:30.480
I don't know what is going on. It looks like

00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:33.400
her timing is off sometimes. Like she has a hard

00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.819
time identifying. when to wait on her approach

00:24:37.819 --> 00:24:40.079
and when to just go and I don't know if that's

00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:42.819
like a setter connection issue or if that's something

00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:45.140
that historically has has been a problem for

00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:47.200
her but like there would be times where she would

00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.200
jump be on her way down off the net and then

00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:53.759
be trying to tip it and I'm like this isn't gonna

00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:56.539
work out or she'd be under the ball ball behind

00:24:56.539 --> 00:25:00.799
her head trying to throw it for it like it was

00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:05.680
not smooth she did not look in rhythm to me Well,

00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:09.660
and Atlanta had spurts of passing issues, and

00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:12.039
it just seemed like she was never able to identify

00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:15.539
those situations and adjust her approach with

00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:18.480
those things. And if it wasn't just in the right

00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:23.319
place, it was not pretty. It was rough, yeah.

00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:29.660
Mirzik, on the other hand, she did nothing. Her

00:25:29.660 --> 00:25:32.700
passing was a huge liability. She was missing

00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:37.299
serves. She was looking for hands and just hitting

00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:44.759
balls into the bleach. She looked off. It was

00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:49.380
tough to watch. Seven kills, four errors, blocked

00:25:49.380 --> 00:25:54.720
once on 26 attempts. Yeah, she looked disengaged

00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:57.480
to me for the whole match. Yeah, I was really

00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:01.059
surprised to see that performance from her in

00:26:01.059 --> 00:26:04.000
this match. I thought, okay, so let me ask you

00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.079
this. Who do you think this match was more important

00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:10.079
for? If I'm looking at the regular season, which

00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:12.740
in love, the regular season does not matter.

00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:15.140
So I guess if you think about it that way, because

00:26:15.140 --> 00:26:19.619
like Houston is trying to hold off Madison. Nobody's

00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:22.019
going to catch Atlanta. So this one was basically

00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:25.599
like, let's hold on and make sure that we can

00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:29.640
get second. Whether they finish second or third,

00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:31.240
they're probably going to play the same team

00:26:31.240 --> 00:26:33.859
in the playoffs. Correct. So it's like Atlanta

00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:37.779
hasn't beaten Houston yet, and so heading into

00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:42.079
what will likely be the final, if things hold

00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:44.680
the way we think, that probably is a morale boost.

00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:48.140
Especially after getting hammered in the first

00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:51.960
set, I thought that response from Atlanta, just

00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:55.140
to know that they can beat them, will be big

00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:58.109
going into the playoffs. So if we take this and

00:26:58.109 --> 00:26:59.710
we make the assumption that these two teams are

00:26:59.710 --> 00:27:01.589
going to play in the finals, who do you think,

00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:04.210
I mean, let's say it's Jess Merzik and Coutinho

00:27:04.210 --> 00:27:06.670
who need to elevate to give their team a chance.

00:27:07.670 --> 00:27:09.789
To me, that's where I think the difference is

00:27:09.789 --> 00:27:12.069
going to come down to. Jordan Thompson is a bit

00:27:12.069 --> 00:27:14.930
of a wild card in terms of how she plays, but

00:27:14.930 --> 00:27:17.130
she's generally been pretty consistent. She's

00:27:17.130 --> 00:27:20.210
been good for the most part of the season. And

00:27:20.210 --> 00:27:23.190
when Adams... isn't in passing trouble. She attacks

00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:25.230
pretty well. Like I think you generally kind

00:27:25.230 --> 00:27:27.430
of know what you're going to get from her. So

00:27:27.430 --> 00:27:30.549
who do you think has a better chance of elevating

00:27:30.549 --> 00:27:33.529
in the finals, Mirzik or Coutinho? And which

00:27:33.529 --> 00:27:35.329
one do you think is more important to their team's

00:27:35.329 --> 00:27:39.930
success? I think Mirzik has a, from what we saw

00:27:39.930 --> 00:27:45.210
from this match, I think Mirzik's baseline is

00:27:45.210 --> 00:27:49.960
like better. Basically. And I don't think we've

00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:53.319
seen Jess Merzik be this bad that often. Like

00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:55.559
Coutinho started the season for Atlanta and got

00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:57.880
subbed out, like switched for grubs, like almost

00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:01.440
immediately. So this isn't unheard of. I think

00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:03.660
so many players for Houston need to be better

00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:05.980
than they were. Cause even the way that they

00:28:05.980 --> 00:28:08.059
were running their middle. Well, that was across

00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:12.619
the board again. It was, it was rough. Like the

00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:14.200
middles were getting way too tight. They were

00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:15.799
getting in front of the ball. It was hard to

00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:19.190
make a connection. They finally got off the net

00:28:19.190 --> 00:28:22.049
and were jumping behind Hancock later in the

00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:24.170
match, but it was too late at that point. Jordan

00:28:24.170 --> 00:28:25.890
Thompson, you're the go -to player. You need

00:28:25.890 --> 00:28:28.210
to figure out how to score after 20. Like, let's

00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:31.190
move it around, okay? I mean, Rischel was fine.

00:28:31.829 --> 00:28:34.349
She's there mostly for passing and defense, and

00:28:34.349 --> 00:28:37.789
if she scores points, like, amazing. So she was

00:28:37.789 --> 00:28:40.809
steady as always, but they're out of system setting

00:28:40.809 --> 00:28:43.529
too. Like, the number of balls. You were talking

00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:46.299
about how they were looking to tip. sometimes

00:28:46.299 --> 00:28:48.200
I felt like they had no choice. Like the setting

00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:50.279
got a little messy from their out -of -system

00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:53.039
setters. Yeah, I think those are fair points.

00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:56.640
I want to spend a little bit of time talking

00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:59.819
about the middles, and that's probably my last

00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:03.720
point. I thought Jimmerson did a good job of

00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:06.759
bringing energy to the floor. I thought she was

00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:10.380
somewhat of a catalyst in terms of changing the

00:29:10.380 --> 00:29:14.819
momentum or feeling. Of the match. She was super

00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:18.259
excited. She got really good block touches. I

00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:20.299
think the middles. All four middles on the court.

00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:23.279
In my opinion. were always getting too close

00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:25.420
to the net so they couldn't really hit the ball

00:29:25.420 --> 00:29:27.740
and jimerson was the one who had i think two

00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:30.240
attacks where she kind of stayed behind the setter

00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:33.240
came into the ball and made really good contact

00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:36.059
if she can continue doing that i think both teams

00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:38.880
need to run the middle more they rely so heavily

00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:40.940
on their outside scoring that they need to be

00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:43.279
able to hold at least a little bit we're talking

00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:47.240
the middle's got seven and seven sets for houston

00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:51.900
and i think eight and six for Atlanta it's just

00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:55.720
it's not enough yeah and in my opinion when this

00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:58.839
match comes down to it if one team can control

00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:01.660
the middle of the court a little bit better I

00:30:01.660 --> 00:30:03.660
think that gives them a huge advantage especially

00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:06.200
later on in sets and we talk about Jordan Thompson

00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:09.440
not being able to score after 20 and I'm not

00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:11.380
saying she never does but it being more difficult

00:30:11.380 --> 00:30:14.500
well we've talked about that before in this season

00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:17.400
at least yeah it was earlier in the season for

00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:21.109
sure and I think that's a byproduct of hey, they

00:30:21.109 --> 00:30:22.609
haven't really set their middles at all during

00:30:22.609 --> 00:30:24.589
this match. Now the game's on the line. You know

00:30:24.589 --> 00:30:26.450
where it's going. We can set up on her. Whereas

00:30:26.450 --> 00:30:28.170
if you can run the middle a little bit more,

00:30:28.269 --> 00:30:31.210
I think you just make her life a little easier.

00:30:31.450 --> 00:30:34.009
So we'll see what happens. I mean, overall, you

00:30:34.009 --> 00:30:36.650
could kind of feel this match didn't matter.

00:30:37.390 --> 00:30:39.410
I don't know if that's fair to say, but it's

00:30:39.410 --> 00:30:42.589
like everybody makes playoffs. These teams are

00:30:42.589 --> 00:30:45.289
currently well in advance of everybody else.

00:30:45.369 --> 00:30:50.660
Like it just seemed there was less. less urgency

00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:55.180
than, and we said a few weeks ago, we liked that

00:30:55.180 --> 00:30:59.019
we had seen that increase in love in recent weeks.

00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:02.299
And then in this match. Well, it just flipped.

00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:07.509
Houston started with. I wouldn't even call it

00:31:07.509 --> 00:31:10.430
that. They were just better. I mean, fair. But

00:31:10.430 --> 00:31:12.990
then when Atlanta pushed back, they kind of wilted.

00:31:12.990 --> 00:31:15.069
And Atlanta was flat in the first set. To their

00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:18.549
credit, they found it. But at no point did I

00:31:18.549 --> 00:31:21.690
feel like it was intense on both sides at the

00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:23.869
same time. Or that there was really anything

00:31:23.869 --> 00:31:27.029
on the line. Yeah, fair. Overall, I think this

00:31:27.029 --> 00:31:30.950
game, from a playoff standpoint, was more important

00:31:30.950 --> 00:31:33.890
for Atlanta to win. I think that the fact that

00:31:33.890 --> 00:31:36.269
they came back after being beaten the first set

00:31:36.269 --> 00:31:39.170
and won gives them, not that they didn't believe

00:31:39.170 --> 00:31:41.470
they could beat Houston, but it's tangible. There's

00:31:41.470 --> 00:31:44.609
a result there. So I believe we'll probably see

00:31:44.609 --> 00:31:46.809
this matchup in the finals for the gold medal.

00:31:46.869 --> 00:31:50.349
So we'll see what's different the next time they

00:31:50.349 --> 00:31:53.170
see each other. Our second feature match of the

00:31:53.170 --> 00:31:57.549
week is Long Beach State versus UC Irvine on

00:31:57.549 --> 00:32:02.240
the NCAA men's side. We watched the first match

00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:05.880
of this series that was hosted at Long Beach.

00:32:06.099 --> 00:32:10.119
We've been saying for weeks that we wanted to

00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:15.460
see Long Beach State play a solid opponent. We

00:32:15.460 --> 00:32:18.339
were so excited to see them play either UC Irvine

00:32:18.339 --> 00:32:22.279
or Hawaii to really be pushed because let's be

00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:25.960
honest, Long Beach State's schedule hasn't been...

00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:29.680
The most challenging. Granted, they played UCLA

00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:34.880
twice and UCLA was not good. So we were excited

00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:37.039
for this. And I don't think it disappointed.

00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:40.240
I really enjoyed the match. I was a little surprised

00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:42.839
at the outcome. Well, all along we've been saying

00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:48.000
if UC Irvine or Hawaii can put it together when

00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:51.099
they're playing Long Beach State, I think we

00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:54.720
will see some interesting results. And I just

00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:58.059
have to say, UC Irvine was flawless. That was

00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:01.119
the exact word I was going to use. That is the

00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:05.980
performance they needed to put together to have

00:33:05.980 --> 00:33:09.099
this result. So yes, they did put it all together

00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:14.900
and they won 3 -0. If you are UC Irvine, that

00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:18.079
is the perfect game. That is what you are chasing

00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:21.539
come... The national championship. I don't even

00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:23.980
think it needs to be like as good as it was.

00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:29.519
Like Darcy went off on the right side. Okay.

00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:33.079
All of their outside hitters, I think had career

00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:35.779
night. So I need to go over this because it's

00:33:35.779 --> 00:33:39.819
just so impressive. Okay. So let's start with

00:33:39.819 --> 00:33:45.680
William Darcy had 13 attempts, had nine kills

00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:53.339
and hit 692. That's insane. Heno had 18 attempts,

00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:59.960
9 kills, hit .389. And Nolan Flexin had 17 sets,

00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:04.279
6 kills, and hit .235. If your three outside

00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:06.980
hitters are posting numbers like that, you're

00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:09.440
going to win matches, period. They were unconscious.

00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:13.039
Every time they were set, they scored. Specifically,

00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:18.289
Darcy and Heno. Honestly, we saw the early days

00:34:18.289 --> 00:34:21.170
of Nolan Flexin moving to the left side and then

00:34:21.170 --> 00:34:24.789
bringing Darcy in. Not the best. Flexin definitely

00:34:24.789 --> 00:34:28.130
wasn't looking the most comfortable on the left.

00:34:28.190 --> 00:34:30.449
I do think he's a true right side. I think that's

00:34:30.449 --> 00:34:34.760
where he belongs, period. But, you know, the

00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.519
coaching staff is probably like feeling like

00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.760
geniuses at this point for making that switch

00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:42.480
in advance of these matches because it worked.

00:34:43.340 --> 00:34:45.800
The head coach is buying drinks for the staff

00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:49.420
after that move. I mean, Kiriakou, the outside

00:34:49.420 --> 00:34:53.539
they had, the passing outside, he just, he can't

00:34:53.539 --> 00:34:57.460
compete height -wise above the net with the likes

00:34:57.460 --> 00:35:00.639
of Long Beach State and Hawaii. he's a good player

00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:03.239
good ball control whatever but like they needed

00:35:03.239 --> 00:35:07.480
more size to be able to to push teams of that

00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:11.239
caliber so great foresight and they showed I

00:35:11.239 --> 00:35:14.880
will say Joe Carlos I am not a fan but I have

00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:19.380
never seen the setter for UC Irvine play as well

00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:21.679
as he did against Long Beach State. He's usually

00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:26.440
pretty inconsistent. His set delivery is medium.

00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:29.639
He showed up. He had a great game. And I also

00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:33.920
thought that they did a really good job of covering

00:35:33.920 --> 00:35:36.619
the liability of him blocking in the front row.

00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:38.739
I was worried about that. Yeah, there were a

00:35:38.739 --> 00:35:42.940
few times where him and Heno switched so that

00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:46.179
he was in the front row with the Long Beach setter.

00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:49.820
Not a great matchup. Not a great matchup. He

00:35:49.820 --> 00:35:53.400
can hit the ball, obviously, but he's less of

00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:55.400
a liability there than he is blocking on the

00:35:55.400 --> 00:35:57.079
right side. And then they would run their offense

00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:59.820
from four, and Heno was out blocking at the pin,

00:35:59.960 --> 00:36:03.719
got a big block in a key situation out there.

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:08.409
So they were creative with how... they handle

00:36:08.409 --> 00:36:11.170
their limitations as a team and you know we talked

00:36:11.170 --> 00:36:13.349
about them having the small left side they made

00:36:13.349 --> 00:36:16.010
an adjustment they have a very small setter in

00:36:16.010 --> 00:36:18.329
the front row they're making adjustments like

00:36:18.329 --> 00:36:21.130
i've been impressed with how they've analyzed

00:36:21.130 --> 00:36:25.070
their team and worked to find the best combination

00:36:25.070 --> 00:36:27.690
of players against good competition so kudos

00:36:27.690 --> 00:36:29.969
to their coaching staff yeah and it was subtle

00:36:29.969 --> 00:36:31.630
like it didn't they didn't do it all the time

00:36:31.630 --> 00:36:35.980
but they made sure to line carlos up with nikolov

00:36:35.980 --> 00:36:39.400
to give them the opportunity to make it setter

00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:42.300
on setter in the front row instead of just like

00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:46.579
leaving him out to dry against like skylar varga

00:36:46.579 --> 00:36:49.800
or something you know like these little tiny

00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:53.800
tweaks they're they're worth only a couple points

00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:56.099
but those couple points are big can be a big

00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:58.440
difference well and when we're talking about

00:36:58.440 --> 00:37:02.519
winning the first set 27 25 to me that first

00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:05.650
set was critical UC Irvine pulling out that win

00:37:05.650 --> 00:37:09.750
in overtime by two points, that gave them the

00:37:09.750 --> 00:37:12.050
momentum to go in. That's a different match if

00:37:12.050 --> 00:37:14.250
Long Beach ends up pulling out that first set,

00:37:14.269 --> 00:37:16.110
in my opinion. But after that first set, it was

00:37:16.110 --> 00:37:18.960
domination. They rolled after that. Well, so

00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:21.719
let's look at some of the stats for this match

00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:24.599
because they are heavily tilted in UC Irvine's

00:37:24.599 --> 00:37:28.719
favor. So as a team, they hit 472 versus Long

00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:32.440
Beach's 274. 472 as a team is insane. Yeah, that's

00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:35.260
ridiculous. From the service line, which is generally

00:37:35.260 --> 00:37:39.820
a Long Beach strength, Long Beach made 22 service

00:37:39.820 --> 00:37:44.000
errors and only had four aces. UC Irvine had

00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:49.050
eight aces on only 13 misses. Four to 22 is not

00:37:49.050 --> 00:37:53.510
okay. But this was the most telling stat for

00:37:53.510 --> 00:37:57.789
me. If we look at the blocking numbers, which

00:37:57.789 --> 00:38:01.050
I think was the biggest discrepancy in the match,

00:38:01.369 --> 00:38:05.650
UC Irvine had seven and a half blocks to Long

00:38:05.650 --> 00:38:10.849
Beach's zero. And along with the serving issues

00:38:10.849 --> 00:38:13.710
for Long Beach, that's the difference in the

00:38:13.710 --> 00:38:16.059
game. And that's why the second two sets were

00:38:16.059 --> 00:38:20.460
25 -19, 25 -19, and 2 -3. I mean, Long Beach

00:38:20.460 --> 00:38:25.039
relies so heavily on Nikolov serving. He's going

00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:28.039
to set the NCAA record for aces in a season,

00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:32.139
for sure. And he had two aces right off the bat

00:38:32.139 --> 00:38:34.340
in set one, and I was like, oh dear, here we

00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:39.119
go. But he had trouble finding it again after

00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:42.360
that first service run, and I think that really,

00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:45.860
really hurt. long beach state because they do

00:38:45.860 --> 00:38:48.539
rely on that so much and watching that match

00:38:48.539 --> 00:38:51.699
i was like dang beach's block defense is just

00:38:51.699 --> 00:38:55.619
like non -existent they are good like they're

00:38:55.619 --> 00:38:59.059
in that particular match they were a good offensive

00:38:59.059 --> 00:39:01.920
team they ran a really good offense the balls

00:39:01.920 --> 00:39:06.320
are delivered in a very good spot but they didn't

00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:09.880
do anything on the defensive side and herstinovich

00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:13.719
who is among the top point scorers for them regularly,

00:39:13.900 --> 00:39:16.639
I think he really struggled. I mean, the only

00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:20.159
player for Long Beach that I really noticed was

00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:23.440
Vargas. Yeah, Varga, yeah. He was the only player

00:39:23.440 --> 00:39:27.940
that, quite frankly, did anything for them. And

00:39:27.940 --> 00:39:30.880
he had a great match. He got set 23 times, which

00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:33.199
was more than anybody else on the floor. He had

00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:36.460
13 kills and hit 391. You can't ask anything

00:39:36.460 --> 00:39:39.380
more. from him in that regard. Because if you

00:39:39.380 --> 00:39:41.800
look at the other hitters who got set the next,

00:39:42.039 --> 00:39:45.440
it was, like you said, Danil Hercovich got set

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:49.559
17 times, hit 059. Yeah, they're not used to

00:39:49.559 --> 00:39:52.440
that from him. Sebastian Sani also got set 12

00:39:52.440 --> 00:39:57.039
times, hit 083. Well, Sani started, and Kondev

00:39:57.039 --> 00:40:00.260
had to come in. I was curious about the Sani

00:40:00.260 --> 00:40:02.960
starting situation, but Kondev came in, and I

00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:05.619
think he did a good job for them. Yeah, 12 sets,

00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:10.000
hit 417. Like, it was fine. But it's just, like,

00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:11.840
this is the thing. It's, like, they've played

00:40:11.840 --> 00:40:16.900
such a weak schedule that this could be good

00:40:16.900 --> 00:40:20.900
or bad in that they have played so many guys

00:40:20.900 --> 00:40:24.260
regularly. Like, if you look at their stats,

00:40:24.460 --> 00:40:26.780
like, Nikolov is the only player who's played

00:40:26.780 --> 00:40:31.440
every match. And then, like, Varga is a consistent

00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:34.059
starter. Herstinovich is a consistent starter.

00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:38.280
McRaven in the middle. But then it's like mixed

00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:42.440
up and it's very all over the board for who is

00:40:42.440 --> 00:40:45.380
playing the second left side, the second middle

00:40:45.380 --> 00:40:48.440
position. And so while that's great, cause they're

00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:50.840
getting their guys so much experience and like

00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:53.519
the whole group is getting experience. It's also

00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:56.800
questionable because when you come into a situation

00:40:56.800 --> 00:41:00.280
like this against UC Irvine, where you're actually

00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:02.400
pushed and your backs are against the wall, you

00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:06.250
haven't really. worked through tough moments

00:41:06.250 --> 00:41:09.150
together because the lineup has been so variable.

00:41:09.670 --> 00:41:12.829
Yeah. I thought UC Irvine put a perfect match

00:41:12.829 --> 00:41:15.190
on the floor, and they did a great job. They

00:41:15.190 --> 00:41:17.070
couldn't have been better. No, I mean, they only

00:41:17.070 --> 00:41:19.929
made four hitting errors on the night as a team.

00:41:20.010 --> 00:41:22.570
That's... It's wild. And I'm sorry, like, the

00:41:22.570 --> 00:41:24.829
serving numbers, eight aces, what did you say?

00:41:24.909 --> 00:41:27.090
Eight aces to 13 errors for men's volleyball.

00:41:27.090 --> 00:41:32.010
That is outstanding. So, you know, great for

00:41:32.010 --> 00:41:34.949
UC Irvine. They came out. They made the point

00:41:34.949 --> 00:41:37.030
they needed to make. Everybody was dialed in

00:41:37.030 --> 00:41:39.349
and played well. But we didn't watch it, but

00:41:39.349 --> 00:41:42.010
I have the stats. Let's talk briefly about the

00:41:42.010 --> 00:41:45.170
next night where Long Beach came out. And it

00:41:45.170 --> 00:41:50.670
was close. 25 -23, 25 -19, 29 -27. But they came

00:41:50.670 --> 00:41:53.829
back and they beat them 3 -0. And that's a great

00:41:53.829 --> 00:41:57.369
response. And I will give credit to UC Irvine.

00:41:57.590 --> 00:42:00.429
I kind of felt like Long Beach was going to come

00:42:00.429 --> 00:42:02.860
out and have a match. after watching that performance,

00:42:03.119 --> 00:42:07.159
and they pushed them and kept it close. But Long

00:42:07.159 --> 00:42:11.320
Beach, stats -wise, was just dominant. As a team,

00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:18.380
they hit .424. Crazy. Dieris McRaven hit .556

00:42:18.380 --> 00:42:20.440
out of the middle, only on nine attempts, but

00:42:20.440 --> 00:42:23.460
great numbers. Nikolov decided to take the match

00:42:23.460 --> 00:42:27.639
into his own hands, had 14 swing attempts, and

00:42:27.639 --> 00:42:32.880
hit .643. Average. I'm going to do this by myself.

00:42:33.340 --> 00:42:35.420
Well, he was trying to do that the night before,

00:42:35.559 --> 00:42:39.599
and he was trying too hard. Yeah, he was fighting

00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:42.659
it. Yeah, it just wasn't working. And then Alex

00:42:42.659 --> 00:42:48.500
Kondev came out, had 23 sets, and hit 609. So

00:42:48.500 --> 00:42:52.079
this was... But we were saying they are a good

00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:54.239
offensive team. What were their defensive numbers?

00:42:54.360 --> 00:42:58.619
Were they better? They were better. So 17 serving

00:42:58.619 --> 00:43:03.500
errors still, 5 aces. Better. Better. Than four

00:43:03.500 --> 00:43:06.719
and 22. But most importantly, they had eight

00:43:06.719 --> 00:43:09.780
and a half blocks. Okay, there we go. And 22

00:43:09.780 --> 00:43:14.940
digs compared to UC Irvine's six blocks and 19

00:43:14.940 --> 00:43:19.239
digs. So like close. It would have been a good

00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:22.639
game. I wish we could have watched it. We had

00:43:22.639 --> 00:43:25.360
to go to the LA Kings Leafs game because Adam's

00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:27.840
a diehard Maple Leafs fan and we could not miss

00:43:27.840 --> 00:43:31.550
that. Priorities. So. I will probably go back

00:43:31.550 --> 00:43:33.210
and watch this at some point just because I want

00:43:33.210 --> 00:43:35.590
to see what happened, and I enjoy watching high

00:43:35.590 --> 00:43:38.469
-level volleyball. But I'm not surprised that

00:43:38.469 --> 00:43:40.130
Long Beach came out and made a statement after

00:43:40.130 --> 00:43:43.610
this. Now, the interesting thing is that in their

00:43:43.610 --> 00:43:45.630
conference, the Big West Conference, there are

00:43:45.630 --> 00:43:49.170
three very good teams. So you have Hawaii, you

00:43:49.170 --> 00:43:51.590
have Long Beach, and you have UC Irvine. And

00:43:51.590 --> 00:43:56.289
coming first in this division is going to be

00:43:56.289 --> 00:43:59.989
so important because you avoid that 2 -3 matchup.

00:44:00.250 --> 00:44:03.510
It will be really interesting to see what happens

00:44:03.510 --> 00:44:06.530
down the stretch. So that split is massive for

00:44:06.530 --> 00:44:10.329
UC Irvine, and there's going to be some really

00:44:10.329 --> 00:44:13.210
good matchups coming up. Well, Hawaii beat UC

00:44:13.210 --> 00:44:15.650
Irvine in both matches. If they can take one

00:44:15.650 --> 00:44:18.849
match out of two against Long Beach State, they'll

00:44:18.849 --> 00:44:22.250
probably go into the tournament as the one seed,

00:44:22.349 --> 00:44:24.489
and I'm pretty sure they're hosting it. Yeah.

00:44:26.269 --> 00:44:29.230
It will be interesting to see what happens in

00:44:29.230 --> 00:44:31.610
this conference down the stretch. You know, I

00:44:31.610 --> 00:44:33.969
think it's really hard for a team to have an

00:44:33.969 --> 00:44:37.030
unbeaten season. You have to be so good night

00:44:37.030 --> 00:44:40.250
in and out. And let's be honest, Long Beach didn't

00:44:40.250 --> 00:44:43.989
play that poorly against UC Irvine, but you're

00:44:43.989 --> 00:44:46.190
not going to beat a team that makes four hitting

00:44:46.190 --> 00:44:50.030
errors on the match. Like UC Irvine was almost

00:44:50.030 --> 00:44:53.710
perfect. And so... They got their loss. They

00:44:53.710 --> 00:44:55.489
got it out of the way. Nobody's thinking about

00:44:55.489 --> 00:44:57.789
a perfect season anymore. They can focus at the

00:44:57.789 --> 00:45:01.409
job at hand. Great response from Long Beach coming

00:45:01.409 --> 00:45:04.090
out 3 -0, even though the matches were close.

00:45:04.429 --> 00:45:07.369
So this will be really good conference play down

00:45:07.369 --> 00:45:09.949
the stretch, and I'm looking forward to it. All

00:45:09.949 --> 00:45:15.869
right, it's game time. That was a cheer. We're

00:45:15.869 --> 00:45:17.230
going to pull one out that we've done before,

00:45:17.329 --> 00:45:20.599
but I like this one. I think everybody liked

00:45:20.599 --> 00:45:22.920
this one. We're going to play level of concern.

00:45:23.219 --> 00:45:25.420
And so if you don't remember, I'm going to go

00:45:25.420 --> 00:45:27.940
through the levels of concern, and then I have

00:45:27.940 --> 00:45:31.039
a couple questions for Sarah, and she can tell

00:45:31.039 --> 00:45:33.519
me how she feels about these. So level of concern,

00:45:33.659 --> 00:45:36.820
not too worried. Number one, losing your assistant

00:45:36.820 --> 00:45:40.480
coach to head coach of a new program. So it happens.

00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:43.860
It happens. Not a big deal. Number two, losing

00:45:43.860 --> 00:45:48.260
a top recruit to a rival. Not ideal. Manageable.

00:45:48.829 --> 00:45:52.210
But you're somewhat concerned about that. Level

00:45:52.210 --> 00:45:56.730
three, being in a five -match losing streak.

00:45:56.969 --> 00:46:00.630
That's pretty bad. It's not good. Number four.

00:46:01.699 --> 00:46:05.739
Pitt losing Tori Stafford to another school before

00:46:05.739 --> 00:46:07.300
she graduates. Oh, we're bringing this one back.

00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:09.699
I thought we were updating the levels. We are

00:46:09.699 --> 00:46:12.000
keeping the levels of concern the same here.

00:46:12.199 --> 00:46:13.860
Wasn't that the worst thing that could happen

00:46:13.860 --> 00:46:16.280
last time? No, the worst thing is Nebraska having

00:46:16.280 --> 00:46:21.119
a losing preseason. Losing preseason? Yeah. When's

00:46:21.119 --> 00:46:23.480
the last time that happened? How are the Nebraska

00:46:23.480 --> 00:46:25.380
fans? Probably when I lost to Florida A &M my

00:46:25.380 --> 00:46:28.840
freshman year. I'm just kidding. I lost seven

00:46:28.840 --> 00:46:31.780
matches my whole career. Lay off me. I just flexed

00:46:31.780 --> 00:46:34.880
a little bit, sorry. Those are your levels of

00:46:34.880 --> 00:46:41.059
concern in this game. Oh, dear. Okay, so question

00:46:41.059 --> 00:46:44.500
one. We're wrapping up the first season of Love.

00:46:44.940 --> 00:46:49.199
And so if you are Love ownership management,

00:46:49.639 --> 00:46:53.320
what is your level of concern that the PVF is

00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:56.579
winning the attendance battle and the eyes battle

00:46:56.579 --> 00:46:59.800
in the overlapping cities of Omaha and Atlanta?

00:47:00.559 --> 00:47:04.159
Oh, wow. That's a good question. Now, have you

00:47:04.159 --> 00:47:08.019
looked up the attendance records or numbers and

00:47:08.019 --> 00:47:11.280
stuff? So I did a little dive into them before

00:47:11.280 --> 00:47:14.599
I asked this question. Now, Love has not published

00:47:14.599 --> 00:47:17.780
their attendance records for the season yet.

00:47:18.320 --> 00:47:21.699
So I don't have them. We only have kind of anecdotal

00:47:21.699 --> 00:47:24.719
evidence from watching the matches online. We've

00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.800
had some people post about what attendance has

00:47:26.800 --> 00:47:27.980
been like who have gone to both. And I want to

00:47:27.980 --> 00:47:30.099
say when they're happy with it, they post it

00:47:30.099 --> 00:47:32.119
on social media, but it doesn't happen often.

00:47:32.420 --> 00:47:37.219
Yeah. So I can tell you that I believe Omaha

00:47:37.219 --> 00:47:41.360
for the PVF set a record of having 13 ,486 fans

00:47:41.360 --> 00:47:44.530
last season. And I believe they beat that. this

00:47:44.530 --> 00:47:46.650
season. And when I was looking at some of the

00:47:46.650 --> 00:47:48.469
Atlanta numbers, I think it was between like

00:47:48.469 --> 00:47:51.510
an average of three or 4 ,000 people, a match

00:47:51.510 --> 00:47:53.809
there. So, I mean, obviously much bigger in Omaha,

00:47:53.909 --> 00:47:57.530
but take that however you want it. There's a,

00:47:57.690 --> 00:48:01.630
do you think love kind of reached their expectation

00:48:01.630 --> 00:48:04.050
and compared to what you've seen, what would

00:48:04.050 --> 00:48:06.750
your level of concern be? Well, I don't know.

00:48:06.769 --> 00:48:09.690
I feel like love kind of selected smaller venues

00:48:09.690 --> 00:48:15.440
than the PVF did. So just inherently, even if

00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:18.739
they're at max capacity, which watching, it doesn't

00:48:18.739 --> 00:48:21.079
look like they are. But I think even at their

00:48:21.079 --> 00:48:24.559
max, they wouldn't be able to hit those numbers.

00:48:25.179 --> 00:48:27.400
And I think it was strategic that they picked

00:48:27.400 --> 00:48:29.920
smaller venues because they wanted it to look

00:48:29.920 --> 00:48:34.239
more packed. So I would say... Sorry, I'm just

00:48:34.239 --> 00:48:36.599
looking at your... I would say they're probably

00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:41.639
sitting at... losing a top recruit to a rival

00:48:41.639 --> 00:48:43.840
level of concern because the way they set it

00:48:43.840 --> 00:48:47.400
up, they probably expected because they're pushing

00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:50.579
like Olympians, best athletes in the world, things

00:48:50.579 --> 00:48:53.159
like that. They probably expected to draw fans

00:48:53.159 --> 00:48:58.679
away, but people watched both. Fair enough. Okay.

00:48:59.579 --> 00:49:02.380
Now, the next couple of questions are going to

00:49:02.380 --> 00:49:05.670
be about... NCAA men's volleyball, and we've

00:49:05.670 --> 00:49:07.329
talked about a couple of these, but I'm curious.

00:49:07.510 --> 00:49:12.469
So you are the coach and the athletic director

00:49:12.469 --> 00:49:16.949
at CSUN men's volleyball. What is your level

00:49:16.949 --> 00:49:21.469
of concern that you will finish last in the Big

00:49:21.469 --> 00:49:25.989
West? So currently you're 0 -4. You have to play

00:49:25.989 --> 00:49:33.030
Hawaii, UCSD, and UC Irvine. Those are your last

00:49:33.030 --> 00:49:35.670
conference matches. They probably feel like they

00:49:35.670 --> 00:49:39.409
can beat UC San Diego. They probably also thought

00:49:39.409 --> 00:49:42.489
they'd beat Santa Barbara handily. Well, UC San

00:49:42.489 --> 00:49:45.110
Diego, I believe, already has two wins. No, they

00:49:45.110 --> 00:49:49.130
do. Because you have to think that CSUN, looking

00:49:49.130 --> 00:49:52.210
at the start of the year, had their sights set

00:49:52.210 --> 00:49:54.610
on finishing fourth in that conference. Fourth?

00:49:54.909 --> 00:49:56.590
I mean, realistically, if their coaches were

00:49:56.590 --> 00:49:57.650
candid, they weren't going to beat. Well, isn't

00:49:57.650 --> 00:50:00.179
Santa Barbara in that conference? Yes. So finish

00:50:00.179 --> 00:50:02.639
ahead of San Diego and Santa Barbara. Yeah. Oh,

00:50:02.639 --> 00:50:07.460
got it. Okay. I think, I mean, given how they're

00:50:07.460 --> 00:50:09.980
performing and the trajectory they're on, I'm

00:50:09.980 --> 00:50:13.000
going to say losing Tori Stafford level of concern.

00:50:13.300 --> 00:50:15.920
You don't want to mess around. You lost a great

00:50:15.920 --> 00:50:19.519
opportunity with Santa Barbara. Now what? Pressure's

00:50:19.519 --> 00:50:22.260
on. Yeah. And I think that, you know, you have

00:50:22.260 --> 00:50:25.539
to be realistic about your expectations and obviously

00:50:25.539 --> 00:50:29.079
Hawaii, UC Irvine, Long Beach are great teams,

00:50:29.199 --> 00:50:31.599
but when you sit down and you look at your season,

00:50:31.679 --> 00:50:33.420
you're like, okay, here's where we can realistically

00:50:33.420 --> 00:50:36.460
be. And I, they have fallen short of that. So

00:50:36.460 --> 00:50:38.599
I would agree with you. Would CSUN ever have

00:50:38.599 --> 00:50:41.059
expected to be ranked in the top 10 this season?

00:50:41.099 --> 00:50:44.340
I don't know. Like that's a legit question, but

00:50:44.340 --> 00:50:47.780
like maybe they moved up the ranks and then they

00:50:47.780 --> 00:50:50.949
started to feel like. overly confident. I don't

00:50:50.949 --> 00:50:54.010
know. That is just speculation. I would agree

00:50:54.010 --> 00:50:56.670
that it's a very high level of concern in the

00:50:56.670 --> 00:51:00.530
CSUN head offices these days. All right, question

00:51:00.530 --> 00:51:03.650
number three. What is your level of concern as

00:51:03.650 --> 00:51:07.510
McKendree, having dropped two matches this week,

00:51:07.610 --> 00:51:10.210
that you have put yourself in a position that's

00:51:10.210 --> 00:51:12.329
going to cost you the conference championship?

00:51:13.269 --> 00:51:15.730
Nebraska having a losing preseason level of concern

00:51:15.730 --> 00:51:18.170
because you literally had this in your hands.

00:51:19.250 --> 00:51:23.010
Even if, like, nobody probably expected McKendree

00:51:23.010 --> 00:51:28.070
to be in the conversation for winning Miva. And

00:51:28.070 --> 00:51:31.809
they were handily in the lead. Even if they had

00:51:31.809 --> 00:51:34.550
lost one match, it would still be, like, a game

00:51:34.550 --> 00:51:38.369
in hand. But to lose two? Like, granted, you

00:51:38.369 --> 00:51:41.039
played ranked opponents, but, like, my... friends

00:51:41.039 --> 00:51:44.519
you're ranked number 10 like you have to play

00:51:44.519 --> 00:51:47.699
ranked opponents so yeah I'd be concerned because

00:51:47.699 --> 00:51:49.659
now your back's against the wall you don't want

00:51:49.659 --> 00:51:51.300
to finish second or third because then you're

00:51:51.300 --> 00:51:54.940
playing Loyola or Lewis probably Lewis yeah it's

00:51:54.940 --> 00:51:58.659
uh the alarm bells are going off Emma Kendry

00:51:58.659 --> 00:52:01.059
and they need to snap out of it I don't I didn't

00:52:01.059 --> 00:52:02.780
look at their schedule of who they have left

00:52:02.780 --> 00:52:06.039
but yes you want to finish first in that conference

00:52:06.039 --> 00:52:09.760
you are this was not a good week for you My final

00:52:09.760 --> 00:52:12.619
question moves us to PVF. Vegas snapped their

00:52:12.619 --> 00:52:16.260
losing streak, won a match, and then lost again.

00:52:17.000 --> 00:52:20.300
If you are Vegas, what is your level of concern

00:52:20.300 --> 00:52:24.119
that your chances to make the playoffs are slipping

00:52:24.119 --> 00:52:27.059
away? And before you answer, I will give you

00:52:27.059 --> 00:52:28.820
this. They have 10 matches left. They've been

00:52:28.820 --> 00:52:32.300
slipping away. Yeah, but I mean, they have 10

00:52:32.300 --> 00:52:35.739
matches left. They have a game in hand. I believe

00:52:35.739 --> 00:52:39.699
they're three wins behind. They have four matches

00:52:39.699 --> 00:52:44.460
versus teams above them left and six matches

00:52:44.460 --> 00:52:46.840
with teams below them. And I believe they play

00:52:46.840 --> 00:52:49.940
San Diego three more times. How concerned are

00:52:49.940 --> 00:52:53.980
you of where you're standing and your birth to

00:52:53.980 --> 00:52:56.619
the playoffs? How concerned are you as a head

00:52:56.619 --> 00:52:58.539
coach that you're going to be fired if you don't

00:52:58.539 --> 00:53:01.960
make the playoffs? Well, that can be a 1B. Honestly,

00:53:02.199 --> 00:53:06.659
I would say Nebraska losing in preseason. level

00:53:06.659 --> 00:53:10.920
of concern because you guys started out the season

00:53:10.920 --> 00:53:14.719
on fire you were number one and then you just

00:53:14.719 --> 00:53:19.460
took a dive I don't know I don't think that there's

00:53:19.460 --> 00:53:22.920
no glaring reason why this should be happening

00:53:22.920 --> 00:53:29.260
and to go from like dominant to fighting for

00:53:29.260 --> 00:53:33.070
your life that is very concerning And I'd be

00:53:33.070 --> 00:53:35.090
even more concerned if I was the head coach and

00:53:35.090 --> 00:53:37.510
I was like, am I going to be fired after this?

00:53:38.190 --> 00:53:39.969
That's fair, because if you're the GM of that

00:53:39.969 --> 00:53:41.610
team, you're looking at the roster and going,

00:53:41.750 --> 00:53:45.630
we should be doing better than this. And looking

00:53:45.630 --> 00:53:47.750
at the panic that seems to be happening with

00:53:47.750 --> 00:53:49.869
the substitutions and everything else at Vegas,

00:53:50.070 --> 00:53:54.030
yeah, they should be playing meaningful games

00:53:54.030 --> 00:53:56.489
down the stretch to get into the playoffs. And

00:53:56.489 --> 00:53:58.969
that has not been the case recently. Anyway,

00:53:59.010 --> 00:54:01.230
those are your level of concern questions. I

00:54:01.230 --> 00:54:03.989
was pretty concerned almost across the board

00:54:03.989 --> 00:54:07.369
today. Yes. Well, there are some dire situations

00:54:07.369 --> 00:54:10.230
that have been developing in the last two weeks

00:54:10.230 --> 00:54:11.670
in the volleyball world. I think my barometer

00:54:11.670 --> 00:54:14.289
was a lot higher this time than it was last time.

00:54:14.349 --> 00:54:17.489
I was pretty chill last time. Anyway, we'll have

00:54:17.489 --> 00:54:18.809
to bring this back. Maybe this will have to be

00:54:18.809 --> 00:54:20.670
a monthly game. I like this one. Because I think

00:54:20.670 --> 00:54:23.349
this is a lot of fun. Let us know if you want

00:54:23.349 --> 00:54:26.800
me to update. The level of concern criteria.

00:54:26.920 --> 00:54:28.699
I kind of like these ones. Tori Stafford leaving

00:54:28.699 --> 00:54:31.059
Pitt is always going to be on the list. I'm sorry,

00:54:31.159 --> 00:54:33.599
but that was just so out of left field. We just

00:54:33.599 --> 00:54:37.519
can't ignore it. It's that time, everybody. Time

00:54:37.519 --> 00:54:41.940
for listener questions. We have a good variety

00:54:41.940 --> 00:54:45.429
this week. I really like. All of these questions,

00:54:45.429 --> 00:54:49.590
very much. So let's get started. Question one,

00:54:49.949 --> 00:54:53.690
why is passing such a hard skill for outsides

00:54:53.690 --> 00:54:58.210
to develop? This person said, I feel like outsides

00:54:58.210 --> 00:55:01.050
are divided between terminators and passers,

00:55:01.090 --> 00:55:04.730
and there haven't been many who are able to do

00:55:04.730 --> 00:55:08.190
both at an elite level. And they referenced Logan

00:55:08.190 --> 00:55:11.530
Tom as being one of the most recent they can

00:55:11.530 --> 00:55:15.280
remember. I mean, accurate. She was incredible.

00:55:15.400 --> 00:55:19.139
So fair that you would remember her. Yes. So

00:55:19.139 --> 00:55:22.380
there's a couple of things at play here for me.

00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:26.639
One is it's generally easier to pass the ball

00:55:26.639 --> 00:55:30.019
the lower you are to the ground. So if you are

00:55:30.019 --> 00:55:32.519
generally a little bit shorter and this doesn't

00:55:32.519 --> 00:55:34.900
go across the board and I'm not taking anything

00:55:34.900 --> 00:55:37.820
away from. shorter players who are good passes

00:55:37.820 --> 00:55:41.099
but you have a little bit longer to move with

00:55:41.099 --> 00:55:43.760
the ball to get a good angle and to follow it

00:55:43.760 --> 00:55:47.059
down and it's just a little bit easier when the

00:55:47.059 --> 00:55:50.300
trajectory is kind of high to low where you're

00:55:50.300 --> 00:55:54.260
passing now if you're taller the serves come

00:55:54.260 --> 00:55:56.780
at you in the women's game specifically at a

00:55:56.780 --> 00:55:59.460
very high to low angle so getting down and creating

00:55:59.460 --> 00:56:02.280
that angle and getting underneath the ball is

00:56:02.280 --> 00:56:04.739
generally a little more challenging for taller

00:56:04.739 --> 00:56:07.460
players and the taller players are generally

00:56:07.460 --> 00:56:10.199
the better attackers. So again, there are different

00:56:10.199 --> 00:56:13.179
circumstances for different players. But for

00:56:13.179 --> 00:56:16.880
me, this is one of the generalizations. I'm about

00:56:16.880 --> 00:56:18.840
as tall as some of the tallest women players.

00:56:18.960 --> 00:56:22.579
I'm 6 '5". I have tried to pass women's serves

00:56:22.579 --> 00:56:25.159
on that low net. And the trajectory that the

00:56:25.159 --> 00:56:28.659
ball comes at you, it's just, it's challenging.

00:56:29.599 --> 00:56:32.239
to get low enough and to follow it when you're

00:56:32.239 --> 00:56:35.699
that height. So there can be many reasons for

00:56:35.699 --> 00:56:38.500
this, but I think across the board, that is probably

00:56:38.500 --> 00:56:41.780
one of the generalizations I would make. What

00:56:41.780 --> 00:56:46.219
do you think? I would build on that to say, and

00:56:46.219 --> 00:56:49.639
this is specific to the American system, the

00:56:49.639 --> 00:56:52.539
way that they have structured club volleyball

00:56:52.539 --> 00:56:56.860
and college volleyball with the substitutions

00:56:56.860 --> 00:57:01.969
available. You aren't developing players to have

00:57:01.969 --> 00:57:06.349
a complete skill set anymore because the positions

00:57:06.349 --> 00:57:10.690
are so specific now because of the in and out

00:57:10.690 --> 00:57:14.349
with everybody. There's no sense of urgency to

00:57:14.349 --> 00:57:17.590
train your bigger outsides to be able to pass.

00:57:18.409 --> 00:57:21.710
It's just like, we want to win right now. You

00:57:21.710 --> 00:57:23.690
see it at the club level in particular, like

00:57:23.690 --> 00:57:26.690
we want to win right now. So like you just hit.

00:57:27.199 --> 00:57:30.260
And we'll get these players to pass. And it allows

00:57:30.260 --> 00:57:32.940
more players to get into the game and have an

00:57:32.940 --> 00:57:37.679
impact on the court. So I think because of that,

00:57:37.780 --> 00:57:43.119
there is less emphasis on developing a full skill

00:57:43.119 --> 00:57:48.039
set. And then you see it when you start progressing.

00:57:48.119 --> 00:57:51.199
A lot of players who maybe are really good in

00:57:51.199 --> 00:57:53.340
college have trouble making the transition to

00:57:53.340 --> 00:57:55.280
the international game because they haven't had

00:57:55.280 --> 00:57:58.079
to do that. If you look on the international

00:57:58.079 --> 00:58:02.599
side, you see more players who are capable of

00:58:02.599 --> 00:58:05.380
doing both. Granted, they are usually stronger

00:58:05.380 --> 00:58:08.159
at one skill than the other, but I think particular

00:58:08.159 --> 00:58:12.280
to the American system, it's just designed to

00:58:12.280 --> 00:58:15.960
kind of limit that development. I think that's

00:58:15.960 --> 00:58:20.780
a very good point. Question two, why is it when

00:58:20.780 --> 00:58:22.900
players are getting ready to serve and there's

00:58:22.900 --> 00:58:25.659
a delay in the ref blowing the whistle? that

00:58:25.659 --> 00:58:28.579
the serving player will get rid of the ball to

00:58:28.579 --> 00:58:31.460
get it out of their possession? Why don't they

00:58:31.460 --> 00:58:33.500
just hold on to the ball for however long it

00:58:33.500 --> 00:58:36.079
takes the ref to blow the whistle? This is a

00:58:36.079 --> 00:58:39.559
great question. I love this question. So serving

00:58:39.559 --> 00:58:43.699
is all about routine and rhythm. And you will

00:58:43.699 --> 00:58:47.980
watch certain players stand in the court at the

00:58:47.980 --> 00:58:50.670
baseline until the ball person... tosses them

00:58:50.670 --> 00:58:52.869
the ball, at which point they will walk to their

00:58:52.869 --> 00:58:55.309
serving spot and do their routine and serve the

00:58:55.309 --> 00:58:57.949
ball. And it's the same thing. When there's delay

00:58:57.949 --> 00:59:00.309
in the game, and we should talk about this with

00:59:00.309 --> 00:59:02.409
the Houston match, and they did very poorly at

00:59:02.409 --> 00:59:05.789
this, but as a server, you do the same thing

00:59:05.789 --> 00:59:08.829
every single time. That consistency is what lends

00:59:08.829 --> 00:59:11.829
itself to you being good and getting the ball

00:59:11.829 --> 00:59:14.789
in. It's like a free throw routine in basketball.

00:59:15.389 --> 00:59:18.090
And you have eight seconds from the time you

00:59:18.090 --> 00:59:19.829
get the ball to when you serve. So when you're

00:59:19.829 --> 00:59:22.570
holding on to the ball for 30 seconds, 40 seconds,

00:59:22.710 --> 00:59:27.369
everything goes haywire for you. And so you toss

00:59:27.369 --> 00:59:29.170
the ball away. When you're ready to go, you get

00:59:29.170 --> 00:59:31.369
the ball and you can reset and do your rhythm

00:59:31.369 --> 00:59:33.269
and your routine. And that's why they throw the

00:59:33.269 --> 00:59:37.010
ball away. Routine is everything. That is why.

00:59:37.570 --> 00:59:40.630
The next question, and I'm curious to hear your

00:59:40.630 --> 00:59:44.030
answer on this. How do you project Cameron Thorne's

00:59:44.030 --> 00:59:46.780
career? Can you really have a national team middle

00:59:46.780 --> 00:59:50.079
at that size? And could he be moved to the pin?

00:59:50.380 --> 00:59:53.880
So the person who wrote this question alluded

00:59:53.880 --> 00:59:57.340
to the fact that Cameron Thorne transferred to

00:59:57.340 --> 01:00:02.000
UCLA to be able to get in front of then national

01:00:02.000 --> 01:00:04.780
team head coach John Sparrow every day. That

01:00:04.780 --> 01:00:07.639
didn't work out. This is a very interesting question.

01:00:07.920 --> 01:00:10.960
I don't want to put people into a box, and I

01:00:10.960 --> 01:00:12.880
hate saying what people are and aren't capable

01:00:12.880 --> 01:00:17.880
of. But I will say it is very highly unlikely

01:00:17.880 --> 01:00:20.159
that Cameron Thorne will have a national team

01:00:20.159 --> 01:00:24.039
career. When you look across the board, you're

01:00:24.039 --> 01:00:28.199
seeing middles that are 6 '10", 6 '11", 7 feet

01:00:28.199 --> 01:00:32.019
sometimes, you know. And while Cameron Thorne

01:00:32.019 --> 01:00:37.300
might be able to touch high, he's 6 '4". It's

01:00:37.300 --> 01:00:41.219
just he's small for an international outside

01:00:41.219 --> 01:00:46.809
even. So it's just even though he can jump, the

01:00:46.809 --> 01:00:51.889
foresight and the anticipation skills that he

01:00:51.889 --> 01:00:54.150
would have to have to be able to make up for

01:00:54.150 --> 01:00:57.230
that height difference and the timing in his

01:00:57.230 --> 01:01:00.030
jumping to be able to compete above the net with

01:01:00.030 --> 01:01:02.269
the seven -foot middles he would be playing against

01:01:02.269 --> 01:01:08.489
is just so highly unlikely that I can't see them

01:01:08.489 --> 01:01:13.349
taking him. I know Karch was considered an undersized

01:01:13.349 --> 01:01:17.829
left side when he played indoor. So maybe he

01:01:17.829 --> 01:01:20.230
will give him a chance. Like, I don't know. But

01:01:20.230 --> 01:01:22.989
I don't think he has the skill set to move to

01:01:22.989 --> 01:01:26.050
the pin because I don't think he has the ball

01:01:26.050 --> 01:01:28.869
control. And not to mention, he does not put

01:01:28.869 --> 01:01:33.190
enough pace on his serves to impact the game

01:01:33.190 --> 01:01:36.050
internationally. That is my take. I love Cameron

01:01:36.050 --> 01:01:38.789
Thorne. This is nothing against him. It's just,

01:01:38.889 --> 01:01:43.769
yeah. It's a numbers game. You have three middles,

01:01:43.789 --> 01:01:48.590
maybe four, on the U .S. national team, and that's

01:01:48.590 --> 01:01:51.690
just a really hard roster to crack. I think he

01:01:51.690 --> 01:01:54.150
could be a very good pro. I think he could have

01:01:54.150 --> 01:01:57.750
a very successful career. I can see them letting

01:01:57.750 --> 01:02:00.010
him in the training gym. He brings a different

01:02:00.010 --> 01:02:02.250
element that guys could play against, but cracking

01:02:02.250 --> 01:02:04.230
that starting roster for the U .S. is going to

01:02:04.230 --> 01:02:07.800
be challenging. All right, question four. Why

01:02:07.800 --> 01:02:11.179
do some programs like Nebraska run shorter beach

01:02:11.179 --> 01:02:14.800
seasons during the winter? I do have a theory

01:02:14.800 --> 01:02:19.460
on this. And while I cannot say for certain that

01:02:19.460 --> 01:02:23.559
this is what's happening, I have a feeling. So

01:02:23.559 --> 01:02:30.880
there are limits as to how long you can train

01:02:30.880 --> 01:02:34.420
as a team, both in season and out of season.

01:02:34.679 --> 01:02:38.579
And I believe... This might not be correct, but

01:02:38.579 --> 01:02:44.739
I believe in out -of -season times, you can only

01:02:44.739 --> 01:02:50.320
train eight hours per week. And in a team setting,

01:02:50.440 --> 01:02:53.699
you can only have a maximum of four players in

01:02:53.699 --> 01:02:56.800
the group at a time in order to receive instruction

01:02:56.800 --> 01:02:59.920
from your coach. In order to get around that

01:02:59.920 --> 01:03:03.699
and to be able to have more time together while

01:03:03.699 --> 01:03:08.329
staying NCAA compliant, I think that is why it

01:03:08.329 --> 01:03:11.250
happens because if they are technically running

01:03:11.250 --> 01:03:17.070
a beach team, they can train as a team for 20

01:03:17.070 --> 01:03:21.190
hours a week instead of just eight. And the coaches

01:03:21.190 --> 01:03:24.010
can be present to give instruction to the whole

01:03:24.010 --> 01:03:26.710
group instead of just like an individual basis.

01:03:27.150 --> 01:03:32.750
So again, I'm not saying that this is 100 % what

01:03:32.750 --> 01:03:36.349
is happening. But I have a feeling it is a sneaky

01:03:36.349 --> 01:03:40.590
way to stay NCAA compliant while making sure

01:03:40.590 --> 01:03:44.449
you get more training. Sarah pulling back the

01:03:44.449 --> 01:03:48.989
curtains there and airing the NCAA dirty secrets.

01:03:49.429 --> 01:03:51.949
Again, I'm not saying that this is what's happening,

01:03:52.070 --> 01:03:55.139
but I'm like, they wouldn't shock me. Our last

01:03:55.139 --> 01:03:58.539
question of the week is in reference to love

01:03:58.539 --> 01:04:01.579
and PVF. And this person asked, do you think

01:04:01.579 --> 01:04:06.980
the reason why certain teams aren't using specific

01:04:06.980 --> 01:04:10.739
athletes is because coaches want to let everyone

01:04:10.739 --> 01:04:14.239
have a chance to play and get court time? Absolutely

01:04:14.239 --> 01:04:17.019
not. Maybe I don't know who this person is referring

01:04:17.019 --> 01:04:20.619
to in general. I'm wondering if it's like a Lexi

01:04:20.619 --> 01:04:24.360
Rodriguez situation, an Asia O 'Neill situation.

01:04:25.440 --> 01:04:29.619
Yeah. I'm yeah. Yeah. That's who I jumped into

01:04:29.619 --> 01:04:34.019
my mind. So I, let me elaborate on the love side.

01:04:34.239 --> 01:04:37.059
It's a little different. You have one league

01:04:37.059 --> 01:04:41.099
owner, right? The coaches. have generally had

01:04:41.099 --> 01:04:44.059
very good careers. They're here. There may be,

01:04:44.179 --> 01:04:46.539
and I'm not saying there is, but directives from

01:04:46.539 --> 01:04:50.380
the leagues to play some players. I don't know

01:04:50.380 --> 01:04:52.739
how that would work. That's a possibility in

01:04:52.739 --> 01:04:55.480
that case. Also with the love schedule, having

01:04:55.480 --> 01:04:58.880
the back -to -backs, I think if athletes have

01:04:58.880 --> 01:05:02.300
minor nagging injuries or whatever else, those

01:05:02.300 --> 01:05:05.340
may have an influence on some of those decisions.

01:05:05.840 --> 01:05:09.360
But the coaches are coaching to win. and they're

01:05:09.360 --> 01:05:11.619
not just putting people in to get playing time.

01:05:12.139 --> 01:05:15.039
I will absolutely guarantee this is not the case

01:05:15.039 --> 01:05:19.239
in the PVF. Those teams are owned by individual

01:05:19.239 --> 01:05:23.000
owners. They want to win. Those coaches are coaching

01:05:23.000 --> 01:05:26.840
for their life, for their jobs. For their life,

01:05:26.980 --> 01:05:32.469
it's on the line. Their careers, right? The example

01:05:32.469 --> 01:05:35.449
that pops into my mind is Vegas. He is not rotating

01:05:35.449 --> 01:05:37.750
through players so that everybody gets equal

01:05:37.750 --> 01:05:40.789
playing time. He is trying to find a way to win.

01:05:41.789 --> 01:05:45.610
Specifically in the PVF, we're talking about

01:05:45.610 --> 01:05:48.590
professional sport. It's not fair time. It's

01:05:48.590 --> 01:05:51.510
not everybody gets a chance. There may be some

01:05:51.510 --> 01:05:56.269
small cases where... the owners are saying hey

01:05:56.269 --> 01:05:58.429
we're looking towards the future like we want

01:05:58.429 --> 01:06:00.170
to sign this player maybe a little more long

01:06:00.170 --> 01:06:02.409
term let's get them some playing time let's see

01:06:02.409 --> 01:06:06.110
what they look like maybe maybe but for the most

01:06:06.110 --> 01:06:08.909
part all of these coaches are trying to put winning

01:06:08.909 --> 01:06:11.389
rosters on the floor because winning matters

01:06:11.389 --> 01:06:14.929
and you know maybe part of this question is coming

01:06:14.929 --> 01:06:19.500
from the fact that we've seen such drastic roster

01:06:19.500 --> 01:06:22.280
or like starting six changes in these leagues

01:06:22.280 --> 01:06:26.179
throughout the season like you rarely see that

01:06:26.179 --> 01:06:30.079
in international leagues like the starting six

01:06:30.079 --> 01:06:32.219
you generally ride that for the whole season

01:06:32.219 --> 01:06:35.639
it's very rare to change it and so I can see

01:06:35.639 --> 01:06:38.360
maybe this question is coming from the fact that

01:06:38.360 --> 01:06:42.860
we have seen just wild changes and different

01:06:42.860 --> 01:06:46.199
starting sixes like match to match and everything

01:06:46.199 --> 01:06:49.099
because like I've even been scratching my head

01:06:49.099 --> 01:06:51.300
at that sometimes well one thing to think about

01:06:51.300 --> 01:06:53.480
with this is that the league started very soon

01:06:53.480 --> 01:06:56.719
after the college season ended so there will

01:06:56.719 --> 01:07:00.340
have been an influx of players who are trying

01:07:00.340 --> 01:07:02.440
to become pros they're trying to switch gears

01:07:02.440 --> 01:07:04.539
the coaches didn't have a preseason with them

01:07:04.539 --> 01:07:06.260
don't know what they're expecting so there would

01:07:06.260 --> 01:07:08.559
have been a certain level of experimentation

01:07:09.760 --> 01:07:11.639
trying to get these young players up to speed,

01:07:11.800 --> 01:07:14.500
injuries and those kind of things that affect

01:07:14.500 --> 01:07:17.139
those decisions. But trust me, the decisions

01:07:17.139 --> 01:07:19.960
are about fielding a team and making the playoffs,

01:07:20.079 --> 01:07:24.139
not about fair playing time or getting people

01:07:24.139 --> 01:07:26.800
playing time just for the sake of it. As always,

01:07:26.860 --> 01:07:28.300
thanks to everybody who submitted questions.

01:07:28.659 --> 01:07:30.460
This is actually my favorite part of the show.

01:07:31.320 --> 01:07:33.860
seeing what people are thinking about, what questions

01:07:33.860 --> 01:07:36.579
they have, where people's heads are at, and I

01:07:36.579 --> 01:07:38.519
enjoy discussing these answers. So thanks for

01:07:38.519 --> 01:07:41.059
taking the time to send those in to us. All right,

01:07:41.179 --> 01:07:44.039
let's look forward to your next week of volleyball.

01:07:44.840 --> 01:07:48.880
So last week, a regular season for love, and

01:07:48.880 --> 01:07:50.780
our head -to -head match is going to be on Thursday,

01:07:50.980 --> 01:07:55.159
8 p .m. Eastern between Omaha and Atlanta. Penthouse

01:07:55.159 --> 01:07:57.900
and basement, baby. Yeah, great way to end the

01:07:57.900 --> 01:08:01.460
season on that one. That will be on Love Live

01:08:01.460 --> 01:08:05.320
slash YouTube or DAZN. Adam has a hate on for

01:08:05.320 --> 01:08:08.420
Love Live. That's why he always says slash YouTube.

01:08:09.119 --> 01:08:11.260
Well, I was trying to use Love Live first and

01:08:11.260 --> 01:08:13.699
then it never works. Such a bad platform. It

01:08:13.699 --> 01:08:19.239
never works. Anyway. The Weekend with Love finishes

01:08:19.239 --> 01:08:22.060
up this season in Salt Lake on Friday and Saturday.

01:08:22.279 --> 01:08:24.920
The Friday matches can be watched on ESPN Plus

01:08:24.920 --> 01:08:28.399
and the Saturday matches are on Love Live or

01:08:28.399 --> 01:08:35.069
DAZN. Slash YouTube. In NCAA men's action, Stanford

01:08:35.069 --> 01:08:38.210
and BYU have their series this Thursday and Friday,

01:08:38.449 --> 01:08:41.409
9 p .m. Eastern on Big Ten Plus. I think those

01:08:41.409 --> 01:08:43.949
will be very good games. Stanford, BYU, I'm very

01:08:43.949 --> 01:08:47.189
curious about, yeah. And then we have Pepperdine

01:08:47.189 --> 01:08:50.369
and USC are playing Thursday at 10 p .m. Eastern

01:08:50.369 --> 01:08:53.369
and Saturday at 8 p .m. Eastern, also on Big

01:08:53.369 --> 01:08:58.539
Ten Plus. UCLA and GCU play Friday 9 p .m. Eastern

01:08:58.539 --> 01:09:01.939
and Saturday 8 p .m. Eastern, also on Big Ten

01:09:01.939 --> 01:09:05.539
Plus. The MPSF has got all the good matches this

01:09:05.539 --> 01:09:08.020
week. It wasn't like a conscious choice to just

01:09:08.020 --> 01:09:10.779
pick MPSF matches. The other ones I feel like

01:09:10.779 --> 01:09:13.380
are going to be... Straightforward, but after

01:09:13.380 --> 01:09:15.359
this week, who the heck knows? And for anybody

01:09:15.359 --> 01:09:17.020
who's interested, I think you can hop onto the

01:09:17.020 --> 01:09:20.899
Big Ten Plus app or streaming service for $12

01:09:20.899 --> 01:09:22.640
for the month. So if you're interested in watching

01:09:22.640 --> 01:09:25.260
any of that, I know we did that and it's worked

01:09:25.260 --> 01:09:28.800
out quite well for us. For the PVF, the only

01:09:28.800 --> 01:09:31.420
PVF matches this week are being played on Saturday.

01:09:32.079 --> 01:09:34.979
So if you're looking for one game specifically

01:09:34.979 --> 01:09:37.979
to watch, I think the Orlando and Omaha game

01:09:37.979 --> 01:09:40.899
at 7 p .m. Eastern is going to be really good.

01:09:40.979 --> 01:09:43.100
And you can find that on Volleyball World TV.

01:09:43.800 --> 01:09:46.699
That concludes this week's episode of Volley

01:09:46.699 --> 01:09:48.560
Talk. There's always something shaking in the

01:09:48.560 --> 01:09:50.840
volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed this

01:09:50.840 --> 01:09:53.340
little fix. Be sure to follow the show so you

01:09:53.340 --> 01:09:55.739
don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful

01:09:55.739 --> 01:09:58.500
if you'd leave us a five -star review. You can

01:09:58.500 --> 01:10:01.439
also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore

01:10:01.439 --> 01:10:04.760
podcast. If you have a topic that you want us

01:10:04.760 --> 01:10:06.840
to discuss, be sure to let us know by reaching

01:10:06.840 --> 01:10:10.340
out to us on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin

01:10:10.340 --> 01:10:13.479
.com. Thanks so much for joining us and we'll

01:10:13.479 --> 01:10:14.800
be back next week.