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 just finished up week two of the women's

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VNL and... As we expected, there were some serious

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movement happening, both up the ranks and down.

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It was a little mix -up week. So the crowds in

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Hong Kong, Istanbul, and Belgrade were amazing,

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particularly for the home teams or local teams.

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I'll tell you the Hong Kong crowd. Loves a net

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serve. Every time a serve hit the top of the

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tape, there was an audible gasp across everybody

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in the crowd. They loved net serves. They loved

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spin serves. They loved digs. They loved big

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attacks. They were animated. They were into it.

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China and Japan were both playing there. They

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loved Japan. They really did. And the Turkish

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fans were off the hook. Particularly for the

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Brazil match. Yeah. That was a lot of fun. It

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was cool to see. across the board. There are

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several interesting storylines for us to follow

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this week and we got a ton of comments and questions

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that we want to address. So let's get started.

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There is not a ton to talk about outside of the

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play of VNL this week, but there are a couple

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tidbits. So there weren't any new love signings

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that were posted other than a coach signing.

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Sonja Tomasovic is going to be coaching Love

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Houston. So she played at Washington. Was part

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of the team that kicked the living snot out of

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my team in the national championship match my

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sophomore year. So, yes, I remember that. Then,

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most recently, she was the head coach at Arizona

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State and was the assistant coach at Vacav Bank

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this past season. So she is going to be joining.

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Love Barbellini, obviously, is out. Unless he

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switched teams, but I doubt it. Somebody tell

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me. Did Barbellini switch teams or is he just

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gone? One and done. He did that. Had some fun.

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He's like, been there, done that. Let's go back

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to Italy. Once we got to the super point, I was

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out. You lost me there. Fair though. So a couple

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weeks ago, we talked about how there was a lack

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of feedback from the USA women's coaching staff

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to the players during matches, and we wondered

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if that was going to change. This week, I had

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a comment posted on YouTube after the USA...

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We had tons of comments about that. Fair. But

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this one... But this comment in particular was

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after the Poland match, and I fell out of my

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chair laughing, and I figured that I wouldn't

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let all of this hard work go to waste, and I

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would share it with our listeners. So this person

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said, I listened and recorded every time out

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during the Poland match. Here is a list of what

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was said. First one. Shrugs. Let's get after

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it. Second one. Hey, at some point we've got

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to start moving on, right? Third one. We're just

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playing into this. I don't know. We're just digging

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a hole for ourselves. Next. Next contact. Reset.

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0 -0 volleyball right now. And last but not least,

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let's come back out and find a little rhythm

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here. I'm pretty sure I also heard one. I think

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it might have actually, but maybe it was serving.

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No, it was the Poland match where he was like,

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they basically want to give this to us. So let's

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do it. Now, we're having a little bit of fun

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here. Yeah, before everybody throws their arms

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up, we're having fun. Now, I think we'll talk

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about this later on the episode, but I will say,

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to the team's credit, they moved back on defense.

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They played less of a college style. They passed

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better this week, so they could run a bit of

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a faster offense. Better than the first week.

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Right. And so there were some visible adjustments

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to the play. We'll get into it, but I'm just

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saying we're making light of this. But there

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were some changes from week one. But across the

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board, people had the same sentiment regarding

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the feedback. And this person actually went out

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of their way to record them. So we had to share.

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Those are our highlights for the week, though.

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The comments, the timeout recording made it to

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the highlights because we enjoyed it so much.

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There were actually a lot of really interesting

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posts. on YouTube this past week and on the Instagram.

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So thank you for everybody for engaging with

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us. There were some really good thoughts, comments,

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questions. It was a lot of fun to read through.

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All right. Time for our VNL Week 2 recap. As

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I said, the women played this past week. Italy

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is now the only unbeaten team in the women's

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competition. This past week they played Bulgaria,

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Thailand, Japan, and China. So they are sitting

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at 8 -0 solo. Poland, Brazil, and Turkey all

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have seven wins. So they are filling the 2 -4

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ranking. Again, I would say expected for the

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most part. Top four right now. We have a set

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of bubble teams, and we're going to dive into

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the bubble teams. A little bit later, but currently

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the teams that are competing in the 7 to 10 spot,

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and remember the top eight move on if Poland

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is among them. So those teams are Germany, USA,

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Czech Republic, and Dominican. And we have Serbia

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still sitting at zero wins. And the question

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I just keep asking myself is like, at what point

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are you planning on using Tijana Boskovic? Like,

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what is happening? You guys are facing relegation

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in, like, an inch away. It's getting very serious.

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And at what point are you planning on bringing

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this woman back? Is she injured? I'm wondering

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if she's injured. Like, why would you not use

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her, especially at home, when you are staring

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down the barrel at relegation? I get if they're

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arresting her or whatever. Put her in for the

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fifth sets. Of matches, so you can just win.

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Like, she is, she's a cheat code. She should

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be playing. They're struggling, you guys. But

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we will get into that a little bit later. And

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a very interesting stat that Adam found is...

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Kira Van Rijk still leads the VNL with 15 aces,

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more than anybody else. And she didn't play this

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week, which I thought was pretty incredible.

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She's averaging over three aces a match, which

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is wild. That's insane. So good for her. So in

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week one, she played four matches. Everybody

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else has four. A lot of players have played eight.

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I understand there's switches, but she's still

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leading. The crazy thing is I was watching the

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speed gun in that first week, and she's hitting

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it in pace or in line with a lot of the male

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spin servers. And that just kind of gives you

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a reference point for what she's doing in the

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female game. It's impressive. So we've seen a

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bit of separation. Some teams are really starting

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to differentiate themselves here. The top half,

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the bottom chunk. The relegation teams. Yeah,

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one more week to go, so four matches per team

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left. The picture is becoming a little more clear,

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but, I mean, the top four teams, I'm not really

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shocked. No, they're pretty set, and they both

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played well. All right, we've got a few storylines

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this week that we kind of want to talk about.

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So the first one is the Turkey versus Brazil

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match. So we had a lot of people ask us, you

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know, what are our thoughts on Turkey? How are

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they doing? And I thought that this match in

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particular was really interesting. Now, take

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what I'm going to say with a grain of salt, because

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Turkey is 7 -1. They have won a lot of matches,

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but... For me, it's always interesting when top

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teams play each other. And Turkey and Brazil

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faced off. And I would say that they both had

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their best players in. So Gunas didn't start,

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but neither did Gabi. Brazil is missing Rosa

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Maria. But we're looking at two teams with very

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good rosters, relatively complete, like similar

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lineup to what we'll see at World Championships,

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I would imagine. And before you say, well, Thaisa

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and Karel aren't on the Brazil lineup, they're

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not on the wide roster for VNL, so they're not

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even in the conversation. Erdem, also not on

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the wide roster, not in the conversation. We're

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talking about the people who are available. So

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the thing that was interesting for me was there

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was a dichotomy on the court. Brazil was cool,

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calm, and collected pretty much the whole match

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and played consistently. I thought that Ana Cristina,

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Was very good in that match. But Brazil was consistent.

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All the way across. Turkey was interesting for

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me. They had runs where they were unstoppable.

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But they are such an emotional team. And I think

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that's. It's a good thing. You want to see that

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passion. They're playing at home. Their fans

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are into it. But it's a bit of a double edged

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sword for me. Because when things didn't go well.

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The team dips with the emotion. The execution

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drops with the emotion, whether that's defensively.

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And for me, the biggest thing was decision making.

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When they had high emotion and they were feeling

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good, they were making unbelievable shots. When

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that disappeared and there was a little bit of

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frustration with one or two players, the decision

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making to me. was not on point they made risky

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swings they made bad decisions and to me that

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was the difference between Turkey and Brazil

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was the decision making in those moments so I

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would say you know Brazil played at a 7 or an

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8 out of 10 of their capabilities but they played

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like that the whole match and Turkey was at some

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points they were playing at a 9 out of 10 at

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some points they would drop below like play at

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a 6 out of 10 and I just think that as a team

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they're going to need to harness that emotion

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and use the good, but figure out how to be technically

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sound and make good decisions when there's a

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little bit of frustration or things aren't going

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the way they want. I feel like the emotional

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aspect is part of Turkey's identity. Fair, but

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it comes with a downside. It is a little inconsistent

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and it's hard because like, I would say that

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Zara Gunesh brings a lot of emotion and consistency

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to the court. She is somebody who is always pushing

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and is fiery and passionate. So bringing her

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in for a point here and there, that is kind of

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disrupted. So with her gone, the emotional engine,

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simply because she is the most... present or

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like the most noticeable with her emotion becomes

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Karakurt. I want to say that Gunesh could balance

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her out a little bit, but when the super high

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highs and then the visible frustration is coming

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predominantly from one player, I think that is

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like very obvious. Contrast that with Melissa

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Vargas, who had no emotion pretty much the whole

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match, I think maybe in a couple points. set

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three maybe when it was really close and they

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were they were pushing to win that but yeah it's

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it it feels to me that that Turkish team plays

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on the edge it's high risk high reward volleyball

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if they're all going and they all feel good they're

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unbelievable but it's It looked in that match

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like there were just little things that could

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kind of pull them out of that rhythm and they

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weren't good enough or they weren't connected

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enough to find their way out against a really

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good opponent who was just consistently doing

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the right thing. And it just seems, I look at

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that and I think, is this the winning formula

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for when you need it? Or are you relying on the

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emotion? to be there at the right moments when

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you can execute. I think about which one is a

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more consistent way to win. I wouldn't say that

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Brazil was unemotional, though. Brazilians are

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never unemotional. No, they were definitely fired

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up. They were celebrating, but it was consistent.

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Even when they were losing points, when they

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were winning, the eye contact was there. All

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on the same page, it looked like. I don't know.

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Again, it's like Turkey has had success. This

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is their identity and they've been successful

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playing like this. It's hard to like... So the

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thing I think for me that... I like the passion.

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I understand that it can't just disappear when

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things aren't going well. I get it. I think for

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me, it's more the decision -making. When your

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emotion isn't there and you don't have that cross

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-court bang... How else are you going to get

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it? Like for me, the thing I noticed was when

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they weren't that emotionally engaged, they made

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decisions that weren't correct in the moment.

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And it affected their decision making, which

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is what I think hurts them from an execution

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and point standpoint. So you have to learn how

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if I don't feel great, like my decision making

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doesn't disappear with my emotion. That's what

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I saw watching that match. And again, I'll say

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Turkey's just so good that it's not an issue

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against most teams. Like this is only an issue

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against teams that are equally as physical and

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skilled. Italy, Brazil, maybe Poland. I mean,

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those three teams you talked about are generally

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pretty steady emotionally. And that's kind of

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the... But it's a give and take. Because that

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emotion propels them to victories that sometimes

00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:17.070
if they didn't have it, they wouldn't maybe pull

00:15:17.070 --> 00:15:20.389
off. But at the same time, in bad moments, it

00:15:20.389 --> 00:15:22.970
can make them worse than they are. So it's just

00:15:22.970 --> 00:15:25.710
like it's such a double edged sword here. Like

00:15:25.710 --> 00:15:31.450
that emotion and that passion and that fire has

00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:34.470
gotten them out of trouble and has like pushed

00:15:34.470 --> 00:15:38.240
them to higher limits. But there's the balancing

00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.600
act of that. I personally think that the difference

00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:45.419
in the match was Brazil was just insistent more.

00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:49.960
Fair. Like, I think Brazil served them much more

00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:55.000
aggressively than they served Brazil. And Brazil

00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:58.240
picked up more balls on defense. Turkey could

00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:02.100
not stop Anna Christina. She had one blip, what,

00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:04.100
at the end of set two or something, where she

00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:06.830
got blocked a few times. But other than that,

00:16:06.870 --> 00:16:09.090
she was virtually unstoppable. I think she scored

00:16:09.090 --> 00:16:13.990
like 27 points in four sets. Yeah. To me, I think

00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:16.750
that that's part of the decision -making. Like,

00:16:16.769 --> 00:16:18.870
Karakurt would get frustrated and then was nowhere

00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:20.750
to be found on defense. Or their position would

00:16:20.750 --> 00:16:22.730
break down because it seemed like things weren't

00:16:22.730 --> 00:16:24.909
happening the way they should be. Like, that's

00:16:24.909 --> 00:16:27.929
the discipline in the decision -making that if

00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:29.850
you're not feeling great about, let's say, your

00:16:29.850 --> 00:16:32.429
offensive game or your emotion, those pieces

00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:35.230
need to stay. I also think they didn't get Vargas

00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:38.769
going. I don't think they put Vargas in a position

00:16:38.769 --> 00:16:41.950
to be successful early enough. To me, it looked

00:16:41.950 --> 00:16:44.509
like she was getting under the ball a lot. They

00:16:44.509 --> 00:16:46.370
set her off the net. The balls were a little

00:16:46.370 --> 00:16:48.370
too far off the net, and she wasn't adjusting

00:16:48.370 --> 00:16:50.450
her approach to stay behind the ball. She was

00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:54.049
getting underneath it. Once that sorted itself

00:16:54.049 --> 00:16:59.389
out, she was scoring great. Karakurt, she was

00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:02.129
mixing in a lot of tips, which were effective.

00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:06.039
I also want to say her transition to left side,

00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:09.859
she's gotten a lot better. Her passing is so

00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:13.460
much better now. That is a tough transition.

00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:17.920
So, wow, she is a black hole on defense. I think

00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:21.000
that's pretty fair to say. Yeah, I just feel

00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.140
like they didn't get enough players going at

00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:26.480
the same time. Now, was it because of what you're

00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:30.819
saying? I don't know. Yeah, it was just, it was

00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:33.920
a noticeable stylistic difference from the other

00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:38.740
top teams. And I'm curious to see if they can

00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:42.400
harness it or if it comes back to bite them.

00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:46.400
Because they're good enough if they were to just

00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:50.150
play on a level. To compete, I think. Now, this

00:17:50.150 --> 00:17:51.970
definitely pushes them over the top when it's

00:17:51.970 --> 00:17:54.150
all going well, but I'm curious what the counter

00:17:54.150 --> 00:17:56.430
on that is. So it was interesting to watch that

00:17:56.430 --> 00:17:58.450
match. I wanted to see them play Gunnish more,

00:17:58.549 --> 00:18:02.150
honestly. Yeah, yeah. She might be the personality

00:18:02.150 --> 00:18:04.990
or the emotional balance of that team. Well,

00:18:05.069 --> 00:18:09.690
back, like, Erdem was the, I would say, the emotional

00:18:09.690 --> 00:18:12.130
foundation of that team because she was much

00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:15.970
older. She was experienced. She kind of kept...

00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:20.000
players under control with her presence and now

00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.799
that she is gone there's a younger bat like who

00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.859
is going to take on that role yeah i guess but

00:18:27.859 --> 00:18:32.480
on brazil's side like they brought gabby in every

00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:35.720
now and then as a right side bergman was doing

00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:38.740
great anna christina as we said virtually unstoppable

00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:42.220
lorena was touching every everything at the net

00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:45.599
oh they look good Like, they look very polished.

00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:48.920
Hey, we're going to take one of the best players

00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:50.400
in the world and we're just going to throw her

00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:53.759
into a position she doesn't play and, you know,

00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:58.319
here we go. What a luxury. They look very smooth.

00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:01.319
They were looking really good. Oh, yeah. So one

00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:02.559
of the other teams that we got a lot of questions

00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:08.480
about was Japan. And actually, Japan played in

00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.660
my favorite match of the week. I think our favorite

00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:12.779
match of the week was the same match. Yeah, the

00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:17.579
Italy -Japan game was a banger. Wow. It was.

00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.000
Wow. It was so good. It was so much fun to watch.

00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:26.859
Oh, my gosh. It was outstanding. Some of the

00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:32.220
rallies. Oh, incredible. This Fukudomi, who was

00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:35.019
playing Libero for Japan in that game, some of

00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:39.240
the balls that she dug, I was like. Is this a

00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:44.000
cartoon? Am I watching anime? It was, yeah, her

00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.019
ability to cover, to extend rallies, to be in

00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.279
the right place and stab at balls. And Italy

00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:55.180
is unloading on her. And she is fearless. And,

00:19:55.299 --> 00:20:00.039
yeah, it was unbelievable. So they traded blowout

00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.460
sets in the middle. Yeah. But then we had two

00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:05.960
very close sets. And then the fifth was 1917

00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:11.180
Italy. And I think Japan had a point for the

00:20:11.180 --> 00:20:16.019
match. So, I mean, let's talk about Japan as

00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:18.980
a team to start. Their ability to put service

00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:21.740
pressure on opponents is maybe second to none.

00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:25.000
Well, they have to. Yeah. So here are the things

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.579
that I love about Japan. Their service pressure

00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:30.980
is unbelievable. Their ball control, for the

00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:34.240
most part, is very good. They run a really fast

00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:38.970
offense. I really like their pin hitters. really

00:20:38.970 --> 00:20:43.789
good i mean she's only 23 yeah she's fantastic

00:20:43.789 --> 00:20:46.309
her arm is so fast she hits a pretty heavy ball

00:20:46.309 --> 00:20:50.049
she moves around front row back row she finds

00:20:50.049 --> 00:20:53.650
holes in the block i mean wada yoshino and ishikawa

00:20:53.650 --> 00:20:56.509
for me are like wow yeah so their outside core

00:20:56.509 --> 00:21:02.910
is is very good ishikawa is maybe one of the

00:21:02.910 --> 00:21:05.960
best decision makers i've seen play volleyball

00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:11.740
she seems to find the best decision in all situations

00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:15.380
whether it's going for the hands tipping off

00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:18.759
the block hitting at a seam like her vision and

00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:22.640
ability to execute what she sees is unparalleled

00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:24.940
okay so we actually had a question submitted

00:21:24.940 --> 00:21:27.500
about her this week so let's address it now since

00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:30.279
you're talking about her already so the question

00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:33.599
was I've heard you guys comment on the importance

00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:38.440
of height for women's hitters. Basically, we're

00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:40.900
talking about how the hitters in love are much

00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:44.599
more physical than the PVF hitters. So this person

00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:47.799
asked, what makes Ishikawa such a dominant outside

00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:50.640
at only 5 '9"? Is it something physical like

00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:53.299
her jump or her arm swing mechanics? Or is it

00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:55.579
something mental like her creativity or being

00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:58.809
able to read the game better? Or is it some magic

00:21:58.809 --> 00:22:02.470
that she and her brother Yuki share? I mean,

00:22:02.490 --> 00:22:05.490
maybe all of the above. I think she jumps exceptionally

00:22:05.490 --> 00:22:10.869
well. I think her arm swing is very fast. Her

00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:14.490
vision, as you were talking about. She sees openings.

00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:17.990
She takes openings and swings for the court.

00:22:18.210 --> 00:22:21.069
And by that, I mean she's looking to score inside

00:22:21.069 --> 00:22:25.660
the sidelines when it's available. And when it's

00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:29.339
not available, she's very good at getting creative

00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:32.660
and using the block to her advantage and scoring

00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:35.720
outside the court. Yeah, so there's two things

00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:37.200
that I think are really important. The first

00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:39.960
one is she has the capability to score inside

00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.000
the court. So if you know a hitter's only ever

00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:44.500
looking for hands and can't blow up or beat a

00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:47.799
defense, it makes a shorter player easier to

00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:51.180
defend. So she can do that, and it holds the

00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:54.240
blockers honest. The other thing that she...

00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:55.640
Well, and it holds the defense on us because

00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:57.339
they have to dig around the block. They can't

00:22:57.339 --> 00:22:59.680
just, like, play, like, you know what I mean?

00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:03.019
Yeah. The other thing that I think she does incredibly

00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:06.180
well is she always gets her feet to the ball

00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:09.559
so that she has all of her options. She very

00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:12.359
rarely looks like she's bending to get a set

00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:14.940
or moving to give herself options. So when you're

00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:17.440
kind of straight up and down and on the ball,

00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:20.220
you can go in a bunch of different ways so that

00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:22.839
when you see what's open, you're in a position

00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:24.380
to take it. And I think she does that really

00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:32.079
well. she needs to maximize because of her size.

00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:35.960
It's not that I think that hitters have to be

00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:40.799
huge. I think we inherently see bigger hitters

00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:43.220
have more success just because the height they

00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:45.900
contact the ball, the angles that are available

00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:48.299
to them. But when you have a hitter that can

00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:51.839
jump well like this and that has so many of these

00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:56.519
tools at their disposal, it doesn't matter. Yeah.

00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:59.660
I mean, you make up for what you don't have,

00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:02.900
but you have to be very technically sound. Yeah,

00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:06.799
I would say she's an exception to my quote -unquote

00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:09.400
rule. Now, the thing I've noticed about watching

00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:11.980
Japan over the last couple weeks is that if teams

00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:14.380
are in system and can set their middle, that's

00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:18.220
when they get in trouble. And so if a team is

00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:21.599
really locked in or passing really well, there

00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.839
isn't a lot Japan can do when they run their

00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:28.150
middles in different... including with the pipe

00:24:28.150 --> 00:24:31.710
over top. They just don't have the size to be

00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:35.890
able to defend that effectively. And so that's

00:24:35.890 --> 00:24:38.069
kind of out of their control because they don't

00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:39.849
have players on the roster who have that size.

00:24:39.849 --> 00:24:41.529
Well, if they have an Achilles heel, that's probably

00:24:41.529 --> 00:24:44.349
it. And I think that's what you've seen happen

00:24:44.349 --> 00:24:46.230
to them in the matches that they've lost, is

00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:48.549
that they've been dominated in the middle. I

00:24:48.549 --> 00:24:51.710
mean, I understand that the typical Asian style

00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:54.769
is to serve super aggressively, and that is why.

00:24:56.269 --> 00:24:59.250
for a very long time, especially in the past,

00:24:59.269 --> 00:25:03.289
they couldn't compete at the net with the players

00:25:03.289 --> 00:25:08.950
that were so big. Obviously, their game works

00:25:08.950 --> 00:25:11.549
and they do have players who can compete at the

00:25:11.549 --> 00:25:15.789
net physically now, but they have to serve like

00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:19.069
that. They have to take those risks because if

00:25:19.069 --> 00:25:21.690
teams are perfectly in system with competent

00:25:21.690 --> 00:25:25.269
middles who are very terminal, And they run a

00:25:25.269 --> 00:25:29.130
great, like, it's done. Yeah. It's done. So they're

00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:31.049
a lot of fun to watch. They keep a lot off the

00:25:31.049 --> 00:25:34.170
floor. They serve really well, but that's kind

00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:36.390
of what we've seen with the teams that have beat

00:25:36.390 --> 00:25:39.450
them. Well, and Italy was very successful running

00:25:39.450 --> 00:25:42.430
the middle. Sarah Farr was almost unstoppable.

00:25:42.509 --> 00:25:44.130
Yeah, she was all world in that match. She was

00:25:44.130 --> 00:25:48.769
outstanding. And to be honest. And just to be

00:25:48.769 --> 00:25:51.410
fair, she will do that to teams other than Japan.

00:25:51.410 --> 00:25:55.789
No, she's so good. Italy did a really great job

00:25:55.789 --> 00:26:01.009
of making her available. I thought that the Libero

00:26:01.009 --> 00:26:05.069
who played for Italy did a great job. I think

00:26:05.069 --> 00:26:08.609
Alessia Di Gradi played really well, dug a ton

00:26:08.609 --> 00:26:13.210
of balls, scored really well. Egonu was solid.

00:26:13.390 --> 00:26:17.910
The setter who can be started, the young setter

00:26:17.910 --> 00:26:22.730
who came in. Italy was seamless. They got beaten

00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:26.930
real bad. In set two. Yeah. So that was a little

00:26:26.930 --> 00:26:30.750
shaky. Passing trouble in that set. There you

00:26:30.750 --> 00:26:33.450
go. Yeah. But other than that, like, they looked

00:26:33.450 --> 00:26:38.410
very good. I mean, Italy is the team to beat

00:26:38.410 --> 00:26:41.650
right now. I think them and Brazil in the final.

00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:45.890
Oh, do we have an early prediction? Yeah, I think.

00:26:46.390 --> 00:26:48.309
I really liked the way Brazil looked against

00:26:48.309 --> 00:26:50.930
Turkey. So did I. And they didn't even. They

00:26:50.930 --> 00:26:53.329
didn't. I'm wondering how they're going to use.

00:26:54.109 --> 00:26:56.470
They have so many competent athletes. It's like

00:26:56.470 --> 00:27:00.309
Bergman has been doing a great job. And typically

00:27:00.309 --> 00:27:03.710
you would see Gabi play in front of her. I'm

00:27:03.710 --> 00:27:05.529
not saying that's not going to happen, but it's

00:27:05.529 --> 00:27:07.970
like, how do you utilize these pieces that are

00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:11.170
doing really well without disrupting your rhythm,

00:27:11.509 --> 00:27:14.829
without like Rosa Maria still is like, there

00:27:14.829 --> 00:27:18.230
are so many options. I actually really liked

00:27:18.230 --> 00:27:21.890
putting Gabi on the right side because both Bergman.

00:27:22.250 --> 00:27:24.289
They weren't setting her back row, though. No.

00:27:24.349 --> 00:27:26.269
I was wondering, I'm like, is this a conscious

00:27:26.269 --> 00:27:30.150
choice to not make her attack, or is it an attacking

00:27:30.150 --> 00:27:33.789
issue from that side? Because she is quite effective

00:27:33.789 --> 00:27:36.869
in the pipe, but hitting back row on the right

00:27:36.869 --> 00:27:40.289
side is different. But they did move her in to

00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:42.730
pass a few times to free up the left side, so

00:27:42.730 --> 00:27:44.849
it gives you that, too. I mean, I think that

00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:48.690
she's probably still resting from her. She played

00:27:48.690 --> 00:27:50.970
a lot of volleyball this year. Yeah, it's nice.

00:27:51.470 --> 00:27:54.569
Zeroberto's got a few options on the lineup card

00:27:54.569 --> 00:27:57.170
there. I honestly like that early prediction.

00:27:57.890 --> 00:28:00.670
Brazil is looking so good. Italy is looking so

00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:03.710
good. Honestly, Japan made the final of VNL last

00:28:03.710 --> 00:28:08.690
year. If they can create that pressure with their

00:28:08.690 --> 00:28:11.569
serve and keep teams off the net, don't count

00:28:11.569 --> 00:28:16.210
them out either. It's cool. Yeah, there's definitely...

00:28:17.069 --> 00:28:19.109
Four or five teams, I think, can win depending

00:28:19.109 --> 00:28:23.049
on who gets hot. But the consistency that Italy

00:28:23.049 --> 00:28:26.789
and Brazil have shown for me makes them a favorite.

00:28:27.069 --> 00:28:30.049
We have one more week of women's VNL competition.

00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:34.849
So with four games left per team, the battle

00:28:34.849 --> 00:28:38.009
for the final eight is on. The current standings,

00:28:38.009 --> 00:28:40.430
as we mentioned earlier in the episode, are Italy,

00:28:40.670 --> 00:28:47.420
Poland, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, China. Germany,

00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:52.799
USA. Those are the top eight right now. So let's

00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.880
look at this and break it down because there's

00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:59.900
some interesting matches coming up. So China

00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:04.420
sits in the sixth spot with five wins. And then

00:29:04.420 --> 00:29:08.640
the following teams all have four wins. Germany,

00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:13.779
USA, Czech, Dominican. So there are five teams

00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:17.740
there for three spots. Now there's a whole bunch

00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:20.500
of teams that have three wins. So you're saying

00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:23.779
Italy, Poland, Brazil, Turkey, Japan are locks.

00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:26.420
They're in. They're not. There's nothing. And

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:31.299
you know what? China is most likely in as well.

00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:34.380
Their fate is in their own hands. So who is China

00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:38.339
playing next week? So this is the pool essentially

00:29:38.339 --> 00:29:41.440
to come out. So there's five teams there and

00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:44.279
four of them are all in the same pool next week.

00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:50.589
So you have. China, Dominican, Canada, Germany,

00:29:50.769 --> 00:29:54.309
and USA. All in the same pool. Now Thailand's

00:29:54.309 --> 00:29:58.529
also in that pool. So that is kind of a straight

00:29:58.529 --> 00:30:00.849
win for anybody who plays them. Except Canada.

00:30:01.170 --> 00:30:03.009
Well, we're going to get to that because that

00:30:03.009 --> 00:30:06.430
might be the relegation match. Oh my gosh. So

00:30:06.430 --> 00:30:10.750
China plays Dominican, Canada, Germany, USA.

00:30:11.009 --> 00:30:15.339
They're probably going to beat... dominican canada

00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:19.400
and germany and they'll probably beat usa although

00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:22.559
avery skinner comes that's a different team and

00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.539
like so that's that's going to be a good match

00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:27.319
well dominican won't make any changes they can't

00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:31.500
canada same thing germany kind of same story

00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:34.079
so the only team that can level up a little bit

00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:37.730
is usa and and Germany's a little inconsistent.

00:30:37.970 --> 00:30:39.930
China can be a little inconsistent. I would give

00:30:39.930 --> 00:30:42.250
the edge to China, but that China -Germany match

00:30:42.250 --> 00:30:44.950
could be a good one. I think it could be good.

00:30:45.349 --> 00:30:49.130
Because China's young. So again, China has one

00:30:49.130 --> 00:30:51.009
more win up on those ones. I'm assuming they're

00:30:51.009 --> 00:30:52.529
going to get at least two more wins, probably

00:30:52.529 --> 00:30:54.509
three in that pool. So I think China's going

00:30:54.509 --> 00:30:57.509
to be in. Okay. So that leaves us with two spots

00:30:57.509 --> 00:31:01.710
between Germany, USA, Czech, and Dominican. Now,

00:31:01.809 --> 00:31:07.190
Czech is in a pool all on its own. So none of

00:31:07.190 --> 00:31:08.609
their competition. So none of their competition.

00:31:08.650 --> 00:31:15.269
So they play Serbia, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium.

00:31:15.869 --> 00:31:19.809
Now, Czech is new. Czech is doing better than

00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:24.049
I expected. There are three teams in there that

00:31:24.049 --> 00:31:26.990
they could legitimately beat. They're not going

00:31:26.990 --> 00:31:28.470
to beat Turkey. They're not going to beat Turkey.

00:31:28.569 --> 00:31:32.930
No. But Serbia is winless. And depending on whether

00:31:32.930 --> 00:31:35.529
Pokeroo shows up for them or not, we don't know.

00:31:35.609 --> 00:31:38.309
If you're Canadian, you understand what the Pokeroo

00:31:38.309 --> 00:31:40.750
reference. If you grew up in the 80s and 90s,

00:31:40.750 --> 00:31:44.950
if not, look it up. That's potential. Netherlands

00:31:44.950 --> 00:31:48.430
stunk this week. So we'll see what happens, you

00:31:48.430 --> 00:31:51.130
know, with that. And Belgium is kind of on their

00:31:51.130 --> 00:31:52.990
level. Like that's a match that I would expect

00:31:52.990 --> 00:31:56.130
to go to five. And so Czech could win three of

00:31:56.130 --> 00:31:59.630
those matches legitimately. I'm not sure that's

00:31:59.630 --> 00:32:02.190
likely. I think it's probably more realistic

00:32:02.190 --> 00:32:05.250
that they win one or two. But they could win

00:32:05.250 --> 00:32:07.869
three. And then the rest is a shootout. Germany

00:32:07.869 --> 00:32:13.130
plays Canada, Thailand, China, Dominican. They

00:32:13.130 --> 00:32:15.869
could win three of those matches. They could

00:32:15.869 --> 00:32:18.009
win four of those matches, quite frankly. Oh,

00:32:18.009 --> 00:32:24.150
dang. USA has Thailand, Dominican, Canada, China.

00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:26.359
They could win three of those matches. They could

00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:27.740
win four of those matches. This is going to come

00:32:27.740 --> 00:32:32.240
down to points or set ratio or something. 100%.

00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:35.859
So that pool in and of itself is going to be

00:32:35.859 --> 00:32:39.619
must watch because all of those teams are playing

00:32:39.619 --> 00:32:41.700
each other. You want to watch teams pucker and

00:32:41.700 --> 00:32:45.079
play for those last spots? That is the pool that

00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:46.539
I'm going to be watching. Who can handle that

00:32:46.539 --> 00:32:52.539
pressure, baby? That pool is nasty. but it's

00:32:52.539 --> 00:32:55.200
all but it's not you know what i mean like skill

00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:57.059
like if you're like looking at the teams you're

00:32:57.059 --> 00:33:00.319
like oh this pool is like meh none of the top

00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:02.700
five teams are in it no but it's nasty in the

00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:04.440
sense that like all of these teams are in the

00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:06.339
same position it's the last week of competition

00:33:06.339 --> 00:33:08.740
and it's like which ones of us are gonna make

00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:12.759
it yeah so that i love situations like this you

00:33:12.759 --> 00:33:15.140
guys it's super interesting how that worked out

00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:19.420
and basically for all of these teams, your fate

00:33:19.420 --> 00:33:21.759
in making the playoffs is in your hands. You

00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:24.660
have to bring, that pool in particular has to

00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:27.599
bring everybody they can. Yeah. If making the

00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:30.000
final eight is important to them. Right. So I

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:31.700
think that's really interesting and it'll be

00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:33.880
curious to see how Cech does against some of

00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:39.039
these other teams. Ho, ho, ho. And I will say

00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:40.940
that France and Netherlands are close, but France

00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:42.740
has Japan and Brazil in their pool, so they're

00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:44.200
not going to win those. So they can at most get

00:33:44.200 --> 00:33:45.720
two wins, which is going to put them at five.

00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:51.500
Adam's crunched the numbers. This is Adam's bookie

00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:55.900
business. I love this stuff. Okay, so let's...

00:33:55.900 --> 00:33:58.039
The battle for relegation? Yeah, let's go down

00:33:58.039 --> 00:34:01.160
to the bottom. Okay, so currently we have Serbia

00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:03.779
has zero wins. I'm not even sure how that's possible.

00:34:04.660 --> 00:34:07.099
Korea has one win. which was against Canada.

00:34:07.420 --> 00:34:09.659
A couple weeks ago I was like, Korea's not going

00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:11.579
to win a match. Leave it to Canada to be like,

00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:15.440
you can win against us. It's a tough look to

00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:19.699
be the team that gets beaten by the bagel. Maybe

00:34:19.699 --> 00:34:21.400
Korea will win a match and then it'll happen

00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:24.000
to somebody else. Yeah, we'll see. So Serbia

00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:27.159
is in last, then Korea, then Thailand, and then

00:34:27.159 --> 00:34:29.360
Canada. So Korea and Thailand both have one win.

00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:35.639
Canada has two wins. So in Serbia's pool is...

00:34:35.929 --> 00:34:41.090
Czech, Italy, Belgium, Turkey. So they're not

00:34:41.090 --> 00:34:42.789
going to beat Italy and they're not going to

00:34:42.789 --> 00:34:45.409
beat Turkey. Probably not even if Boscovich shows

00:34:45.409 --> 00:34:49.690
up. Because they're just not grooving. Now they

00:34:49.690 --> 00:34:52.469
had some close matches. But they always find

00:34:52.469 --> 00:34:54.690
a way to lose. Even when the matches are close,

00:34:54.789 --> 00:34:57.230
they find a way to lose. But you have to remember

00:34:57.230 --> 00:34:59.150
all these teams are in the same place with that.

00:34:59.190 --> 00:35:01.909
Because Canada also is finding ways to lose.

00:35:02.409 --> 00:35:06.710
Canada's great until they're just not. So it'll

00:35:06.710 --> 00:35:08.630
be, I mean, I still don't see them. They're not

00:35:08.630 --> 00:35:10.050
going to be Italy. They're probably not going

00:35:10.050 --> 00:35:12.409
to be Turkey. So Serbia is going to come out

00:35:12.409 --> 00:35:16.909
with at most two wins. Okay. Okay. However, they

00:35:16.909 --> 00:35:21.690
already have five points. So up to seven points

00:35:21.690 --> 00:35:24.630
or sorry. No. You think they're going to win

00:35:24.630 --> 00:35:26.309
in three or four? I think if they win in three

00:35:26.309 --> 00:35:28.110
or four. So max 11 points. So they could get

00:35:28.110 --> 00:35:30.230
to 11 points. Okay. And then if they push Turkey

00:35:30.230 --> 00:35:32.969
to five or whatever else, like they're not in

00:35:32.969 --> 00:35:36.260
as bad a place. As you might think. Okay. I mean,

00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:38.800
they're in a bad place, but it's not good. Compared

00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:41.239
to the Serbia we're used to seeing, this is like

00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:45.639
opposite day. We're in the twilight zone. So

00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:48.679
Korea, I think, is probably not going to win.

00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:52.119
They have Poland, Japan, Bulgaria, and France.

00:35:52.340 --> 00:35:55.079
France is playing well. Maybe they beat Bulgaria,

00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:58.820
but I see them sticking at one point, and they're

00:35:58.820 --> 00:36:01.699
probably going to end up at the bottom. That's

00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:05.579
my prediction. Thailand plays Canada. So I don't

00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:07.539
think Canada's probably not going to beat Germany.

00:36:07.619 --> 00:36:08.739
They're probably not going to beat China. They're

00:36:08.739 --> 00:36:11.199
probably not going to beat the U .S. But they

00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:13.519
play Thailand. And Thailand probably not going

00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:15.860
to beat the U .S. or Germany or Dominican. So

00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:19.679
that match is going to come down to head -to

00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:22.139
-head who wins. If Thailand wins, they're tied

00:36:22.139 --> 00:36:24.920
for points. And the tie -break procedure is...

00:36:25.289 --> 00:36:27.929
wins losses so they'll be tied and then it comes

00:36:27.929 --> 00:36:30.170
down to points and then it comes down to set

00:36:30.170 --> 00:36:33.210
ratios so canada has way more points than that

00:36:33.210 --> 00:36:36.929
don't they so as it stands canada has six points

00:36:36.929 --> 00:36:39.909
and thailand has five points but one less win

00:36:39.909 --> 00:36:42.489
yeah it's going to come down to that match so

00:36:42.489 --> 00:36:44.590
if that match goes five they'll be tied and thailand

00:36:44.590 --> 00:36:50.820
wins yeah so we will see I don't think Serbia

00:36:50.820 --> 00:36:52.239
is going to get relegated. I think it's going

00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:54.699
to be Korea and then either Thailand or Canada.

00:36:55.099 --> 00:36:56.880
And it's going to come down to that one match

00:36:56.880 --> 00:37:00.960
unless Canada can maybe beat Germany. Or push

00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:03.519
a team to five. Or push a team to five. Well,

00:37:03.539 --> 00:37:06.039
Thailand might push a team to five. Yeah. Oh

00:37:06.039 --> 00:37:08.940
my gosh. I think Korea is going to be relegated.

00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:10.599
I think Korea is going to be relegated as well.

00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:13.320
I think that Canada is better than Thailand.

00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:16.340
I thought Canada was better than Korea, and they

00:37:16.340 --> 00:37:19.119
managed to throw that game away. Totally fair.

00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:22.920
So that's what we're looking at in terms of possible

00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:26.679
relegations, qualifying for playoffs. And again,

00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:28.960
it's interesting, Thailand and Canada in the

00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:32.820
same pool. So that pool is to get in and also

00:37:32.820 --> 00:37:34.980
to be relegated. So all of those matches are

00:37:34.980 --> 00:37:37.559
going to matter. Didn't this similar situation

00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:39.719
happen in Canada last year with Netherlands,

00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:42.800
where it was like, oh, if we beat you in this

00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.619
VNL match, we will go to the Olympics, and then

00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:48.300
they completely folded. So you think, who do

00:37:48.300 --> 00:37:52.659
you think is going to squeak out from the bubble

00:37:52.659 --> 00:37:55.340
teams? You thought it was going to be... Who's

00:37:55.340 --> 00:37:57.300
going to make the playoffs? Between Germany,

00:37:57.400 --> 00:37:59.880
USA, Czech, and Dominican. I think it's going

00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:03.699
to be China, Germany, and the US. So you think

00:38:03.699 --> 00:38:05.360
Czech and Dominican aren't going to make it?

00:38:05.440 --> 00:38:07.710
Yeah. And then you think that the relegated team

00:38:07.710 --> 00:38:11.269
is going to be Korea? Okay. That's Adam's prediction.

00:38:11.570 --> 00:38:14.789
Let's see what happens. So on that note, I actually

00:38:14.789 --> 00:38:18.409
have a question for you. Oh, dear. I've watched

00:38:18.409 --> 00:38:20.650
several teams. So we talked about Serbia not

00:38:20.650 --> 00:38:23.070
having Boscovich. We look at Canada, who doesn't

00:38:23.070 --> 00:38:26.449
have... three of their players, Van Rijk, Gray,

00:38:26.730 --> 00:38:29.369
and their setter. What do you think are realistic

00:38:29.369 --> 00:38:32.750
expectations? How do you think that factors into

00:38:32.750 --> 00:38:34.949
this when you look at the big picture? Because,

00:38:35.030 --> 00:38:37.690
you know, Italy left two good left sides at home.

00:38:37.909 --> 00:38:41.429
Brazil's not playing, you know, Gabi and Rosa

00:38:41.429 --> 00:38:44.369
Maria. Like, other teams are leaving or missing

00:38:44.369 --> 00:38:48.590
players as well. How do you think that reflects

00:38:48.590 --> 00:38:51.190
on those programs or what the expectations are?

00:38:51.349 --> 00:38:54.550
Like, how do you look at that situation? I think

00:38:54.550 --> 00:38:56.989
when I see situations like that, it makes me

00:38:56.989 --> 00:39:00.289
think of the future of the program. Programs

00:39:00.289 --> 00:39:03.730
like Brazil and Italy that are able to rotate

00:39:03.730 --> 00:39:06.429
players a little bit and still have success,

00:39:06.590 --> 00:39:11.110
the program is going to be fine. And that can

00:39:11.110 --> 00:39:14.639
speak to... their youth development that can

00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:17.199
speak to, you know, their junior national team

00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:19.539
programs, the strength of their leagues and the

00:39:19.539 --> 00:39:21.579
training that they're getting in the professional

00:39:21.579 --> 00:39:23.719
environment in their country. Like it could speak

00:39:23.719 --> 00:39:27.000
to any number of things or the quality of coaching

00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:29.579
in their countries. But the big thing for me

00:39:29.579 --> 00:39:33.460
is just like it shows the health or the potential

00:39:33.460 --> 00:39:36.679
health of their national team program in years

00:39:36.679 --> 00:39:40.340
to come. Like if you're losing a couple starters

00:39:40.340 --> 00:39:43.800
and your team literally is in the tank, your

00:39:43.800 --> 00:39:47.719
future is not looking great. But if you are able

00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:51.440
to swap players and do that and still find ways

00:39:51.440 --> 00:39:54.300
to win, like that bodes really well for your

00:39:54.300 --> 00:39:58.179
future. So that's a perfect segue into our final

00:39:58.179 --> 00:40:01.900
storyline of the day, which are who made the

00:40:01.900 --> 00:40:03.920
biggest improvements and who were the biggest

00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:07.679
downfalls. I love this section. Do you want to

00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.719
start with the biggest improvements? Sure. Probably

00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:12.619
for me, I would say France was the first one.

00:40:12.920 --> 00:40:15.699
People might be shocked to hear mine, but USA.

00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:20.880
And I'm going to put Czech. I also had France,

00:40:20.980 --> 00:40:23.480
but my additions to yours would be USA and Czech.

00:40:23.739 --> 00:40:26.500
I think that's fair. I think we can give credit

00:40:26.500 --> 00:40:28.539
where credit is due. I thought the French captain

00:40:28.539 --> 00:40:31.880
played really well this week. French cazote?

00:40:32.099 --> 00:40:35.300
Yeah. And their right side? Yeah. Outstanding.

00:40:36.590 --> 00:40:41.449
Jelin, their libero is also solid. Yeah, I thought

00:40:41.449 --> 00:40:44.449
France, both France and the Czech Republic pulled

00:40:44.449 --> 00:40:46.530
off wins that I did not think they were going

00:40:46.530 --> 00:40:50.050
to. Yeah, they were gritty. They grinded. They

00:40:50.050 --> 00:40:53.409
came together as a team. Their main players stepped

00:40:53.409 --> 00:40:56.329
up and scored points when they needed to. I thought

00:40:56.329 --> 00:41:00.289
overall, I would agree with you. Both teams won

00:41:00.289 --> 00:41:03.389
matches. they probably quote -unquote shouldn't

00:41:03.389 --> 00:41:05.710
have, but it was good team effort and execution

00:41:05.710 --> 00:41:09.369
down the stretch. USA, I know I've been ragging

00:41:09.369 --> 00:41:12.369
on them, but they looked a lot better this week.

00:41:12.570 --> 00:41:16.409
Yeah, and I think specifically having Dana Recchi

00:41:16.409 --> 00:41:19.889
there. Dana Recchi made a big difference. And

00:41:19.889 --> 00:41:23.010
they had Maddie Skinner on the right side. Yeah,

00:41:23.070 --> 00:41:26.130
who also played very well. She did very well

00:41:26.130 --> 00:41:28.690
on the right side. So there's two things going

00:41:28.690 --> 00:41:31.039
back to... Dana Rickey and I noticed the defense

00:41:31.039 --> 00:41:34.019
was different so my question to you or my thought

00:41:34.019 --> 00:41:38.440
was does Dana allow them because she blocked

00:41:38.440 --> 00:41:41.460
phenomenally well like she is a she has a presence

00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:44.179
and a force at the net for sure does having her

00:41:44.179 --> 00:41:47.260
automatically push the defenders back because

00:41:47.260 --> 00:41:49.559
I noticed that they were deeper they were deeper

00:41:49.559 --> 00:41:54.619
this week or did the coaching staff make an adjustment

00:41:54.619 --> 00:41:56.719
you mean did they listen to our podcast and take

00:41:56.719 --> 00:42:04.940
our advice obviously 100%. I don't know. I hope

00:42:04.940 --> 00:42:07.639
that the coaching staff watched video and noticed

00:42:07.639 --> 00:42:11.239
it and made an adjustment. Yeah, fair. Who knows?

00:42:11.260 --> 00:42:14.400
I would love if that was the case. But Redke,

00:42:14.579 --> 00:42:17.000
with her size, they also could have been like,

00:42:17.079 --> 00:42:19.280
oh, she gets so many more touches. Let's back

00:42:19.280 --> 00:42:23.159
it up. But Amber and Jade was blocking really

00:42:23.159 --> 00:42:26.559
well, too. Fair. Yeah, I'm not sure, but their

00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:29.940
defense was different. Yeah, it was. much more

00:42:29.940 --> 00:42:32.780
effective people were in good places they were

00:42:32.780 --> 00:42:35.619
able to extend way more rallies than they were

00:42:35.619 --> 00:42:39.360
the first time uh or the first week and dana

00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:42.679
actually she attacked well on the slide so she

00:42:42.679 --> 00:42:45.900
gave them an option there and again they didn't

00:42:45.900 --> 00:42:48.900
play any banger teams this week like all of them

00:42:48.900 --> 00:42:52.179
were kind of yeah fair poland so we'll see what

00:42:52.179 --> 00:42:54.199
happens there but they took care of what was

00:42:54.199 --> 00:42:56.039
in front of them and they and they came up with

00:42:56.039 --> 00:42:58.639
a good record and i thought that they played

00:42:58.639 --> 00:43:00.179
better. I think there's still question marks

00:43:00.179 --> 00:43:03.059
on the left side for them. But, you know, they

00:43:03.059 --> 00:43:07.179
solidified the middle. What did you think of

00:43:07.179 --> 00:43:10.000
Butler? I thought she was fine. Would you have

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:12.880
played her over IG? No. Really? You would have

00:43:12.880 --> 00:43:15.440
played IG? I like IG. I think IG's been doing

00:43:15.440 --> 00:43:19.039
pretty well. But, again, I don't think that it's

00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:21.639
not a huge. Yeah, it wasn't like a huge difference.

00:43:21.840 --> 00:43:24.820
Yeah, so I think they're almost interchangeable

00:43:24.820 --> 00:43:27.550
for me offensively. I think Ajit is a little

00:43:27.550 --> 00:43:29.769
better blocking -wise, a little more stable.

00:43:30.010 --> 00:43:33.409
I thought Lexi Rodriguez set better than Hentz.

00:43:33.409 --> 00:43:35.389
I think we can both agree on that. I think she

00:43:35.389 --> 00:43:38.469
passed fine. You were mentioning about her defense.

00:43:38.769 --> 00:43:43.349
Her defense, I just think she's not accustomed

00:43:43.349 --> 00:43:50.510
or used to the range of these athletes. In college,

00:43:50.550 --> 00:43:53.599
things are very straightforward. Players... hit

00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:55.699
what they hit. A lot of them hit in line with

00:43:55.699 --> 00:43:58.920
their body, but you, so you could see her like

00:43:58.920 --> 00:44:01.679
being in a defensive position that is very college

00:44:01.679 --> 00:44:04.780
and would probably get her digs in college and

00:44:04.780 --> 00:44:08.340
then looked surprised when the hitter like used

00:44:08.340 --> 00:44:10.380
the wrist and like wrapped it around the inside

00:44:10.380 --> 00:44:12.599
of the block and went a little deeper or was

00:44:12.599 --> 00:44:15.320
able to hit a sharper angle. So I just think

00:44:15.320 --> 00:44:19.039
that she hasn't seen this type of physicality

00:44:19.039 --> 00:44:23.880
and attacking. range before but I do I agree

00:44:23.880 --> 00:44:26.880
that her setting was so much better than Hentz's

00:44:26.880 --> 00:44:30.739
yeah and I think that they passed well as a team

00:44:30.739 --> 00:44:33.159
this week and again you're not playing Italy

00:44:33.159 --> 00:44:35.179
and Brazil so you know take with a grain of salt

00:44:35.179 --> 00:44:37.039
but they were in system and their offense was

00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:39.260
a little bit faster to the pin so I think all

00:44:39.260 --> 00:44:42.539
of that helped I mean I think they dropped the

00:44:42.539 --> 00:44:45.679
ball though on bringing if you're going to use

00:44:45.679 --> 00:44:47.539
Madison Skinner as a right side don't bring three

00:44:47.539 --> 00:44:50.500
right sides Like you dropped the ball, you could

00:44:50.500 --> 00:44:53.900
have brought another left side. Yeah. Because

00:44:53.900 --> 00:44:56.360
Ronnie Jones -Perry was a massive liability.

00:44:56.860 --> 00:45:00.420
Just got aced, got blocked when it mattered,

00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:02.800
just completely fell apart at the end of sets.

00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:06.920
I don't really, she didn't score well, but that

00:45:06.920 --> 00:45:08.400
was your only left side option on the bench.

00:45:08.659 --> 00:45:12.699
Yeah. If I'm picking my left sides for next week,

00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:17.610
it's Lanier, Skinner. Adams, Franklin. I mean,

00:45:17.610 --> 00:45:19.989
Eggleston's been scored. She scored pretty well

00:45:19.989 --> 00:45:22.389
this week, but. But I don't think you're going

00:45:22.389 --> 00:45:25.730
to need her. You're going to need passing, right?

00:45:26.289 --> 00:45:28.969
Maddie Skinner is scoring points. I think you

00:45:28.969 --> 00:45:31.650
bring Lednicki or Babcock. I don't think it matters

00:45:31.650 --> 00:45:34.550
because Skinner's going to play. You have, the

00:45:34.550 --> 00:45:37.949
middles are fine with Retke there, but you need,

00:45:38.150 --> 00:45:40.610
you're going to need to pass well. Okay, what

00:45:40.610 --> 00:45:44.440
about the biggest downfalls of the week? I have

00:45:44.440 --> 00:45:50.559
two teams for me. I thought Netherlands had opportunities.

00:45:50.820 --> 00:45:53.340
They were not as good as the first week. I wasn't

00:45:53.340 --> 00:45:57.239
impressed watching them. They looked discombobulated

00:45:57.239 --> 00:46:02.380
as a team. They were not fun to watch. Serbia

00:46:02.380 --> 00:46:04.739
is a dumpster fire right now. I don't know what's

00:46:04.739 --> 00:46:07.050
happening. with them like they're in matches

00:46:07.050 --> 00:46:09.429
and then and then they just and then they can't

00:46:09.429 --> 00:46:12.250
win can't close and actually Canada this comes

00:46:12.250 --> 00:46:15.769
down to the expectations right you're missing

00:46:15.769 --> 00:46:18.349
your three best players but you're in matches

00:46:18.349 --> 00:46:22.469
against these other teams like I mean no offense

00:46:22.469 --> 00:46:25.469
but like you should be able to beat Korea yeah

00:46:25.469 --> 00:46:28.650
right and you're losing matches like you lost

00:46:28.650 --> 00:46:32.730
to Korea 13 or 15 -13 in the fifth you lost to

00:46:34.730 --> 00:46:38.849
Belgium, 18 -16. You're there, but you've got

00:46:38.849 --> 00:46:41.989
to close. That's to me about a mentality. That's

00:46:41.989 --> 00:46:46.190
disappointing. Well, all of the scores against

00:46:46.190 --> 00:46:48.670
Brazil, two of the three were within two points.

00:46:48.690 --> 00:46:52.269
The last set against Turkey, 26 -24. There's

00:46:52.269 --> 00:46:54.909
just an inconsistency there that's hard to watch

00:46:54.909 --> 00:46:57.309
because they're either getting smacked around

00:46:57.309 --> 00:46:59.510
or they're making bad errors at the end of sets.

00:47:00.300 --> 00:47:02.739
Those three teams were the same teams on my list

00:47:02.739 --> 00:47:05.440
too. I had Canada, Netherlands, Serbia. I agree

00:47:05.440 --> 00:47:07.679
with you. Like if you're losing those matches,

00:47:07.860 --> 00:47:11.119
if you're losing that many matches by two points,

00:47:11.360 --> 00:47:14.579
it's a mentality. It is a mental issue. It's

00:47:14.579 --> 00:47:16.760
being worried about making mistakes down the

00:47:16.760 --> 00:47:19.380
stretch, potentially playing safe, potentially,

00:47:19.480 --> 00:47:21.599
you know, I saw a girl serve a ball under the

00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:25.199
net at 23 all, like being terrified, not like

00:47:25.199 --> 00:47:29.039
mentally prepared. scared like you name it but

00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:31.739
it's not it's clearly not a physical thing it's

00:47:31.739 --> 00:47:37.519
mental yeah and three of your players who have

00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:40.360
helped the team develop and who have like experienced

00:47:40.360 --> 00:47:43.519
success aren't there like is winning is a skill

00:47:43.519 --> 00:47:47.039
and this is actually maybe a blessing in disguise

00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:52.239
for them because if this didn't happen And let's

00:47:52.239 --> 00:47:53.780
say you're going and you're playing at Worlds.

00:47:54.019 --> 00:47:56.739
Everybody knows Alexa Gray or Kira Van Ryker

00:47:56.739 --> 00:47:59.139
are going to get the ball in key moments. If

00:47:59.139 --> 00:48:01.619
you are now forcing some of these athletes to

00:48:01.619 --> 00:48:03.699
be able to score, maybe you have more options

00:48:03.699 --> 00:48:06.099
down the stretch. Now, you better hope you don't

00:48:06.099 --> 00:48:10.480
get relegated, right? But I don't know. Thockboom,

00:48:10.599 --> 00:48:12.840
I think, has been consistently pretty good. She's

00:48:12.840 --> 00:48:14.420
been the biggest surprise to me in a positive

00:48:14.420 --> 00:48:18.760
way. I've enjoyed watching her. And then I think

00:48:18.760 --> 00:48:24.360
Gusen has also been... decent she's like 19 this

00:48:24.360 --> 00:48:27.940
is her first i mean your 19 year old shouldn't

00:48:27.940 --> 00:48:31.800
be the one holding it down okay so i think that

00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:34.199
i think that she has some potential now again

00:48:34.199 --> 00:48:37.079
you come out nobody has video on you you know

00:48:37.079 --> 00:48:39.559
you play free there's a whole learning curve

00:48:39.559 --> 00:48:43.000
for her there but In the small sample size where

00:48:43.000 --> 00:48:45.300
she's been on the court, I've liked her attitude.

00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:48.179
I've liked how she swung and been fearless. So

00:48:48.179 --> 00:48:49.739
we'll see what happens there. But yeah, I think

00:48:49.739 --> 00:48:51.599
overall it was a disappointing week for Canada.

00:48:52.019 --> 00:48:54.800
Lastly, about Canada, just because we're Canadian.

00:48:55.219 --> 00:48:58.159
What do you think the expectation should be when

00:48:58.159 --> 00:49:03.739
you lose O 'Reilly, Van Rijk, and Gray is not

00:49:03.739 --> 00:49:08.179
there? What is reasonable? What do you expect

00:49:08.179 --> 00:49:12.079
from this roster? fair well you've still got

00:49:12.079 --> 00:49:15.420
two starting middles from your last few years

00:49:15.420 --> 00:49:17.900
you've got a starting left side and you're starting

00:49:17.900 --> 00:49:20.420
libero so you've got four of your seven starters

00:49:20.420 --> 00:49:22.960
from the last seven years there granted those

00:49:22.960 --> 00:49:25.159
three players missing i think they represent

00:49:25.159 --> 00:49:28.380
at least half the team probably more i would

00:49:28.380 --> 00:49:33.539
expect you need to win the matches that you should

00:49:33.539 --> 00:49:35.820
i don't i don't ever think that anybody should

00:49:35.820 --> 00:49:39.869
win a match i don't think that that is fair to

00:49:39.869 --> 00:49:44.349
teams but teams that are within your wheelhouse

00:49:44.349 --> 00:49:46.630
I think the expectation needs to be that you

00:49:46.630 --> 00:49:49.210
take care of it so they needed to take care of

00:49:49.210 --> 00:49:52.349
Korea this week they needed to take care of Belgium

00:49:52.349 --> 00:49:55.469
this week like those are not out of the realm

00:49:55.469 --> 00:49:58.090
of possibility to win like you can't be satisfied

00:49:58.090 --> 00:50:01.050
getting close against those teams you know what

00:50:01.050 --> 00:50:05.070
I mean I will say the most disappointing part

00:50:05.070 --> 00:50:11.480
to me with Canada is their complete lack of on

00:50:11.480 --> 00:50:15.059
-court leadership and emotion or fire. I know

00:50:15.059 --> 00:50:18.119
you were talking about Turkey's emotion earlier

00:50:18.119 --> 00:50:23.219
in the episode, and they take it to the extreme.

00:50:23.840 --> 00:50:27.880
Canada, they're not fun to watch right now. They're

00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:30.599
a bunch of flatliners. Some of them look like

00:50:30.599 --> 00:50:32.480
they would rather be anywhere else. They look

00:50:32.480 --> 00:50:34.820
absolutely miserable. If you don't want to be

00:50:34.820 --> 00:50:38.110
there, go home. I hear what you're saying, but,

00:50:38.190 --> 00:50:41.110
and as athletes, you know, you want to play within

00:50:41.110 --> 00:50:43.849
your personality, not everybody's rah -rah. No,

00:50:43.929 --> 00:50:46.829
I am not a rah -rah player either, but like when

00:50:46.829 --> 00:50:48.610
you're playing a Korea and you're in the fifth

00:50:48.610 --> 00:50:51.369
set, like, do you want this? Do you want this?

00:50:52.070 --> 00:50:55.050
You can't be a negative drain on the team's energy.

00:50:55.150 --> 00:50:57.909
And I think some of the players are like that.

00:50:58.269 --> 00:51:01.210
Yeah, again, there are some players who are like

00:51:01.210 --> 00:51:03.269
Karakurt, who are like in your face, I'm going

00:51:03.269 --> 00:51:05.070
to scream at you, I'm going to stare across the

00:51:05.070 --> 00:51:06.750
net, I'm going to cheer to the crowd every time

00:51:06.750 --> 00:51:09.849
I score. There are players who are very subdued,

00:51:09.849 --> 00:51:12.730
like a Paola Eganu, who is just like all business,

00:51:12.769 --> 00:51:16.329
but like she gets her job done. But you can't,

00:51:16.329 --> 00:51:19.610
like you said, take away from the team's energy.

00:51:19.690 --> 00:51:22.050
If it's not in your personality to be rah -rah,

00:51:22.110 --> 00:51:24.849
don't do that. But be in neutral for your team.

00:51:25.440 --> 00:51:27.559
suck the energy away and that's what i'm seeing

00:51:27.559 --> 00:51:31.079
right now yeah yeah anyway you slice it i don't

00:51:31.079 --> 00:51:32.800
even know if that's a saying but it sounded good

00:51:32.800 --> 00:51:36.179
in my head anyway you slice it week three is

00:51:36.179 --> 00:51:38.739
going to be interesting i'm watching one pool

00:51:38.739 --> 00:51:43.139
everybody tune into that one pool okay do or

00:51:43.139 --> 00:51:45.940
die who's going to make the final eight but these

00:51:45.940 --> 00:51:49.900
were our kind of favorite storylines of the week

00:51:49.900 --> 00:51:52.639
we wanted to touch on turkey we wanted to touch

00:51:52.639 --> 00:51:57.780
on japan So, yeah, I'm really curious to see

00:51:57.780 --> 00:52:00.579
how this all plays out. All right, let's hit

00:52:00.579 --> 00:52:02.659
the listener questions, my favorite part of every

00:52:02.659 --> 00:52:05.079
episode. Okay, are you ready? I'm ready. Question

00:52:05.079 --> 00:52:09.380
one is about Madison Skinner. This listener said

00:52:09.380 --> 00:52:11.840
it seems like she hasn't really found her true

00:52:11.840 --> 00:52:15.000
home yet position -wise. How do you think this

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:17.739
might impact her long -term success and her likelihood

00:52:17.739 --> 00:52:21.650
of making the Olympic roster? roster is moving

00:52:21.650 --> 00:52:24.309
her around doing her a disservice or is she not

00:52:24.309 --> 00:52:27.010
standing out enough at either position for coaches

00:52:27.010 --> 00:52:29.469
to feel confident developing her there you know

00:52:29.469 --> 00:52:32.670
if the if you're getting your best case scenario

00:52:32.670 --> 00:52:37.789
and the Skinner sisters can pass well having

00:52:37.789 --> 00:52:42.949
both of them on the left side I think is your

00:52:42.949 --> 00:52:46.420
gold standard for that team I think That gives

00:52:46.420 --> 00:52:49.780
you an incredible duo on the left who is dynamic.

00:52:49.780 --> 00:52:51.500
They can hit out of the front row, out of the

00:52:51.500 --> 00:52:55.239
back row. They're very physical. You know, I

00:52:55.239 --> 00:52:58.300
think that's your best case scenario. If they

00:52:58.300 --> 00:53:02.699
can pass. But I don't think that Madison's passing

00:53:02.699 --> 00:53:05.280
is there, and I'm not sure it's going to get

00:53:05.280 --> 00:53:08.099
there. Well, quite frankly, seeing her, I think

00:53:08.099 --> 00:53:09.659
she's attacking better on the right side right

00:53:09.659 --> 00:53:16.570
now. So that's the flip side, right? 4 000 or

00:53:16.570 --> 00:53:19.590
a 40 000 foot view like that's where higher than

00:53:19.590 --> 00:53:21.570
i'm playing everybody we're going super high

00:53:21.570 --> 00:53:23.869
that's where you want it to be but i'm not sure

00:53:23.869 --> 00:53:25.710
that that's realistic i think she played very

00:53:25.710 --> 00:53:29.309
well from the right side i think that her physicality

00:53:29.309 --> 00:53:31.489
gives her lots of options on the right side she

00:53:31.489 --> 00:53:32.969
comes out of the back i think she hits better

00:53:32.969 --> 00:53:35.150
out of the back row than she does 100 i agree

00:53:35.150 --> 00:53:38.090
so there's obviously room for her to grow i think

00:53:38.090 --> 00:53:41.460
when she plays Teams who aren't as physical as

00:53:41.460 --> 00:53:43.420
her, her ability to tip the ball fast to the

00:53:43.420 --> 00:53:45.400
ground over top of the block is really good.

00:53:45.980 --> 00:53:48.719
She's going to need to learn to score out of

00:53:48.719 --> 00:53:51.099
system against well -formed blocks. That's kind

00:53:51.099 --> 00:53:53.099
of the area where I think she's going to need

00:53:53.099 --> 00:53:55.440
some work hitting on the right side. Do you think

00:53:55.440 --> 00:53:57.780
coaches are doing her a disservice by moving

00:53:57.780 --> 00:53:59.800
her around? Or do you think it's a her issue

00:53:59.800 --> 00:54:02.519
in that she hasn't stood out enough or proven

00:54:02.519 --> 00:54:06.599
herself elite enough at either position? If she

00:54:06.599 --> 00:54:08.639
could pass, she would play on the left side,

00:54:08.719 --> 00:54:11.849
period. But USA doesn't have a right side right

00:54:11.849 --> 00:54:15.369
now. She's competing against Lednicki and Babcock,

00:54:15.510 --> 00:54:16.329
and I think she's better. Both of whom can't

00:54:16.329 --> 00:54:18.250
even play Worlds. Right. Because they're in college.

00:54:18.469 --> 00:54:20.010
I think she's better than both of them. So I

00:54:20.010 --> 00:54:23.010
think Madison has found her home on the right

00:54:23.010 --> 00:54:27.289
side for at least the next year, and they are

00:54:27.289 --> 00:54:30.289
always going to have her work on passing to try

00:54:30.289 --> 00:54:33.210
and force her into that, would be my guess. Okay,

00:54:33.289 --> 00:54:37.050
question two. This person said, I am watching

00:54:37.050 --> 00:54:40.170
the France -USA game right now. And there is

00:54:40.170 --> 00:54:43.409
not a lot of defense being played. Is this normal

00:54:43.409 --> 00:54:47.309
internationally? Or is the USA just not in the

00:54:47.309 --> 00:54:50.550
right position? Yeah, I think that's the case.

00:54:51.070 --> 00:54:55.489
I don't think they've started game planning well.

00:54:55.710 --> 00:54:58.789
I don't think that they're reading situations

00:54:58.789 --> 00:55:01.429
particularly well. Let's be honest. Last week

00:55:01.429 --> 00:55:04.530
they were playing a college -style defense. Against

00:55:04.530 --> 00:55:09.130
Italy and Brazil. Yeah. And so they've made a

00:55:09.130 --> 00:55:11.869
great step to moving everybody back and being

00:55:11.869 --> 00:55:13.489
a little more disciplined because for the most

00:55:13.489 --> 00:55:15.929
part they were on a perimeter defense, which

00:55:15.929 --> 00:55:18.449
I thought was good this past week. But they're

00:55:18.449 --> 00:55:21.449
not at a point where as a team they're reading

00:55:21.449 --> 00:55:24.969
situations, they're adjusting defensive positions.

00:55:25.110 --> 00:55:28.369
I don't think they're talking about percentage

00:55:28.369 --> 00:55:31.070
breakdowns of sets and different rotations and

00:55:31.070 --> 00:55:33.550
who's taking what responsibilities and if the

00:55:33.550 --> 00:55:37.460
balls inside make this adjustment. they've moved

00:55:37.460 --> 00:55:39.420
their base position back and they're kind of

00:55:39.420 --> 00:55:43.139
playing defense from there. I just don't, they're

00:55:43.139 --> 00:55:46.659
not that tight or close or operating. Well, none

00:55:46.659 --> 00:55:49.000
of these players were good defensive players

00:55:49.000 --> 00:55:51.199
in college even. Right. You know what I mean?

00:55:51.260 --> 00:55:55.380
Like Eggleston, Skinner, Franklin, like none

00:55:55.380 --> 00:55:57.940
of them were like standouts defensively at the

00:55:57.940 --> 00:56:00.639
college level. So now that they're all on the

00:56:00.639 --> 00:56:03.099
court at the same time, I'm like, oof, watch

00:56:03.099 --> 00:56:05.820
out. There's a lot of work to be done there.

00:56:06.019 --> 00:56:08.239
But it is not an international trend. If you

00:56:08.239 --> 00:56:13.179
want to see elite defense, watch Japan, watch

00:56:13.179 --> 00:56:18.340
Italy, Brazil picks up a lot. Watch those teams

00:56:18.340 --> 00:56:22.000
and you will see that it's a USA thing and not

00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:26.320
a trend. Yeah, they're just not operating on

00:56:26.320 --> 00:56:29.889
that level yet. Question three. You mentioned

00:56:29.889 --> 00:56:33.550
how the Japan men's style of play was very different.

00:56:33.630 --> 00:56:36.849
Can you expand more on that? And what different

00:56:36.849 --> 00:56:39.630
styles of play are among the national teams?

00:56:39.809 --> 00:56:42.730
What are styles of play that don't mesh well

00:56:42.730 --> 00:56:45.210
or make it difficult for better teams playing

00:56:45.210 --> 00:56:49.730
worse teams? So the goal of any team is to maximize

00:56:49.730 --> 00:56:53.710
your strengths, right? So, you know, we hinted

00:56:53.710 --> 00:56:56.809
on it talking about the Japanese women, right?

00:56:57.909 --> 00:57:01.469
they're not as big as everybody else. So how

00:57:01.469 --> 00:57:03.349
do you maximize that? You serve well. You make

00:57:03.349 --> 00:57:04.469
sure you don't have a ton of options. We're just

00:57:04.469 --> 00:57:05.809
similar to the Japanese men. The Japanese men

00:57:05.809 --> 00:57:09.190
and women play a similar style. You run combo

00:57:09.190 --> 00:57:12.730
plays to distract the block. Yeah, lots of options,

00:57:12.809 --> 00:57:15.210
really fast. And again, you've got to maximize

00:57:15.210 --> 00:57:19.920
what you have. That's your kind of coach's job

00:57:19.920 --> 00:57:21.920
is to figure out what personnel you have and

00:57:21.920 --> 00:57:23.860
what style works well. You might have really

00:57:23.860 --> 00:57:26.059
big players that can't hit fastballs because

00:57:26.059 --> 00:57:28.579
it takes away the angles that they can hit. So

00:57:28.579 --> 00:57:31.420
you slow it down so that you can use kind of

00:57:31.420 --> 00:57:33.280
what they're innately good at. Now, that's not

00:57:33.280 --> 00:57:35.320
to say you don't work on things, but different

00:57:35.320 --> 00:57:37.199
players have different things that are successful

00:57:37.199 --> 00:57:40.760
for them. different strengths some teams serve

00:57:40.760 --> 00:57:43.480
really well some teams block really well so you

00:57:43.480 --> 00:57:45.179
don't have to serve as hard you keep the ball

00:57:45.179 --> 00:57:48.960
in play it's all about kind of maximizing the

00:57:48.960 --> 00:57:53.559
players that you have yeah so typically you see

00:57:53.559 --> 00:57:57.619
smaller teams they try to hit the crap out of

00:57:57.619 --> 00:58:00.469
the serve to keep teams off the net They run

00:58:00.469 --> 00:58:03.369
their offense very, very fast, use distraction

00:58:03.369 --> 00:58:06.670
tactics to try to create openings and holes for

00:58:06.670 --> 00:58:09.789
their hitters to try to help them score. Bigger

00:58:09.789 --> 00:58:12.530
teams, you will also see them create a ton of

00:58:12.530 --> 00:58:14.690
service pressure because of their sheer size.

00:58:15.329 --> 00:58:18.070
As Adam was saying, the offense is maybe a little

00:58:18.070 --> 00:58:22.280
bit slower. they'll use you know triple blocks

00:58:22.280 --> 00:58:25.340
more because their defensive skills aren't as

00:58:25.340 --> 00:58:27.940
strong like there's a lot of different ways that

00:58:27.940 --> 00:58:32.119
you can see teams using those strengths for big

00:58:32.119 --> 00:58:36.820
slow teams playing a team like japan is not ideal

00:58:36.820 --> 00:58:40.219
yeah you find the blockers often late they're

00:58:40.219 --> 00:58:42.639
not pressing fast enough so the hitters who are

00:58:42.639 --> 00:58:44.199
really good at getting the hands are finding

00:58:44.199 --> 00:58:46.340
you out of position there's holes in the block

00:58:46.340 --> 00:58:49.920
it's really hard to play teams that are super

00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:53.360
fast with quick arms if they're in system on

00:58:53.360 --> 00:58:55.199
the women's side a lot of the times you'll see

00:58:55.199 --> 00:58:57.840
really big physical teams maybe not be as strong

00:58:57.840 --> 00:59:01.739
from the service line because they are relying

00:59:01.739 --> 00:59:04.719
on their size at the net but that doesn't work

00:59:04.719 --> 00:59:07.159
against a team that's really fast either because

00:59:07.159 --> 00:59:09.840
then your block gets taken out of it due to the

00:59:09.840 --> 00:59:13.739
speed so it's a very interesting cat and mouse

00:59:13.739 --> 00:59:17.579
game like a chess game of like let's look at

00:59:17.579 --> 00:59:20.110
what we bring to the table And what we want to

00:59:20.110 --> 00:59:22.429
maximize. What does this team want to maximize?

00:59:22.489 --> 00:59:24.750
And what can we do to try to counteract that?

00:59:25.409 --> 00:59:30.269
And yeah, sometimes your style of play, even

00:59:30.269 --> 00:59:33.550
if you're a really great team, just does not

00:59:33.550 --> 00:59:36.929
go together with your opponents. And even on

00:59:36.929 --> 00:59:39.769
paper, if you are better, but you just like their

00:59:39.769 --> 00:59:41.989
strengths are able to be maximized more that

00:59:41.989 --> 00:59:45.429
day, like you'll, you will lose. Question four.

00:59:45.550 --> 00:59:49.190
And this is an interesting one. Is it on? Karch

00:59:49.190 --> 00:59:51.969
that the U .S. women's program has next to no

00:59:51.969 --> 00:59:54.369
athletes ready to step into the shoes of veterans

00:59:54.369 --> 00:59:56.989
leaving. How could this have happened? Shouldn't

00:59:56.989 --> 00:59:59.090
it be a constant rotation of players ready to

00:59:59.090 --> 01:00:01.210
step in to avoid having the level of play just

01:00:01.210 --> 01:00:04.949
plummet like it has in the VNL for 2025? Do other

01:00:04.949 --> 01:00:07.570
countries have this same problem? Is this just

01:00:07.570 --> 01:00:10.050
a unique circumstance with a specific group of

01:00:10.050 --> 01:00:15.070
veterans? I don't think that it's on Karch that

01:00:15.070 --> 01:00:17.920
the women's program is where it is. I honestly

01:00:17.920 --> 01:00:20.360
think it's on club coaches and college coaches

01:00:20.360 --> 01:00:24.280
and decisions that athletes make professionally.

01:00:24.500 --> 01:00:27.880
The way that the club and college game is structured,

01:00:28.019 --> 01:00:31.019
you don't have to be a full, well -rounded athlete.

01:00:31.159 --> 01:00:36.619
You don't have to be good at every skill to be

01:00:36.619 --> 01:00:39.840
able to be an All -American because there's so

01:00:39.840 --> 01:00:42.360
many substitutions. Your weaknesses can be hit.

01:00:42.760 --> 01:00:45.940
hidden so easily. Internationally, you are exposed

01:00:45.940 --> 01:00:49.239
because there are barely any substitutions. You

01:00:49.239 --> 01:00:52.300
need to be a full, well -rounded player. And

01:00:52.300 --> 01:00:55.019
I think it's just the American youth development

01:00:55.019 --> 01:00:57.900
system and college system that are creating those

01:00:57.900 --> 01:01:01.420
issues. Yeah, that's my initial thought. You're

01:01:01.420 --> 01:01:03.719
like, I disagree. I took this in a completely

01:01:03.719 --> 01:01:06.719
different manner. Oh. Looking specifically at

01:01:06.719 --> 01:01:11.960
VNL. You have a whole bunch of veterans who could

01:01:11.960 --> 01:01:15.199
be playing now and have chosen not to. There

01:01:15.199 --> 01:01:18.159
are a whole bunch of people from the last roster

01:01:18.159 --> 01:01:20.519
who aren't going to retire and who are going

01:01:20.519 --> 01:01:23.800
to come back when it's convenient for them. Jordan

01:01:23.800 --> 01:01:26.219
Thompson could be playing. Annie Drews could

01:01:26.219 --> 01:01:29.599
be playing. Kelsey Cook. Kelsey Cook, any number

01:01:29.599 --> 01:01:34.380
of setters. They have decided they don't want

01:01:34.380 --> 01:01:37.739
to play for whatever reason. And that's maybe

01:01:37.739 --> 01:01:41.420
they want a break. Maybe they're going to retire.

01:01:42.099 --> 01:01:44.739
There's any number of reasons. Okay. If you're

01:01:44.739 --> 01:01:47.940
taking it in that direction, I mean, a lot of

01:01:47.940 --> 01:01:49.739
the players that are on the VNL roster were on

01:01:49.739 --> 01:01:53.039
B team rosters and stuff in the past. I don't

01:01:53.039 --> 01:01:54.780
know how their training works. Like if the A

01:01:54.780 --> 01:01:57.579
team just trains with the A team, B with B, whatever.

01:01:58.619 --> 01:02:02.199
But if you want all of your athletes to develop,

01:02:02.320 --> 01:02:06.460
your B team and A team need to mix. to get that

01:02:06.460 --> 01:02:11.099
kind of experience. I don't know. Yeah, so I

01:02:11.099 --> 01:02:13.639
don't, like they have enough athletes. If they

01:02:13.639 --> 01:02:15.599
really wanted to, if this V &L was important

01:02:15.599 --> 01:02:19.559
to them, they could have brought in other athletes

01:02:19.559 --> 01:02:21.800
and been just fine. They have capable players

01:02:21.800 --> 01:02:23.559
who, and I'm assuming a bunch of them are going

01:02:23.559 --> 01:02:26.699
to be at Worlds or play next year. So whether

01:02:26.699 --> 01:02:28.360
that was a program decision, whether that was

01:02:28.360 --> 01:02:31.179
an athlete decision. I'm not sure. The other

01:02:31.179 --> 01:02:33.360
thing you have to remember about this VNL is

01:02:33.360 --> 01:02:35.639
that the U .S. is an automatic birth into the

01:02:35.639 --> 01:02:39.380
Olympics. So they have the luxury of this VNL

01:02:39.380 --> 01:02:41.739
means, quite frankly, absolutely nothing to them.

01:02:41.760 --> 01:02:43.599
Unless they got relegated. Unless they got relegated.

01:02:43.760 --> 01:02:46.719
But they're getting a chance to evaluate young

01:02:46.719 --> 01:02:50.199
players in pressure moments. So again, it's a

01:02:50.199 --> 01:02:53.099
mix of different things, but it's not on Karch.

01:02:53.480 --> 01:02:57.130
Last question of the day. I'm new to VNL. I understand

01:02:57.130 --> 01:03:00.269
now that teams rotate their rosters for the preliminary

01:03:00.269 --> 01:03:06.730
rounds. But why? Fair. So two part question.

01:03:07.250 --> 01:03:10.409
Do we really expect a player to not be able to

01:03:10.409 --> 01:03:13.670
play the entire tournament? And two, why wouldn't

01:03:13.670 --> 01:03:16.050
teams have a strategy to go all out with their

01:03:16.050 --> 01:03:18.590
strongest teams against the weaker opponents

01:03:18.590 --> 01:03:21.929
in week one to maximize their points? Then they

01:03:21.929 --> 01:03:24.110
could rest those players in the middle weeks.

01:03:24.750 --> 01:03:27.010
As long as they get into the best eight, that's

01:03:27.010 --> 01:03:30.289
all that matters. Yes. I mean, there's lots of

01:03:30.289 --> 01:03:33.510
nuance here. So one is you have to remember that

01:03:33.510 --> 01:03:36.130
it's not about lasting for the tournament. It's

01:03:36.130 --> 01:03:38.170
the fact that all of these athletes are playing

01:03:38.170 --> 01:03:40.989
professional seasons that go all year long and

01:03:40.989 --> 01:03:42.789
then showing up and playing on their national

01:03:42.789 --> 01:03:45.719
teams. You do need a break if you're nursing

01:03:45.719 --> 01:03:48.199
injuries from your pro season. Like there is

01:03:48.199 --> 01:03:51.059
some load management that happens here. They

01:03:51.059 --> 01:03:53.960
fully could play the whole VNL. Yeah, that's

01:03:53.960 --> 01:03:55.639
not it. I don't think that's it at all. Totally.

01:03:55.639 --> 01:03:59.760
So that's number one. Number two is if we're

01:03:59.760 --> 01:04:02.760
looking at tournaments in order of importance,

01:04:03.159 --> 01:04:07.260
VNL is at the bottom, right? So Olympics, World

01:04:07.260 --> 01:04:10.329
Championships, which are later this year. You

01:04:10.329 --> 01:04:13.050
know, VNL is something that you play. VNL is

01:04:13.050 --> 01:04:14.730
third, and then I would say continental stuff

01:04:14.730 --> 01:04:19.750
is last. Exactly. So VNL is the area, especially

01:04:19.750 --> 01:04:22.289
in the first couple weeks, where you get a chance

01:04:22.289 --> 01:04:25.469
to play. your younger players and get them some

01:04:25.469 --> 01:04:28.289
experience. And like we talked about in the last

01:04:28.289 --> 01:04:30.869
question, build up your youth so that they have

01:04:30.869 --> 01:04:33.909
some opportunities to understand what your culture

01:04:33.909 --> 01:04:35.710
is, what your systems are, what international

01:04:35.710 --> 01:04:37.849
looks like, you know, specifically for those

01:04:37.849 --> 01:04:39.550
who aren't playing in really good pro leagues.

01:04:39.590 --> 01:04:43.489
So there's a balance from an overall national

01:04:43.489 --> 01:04:46.849
team experience that you're constantly thinking

01:04:46.849 --> 01:04:49.690
about. Between winning and development. Exactly.

01:04:49.690 --> 01:04:52.530
And again, it's like you said. We got to make

01:04:52.530 --> 01:04:54.690
the playoffs and then you load up your roster.

01:04:54.849 --> 01:04:58.030
So how can I do that? How can I get experience

01:04:58.030 --> 01:05:02.329
in all of that? But if you're a deep team and

01:05:02.329 --> 01:05:04.929
you have, like we mentioned today, Italy, Brazil,

01:05:05.090 --> 01:05:08.610
whatever, you want playing against the weaker

01:05:08.610 --> 01:05:10.730
teams. You don't want to play your best players

01:05:10.730 --> 01:05:14.050
necessarily against the weaker teams. Because

01:05:14.050 --> 01:05:17.269
if you're deep enough, you're... second string

01:05:17.269 --> 01:05:20.230
players are probably going good enough to beat

01:05:20.230 --> 01:05:23.610
the weaker teams. You kind of want to save your

01:05:23.610 --> 01:05:26.289
top players to compete against the top teams

01:05:26.289 --> 01:05:31.190
because that is where you're going to see that

01:05:31.190 --> 01:05:34.969
differentiation. So is it any shock that Italy

01:05:34.969 --> 01:05:38.289
took their top roster to the tournament to the

01:05:38.289 --> 01:05:40.690
right week where they had to play Brazil and

01:05:40.690 --> 01:05:45.199
USA? No. Because historically, Brazil and USA

01:05:45.199 --> 01:05:48.039
are two of the very top teams. And so they're

01:05:48.039 --> 01:05:50.440
like, we're going to bring our best roster to

01:05:50.440 --> 01:05:54.139
play against the best teams, not knowing that

01:05:54.139 --> 01:05:57.739
USA was going to bring who they brought. So it's

01:05:57.739 --> 01:06:01.159
definitely looking at who's in front of you,

01:06:01.260 --> 01:06:05.889
historical data, being like. Do we need our top

01:06:05.889 --> 01:06:09.369
line to play this team? Can we get away with

01:06:09.369 --> 01:06:11.489
developing our younger players and still potentially

01:06:11.489 --> 01:06:14.309
win against these weaker teams? It's interesting.

01:06:14.750 --> 01:06:16.269
Well, I hope that answered all the questions.

01:06:16.409 --> 01:06:18.050
These were great ones. Great ones this week,

01:06:18.090 --> 01:06:20.469
everybody. We always enjoy kind of looking through

01:06:20.469 --> 01:06:25.130
these and answering. But looking ahead to next

01:06:25.130 --> 01:06:29.070
week, we're in week two of the men's VNL. It's

01:06:29.070 --> 01:06:33.659
tight. Any team can qualify, could be relegated

01:06:33.659 --> 01:06:35.619
at this point. I think all the teams have wins.

01:06:36.039 --> 01:06:38.440
So I think this week is going to see some separation.

01:06:38.719 --> 01:06:43.219
We're going to see the kind of groupings settle

01:06:43.219 --> 01:06:45.119
in a little bit, I think. So I'm looking forward

01:06:45.119 --> 01:06:47.579
to what's happening. The matches are going to

01:06:47.579 --> 01:06:51.420
be in Belgrade, Borgas, and Chicago. So we should

01:06:51.420 --> 01:06:54.519
see some very good matches. There are so many

01:06:54.519 --> 01:06:56.320
good ones. It was really hard for me to pick

01:06:56.320 --> 01:06:58.920
just three, but here we go. So here are the ones

01:06:58.920 --> 01:07:00.480
that we've highlighted that we think are going

01:07:00.480 --> 01:07:02.880
to be good this week. Wednesday at 1 .30 p .m.

01:07:02.880 --> 01:07:06.260
Eastern, we have Italy versus Poland. Thursday

01:07:06.260 --> 01:07:10.179
at 8 .30 p .m. Eastern, Canada versus USA. That

01:07:10.179 --> 01:07:13.139
will be interesting. And then Sunday at 5 o 'clock

01:07:13.139 --> 01:07:18.519
Eastern. Watch the replay. Slovenia and Japan.

01:07:20.090 --> 01:07:22.809
We got some highly ranked teams. We got a continent

01:07:22.809 --> 01:07:26.070
rivalry. And again, Japan and Slovenia should

01:07:26.070 --> 01:07:28.130
be a good one as well. It's going to be a crafty

01:07:28.130 --> 01:07:30.110
match, I think. So yeah, those would be the ones

01:07:30.110 --> 01:07:33.530
that I'm watching for sure this week. That concludes

01:07:33.530 --> 01:07:35.969
this week's episode of Volley Talk. There's always

01:07:35.969 --> 01:07:37.670
something shaking in the volleyball world, and

01:07:37.670 --> 01:07:40.110
we hope you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure

01:07:40.110 --> 01:07:41.909
to follow the show so you don't miss any updates,

01:07:42.050 --> 01:07:44.269
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01:07:44.269 --> 01:07:46.679
-star review. You can also find us on Instagram

01:07:46.679 --> 01:07:50.019
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01:07:50.019 --> 01:07:52.340
a topic that you want us to discuss, be sure

01:07:52.340 --> 01:07:54.519
to let us know by reaching out to us on Instagram

01:07:54.519 --> 01:07:58.440
or at info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much

01:07:58.440 --> 01:08:00.460
for joining us and we'll be back next week.