WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.339 Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley 00:00:02.339 --> 00:00:04.440 Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:06.700 who want to dig deep into what is going on in 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:10.000 NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:11.960 Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:14.880 world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.000 longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:20.079 I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.660 volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:28.199 guy. We had week two of the men's VNL competition. 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:33.179 I don't know if I'm crazy, but I felt like Chicago 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:39.939 was completely stacked and Belgrade was not. 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:44.179 There definitely are locations that have tougher 00:00:44.179 --> 00:00:46.460 pools from week to week, and we'll see that again 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:51.520 next week too. Yeah, like looking at some of 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.539 the matches and stuff, I was like, dang, this 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:58.810 seems a little unbalanced, but maybe... Maybe 00:00:58.810 --> 00:01:03.530 I'm crazy here. I don't know. We had a few teams 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:07.090 differentiate themselves. And then again, it's 00:01:07.090 --> 00:01:09.709 like a chunk of three at the top, a chunk of 00:01:09.709 --> 00:01:13.769 four at the bottom, and then literally open season 00:01:13.769 --> 00:01:18.950 for the rest. So things are going to be wild 00:01:18.950 --> 00:01:22.170 in week three. And I think with the men's competition, 00:01:22.430 --> 00:01:25.909 as we spoke about last week, that's always a 00:01:25.909 --> 00:01:30.420 guarantee. The race for making the playoffs is 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:34.519 an absolute hot mess in the best way. You know 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:38.239 we love it. You know we love it. So we're excited 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:41.500 to discuss all things Men's V &L Week 2 with 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:57.390 you. So let's get started. This might be the 00:01:57.390 --> 00:02:01.049 shortest weekly highlights in Volley Talk history, 00:02:01.450 --> 00:02:04.209 everybody, okay? There is not a lot happening. 00:02:04.250 --> 00:02:07.069 I'm pretty sure Love has finished their signings 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:11.129 for season two. We don't have any, you know, 00:02:11.169 --> 00:02:16.409 note -taking on coaches' commentary. You know, 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:19.870 things are pretty slow for the most part other 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:23.719 than, you know, we have like... Some continental 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:27.360 competitions for youth and things like that. 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:33.060 No Major League news? Shockingly, no Major League 00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:36.180 Volleyball news. I know you were waiting with 00:02:36.180 --> 00:02:41.139 a held breath on that. But no. So, shortest weekly 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:43.539 highlights ever. The only thing I have for you 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:46.699 this week is Golden League and Silver League 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:51.199 were happening in Europe. And for women, the 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:55.780 men's... Competition finishes next week. So Ukraine 00:02:55.780 --> 00:03:00.379 won the Golden League and Switzerland won the 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:03.939 Silver League. So there's that. And while that 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:06.680 doesn't guarantee you a spot in VNL next year, 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:08.840 winning the Golden League will give Ukraine a 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:11.199 good number of points to help them up the ranking. 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:13.800 So we'll see what ends up happening with the 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:15.639 relegation on the women's side and who's next 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:18.120 in line. It's up in the air. But that's all I 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.379 got for you. Done and dusted. Spick and span. 00:03:22.899 --> 00:03:26.840 Okay, that's it. Let's get into the week two 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:31.199 VNL recap, shall we? There were a lot of very 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:35.180 good matches. Yes. And as the week comes to an 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:39.180 end, Brazil is at the top with seven wins. By 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:44.020 themselves, solo. And they did not pull any punches 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.659 with their roster this week. They came to give 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:50.080 themselves a chance to win, and they did. They 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:54.310 played Canada, China. Poland and Italy, and I 00:03:54.310 --> 00:03:57.990 believe they went 4 -0. They went 4 -0. So they 00:03:57.990 --> 00:04:01.990 are solo at the top. Poland is in second. Italy's 00:04:01.990 --> 00:04:06.449 in third. Both teams have six wins. So Brazil, 00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:10.509 Poland, and Italy. And again, the gaps we're 00:04:10.509 --> 00:04:13.189 talking about here are not large, but they are 00:04:13.189 --> 00:04:17.310 the three that are kind of at the top. Japan, 00:04:17.470 --> 00:04:21.449 France, Ukraine, Argentina all have five wins. 00:04:22.089 --> 00:04:24.470 So this is what we're saying. Things are up in 00:04:24.470 --> 00:04:27.490 the air here. And then there's a ton of teams. 00:04:27.670 --> 00:04:29.829 Almost all of the other teams have four points 00:04:29.829 --> 00:04:33.569 except for... Wins. Four wins, except for the 00:04:33.569 --> 00:04:36.329 bottom four, five teams. Canada's got three. 00:04:36.329 --> 00:04:38.490 So we've got everybody basically sitting at four 00:04:38.490 --> 00:04:42.110 and five wins. We've got Serbia at the bottom 00:04:42.110 --> 00:04:44.769 of the ranks. They have one win. Netherlands 00:04:44.769 --> 00:04:48.199 have a win. But Netherlands has four points to 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.879 Serbia's three. So those two are at the very, 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:54.839 very bottom. China and Turkey both have two wins. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:58.019 So those teams are kind of wrapping up the bottom 00:04:58.019 --> 00:05:01.879 of the ranks. We'll get into all the details 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:05.759 and the messiness and relegation and stuff later. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.680 But I think it's fair to say that this has been 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:13.879 a tough VNL outing for Serbia across the board, 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:17.079 men and women. We are potentially looking at 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:20.379 a double relegation for Serbia. I don't think 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:23.100 that's ever happened in the history of volleyball, 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:26.180 where one country, both their teams get relegated. 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:29.220 When in a million years would anybody have ever 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:33.420 thought that both Serbians, men, and women's 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:35.920 team would be at the bottom? No, the odds were 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:38.860 a million to one. It's wild. It's been a rough 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:44.649 summer. that is where we stand again everything 00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:48.889 is up in the air like even brazil at the top 00:05:48.889 --> 00:05:52.350 with seven wins they're not safe because there's 00:05:52.350 --> 00:05:54.930 literally 11 teams that are like right behind 00:05:54.930 --> 00:06:00.430 them but we got our chunk as suspected well maybe 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.889 brazil's not suspected because we did get a question 00:06:02.889 --> 00:06:04.790 about this that i want to address brazil's at 00:06:04.790 --> 00:06:07.730 the top poland italy i think that's fair we expected 00:06:07.730 --> 00:06:11.069 them to be up there and then our are four at 00:06:11.069 --> 00:06:15.110 the bottom. But I want to address this because 00:06:15.110 --> 00:06:18.389 we're talking about Brazil. Somebody wrote in 00:06:18.389 --> 00:06:21.529 and they were saying that they would love our 00:06:21.529 --> 00:06:24.870 opinion on the rebuilding of the Brazilian men's 00:06:24.870 --> 00:06:28.290 team. So they were obviously dominant in the 00:06:28.290 --> 00:06:32.449 2000s. They went into a straight rebuild and 00:06:32.449 --> 00:06:36.029 were very successful in the 2010s. Obviously, 00:06:36.029 --> 00:06:41.100 they won gold in Rio in 2016. But we've seen 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:47.910 Serginio, Wallacey, Bruninho, Leal, Lucan. They 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:50.550 are all gone. And the last three I mentioned, 00:06:50.610 --> 00:06:52.870 obviously, right after the Paris Olympics. So 00:06:52.870 --> 00:06:55.529 this person said, as a fan, I struggle to come 00:06:55.529 --> 00:06:57.509 to terms with the lack of competitiveness of 00:06:57.509 --> 00:07:00.370 the team compared to what they used to be and 00:07:00.370 --> 00:07:03.209 seeing my idols retire. So I'd like your view 00:07:03.209 --> 00:07:05.790 on the current situation and if you believe that 00:07:05.790 --> 00:07:08.810 we can actually compete for gold during this 00:07:08.810 --> 00:07:12.610 Olympic cycle. I mean, there's a lot there. And 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:17.199 obviously, the players who retired. After Paris, 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:22.100 I mean, they were legends in Brazil for a decade. 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:24.519 I mean, Brazil has been fortunate on both the 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:28.000 men's and women's side to have a very constant, 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:32.959 continuous flow of just top, top -level athletes. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:38.160 So it is definitely a luxury that they have had. 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:44.870 But based on what I saw this week, like... I'm 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:46.769 not worried. They can hang like they're right 00:07:46.769 --> 00:07:52.029 there. And the thing is, you have to give the 00:07:52.029 --> 00:07:57.209 new generation a chance to become stars. And 00:07:57.209 --> 00:08:00.850 it just so happens your cycles run differently 00:08:00.850 --> 00:08:03.149 from other countries. Like USA is in a bit of 00:08:03.149 --> 00:08:06.370 a rebuild. Right. And I thought, you know, watching 00:08:06.370 --> 00:08:09.920 Cooper Robinson. he's going to be very good. 00:08:10.220 --> 00:08:12.339 And then you look at some of the Brazilian players, 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:18.180 Bergman is going to be very good. That core that 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:20.319 they have playing right now in VNL does not look 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.000 out of place. I mean, they just went 4 -0. I 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.500 mean, Italy showed up. Italy played Brazil with 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:32.240 a solid roster. Yeah. And Brazil beat them. Yeah, 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:35.159 that was one of my... favorite matches this week. 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:37.159 That and the France and Japan game. We'll get 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:39.559 into that in a second. Adam's just getting crazy. 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:43.039 But I don't think you have anything to worry 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.360 about if you're a Brazilian fan. They're going 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:49.659 to be competitive with Bernardinho at the helm. 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:52.980 He is great at developing players. Bernardinho 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:55.480 always comes back in a pinch, everybody. He's 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:57.740 like, the program is kind of faltering a little 00:08:57.740 --> 00:08:59.879 bit. Time for me to step in and right the ship 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:02.960 here, okay? Yeah, I mean, am I going to sit here 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.100 and say they're going to win? No. But I think 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:08.360 it's realistic that they could be in the conversation. 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:11.440 100%. I don't think they're going anywhere. The 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:13.539 league is so good. The number of players they 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:16.340 have coming through their system. You know, if 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:19.220 some of these kids don't pan out this cycle, 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:22.220 there'll be somebody chomping at the bit to take 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:24.340 their place next cycle. There's just too much 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:26.879 talent there. You know, are you going to see 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:32.429 a core of Bruno? Lucas, you're not going to like, 00:09:32.470 --> 00:09:35.730 it's hard. That's like a generational, like you're, 00:09:35.730 --> 00:09:37.549 it's going to be tough to see that kind of group 00:09:37.549 --> 00:09:40.070 again, but, but you never, Ellie's still playing. 00:09:40.110 --> 00:09:44.950 Like he'll be back eventually. Yeah. And we might 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:48.509 be looking after LA and going, man, Bergman is 00:09:48.509 --> 00:09:51.669 generational. He might serve. It's going to be 00:09:51.669 --> 00:09:54.769 so good. He's all like, he's so young. I think 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:58.090 he's going to be so good. I think, you know, 00:09:58.090 --> 00:10:00.669 this, person who wrote in was talking about Allen 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:03.450 and Darlan. Played well. And how they're inconsistent. 00:10:03.870 --> 00:10:06.970 I personally thought that Allen was quite good. 00:10:08.169 --> 00:10:09.909 Yeah, I thought he was very good as well. And 00:10:09.909 --> 00:10:11.669 the thing about the consistency. Darlan is a 00:10:11.669 --> 00:10:13.730 little bit more of a wild card to me. He's a 00:10:13.730 --> 00:10:17.110 little more of a risk taker. But go back and 00:10:17.110 --> 00:10:22.860 watch Wallacey play. when he was 21 22 23 like 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.740 i was in the league at that time with the brazilian 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:27.720 team i watched him play it was the same thing 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:30.840 like he had good matches he had bad matches you 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:33.980 get more consistent as you get experience it's 00:10:33.980 --> 00:10:37.399 not fair to compare these young players to the 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.519 stars in their peak. You need to give them a 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.919 chance to get there. And I think they can. And 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:43.659 I think that's the beauty of sport too, is that 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:46.840 like as fans, sometimes you get really spoiled 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:52.259 by having certain generations commit to playing 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:56.200 for a long time when they are so good. And this 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:58.940 is just one of those like little lulls, but I 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:00.679 think they're going to come out of it. And like, 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.799 I think that they were in the toughest. kind 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:08.860 of location this week and they were outstanding 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:13.500 so just wanted to address that i mean as a brazilian 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:15.320 i can see how you're looking at those people 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:17.580 retiring going oh man we're in trouble as an 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:19.820 outside observer you look at that team and go 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:22.960 man they got a lot of young talent okay we've 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:25.500 got a few interesting storylines this week that 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:29.240 we wanted to touch on first of all what was your 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.700 favorite match this week I have a hard time picking 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:34.759 between, and I mentioned this already, the Brazil 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:38.460 -Italy match, which was, hey, here are probably 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:42.940 our better rosters, and we're in a shootout. 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:47.480 It was so entertaining. The intensity was high. 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:51.220 They were hitting the snot out of the ball. It 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:55.399 was, oh man, it was so much fun. I really enjoyed 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:59.889 that match. And I also... Loved the Japan -France 00:11:59.889 --> 00:12:04.629 match. And I know I said this last week, but 00:12:04.629 --> 00:12:08.570 Klevno right now is just my most favorite player 00:12:08.570 --> 00:12:13.090 to watch. I've never seen Adam have such a man 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:18.279 crush. Ever. He plays with a swagger that's fun 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.200 to watch. You see him hit the hands of blockers 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.360 who are massive, of blockers who are smaller. 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:29.059 There was a play in the Japan match where he 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:31.480 dug a ball with his foot. He ended up on the 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.080 ground out of the rally and then came back and 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:38.860 made a solo dive angle block on the Japanese 00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:42.350 right side who was playing. unbelievable like 00:12:42.350 --> 00:12:46.110 he's just if any of you watch high q it was literally 00:12:46.110 --> 00:12:49.389 a high q -esque play and like a hinata approach 00:12:49.389 --> 00:12:53.289 block from the bench it was it was wow and then 00:12:53.289 --> 00:12:56.870 on defense he's just so nonchalant and always 00:12:56.870 --> 00:12:59.610 in the right place he's just he's so much fun 00:12:59.610 --> 00:13:03.529 to watch wow adam is clearly passionate about 00:13:03.529 --> 00:13:06.620 this man as you can tell i mean he's He's fun 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:10.179 to watch. Those were two very interesting matches 00:13:10.179 --> 00:13:14.200 to watch. And I think, not like for different 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:16.639 reasons, but I think there was a very interesting 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:20.000 contrast in these matches. I think, as Adam said, 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:24.139 the Brazil -Italy match, you saw them play the 00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:28.879 strongest rosters that they could. And so they 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.759 were like, you know what? We saved up for this 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:35.370 match. Here we go. Let's see what you got. The 00:13:35.370 --> 00:13:39.570 match had meaning for both teams. It was a bit 00:13:39.570 --> 00:13:42.809 of a measuring stick match, I think. Both teams 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:46.110 wanted to win. They came to play. It got a little 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:50.029 chippy. There were some stare downs. It was fun. 00:13:50.230 --> 00:13:53.799 There were some swings of points, too. You know, 00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:56.259 Italy having set point at one time, being up 00:13:56.259 --> 00:13:59.179 24 -21, Brazil coming back. Like, there were 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:02.799 these very meaningful, like, runs of points. 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:06.600 And overall, I would say, like, a very high -level 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:10.159 fun match. But to contrast that, it was like 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:14.960 Japan and France, we all know that they didn't 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:18.120 have their big guns there. So it was like... 00:14:18.590 --> 00:14:21.909 Brazil, Italy, starting lineups against each 00:14:21.909 --> 00:14:25.470 other. Japan, France, second line against each 00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:30.350 other. I mean, obviously, four. Klevno were there 00:14:30.350 --> 00:14:33.830 for France, similar to week one. But Broussard 00:14:33.830 --> 00:14:38.110 made an appearance when they needed him to. Chinanyezi 00:14:38.110 --> 00:14:41.950 was there, didn't play. But, like, Japan was 00:14:41.950 --> 00:14:45.289 missing some of their superstars. Japan looked 00:14:45.289 --> 00:14:47.929 real bad for a while, and I thought that they 00:14:47.929 --> 00:14:52.429 were going to get slapped in four. And then set 00:14:52.429 --> 00:14:54.710 five, France could not hit a serve to save their 00:14:54.710 --> 00:14:56.429 lives. Well, they couldn't. I mean, they missed 00:14:56.429 --> 00:14:59.330 a ton of serves all match. A ton of serves. And 00:14:59.330 --> 00:15:02.870 watching the Japanese men play, they need to 00:15:02.870 --> 00:15:05.669 be able to run the pipe. When the pipe wasn't 00:15:05.669 --> 00:15:08.210 an option for them, France was all over them 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:12.330 defensively. And so, you know, France was obviously 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:15.139 hitting their serve. aggressively because they 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:17.720 were missing so much. But when that pipe disappeared, 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:20.299 I thought they struggled. The right side for 00:15:20.299 --> 00:15:23.460 Japan, Miura, I think, I probably butchered that 00:15:23.460 --> 00:15:25.799 pronouncement, but I thought he played really, 00:15:25.899 --> 00:15:28.159 really well. He was very aggressive and scored 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:30.879 points for them, which they needed. So it was, 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:32.559 and the styles are obviously different between 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.639 France and Japan. If you didn't get a chance 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.419 to watch those matches, head back and watch them. 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:40.480 Both very entertaining in their own right, albeit 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:44.690 different. You know, like Japan and France can 00:15:44.690 --> 00:15:49.230 still level up a bit. Brazil, Italy was great. 00:15:49.590 --> 00:15:52.570 So I think another interesting storyline from 00:15:52.570 --> 00:15:57.490 this week was injuries. Oh man, you hate to see 00:15:57.490 --> 00:16:00.049 that. And they play the slow -mos over and over 00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:03.289 again. I cover my eyes. Like every time a player 00:16:03.289 --> 00:16:06.110 gets injured, I cover my eyes because seeing 00:16:06.110 --> 00:16:10.230 an ankle go or seeing a knee twist or a hyperextension 00:16:10.230 --> 00:16:14.659 or... You name it, it makes me sick. So I always 00:16:14.659 --> 00:16:16.879 close my eyes and I tell Adam to let me know 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.879 what happened. I have rolled my ankles very badly 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:22.419 playing volleyball and watching some of those 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:24.440 things happen just brings me right back to that 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:26.500 moment. I think I limp afterwards for a little 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:28.840 while. Well, Adam just stares at it and I'm just 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:34.580 like, I literally can't. But probably, okay. 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:37.940 Eric showed you went down in match one. And then 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:41.460 came right back. Only made his return for their 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:45.059 fourth match. So I'm assuming he's okay. I mean, 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:47.039 obviously. He played pretty well in that match. 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.179 That was like, I'm like, okay, they can't. No. 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:52.460 That's a big loss if they lose him. But like, 00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:55.200 I mean, D 'Agostino does a good job for USA also, 00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:58.940 but he's not. Shoji. Shoji. So it was good to 00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:01.399 see him back and playing, and hopefully it wasn't 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:06.119 like a grunted out that he's okay. I'm willing 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:08.160 to bet that they wouldn't have made him grunted 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:12.079 out. You know what I mean? It's not worth it 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.359 with world champs at the end of the season and 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:16.599 stuff. But they're on the cusp of making it and 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:19.619 not making it either. I know. So I was really 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:21.920 worried about it for a few days, and then he 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:24.440 came back to play against Italy. So I'm like, 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:27.160 okay, that's a good sign. But another one of 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:29.359 their players, the middle blocker Holdaway, is 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:32.759 also injured. Yeah. No timeline on him. I think 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.680 it was his knee. Or lower body at least, but 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:40.799 I don't know. NHL here. Lower body injury. Take 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:44.480 your pick. Yeah, he didn't come back, so we'll 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:47.259 see if he's on the roster for week three or not. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.519 He did a good job. He wasn't on the roster for 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:54.380 week one, or he didn't play at least. Came off 00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:58.119 the bench for the first match this week. Did 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:02.000 a great job, so he was starting. And then, obviously. 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:05.619 Went down. We also saw the same thing happen 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:09.240 with an Iranian player, a Turkish player, and... 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.759 Probably the biggest injury for their team. Mone, 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:17.519 Nikolov went down in the third match for Bulgaria. 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:20.339 And they stunk after he was gone. They were having 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:23.660 a great week. They were beating good teams. They 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:27.940 crushed Japan. They were, like, rolling. And 00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:31.329 then Mone went down. His brother could not get 00:18:31.329 --> 00:18:34.049 it together after that. No, he looked unwell. 00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:36.930 Yeah, and the other setter just couldn't connect 00:18:36.930 --> 00:18:40.970 with the hitter. He's the heart and soul of that 00:18:40.970 --> 00:18:43.170 team, I think. Whether they all see him as a 00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:46.230 younger brother or whether they actually, you 00:18:46.230 --> 00:18:47.970 know, and obviously he's a very good setter. 00:18:48.049 --> 00:18:50.829 But yeah, the team could not pull it back together 00:18:50.829 --> 00:18:53.369 after he was injured. Yeah, so they lost their 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:55.269 last two matches, which is unfortunate because 00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:58.079 they were... They were doing really well. But 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.000 word is he should be back in a couple weeks. 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:04.640 So maybe we'll see him in week three. Maybe they'll 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:09.019 try to push to make the final without him and 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:11.559 then bring him back for the final. I mean, lucky 00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:13.940 for him, there's an extra week. Yeah, exactly. 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:16.240 So he's got more time to recover. And they're 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.019 on the cusp. I'm not sure they qualify without 00:19:20.019 --> 00:19:23.599 him, but we'll see what happens. So yes, injuries 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:26.500 all over the place this week. It was not fun. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.059 I know we probably missed some, but those are 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:33.059 the ones that we like saw. So hopefully everybody's 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:36.099 okay and they'll be back soon. Who were your 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:40.380 biggest climbers and your biggest downfalls this 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:43.400 week? I thought Ukraine had a very good week. 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:46.200 We'll get to this later, but I have them making 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:50.500 the playoffs and I think they're playing incredibly 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:53.119 well right now. So they were probably the biggest 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.160 surprise for me. Okay, I had quite the list. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.400 So I will... Ukraine was on my list, but since 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:08.319 he said it, I won't. So I will say Brazil, Cuba, 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:14.200 Argentina. I think Cuba had a great week. I loved 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:20.839 watching Cuba play. The absolute swagger. that 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:25.720 those guys have on the court is it's just so 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.660 much fun to watch. I watched them play Netherlands 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:35.920 and the Dutch boys are like, they're tall and 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.180 they're a little lanky and they're very proper. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:44.289 And Cuba was just. swaggering i don't have another 00:20:44.289 --> 00:20:47.150 another way to say it they were swaggering around 00:20:47.150 --> 00:20:49.210 the court and you could see it getting under 00:20:49.210 --> 00:20:51.150 the duchess skin and they were kind of trying 00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:54.690 to chirp back or stare them down you just can't 00:20:54.690 --> 00:20:57.269 you can't do that you can't try against cuba 00:20:57.269 --> 00:21:01.589 they're just big and physical and quite frankly 00:21:01.589 --> 00:21:03.930 they're just cooler than you that's just that's 00:21:03.930 --> 00:21:06.369 just the way that they operate and they were 00:21:06.369 --> 00:21:10.250 so much fun to watch I had a lot of fun watching 00:21:10.250 --> 00:21:12.710 them. I was happy to see them have some success. 00:21:12.789 --> 00:21:15.730 They went three for four. You know what? Why 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:17.670 don't I just tell you my last team too? Germany. 00:21:18.029 --> 00:21:20.509 The reason I put Germany on my climbers list 00:21:20.509 --> 00:21:24.849 was because last week in week one, they got one 00:21:24.849 --> 00:21:26.970 win, but they lost every single other match in 00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:30.269 five. This week, they got three wins, which I 00:21:30.269 --> 00:21:35.470 think is huge. Argentina got three wins, pushing 00:21:35.470 --> 00:21:39.519 them. Like into a spot to fight for final eight. 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:42.819 And then the reason I put Brazil on my climbers 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:46.640 list. Was because they had three wins. They were 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:50.900 near the top in week one. But they, and I'll 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:53.200 say it again. I've said it twice already today. 00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:58.839 They were in the toughest group in my opinion. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:03.970 And they went 4 -0. And for me, that made an 00:22:03.970 --> 00:22:08.029 impression. And watching them play, I was impressed. 00:22:08.190 --> 00:22:10.730 So that's why I put them on the biggest climbers 00:22:10.730 --> 00:22:13.670 list. I mean, I think all of your justifications 00:22:13.670 --> 00:22:16.670 are correct. I didn't realize we could pick half 00:22:16.670 --> 00:22:19.730 the league for the climbers. I picked one, but 00:22:19.730 --> 00:22:22.269 you know, it is what it is. Okay, if I had to 00:22:22.269 --> 00:22:26.430 pick, I would probably say Brazil and Ukraine. 00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:32.059 Ukraine, like three wins. First VNL. And they're 00:22:32.059 --> 00:22:36.380 showing up. Yep. Okay. Who are your biggest downfalls? 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.079 I had two. Slovenia, I don't know what happened 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:44.660 to them this week. They struggled. And I was 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:46.339 expecting a little more out of Canada, to be 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:50.180 honest. Canada went from 6 to 14. That's serious. 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:53.839 Slovenia went from what? They were like 3 or 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.240 4 last week, and they are down to like 11 or 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:57.740 something. Yeah, I think they're out of the picture. 00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:02.200 Slovenia and Canada, I... They were 100 % on 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:05.539 my list. Yeah, fair enough. I was expecting Canada 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:08.660 to be able to close out on a few more matches. 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:13.420 I thought they had a decent showing in week one. 00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:19.880 They were making plays. They were more disciplined 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:21.839 than I thought they were going to be coming into 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:25.740 the week. I figured that having a better first 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:27.140 week, and maybe it was just because they were 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:29.740 at home, that gave them a little extra boost. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:35.200 They started from a place that I thought they 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:38.420 would be lower than. So they exceeded my expectations 00:23:38.420 --> 00:23:41.380 in week one. And I wanted to see them build off 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:43.799 of that, but it didn't change. If anything, I 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:46.339 thought the discipline was less. I don't think 00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:49.240 they passed as well. I didn't. They were making 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:53.019 mistakes kind of in groups. And I don't know 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:55.759 if that's, I mean, the thing is they're not inexperienced. 00:23:56.279 --> 00:24:00.180 You needed to be able to win those games to be 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:06.299 more competitive. I didn't see them build off 00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:11.119 what they accomplished in Quebec. Yeah. And against 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:14.960 the U .S., I was like, this is awful. But that 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:18.519 should have been a winnable match. It should 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.319 have been, and then they got blanked. And then 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:24.619 you go and take Poland to five. The inconsistency 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:28.519 was... drastic to me well and you have to you 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:32.880 have to pick your places like and this is i don't 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:35.559 know if pet peeve is the wrong word but you can't 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:38.799 come in against an opponent that you are probably 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:42.849 equal to Like, realistically, those two teams, 00:24:42.910 --> 00:24:44.630 you probably look at that and go, okay, that 00:24:44.630 --> 00:24:47.390 game could go either way. And you don't show 00:24:47.390 --> 00:24:49.950 up in that match. And then against a team you're 00:24:49.950 --> 00:24:52.990 not supposed to beat, then you show up and play 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:54.710 really well. Like, it comes back to that. Well, 00:24:54.730 --> 00:24:56.369 granted, if they were ever going to beat Poland, 00:24:56.430 --> 00:24:58.789 it was now. Because Poland did not have all their 00:24:58.789 --> 00:25:01.569 guys there. Yeah, and I get that. But it's still 00:25:01.569 --> 00:25:03.970 Poland. Like, on paper, you're not supposed to 00:25:03.970 --> 00:25:08.500 win that match. This is the thing I think you 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:10.819 see with Canada, both on the men's and women's 00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:14.619 side, is dealing with that expectation of teams 00:25:14.619 --> 00:25:17.079 that you should beat, a la maybe Netherlands 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.900 and the women's going into the Olympics. And 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:23.079 here, the same thing. They need to be able to 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:25.720 put that same performance on the floor, regardless 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:27.720 of who they're playing and regardless of whether 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:31.940 they should or shouldn't win. And it was disappointing. 00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:36.130 Very, very inconsistent performance from game 00:25:36.130 --> 00:25:41.690 to game, match to match. It was not good, and 00:25:41.690 --> 00:25:43.549 they have completely taken themselves out of 00:25:43.549 --> 00:25:48.190 it, I think. I mean, their pool next week is 00:25:48.190 --> 00:25:51.509 not very strong. They could get three wins, but 00:25:51.509 --> 00:25:53.549 it's still only going to put them at six. I don't 00:25:53.549 --> 00:25:56.490 have them making the playoffs. And then Slovenia, 00:25:56.589 --> 00:25:59.849 in all transparency, I didn't see their matches 00:25:59.849 --> 00:26:03.039 this week, but... they didn't do so hot well 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:04.960 especially after the start that they had you 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:07.160 thought that they were going to come out and 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:09.640 they were playing so well they beat good teams 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:12.819 um i didn't have a chance to watch them this 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:15.220 week i wonder if their young setter struggled 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:19.019 you know playing back to back but um it was not 00:26:19.019 --> 00:26:21.740 the results i was expecting from them given how 00:26:21.740 --> 00:26:24.200 they played in the first week so the interesting 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:26.740 thing about the vnl is that everybody's got a 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:29.779 different strategy you know we saw Brazil and 00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:32.619 Italy field full rosters. We saw France and Japan 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:36.539 have secondary rosters. But everybody's goal 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:38.579 is generally to try and make the playoffs so 00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:42.119 you can play good volleyball kind of at the end. 00:26:42.460 --> 00:26:46.380 If you thought last week was wild with Adam's 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:50.019 number crunching probabilities, who's playing 00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:53.279 who, let's watch out for this. This one is going 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:57.019 to be even worse, okay, because the men are crazy. 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:05.299 Yeah, I mean, at this point, probably 13, maybe 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:08.099 12 teams could potentially make the playoffs. 00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:11.740 I think if we look at this realistically, and 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:14.359 I've kind of forecasted and looked at the pools 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:17.940 for next week, I'm going to go over the pools 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.900 for next week quickly, and then I'm going to 00:27:19.900 --> 00:27:21.619 give you my thoughts, and then we'll talk about 00:27:21.619 --> 00:27:23.380 relegation and who makes the playoffs. Okay, 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:27.079 so you're going to go through who? Who is, where 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:29.019 are we playing? Where are we playing? And then, 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:32.099 so then we're going to do predictions of who 00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:34.259 will make the final eight. Correct. Followed 00:27:34.259 --> 00:27:38.279 by predictions of who will be relegated. So if 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:42.039 we look at Poland, so pool one is in Poland. 00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:48.019 It has China, France, Bulgaria, Cuba, Iran, and 00:27:48.019 --> 00:27:54.299 Poland. So China's in the relegation race, Poland 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:58.359 and France, are going to be okay going into the 00:27:58.359 --> 00:27:59.900 playoffs. France is kind of in that chunk, though. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:03.579 France has five wins, okay? I feel like anybody, 00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:07.700 like no one is safe. I think Brazil is safe. 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:10.519 Nobody is safe, but France is playing Poland, 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:15.660 China, Cuba, and Iran. So, I mean, Cuba's always 00:28:15.660 --> 00:28:17.460 roll the dice, and if all of their players are 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:20.160 great and they're passing well. Cuba 100 % is 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:22.339 roll the dice. But France can also bring their 00:28:22.339 --> 00:28:24.990 starting players. And they'll probably be okay. 00:28:25.089 --> 00:28:27.690 So France -Poland, tough one. But I think France 00:28:27.690 --> 00:28:31.390 could beat. It's likely going to beat the other 00:28:31.390 --> 00:28:34.150 two. And Cuba, if Cuba can pass, that's the thing. 00:28:34.470 --> 00:28:38.809 If Cuba can pass, they can beat anybody. They're 00:28:38.809 --> 00:28:42.529 just so physical. But if they can't pass, they're 00:28:42.529 --> 00:28:44.849 a train wreck. I have France winning three of 00:28:44.849 --> 00:28:48.150 four matches in that pool play. So they'll come 00:28:48.150 --> 00:28:50.940 out with eight. So they'll come out. And then 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:54.200 you have Bulgaria, Cuba, and Iran all have four. 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:59.640 So remember that. Okay. Second pool is in Slovenia. 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:04.480 So we have Ukraine, Netherlands, Serbia, Italy, 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:10.940 Canada, Slovenia. Okay. This is the battle for 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:15.759 relegation. Okay. So Ukraine, I believe, is going 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:18.559 to come. out and make the playoffs. They have 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:22.420 five points currently. They have Canada, Netherlands, 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:26.259 and Serbia in their pool. I think they win all 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:28.359 of those matches, and they end up with eight 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:32.859 wins going in. I don't see them beating Italy. 00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:36.759 But Serbia is winless. Serbia has one win. Netherlands 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:41.720 has one win. Canada has three wins. And Canada's 00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:45.400 not playing well. And I don't see... any of those 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:49.099 three rosters being particularly stronger next 00:29:49.099 --> 00:29:51.619 week. Like, I don't think Serbia, Netherlands, 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:54.720 or Canada can make many changes. So unless Ukraine 00:29:54.720 --> 00:30:00.180 crumbles under the being their first VNL of having 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:03.000 a chance to win or, you know, all of those things, 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:06.220 I see them coming out with eight points. And 00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:10.859 then you have the battle for relegation with 00:30:10.859 --> 00:30:13.440 this pool because you have Netherlands and Serbia. 00:30:14.029 --> 00:30:16.789 They both have one win currently. And what I 00:30:16.789 --> 00:30:18.210 think is going to happen. Are they playing each 00:30:18.210 --> 00:30:22.930 other? They are not playing each other. No. So 00:30:22.930 --> 00:30:26.549 Netherlands has Ukraine, Slovenia, Canada, and 00:30:26.549 --> 00:30:30.430 Italy. They're going to lose to Ukraine, Slovenia, 00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:34.470 and Italy, I would say. The match to be relegated, 00:30:34.509 --> 00:30:36.829 in my opinion, is going to come down to Canada. 00:30:37.089 --> 00:30:39.970 Canada is just men and women. They're just like, 00:30:40.049 --> 00:30:43.329 hello, play us if you don't want to get relegated. 00:30:43.369 --> 00:30:47.730 Both Netherlands and Serbia play Canada. So whoever 00:30:47.730 --> 00:30:52.369 can beat Canada will probably stay in. Who do 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:54.170 you think has a better chance of beating Canada? 00:30:54.250 --> 00:30:57.109 I think I have an idea. I would say the Netherlands. 00:30:57.369 --> 00:30:59.650 Dang, that's what I thought too. Serbia just 00:30:59.650 --> 00:31:02.170 doesn't. Serbia is a dumpster fire, this V &L. 00:31:02.309 --> 00:31:06.250 Yeah. And I think from a stylistic standpoint, 00:31:06.490 --> 00:31:10.349 I think Netherlands is a better matchup. I think 00:31:10.349 --> 00:31:13.950 Netherlands' size is going to cause some issues. 00:31:14.190 --> 00:31:17.349 Yeah, I agree. So, you know, and then in that 00:31:17.349 --> 00:31:19.809 pool, Canada is going to be in the middle. They're 00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:21.430 not going to get relegated, but they're not going 00:31:21.430 --> 00:31:25.119 to make it out. And then you have Italy. Who's 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:27.079 going to come out? They have six wins. They play 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:29.700 Netherlands, Slovenia, Ukraine, Serbia. They're 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:30.599 going to come out with probably ten wins. They're 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:33.339 going to win at least two of those. Yeah. I don't 00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:35.279 see them losing one of those matches. I think 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:36.759 they're going to finish at the top of the pile. 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:39.740 And then Slovenia, they have four wins. They 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:42.500 play Canada, Netherlands, Italy, and Serbia. 00:31:43.469 --> 00:31:46.289 So they could come out with seven. They could 00:31:46.289 --> 00:31:48.990 bounce back from week two and get three wins. 00:31:49.230 --> 00:31:51.910 But I also could see them losing to Canada. Yeah, 00:31:51.910 --> 00:31:55.049 like randomly. So, you know, we'll see. I don't 00:31:55.049 --> 00:31:56.970 know what kind of a boost they'll get from playing 00:31:56.970 --> 00:31:59.890 at home. But again, that's a roster that's not 00:31:59.890 --> 00:32:02.289 going to get much better. Like they've fielded 00:32:02.289 --> 00:32:04.509 their team. And I think a lot of it will come 00:32:04.509 --> 00:32:06.930 down to how do their young guys play. So that 00:32:06.930 --> 00:32:10.470 part is interesting. And then we get to, in my 00:32:10.470 --> 00:32:12.829 opinion, the most interesting pool. So this one 00:32:12.829 --> 00:32:19.089 is in Japan. So Argentina, Brazil, Turkey, USA, 00:32:19.950 --> 00:32:24.930 Germany, Japan. Brazil's being thrown into some 00:32:24.930 --> 00:32:28.250 tough... Yeah, but they got good matchups in 00:32:28.250 --> 00:32:31.269 this one. So Brazil currently has seven wins. 00:32:31.329 --> 00:32:33.970 They play Japan, and then they play Argentina, 00:32:34.369 --> 00:32:39.089 Turkey, and Germany. I think Japan and Argentina 00:32:39.089 --> 00:32:42.660 could be... like challenging matches, I think 00:32:42.660 --> 00:32:47.099 they can handle Turkey and Germany. I think Brazil 00:32:47.099 --> 00:32:49.200 wins three or four of that matches. Three of 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:54.440 four of those matches. Okay. I have full expectations 00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:57.440 of Japan showing up with their studs. Japan can 00:32:57.440 --> 00:33:00.759 do the level up. Yeah. So we're going to see 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:05.039 a different Japan. Well, I would assume so. As 00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:06.740 long as everybody's healthy. And I don't, you 00:33:06.740 --> 00:33:09.619 know, we don't have spies. checking out the injury 00:33:09.619 --> 00:33:13.279 reports. Well, I don't have spies. Sarah might 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:15.960 have a network, but I don't. Hit me up on Instagram. 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:21.920 I'm expecting that Japan is going to want to 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:24.660 show up and show out at home. Well, what are 00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:26.940 the teams that you think even period can still 00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:29.740 level up? In my opinion, it's Japan, France, 00:33:30.099 --> 00:33:32.819 and Poland can still level up. I would agree 00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:36.200 with that. So those teams can bring more players. 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:41.960 So then... The other four teams all have a shot 00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:43.640 to make the playoffs. So you have Argentina with 00:33:43.640 --> 00:33:47.019 five wins. You have Japan with five wins. You 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:49.920 have Germany with four wins. And you have USA 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:55.319 with four wins. So here's my prediction of the 00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:57.980 top down. So I think Brazil and Italy. Wait, 00:33:57.980 --> 00:34:02.460 who is USA playing this week? So USA plays Turkey, 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:07.690 Argentina, Germany, and Japan. So I don't think 00:34:07.690 --> 00:34:10.710 they're going to beat Japan. I think they'll 00:34:10.710 --> 00:34:13.869 struggle with Argentina. I think that's the match 00:34:13.869 --> 00:34:15.809 to get in. Yeah, that could go either way for 00:34:15.809 --> 00:34:18.309 me. That'll be really challenging. I think that's 00:34:18.309 --> 00:34:23.829 the match to get in. So in my estimate, I have 00:34:23.829 --> 00:34:26.070 the following teams as locks to make the playoffs. 00:34:27.429 --> 00:34:30.650 Brazil and Italy, I think, are going to end with 00:34:30.650 --> 00:34:36.480 10 wins. I think that Poland and France are going 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:38.559 to finish 3 -4 with nine wins. So you think Brazil 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:40.440 is going to go, or Italy is going to go 4 -0 00:34:40.440 --> 00:34:42.460 next? I think Italy is going to go 4 -0. Okay, 00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:46.699 so there's four. I think Japan and Ukraine are 00:34:46.699 --> 00:34:51.079 going to be 5 -6 with eight wins. So you, hold 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:54.559 on. I need to break this down a little slower. 00:34:55.099 --> 00:34:57.420 Go ahead. You think Italy is going 4 -0. You 00:34:57.420 --> 00:35:00.670 think France is going 4 -0. Yes. I think France 00:35:00.670 --> 00:35:01.610 will beat Poland. You think France is beating 00:35:01.610 --> 00:35:06.730 Poland? I do. Okay. In Poland? I do. That's bold. 00:35:06.829 --> 00:35:10.610 I think France is going to bring their guns and 00:35:10.610 --> 00:35:13.730 play. Yeah, but I also think that Poland can 00:35:13.730 --> 00:35:18.030 level up more than France can. Well, okay. Fair 00:35:18.030 --> 00:35:21.090 enough. I mean, again, it's going to be a great 00:35:21.090 --> 00:35:23.409 match. It's going to be a great match. So Italy 00:35:23.409 --> 00:35:26.730 and Brazil at the top. Yeah. Then you have Poland 00:35:26.730 --> 00:35:30.769 and France. Japan, Ukraine, which is crazy. Ukraine 00:35:30.769 --> 00:35:33.150 is like, hey, it's our first VNL. Let's do this. 00:35:33.230 --> 00:35:36.309 Welcome to the party. And again, those ones, 00:35:36.449 --> 00:35:39.570 I think those teams are going to be in. Could 00:35:39.570 --> 00:35:41.030 Poland be France? So there's two spots left. 00:35:42.590 --> 00:35:44.789 You know, whatever. Based on Adam's predictions, 00:35:45.050 --> 00:35:47.090 there's two spots left. Making the playoffs is 00:35:47.090 --> 00:35:49.010 the primary one. I know I'm going to get hate 00:35:49.010 --> 00:35:51.829 from the Polish fans. It's fine. You're going 00:35:51.829 --> 00:35:53.250 to get there. You're going to get there. Those 00:35:53.250 --> 00:35:58.250 teams, I think, are safe. Okay. Okay. That leaves 00:35:58.250 --> 00:36:01.110 us with a combination of these teams. Argentina, 00:36:01.489 --> 00:36:06.050 Germany, Cuba, Iran, Bulgaria, USA, who are all 00:36:06.050 --> 00:36:09.070 on the cusp, right? In the women's, we have like 00:36:09.070 --> 00:36:12.269 three to four teams on the cusp. No. In the men's, 00:36:12.269 --> 00:36:16.210 half the field. But most of those, again, are 00:36:16.210 --> 00:36:19.110 in two pools. So if you look at it, Argentina, 00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:24.019 Germany, and USA are all in the same pool. They 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:26.519 are all traveling to Japan. So not only are you 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:28.659 playing, but you're going across the world, and 00:36:28.659 --> 00:36:31.559 you have to show up. That's a tough trip from 00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:34.280 Argentina. It's a tough trip from the USA too. 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:38.420 It's worse from Argentina. Fair enough. So Argentina 00:36:38.420 --> 00:36:41.699 probably not going to beat Brazil or Japan. Again, 00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:45.119 it's definitely possible. I'm just saying if 00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:47.159 both teams show up, if Brazil travels with their 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:50.789 team, So you have USA, you'll probably beat Turkey. 00:36:50.869 --> 00:36:54.110 So USA comes down to that win. Germany, Japan, 00:36:54.550 --> 00:36:56.929 Turkey, USA, Brazil. Again, probably not going 00:36:56.929 --> 00:36:58.969 to beat Japan and Brazil, but you have Turkey, 00:36:59.030 --> 00:37:02.130 you have USA, right? So all of those matches, 00:37:02.190 --> 00:37:06.090 it's whoever comes out between that group. So 00:37:06.090 --> 00:37:11.170 Germany, USA. Argentina. They're all, they need 00:37:11.170 --> 00:37:13.889 to beat each other, and then they need to try 00:37:13.889 --> 00:37:17.489 to win against, get an unpredicted win against 00:37:17.489 --> 00:37:21.489 Brazil or Japan. Correct. And they all play Turkiye. 00:37:21.789 --> 00:37:23.789 So if one of them drops that set. Turkiye just 00:37:23.789 --> 00:37:26.349 ruins everybody's dreams, and they're like, surprise, 00:37:26.849 --> 00:37:30.650 here we are. Yeah. Well, and it's the same thing. 00:37:30.710 --> 00:37:35.889 You have Bulgaria, Cuba, and Iran all in the 00:37:35.889 --> 00:37:39.429 same pool, all with four wins. But Iran plays 00:37:39.429 --> 00:37:42.809 Poland, China, France, Bulgaria. Cuba plays China, 00:37:43.030 --> 00:37:46.650 Bulgaria, Poland, France. Like, it's an absolute 00:37:46.650 --> 00:37:52.210 disaster. I don't... For me, Bulgaria, if Mone 00:37:52.210 --> 00:37:54.949 is better and can play, I think they get in. 00:37:55.070 --> 00:37:58.050 If he's not, I don't think they get in. So it's... 00:37:58.050 --> 00:37:59.670 I mean, I don't even know what the prediction 00:37:59.670 --> 00:38:04.139 of these... of these last two spots are so basically 00:38:04.139 --> 00:38:06.920 watch every single venue watch every single one 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:09.880 the other pool in slovenia i don't think is going 00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:12.400 to be of much unless you're you want to see the 00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:15.519 relegation matches then watch the slovenian group 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:17.920 so that's that's the relegation because i don't 00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:20.760 have at the bottom you have serbia netherlands 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:22.760 both with one win and we talked about them playing 00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:25.300 canada that's feasibly the only match they can 00:38:25.300 --> 00:38:28.599 win i think and then i don't think china or turkey 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:30.900 is going to win a match next week. China was 00:38:30.900 --> 00:38:33.920 better than I expected them to be. Just saying. 00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:38.500 I'm totally on board with that sentiment. I think 00:38:38.500 --> 00:38:41.960 that they've played great. But they play France, 00:38:42.199 --> 00:38:46.980 Iran, Bulgaria, and Cuba. They're not going to 00:38:46.980 --> 00:38:49.659 beat France, I don't think. But I think they 00:38:49.659 --> 00:38:54.440 could legit win. If they serve well, they can 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:58.539 beat any of those other three teams. Oh! Okay. 00:38:59.230 --> 00:39:02.309 You guys heard it here first. It's going to be 00:39:02.309 --> 00:39:06.630 a mess for those last two spots, but let's see 00:39:06.630 --> 00:39:10.829 if Adam is right in his top six with Brazil, 00:39:11.030 --> 00:39:17.210 Italy, Poland, France, Japan, Ukraine. Let's 00:39:17.210 --> 00:39:19.090 see. Write that down. Who do you think is okay? 00:39:19.230 --> 00:39:21.590 So that's your prediction for getting in. What 00:39:21.590 --> 00:39:24.090 are you thinking for relegation? I think Serbia 00:39:24.090 --> 00:39:28.579 is going to be relegated. Because we think that 00:39:28.579 --> 00:39:30.679 Netherlands is going to beat Canada and Serbia's 00:39:30.679 --> 00:39:33.500 not. Yeah. I haven't looked at the tiebreak. 00:39:33.659 --> 00:39:35.559 Well, Netherlands has more points than Serbia, 00:39:35.639 --> 00:39:39.300 too. So if they both lose, and it's not in five, 00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:44.119 then Serbia goes home. Serbia, what is happening? 00:39:45.260 --> 00:39:50.119 Yeah, I don't know. Dang. So do you think Serbia, 00:39:50.159 --> 00:39:51.519 you don't think Serbia's going to win a game 00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:54.719 this week, next week? I think it's tough. They 00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:59.059 play Italy. Ukraine and Slovenia in Slovenia 00:39:59.059 --> 00:40:01.239 I mean we'll see what happens there and then 00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:04.300 they play Canada here we are we're like Ukraine 00:40:04.300 --> 00:40:07.280 fans now we're like Ukraine can take on anybody 00:40:07.280 --> 00:40:10.679 they're gonna win they're just playing well they're 00:40:10.679 --> 00:40:12.780 just they're just playing well and I guess if 00:40:12.780 --> 00:40:15.099 that if that changes I mean obviously anybody 00:40:15.099 --> 00:40:17.179 can lose like they don't have the same experience 00:40:17.179 --> 00:40:21.030 or whatever else but I kind of hate, though, 00:40:21.050 --> 00:40:23.489 that Serbia and Netherlands are not playing each 00:40:23.489 --> 00:40:25.969 other. I feel like it needs to come down to that, 00:40:26.090 --> 00:40:29.590 you guys. Wait, did they play each other in week 00:40:29.590 --> 00:40:31.530 one? They were in the same place in week one. 00:40:31.710 --> 00:40:36.230 They were in the same group again in week one, 00:40:36.250 --> 00:40:38.250 and they didn't even play each other. This is 00:40:38.250 --> 00:40:45.090 wild. So my prediction for seventh is if Moni 00:40:45.090 --> 00:40:48.050 comes and he's healthy. I think Bulgaria makes 00:40:48.050 --> 00:40:50.690 it in. If he doesn't, I don't think they make 00:40:50.690 --> 00:40:56.349 it. And I have probably Argentina making it with 00:40:56.349 --> 00:40:58.949 Cuba as my dark horse. Germany is also. So you 00:40:58.949 --> 00:41:01.809 think USA is out? I think that USA is going to 00:41:01.809 --> 00:41:05.550 be in tough. I think the lack of experience is 00:41:05.550 --> 00:41:08.670 going to hurt them down the stretch. Well, let's 00:41:08.670 --> 00:41:12.550 see what happens. Week three, always a mess. 00:41:13.739 --> 00:41:16.800 I love it. We three for both men and women's 00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:20.599 is going to be awesome. If you love seeing, you 00:41:20.599 --> 00:41:22.420 know, having something on the line, pressure, 00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:25.940 who's going to deal with who. I mean, it's going 00:41:25.940 --> 00:41:27.519 to be great. But the men's is even more unpredictable. 00:41:27.800 --> 00:41:30.119 Absolutely. Oh my gosh, this is going to be insane. 00:41:30.699 --> 00:41:34.219 Let us know what you think of Adam's number crunching 00:41:34.219 --> 00:41:38.440 predictions. Okay, let's get into our listener 00:41:38.440 --> 00:41:43.820 questions. Question one. Do you think the Italian 00:41:43.820 --> 00:41:47.260 men made a mistake making Micheletto an outside 00:41:47.260 --> 00:41:52.300 hitter? For those of you who want a refresher, 00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:58.280 Micheletto is very big. He is left -handed. This 00:41:58.280 --> 00:42:00.519 person was basically like, I think he would be 00:42:00.519 --> 00:42:05.800 an OP opposite because he's huge, he's left -handed, 00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:07.940 blah, blah, blah. So what do you think? Do you 00:42:07.940 --> 00:42:10.380 think they made a mistake? Well, correct me if 00:42:10.380 --> 00:42:11.920 I'm wrong, they have another lefty who's very 00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:14.119 good currently playing. Romanov, yes. Right. 00:42:14.179 --> 00:42:18.440 So, you know, first and foremost, you want to 00:42:18.440 --> 00:42:21.800 put your best players on the floor. So if both 00:42:21.800 --> 00:42:23.820 of those guys are better than other guys, you 00:42:23.820 --> 00:42:25.559 want to find a way to do that. Second of all, 00:42:25.699 --> 00:42:29.820 it's way easier to go from a left side. to the 00:42:29.820 --> 00:42:32.000 right side especially if you're left -handed 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:35.039 than it is to go the other direction so if he 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:37.400 can play that position specifically and he can 00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:42.420 pass it gives you more options so training him 00:42:42.420 --> 00:42:45.400 as an outside hitter and having the ability and 00:42:45.400 --> 00:42:48.000 knowing you can move him back and forth and have 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:51.760 potentially a passing right side I think having 00:42:51.760 --> 00:42:54.480 those all those options given his skill set makes 00:42:54.480 --> 00:42:57.139 a ton of sense it's not like he struggles to 00:42:57.139 --> 00:43:00.570 hit on the left side No, he's outstanding. And 00:43:00.570 --> 00:43:07.590 A, he's huge. B, his passing is not bad. He can 00:43:07.590 --> 00:43:10.429 handle himself. It also gives you a legitimate 00:43:10.429 --> 00:43:13.070 block against other teams' right sides, which 00:43:13.070 --> 00:43:16.929 not a lot of teams have. The flexibility to have 00:43:16.929 --> 00:43:19.889 a player like that on the left side, I think, 00:43:19.889 --> 00:43:21.789 makes a lot of sense. You wouldn't even think 00:43:21.789 --> 00:43:24.789 about this if he was right -handed. Oh, 100%. 00:43:24.789 --> 00:43:29.559 I'm just like, okay. And clearly, the combination 00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:33.420 of having him and Romano on the court at the 00:43:33.420 --> 00:43:36.900 same time is part of their combination of, like, 00:43:36.900 --> 00:43:39.579 the best six. Like, if there was a left side 00:43:39.579 --> 00:43:44.519 who was better than Micheletto, yeah, move him 00:43:44.519 --> 00:43:48.199 to the right, 100%. But, like, I feel like, and 00:43:48.199 --> 00:43:50.980 lefty left sides, if they can make it work. I 00:43:50.980 --> 00:43:54.980 personally... I have not seen many lefty left 00:43:54.980 --> 00:43:58.739 sides that are good. They can make it work. It's 00:43:58.739 --> 00:44:02.699 very rare. And he's working with one of the best 00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:04.960 setters in the world who can put him in a good 00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:08.179 position. Although, Janelli did struggle to set 00:44:08.179 --> 00:44:11.440 him a couple times in that Brazil match. They 00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:13.960 got a little tight, a little inside. He was in 00:44:13.960 --> 00:44:17.440 trouble. He's making it work. I don't have a 00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:19.559 problem with it. The other thing to think about, 00:44:19.599 --> 00:44:22.960 too, is it's very unusual to have a left -handed 00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:27.599 outside. So from a block standpoint on the opposing 00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:30.119 team, if you're not used to the lineup and it's 00:44:30.119 --> 00:44:32.360 something you don't see all the time, it can 00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:36.420 create some confusion in that. So there's a lot 00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:42.860 of pros to it, in my opinion. And, I mean, you're 00:44:42.860 --> 00:44:45.139 blessed with a... plethora of left -handed players 00:44:45.139 --> 00:44:48.000 so i mean keep them on the court everybody up 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:49.780 and you can always make adjustments like we're 00:44:49.780 --> 00:44:51.960 in year one of the cycle so i i think it's smart 00:44:51.960 --> 00:44:55.179 and like i love i'm never opposed to a passing 00:44:55.179 --> 00:44:57.780 right side situation but you have to think obviously 00:44:57.780 --> 00:45:00.360 mickey aletto is a much better left side attacker 00:45:00.360 --> 00:45:03.000 than romano is if those two are your are two 00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:05.820 people you want on the court mickey aletto's 00:45:05.820 --> 00:45:08.840 probably just way better at hitting on the left 00:45:08.840 --> 00:45:12.000 than he is so they're like okay yeah good question 00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:16.650 though Question two. Why is Catherine Plummer 00:45:16.650 --> 00:45:20.150 not in VNL? Where is she? Do you think she'll 00:45:20.150 --> 00:45:23.409 still play for an Olympic spot? I believe her 00:45:23.409 --> 00:45:26.710 father passed away this past year. Like, recently. 00:45:26.750 --> 00:45:31.210 I heard she left Azazibashi early because he 00:45:31.210 --> 00:45:34.630 passed away, like, at the end of the season. 00:45:34.730 --> 00:45:40.090 So it is quite recent. So, I believe she's... 00:45:40.860 --> 00:45:43.059 going through that and dealing with it and and 00:45:43.059 --> 00:45:48.380 that's it's never easy and you know if you have 00:45:48.380 --> 00:45:51.039 the luxury of of being able to spend that time 00:45:51.039 --> 00:45:53.380 with family and to do that then you know you 00:45:53.380 --> 00:45:56.380 take it and I definitely think she'll be in an 00:45:56.380 --> 00:45:58.519 Olympic spot um she'll be playing for the team 00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:00.739 she's playing overseas she's doing all the right 00:46:00.739 --> 00:46:03.360 things to be on track to play for them I don't 00:46:03.360 --> 00:46:05.739 know if an injury is mixed in with all of those 00:46:05.739 --> 00:46:10.480 personal circumstances but regardless if an injury 00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:13.239 is involved or not, like, yeah, life is short. 00:46:13.340 --> 00:46:16.460 So yeah. So she's, she's taken that time to spend. 00:46:16.559 --> 00:46:19.340 Yeah. And I believe, I believe she has a contract 00:46:19.340 --> 00:46:22.659 already for next year and she's set up. So you, 00:46:22.780 --> 00:46:25.860 you will see her. We might even see her at worlds. 00:46:26.440 --> 00:46:28.940 Question three, which U S women do you think 00:46:28.940 --> 00:46:31.860 are going to be ousted for women's week three? 00:46:31.900 --> 00:46:34.380 I was waiting for this question. Okay. Do you 00:46:34.380 --> 00:46:35.760 want me to go through the players that were on 00:46:35.760 --> 00:46:39.269 week two to give you a refresh? I think I remember 00:46:39.269 --> 00:46:42.630 most of the players who were there. Sarah's making 00:46:42.630 --> 00:46:45.590 that face because I sometimes struggle with names 00:46:45.590 --> 00:46:48.989 and rosters. And just memory. Written down in 00:46:48.989 --> 00:46:53.210 front of me. I think most important to this question 00:46:53.210 --> 00:46:58.429 is who's available and coming this week. So it's 00:46:58.429 --> 00:47:01.789 not just about kicking people off who haven't 00:47:01.789 --> 00:47:03.650 played well enough to be there. It's who are 00:47:03.650 --> 00:47:06.650 you replacing them with. So why don't we go through 00:47:06.650 --> 00:47:09.420 that list. And then we'll make the substitutions 00:47:09.420 --> 00:47:11.380 from there. Well, I was going to go position 00:47:11.380 --> 00:47:14.000 by position and just see if we had any thoughts. 00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:17.239 Okay. Okay, so the setters from week two were 00:47:17.239 --> 00:47:23.840 Sage and Ella Mae Powell and Rachel Fairbanks 00:47:23.840 --> 00:47:26.500 was the alternate. You're not going to change 00:47:26.500 --> 00:47:28.539 that unless Poulter's actually going to come 00:47:28.539 --> 00:47:33.900 and play. So... I think Powell needs to be left 00:47:33.900 --> 00:47:35.559 home. That's who I would leave at home. Like, 00:47:35.559 --> 00:47:39.630 bring anybody else. I'm sorry, but if Jenna Gray 00:47:39.630 --> 00:47:44.429 is healthy, if Poulter's healthy, that should 00:47:44.429 --> 00:47:47.570 be a swap for me. Yeah, I like traveling Fairbanks 00:47:47.570 --> 00:47:49.610 because I think you're getting her travel experience 00:47:49.610 --> 00:47:51.789 and understanding what's going on. Sage, honestly, 00:47:52.030 --> 00:47:55.429 you guys know I'm not a fan from love, but she 00:47:55.429 --> 00:47:59.070 has played much better than I... In week two, 00:47:59.210 --> 00:48:02.230 she played much better than I expected. Week 00:48:02.230 --> 00:48:06.380 two, the offense got... Faster and more international 00:48:06.380 --> 00:48:09.320 style. Her decision -making was better. Her setting 00:48:09.320 --> 00:48:11.920 wasn't always consistent, but it was better. 00:48:12.079 --> 00:48:14.300 But I would leave Powell home and I'd bring one 00:48:14.300 --> 00:48:16.559 of the other ones. Yeah, I would make the same. 00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:21.920 So in the middle, they had IG'd, McCage, Ratke, 00:48:22.139 --> 00:48:25.840 and Butler. I'm not sure I would make any changes 00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:29.440 there. I mean, the Asia O 'Neill fans probably 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:32.869 want to see her there, but I think... The middle 00:48:32.869 --> 00:48:35.309 switches they made from week one to two were 00:48:35.309 --> 00:48:38.650 good. Dana's going to play. She was good. And 00:48:38.650 --> 00:48:44.449 then you're basically looking at Ajid and Obagu. 00:48:44.849 --> 00:48:47.550 Well, Obagu's not on the roster, but Butler. 00:48:48.130 --> 00:48:52.349 Sorry, that's who I meant. Hence the names. Yeah, 00:48:52.389 --> 00:48:57.090 there we go. So right side, they ended up using 00:48:57.090 --> 00:48:58.929 Maddie Skinner on the right. So they had three 00:48:58.929 --> 00:49:02.550 right sides there in Lednicki, Babcock, and Skinner. 00:49:04.050 --> 00:49:07.369 Again, I said this before. Lednicki is fine. 00:49:07.610 --> 00:49:10.829 I don't think she's played poorly. I also don't 00:49:10.829 --> 00:49:14.369 think she's won the many matches. I think Skinner 00:49:14.369 --> 00:49:18.690 was probably their best point scorer in week 00:49:18.690 --> 00:49:23.480 two. So I think you keep her. There, I think 00:49:23.480 --> 00:49:26.300 you keep bringing Babcock because she's super 00:49:26.300 --> 00:49:29.079 young and she has a ton of upside. We're not 00:49:29.079 --> 00:49:31.119 saying Lednicki's not young. She's also young. 00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:34.280 Lednicki just doesn't have the same upside to 00:49:34.280 --> 00:49:37.780 me as Babcock does currently. That might change 00:49:37.780 --> 00:49:41.599 year to year. Her block positioning was not good. 00:49:42.380 --> 00:49:48.050 She was steady offensively. a superstar she wasn't 00:49:48.050 --> 00:49:51.130 killing them she was steady but i think she's 00:49:51.130 --> 00:49:53.230 a blocking liability and a defensive liability 00:49:53.230 --> 00:49:56.170 you you didn't really notice her that was my 00:49:56.170 --> 00:49:59.829 issue like not good or bad she was just kind 00:49:59.829 --> 00:50:02.289 of on the court when she played so i think if 00:50:02.289 --> 00:50:04.789 you're looking at the future which i think they're 00:50:04.789 --> 00:50:08.190 doing you you bring skinner who's going to play 00:50:08.190 --> 00:50:10.449 every match you know and babcock who's going 00:50:10.449 --> 00:50:13.170 to come in for the double sub and if they're 00:50:13.170 --> 00:50:15.369 doing that I think the Tula Barrels are going 00:50:15.369 --> 00:50:17.809 to stay the same with Rodriguez and Hentz. Yeah. 00:50:18.329 --> 00:50:21.190 But I think they had too many opposites last 00:50:21.190 --> 00:50:23.750 time, so I think they're going to have to bring 00:50:23.750 --> 00:50:27.349 another left side. So the three left sides that 00:50:27.349 --> 00:50:31.650 they ended up using or bringing were Ronnie Jones 00:50:31.650 --> 00:50:35.510 -Perry, Eggleston, and Franklin. Leave Ronnie 00:50:35.510 --> 00:50:38.289 Jones -Perry home. Yeah, you need to... I mean, 00:50:38.309 --> 00:50:40.730 is Avery Skinner coming? Is she back from her 00:50:40.730 --> 00:50:42.730 wedding or wherever she was? Well, leave Ronnie 00:50:42.730 --> 00:50:45.789 Jones Perry home. Even if you keep Eggleston 00:50:45.789 --> 00:50:47.590 and Franklin, you have two more that you can 00:50:47.590 --> 00:50:52.409 bring. Let's bring a combination, two of Lanier, 00:50:52.409 --> 00:50:57.409 Skinner, Adams. You bring Skinner and whoever 00:50:57.409 --> 00:50:59.929 has passed the best at practice for the past 00:50:59.929 --> 00:51:02.849 two weeks because you're going to need to pass 00:51:02.849 --> 00:51:06.360 the ball, period. So all that being said, who 00:51:06.360 --> 00:51:09.980 do we think is going to be ousted or think should 00:51:09.980 --> 00:51:14.300 be ousted? Powell, Lednicki, Ronnie Jones -Perry. 00:51:14.780 --> 00:51:18.920 Yeah. Okay. Last question of the day. Who is 00:51:18.920 --> 00:51:25.679 your dream USA coach? Oh, my gosh. This question, 00:51:25.960 --> 00:51:28.900 I'm assuming we're talking for the women. Yeah. 00:51:29.699 --> 00:51:38.619 Can we clone Karch? So here's the thing. There's 00:51:38.619 --> 00:51:40.800 a couple things at play here. One is, I think, 00:51:40.800 --> 00:51:45.420 that the U .S. always wants to hire a U .S. person 00:51:45.420 --> 00:51:48.179 for their national team. I think that's every 00:51:48.179 --> 00:51:52.860 country's dream, how realistic it is. I mean, 00:51:52.880 --> 00:51:55.880 you have a lot of volleyball knowledge and skill 00:51:55.880 --> 00:51:59.639 in the US. It should be realistic. So as somebody 00:51:59.639 --> 00:52:01.619 pointed out that I think Guidetti applied for 00:52:01.619 --> 00:52:04.699 the USA job. He's in Canada now and he obviously 00:52:04.699 --> 00:52:07.539 is a very qualified coach. The problem on the 00:52:07.539 --> 00:52:11.000 women's side internationally is that there are 00:52:11.000 --> 00:52:16.199 so many lucrative college jobs on the women's 00:52:16.199 --> 00:52:18.840 side that you make way more money and you're 00:52:18.840 --> 00:52:22.099 at home. coaching college women's in the U .S., 00:52:22.099 --> 00:52:26.659 then going overseas and starting out as a third 00:52:26.659 --> 00:52:28.639 assistant and then working your way up to a second 00:52:28.639 --> 00:52:31.559 assistant and then, you know, maybe getting a 00:52:31.559 --> 00:52:33.599 head coaching job internationally. That's why 00:52:33.599 --> 00:52:35.960 you don't see very many U .S. coaches coach pro 00:52:35.960 --> 00:52:38.119 overseas. Right. There's just too many college 00:52:38.119 --> 00:52:41.699 opportunities that make them more money. Dani 00:52:41.699 --> 00:52:44.679 Busboom could be a very good international coach 00:52:44.679 --> 00:52:47.079 if she was willing to put the time in overseas 00:52:47.079 --> 00:52:50.420 to do that, but she's making, a ton of money 00:52:50.420 --> 00:52:53.280 coaching the most prestigious program in the 00:52:53.280 --> 00:52:56.639 country, why would you ever leave? It's a very 00:52:56.639 --> 00:53:01.659 unique circumstance to the U .S. Right. So you 00:53:01.659 --> 00:53:04.460 have all of these coaches who are great college 00:53:04.460 --> 00:53:07.519 coaches but don't have any international experience. 00:53:07.760 --> 00:53:10.360 And the games are very different. Yeah, they're 00:53:10.360 --> 00:53:17.420 very different. It's a different skill set. It's 00:53:17.420 --> 00:53:20.920 a really interesting question if you're forced 00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:25.599 to stay with U .S. coaches. You're not forced 00:53:25.599 --> 00:53:28.099 to stay. The question is, who's your dream coach? 00:53:28.239 --> 00:53:31.880 I would say, and here's the thing, and we talked 00:53:31.880 --> 00:53:35.139 about this a few episodes ago, is that North 00:53:35.139 --> 00:53:38.679 Americans, generally speaking, are difficult 00:53:38.679 --> 00:53:42.570 to coach. Just based on the type of feedback 00:53:42.570 --> 00:53:45.989 that North American athletes are willing to accept. 00:53:46.389 --> 00:53:49.750 Well, but I think that also stems from playing 00:53:49.750 --> 00:53:51.809 collegially here, right? If you're a college 00:53:51.809 --> 00:53:56.090 athlete, you're a stud. Like, if you're a good 00:53:56.090 --> 00:53:59.590 college athlete, you're catered to. You get NIL 00:53:59.590 --> 00:54:02.130 money now. Whatever you want. If you don't like 00:54:02.130 --> 00:54:03.670 it, you just get up and you leave and you go 00:54:03.670 --> 00:54:05.889 somewhere else. Like, I have written letters 00:54:05.889 --> 00:54:08.590 of recommendation for coaches that I have been... 00:54:08.880 --> 00:54:13.360 obsessed with were they were they like aggressive 00:54:13.360 --> 00:54:17.719 did they challenge you did they beat around the 00:54:17.719 --> 00:54:20.739 bush they never did no they're in your face but 00:54:20.739 --> 00:54:22.920 i thought that they were outstanding coaches 00:54:22.920 --> 00:54:25.860 and they just did not make it here because the 00:54:25.860 --> 00:54:27.739 athletes couldn't handle it here being canada 00:54:27.739 --> 00:54:32.440 but north america yeah so i would say like a 00:54:32.440 --> 00:54:37.769 barbellini would be great You know, a coach of 00:54:37.769 --> 00:54:40.210 that. You know who else I think would be great? 00:54:40.329 --> 00:54:44.469 A Bernardinho. Yeah. But, like, Bernardinho, 00:54:44.530 --> 00:54:46.949 you make a mistake, he stares you down and then 00:54:46.949 --> 00:54:49.530 rips his shirt off. Like, how many North Americans 00:54:49.530 --> 00:54:52.010 can handle that? Like, I played for the man for 00:54:52.010 --> 00:54:56.789 two years. Like, he's outstanding. I think that 00:54:56.789 --> 00:55:01.809 he would be a great coach for the program. The 00:55:01.809 --> 00:55:05.000 way that he. sees the game, his tactics, his 00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:07.940 drills. Like I said, Barbellini, but he's Italian. 00:55:08.679 --> 00:55:11.900 These people, these great coaches have so much 00:55:11.900 --> 00:55:16.199 emotion and fire. They don't try to make you 00:55:16.199 --> 00:55:17.860 feel good. They just want to make you better. 00:55:18.980 --> 00:55:22.719 And it's a challenge. So those two popped to 00:55:22.719 --> 00:55:25.159 my mind with that question. Yeah, and I mean, 00:55:25.179 --> 00:55:28.860 look at Karch is the perfect U .S. coach. He 00:55:28.860 --> 00:55:30.840 can't coach both programs. He was very successful 00:55:30.840 --> 00:55:34.760 with the women. Not sure what the reasons are 00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:37.440 of why he switched to the men, but, you know, 00:55:37.460 --> 00:55:40.260 he's your prototypical U .S. coach, and right 00:55:40.260 --> 00:55:43.099 now I think there's a lack of international experience 00:55:43.099 --> 00:55:46.480 that they have to choose from if you're going 00:55:46.480 --> 00:55:52.179 to stay with American -born coaches. So, yeah. 00:55:52.380 --> 00:55:54.579 So Adam refuses to answer that question. I mean, 00:55:54.599 --> 00:55:56.880 I think, obviously, I think your choice, I think 00:55:56.880 --> 00:56:02.380 Guidetti, Barbellini, Bernardinho, Karch. Like 00:56:02.380 --> 00:56:05.880 all of those would be great for the program. 00:56:06.239 --> 00:56:10.139 So we are heading into week three of the women's 00:56:10.139 --> 00:56:13.599 VNL after our break week. And those matches are 00:56:13.599 --> 00:56:16.139 being played in Appledore, Netherlands, Arlington, 00:56:16.219 --> 00:56:19.880 Texas, and Chiba, Japan. Every match that's being 00:56:19.880 --> 00:56:23.019 played in Arlington, Texas has meaning. That's 00:56:23.019 --> 00:56:26.059 the pool we talked about where the playoffs are 00:56:26.059 --> 00:56:29.900 on the line. So if you want to see some teams 00:56:29.900 --> 00:56:32.469 fall apart. Who's going to rise to the occasion? 00:56:33.769 --> 00:56:36.250 Arlington is where it's at. Any match being played 00:56:36.250 --> 00:56:39.090 in Arlington is worth watching. But not the best 00:56:39.090 --> 00:56:43.409 matches available. If you're looking for something 00:56:43.409 --> 00:56:48.849 other than playoff hopeful teams, July 11th at 00:56:48.849 --> 00:56:51.750 6 .20 a .m. Eastern, we have Poland versus Brazil. 00:56:51.949 --> 00:56:55.230 That'll be a great game. July 12th at 1 o 'clock 00:56:55.230 --> 00:56:59.059 p .m. Eastern, Turkey versus Italy. And then 00:56:59.059 --> 00:57:03.619 July 13th at 8 p .m. Eastern, USA versus China. 00:57:04.340 --> 00:57:06.119 So those would be the matches if you're looking 00:57:06.119 --> 00:57:08.719 for great volleyball to pay attention to. If 00:57:08.719 --> 00:57:12.619 you're looking for the pucker matches or the 00:57:12.619 --> 00:57:15.139 make it to playoff matches, anything in Arlington 00:57:15.139 --> 00:57:18.289 will do. That concludes this week's episode of 00:57:18.289 --> 00:57:20.289 Volley Talk. There's always something shaking 00:57:20.289 --> 00:57:22.070 in the volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed 00:57:22.070 --> 00:57:24.610 this little fix. Be sure to follow the show so 00:57:24.610 --> 00:57:26.510 you don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful 00:57:26.510 --> 00:57:29.170 if you'd leave us a five -star review. You can 00:57:29.170 --> 00:57:31.889 also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore 00:57:31.889 --> 00:57:34.909 podcast. If you have a topic that you'd like 00:57:34.909 --> 00:57:37.130 us to discuss, be sure to let us know by reaching 00:57:37.130 --> 00:57:40.409 out to us on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin 00:57:40.409 --> 00:57:43.769 .com. Thanks so much for joining us. We're taking 00:57:43.769 --> 00:57:46.550 a break next week, so we'll join you the week 00:57:46.550 --> 00:57:48.010 after. Thanks.