WEBVTT

00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:02.690
Hi, volleyball fans, and welcome back to Volley

00:00:02.690 --> 00:00:04.690
Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers

00:00:04.690 --> 00:00:06.910
who want to dig deep into what is going on in

00:00:06.910 --> 00:00:09.869
NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host,

00:00:09.890 --> 00:00:11.650
Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball

00:00:11.650 --> 00:00:14.429
world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and

00:00:14.429 --> 00:00:17.570
longtime pro, both indoor and on the beat. And

00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:19.730
I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international

00:00:19.730 --> 00:00:22.690
volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat

00:00:22.690 --> 00:00:25.969
guy. We're back. More volleyball discussion.

00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.399
As always, this week we're mixing it up a little

00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.979
bit. We're doing some teaching. Is it teaching?

00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:39.700
Volleyball strategy talk, offensive talk. And

00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:42.579
of course, we're going to mix in some NCAA chit

00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:45.359
chat this week. Our focus is going to be on the

00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.000
Big 12 teams. I mean, a few teams and kind of

00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:50.899
how they're doing now that we're at the halfway

00:00:50.899 --> 00:01:09.719
of conference play. So let's get started. All

00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:15.780
right, there was not a ton of eyebrow raising.

00:01:16.749 --> 00:01:19.969
jaw -dropping excitement in the ncaa this week

00:01:19.969 --> 00:01:23.569
there were a few things but nothing like last

00:01:23.569 --> 00:01:25.909
week where i think we had a list of eight matches

00:01:25.909 --> 00:01:27.930
that went sideways there were a lot of ranked

00:01:27.930 --> 00:01:31.359
versus unranked matches this week conferences

00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:33.680
were just kind of going through the motions and

00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.280
taking care of business yeah check those boxes

00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:38.480
you know for the rankings the biggest movers

00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:40.840
of the week last week were Louisville dropped

00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:44.120
from four to eight which makes sense because

00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:46.719
they lost to both SMU and Pitt and so SMU and

00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:50.040
Pitt both jumped over them Wisconsin dropped

00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:54.420
from nine to twelve Fair. And USC jumped up to

00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:58.439
22 from 25. Those were the biggest movers. So

00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:02.340
honestly, nothing crazy. But Louisville, I mean,

00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:05.140
they kind of deserve to drop below the two teams

00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:07.739
they lost to. Can't go to five sets. What have

00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:10.360
they not won a five setter yet this year? Four

00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.039
or bust. The noteworthy slash unexpected results.

00:02:14.259 --> 00:02:17.780
There are only a few of them. Kansas crushed

00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:20.979
TCU three straight. TCU did not look good this

00:02:20.979 --> 00:02:24.289
week. They also lost to BYU in four. But then

00:02:24.289 --> 00:02:26.689
Kansas turned around and lost in five to Kansas

00:02:26.689 --> 00:02:30.330
State. I feel like no matter what is going on,

00:02:30.469 --> 00:02:33.650
that match is always close. In -state rivalry,

00:02:33.969 --> 00:02:37.250
the derby match, it's always a barn burner. But

00:02:37.250 --> 00:02:40.990
still, you crush TCU. Anyway, we've talked about

00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:43.969
these kind of inconsistencies from NCAA teams.

00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:47.439
Week after week. The last one is UCLA lost in

00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:50.139
three to Oregon. I contemplated not even bringing

00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:52.199
this up because Oregon's been doing pretty well,

00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.479
but they're still unranked. In watching that

00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:59.460
match, I liked Oregon. I think they're doing

00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:02.120
well given that they had basically a fire sale

00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:05.639
with a new coach, 15 new players. They're going

00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:08.240
to cause some problems, and I like the direction

00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.300
that they're heading if they can kind of keep

00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:12.599
it together. Good win for Oregon, I would say.

00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:16.280
So that's that. The results, the rankings. Now,

00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:19.039
we just have a couple things, you know. First,

00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:21.419
Charlie Furbringer is apparently over the season

00:03:21.419 --> 00:03:24.879
with her shoulder injury. She was back in L .A.

00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:29.699
this week getting treatment. That's a big loss.

00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:31.539
Everything we've been talking about with Wisconsin

00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.460
the last few weeks with their freshman setter.

00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:37.360
Looks like it's here to stay. Get your passing

00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.879
on track because you're going to have to play

00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:42.219
with this new setter for the rest of the season.

00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:45.319
That's a huge loss for them. Massive loss. And

00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:47.379
I felt like Charlie was coming into her own.

00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:50.520
The team was kind of finally hers, given all

00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:52.879
of the graduates that left. Finally hers. She's

00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:55.439
a sophomore. I mean, you understand what I'm

00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:57.599
saying, though. She was molding it in the way

00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.000
that she liked to set and run an offense. That's

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.719
never fun. Wish her speedy recovery. That really

00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:06.560
sucks. Hate to see it. Unfortunately, part of

00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:09.960
sport. Dave Shondell, head coach of Purdue, reached

00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:14.919
his 500th win milestone. So fun fact, he only

00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.439
needs 13 more wins to become the winningest coach

00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:23.420
in Purdue athletics history, which if you are

00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:27.439
a college sports fan, as I am, Gene Cady, the

00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.759
legendary basketball coach, only had 512 wins

00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:33.459
throughout his career. He'll need one more season.

00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:36.470
I don't think he'll be able to. Yeah. Unless

00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:38.129
they win the tournament. He'll need another season.

00:04:38.310 --> 00:04:42.990
Yeah. But that is a fun fact. Congrats to him.

00:04:43.050 --> 00:04:45.290
He has been there forever. Pretty sure he recruited

00:04:45.290 --> 00:04:48.370
my sister back in the day. We should give props

00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:50.129
to the assistant coach too. I believe her last

00:04:50.129 --> 00:04:51.990
name is Jewel. She's been there the whole time.

00:04:52.110 --> 00:04:56.110
Katie Jewel. Yeah. A tag team duo forever. So

00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:59.889
that's a big deal. And we've got Desilies Champion

00:04:59.889 --> 00:05:03.970
is going to Wisconsin. I probably butchered her

00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:06.660
name. I've never actually heard it read out loud.

00:05:07.019 --> 00:05:09.399
That's how I'm saying it. She is a Puerto Rican

00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:13.360
player. She apparently was deciding between Nebraska

00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.439
and Wisconsin and ultimately chose Wisconsin.

00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:19.120
Apparently this kid is just like unreal. Is she

00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:23.699
on the national team? She is going to like, she's

00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:28.000
on the national team. She is an opposite, but

00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.129
apparently Grace Lopez, who. plays for Wisconsin,

00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:35.490
ACL injury, played for Miami last year, is going

00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:37.889
to be the national team opposite. So she is probably

00:05:37.889 --> 00:05:41.670
going to have to transition to outside. So that

00:05:41.670 --> 00:05:45.209
was a big loss for Nebraska. But I feel like

00:05:45.209 --> 00:05:47.990
with Adriano and the outsides they have there,

00:05:48.110 --> 00:05:50.529
is it a huge loss for Nebraska? I think it's

00:05:50.529 --> 00:05:54.449
a bigger gain for Wisconsin. I agree. I think

00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:57.329
it's a bigger gain. The team that needed her

00:05:57.329 --> 00:06:01.199
more got her. And the team that would have missed

00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:03.779
her more got her. Yeah. You know what I mean?

00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:05.980
Yes, I agree with that. So we actually got a

00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:09.079
question about this. Do you think the we're Nebraska,

00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:11.939
we have to have a balanced team mentality is

00:06:11.939 --> 00:06:15.439
part of the reason why she chose Wisconsin over

00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:18.639
Nebraska? I mean. I don't think she would even

00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.920
know that about them, honestly. And it totally

00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:25.000
depends on the athlete and what they're looking

00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.279
for. If she's a national team athlete. and she

00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:30.240
probably is going to want to have a pro career

00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.600
she's looking at where can i go where can i play

00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:37.459
right away and where can i make a difference

00:06:37.459 --> 00:06:40.060
like she's going to want to make her mark she's

00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:42.740
going to want a player like that i feel like

00:06:42.740 --> 00:06:45.939
she is going to want a guarantee pretty much

00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:47.879
that she'll be on the court yeah like you don't

00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.079
want to if you have national team aspirations

00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:52.160
professional aspirations which i believe she's

00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:54.610
playing professionally in italy right now You

00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:57.970
don't want to just spend four years sitting on

00:06:57.970 --> 00:07:01.029
the bench. And I love Nebraska. You guys know

00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:04.670
that. They don't need any more blue chip athletes.

00:07:04.730 --> 00:07:07.730
I also feel like Nebraska doesn't give any guarantees.

00:07:08.089 --> 00:07:10.910
No, you can't. You have national Gatorade players

00:07:10.910 --> 00:07:14.170
of the year on the bench at Nebraska. Yeah. Okay.

00:07:14.230 --> 00:07:17.529
They don't need to collect any more athletes

00:07:17.529 --> 00:07:21.660
to just like pad their bench. Agreed. Trust me,

00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:24.600
you guys. You guys know how I feel. My alma mater

00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:27.959
here. I want them to be successful, but I think

00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.160
the team that needs her and the place where she'll

00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.879
have a bigger impact got her. Those are our little

00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:35.779
tidbits. Not just rankings and results this week,

00:07:35.779 --> 00:07:38.420
everybody. We just had a few details as well.

00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:41.680
So, yeah, that's what's happening. We get a ton

00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:45.470
of questions about setters, about... What type

00:07:45.470 --> 00:07:48.470
of offenses should you run speed? What works

00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:50.389
with this? What works with that? What are the

00:07:50.389 --> 00:07:53.649
best options? Today, what I want to do is I want

00:07:53.649 --> 00:07:57.050
to break down offensive theory. What are teams

00:07:57.050 --> 00:07:59.269
trying to accomplish? We're going to the classroom,

00:07:59.430 --> 00:08:02.329
everybody. Take notes. Get your pens and pencils

00:08:02.329 --> 00:08:05.550
ready. It's going to be a volleyball nerd session

00:08:05.550 --> 00:08:08.209
is what we're about to do. It could get lengthy.

00:08:08.370 --> 00:08:11.709
It could get technical. Just a disclaimer. Buckle

00:08:11.709 --> 00:08:15.509
in. We're going for a ride. Okay? Get your notebooks.

00:08:15.689 --> 00:08:18.389
Here we go. I have mine. If you're listening

00:08:18.389 --> 00:08:20.589
on podcast, you can't see it. But if you're on

00:08:20.589 --> 00:08:23.949
YouTube, I've got my notes. The first thing you

00:08:23.949 --> 00:08:26.949
should always be trying to accomplish with a

00:08:26.949 --> 00:08:29.829
good offense is putting your hitters in a good

00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:33.070
position. Above all else, no matter what you're

00:08:33.070 --> 00:08:34.769
doing, you want to put your hitters in a good

00:08:34.769 --> 00:08:37.450
position. You want to put the ball in their hitting

00:08:37.450 --> 00:08:40.649
window. So talk to me about what a hitting window

00:08:40.649 --> 00:08:45.120
is and then what it looks like. Being in a good

00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.519
position as a hitter. My definition of a hitting

00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:52.580
window would be a set location where an individual

00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:56.639
attacker is able to basically do whatever they

00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:02.080
want. Meaning they can see the block, they can

00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:04.639
comfortably hit angle if they want, they can

00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.039
comfortably hit line. But the thing is, is every

00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:12.460
hitter's window is different. Typically, players

00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:14.500
that jump really well, players that are really

00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:17.159
big, if they can do both, that's even better.

00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:21.259
Their windows are bigger than a small athlete,

00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:25.799
usually, generally speaking. So different players,

00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:28.840
different types of hitters have different sizes

00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:33.399
of hitting windows, meaning the ball can be less

00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:38.940
precise to be able to do all the things. And

00:09:38.940 --> 00:09:40.889
the other thing I want to highlight is... As

00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:45.029
a hitter, you always have the advantage. You

00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:48.269
should be scoring. That's the premise of putting

00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:51.009
a hitter in a window. If you do that, they should

00:09:51.009 --> 00:09:54.129
be able to score. When things go sideways and

00:09:54.129 --> 00:09:57.889
hitters lose options or the ball's outside of

00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.110
their window, you take away their advantage.

00:10:00.389 --> 00:10:02.370
In watching some of these college games, and

00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:04.210
again, we have setters, which is a very skilled

00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:06.870
position. You get better as you get older. But

00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:10.710
when we see misses, let's talk about... how those

00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:13.350
misses affect what the options are and what you

00:10:13.350 --> 00:10:15.110
take away from the hitter. So the first one,

00:10:15.190 --> 00:10:17.909
we see this a ton. What happens with a tight

00:10:17.909 --> 00:10:20.070
set? The hitter no longer has the advantage.

00:10:21.190 --> 00:10:25.029
Basically, it completely limits your attacking

00:10:25.029 --> 00:10:27.730
ability, period. Like if it gets tight enough

00:10:27.730 --> 00:10:30.049
and you're forced into a tip, you're kind of

00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:33.730
screwed. If it's not that tight, you have lost

00:10:33.730 --> 00:10:37.350
certain hitting angles. Okay. And that's one

00:10:37.350 --> 00:10:39.269
we see often. So let's go. The next one would

00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:43.960
be. So out of system sets, no shade to the middles,

00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:46.100
but maybe a couple of middle sets where you see

00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:48.679
the ball trailing off the net or behind the hitter.

00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:51.779
What do you lose in that scenario? Typically,

00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:56.220
you lose your vision. You're losing sight. You're

00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:58.700
losing sight of the block a lot of the time.

00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:01.159
But in the case where you're a hitter that can

00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:03.399
see maybe the whole court, you're at least losing

00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:06.340
sight of the court. Now, you mentioned being

00:11:06.340 --> 00:11:08.700
able to see the court and the block. In your

00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:11.419
experience, how rare is it that a player can

00:11:11.419 --> 00:11:15.840
see both the block and the defenders? I think

00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:18.460
it's pretty rare. Generally speaking as an attacker,

00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:21.100
when you're going up to hit, as you're looking

00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:23.120
at the ball in your peripheral vision, you can

00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.840
see the block. You can see where the blockers

00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.360
are and what is available to you. There are not

00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.220
as many athletes who can then see the defensive

00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:35.200
setup behind the block at the same time. It is

00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:36.919
possible there are people that are like that.

00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:41.950
But most people, when they're hitting, see the

00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:45.750
blockers. On an inside set, what do you lose?

00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:50.029
You lose your ability to hit line. Unless the

00:11:50.029 --> 00:11:52.409
set is high enough. If the set has a nice loop

00:11:52.409 --> 00:11:54.710
to it and you're fast enough, have a good enough

00:11:54.710 --> 00:11:56.990
step close, yeah, maybe you can hit line. But

00:11:56.990 --> 00:12:00.769
with a typical offense, typical speed, you're

00:12:00.769 --> 00:12:04.529
generally only being given the opportunity to

00:12:04.529 --> 00:12:08.870
hit angle. And then? A ball too far outside.

00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:11.049
Obviously, if it gets outside the antenna, you

00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:13.850
can't swing line. Can I just go back? The other

00:12:13.850 --> 00:12:15.970
thing about an inside set is if you're not comfortable

00:12:15.970 --> 00:12:19.149
hitting a sharp angle, maybe that is taken away

00:12:19.149 --> 00:12:22.629
from you on an inside set too. When I like personal

00:12:22.629 --> 00:12:24.769
experience, my favorite was to hit angle. So

00:12:24.769 --> 00:12:26.950
if it was really far inside, the angle was still

00:12:26.950 --> 00:12:29.009
available and it was harder for me to hit line.

00:12:29.190 --> 00:12:32.090
But some players might have the opposite issue

00:12:32.090 --> 00:12:35.320
where they're not. as comfortable hitting a really

00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:39.299
sharp angle, so the angle gets taken away. On

00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:41.980
an outside set, you obviously can't hit it outside

00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.679
the antenna, so you can't hit anything but angle.

00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:47.299
The final common error we see is if a set is

00:12:47.299 --> 00:12:50.480
too low. Good location, it's not too tight, but

00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.259
it's too low. What hampers the attacker in that

00:12:53.259 --> 00:12:57.340
regard? You're forced into a tip. You're forced

00:12:57.340 --> 00:13:01.820
to recycle off the block. You're not able to

00:13:01.820 --> 00:13:06.480
get full. power, or trajectory on the ball. Those

00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.919
are the most common errors we see for sets for

00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.039
hitters. And I like to think about it like this.

00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:15.340
If a ball is in a window, you know, your attacker's

00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:18.580
at 100%. They have the ability to make the decision

00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:21.600
to hit whatever they want. And at 100%, you're

00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.600
expecting your attacker to score or at minimum

00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.460
to put the team in trouble so you're getting

00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:29.940
over, you know, a free ball or an easy ball.

00:13:30.490 --> 00:13:33.090
Every time some of these things go wrong, you

00:13:33.090 --> 00:13:37.090
reduce from 100. Let's say it's inside and tight.

00:13:37.250 --> 00:13:39.690
You know, you might be down to 20 % efficiency.

00:13:40.070 --> 00:13:42.649
Inside is tough stuff. And again, these things

00:13:42.649 --> 00:13:45.710
don't happen in isolation. You can have multiple

00:13:45.710 --> 00:13:48.950
of these things happen on any given set. And

00:13:48.950 --> 00:13:51.549
so think about it as just taking away the efficacy

00:13:51.549 --> 00:13:53.509
of the hitter and their ability to make decisions.

00:13:53.570 --> 00:13:55.850
That's how I like to think about it. We're not

00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:57.809
saying there's an expectation that the ball is

00:13:57.809 --> 00:14:00.509
perfect from the setter every single time. Obviously,

00:14:00.590 --> 00:14:05.169
that is the goal. The hitter is responsible for

00:14:05.169 --> 00:14:09.090
correcting errors. It's part of their job. We're

00:14:09.090 --> 00:14:12.610
talking about ideal scenarios. Yes, this is the

00:14:12.610 --> 00:14:15.549
gold standard of what you're trying to hit. That's

00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:18.429
basic attacking. We're talking you can run that

00:14:18.429 --> 00:14:20.649
in club. It applies at all levels of volleyball,

00:14:20.850 --> 00:14:22.850
but those are the fundamentals of setting of

00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:25.330
what you're trying to accomplish. The next thing

00:14:25.330 --> 00:14:27.909
we start to get into a little bit of the strategy.

00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.769
From a setting standpoint, your goal is to get

00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:35.490
your hitter less than two blocks. Could be one,

00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:38.289
could be zero, could be one and a half. And what

00:14:38.289 --> 00:14:40.529
we mean by that is it's not well formed. So the

00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:42.870
middle is reaching or there's some seams. But

00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:46.289
if you can do that, your expectation is your

00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:48.970
hitter scores nine times out of 10. As a setter?

00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:51.409
As a setter. How do you go about doing that?

00:14:51.549 --> 00:14:54.549
And there's a bunch of different ways. And I

00:14:54.549 --> 00:14:56.570
want to lay those out and then I want to talk

00:14:56.570 --> 00:14:58.529
about some of the pros and the cons and then

00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:01.789
how they affect the college game. Number one,

00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:04.549
the best way to get your hitters a one -on -one

00:15:04.549 --> 00:15:08.190
outside is to run a lot of middle on your side

00:15:08.190 --> 00:15:11.549
of the court. So the opposing middle has to stay

00:15:11.549 --> 00:15:15.570
with your middle and either hold there to see

00:15:15.570 --> 00:15:18.090
if they get set or commit with them. That's the

00:15:18.090 --> 00:15:19.450
easiest way to get your outside hitters one -on

00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:20.970
-one. Why do you think we say we love a middle?

00:15:21.070 --> 00:15:24.759
This is why. We are always talking about running

00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:29.299
the middle. This is strategy basics 101. Run

00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:31.519
your middle. Hold the other middle. Your outside

00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.899
hitters have a good chance of scoring. Straight

00:15:33.899 --> 00:15:36.320
forward. But your middle needs to score some

00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:39.240
points. Yes. If they're just completely whiffing

00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:41.100
balls, then the other middle is like, cool, bye.

00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:43.860
And so, again, you have to be able to beat the

00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:46.480
defense in this regard. But if your middle is

00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.039
a threat. We need some respect here. Yes. They

00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:50.799
don't necessarily need to score. They need to

00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:53.919
be respected. That's the first option. The second

00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.340
option, and we talk about this and we see this

00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:03.019
a ton, is the speed of the set, which means the

00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:05.759
ball gets outside to the outside hitter faster

00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:10.740
than the middle can close. And this is a strategy

00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:14.340
that we see a ton of colleges trying to implement.

00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:19.940
But skipping step one. Often. Fair. A lot of

00:16:19.940 --> 00:16:21.580
teams are like, we're going to run this set as

00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:25.360
fast as possible. Good luck. But we haven't run

00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.259
the middle. We're just slinging balls around

00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:31.639
here. So one of the reasons I think we see this

00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:33.360
a ton in college is because the U .S. national

00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.220
team is incredibly good at it. They, in my opinion,

00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.179
not so much this cycle, but last cycle, set the

00:16:39.179 --> 00:16:42.919
gold standard for how you do this. Now, talk

00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:47.059
to me a little bit about how this strategy can

00:16:47.059 --> 00:16:50.539
break down and where... it can go sideways. I

00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:53.919
mean, the faster you set the ball, the less precise

00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:58.200
the location is, which goes back to the initial

00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:00.259
discussion of putting your hitter in a good position.

00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:05.619
You are sacrificing consistent, precise location

00:17:05.619 --> 00:17:11.299
for a broken block, I would say, because you're

00:17:11.299 --> 00:17:15.619
seeing sets often get too low, too wide, too

00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:19.700
tight. like something has to give if you're trying

00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:23.740
to set a ball really fast. And so if you're looking

00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:26.500
at a loopier, slower ball, you're able to dial

00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:29.339
in and the hitters have more choice, but that

00:17:29.339 --> 00:17:31.940
comes with hitting with a double block. So you're

00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:34.859
picking and choosing the lesser of two evils

00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:37.359
for your team. And two things generally have

00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.839
to be true if you want to run a really good fast

00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:42.859
offense. You have to pass well the majority of

00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:46.480
the time and your setter needs to be pretty specific.

00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:50.220
with their location because it's very easy to

00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:53.160
compromise your hitters if you can't do that.

00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.180
And for me, this is where you see a lot of programs

00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:58.799
struggle because the setters just aren't consistent

00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:02.880
with that ball. And when it works, it's great.

00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:07.339
When it doesn't, it's super ugly. An example

00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:10.589
of this for me would be TCU. This week, the matches

00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:12.910
I watch for TCU, this was the case. Yeah, but

00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:15.569
we can get into that in a bit. But just for some

00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:17.869
practical... Adam's like, who can I bury right

00:18:17.869 --> 00:18:21.549
now? So speed is an option we see quite frequently

00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:24.150
at the college level. Some done well, some not

00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:27.789
done well. One of the most common options that

00:18:27.789 --> 00:18:30.390
you can run offensively is something called an

00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:33.990
overload, where you put more hitters than there

00:18:33.990 --> 00:18:35.950
are blockers on the court. So you can do this

00:18:35.950 --> 00:18:37.549
in different places. You can either do it in

00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:39.420
the middle of the court. You can do it on the

00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:41.680
left side or the right side, but it generally

00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.279
entails running a back row ball on top of what

00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:48.220
your middle and or other hitter is doing. So,

00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:51.019
for example, let's say we run our middle on a

00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:53.799
51. We have our right side ball and the pass

00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:55.599
is more or less to the two side of the court.

00:18:55.720 --> 00:19:00.119
You can run a pipe or a modified pipe and a D

00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:02.519
ball over top of it. Now you have three options

00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:06.690
to choose from against two blockers. Now in this

00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:09.569
scenario, your setter is the one who's trying

00:19:09.569 --> 00:19:12.230
to find the open hitter. It's kind of like a

00:19:12.230 --> 00:19:14.670
football quarterback going through their progressions.

00:19:14.690 --> 00:19:17.150
Does the middle jump? No, set the middle. If

00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:19.369
the other middle commits with your middle, then

00:19:19.369 --> 00:19:21.549
you can run the back row ball or set it outside.

00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:23.849
So the setter is making the decision trying to

00:19:23.849 --> 00:19:26.130
isolate the hitter. The other thing that the

00:19:26.130 --> 00:19:30.890
overload does is... Well, you can choose if you

00:19:30.890 --> 00:19:34.490
are running a three -hitter system. to bring

00:19:34.490 --> 00:19:38.369
two hitters towards the same area and then run

00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:41.329
away from those two hitters. So bringing two

00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:44.609
hitters into the same area, similar to the overload,

00:19:44.710 --> 00:19:46.869
you're forcing the opposing team's middle to

00:19:46.869 --> 00:19:51.569
go with them because probability, you know, would

00:19:51.569 --> 00:19:54.569
state that you want to go where there's more

00:19:54.569 --> 00:19:58.130
hitters. By throwing the ball away, you're forcing

00:19:58.130 --> 00:20:00.490
the opposing team's middle to then chase the

00:20:00.490 --> 00:20:04.920
ball, which... The goal is to create a seam in

00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:08.799
the block or a one -on -one situation. So you

00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:12.200
can, like Adam said, have more hitters than there

00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:15.480
are blockers. So three hitters against two blockers.

00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:20.079
Or you can use an overload by dragging the middle

00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:23.859
with the hitters and going away from them. And

00:20:23.859 --> 00:20:26.799
in my opinion, I think this is the easiest offense

00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.339
to run. It doesn't require the same precision

00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:32.650
as a speed offense. And generally you have three

00:20:32.650 --> 00:20:35.049
hitters closer to you and closer sets are generally

00:20:35.049 --> 00:20:38.009
easier to execute. The only piece is the setter

00:20:38.009 --> 00:20:40.769
needs to find the open hitter. So to me, this

00:20:40.769 --> 00:20:43.630
is one of the easier offenses that you can run

00:20:43.630 --> 00:20:46.829
and still be highly effective. Another strategy

00:20:46.829 --> 00:20:48.809
that setters will use, and this one isn't always

00:20:48.809 --> 00:20:51.549
intentional, but it does, it is effective, is

00:20:51.549 --> 00:20:54.369
they'll set the distance set. So what I mean

00:20:54.369 --> 00:20:57.869
by that is, let's say the pass is pushed to position

00:20:57.869 --> 00:21:00.470
four. you still have your middle coming with

00:21:00.470 --> 00:21:03.089
you. So the opposing middle has to follow, but

00:21:03.089 --> 00:21:05.650
then they'll run the back set to the right side.

00:21:05.869 --> 00:21:08.809
And that just creates a lot of distance for the

00:21:08.809 --> 00:21:11.829
middle to have to cover in order to close the

00:21:11.829 --> 00:21:13.890
block properly. So you can see that run from

00:21:13.890 --> 00:21:17.470
passes from four or from passes to two. You don't

00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:20.509
generally see teams passing like that intentionally,

00:21:20.650 --> 00:21:24.690
but it is a strategy that you will see setters

00:21:24.690 --> 00:21:27.470
use and coaches implement in those situations

00:21:27.470 --> 00:21:30.269
where the play is broken down. I mean, yeah,

00:21:30.349 --> 00:21:33.309
it's not intentional. You don't want the pass

00:21:33.309 --> 00:21:36.990
to be bad, but when a setter is dragged to one

00:21:36.990 --> 00:21:39.150
sideline or another, the middle has to follow

00:21:39.150 --> 00:21:41.730
because in the chance that they do decide to

00:21:41.730 --> 00:21:45.000
run the play that's really close to them, If

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.700
the middle hasn't shifted with the pass, they're

00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:50.559
not going to get there. So the middle has to

00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:54.759
follow the pass a little bit to kind of counteract

00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:58.359
that short distance set. They have to chase it.

00:21:58.579 --> 00:22:00.500
Now, the tough thing about this is that that

00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:04.119
distance set is often very hard to execute well,

00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:06.279
especially on the backside. Well, it's not going

00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:10.529
to be fast. No. It's got to be higher. Yes. And

00:22:10.529 --> 00:22:13.009
then the last thing you can look at, and we've

00:22:13.009 --> 00:22:14.430
actually gotten some comments about this because

00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:16.230
there are definitely some teams in the NCAA that

00:22:16.230 --> 00:22:19.690
run this, is the combo play. Well, we saw Brazil

00:22:19.690 --> 00:22:22.109
run it really effectively, the Brazilian women

00:22:22.109 --> 00:22:24.490
with Gabi. They would always wait until like

00:22:24.490 --> 00:22:26.890
after 20 points and then they would bring her

00:22:26.890 --> 00:22:29.890
in on like a meter ball in the middle of the

00:22:29.890 --> 00:22:32.390
court and she would hit with like one block,

00:22:32.470 --> 00:22:34.569
which internationally is unheard of. But even

00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:38.220
like... Teams that run the combo plays with the

00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:40.279
left side coming in and hitting a meter ball

00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:42.119
in the middle or the right side coming around

00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:44.839
in front, they're often one -on -one or one -on

00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:47.799
-none. I haven't seen a ton executed at the college

00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:50.160
level. I feel like the combo plays run at the

00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.920
college level are always... predicated on trying

00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:54.839
to get the middle to run a slide, and they just

00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:56.799
don't have anything else to do with the other

00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:57.900
hitter. I was calling the Long Beach State game

00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.220
yesterday, and they ran a couple with their left

00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:02.660
side, and she had literally no block. The combo

00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:04.960
with the left side I really like. The combo with

00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.380
the right side, because you want your middle

00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:09.859
to run the slide, I just think you take other

00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:13.160
hitters out of being in a good position to score.

00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:16.640
Run a right side on a back quick. Run the double

00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:19.440
quick in front and behind the setter at the same

00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:22.119
time. That could be a trip. If you have a really

00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:24.000
big block who like separates their hands well,

00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.480
that's just a feast for them. But then if you

00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:29.400
have a left hand or right side, I would run like

00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:32.960
a 31 type set in front of the setter off of one

00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.799
foot, like a lefty slide. A bunch of different

00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:38.579
things. The Asian countries run these very well.

00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:40.960
They've kind of gotten away from them recently,

00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:44.779
but traditionally they do. When the goal of running

00:23:44.779 --> 00:23:47.119
the combo plays is twofold. One, it's to make

00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:50.079
the blockers. pick up a new hitter so you're

00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:52.079
switching the zone of your hitter so now there's

00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:53.960
different blocker responsibilities so you can

00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:56.380
create some confusion and you're looking for

00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.059
seams in blocks so that's what you're generally

00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:02.599
trying to do with the combo plays overall those

00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:05.039
are the different strategies that you can implement

00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:07.779
offensively to try and put your hitters in good

00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:10.400
positions the last thing i wanted to go over

00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:13.000
was some of the decisions i'm seeing college

00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:17.200
teams do and how they affect those different

00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.559
offenses and when I think they don't work. So

00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:22.980
the first one that I take issue with is teams

00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:26.380
that try and run a 6 -2 and then run a super

00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:31.460
fast offense. My issue with this is a fast offense

00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:35.839
requires rhythm. It requires consistency. And

00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:38.119
now you're going, okay, I want all my attacking

00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:40.259
options all the time. I'm going to switch my

00:24:40.259 --> 00:24:44.089
setters in and out and nobody's in rhythm. If

00:24:44.089 --> 00:24:46.630
you're going to run a 6 -2, it's because you've

00:24:46.630 --> 00:24:48.829
got monsters on the pins who you want to get

00:24:48.829 --> 00:24:51.289
the ball to and have big hitters there. Slow

00:24:51.289 --> 00:24:54.809
the ball down, trust your hitters, and give them

00:24:54.809 --> 00:24:57.750
the option and the ability to be in a good position.

00:24:57.970 --> 00:25:00.269
I think trying to run a 6 -2, it's hard enough

00:25:00.269 --> 00:25:03.289
to have one setter who can run that kind of speed

00:25:03.289 --> 00:25:06.349
consistently. Very few college programs have

00:25:06.349 --> 00:25:08.329
two where they can do this. I know you have the

00:25:08.329 --> 00:25:10.589
substitution rule, but I think this is a huge

00:25:10.589 --> 00:25:12.720
miss the most of the time. I mean, there's give

00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.019
and take with every decision you make. And with

00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:19.460
wanting three hitters in the front row all the

00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:23.660
time, you are giving up a bit of rhythm for your

00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:29.740
hitters. It is difficult to change setters consistently

00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:33.579
as an attacker. So, yeah, there's always a give

00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:36.740
and take, and that is what you're giving up in

00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:40.000
always having three hitters in the front. Let's...

00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:43.240
look at the ds situation because this is unique

00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.619
to college volleyball you have lots of subs and

00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:48.180
you have the ability to put a whole bunch of

00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:50.680
ds's in the back row pretty much consistently

00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:53.559
throughout the match and you know what are the

00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:55.500
pros and what are the cons of that ideally the

00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:57.339
pro of that is that you're in system all the

00:25:57.339 --> 00:25:59.900
time right run your fast offense to run your

00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:02.640
fast offense so if you run a fast offense switching

00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:04.720
out your back row hitters to me makes a ton of

00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:08.359
sense go ahead go all in with your strategy Dial

00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:11.640
in your consistency, go for it. What doesn't

00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:14.960
make sense to me is teams that put DSs in but

00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:19.559
have slower offenses and don't have incredibly

00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:22.240
terminal people on the outside. If you're going

00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:25.960
to lose your back row option, you need to make

00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:28.099
sure that your other players can carry the load

00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:31.279
with a more consistent block. I understand you

00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:33.779
get more digs and there's other things that happen,

00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:37.079
but it's a sacrifice offensively. And I think

00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:39.779
that teams need to be aware of this. That back

00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:42.819
row option can add a huge amount of value to

00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:45.220
an offense, even if they're not scoring all the

00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:47.319
time just by being a threat. And I think this

00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:49.640
is like really brought to the forefront for teams

00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:52.859
that use DSs for one of their left sides and

00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:55.700
for their right side. Because then when the setter's

00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:57.819
in the front row, you literally have two attackers.

00:26:58.299 --> 00:27:01.099
I think the choices of who teams are taking out

00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:04.160
with the DS is really important, but not having

00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:06.640
a back row attack, it does make... the offense

00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:11.279
predictable. So yeah, stay in system, run your

00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:15.799
plays or whatever, but it's much more predictable.

00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:18.819
And then the last thing I will say on this is

00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:21.440
I feel like a lot of coaches have an offense

00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.279
they just want to run. I run this offense. I

00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:26.799
do this. Well, you know what? Maybe you don't

00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:29.480
have the pieces to run that offense. I know I

00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.339
was ripping Dan Meske apart last week about various

00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:36.569
things, but... The thing that I do appreciate

00:27:36.569 --> 00:27:40.809
about him is he has said that they tailor their

00:27:40.809 --> 00:27:43.849
offense and their schemes to their personnel.

00:27:44.210 --> 00:27:47.549
They aren't fixated on one particular system.

00:27:48.289 --> 00:27:51.549
So I will give him props for that. And I think

00:27:51.549 --> 00:27:54.109
that that's huge. You either have to be an incredible

00:27:54.109 --> 00:27:56.369
recruiter and only get players who are going

00:27:56.369 --> 00:27:58.690
to fit into the system that you want, or you

00:27:58.690 --> 00:28:00.529
have to look at the players you have and go,

00:28:00.589 --> 00:28:03.490
okay. Here's how we maximize all of our different

00:28:03.490 --> 00:28:05.230
strengths. And maybe that's different than what

00:28:05.230 --> 00:28:07.869
I quote unquote normally do or want to do. But

00:28:07.869 --> 00:28:10.829
I think that speaks to a lack of coaching knowledge.

00:28:10.990 --> 00:28:14.690
Agreed. Like if you just run what you run, I

00:28:14.690 --> 00:28:16.950
think that speaks to the fact that you don't

00:28:16.950 --> 00:28:21.430
really understand the game or what you're doing,

00:28:21.529 --> 00:28:25.460
quite frankly. I know that was a lot of information.

00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:28.420
I hope you guys enjoyed that. If you have any

00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:31.460
questions about what we've said or any clarifications,

00:28:31.619 --> 00:28:34.140
we'd be happy to answer them or hop back on and

00:28:34.140 --> 00:28:36.779
talk about this again. But we wanted to give

00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:39.960
an overview of the options. So as you're watching

00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:41.819
games, you can go, oh, this is what they're trying

00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:44.480
to do. Oh, that missed and that affected that

00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:48.039
decision. And I'm hoping that we've provided

00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:51.170
a little. Added benefit to your watching experience

00:28:51.170 --> 00:28:52.609
as you go through and watch. A little tutorial

00:28:52.609 --> 00:28:55.730
day today. Yeah. A little volleyball. I wouldn't

00:28:55.730 --> 00:28:59.509
even say 101. We're at volleyball 301. This is

00:28:59.509 --> 00:29:02.230
the advanced class. We've graduated. We had so

00:29:02.230 --> 00:29:05.089
many questions about strategy, this, that, the

00:29:05.089 --> 00:29:10.970
other. So this was kind of our advanced volleyball

00:29:10.970 --> 00:29:15.549
class for all you nerds out there like us. All

00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:18.200
right. So we're going to take a look at. The

00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:21.079
Big 12 standings as they currently are. We're

00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:22.859
going to discuss a couple of the teams. Because

00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:25.119
we watched a bunch of Big 12 matches this week.

00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:27.240
And obviously we've watched them in the past.

00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:29.619
The last few weeks I would say. Yeah. So let's

00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:32.220
go over some of the teams. I think we have a

00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:35.279
couple teams in top spots that maybe aren't for

00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.359
real. Or haven't had a tough schedule. So we'll

00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:40.720
look at those. Pretenders. Not contenders. If

00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:45.599
you missed last week's segment. So let's go through.

00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:49.940
Quick opinions. Quick predictions on where we

00:29:49.940 --> 00:29:52.259
think the Big 12 will end up because it's a messy

00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:55.240
conference. It's up for grabs, kind of. As we

00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:58.200
talked about in our conference prediction episode

00:29:58.200 --> 00:30:03.059
a few weeks ago, we said the Big 12 was the most

00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:06.859
equal across the board and the one where things

00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:09.259
could get the messiest. Probably the weakest

00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:11.700
of the Power 4 conferences, but the most exciting

00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:14.380
if you're looking at the teams playing each other.

00:30:14.619 --> 00:30:16.980
Correct. So let's take a look at Arizona State.

00:30:17.369 --> 00:30:19.410
They obviously did well last year. They're currently

00:30:19.410 --> 00:30:22.970
8 -0 in conference play. I think they're cruising

00:30:22.970 --> 00:30:25.690
for another conference victory. They've already

00:30:25.690 --> 00:30:28.569
beat Kansas. They beat Baylor. They beat BYU.

00:30:28.829 --> 00:30:30.950
So some of the other top teams in the conference,

00:30:31.089 --> 00:30:36.450
they are spearheaded by Bailey Miller and Naomi

00:30:36.450 --> 00:30:40.450
Glover, who, in my opinion, is a rising star

00:30:40.450 --> 00:30:42.990
for them. I've been pleasantly surprised. Oregon

00:30:42.990 --> 00:30:46.859
transfer, I believe, yeah. Yeah. And she is a

00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:51.319
dynamic opposite who has done fantastic. What

00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:54.640
are your thoughts on Arizona State? Okay, I'm

00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:57.900
going to talk about these teams in the context

00:30:57.900 --> 00:31:03.200
of the Big 12. Like, I don't think they match

00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:05.799
up against the likes of a Texas or a Kentucky

00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:10.460
or teams like that. But in the context of the

00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:16.200
Big 12, I would say... They probably have the

00:31:16.200 --> 00:31:19.700
best opposite in Noemi Glover. I can't think

00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:22.759
of... I mean, people from Kansas might argue

00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:25.519
that their Serbian right side gives her a run

00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:28.799
for her money, but I disagree. Super strong on

00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:32.200
the right side. I think their middles do a pretty

00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:35.900
good job. They're big. They're physical. Their

00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:39.140
left sides, they're fine. They're steady. I mean,

00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:41.500
there's a reason they're 8 -0, and they've played...

00:31:41.740 --> 00:31:44.099
a bunch of the top teams minus TCU. I think they

00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:48.200
play TCU this week. I like Glover, and I think

00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.619
she was a really good addition to that team.

00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:54.140
We saw, because Argentina Ung graduated, we're

00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:57.839
seeing the setter that typically came in when

00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:02.240
Ung was attacking run the show, and so she does

00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:04.619
have setting experience. They picked up a lot

00:32:04.619 --> 00:32:06.779
of transfer players, actually, from the portal

00:32:06.779 --> 00:32:10.740
in the offseason, and yeah, I think they're pretty

00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:14.000
good. They're consistent is what comes to mind

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:16.839
when I look at Arizona State. They have a balanced

00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:21.240
offense. They're very low error in terms of mistakes

00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:24.480
that they make while they're attacking. And they

00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:27.519
definitely out -serve opponents in terms of just

00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:29.680
keeping service pressure on them. I don't think

00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:33.180
there's any massive stars in the Big 12. Not

00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:36.079
single players who can generally beat you. And

00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:38.400
so the fact that they're so balanced and consistent

00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:40.779
night in and night out is I think what's allowed

00:32:40.779 --> 00:32:43.619
them to be 8 -0. And I would expect them to finish

00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:46.960
top of the conference. Well, and Glover went

00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:51.099
down in the preseason, I believe. I think she

00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:53.849
had a concussion or something. So they had to

00:32:53.849 --> 00:32:58.130
play some other players to fill her spot, and

00:32:58.130 --> 00:33:01.529
now she's back. Yeah, they didn't go unscathed

00:33:01.529 --> 00:33:03.650
in preseason, but their schedule, I think, was

00:33:03.650 --> 00:33:07.390
heavier than most Big 12 teams. Kansas obviously

00:33:07.390 --> 00:33:10.410
had a pretty tough preseason schedule, too. Yeah,

00:33:10.490 --> 00:33:12.869
now that she's back, it's like she didn't miss

00:33:12.869 --> 00:33:16.990
a beat. No, they look good. Let's move to number

00:33:16.990 --> 00:33:21.289
two in the Big 12, who... In my opinion, should

00:33:21.289 --> 00:33:24.089
not be number two and won't be number two for

00:33:24.089 --> 00:33:27.490
much longer. So Colorado is 9 -1. I don't think

00:33:27.490 --> 00:33:29.869
anybody expected that start for them. Okay, but

00:33:29.869 --> 00:33:32.910
the thing is they haven't played anybody. So

00:33:32.910 --> 00:33:37.049
they still have to play Baylor, Kansas, Arizona

00:33:37.049 --> 00:33:42.890
State, TCU, and BYU. Oh, so all of the best teams.

00:33:42.890 --> 00:33:44.869
All of the good teams. So they're not going to

00:33:44.869 --> 00:33:50.529
finish 9 -1. Are they going to go? Oh, fur. Against

00:33:50.529 --> 00:33:52.309
all these teams. There are a few other teams

00:33:52.309 --> 00:33:54.069
sprinkled in there. Those are just the big ones

00:33:54.069 --> 00:33:54.849
that they have left to play. No, but against

00:33:54.849 --> 00:33:56.630
these teams, do you think they're going to win

00:33:56.630 --> 00:33:58.930
any of them? I don't think so. So I want you

00:33:58.930 --> 00:34:01.730
to look at these stats that I pulled for them.

00:34:01.910 --> 00:34:05.650
For opponent kills, they're 10th. For blocks,

00:34:05.869 --> 00:34:08.170
they're 6th. And for digs, they're 13th. How

00:34:08.170 --> 00:34:11.110
are they winning games? They don't stop anybody.

00:34:11.570 --> 00:34:14.070
And they haven't played the good teams. So they're

00:34:14.070 --> 00:34:16.639
not getting any chances. They are big across

00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:18.980
the board. In every position they have, they're

00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:21.500
at least six feet, including their setter. So

00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:25.480
they score well and they serve well, but they

00:34:25.480 --> 00:34:27.300
can't defend. And when you're bigger than the

00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:29.480
teams that are below you, you're going to win

00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:32.039
matches. But they're going to have problems against

00:34:32.039 --> 00:34:35.639
these good teams who are also big, but I think

00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:37.880
more skilled. But better offensively than them.

00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:41.239
Like if their stats are that bad against the

00:34:41.239 --> 00:34:44.989
mid to low level Big 12 teams. The higher level

00:34:44.989 --> 00:34:48.130
Big 12 teams are going to decimate them. Where's

00:34:48.130 --> 00:34:50.449
your block defense at? Yeah, it's non -existent.

00:34:50.449 --> 00:34:53.150
They're going to finish fifth or sixth, probably.

00:34:53.809 --> 00:34:55.530
Maybe sixth or seventh. You want to know something

00:34:55.530 --> 00:34:58.670
else, though? I think they have a huge advantage

00:34:58.670 --> 00:35:01.369
when they play at home. When I played at Nebraska,

00:35:01.730 --> 00:35:05.150
we were in the Big 12. And Colorado was in the

00:35:05.150 --> 00:35:08.489
Big 12 as well, obviously. It's hard to play

00:35:08.489 --> 00:35:11.210
there. First of all, you're at altitude. And

00:35:11.210 --> 00:35:14.780
secondly... They play with that ridiculous Nike

00:35:14.780 --> 00:35:17.019
ball. I don't know if anybody has an opinion

00:35:17.019 --> 00:35:20.159
about the Nike volleyball. I sure do. It's awful.

00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:24.420
Okay, we used ours when we had to go to a Nike

00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:26.940
school. We obviously practiced with them. Otherwise,

00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:29.139
they were the balls we used in the serve machine.

00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:32.340
And if you know anything about serve machines,

00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:35.579
they destroy volleyballs. So that's how we felt

00:35:35.579 --> 00:35:39.760
about those. But the Nike balls are awful to

00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:43.530
play with. So the Nike ball, like combined with

00:35:43.530 --> 00:35:47.429
being at altitude, a recipe for disaster. So

00:35:47.429 --> 00:35:49.650
I think a lot of teams just really get messed

00:35:49.650 --> 00:35:53.170
up going there. Fair. But again, I don't think

00:35:53.170 --> 00:35:54.909
the teams that they have left to play are going

00:35:54.909 --> 00:35:58.130
to get messed up going there. The year we won

00:35:58.130 --> 00:36:00.449
the national championship, the only match we

00:36:00.449 --> 00:36:04.389
lost was at Colorado. Fair enough. It's an equalizer.

00:36:04.489 --> 00:36:07.969
It will make it seem more equal than it is, perhaps.

00:36:08.309 --> 00:36:10.519
Okay. Fair enough. But I still don't see them

00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:12.159
beating these teams. It's like the wind in beach

00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:15.000
volleyball. Big equalizer. So that's Colorado.

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:15.820
I don't think they're going to beat the teams

00:36:15.820 --> 00:36:19.380
either. Okay. Adam's getting sassy today. Like

00:36:19.380 --> 00:36:22.739
this is a new look. Currently standing in number

00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:25.820
three, the seven and three conference record

00:36:25.820 --> 00:36:29.800
is Baylor. Give me your thoughts on Baylor. I

00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:33.099
don't like Baylor. Okay. Give me something a

00:36:33.099 --> 00:36:36.750
little more than that. big, but I don't think

00:36:36.750 --> 00:36:39.989
they're particularly skilled. I've watched them

00:36:39.989 --> 00:36:44.110
play several times and I just, I get confused

00:36:44.110 --> 00:36:47.030
how they win games. Here's some interesting things

00:36:47.030 --> 00:36:49.750
that work in their favor. He set me up for this,

00:36:49.769 --> 00:36:53.309
everybody. I didn't. So what you see is their

00:36:53.309 --> 00:36:55.550
two outsides in their libero are all freshmen.

00:36:55.710 --> 00:37:00.170
So they have some inexperienced ball control

00:37:00.170 --> 00:37:03.170
happening on the court. The general serving target

00:37:03.170 --> 00:37:07.159
in Rachmanchik. She has spurts where she really

00:37:07.159 --> 00:37:09.000
struggles to pass. So that really hurts them.

00:37:09.300 --> 00:37:12.219
However, what I do like, and I know you'll appreciate

00:37:12.219 --> 00:37:16.099
this, is both of their middles are in the top

00:37:16.099 --> 00:37:20.280
four attempts on the team. I do appreciate that.

00:37:20.500 --> 00:37:24.260
So even though they're not passing amazing. Top

00:37:24.260 --> 00:37:29.139
four. So one of the left sides gets set less

00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:33.190
than them. Correct. But Rachmanchik got set 523

00:37:33.190 --> 00:37:35.829
times so far. Then their middle's their second.

00:37:35.989 --> 00:37:38.889
So Bippen Bay is their second most set player

00:37:38.889 --> 00:37:42.849
at 444 attempts. Then it's another outside in

00:37:42.849 --> 00:37:45.789
Bailey who's... Actually, okay, I will say I

00:37:45.789 --> 00:37:48.289
do like Bailey. Correct. I like her too. She's

00:37:48.289 --> 00:37:50.849
dynamic. I think she's pretty good. They're inexperienced

00:37:50.849 --> 00:37:53.429
at key positions in terms of passing and their

00:37:53.429 --> 00:37:56.130
libero. So that's going to continue to get better

00:37:56.130 --> 00:37:59.030
as the season goes on. I like Bailey. She's dynamic.

00:37:59.289 --> 00:38:01.570
They try and run the middle of the court. The

00:38:01.570 --> 00:38:03.969
fundamentals aren't quite there yet, but they're

00:38:03.969 --> 00:38:07.130
trying to do the right thing. And that's fine.

00:38:07.250 --> 00:38:09.550
But I think that they're better than Colorado.

00:38:09.590 --> 00:38:11.289
I don't think that they're better than Arizona

00:38:11.289 --> 00:38:14.269
State. And honestly, I think BYU and TCU and

00:38:14.269 --> 00:38:16.409
Kansas are all better than them as well. So you

00:38:16.409 --> 00:38:18.130
have them five. I do think they're better than

00:38:18.130 --> 00:38:20.230
Iowa State. I haven't watched Iowa State yet,

00:38:20.309 --> 00:38:24.130
so I'm not sure. Again, interesting team. I like

00:38:24.130 --> 00:38:26.210
what they're trying to do. They're a little experienced

00:38:26.210 --> 00:38:29.210
on the passing and ball control side of things,

00:38:29.409 --> 00:38:31.929
but they also have a really big opposite who

00:38:31.929 --> 00:38:34.949
comes in at Grace Curl. She's 6 '5". She's also

00:38:34.949 --> 00:38:36.670
starting to play a little bit better. There are

00:38:36.670 --> 00:38:39.070
pieces there. It's not quite there, but for me,

00:38:39.090 --> 00:38:40.510
they're a team that might be really interesting

00:38:40.510 --> 00:38:43.070
next year. Well, they also bring in a Cameroonian

00:38:43.070 --> 00:38:47.260
right side as well. Or is that Bipinbe? No, Abibembe's

00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:49.239
in middle. But she may play some right side.

00:38:49.260 --> 00:38:51.480
Yeah, I feel like they kind of maybe, don't quote

00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:53.900
me on this, maybe they use her on the right side

00:38:53.900 --> 00:38:58.679
sometimes. Okay, they're fine. Yes. Just comparing

00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:01.159
them to the other top Big 12 teams, I don't think

00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:05.000
that they're it. Yes, I would agree. Again, I

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:06.920
think they're going to finish ahead of Colorado.

00:39:06.920 --> 00:39:08.960
I think they'll finish ahead of Iowa State and

00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:11.639
behind the rest. So probably five would be my

00:39:11.639 --> 00:39:14.400
guess. Iowa State is next. I haven't watched

00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:16.500
them a ton, but they also haven't played anybody.

00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:19.920
But also keep in mind, like a bunch of these

00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:22.239
teams, they haven't played the same number of

00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:25.139
matches. Like some teams have played nine. Some

00:39:25.139 --> 00:39:28.480
have played 10. Some have played eight. Like

00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:30.099
they're kind of all over the place. So these

00:39:30.099 --> 00:39:32.980
standings are also based on an unequal number

00:39:32.980 --> 00:39:35.599
of matches. Yeah. But currently Iowa State is

00:39:35.599 --> 00:39:37.840
six and three. TCU is six and three and Kansas

00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:39.559
is six and three. So they're in, they're in the

00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:42.260
mix in that regard, but they'll. They will be,

00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:45.000
them and Colorado are going to fight for 6 -7.

00:39:45.099 --> 00:39:47.820
Sure, Kansas, they're all 6 -3. Kansas bringing

00:39:47.820 --> 00:39:50.280
up the rear in that group because their overall

00:39:50.280 --> 00:39:52.639
record is worse. But Kansas' strength of schedule

00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:55.539
was way higher than in Iowa State. So moving

00:39:55.539 --> 00:39:58.079
on, we're going to skip over Iowa State. We haven't

00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:00.260
seen them. They haven't played anybody good in

00:40:00.260 --> 00:40:02.539
the conference, really. So they're going to end

00:40:02.539 --> 00:40:05.079
up below the schedule. But I'm curious what your

00:40:05.079 --> 00:40:07.579
thoughts of TCU are. We watched both their matches

00:40:07.579 --> 00:40:10.059
this week. We watched a lot of TCU this season.

00:40:10.860 --> 00:40:14.400
Okay. I have said like from early in the season,

00:40:14.500 --> 00:40:18.559
they surprised me. They were on my list of biggest

00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:21.699
surprises in one of our early NCAA season episodes.

00:40:22.199 --> 00:40:25.579
A lot of the players that they have playing were

00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:29.179
on the bench last year in, you know, Evan Hendricks,

00:40:29.179 --> 00:40:34.260
Becca Kelly, their middle played last year. They

00:40:34.260 --> 00:40:38.159
lost their biggest player in Melanie Parra. And

00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:40.159
I have thought that they've been pretty good.

00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:45.000
this week watching their games was a dumpster

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:50.380
fire. Well, there were two things. Like, I don't

00:40:50.380 --> 00:40:53.440
think the hitters even knew where the ball was

00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:58.159
going when they played Kansas. This setter, Edward

00:40:58.159 --> 00:41:01.800
Scissorhands, I'm going to say. But it started

00:41:01.800 --> 00:41:05.099
before that because Volpe, their libero, was

00:41:05.099 --> 00:41:09.820
a literal black hole. Volpe. She was. I think

00:41:09.820 --> 00:41:12.500
she's in there for passing maybe because defensively.

00:41:12.739 --> 00:41:15.039
But passing -wise, she got aced off the court

00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:17.000
too. Nothing's coming up. She watched balls drop.

00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:19.420
She shanked balls off the side. She was not good

00:41:19.420 --> 00:41:23.380
defensively. Their libero and their setting was

00:41:23.380 --> 00:41:26.340
not good. I've seen Volpe pass too many balls.

00:41:26.639 --> 00:41:29.300
You know that's a red flag when your libero is

00:41:29.300 --> 00:41:32.219
getting targeted on serve. But I will say her

00:41:32.219 --> 00:41:34.500
passing is better than her defense. The other

00:41:34.500 --> 00:41:37.460
thing with TCU is they like to run that really

00:41:37.460 --> 00:41:39.659
fast offense. So when the passing breaks down

00:41:39.659 --> 00:41:42.960
and their setters come in and out quite regularly.

00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:45.000
Rewind to that last segment. We talked about

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:47.619
this before. All of the things that could go

00:41:47.619 --> 00:41:50.139
wrong with running a fast offense went wrong

00:41:50.139 --> 00:41:52.880
for them this week. My question. I have never

00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:56.420
seen an offense be so broken. Broken. It was.

00:41:56.579 --> 00:42:00.039
A car with no wheels. I saw somebody jump and

00:42:00.039 --> 00:42:02.320
swing at a ball and miss it. Literally miss it.

00:42:02.679 --> 00:42:07.400
The Kansas match, rough. If we had done this

00:42:07.400 --> 00:42:10.599
segment last week, I think I would have had TCU

00:42:10.599 --> 00:42:14.119
at two. Behind Arizona State? Behind Arizona

00:42:14.119 --> 00:42:17.360
State. After this week, I'm on shaky ground.

00:42:17.559 --> 00:42:21.380
I'm trying to figure out, did both the libero

00:42:21.380 --> 00:42:25.699
and the setter have the same illness, sickness,

00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:27.760
or whatever was going through? This is Adam trying

00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:31.440
to be funny. But if that's going to continue,

00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:36.219
They're going to struggle. I cannot express to

00:42:36.219 --> 00:42:41.300
you how bad this was. It was painful to watch.

00:42:41.420 --> 00:42:44.599
The wheels fell off and were rolling down the

00:42:44.599 --> 00:42:46.980
hill. And I like Evan Hendricks. I think she

00:42:46.980 --> 00:42:48.940
does a good job. I like their middles. I think

00:42:48.940 --> 00:42:51.340
they do well. Becca Kelly is having a good season.

00:42:51.400 --> 00:42:54.699
I think their hitters and their pieces are there.

00:42:54.800 --> 00:42:57.659
You just have to give them an opportunity. So

00:42:57.659 --> 00:42:59.420
maybe let's slow it down a little bit. I think

00:42:59.420 --> 00:43:01.489
they need to play a 5 -1. They need to find some

00:43:01.489 --> 00:43:04.489
consistency. And if they can do that, I think

00:43:04.489 --> 00:43:07.489
they're the second best team in Big 12. I'm liking

00:43:07.489 --> 00:43:10.469
BYU these days. We're going to get there. I'll

00:43:10.469 --> 00:43:15.050
say at this point in the season, that kind of

00:43:15.050 --> 00:43:18.710
stuff shouldn't be happening. So from where I'm

00:43:18.710 --> 00:43:20.510
sitting right now, I'm going to put them at third.

00:43:20.690 --> 00:43:23.570
Okay. Well, you mentioned BYU, so let's go there.

00:43:23.690 --> 00:43:26.809
What do you like about BYU? I don't think either

00:43:26.809 --> 00:43:28.570
of us were very high on them at the beginning

00:43:28.570 --> 00:43:30.110
of the season. Well, they were struggling, but

00:43:30.110 --> 00:43:33.969
I think we saw TCU kind of take a tumble down

00:43:33.969 --> 00:43:38.769
a hill this week, and BYU has been steadily improving.

00:43:38.849 --> 00:43:43.590
They were, what, 2 -4 in Big 12 play, and now

00:43:43.590 --> 00:43:47.590
they're 5 -4? Yes. They're gradually getting

00:43:47.590 --> 00:43:49.449
better, and they're picking the right time to

00:43:49.449 --> 00:43:51.349
do it because they're doing it against the better

00:43:51.349 --> 00:43:53.449
teams. So I don't know what the heck happened

00:43:53.449 --> 00:43:56.880
there. Somebody tell us because we haven't been

00:43:56.880 --> 00:43:58.539
following them too, too closely. Like maybe there

00:43:58.539 --> 00:44:01.579
was an injury situation or whatever, but I, something

00:44:01.579 --> 00:44:07.039
I like about them is Suli Davis. She, and I'm

00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:08.699
curious to know if it just took her a little

00:44:08.699 --> 00:44:11.099
bit of time. As a freshman. To settle in as a

00:44:11.099 --> 00:44:14.099
freshman. But she has been unbelievable this

00:44:14.099 --> 00:44:16.260
last little while. She's really good. And I like

00:44:16.260 --> 00:44:19.539
her attitude. She is fierce. She's a grinder.

00:44:19.659 --> 00:44:23.159
She's a competitor. Yes. She is serious. Like,

00:44:23.260 --> 00:44:27.239
no fluff. No, like, let's be friends, which I'm

00:44:27.239 --> 00:44:31.500
all about. This kid can swing. And she's playing

00:44:31.500 --> 00:44:34.820
six rotations, which I'm also a fan of. I like

00:44:34.820 --> 00:44:38.260
her. I also like Camavor in the middle. I think

00:44:38.260 --> 00:44:41.099
they're starting to use her well. She's big.

00:44:41.300 --> 00:44:44.920
She hits very high. She's been pretty much unstoppable

00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:47.679
in conference play when they get her the ball.

00:44:47.820 --> 00:44:50.840
So that combo and them, I think maybe finally

00:44:50.840 --> 00:44:53.599
setting her high enough. It's a little bit of

00:44:53.599 --> 00:44:57.260
a slower middle attack, but she's getting the

00:44:57.260 --> 00:45:00.119
height on it and she's really strong. So I think

00:45:00.119 --> 00:45:01.739
she's come on and done a really good job for

00:45:01.739 --> 00:45:05.539
them. Yeah, my issues with BYU last year were

00:45:05.539 --> 00:45:08.550
their setting. I think their setter Bauer was

00:45:08.550 --> 00:45:11.369
a freshman last year, so she seems to have kind

00:45:11.369 --> 00:45:14.449
of found her own and has hit a rhythm there.

00:45:14.809 --> 00:45:18.469
And how heavily they relied on Claire Little.

00:45:19.070 --> 00:45:21.670
I thought they were missing a piece on the outside,

00:45:21.809 --> 00:45:23.829
and I thought they were missing a good right

00:45:23.829 --> 00:45:27.969
side. And I'm liking the Suli Davis addition.

00:45:28.369 --> 00:45:31.090
I think their right side has picked up compared

00:45:31.090 --> 00:45:33.699
to last year. And now we're seeing Claire. little

00:45:33.699 --> 00:45:36.360
kind of she's number three for me yeah i know

00:45:36.360 --> 00:45:39.619
she still leads the team but she can do it from

00:45:39.619 --> 00:45:43.440
a place of not everybody yeah exactly not everybody

00:45:43.440 --> 00:45:46.320
knowing where the ball is going so i again i

00:45:46.320 --> 00:45:48.440
think they've done good things they're on a positive

00:45:48.440 --> 00:45:50.880
trajectory for me yeah i'm gonna put them at

00:45:50.880 --> 00:45:54.619
honestly one or two when i originally heard that

00:45:54.619 --> 00:45:56.880
they were pre -season number one in the big 12

00:45:56.880 --> 00:45:58.420
i was like you've got to be kidding me because

00:45:58.420 --> 00:46:00.659
they were not doing well i can kind of see it

00:46:00.659 --> 00:46:03.940
now So I'm going to put them at one or two. Yeah,

00:46:03.960 --> 00:46:06.119
I don't think record wise they can catch Arizona

00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:09.659
State at this point. That's true. That's true.

00:46:09.739 --> 00:46:13.219
I think they'll probably be two or three. That's

00:46:13.219 --> 00:46:16.760
true. Depending on whether TCU continues to play

00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:19.300
without any wheels. And the last team I wanted

00:46:19.300 --> 00:46:22.400
to look at here. Talk to me about Kansas. Honestly,

00:46:22.500 --> 00:46:27.760
I like Kansas. They're kind of gritty, I want

00:46:27.760 --> 00:46:32.030
to say. They're like blue collar. They're good,

00:46:32.210 --> 00:46:37.590
but nobody expects them. They're underrated,

00:46:37.650 --> 00:46:40.670
I would say. I like Reese Patak. I liked her

00:46:40.670 --> 00:46:42.829
last season. I think she's gotten so much better

00:46:42.829 --> 00:46:46.730
this season. She's running the slide very well.

00:46:47.130 --> 00:46:51.110
They've brought on a Serbian right side who is

00:46:51.110 --> 00:46:55.150
doing well for them. They lost El Nadi, who was

00:46:55.150 --> 00:46:59.699
a huge factor, but they've... They've found the

00:46:59.699 --> 00:47:02.619
pieces and like Matt Ulmer coming and bringing

00:47:02.619 --> 00:47:05.079
some Oregon girls too. I think that has helped.

00:47:05.159 --> 00:47:07.500
I'm liking them. I think their libero does a

00:47:07.500 --> 00:47:10.400
really, really good job. Yeah. The record kind

00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:12.820
of surprises me. I thought they would be a little

00:47:12.820 --> 00:47:16.619
bit higher. They seem to drop bad matches. Like

00:47:16.619 --> 00:47:19.349
their losses are. bad losses and I don't know

00:47:19.349 --> 00:47:21.389
if that's a consistency issue to unranked teams

00:47:21.389 --> 00:47:24.289
as opposed to like the ranked ones yeah so they

00:47:24.289 --> 00:47:26.469
lose matches like to Kansas State and again I

00:47:26.469 --> 00:47:29.070
know I say this no offense to Kansas State but

00:47:29.070 --> 00:47:30.889
that's not a match that they should be losing

00:47:30.889 --> 00:47:36.010
if they play well they win so it's games and

00:47:36.010 --> 00:47:39.989
performances like that which kill you in conference

00:47:39.989 --> 00:47:42.170
play when everybody else is racking up wins against

00:47:42.170 --> 00:47:44.650
those teams like Colorado's not losing to those

00:47:44.650 --> 00:47:47.349
teams You know, that's the one thing. And with

00:47:47.349 --> 00:47:50.570
a new coach, maybe there's some changes in the

00:47:50.570 --> 00:47:52.630
style of play and things that he wants them to

00:47:52.630 --> 00:47:54.969
do that create some of that inconsistency. But

00:47:54.969 --> 00:47:57.670
for me, that's going to cost them this season

00:47:57.670 --> 00:48:00.530
in terms of their ranking here. Midway through

00:48:00.530 --> 00:48:05.309
conference, what are your standings for Big 12?

00:48:06.389 --> 00:48:10.570
I'm going to go Arizona State. I'm going to say

00:48:10.570 --> 00:48:13.889
TCU figures it out after this week. So TCU 2.

00:48:14.920 --> 00:48:19.780
BYU three, Kansas, Baylor. I'm going to do Arizona

00:48:19.780 --> 00:48:26.260
State, BYU, TCU, Kansas, Baylor. And then Colorado.

00:48:27.280 --> 00:48:33.179
And then Colorado seven. I think Iowa State will

00:48:33.179 --> 00:48:36.980
finish ahead of them. Okay. Well, for the messy

00:48:36.980 --> 00:48:39.539
conference, those are the predictions. Those

00:48:39.539 --> 00:48:42.380
are what we were seeing from those teams. I have

00:48:42.380 --> 00:48:46.130
enjoyed. Seeing some teams get better, some teams

00:48:46.130 --> 00:48:50.730
play poorly, at least this week. This conference

00:48:50.730 --> 00:48:52.369
has been interesting just in the progression

00:48:52.369 --> 00:48:54.949
of the teams. And there have been quite a few

00:48:54.949 --> 00:48:58.170
freshmen who are playing prominent roles in this

00:48:58.170 --> 00:49:01.010
conference, which has also been fun to watch.

00:49:01.130 --> 00:49:04.650
I love seeing how athletes kind of manage the

00:49:04.650 --> 00:49:08.690
shift to a higher league. So it's been fun to

00:49:08.690 --> 00:49:12.349
watch. All right, mix it up. We don't talk a

00:49:12.349 --> 00:49:15.530
ton about Big 12, so I like that we kind of devoted

00:49:15.530 --> 00:49:18.929
a segment just to them. It's been a little while.

00:49:19.429 --> 00:49:21.449
But let's dive into some listener questions.

00:49:21.829 --> 00:49:24.750
We have gotten, I say this every week, and I

00:49:24.750 --> 00:49:27.150
mean it so much. We're almost at 100 questions

00:49:27.150 --> 00:49:29.409
sitting in the back. Such good questions, you

00:49:29.409 --> 00:49:31.570
guys. Okay, it's so hard for me to pick every

00:49:31.570 --> 00:49:35.360
week. But question one, I know this isn't a clinical

00:49:35.360 --> 00:49:37.880
podcast, but I'd love some technical primers

00:49:37.880 --> 00:49:41.360
on being a good passer and middle blocker. Both

00:49:41.360 --> 00:49:44.320
of these skills and roles seem underrated. So

00:49:44.320 --> 00:49:49.900
how do you pass well? And with middle blockers,

00:49:49.980 --> 00:49:52.719
can you go into some depth about how to block

00:49:52.719 --> 00:49:55.579
well in general and how that starts your defensive

00:49:55.579 --> 00:49:59.239
strategy? This is a big question. Thanks for

00:49:59.239 --> 00:50:02.329
asking the easy one. Passing. Let's start there.

00:50:02.570 --> 00:50:05.050
So we're going to have to make this a little

00:50:05.050 --> 00:50:08.869
simpler, but it's all about angles, in my opinion.

00:50:09.030 --> 00:50:10.889
Obviously, you want to move your feet. You want

00:50:10.889 --> 00:50:13.369
to put your body in a good position to pass the

00:50:13.369 --> 00:50:16.250
ball. But the only thing that affects the trajectory

00:50:16.250 --> 00:50:19.969
of the ball is the angle of your arms on contact.

00:50:20.289 --> 00:50:24.809
Everything you do is about being stable with

00:50:24.809 --> 00:50:27.730
a good arm angle. And if you can manage that,

00:50:27.789 --> 00:50:29.789
the ball will go where you want it to go. That's

00:50:29.789 --> 00:50:33.010
as basic as it gets. Make your forearms face

00:50:33.010 --> 00:50:38.070
the target on contact. There are definitely several

00:50:38.070 --> 00:50:41.230
trains of thought of how to pass. Some coaches

00:50:41.230 --> 00:50:44.449
really try to dial in, like, make sure you get

00:50:44.449 --> 00:50:47.030
your hips behind the ball. For me personally,

00:50:47.289 --> 00:50:51.809
that is not it. Take the ball outside your body

00:50:51.809 --> 00:50:54.610
all you want. Just make sure that your forearms

00:50:54.610 --> 00:50:58.329
face. where the setter is going to be period.

00:50:58.690 --> 00:51:01.690
The other thing that I think a lot of people

00:51:01.690 --> 00:51:06.309
do poorly or is a very helpful hint is you don't

00:51:06.309 --> 00:51:10.010
want to change the height of your head when you're

00:51:10.010 --> 00:51:13.309
moving to pass. So the more your head bobs up

00:51:13.309 --> 00:51:15.530
and down, the harder it is to track the depth

00:51:15.530 --> 00:51:18.789
of the ball. So when you're moving, if you can

00:51:18.789 --> 00:51:22.440
stay. level and consistent as you track the ball

00:51:22.440 --> 00:51:25.599
into your platform you'll have a better read

00:51:25.599 --> 00:51:28.739
on where it's going how deep it is and you'll

00:51:28.739 --> 00:51:31.920
be in a better position to make any adjustments

00:51:31.920 --> 00:51:35.719
for balls that float as you move stay level no

00:51:35.719 --> 00:51:38.300
bouncing up and down that will also help you

00:51:38.300 --> 00:51:39.940
track the ball and get your platform to the right

00:51:39.940 --> 00:51:42.840
place pretty sure I had some people tell me that

00:51:42.840 --> 00:51:45.599
I never passed I'm here to set the record straight

00:51:45.599 --> 00:51:48.519
I did pass for two seasons in college and all

00:51:48.519 --> 00:51:51.440
throughout club and everything and one year professionally

00:51:51.440 --> 00:51:54.820
so I am slightly qualified to talk about this

00:51:54.820 --> 00:51:58.480
the way that I always think about it is to be

00:51:58.480 --> 00:52:01.699
do your routine do whatever you need to do but

00:52:01.699 --> 00:52:03.960
as soon as the hitter is about to make contact

00:52:03.960 --> 00:52:06.099
make sure you're stopped because then all of

00:52:06.099 --> 00:52:08.179
your movement can happen from there as Adam was

00:52:08.179 --> 00:52:10.820
saying don't stand up stop and keep your position

00:52:10.820 --> 00:52:13.599
the other thing I would say is I see so many

00:52:13.599 --> 00:52:17.170
people get caught on high balls just standing

00:52:17.170 --> 00:52:19.250
up and trying to get them that way. You need

00:52:19.250 --> 00:52:22.389
to drop, open your hips and drop your foot back

00:52:22.389 --> 00:52:25.429
to create that angle. Standing up taller and

00:52:25.429 --> 00:52:27.130
basically getting hit in the chest with the ball

00:52:27.130 --> 00:52:29.530
is not how you pass a high ball. You have to

00:52:29.530 --> 00:52:32.670
open your hips, drop your foot back and dip your

00:52:32.670 --> 00:52:34.829
shoulder to create that angle with your arms.

00:52:35.010 --> 00:52:36.969
So those are the tips that I would probably give

00:52:36.969 --> 00:52:40.510
for passing. What about blocking? I work. It's

00:52:40.510 --> 00:52:42.510
the most important thing you can do as a blocker,

00:52:42.530 --> 00:52:46.139
but specifically as a middle blocker. and there's

00:52:46.139 --> 00:52:48.900
always a sequence that you should follow and

00:52:48.900 --> 00:52:52.619
it's ball setter ball hitter along those eye

00:52:52.619 --> 00:52:54.679
progressions you're all you're making decisions

00:52:54.679 --> 00:52:58.239
right off the pass you're deciding are we in

00:52:58.239 --> 00:53:00.199
system or are we out of system so you're making

00:53:00.199 --> 00:53:01.900
that decision so you know where you're going

00:53:01.900 --> 00:53:04.219
to have to move if it's a good pass you've got

00:53:04.219 --> 00:53:06.389
to stay with your middle If it's a bad pass,

00:53:06.550 --> 00:53:08.329
you're looking for the ball to go outside to

00:53:08.329 --> 00:53:10.250
one of the pins or maybe in the back row. You

00:53:10.250 --> 00:53:13.050
want to eliminate options as you make these decisions.

00:53:13.170 --> 00:53:14.789
So that's the first one. So when they go ball,

00:53:14.969 --> 00:53:18.030
setter. After you know whether the setter is

00:53:18.030 --> 00:53:21.010
in system or out of system, you are looking at

00:53:21.010 --> 00:53:23.230
the setter for a hint of where they're going

00:53:23.230 --> 00:53:26.090
to put the ball. Don't watch the ball. It's not

00:53:26.090 --> 00:53:28.449
going to tell you anything. The setter is what's

00:53:28.449 --> 00:53:31.309
going to tell you. Where they're going to set

00:53:31.309 --> 00:53:34.610
the ball. So maybe they drop their hands when

00:53:34.610 --> 00:53:36.590
they're setting out to the outside Maybe they

00:53:36.590 --> 00:53:38.909
only jump when they set the middle there are

00:53:38.909 --> 00:53:41.469
tells that you will be able to pick up if you

00:53:41.469 --> 00:53:44.010
watch the setter So you're watching the setter

00:53:44.010 --> 00:53:47.739
then they set the ball And now you want to quickly

00:53:47.739 --> 00:53:50.360
look at the ball one more time to see if it's

00:53:50.360 --> 00:53:53.139
a good set or a bad set. It's very, very quick.

00:53:53.320 --> 00:53:55.619
And then you're keying in on the hitter that

00:53:55.619 --> 00:53:57.599
is getting set. So you're watching them. Where

00:53:57.599 --> 00:53:59.539
is their approach? You're watching their shoulder.

00:53:59.719 --> 00:54:03.179
You want to know what their speed is. And that's

00:54:03.179 --> 00:54:05.139
going to help you with your lineup. But then

00:54:05.139 --> 00:54:07.760
it's also going to allow you to be in the right

00:54:07.760 --> 00:54:10.260
place and get hands to ball when you're blocking,

00:54:10.420 --> 00:54:13.199
which is super important. That's a lot of information.

00:54:13.420 --> 00:54:18.929
It's much harder to do. But the one I'm passionate

00:54:18.929 --> 00:54:20.449
about mental blocking. All right. The one other

00:54:20.449 --> 00:54:22.650
thing I will say, don't dip your head. You've

00:54:22.650 --> 00:54:24.829
got to keep your eyes on the hitter. Most people

00:54:24.829 --> 00:54:27.030
or a lot of people close their eyes or tuck their

00:54:27.030 --> 00:54:29.650
chin. Keep your eyes open. Watch your hitter.

00:54:29.670 --> 00:54:32.530
Biggest takeaway. Do not watch the ball when

00:54:32.530 --> 00:54:34.550
you're blocking. It does not tell you anything.

00:54:34.650 --> 00:54:37.949
Watch the hitter or the setter. The only thing

00:54:37.949 --> 00:54:40.250
I would add is if you are playing a more against

00:54:40.250 --> 00:54:43.369
a more complex team where the middles are running.

00:54:44.039 --> 00:54:46.159
you know, shoot sets or quicks behind or slides

00:54:46.159 --> 00:54:49.300
or whatever, and it's a perfect pass, if you

00:54:49.300 --> 00:54:52.920
want to kind of a basic way to kind of counteract

00:54:52.920 --> 00:54:54.960
that, wherever you see the middle going, kind

00:54:54.960 --> 00:54:58.059
of take a couple steps in that direction because

00:54:58.059 --> 00:55:01.119
that is the set that's coming fastest that you

00:55:01.119 --> 00:55:03.360
have the least time to react to. So as a middle,

00:55:03.420 --> 00:55:06.880
you kind of want to follow, slightly follow where

00:55:06.880 --> 00:55:08.880
the opposing team's middle is going and then

00:55:08.880 --> 00:55:11.300
react after the ball leaves the setter's hand

00:55:11.300 --> 00:55:14.250
to the outside should it go there. All right,

00:55:14.369 --> 00:55:18.030
question two. I'm a Wisconsin Badger fan now

00:55:18.030 --> 00:55:19.809
that I live in Madison, but grew up in Hawaii

00:55:19.809 --> 00:55:22.010
and was there for the great Hawaii women's teams

00:55:22.010 --> 00:55:25.130
of the 80s and 90s. I'm sad to see the Hawaii

00:55:25.130 --> 00:55:27.309
women not in the national championship conversation

00:55:27.309 --> 00:55:30.750
consistently anymore. Can you discuss whether

00:55:30.750 --> 00:55:33.250
teams from the mid -major conferences can ever

00:55:33.250 --> 00:55:35.590
be in the national championship conversation

00:55:35.590 --> 00:55:38.789
again, or are the days of Hawaii, Pacific, and

00:55:38.789 --> 00:55:42.329
Long Beach State long gone? I mean, I think realistically,

00:55:43.340 --> 00:55:47.840
it's tough with the nil and now with the transfer

00:55:47.840 --> 00:55:52.179
policy it's tough to get and keep athletes you're

00:55:52.179 --> 00:55:55.820
probably not going to see top tier recruits go

00:55:55.820 --> 00:56:00.059
to those schools however i think you've got to

00:56:00.059 --> 00:56:02.800
create something where people want to come you

00:56:02.800 --> 00:56:04.760
have to lean into what your strengths are so

00:56:04.760 --> 00:56:08.099
hawaii great place to live great experience you

00:56:08.099 --> 00:56:11.820
know you can use that to recruit and then You

00:56:11.820 --> 00:56:13.820
need to find a way, and this applies to everybody,

00:56:13.960 --> 00:56:15.579
but coaches need to find a way to keep their

00:56:15.579 --> 00:56:18.460
players. And you do that by creating experiences

00:56:18.460 --> 00:56:20.940
and relationships that they can't get anywhere

00:56:20.940 --> 00:56:24.039
else. You have to, it's not just about the volleyball

00:56:24.039 --> 00:56:26.840
and getting the kid to come to your school. You

00:56:26.840 --> 00:56:29.119
need to keep working on that relationship, which

00:56:29.119 --> 00:56:32.159
takes a lot of work, but it is doable. You see

00:56:32.159 --> 00:56:35.400
athletes follow coaches when they change schools.

00:56:35.480 --> 00:56:38.099
You can create those relationships. It's just,

00:56:38.119 --> 00:56:42.449
it's effort. It's caring. Daily, it's not just

00:56:42.449 --> 00:56:46.809
volleyball. So I think it is possible, just harder.

00:56:48.150 --> 00:56:51.110
Yeah, the NIL and the transfer portal definitely

00:56:51.110 --> 00:56:54.030
make it tough. But you can never say never. Question

00:56:54.030 --> 00:56:56.530
three, can you explain why the Cressy -Blackshear

00:56:56.530 --> 00:56:59.269
play where Cressy goes on the slide is not a

00:56:59.269 --> 00:57:02.030
good play? Is it only bad because they aren't

00:57:02.030 --> 00:57:04.170
setting Cressy on the slide and it would become

00:57:04.170 --> 00:57:06.909
a good play if they did? Or is it just something

00:57:06.909 --> 00:57:08.670
about that play and the dynamics specifically?

00:57:09.090 --> 00:57:13.420
Go ahead. So this is a combo play situation like

00:57:13.420 --> 00:57:15.480
we talked about earlier in the episode. Sarah

00:57:15.480 --> 00:57:19.380
Cressy is not wonderful off of two feet. She

00:57:19.380 --> 00:57:23.059
is predominantly used and is most effective off

00:57:23.059 --> 00:57:26.900
of one foot, which is the slide behind. Blackshear,

00:57:26.900 --> 00:57:31.300
while she does score on that play sometimes,

00:57:31.579 --> 00:57:36.380
her efficiency, in my opinion, is not. very high.

00:57:36.500 --> 00:57:39.059
I think it could be a good play if you would

00:57:39.059 --> 00:57:41.659
actually set Cressy the ball on that play. But

00:57:41.659 --> 00:57:43.980
in all of the times that I've watched Louisville

00:57:43.980 --> 00:57:48.059
play, they tend to set Blackshear on that substantially

00:57:48.059 --> 00:57:51.179
more often than they set Cressy. If you're going

00:57:51.179 --> 00:57:53.539
to set Blackshear, keep her on the right side

00:57:53.539 --> 00:57:55.639
where she's more comfortable, where she's more

00:57:55.639 --> 00:57:58.539
effective, more efficient. Like you're not tricking

00:57:58.539 --> 00:58:02.150
anybody at this point. I think in theory it could

00:58:02.150 --> 00:58:04.190
be a good play. I think it could be made better

00:58:04.190 --> 00:58:07.090
if they actually set the person it was designed

00:58:07.090 --> 00:58:09.889
for. Fair. Question four, is Kentucky relying

00:58:09.889 --> 00:58:12.570
too heavily on their two outsides and not running

00:58:12.570 --> 00:58:14.869
enough of a balanced offense? Is this something

00:58:14.869 --> 00:58:17.889
to worry about come tournament time? I actually

00:58:17.889 --> 00:58:20.909
think that they've done a better job as the season

00:58:20.909 --> 00:58:24.989
has gone on trying to run their middles and with

00:58:24.989 --> 00:58:27.610
the right side substitution they made, they do

00:58:27.610 --> 00:58:29.769
set her the ball as well. I think they've gotten

00:58:29.769 --> 00:58:31.869
better at balancing things out. At the beginning

00:58:31.869 --> 00:58:33.750
of the season, it was... It was heavy. Whoa.

00:58:33.949 --> 00:58:36.869
I think 107 sets to the left sides in total in

00:58:36.869 --> 00:58:38.489
one match, if I'm remembering correctly. That's

00:58:38.489 --> 00:58:41.070
crazy stuff. The other thing I will say, though,

00:58:41.130 --> 00:58:44.929
is unlike just running a right side, you do have

00:58:44.929 --> 00:58:46.889
the ability to run those two out of the pipe,

00:58:47.010 --> 00:58:51.309
which they do, which also helps ease things around

00:58:51.309 --> 00:58:53.829
the court. So it's not quite the same as just

00:58:53.829 --> 00:58:56.710
overusing one player, but yes, middles and right

00:58:56.710 --> 00:58:59.679
sides. Need to continue to get set. I don't think

00:58:59.679 --> 00:59:01.719
it's something to worry about. Like you said,

00:59:01.739 --> 00:59:05.159
they have kind of looked elsewhere. And it's

00:59:05.159 --> 00:59:07.579
different with a lot of the teams we've talked

00:59:07.579 --> 00:59:10.280
about, like the Pitt, the Penn States, the Wisconsin's,

00:59:10.280 --> 00:59:12.900
where it's one player, at least in this scenario.

00:59:13.059 --> 00:59:16.920
Worst case, it is two. But like Lizzie Carr is

00:59:16.920 --> 00:59:18.960
scoring pretty well. Baltimore's scoring pretty

00:59:18.960 --> 00:59:22.360
well. Daly coming in does a good job. So I don't

00:59:22.360 --> 00:59:24.219
think it's something to worry about. Okay, question

00:59:24.219 --> 00:59:27.000
five. At the power four level, how many unsuccessful

00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:29.159
seasons do you think a coach can have before

00:59:29.159 --> 00:59:31.480
it's time for a school to look into other options?

00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:34.000
That depends on what the school's mandate is.

00:59:34.079 --> 00:59:37.280
Let's talk about Ohio State, for example. This

00:59:37.280 --> 00:59:41.239
is a major athletic institution. They are currently

00:59:41.239 --> 00:59:45.760
baggled in Big Ten play and have not been good

00:59:45.760 --> 00:59:49.639
for a little while, just as an example. So if

00:59:49.639 --> 00:59:51.139
we're going to talk about that example specifically.

00:59:51.789 --> 00:59:54.110
I think it depends on A, why all of her athletes

00:59:54.110 --> 00:59:56.010
left because they would have been better. And

00:59:56.010 --> 00:59:58.230
B, I mean, this season was going to be tough

00:59:58.230 --> 01:00:00.349
because you lost literally everybody you recruited.

01:00:00.510 --> 01:00:02.110
Okay. We're not talking about this season. We're

01:00:02.110 --> 01:00:04.690
talking about like multiple seasons back to back.

01:00:04.849 --> 01:00:07.610
If the mandate is to win, I think it's three

01:00:07.610 --> 01:00:09.550
seasons. I think it's tricky though, because

01:00:09.550 --> 01:00:12.690
these coach signed multi -year deals and like

01:00:12.690 --> 01:00:15.929
to break those deals. I think it depends on how

01:00:15.929 --> 01:00:18.949
important volleyball is to the school. Like Ohio

01:00:18.949 --> 01:00:21.449
State, for example. Number one football team

01:00:21.449 --> 01:00:23.690
in the country for the last couple of years.

01:00:23.809 --> 01:00:25.730
Do they really care that much about volleyball?

01:00:25.969 --> 01:00:28.530
I don't know. Do they care enough about volleyball

01:00:28.530 --> 01:00:32.010
to pay out a coach and fire her? You know what

01:00:32.010 --> 01:00:34.050
I mean? Like it's tough. Like how much are you

01:00:34.050 --> 01:00:37.949
paying out a coach to break their contract? And

01:00:37.949 --> 01:00:40.909
is it worth it to your school to do so? They're

01:00:40.909 --> 01:00:43.530
making bank off of their football team. There's

01:00:43.530 --> 01:00:45.849
all kinds of factors. If we're looking at straight.

01:00:46.480 --> 01:00:48.780
How long do you need to turn a program around?

01:00:49.119 --> 01:00:51.159
Like, let's take money out of it. Exactly. Okay.

01:00:51.199 --> 01:00:54.559
Taking money out of it. By year three, you should

01:00:54.559 --> 01:00:57.760
be seeing improvements in your program. You should

01:00:57.760 --> 01:01:00.039
have been able to change the culture. You should

01:01:00.039 --> 01:01:02.260
have been able to recruit some of your own players,

01:01:02.420 --> 01:01:04.880
you know, creating the identity that you want.

01:01:04.960 --> 01:01:07.639
And you should have been able to improve the

01:01:07.639 --> 01:01:09.900
technical abilities of the athletes that were

01:01:09.900 --> 01:01:13.579
there in three years. You know, all things being

01:01:13.579 --> 01:01:17.340
equal, in my opinion. That. is our roster of

01:01:17.340 --> 01:01:19.599
questions for the week. Keep them coming. Love

01:01:19.599 --> 01:01:22.420
to read them. Again, you guys are making it really

01:01:22.420 --> 01:01:25.219
hard for me to pick a handful every week, but

01:01:25.219 --> 01:01:27.739
love it. So hopefully you enjoy those answers

01:01:27.739 --> 01:01:30.500
this week. As always, we got a few matches that

01:01:30.500 --> 01:01:32.440
we think you should watch this week that we will

01:01:32.440 --> 01:01:35.900
be watching. So on the docket, Wednesday at 9

01:01:35.900 --> 01:01:38.940
p .m. Eastern, TCU versus Arizona State. We talked

01:01:38.940 --> 01:01:40.619
about this. This is the one we talked about.

01:01:40.980 --> 01:01:44.840
Can TCU... Turn it around and make this a game.

01:01:44.960 --> 01:01:46.719
I think it's going to be fantastic. This is your

01:01:46.719 --> 01:01:49.260
top two for Big 12. Yeah, I'm really looking

01:01:49.260 --> 01:01:51.800
forward to this one. Friday at 9 p .m. Eastern,

01:01:51.880 --> 01:01:57.199
we have Nebraska and Wisconsin. That may warrant

01:01:57.199 --> 01:02:00.420
a match breakdown next week, depending on how

01:02:00.420 --> 01:02:03.300
it goes. Will Nebraska drop a set? What's your

01:02:03.300 --> 01:02:06.099
prediction? I'm going to say no because Charlie's

01:02:06.099 --> 01:02:08.179
not playing. I know. I'm going to say no, too.

01:02:08.280 --> 01:02:10.820
We said that Nebraska would drop a set in Big

01:02:10.820 --> 01:02:13.349
10 play, but... I don't think it's going to be

01:02:13.349 --> 01:02:15.210
to Wisconsin in their current state. I don't

01:02:15.210 --> 01:02:18.530
think it's coming. Saturday, 9 p .m. Eastern,

01:02:18.730 --> 01:02:23.449
USC versus Minnesota. I will say, I mean, you

01:02:23.449 --> 01:02:26.389
guys know I've had high opinions of USC and where

01:02:26.389 --> 01:02:28.769
they could go. I also watched Minnesota play

01:02:28.769 --> 01:02:32.070
two matches this week, and I know they were decimated

01:02:32.070 --> 01:02:34.409
by injuries, but their freshmen are starting

01:02:34.409 --> 01:02:36.409
to play some good volleyball. I think that's

01:02:36.409 --> 01:02:38.429
going to be a really interesting match between

01:02:38.429 --> 01:02:40.880
young players. And I think that dynamic could

01:02:40.880 --> 01:02:43.079
be a lot of fun. And I ripped them apart last

01:02:43.079 --> 01:02:45.980
week for the NCAA Top 16. Watching them, they

01:02:45.980 --> 01:02:48.199
are getting better. They are definitely getting

01:02:48.199 --> 01:02:51.940
better. So I need to say that after I just ripped

01:02:51.940 --> 01:02:54.539
them apart last week. Sunday, we got a couple

01:02:54.539 --> 01:02:58.500
bangers. 1 p .m. Eastern, Texas, Kentucky. Yeah,

01:02:58.519 --> 01:03:01.760
baby. Let's get it going. I want to see how far

01:03:01.760 --> 01:03:04.760
Texas can be pushed. I still think Texas is going

01:03:04.760 --> 01:03:07.380
to win this one, but I think it's going to be

01:03:07.380 --> 01:03:09.880
close. I think it could go five. And then Sunday

01:03:09.880 --> 01:03:13.820
at 3 p .m., we also have Texas A &M versus Tennessee.

01:03:14.900 --> 01:03:18.940
Battling it out in the middle, top middle. Yeah.

01:03:19.539 --> 01:03:22.960
You know, Texas A &M. One B of the SEC, perhaps.

01:03:23.800 --> 01:03:26.960
And I've liked Tennessee. I've liked what they've

01:03:26.960 --> 01:03:28.699
been doing. So I'm curious to see how they do

01:03:28.699 --> 01:03:31.239
against a star player like Nikki. Can they shut

01:03:31.239 --> 01:03:34.920
her down? How does Texas A &M adjust? If you've

01:03:34.920 --> 01:03:37.500
got the time, those matches, they're going to

01:03:37.500 --> 01:03:40.320
be worth a watch. That concludes this week's

01:03:40.320 --> 01:03:42.219
episode of Volley Talk. There's always something

01:03:42.219 --> 01:03:44.199
shaking in the volleyball world and we hope you

01:03:44.199 --> 01:03:46.619
enjoyed this little fix. Be sure to follow the

01:03:46.619 --> 01:03:48.300
show so you don't miss any updates and we'd be

01:03:48.300 --> 01:03:50.579
so grateful if you'd leave us a five -star review.

01:03:51.159 --> 01:03:53.679
You can also find us on Instagram at volleytalk

01:03:53.679 --> 01:03:56.780
underscore podcast. If you have a topic you'd

01:03:56.780 --> 01:03:58.659
like us to discuss, be sure to reach out to us

01:03:58.659 --> 01:04:02.739
on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks

01:04:02.739 --> 01:04:04.920
so much for joining us and we'll be back next

01:04:04.920 --> 01:04:05.739
week. Bye guys.