WEBVTT

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Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley

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Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers

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who want to dig deep into what is going on in

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NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host

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Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball

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world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and

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longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And

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I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international

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volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat

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guy. Regular season of NCAA volleyball wrapped

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up. This past week. It was a good week. It was

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a lot of fun to watch the volleyball this week.

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We had a mixture. A lot of conferences have conference

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tournaments for those that was happening. Other

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conferences were just wrapping up regular season,

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determining their champions. And we had the NCAA

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selection show. So NCAA season is coming to an

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end. But we just kind of wanted to do a recap

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of the week. our preview slash predictions for

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what is going to go down in the NCAA tournament

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so we are really excited best time of the year

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for sure well there's a lot of good times of

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the year for volleyball lovers I would say that's

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true this is a very good one it's a good time

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of the year everybody okay so we're pumped so

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let's get started Rankings did not change. They

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haven't changed for a couple weeks because...

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It doesn't matter. At this point, people have

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shown their cards, so no need for that. But there

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were some interesting matches happening and some

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interesting results. Let's just get this out

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in the open right away. What are you talking

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about? Adam's very satisfied, everyone. I wasn't

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going to say anything. You were definitely going

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to say something. And all of you who sent messages

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on Instagram congratulating Adam. He was basking

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in that glory. And if you don't know what I'm

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talking about, Stanford, co -champions of the

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ACC with Pitt. But for NCAA tournament purposes,

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they won out in the head -to -head. So technically

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finished ahead. And if you remember back to our...

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Power for our preview episode. Adam was the only

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one who thought Stanford was going to win the

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ACC. So let's all take a moment of silence. Congratulate

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Adam. Thank you. Thank you. I did take a lot

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of flack for that prediction at the time. A lot

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of people were up in arms. I can tell by the

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look on his face that he is 10 out of 10 smug.

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Satisfied. That's a fairly accurate statement.

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So that being said, Louisville had a rough week.

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Not the best. Pitt beat them three straight,

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real smack down, and then Stanford beat them

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in five. There are a couple things that concern

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me about Louisville. I mean, yes, they lost two

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matches, but also the way they lost them was

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not great. They had leads against Pitt at 20

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in both matches, and they gave up. In two sets.

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Six and seven point runs, I think. I think it

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was six and five. Six and five point runs at

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the end of sets. You just don't want that to

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be the case. Like, quite frankly, they outplayed

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Pitt. That game should have at least gone to

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five. They should have won those two sets. I

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feel like we're broken records at this point.

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Well, yes. But this is exactly what we talk about

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with teams not having a go -to player. I know

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for Louisville that it's Cara Cressy, but she

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couldn't score. Chacon couldn't score. Peterson

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couldn't score when it mattered. And Babcock

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kept coming. When the chips were down, nobody

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for Louisville. But not just offensively. Blocking

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-wise and from the service line, just... They

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had no answer. They had no answer. And they had

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no one who was willing to step up and risk making

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an error to score points after 20. And I'm talking

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about Louisville because we saw it in spades

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in this weekend for them. But this is a concern

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for a lot of different teams, I think. I think

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we'll talk about this in the Kentucky -Texas

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match, but I saw the same thing. And so I don't

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think Louisville is in a good headspace. They

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lost another match in five. The record in five

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has got to be, what, one in six? Something like

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that. It's not good. It's not good. To build

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on that point, the very end of the Stanford match,

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it was neck and neck. And then Peyton Peterson

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gets an out -of -system ball, and she tips it.

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And that is after we saw both Elia Rubin and...

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Blashov. Blashov. Her name is... The spelling

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really throws me for a loop. Just go up and absolutely

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unload on uncomfortable sets. Very out of system,

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not ideal set location, but going up and just

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being fearless and ripping on the ball and scoring.

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And then Peyton Peterson gets a set that's better

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than those sets that they got, I thought, and

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tips it. And I'm like, this says everything to

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me. Well, and it's interesting because I thought

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Peterson was really good down the stretch, and

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I believe it was set four. She scored three or

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four points, good swings off the block. but more

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or less in system. So she's taking rips there,

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but when she's comfortable, she wasn't. And I

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was watching the match going, okay, I'm not the

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biggest Peterson fan, but I had to give her credit

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for finishing that set. No, and I'm not blaming

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her. I'm like, that is like the difference between

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the mindset of certain athletes over others.

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Well, and I thought it was interesting. They

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interviewed Elia Rubin after the match, and the

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only thing she said was, I hate losing. I was

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going to do everything I could to win. There

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are some athletes who like to win, and then there

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are some athletes who hate losing. Give me an

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athlete that hates losing any day of the week.

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That's what I want. Well, I read Elia Rubin's

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lips a few times in that match, too, and I'm

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like, dang, are we the same person? Yeah, I'll

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leave it there. Those were very entertaining

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matches. And I was invested in the Stanford match,

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so that one was a lot of fun to watch. Not a

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great... outcome for Louisville. Well, they went

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from top of the ACC to fourth, I think. They

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dropped below SMU, who almost lost to NC State.

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So that brings up, we've gotten a few questions

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over the last couple months about evaluating

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Dan Meske's first season as head coach. So a

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bunch of people have sent in questions about

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that and asking, do you think he's struggling

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without Danny at the helm? Oh, it's an interesting

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question. I think the reality of it is they didn't

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have a lot of horses on that team. If we look

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at the roster, and we talked about this watching

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that game, I think Blackshear was better for

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them than I believe the staff thought she would

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be at the beginning of the season. So she was

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the lone, not the lone, she was very much a bright

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spot for Louisville. I agree. I like their center

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a lot too. I agree. I like the setter and I like

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Cressy, but their left sides, you can't win.

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You can't have two players like that. They're

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both P2s in my opinion. Totally agree. Blackshear's

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a freshman. She's a little awkward. She's not

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terminal terminal. She's not there yet. I do

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not love her arm swing. I think she can get there,

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but she's not there yet. And so when you don't

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have anybody who can consistently score at the

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pins out of system, you're limited. And we were

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listening to the broadcast and even the announcer

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was like a coin super terminal versus one block.

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And it's like, well, everybody should be. I'm

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sorry. That's not what you want. They have incorporated

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a little more back row, I'll say just a smidge

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more. They have. It's not enough. So back to

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the question. This comes back to, I think at

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the beginning of the year when he goes, we're

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going to run middle, we're going to run middle,

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we're going to run middle. He's evaluating his

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team and what he believes will be their strengths.

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And he's putting it out there so that everybody's

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on the same page. And I like that. I think they're

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prepared. I think they do a good job. You watch

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them, like they outplayed Pitt for the majority

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of that game. They got to 21st. They were in

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control of that match. They just can't finish.

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And I'm not sure that's on Metzke. Now he needs

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to build his roster. He needs to find some of

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those players because part of his job is roster

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construction. But from a purely coaching standpoint,

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I have to say, I think he got about as much out

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of that team as they were capable. Of giving

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him. I think he's maybe a little emotional on

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the court. When he's coaching. I think some of

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his challenge decisions are impulsive. Yes. While

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he screwed himself this weekend. He made a couple

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bad. He screwed himself against Pitt. Yes. Because

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he did not have a challenge left when he needed

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it. And he would have won it. And he would have

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won it. And that was at the end of the match.

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But I remember making comments about that with

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Louisville last year too. So I think he's a little

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emotional. which you can be as an assistant coach.

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You get to be everybody's best friend. So I think

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there's maybe a little bit of maturing in terms

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of his persona as a head coach. But purely from

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a coaching standpoint, I like what he did. Since

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we brought up these terms, we've gotten questions

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asking what is a P1 versus P2? Oh, good question.

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P1 is your left side who's in the front row with

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a setter. The thought process there is they need

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to be able to score. with a higher level of efficiency

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because they're going to have two blocks because

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you're setters in the front row. There's only

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two hitters in the front row, so it's less for

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the block to think about, more difficult. You

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usually put a strong attacker in that position.

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And then your P2 is generally more of a ball

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control. They'll pass more of the court. They

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can obviously still score, but Chacoin is a great

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example of a P2. She's fantastic in that role.

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Good ball control. She's got a whippy arm. You

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know, you give her a one or a one and a half

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block, she's going to score, but she's not a

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banger. And I think that's the difference. So,

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yeah, when you hear one after, like, P1 or M1,

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it is the middle or outside hitter that is in

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the front row with the setter. So, there you

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go. Good question. The other match we saw, SEC

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Championship match between Kentucky and Texas.

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Got lots of messages about this one, too. The

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old... Texas blowing... The River Sweep. Oh,

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dear. And I don't want to say anything, but,

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you know, I do want to say something. That three,

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Texas had it in the bag. Oh, they blew it. What

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were they up, 23 -19? I believe so. And they

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lost. Want to know who made a lot of mistakes?

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My favorite player. Does her last name start

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with an S? And with an E? Yes. Do you want to

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go over her last five balls just for fun? No,

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we don't have to. I think I have them memorized,

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though. I know you do. But anyway, okay. Kentucky.

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They sort of run that middle. Kentucky is going

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to be a dangerous tournament team because Cassie

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O 'Brien, I don't know whether Craig Skinner.

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has been working on running the middle all year

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and has just not implemented it. I think he has.

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I think he's been aware of what their weakness

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is and having just setting every ball to the

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left side. I think he is well aware and they

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have been working on it. Totally agree because

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he said that in matches for as long as we've

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watched them play. I was going to say, do you

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think they've been working on it and just not

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using it in games? Or do you think it's been

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a constant Cassie set the middle, Cassie set

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the middle, Cassie set the middle because it

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worked really well. Against Texas. Both Baltimore

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and... Lizzie Carlson, very good. That was a

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full team effort. Even Thigpen scored points

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for them. She was good. And that's their biggest

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question mark is... Their biggest question mark

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is Molly Kelso's setting. I'm on one again today,

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guys. Watch out. Only when she jump sets. If

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she keeps her feet on the floor, she's good.

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When she uses her platform, her sets are fine.

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But jump sets, watch out. But I watched them

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and I thought... If Cassie O 'Brien can keep

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her head in matches in terms of set distribution.

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She's a pretty good blocker, too. Yeah, she's

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big. She's got a pretty good serve. Her distribution

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was really good against Texas, and it took her

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a little bit of time to find her rhythm, and

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Texas played really well at the beginning. If

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they have distribution in the middle, Kentucky

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is going to be hard to beat. Their left sides

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are good. Really good deal. And the crazy thing

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is like both of them are six rotation outsides.

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Like how many of the top teams have two six rotation

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outsides at play? I don't think any. Exactly.

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This is how volleyball is supposed to be played,

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people. And I think that's why I like Kentucky

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is because it's truer in the international sense

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of what you generally like. They have back row

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options. They have front row options. Both Eva

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and DeLay. pass they play defense they're just

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engaged in the match it's they were fun to watch

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I'm gonna throw it out there I think if Kentucky

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can pass and their middles are running I think

00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:17.080
they are the team that has a chance to take down

00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:19.940
Nebraska well so that was a question that we

00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:22.039
got as well like which teams going into the tournament

00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.740
do you think line up with Nebraska or have a

00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:26.200
chance to beat them and that was going to be

00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:30.419
my answer to it The way you beat Nebraska is

00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:33.220
to neutralize their middles. You have to be able

00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:34.919
to do that, whether it's passing or blocking.

00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:38.740
With Eva and DeLay and Lizzy Carr, they, if they're

00:13:38.740 --> 00:13:41.240
disciplined, can put up a good block on that

00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:44.200
slide. If you can make Bergen think about setting

00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.500
somebody else and make the outsides beat you,

00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:48.940
that's the way to go about it. They have some

00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:50.840
blocking liabilities on the right side of the

00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:54.340
court, I think. Who? Kentucky? Yeah. Oh, Thigpen?

00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.399
Yeah. But Daly is good. Yeah, Daly's good. Daly's

00:13:57.399 --> 00:13:59.799
a good blocker. So it'll be an interesting matchup.

00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:01.899
And again, I'm not saying they will, but that

00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:05.340
is the key. And I think Kentucky has the roster

00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:08.200
to push them. I have to give a shout out. Tori

00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:10.940
Stafford absolutely dominated that match, though.

00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:13.340
I got so many messages about how good Eva Hudson

00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:16.320
was. I'm sorry. Tori Stafford was better. Tori

00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:17.759
Stafford was the best player in that match. Best

00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:20.320
player on the floor. Hands down. But there...

00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:24.490
Spears has disappeared. He started strong, but

00:14:24.490 --> 00:14:26.649
has just kind of fizzled as the season's gone

00:14:26.649 --> 00:14:29.830
on. I think Emma Halter's good. You know who's

00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:32.809
the best setter on Texas? Emma Halter. Yeah.

00:14:35.570 --> 00:14:37.549
Everyone's going to hate me, but that's true.

00:14:37.909 --> 00:14:40.669
She delivered some in -system jump sets from

00:14:40.669 --> 00:14:43.210
behind the attack line. I was like, dang. In

00:14:43.210 --> 00:14:46.769
tempo. Yes. Jump sets behind the 10 -foot line,

00:14:46.850 --> 00:14:51.669
back sets. Jump sets in tempo. I'm like, teach

00:14:51.669 --> 00:14:54.230
Swindle some things. She's fun to watch, too.

00:14:54.350 --> 00:14:57.970
I like her. Sure. Setting is quite good. Texas

00:14:57.970 --> 00:15:00.929
runs into that problem that Kentucky was having.

00:15:00.990 --> 00:15:03.169
They don't run their middle. They're not good

00:15:03.169 --> 00:15:05.909
offensive options, I don't think. Yeah, but they

00:15:05.909 --> 00:15:08.370
should be better than they are. I agree. You

00:15:08.370 --> 00:15:09.909
may not have Nebraska's middle. I actually like

00:15:09.909 --> 00:15:12.289
Vanderwall. Her ball control is suspect, but

00:15:12.289 --> 00:15:15.330
offensively, I like her. Well, and this, she

00:15:15.330 --> 00:15:17.899
was swinging to win. She made some mistakes,

00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:22.320
young mistakes, but I loved her mentality. She's

00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:25.559
a girl who wants to earn her points. She's not

00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:27.679
afraid to go out and take a rip, to look for

00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:31.580
hands, to swing for open space. She impressed

00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:33.960
me. That was probably the biggest match of her

00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:37.000
career. And she did not shy away from the moment.

00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:40.899
I was impressed. We had a comment asking about

00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:44.070
Tezzo, the libero for Kentucky. wondering why

00:15:44.070 --> 00:15:46.929
we were sleeping on her and she didn't get any

00:15:46.929 --> 00:15:52.090
nods for an All -American. She's good. She's

00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:54.850
in the conversation for liberos, I would say.

00:15:55.090 --> 00:15:57.090
Do I think she's a first -team All -American?

00:15:57.590 --> 00:16:01.090
No. Okay, so I'm going to branch out from that

00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:03.269
question. Who do you think are the top five liberos?

00:16:03.330 --> 00:16:06.149
Just rattle them off the top of your head. You're

00:16:06.149 --> 00:16:07.909
not giving me time to think about this? Well,

00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:12.639
okay, take a minute. But who comes to mind? Emma

00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.100
Hickey, giving us a ton of points in our fantasy

00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:18.740
league. No, just kidding. Seriously, she digs

00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:22.620
a lot of balls. Okay, I would probably say Lola

00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:28.259
Schumacher, Jillian Grimes, Emma Halter, Maya

00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:32.299
Sands. I mean, I think Tozzo's good at passing

00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:34.279
and defense. I don't think she's a great server

00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:37.379
or setter. Fair. I was just curious where your

00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.139
head was at with that. We also got a question.

00:16:39.259 --> 00:16:41.759
Do you think the teams from the SEC that make

00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:45.279
the NCAA tournament have a leg up coming from

00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.139
playing the SEC tournament instead of just winning

00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:51.919
a championship? I don't think so. I think because

00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.100
all the teams, even in the teams that don't play

00:16:54.100 --> 00:16:56.539
like an SEC tournament, they're still playing

00:16:56.539 --> 00:17:00.879
the week before the NCAA starts. Yeah, I mean.

00:17:01.210 --> 00:17:03.870
Kentucky got to beat Texas. Like that was a good

00:17:03.870 --> 00:17:06.309
match. You had two teams going at it. I don't.

00:17:06.309 --> 00:17:07.950
Like, do you think because it's in like a high

00:17:07.950 --> 00:17:10.970
pressure, high stakes environment that like gets

00:17:10.970 --> 00:17:13.470
them extra ready? I don't think so because you're

00:17:13.470 --> 00:17:15.609
battling for that top spot all season. You're

00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:18.410
playing all the same teams. Maybe if you're a

00:17:18.410 --> 00:17:21.730
freshman, I can see a case for it being a good

00:17:21.730 --> 00:17:24.430
experience for freshmen. Eva Hudson doesn't care

00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:27.170
that she beat Texas. I think Eva Hudson definitely

00:17:27.170 --> 00:17:29.329
cares. Have you seen her? Let me rephrase that.

00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.039
She's very competitive. Yes, you want to win.

00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:36.000
It's a good way to win. Good for you. But the

00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.480
goal is a national championship. I mean, would

00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.740
I rather play in that environment than Nebraska

00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:43.859
who played Penn State and they didn't even score

00:17:43.859 --> 00:17:46.180
25 points in three sets? I'm exaggerating, you

00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:50.440
guys. Relax. And Ohio State? Yes. I would rather

00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:53.259
be in an environment like that than playing two

00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:57.579
easy peasy matches. Fair. But if you come back

00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:01.460
and go, we didn't win. Because we didn't have

00:18:01.460 --> 00:18:03.519
a big 10 tournament at the end. No, that's not

00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:04.980
the question. It's just, do you think they have

00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:09.200
a leg up? Not really. The other little matches

00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:12.660
that we found interesting were Minnesota beat

00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:15.220
Purdue in four. That was a match that I was looking

00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:17.819
forward to watching. It actually didn't disappoint.

00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.599
I enjoyed watching it. What do you think of Stella

00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:23.720
Swenson, Minnesota's setter? I like her. I think

00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:26.509
she delivers a good offense. I think she tried

00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:28.609
to push the middle. All of the characteristics

00:18:28.609 --> 00:18:31.170
that I look for in a setter, I think she's done

00:18:31.170 --> 00:18:34.230
a good job of. And it wouldn't be a week if the

00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:38.630
Big 12 didn't just go wild. There were more upsets

00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:42.750
than this, but I can't keep track of the Big

00:18:42.750 --> 00:18:46.069
12 anymore. It's crazy. Can K -State beat Iowa

00:18:46.069 --> 00:18:47.990
State three straight? I don't know how that happens.

00:18:48.670 --> 00:18:52.170
Yeah. I think BYU beat Colorado as well. Yeah,

00:18:52.210 --> 00:18:54.750
I'm not sure I consider that an upset anymore.

00:18:55.210 --> 00:18:58.130
No, I agree with you. But then Baylor beat TCU.

00:18:58.529 --> 00:19:02.529
But TCU, how are they still ranked? Is TCU going

00:19:02.529 --> 00:19:04.109
to make the tournament? Yes, they're going to

00:19:04.109 --> 00:19:05.730
make the tournament. You can't be ranked top

00:19:05.730 --> 00:19:08.009
25 and not make the tournament. Well, they shouldn't

00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:10.009
be allowed to compete in the tournament. They've

00:19:10.009 --> 00:19:13.369
been that bad. Somebody please take note that

00:19:13.369 --> 00:19:16.690
Adam is also becoming Savage. Thank you. Those

00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:19.470
were the big matches of the week in the NCAA.

00:19:20.210 --> 00:19:25.420
I know that... We are NCAA focused, but the MLV,

00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:29.319
I almost said PVF, the MLV draft happened this

00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:33.119
week. We will do team reviews going into the

00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:35.859
season once NCAA is done. So we're not going

00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:39.019
to dive into what teams needed. Did they do a

00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:41.700
good job drafting for the positions they needed?

00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.319
But we will go over each team got four picks

00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.059
if they hadn't traded them away. As a quick reminder

00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:50.539
for those who haven't thought about it. Ever

00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:53.500
or in the last eight months. Vegas is no longer

00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:56.480
a team. That ownership group fell through. They

00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:59.559
have added the Dallas Pulse. So they did get

00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.019
the first overall pick. They've also drafted

00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:05.660
a whole bunch of players. Orlando won last year

00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:08.559
after I believe Omaha won the regular season.

00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:11.660
I think they did, yeah. And Columbus, I believe,

00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:14.539
came dead last. So we'll look at those teams

00:20:14.539 --> 00:20:17.200
just in terms of draft order and where people

00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:20.579
fell. I'm going to give you the first four choices

00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:22.680
or the only four choices for each of the teams.

00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:26.839
I want you to remember them and then give me

00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:32.119
who you think from a pure skill standpoint made

00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:35.240
the best choices. So Dallas got first choice.

00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.779
Shout out to their new coach. Anna Windsor, baby.

00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:41.640
Big fan. I actually think Dallas is going to

00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:45.720
be quite good. They picked up Mimi Collier, Malia

00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:49.720
Jones. and Carter Booth. So not four players?

00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:52.579
They traded one of their picks to move up for

00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:54.440
another player. So they traded, I think, they

00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.500
traded their third round pick, I believe, to

00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:58.099
either get a better pick or for another player.

00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.799
I think it was a pretty good lineup. Okay, keep

00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:02.720
going. I agree. Atlanta Vibe had five picks.

00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:05.339
So they had two picks in the first round. So

00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:08.940
they went Avery Carlson, Ava Martin, Shaylee

00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:12.259
Myers, outside hitter from Kansas State, Eva

00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:16.319
Hudson, and Kosok Paula. Okay, so they're taking

00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:18.480
a flyer on Hudson. They just want the rights

00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:22.200
to her and Cossack Paul in case they choose to

00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:24.259
not go to Love or Overseas. And that's the other

00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:25.880
thing we should point out for people who aren't

00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:28.619
aware. These players aren't necessarily playing

00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:30.900
for these teams. They have the rights and they

00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:33.779
could choose to go, as Sarah mentioned, to Love

00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:36.500
or Overseas. You're really, you're taking flyers

00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:39.160
on players you're not 100 % sure in last year.

00:21:39.589 --> 00:21:41.450
Nobody really seemed to know who was going to

00:21:41.450 --> 00:21:43.609
play where, so it was a real crapshoot of a draft.

00:21:43.829 --> 00:21:47.970
San Diego Mojo picked up Hayden Kubik, Jillian

00:21:47.970 --> 00:21:53.349
Grimes, Allison Jacobs, and Elia Rubin. I'm shocked

00:21:53.349 --> 00:21:55.750
that Elia Rubin won fourth round first of all.

00:21:56.349 --> 00:21:59.029
People are probably expecting her to go elsewhere.

00:21:59.289 --> 00:22:02.390
I want you to do this assuming all of the players

00:22:02.390 --> 00:22:03.869
that were chosen are actually going to show up.

00:22:03.930 --> 00:22:05.710
That's the only way to do it for real. Grand

00:22:05.710 --> 00:22:08.809
Rapids Rise had the next pick. Alexa Shelton,

00:22:08.869 --> 00:22:11.630
who's an outside from Oklahoma. We had an outside

00:22:11.630 --> 00:22:15.910
from Indiana, Corchella. And then Jordan Wilson,

00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:18.809
also an outside hitter from Arizona. They also

00:22:18.809 --> 00:22:22.390
had Haiti Bray, who was a middle from Marquette.

00:22:22.609 --> 00:22:25.190
Those seemed a little off the books to me. I'm

00:22:25.190 --> 00:22:28.009
not super familiar with... I don't disagree with

00:22:28.009 --> 00:22:31.630
you. Those choices seem a little odd at first

00:22:31.630 --> 00:22:34.990
glance. Indie Ignite picked up Cara Cressy, Emma

00:22:34.990 --> 00:22:38.069
Halter. and Taylor Landfair. They didn't have

00:22:38.069 --> 00:22:40.809
their third round pick. To note, eight substitutions

00:22:40.809 --> 00:22:45.210
in MLV. Landfair is either going to get in for

00:22:45.210 --> 00:22:48.069
one rotation or is going to have to pass. She

00:22:48.069 --> 00:22:50.329
passes every now and then for Nebraska. Yeah,

00:22:50.349 --> 00:22:52.930
but just something to note would be interesting.

00:22:53.369 --> 00:22:56.990
Orlando Valkyrie went Bree Kelly, Colby Neal,

00:22:57.210 --> 00:23:01.069
Hankey from Florida State, and Sheridan Leverett

00:23:01.069 --> 00:23:05.879
from UCLA. Omaha picked up Kira Reinhart. Brooke

00:23:05.879 --> 00:23:08.019
Mosher, which I think is a good pick. Claire

00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:11.980
Tremel and Allie Sheck. So clearly looking for

00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:15.220
a setter in that regard to see who's going to

00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:19.279
set there. And then we had Columbus, who picked

00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:21.380
up. They were missing their first round pick.

00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:23.880
I don't know exactly what happened to it. That

00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:25.960
might have been a mistake if they did not do

00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:28.960
hot last year. Yeah, not a great year to lose

00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:31.920
your first pick. So they picked up Heredia Colon,

00:23:32.220 --> 00:23:36.099
which is a good pickup. If she stays, I would

00:23:36.099 --> 00:23:39.880
be a little surprised. They picked up Maya Winterhoff

00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:43.420
from App State. She's a middle. And Avery Tatum

00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:46.259
from Indiana, an opposite. There were a few head

00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:48.220
scratching. Dallas dominated. Dallas's picks,

00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:50.900
I think, are better than everybody else's. You

00:23:50.900 --> 00:23:53.400
think Dallas did better than Atlanta? If Eva

00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.480
Hudson and Kossak Paula show up there with Avery

00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:59.740
Carlson and Ava Martin. Okay, you're right. I

00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:01.819
wasn't thinking like they're actually staying.

00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:05.119
Yes. Yeah, I think Dallas did well. Atlanta did

00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:08.640
well. I think Indy did well. Those are the top

00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:13.119
three, I would say, as far as I like Atlanta

00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:16.779
and Dallas the best. If Taylor Lanfair settles

00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.640
into passing and more of an all -around game

00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:22.460
as a sixth rotation outside, a fourth round steal

00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:25.279
for her would be a good pickup for Indy. There's

00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:28.339
a lot of ifs there, I think. I'm just like Columbus.

00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:32.309
What are you doing? And I'm also like San Diego

00:24:32.309 --> 00:24:35.470
mojo. What are you doing? Yeah. Like Elliot Rubin

00:24:35.470 --> 00:24:38.109
was a steal for them. If she does decide to play,

00:24:38.170 --> 00:24:42.289
I think there's, I think Grimes is, I mean, they're,

00:24:42.289 --> 00:24:46.589
they picked decent players, but not near the

00:24:46.589 --> 00:24:49.730
level. I don't think of Dallas and Atlanta. Yeah.

00:24:49.789 --> 00:24:51.690
You need an outside rapids. What are you doing?

00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:54.319
The Grand Rapids won. The Grand Rapids won. Head

00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:56.299
-scratching. I don't know who was making those

00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:58.599
choices. And again, we don't know who reached

00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:00.339
out. We don't know how much effort they put into

00:25:00.339 --> 00:25:02.619
that. I think Dallas and Atlanta won the draft,

00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:05.220
though. Yeah. I mean, Dallas got first overall

00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:07.400
pick because they're an expansion team. Mimi

00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:09.759
Collier's going to... I'm assuming that... But

00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:13.299
Atlanta always does the sneaky trades and stuff.

00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:17.019
Oh, yeah. Their GM is on top of it. He's paying

00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:18.880
attention. I mean, if Eva Hudson and Cossack

00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:20.839
Paul or even one of them show up... Those are

00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:24.000
good pickups for them. And I think Avery Carlson's.

00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.779
Ava Martin had a really good season. Shaylee

00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:30.740
Myers. That's a sneaky pick. She's fine. Avery

00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:33.059
Carlson's pretty good. Those two are my picks.

00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:35.440
That was the MLV draft. Those are our initial

00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:37.900
thoughts. As I said, we'll get into more team

00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:40.839
breakdowns as we get closer to the season. I'm

00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:43.000
sure there'll still be a few signings and maybe

00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:45.460
some trades before we get going. But that'll

00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:47.160
start in the new year and we'll look into that

00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:50.700
once the tournament's over. All right, it's everybody's

00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:54.420
favorite time of the year. It's bracket time.

00:25:54.619 --> 00:25:58.680
It's been released. It's out to talk about. Here

00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:01.220
are our thoughts. Sarah, looking at this bracket,

00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:03.599
what's the first thing that pops out to you?

00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:07.259
How they've arranged the ACC teams. Are you talking

00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:09.819
specifically Stanford Pitt? Because that's what

00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:12.279
popped out to me. I'm just really confused because

00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:15.259
in that last match that Stanford played against

00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:17.019
Louisville, they were like, oh, if Stanford wins

00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:18.640
this, they're going to win a share of the ACC

00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:22.519
and they're going to get the better seed in the

00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:24.640
NCAA tournament because they want the head -to

00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:28.019
-head with Pitt. Clearly, they were overruled

00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:32.119
by the powers that be for whatever reason. And

00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:36.380
I think they got screwed. I agree. I honestly

00:26:36.380 --> 00:26:39.140
thought that Stanford would take a one seed.

00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:42.420
And that they would have to beat Pitt to get

00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:45.140
into the Final Four. That's how I thought they

00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:47.579
were going to arrange it. Instead, Pitt just

00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:50.319
has to play SMU. Which is not like, not just

00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:53.119
has to play, but Stanford has to play Texas now.

00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:55.940
I don't know. When on top of that, they lost,

00:26:56.119 --> 00:26:57.819
and this is the thing for me, they lost the ability

00:26:57.819 --> 00:27:01.460
to play at home. Yeah. You won. You should be

00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:04.730
hosting, in my mind. There's nothing about this

00:27:04.730 --> 00:27:08.609
other than it being political for whatever reason.

00:27:08.809 --> 00:27:10.829
Well, I think Pitt will draw a bigger crowd than

00:27:10.829 --> 00:27:13.250
Stanford and they'll make more money. Too bad.

00:27:13.509 --> 00:27:16.309
I'm not saying that's why it happened, but. This

00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:19.650
bothers me because you. Well, I'm just like either

00:27:19.650 --> 00:27:21.430
the announcers had no idea what was going on

00:27:21.430 --> 00:27:24.349
or. Well, that's generally the case. The NCAA

00:27:24.349 --> 00:27:26.930
kind of pulled rank. But even when you see these

00:27:26.930 --> 00:27:30.130
rankings, I'm like. So North Carolina was ranked

00:27:30.130 --> 00:27:34.150
top 15, and they're not even seeded. And they're

00:27:34.150 --> 00:27:36.710
playing UTEP, who has a sixth seed. Just the

00:27:36.710 --> 00:27:40.269
decisions are weird. Well, Creighton was a sixth

00:27:40.269 --> 00:27:44.329
in the RPI, and they're three, I think, somewhere.

00:27:44.549 --> 00:27:48.250
It's interesting to me how they made those different

00:27:48.250 --> 00:27:51.869
choices. But I think Stanford got the shortest

00:27:51.869 --> 00:27:54.549
end of the stick on that decision. And I'd be

00:27:54.549 --> 00:27:56.930
curious as to why they made it. I understand

00:27:56.930 --> 00:28:00.309
that Pitt is... higher in the rpi ranking but

00:28:00.309 --> 00:28:02.410
i think it's only by two or three spots and if

00:28:02.410 --> 00:28:04.549
you're going to live and die by that like what

00:28:04.549 --> 00:28:09.250
about creighton what about north carolina honestly

00:28:09.250 --> 00:28:12.250
i expected stanford to have a one seed but the

00:28:12.250 --> 00:28:14.569
fact that they're matched up with texas they've

00:28:14.569 --> 00:28:17.269
already beaten texas this year i think they could

00:28:17.269 --> 00:28:20.029
do it again the way they have it laid out they're

00:28:20.029 --> 00:28:23.329
ensuring that four acc teams do not make the

00:28:23.329 --> 00:28:25.890
final four but they're making sure that one of

00:28:25.890 --> 00:28:28.349
them Or trying to make sure that one of them

00:28:28.349 --> 00:28:31.150
does. I get all of that. I just, it hurts my

00:28:31.150 --> 00:28:33.329
soul. And I know that I picked Stanford, but

00:28:33.329 --> 00:28:36.690
outside of that, you go out and win big matches

00:28:36.690 --> 00:28:38.970
and beat big teams to try and give yourself an

00:28:38.970 --> 00:28:41.069
advantage. And for that to be taken away from

00:28:41.069 --> 00:28:44.230
you for no particular reason that is discernible,

00:28:44.329 --> 00:28:47.369
I think it's just, it just sucks. I'm not a fan

00:28:47.369 --> 00:28:51.119
of how they do this. I don't love the rankings

00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:53.539
they pick. So you're going to tell me the ABCA,

00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:55.839
for whatever reason, decided that Penn State

00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.279
was a top 25 team all season. And now all of

00:28:58.279 --> 00:29:00.460
a sudden they're an eight seed, which according

00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:04.500
to this, the layout is like a 29 through 32 ranking.

00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:07.440
And then South Dakota State's a seven seed. Like,

00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:09.880
I don't know. I don't love how this works. But

00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:12.019
anyway, we could talk about this forever. Let's

00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:15.279
go quadrant by quadrant or region by region and

00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:17.430
break it down. Let's start with the Nebraska

00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:19.869
region. I really don't want to do this because

00:29:19.869 --> 00:29:24.049
we're going to be running a bracket challenge.

00:29:24.269 --> 00:29:26.869
And I don't even want to tell you guys what my

00:29:26.869 --> 00:29:29.349
thoughts are because I don't want you to get

00:29:29.349 --> 00:29:32.750
any sneaky ideas. Okay. We saw how bad I did

00:29:32.750 --> 00:29:35.450
last year. So maybe do listen to me. And you'll

00:29:35.450 --> 00:29:38.670
switch it up. Yeah. On that note, I made my own

00:29:38.670 --> 00:29:40.950
bracket this year. So we're going to post the

00:29:40.950 --> 00:29:44.890
URL in the show notes for you to check out. It's

00:29:44.890 --> 00:29:48.329
hosted on a weird website. That's a legitimate

00:29:48.329 --> 00:29:51.150
website. It's not a virus. We did it on ESPN

00:29:51.150 --> 00:29:54.450
last year, but I wanted to add a slight modifier

00:29:54.450 --> 00:29:56.910
for getting the number of sets right. So it's

00:29:56.910 --> 00:29:58.750
going to be a slightly different bracket than

00:29:58.750 --> 00:30:01.589
what we did last year. Check it out. And also,

00:30:01.630 --> 00:30:04.450
if you sign up, we'll send you other updates

00:30:04.450 --> 00:30:06.430
about other fantasy stuff we're going to be running

00:30:06.430 --> 00:30:08.869
in the future. Check us out. Join us in the Bracket

00:30:08.869 --> 00:30:10.329
Challenge, and we'll be talking about it as the

00:30:10.329 --> 00:30:13.460
weeks go on. Okay, let's look at the Nebraska

00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:16.619
regional. We've got Nebraska as the one seed,

00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:20.000
Louisville as the two, Texas A &M as the three,

00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:25.160
and Kansas as the four. What about this is interesting

00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:31.759
to you? I think the potential Texas A &M -Louisville

00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:36.559
matchup in the round of 16 is interesting. And

00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:39.859
where does your head go? Just off the bat without

00:30:39.859 --> 00:30:42.299
a ton of thought put into it. Which way do you

00:30:42.299 --> 00:30:45.359
lean? Honestly, I'm leaning Texas A &M. Me too.

00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:50.460
I think this is another example of having star

00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:53.579
players. And Lednicki's not Babcock. I understand

00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:57.799
that. But she does swing high and hard. I'm not

00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:00.519
sure it's a great matchup for Louisville. They're

00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:03.240
going to have to serve really, really well to

00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:05.319
beat Texas A &M. I think it's going to be a really

00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:08.099
good game. But I think I give the edge to Texas,

00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:11.180
and I'm on that one. We've got Lednicki, Stower,

00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:17.079
and Kosokapala. I like those three over what

00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:19.940
Louisville has going on, honestly. I think for

00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:21.920
a first -round matchup, I'm curious about Western

00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:24.740
Kentucky Marquette. That could be very interesting.

00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:29.299
I think Nebraska's going to roll. Who do you

00:31:29.299 --> 00:31:32.099
think wins between Miami and Kansas? Again, assuming

00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:34.339
those two teams move on to the second round.

00:31:34.990 --> 00:31:37.910
I'm going to give it to Miami. Me too. I think

00:31:37.910 --> 00:31:40.450
Heredia Colon, like nobody can stop her. And

00:31:40.450 --> 00:31:43.670
sometimes, yes, she makes an extravagant number

00:31:43.670 --> 00:31:47.670
of errors, but it's actually impressive how she's

00:31:47.670 --> 00:31:49.690
been a one -man team. And the setter's good,

00:31:49.769 --> 00:31:51.869
I think, but you know what I mean. Honestly,

00:31:51.970 --> 00:31:55.369
even if Nebraska plays them in the round of 16,

00:31:55.450 --> 00:31:59.400
I think Nebraska will... find an answer. And

00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:01.940
even if Nebraska doesn't, I think she makes enough

00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:05.079
errors and Nebraska comes at you from enough

00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:07.700
places that they will neutralize her. And then

00:32:07.700 --> 00:32:10.700
I do think Texas A &M. So I think to get to the

00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:14.059
final four, it'll be Nebraska, Texas A &M. I

00:32:14.059 --> 00:32:17.359
think Nebraska will win. But those were the interesting

00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:19.619
matchups I thought from that region. I agree.

00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:23.259
And to piggyback on the Heredia Colon, she'll

00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:25.059
still score points against Nebraska, but that

00:32:25.059 --> 00:32:27.660
will be her toughest challenge. In terms of scoring

00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:29.480
points. So she's not going to go off for 40.

00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:33.640
Or maybe she will. And Nebraska is like sure.

00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:37.599
You can score your points. But nobody else will.

00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:41.140
I don't think so. But we'll see. But I agree

00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:43.599
with your assessment there. Okay let's move down

00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:46.440
to the lower half of that bracket. So on the

00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:49.259
same side as the Nebraska bracket. So the winner

00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:51.940
of this one will play. Assuming Nebraska. In

00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:56.500
the semis we have. Pitt at one and SMU at two.

00:32:57.259 --> 00:33:01.279
What stands out to you in this quadrant? Anything

00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:04.059
interesting or that you're looking forward to

00:33:04.059 --> 00:33:06.619
watching? Well, Purdue is three, Minnesota is

00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:11.000
four. Honestly, these first round matchups, maybe

00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:13.579
the most interesting one to me is potentially

00:33:13.579 --> 00:33:16.480
Florida Rice. I'm honestly going to give it to

00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:21.799
Florida. And you know what? These ones aren't

00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:23.960
as interesting to me as the last quadrant or

00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:26.660
the last region. I think we're going to see SMU

00:33:26.660 --> 00:33:30.619
and Pitt in the round of eight. Again, Pitt's

00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:33.779
success hinges on if Babcock can score. I think

00:33:33.779 --> 00:33:35.859
she will show up, so I'm giving it to Pitt in

00:33:35.859 --> 00:33:40.859
this region. Do you think Purdue has... Well,

00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:43.519
do you think A, they'll beat Baylor, and B, do

00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:46.369
you think... They can give SMU a run. Purdue

00:33:46.369 --> 00:33:48.650
-Baylor could be a decent game. I think they

00:33:48.650 --> 00:33:51.349
will beat Baylor. I don't think they will beat

00:33:51.349 --> 00:33:53.349
SMU. You don't think they're physical enough

00:33:53.349 --> 00:33:58.329
to beat SMU? I don't love their middles. Kenna

00:33:58.329 --> 00:34:04.369
Wallard is fine. Grace Heaney is fine. They are

00:34:04.369 --> 00:34:07.630
pretty consistent, but just as a whole, I think

00:34:07.630 --> 00:34:11.940
SMU's middles. are better. I think Malaya Jones,

00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:13.960
they're not going to have an answer for her.

00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:18.480
I just think SMU will win that. Yeah, that's

00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:21.340
fair. I think so far we're on the same page.

00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:24.119
You know, the way that they've ranked these teams,

00:34:24.260 --> 00:34:28.820
they're ensuring, they're assuming that a Pitt

00:34:28.820 --> 00:34:30.500
or an SMU is coming out, so you're going to get

00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:33.639
an ACC. They're assuming Nebraska is coming out

00:34:33.639 --> 00:34:37.219
for Big Ten. They're setting up for Kentucky

00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:41.559
to come out as an SEC. And then after that, they

00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:43.900
don't care. They don't care whether it's ACC

00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:48.079
or SEC in Texas or Stanford, which is they would

00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:51.500
have had a hard time justifying a Big 12 set

00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:54.260
up to come into the Final Four because the Big

00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:57.199
12 is just like way behind the other three conferences,

00:34:57.300 --> 00:34:59.840
I think. Definitely at the top end of the skill.

00:35:00.219 --> 00:35:03.559
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's bounce over to the lower

00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:06.010
right. quadrant of the bracket. So we have Kentucky

00:35:06.010 --> 00:35:10.670
at one, Arizona State at two. We've got Creighton

00:35:10.670 --> 00:35:14.090
at three, USC at four. So interesting matchups

00:35:14.090 --> 00:35:16.389
here. Do you have any of that jump out? I think

00:35:16.389 --> 00:35:20.389
UNI and Utah could be an interesting match. UCLA

00:35:20.389 --> 00:35:23.070
and Georgia Tech could potentially be interesting.

00:35:23.329 --> 00:35:25.769
I think UCLA will win that one, but then they're

00:35:25.769 --> 00:35:28.769
going to get smashed by Kentucky. BYU and USC

00:35:28.769 --> 00:35:31.489
in the second round, assuming all things are

00:35:31.489 --> 00:35:34.980
equal. Well, given how up and down BYU is, never

00:35:34.980 --> 00:35:37.280
forget last year when they lost first round to

00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:40.380
Loyola Chicago, everybody. Totally. I think on

00:35:40.380 --> 00:35:43.840
paper they should crush Cal Poly, but who knows?

00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:47.059
Yeah. Again, I'm saying, assuming that the rankings

00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:50.139
hold, but I give my advantage to USC over BYU,

00:35:50.260 --> 00:35:53.099
I think, in that round. So I'm looking at USC,

00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:56.760
Kentucky. I just don't see anybody on this side

00:35:56.760 --> 00:35:58.579
of the bracket that can give Kentucky a match.

00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:01.380
I think they're going to cruise. to the semifinal,

00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:04.159
which I don't know is a good thing. We might

00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:06.719
see a Kentucky -Crayton order. I agree with you

00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:10.059
that UNI -Utah could be interesting and UCLA

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:13.360
-Georgia Tech. I think Kentucky is the team coming

00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:16.840
out of this region overall, but I think a potential

00:36:16.840 --> 00:36:19.719
other interesting match could be Arizona State

00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:22.340
-Crayton. That'll be a competitive match, I think.

00:36:22.460 --> 00:36:25.860
I'm going to give the nod to Creighton, I think.

00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:28.059
I got to do a little more digging on those teams.

00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:30.059
Without doing that, I think I'm going to give

00:36:30.059 --> 00:36:31.659
the nod to Creighton. They played a lot of good

00:36:31.659 --> 00:36:33.260
teams at the beginning of the season. I think

00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:35.559
they're ready. I mean, again, I think it's going

00:36:35.559 --> 00:36:39.420
to be Kentucky, USC, Creighton, Arizona State.

00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:42.099
I think it's going to be Kentucky, Creighton,

00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:44.780
Kentucky making it through. So far, the least

00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:48.019
interesting one is the Pitt side. I think there's

00:36:48.019 --> 00:36:50.199
the least number of interesting matches there.

00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:54.480
And now we come to maybe the most interesting

00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:58.460
part of the bracket. We have Texas at one, Stanford

00:36:58.460 --> 00:37:05.500
at two. We also have Wisconsin and Indiana in

00:37:05.500 --> 00:37:08.800
this one as well. Give me your initial thoughts

00:37:08.800 --> 00:37:12.000
and where you think this is going to go. I think

00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:14.940
interesting matches early, potentially North

00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:18.019
Carolina UTEP. I'm going to give it, I know that

00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:20.059
UTEP had a really good season. I'm going to give

00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:23.159
it to North Carolina. I think the Stanford -Wisconsin

00:37:23.159 --> 00:37:25.719
potential matchup could be very interesting.

00:37:26.059 --> 00:37:29.219
I think Stanford is going to win that one. I

00:37:29.219 --> 00:37:32.260
don't know. I feel like the Texas kind of top

00:37:32.260 --> 00:37:34.900
part of this is pretty weak. I think they're

00:37:34.900 --> 00:37:37.699
going to move through it pretty easily. But Texas

00:37:37.699 --> 00:37:40.260
-Stanford, I'm going to give it to Stanford.

00:37:40.699 --> 00:37:44.760
I am not sure Stanford beats Wisconsin. What?

00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:49.030
Why? I like Mimi Collier over Elia Rubin. Wow.

00:37:49.230 --> 00:37:53.050
But the Blashov -Rubin combo, I think, is better

00:37:53.050 --> 00:37:59.269
than Collier -Vajicic. I agree. I think the Sayer

00:37:59.269 --> 00:38:03.530
-Lizzie -Andrew combo is better than the other

00:38:03.530 --> 00:38:07.610
Andrew -Carter Booth, especially offensively.

00:38:07.610 --> 00:38:12.789
And I think Jordan Harvey is a better right side

00:38:12.789 --> 00:38:16.340
than Grace Egan. Wisconsin's blocking is going

00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:20.840
to give the young outsides for Stanford trouble.

00:38:21.019 --> 00:38:24.940
Young outsides? Blashov and Harvey. Harvey's

00:38:24.940 --> 00:38:26.800
not that young. What is she? Is she a sophomore

00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:28.860
or junior? I thought she was a sophomore. I'm

00:38:28.860 --> 00:38:32.380
giving it to Stanford. I also... And Wisconsin's

00:38:32.380 --> 00:38:35.059
blocking is not nearly what it used to be. Who

00:38:35.059 --> 00:38:37.800
do you think's a better setter? parks or furbringer

00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:40.800
i think right now probably furbringer but i said

00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:42.840
what i said yeah i'm i need to think about this

00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:44.480
one a little bit more but i don't think it's

00:38:44.480 --> 00:38:47.699
as cut and dry as you think i think stanford

00:38:47.699 --> 00:38:49.239
i don't know i'm not saying it's cut and dry

00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:51.920
i'm saying who i think is gonna win yeah stanford

00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:55.639
could beat texas i think texas beats wisconsin

00:38:55.639 --> 00:38:57.400
too so i mean but i need to spend a little time

00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:01.659
thinking about it this one is the most interesting

00:39:01.659 --> 00:39:04.610
to me yes But I'm still giving it to Stanford.

00:39:04.730 --> 00:39:08.829
Just to summarize, my kind of initial assessment,

00:39:08.869 --> 00:39:10.849
and I might change my mind when I really dive

00:39:10.849 --> 00:39:13.889
in to create my bracket, but just seeing this

00:39:13.889 --> 00:39:16.610
really quick, I think it's going to be a Nebraska

00:39:16.610 --> 00:39:21.630
-Texas A &M regional final, Texas -Stanford regional

00:39:21.630 --> 00:39:26.230
final. It's going to be Kentucky -Crayton and

00:39:26.230 --> 00:39:29.210
SMU -Pitt. And then in the final four, I think

00:39:29.210 --> 00:39:33.420
it's going to be Nebraska -Pitt. Stanford, Kentucky,

00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:38.179
the final Nebraska, Kentucky. I think we're going

00:39:38.179 --> 00:39:39.719
to end up at the same place. I have Nebraska,

00:39:40.019 --> 00:39:44.440
Kentucky, and Pitt's going to go. I got to sort

00:39:44.440 --> 00:39:47.239
out Texas or Stanford. No, you have to make a

00:39:47.239 --> 00:39:49.300
statement. You have to finish it off right here.

00:39:49.380 --> 00:39:54.119
Texas. Oh. Yeah. Who do you think is better,

00:39:54.239 --> 00:39:57.500
Logan Parks or Ellis Wendell? Sorry, I can't

00:39:57.500 --> 00:40:01.480
help myself. So that's the bracket roundup. First

00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:04.500
impressions. We're recording this an hour after.

00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:06.820
This is literally right after it came out. So

00:40:06.820 --> 00:40:09.260
we haven't really. This was my first deep dive

00:40:09.260 --> 00:40:11.300
actually even looking at it. So every statement

00:40:11.300 --> 00:40:15.039
I made was just looking at it for a second. And

00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:17.880
the baby agrees. Wow. Wild stuff. Let us know

00:40:17.880 --> 00:40:20.340
your thoughts. Put your bracket in. Put your

00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:24.420
bracket in. Adam is programming up a storm these

00:40:24.420 --> 00:40:28.070
days. So let's give this a try. And yeah, we

00:40:28.070 --> 00:40:32.670
will see who the grand champion is. And I like

00:40:32.670 --> 00:40:35.889
that you're adding in the sets so it can differentiate

00:40:35.889 --> 00:40:39.969
even more at a modifier, make it exciting. But

00:40:39.969 --> 00:40:41.630
yeah, let us know your thoughts on this bracket

00:40:41.630 --> 00:40:45.889
and any question marks you have, how you think

00:40:45.889 --> 00:40:47.650
it's going to play out. Okay, let's dive into

00:40:47.650 --> 00:40:50.309
some listener questions. Our favorite segment.

00:40:50.489 --> 00:40:53.650
Always. Okay, question one. When you guys talk

00:40:53.650 --> 00:40:56.230
about generational talent players, for example,

00:40:56.449 --> 00:41:02.090
Egonu, Gabi, Babcock, Kennedy Martin, etc. What

00:41:02.090 --> 00:41:04.710
makes them a generational talent? It's a great

00:41:04.710 --> 00:41:07.530
question. First and foremost, the performance

00:41:07.530 --> 00:41:11.289
has to be there. So you have to be head and shoulder

00:41:11.289 --> 00:41:16.090
better than your peers. And let's just make sure

00:41:16.090 --> 00:41:18.369
we understand that Babcock is not in the same

00:41:18.369 --> 00:41:20.730
realm as Gabi and Egonu. They're generational

00:41:20.730 --> 00:41:23.239
talents for their college programs. They still

00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:26.280
have a lot to prove on the international stage.

00:41:26.460 --> 00:41:28.320
You know, in the arena that you're currently

00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:31.539
playing in, you have to be one of, if not the

00:41:31.539 --> 00:41:34.940
best player around. Well, and like if you look

00:41:34.940 --> 00:41:38.400
at an Egonu and a Gabi, for example, these girls

00:41:38.400 --> 00:41:42.719
were dominant at a professional level at a very

00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:45.780
young age. Correct. We're talking like 18, 19,

00:41:45.820 --> 00:41:50.059
20. They were outstanding. So that's going to

00:41:50.059 --> 00:41:51.380
throw that out there. Well, that's the second

00:41:51.380 --> 00:41:54.130
piece is. To be generational, you have to be

00:41:54.130 --> 00:41:56.829
that good for a prolonged period of time. You're

00:41:56.829 --> 00:41:58.789
not a flash in the pan. You're not one or two

00:41:58.789 --> 00:42:02.989
good seasons. You repeat your performance again

00:42:02.989 --> 00:42:05.110
and again and again. And I think the other piece

00:42:05.110 --> 00:42:08.670
is you either win a ton with the team you're

00:42:08.670 --> 00:42:11.489
at or every team you play for is competitive.

00:42:11.690 --> 00:42:15.150
Whatever team Gabi goes to is generally playing

00:42:15.150 --> 00:42:17.130
in Champions League Final Four. Granted, she's

00:42:17.130 --> 00:42:19.949
going to the best teams. Totally. I know. Let's

00:42:19.949 --> 00:42:22.469
head that off right now. Yeah, but, you know,

00:42:22.530 --> 00:42:24.889
it's the same thing. You know that if you have

00:42:24.889 --> 00:42:27.610
that player on your team, you have a chance to

00:42:27.610 --> 00:42:30.070
win. That's kind of how I think about it. And

00:42:30.070 --> 00:42:35.030
I think, like, as you said, they develop the

00:42:35.030 --> 00:42:38.329
skills at a young age. They're able to transition

00:42:38.329 --> 00:42:40.730
to the highest level at a very young age and

00:42:40.730 --> 00:42:45.050
then carry that. success and that level of performance

00:42:45.050 --> 00:42:49.090
forward for many years. Okay, question two. I'd

00:42:49.090 --> 00:42:50.889
like to have a better understanding of all the

00:42:50.889 --> 00:42:53.269
different types of volleyballs used. What are

00:42:53.269 --> 00:42:55.750
the differences and what makes one ball harder

00:42:55.750 --> 00:42:58.530
to play with than another? There are a whole

00:42:58.530 --> 00:43:01.769
bunch of brands out there. Internationally, they

00:43:01.769 --> 00:43:05.610
use the Mikasa. That is the yellow and blue one.

00:43:05.769 --> 00:43:10.369
In Italy and some programs, they use the Molten

00:43:10.369 --> 00:43:14.849
Ball. And then you've got like the Bodden. Then

00:43:14.849 --> 00:43:17.989
you see Nike schools in the NCAA use the Nike

00:43:17.989 --> 00:43:21.110
ball. Well, let's be honest. Nike doesn't make

00:43:21.110 --> 00:43:23.829
a volleyball. They have a ball that they call

00:43:23.829 --> 00:43:26.429
a volleyball. Don't ever use the Nike ball. It's

00:43:26.429 --> 00:43:29.369
horrendous. It's awful. So let's just take that

00:43:29.369 --> 00:43:33.030
one off the list. Let's do Moulton, Mikasa, Bodden.

00:43:33.130 --> 00:43:36.449
Those are like the big, big ones that you kind

00:43:36.449 --> 00:43:40.469
of see. Most difficult to play with, Mikasa.

00:43:41.210 --> 00:43:48.130
I think it is like really smooth, but it's dimpled

00:43:48.130 --> 00:43:51.809
kind of like a golf ball. It takes off. It's

00:43:51.809 --> 00:43:54.849
the least forgiving of the balls. Yes. If you

00:43:54.849 --> 00:43:58.809
don't control it or you. If your contact is not

00:43:58.809 --> 00:44:03.570
perfect. Bye bye. As a spin server, I hated that

00:44:03.570 --> 00:44:06.869
Mikasa ball because if I didn't hit it perfectly,

00:44:07.070 --> 00:44:11.469
it was. sailing like maybe that's a me problem

00:44:11.469 --> 00:44:14.389
I don't know but it's just like yeah the skin

00:44:14.389 --> 00:44:17.210
of that one is really smooth and it's like dimpled

00:44:17.210 --> 00:44:20.769
like a golf ball it floats a lot like for a float

00:44:20.769 --> 00:44:23.190
serve it's difficult to pass it's like lighter

00:44:23.190 --> 00:44:26.969
I would say um and very unforgiving as Adam said

00:44:26.969 --> 00:44:30.730
the bottom ball is your typical volleyball with

00:44:30.730 --> 00:44:35.590
like the panels you know leather that one generally

00:44:35.590 --> 00:44:38.730
I think is Very easy to control and play with.

00:44:38.929 --> 00:44:40.369
There's a lot of give there. It's a little bit

00:44:40.369 --> 00:44:43.909
heavier. There's a lot of give. You often see

00:44:43.909 --> 00:44:46.889
those in like high schools and club settings.

00:44:47.170 --> 00:44:49.889
They're also cheaper. Some college programs do

00:44:49.889 --> 00:44:53.110
play with them, but generally like a squishier

00:44:53.110 --> 00:44:58.150
contact, easy to control. The Molten is kind

00:44:58.150 --> 00:45:02.329
of a hybrid between the two. It's got like a

00:45:02.329 --> 00:45:06.809
more sticky, leathery surface. Whereas like the

00:45:06.809 --> 00:45:10.449
bod and leather is like smoother. The molten

00:45:10.449 --> 00:45:15.190
leather is kind of stickier and it does often

00:45:15.190 --> 00:45:18.650
have like a bit of dimpling in the surface of

00:45:18.650 --> 00:45:22.710
the leather, but it's not as slick as, can you

00:45:22.710 --> 00:45:25.949
tell that I've spent a lifetime with volleyballs?

00:45:26.150 --> 00:45:28.510
You can hit the snot out of the mold. These are

00:45:28.510 --> 00:45:31.130
very easy to control. The Italian league plays

00:45:31.130 --> 00:45:33.110
with this and I loved when I would go, when I

00:45:33.110 --> 00:45:37.280
would. play in Italy for seasons because these

00:45:37.280 --> 00:45:40.139
balls for a spin server are a dream. They're

00:45:40.139 --> 00:45:44.300
a little bit harder. It takes a while for your

00:45:44.300 --> 00:45:47.900
arms to become conditioned to like passing them

00:45:47.900 --> 00:45:49.880
and digging them just because they are a little

00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:54.179
bit harder and stiffer than the bottom. I think

00:45:54.179 --> 00:45:57.199
it's a perfect hybrid and very easy to control.

00:45:57.340 --> 00:46:00.500
The molten is my favorite ball to play with for

00:46:00.500 --> 00:46:02.840
sure. Adam's not nearly as passionate about this.

00:46:03.369 --> 00:46:05.230
If we want to expand it into beach volleyball,

00:46:05.570 --> 00:46:09.269
I am a Mikasa girl through and through. I hate

00:46:09.269 --> 00:46:13.010
the Wilson for AVP. Why? Because you literally

00:46:13.010 --> 00:46:15.610
just have to stick an arm out for a Wilson and

00:46:15.610 --> 00:46:18.150
it will go high in the air, which I think makes

00:46:18.150 --> 00:46:21.070
mediocre players better than they actually are.

00:46:21.329 --> 00:46:24.409
And as a purist, you guys probably aren't shocked

00:46:24.409 --> 00:46:27.349
to hear that drives me crazy. I've only ever

00:46:27.349 --> 00:46:30.260
played with the Mikasa for real. So I don't really

00:46:30.260 --> 00:46:32.860
have a ton of comparison points. In Canada, everybody

00:46:32.860 --> 00:46:35.840
uses that ball for everything. If you are coaching

00:46:35.840 --> 00:46:38.320
a team playing against Nebraska, Kentucky, Pitt,

00:46:38.460 --> 00:46:41.079
or Texas, how would you design your defense or

00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:44.239
blocking for each team? And then a follow -up

00:46:44.239 --> 00:46:45.900
question, which I think we can answer this part

00:46:45.900 --> 00:46:49.159
first. Which of these four teams heading into

00:46:49.159 --> 00:46:53.619
the tournament is the best prepared slash able

00:46:53.619 --> 00:46:56.699
to make in -game adjustments? I think Kentucky

00:46:56.699 --> 00:47:00.300
is in the best place to make adjustments simply

00:47:00.300 --> 00:47:03.039
because they've already made adjustments. And

00:47:03.039 --> 00:47:07.360
I think their personnel lends itself to being

00:47:07.360 --> 00:47:11.159
able to do that. Nebraska has the personnel and

00:47:11.159 --> 00:47:15.360
is capable, but they haven't had to yet. And

00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:18.300
I don't know, you know, I would hope that Danny

00:47:18.300 --> 00:47:21.179
and company has been working on what adjustments

00:47:21.179 --> 00:47:23.480
the teams can make in different situations in

00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:26.039
practice. But they haven't had to do it in a

00:47:26.039 --> 00:47:28.699
game. And sometimes when you have to shift or

00:47:28.699 --> 00:47:31.780
think in matches and you haven't had to do it

00:47:31.780 --> 00:47:34.519
or practice before, it's not always easy. So

00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:38.699
that's why I would put Nebraska second over Kentucky.

00:47:38.920 --> 00:47:42.599
I don't think Pitt has the, I don't want to say

00:47:42.599 --> 00:47:46.280
skill, but the ball control to necessarily make...

00:47:46.280 --> 00:47:49.440
Well, let's be real. Pitt is a one -trick pony.

00:47:50.349 --> 00:47:52.130
Yeah, I mean, Brie Kelly in the middle is an

00:47:52.130 --> 00:47:54.250
intelligent player, so we could do some blocking.

00:47:54.550 --> 00:47:56.969
No, but I'm just saying better prepared, able

00:47:56.969 --> 00:47:59.670
to adjust. They said Olivia. Yeah. Like you're

00:47:59.670 --> 00:48:02.070
not like reinventing the wheel with Pitt. Yeah,

00:48:02.090 --> 00:48:06.530
agreed. And then I think Texas with two freshmen

00:48:06.530 --> 00:48:10.590
in key positions, opposite and left side, I think

00:48:10.590 --> 00:48:13.090
it's tough to make adjustments when pressure

00:48:13.090 --> 00:48:14.989
gets higher and higher. Well, and just like coaching

00:48:14.989 --> 00:48:17.230
staff -wide. Like you have to think of like the

00:48:17.230 --> 00:48:19.800
people. On the bench, too, like the coaching

00:48:19.800 --> 00:48:22.639
staff. I would put Texas probably at the bottom

00:48:22.639 --> 00:48:25.079
of that list, but that would be my order. You?

00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:29.780
I'd pick Kentucky, yeah. And then in terms of

00:48:29.780 --> 00:48:35.340
game plans, I mean, we're not going to go detail,

00:48:35.599 --> 00:48:37.780
detail. Okay, let's not go detail, but let's

00:48:37.780 --> 00:48:40.599
just. And I think we talked about the Nebraska

00:48:40.599 --> 00:48:45.420
-Kentucky lineup. For Nebraska, you have to neutralize

00:48:45.420 --> 00:48:48.400
their middles as best as you can. and make their

00:48:48.400 --> 00:48:52.360
outside hitters score all the points. You could

00:48:52.360 --> 00:48:53.820
do that with serving. You can do that with blocking.

00:48:54.800 --> 00:48:58.260
So you could serve to disrupt the middle's attack

00:48:58.260 --> 00:49:03.139
route, make them pass. You could take a hitter

00:49:03.139 --> 00:49:07.059
to the ground, get them out of system. Whatever

00:49:07.059 --> 00:49:09.599
you need to do from a serving perspective to

00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:14.500
disrupt the middle, do that. And then I would...

00:49:15.279 --> 00:49:17.940
If the middle is an option, you need to follow

00:49:17.940 --> 00:49:21.460
the middle. Not necessarily commit, but have

00:49:21.460 --> 00:49:23.659
your middle follow them. I would make the right

00:49:23.659 --> 00:49:27.460
side the last option. So get a block up for sure.

00:49:27.860 --> 00:49:31.340
Potentially two on the middle if possible. And

00:49:31.340 --> 00:49:34.780
then focus more on the left side. Yeah, agreed.

00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:39.000
Kentucky. You got to get them in passing trouble

00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:42.309
and take their middles away. Get. Delay or Hudson

00:49:42.309 --> 00:49:44.469
to the ground. Whatever one's in the front row,

00:49:44.550 --> 00:49:47.150
take them to the ground on serve receive. I would

00:49:47.150 --> 00:49:50.429
pinch your outside blocker to help with the pipe

00:49:50.429 --> 00:49:53.710
and block the left side. You want to make Thigpen

00:49:53.710 --> 00:49:55.909
beat you. You got to find a way to control the

00:49:55.909 --> 00:49:58.610
two left sides. Pit, make the left sides beat

00:49:58.610 --> 00:50:01.590
you. Babcock should see a solid double block.

00:50:01.829 --> 00:50:05.130
She does not hit without a double block. Yes,

00:50:05.130 --> 00:50:08.000
not one swing. You know what? You can let your

00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:11.019
right side block both the middle and the left

00:50:11.019 --> 00:50:12.980
side, and you just stick those two players out

00:50:12.980 --> 00:50:16.099
there in Babcock's face. But I would force her

00:50:16.099 --> 00:50:19.420
to swing into the sharp angle. That's her least

00:50:19.420 --> 00:50:21.280
favorite swing, I would say. She likes to go

00:50:21.280 --> 00:50:25.800
high line seam and deep angle. I would force

00:50:25.800 --> 00:50:29.599
her to beat you hitting sharp angle, but I wouldn't

00:50:29.599 --> 00:50:33.199
play her for tips. Get everybody back. Make her

00:50:33.199 --> 00:50:37.780
tip. Yeah. Make her go angle. So I would block

00:50:37.780 --> 00:50:43.420
ball line on her. Bring your off blocker back

00:50:43.420 --> 00:50:47.039
to the attack line to dig. Set up your defense

00:50:47.039 --> 00:50:52.920
neutral, but block the line. Make her swing for

00:50:52.920 --> 00:50:55.980
the angle. And if she hits with one block, you

00:50:55.980 --> 00:50:58.059
didn't follow the game plan. Correct. Texas.

00:50:59.019 --> 00:51:00.880
Serve to position one. Don't worry about their

00:51:00.880 --> 00:51:03.400
middles, honestly. Take their middles away. You

00:51:03.400 --> 00:51:07.380
have to find a way to slow down their left sides.

00:51:07.599 --> 00:51:10.699
You have to be ready to adjust on Spears. She

00:51:10.699 --> 00:51:12.440
hasn't been playing well, but she's capable.

00:51:12.659 --> 00:51:17.980
I wouldn't put it past Spears to have an unconscious

00:51:17.980 --> 00:51:21.300
match or two in the tournament. And so I would

00:51:21.300 --> 00:51:24.199
start with my focus on the left sides, knowing

00:51:24.199 --> 00:51:27.349
that if Spears gets hot... that you'll have to

00:51:27.349 --> 00:51:29.610
make that adjustment and that Vanderwall, she

00:51:29.610 --> 00:51:31.710
could be aggressive, but she might not be on.

00:51:31.849 --> 00:51:34.670
So you just have to pay attention to how those

00:51:34.670 --> 00:51:36.670
two freshmen are doing and adjust your game plan

00:51:36.670 --> 00:51:39.409
accordingly. But yeah, if you're stopping their

00:51:39.409 --> 00:51:43.610
left sides with the setter, they have served

00:51:43.610 --> 00:51:47.349
to position one. Okay, question four. As a hypothetical

00:51:47.349 --> 00:51:50.230
and assuming no red shirts, where would a team

00:51:50.230 --> 00:51:53.849
of Nebraska's bench finish in the Big Ten this

00:51:53.849 --> 00:51:56.199
year? So who would that be? We're assuming nobody

00:51:56.199 --> 00:52:00.599
who plays, so... Well, would you argue that Sigler

00:52:00.599 --> 00:52:02.900
is bench? See, I would say no, because she has

00:52:02.900 --> 00:52:04.500
a regular role in the team. I would say yes.

00:52:05.079 --> 00:52:08.760
Okay. Well then, is Lanfair bench? Okay, we just

00:52:08.760 --> 00:52:12.940
need to clarify. So Mouch and Choboy. Choboy's

00:52:12.940 --> 00:52:15.900
been the libero, so Mouch not bench? I would

00:52:15.900 --> 00:52:18.679
say Mouch is bench. So if you're saying... You

00:52:18.679 --> 00:52:23.159
can't say Sigler is not bench. And Mouch is Bench.

00:52:23.159 --> 00:52:26.880
Okay, fine. All right. Anybody who plays a regular

00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:32.820
role. So both of those and Sigler. Okay. So we've

00:52:32.820 --> 00:52:37.900
got Campbell Flynn. Okay. We've got Sheck on

00:52:37.900 --> 00:52:41.019
the right side. We've got the young freshman

00:52:41.019 --> 00:52:45.219
middle. Yeah. We've got Sky Pierce. We've got

00:52:45.219 --> 00:52:48.340
like Basiger. It's tough because you haven't

00:52:48.340 --> 00:52:50.139
seen a lot of these athletes play, but I think

00:52:50.139 --> 00:52:51.780
we could probably put a fair estimate together.

00:52:53.719 --> 00:52:57.280
You've got a solid lineup. Yeah, definitely.

00:52:57.699 --> 00:53:01.059
Just pulling up the rankings. I would say they

00:53:01.059 --> 00:53:03.719
would probably have a really good shot at beating

00:53:03.719 --> 00:53:08.579
anybody under Minnesota. I was going to say third.

00:53:09.840 --> 00:53:13.760
I was going to say third. If you bring, because

00:53:13.760 --> 00:53:17.300
I was considering Sigler and Mouch. bench because

00:53:17.300 --> 00:53:20.059
they... If Sigler's playing, I think that makes

00:53:20.059 --> 00:53:23.320
a big difference. Sigler and Sky Pierce and then,

00:53:23.380 --> 00:53:27.539
you know, I... So this is my thought process.

00:53:28.139 --> 00:53:30.380
Purdue's starters are... You think under Minnesota?

00:53:31.119 --> 00:53:33.559
Minnesota was basically all freshmen. I would...

00:53:33.559 --> 00:53:36.619
Minnesota and under... That was my kind of cutoff

00:53:36.619 --> 00:53:40.400
point. For sure, everybody below that. And then...

00:53:40.400 --> 00:53:42.940
I think that they could finish third or fourth

00:53:42.940 --> 00:53:45.360
in the Big Ten this year. I don't think they

00:53:45.360 --> 00:53:51.099
beat... USC. I like how physical USC is. I think

00:53:51.099 --> 00:53:54.599
Indiana, they'd be more consistent than Indiana.

00:53:54.960 --> 00:53:58.179
If Indiana's good Indiana and they're passing

00:53:58.179 --> 00:53:59.860
well and they're in system, I think it would

00:53:59.860 --> 00:54:03.480
be a little more challenging. Minnesota, they

00:54:03.480 --> 00:54:06.159
would probably be Minnesota. I think they would

00:54:06.159 --> 00:54:09.340
push Purdue, honestly. I think their setter would

00:54:09.340 --> 00:54:12.659
be better. I think their middles would be better.

00:54:12.659 --> 00:54:14.929
I think they would be competitive. Purdue has

00:54:14.929 --> 00:54:17.750
beaten a bunch of good teams and they're prepared

00:54:17.750 --> 00:54:20.929
and they've competed. But you have to remember

00:54:20.929 --> 00:54:24.269
coming. These girls haven't seen real competition.

00:54:24.349 --> 00:54:27.050
No, you can't take that. No, you can't take that

00:54:27.050 --> 00:54:29.750
into consideration. We're talking skill. We're

00:54:29.750 --> 00:54:31.530
not talking like, oh, it's the end of the season.

00:54:31.590 --> 00:54:34.289
Everybody on Purdue played the whole season and

00:54:34.289 --> 00:54:36.590
Nebraska didn't. We're like, it's August right

00:54:36.590 --> 00:54:39.789
now. We're in preseason. Okay, then. Yeah, probably

00:54:39.789 --> 00:54:43.360
third or fourth. Let's say three to six. Adam's

00:54:43.360 --> 00:54:45.500
playing safe. I'm sticking with three. Question

00:54:45.500 --> 00:54:48.980
five for Adam. As a coach, have you ever made

00:54:48.980 --> 00:54:52.619
personnel decisions between or during sets based

00:54:52.619 --> 00:54:55.719
on the stats that you're gathering? Definitely.

00:54:55.920 --> 00:54:59.000
Like if your data is telling you something between

00:54:59.000 --> 00:55:02.300
sets two and three, are you making switches?

00:55:02.900 --> 00:55:06.179
Totally. You don't ever make them solely based

00:55:06.179 --> 00:55:10.269
off stats, but. It has definitely been a conversation.

00:55:10.309 --> 00:55:12.809
And again, a lot of times if I'm coaching professionally,

00:55:13.329 --> 00:55:16.889
I'm assisting. Decisions made definitely revolve

00:55:16.889 --> 00:55:19.090
around hitting percentages, what we're trying

00:55:19.090 --> 00:55:20.989
to do, what are the block numbers look like?

00:55:21.030 --> 00:55:23.230
Are we getting the matchups we want? Are those

00:55:23.230 --> 00:55:26.070
players performing? So are you more of a make

00:55:26.070 --> 00:55:29.210
a switch in between sets type of guy or make

00:55:29.210 --> 00:55:33.030
a switch during the set? Both. Nobody's safe.

00:55:33.500 --> 00:55:35.920
If you have a player who is not doing their job

00:55:35.920 --> 00:55:38.860
or you're relying on passing and it's not happening

00:55:38.860 --> 00:55:40.519
and their numbers don't look good or they can't

00:55:40.519 --> 00:55:42.760
score for whatever reason, absolutely, we're

00:55:42.760 --> 00:55:45.579
making changes. Again, you have some players

00:55:45.579 --> 00:55:48.800
you don't take off the court, but you have to

00:55:48.800 --> 00:55:51.280
be active in what's going on. Not everybody's

00:55:51.280 --> 00:55:53.760
going to have a great match every time. You should

00:55:53.760 --> 00:55:57.780
be making changes. You need to win. This last

00:55:57.780 --> 00:56:01.159
question is also about the stats discussion from

00:56:01.159 --> 00:56:05.789
last week. We got Adam on the ready. You mentioned

00:56:05.789 --> 00:56:08.469
a four -point scale. Does this influence things

00:56:08.469 --> 00:56:11.750
like hitting percentage and assists? For example,

00:56:11.869 --> 00:56:14.429
if a setter sets a really bad ball and then the

00:56:14.429 --> 00:56:17.190
hitter gets blocked, does that still count as

00:56:17.190 --> 00:56:19.929
an error for the hitter? Conversely, if the setter

00:56:19.929 --> 00:56:21.989
sets a really bad ball and the hitter gets a

00:56:21.989 --> 00:56:25.710
kill, do they still get an assist? Okay, so there's

00:56:25.710 --> 00:56:27.289
a couple different things here, and I want to

00:56:27.289 --> 00:56:31.030
clarify one thing. The four -point scale only

00:56:31.030 --> 00:56:34.230
relates to... passing and serving. There's no

00:56:34.230 --> 00:56:38.929
four point scale for assists or sets. Generally

00:56:38.929 --> 00:56:43.889
we do those as like error, good, bad. Yeah. So

00:56:43.889 --> 00:56:47.710
you, the four point scale, yes, only serving

00:56:47.710 --> 00:56:50.650
and passing, but you were mentioning plus minus

00:56:50.650 --> 00:56:54.909
neutral. So if a setter sets a really bad ball

00:56:54.909 --> 00:56:59.289
and the hitter gets blocked, do both players

00:56:59.289 --> 00:57:03.619
get a minus in your eyes? It's situational. If

00:57:03.619 --> 00:57:06.500
the hitter has no chance, like if the setter

00:57:06.500 --> 00:57:09.599
sets the ball over the net and the player's just

00:57:09.599 --> 00:57:13.300
trying to tip it over and it's in the blocker's

00:57:13.300 --> 00:57:15.980
hands, I generally, I won't count that as an

00:57:15.980 --> 00:57:17.559
attempt. I won't count it as an error. I won't

00:57:17.559 --> 00:57:20.159
count anything. I'll just, I'll leave that blank

00:57:20.159 --> 00:57:24.460
in terms of statting that. But most of the time,

00:57:24.480 --> 00:57:28.000
if the hitter can swing on the ball, it's their

00:57:28.000 --> 00:57:30.320
job to fix it and they will get an error, even

00:57:30.320 --> 00:57:33.170
if the set is bad. Now, if they set it over,

00:57:33.369 --> 00:57:36.010
like if they can't actually hit it, then I give

00:57:36.010 --> 00:57:38.730
it a wash in that regard. Like I don't stat attempt

00:57:38.730 --> 00:57:40.949
or anything. But if the hitter takes a swing,

00:57:41.110 --> 00:57:42.969
it counts as a stat because the reality of it

00:57:42.969 --> 00:57:44.949
is you're going to hit some bad balls. And yes,

00:57:45.090 --> 00:57:46.969
the setter always gets an assist. Even if the

00:57:46.969 --> 00:57:49.809
set is bad and the hitter gets a kill, assist.

00:57:50.269 --> 00:57:55.289
What if the setter makes a really good set and

00:57:55.289 --> 00:57:57.730
the hitter makes an error? Do you give the setter

00:57:57.730 --> 00:58:03.440
a positive? Totally. each contact based on its

00:58:03.440 --> 00:58:05.619
merit. It doesn't, what happens before or after

00:58:05.619 --> 00:58:09.599
is irrelevant in that regard. So yeah, when we're

00:58:09.599 --> 00:58:11.860
looking at traditional stats that you might see

00:58:11.860 --> 00:58:16.000
on a box score for a game or anything, they are

00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:18.639
not taking into account the quality of the contact

00:58:18.639 --> 00:58:23.780
at all. So anytime a player gets a kill, whoever

00:58:23.780 --> 00:58:28.039
delivered that ball to them gets an assist. That's

00:58:28.039 --> 00:58:29.940
why I feel like there's such a misunderstanding

00:58:29.940 --> 00:58:33.829
about like, quality of sets totally because people

00:58:33.829 --> 00:58:37.050
just are like oh assists woo but it's not like

00:58:37.050 --> 00:58:39.929
box course it also is taking into account how

00:58:39.929 --> 00:58:42.269
good your hitters are it's not just like you

00:58:42.269 --> 00:58:44.590
can deliver a terrible set and your hitter scores

00:58:44.590 --> 00:58:48.429
and you still get the assist box score sets are

00:58:48.429 --> 00:58:55.929
more or less useless when it comes to team information

00:58:55.929 --> 00:58:59.550
what you want to work on players actual abilities

00:59:00.400 --> 00:59:04.159
Obviously, hitting percentage works itself out

00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:06.280
over a course of several matches, and you can

00:59:06.280 --> 00:59:09.699
look at that. But again, block stats, dig stats,

00:59:10.179 --> 00:59:14.239
assists, those kind of things, serving ace and

00:59:14.239 --> 00:59:17.719
error ratio, really those things are good to

00:59:17.719 --> 00:59:19.739
put on a broadcast, but they're not particularly

00:59:19.739 --> 00:59:23.380
useful. Okay. I said that was the last one. We're

00:59:23.380 --> 00:59:25.039
just going to throw one more in here. Why not?

00:59:25.579 --> 00:59:27.880
Are there measurables that give a sense of the

00:59:27.880 --> 00:59:30.679
degree of court vision a player has, like a setter?

00:59:30.960 --> 00:59:34.320
Or is this something for the eye test? I think

00:59:34.320 --> 00:59:38.699
it's really hard to stat these things. It's more

00:59:38.699 --> 00:59:42.960
of an eye test. Now, you can tell if a player

00:59:42.960 --> 00:59:44.840
knows what's going on when you watch them play.

00:59:44.940 --> 00:59:47.980
So if you see a setter and they're looking over

00:59:47.980 --> 00:59:50.860
or they're setting away from the middle or when

00:59:50.860 --> 00:59:52.960
they dump. I think is actually a really good

00:59:52.960 --> 00:59:55.179
indicator of whether they have vision about what's

00:59:55.179 --> 00:59:56.760
happening on the other side of the court. Or

00:59:56.760 --> 00:59:58.360
how many one -on -ones they're getting their

00:59:58.360 --> 01:00:01.199
hitter. Yes. That could be an indicator. From

01:00:01.199 --> 01:00:04.539
a hitter's standpoint, and I know that this is

01:00:04.539 --> 01:00:09.159
a topic that people love to discuss. I think

01:00:09.159 --> 01:00:12.440
I can tell when a hitter can see things and when

01:00:12.440 --> 01:00:14.420
they can't. Totally. But I will tell you this,

01:00:14.480 --> 01:00:16.920
the number of times I've listened to broadcasters

01:00:16.920 --> 01:00:21.190
go, oh. Great vision. That term is used so often

01:00:21.190 --> 01:00:24.510
I want to like punch my TV. It's nonsense. Whenever

01:00:24.510 --> 01:00:27.469
I hear it. What are the key words that we love?

01:00:28.309 --> 01:00:31.269
Great vision. Volleyball IQ. Great volleyball

01:00:31.269 --> 01:00:34.489
IQ. All of these announcers are using those terms

01:00:34.489 --> 01:00:36.369
now and I'm like, you guys, you need to quit

01:00:36.369 --> 01:00:39.670
it anyway. If you hit three hands on the block

01:00:39.670 --> 01:00:42.349
and you score, that wasn't intentional. If you

01:00:42.349 --> 01:00:46.630
are hammering the ball and it is continually.

01:00:47.429 --> 01:00:50.070
rattling around the block or getting the biggest

01:00:50.070 --> 01:00:52.710
block touch or you get blocked straight down

01:00:52.710 --> 01:00:55.710
and it's just outside the sideline, you didn't

01:00:55.710 --> 01:00:58.630
see anything. No, nothing. Okay. Players that

01:00:58.630 --> 01:01:01.070
consistently just hit it as hard as they can

01:01:01.070 --> 01:01:04.449
straight and are getting lucky every now and

01:01:04.449 --> 01:01:06.130
then or just like are hitting it so hard they're

01:01:06.130 --> 01:01:08.230
just blowing up the blocker's hands. They're

01:01:08.230 --> 01:01:10.570
not seeing anything. And that's a legitimate

01:01:10.570 --> 01:01:13.590
strategy. Like you can make a career doing that,

01:01:13.630 --> 01:01:15.550
but you don't have great vision. You want to

01:01:15.550 --> 01:01:18.239
see. Players who have great vision, they do things

01:01:18.239 --> 01:01:20.880
consistently. So, for example, watching the Stanford

01:01:20.880 --> 01:01:24.219
match, Blashov hit off the outside hand and out

01:01:24.219 --> 01:01:27.380
of bounds five or six times. That's intentional.

01:01:27.579 --> 01:01:30.000
She can see the outside hand and she's going

01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:32.920
for it. Or somebody who hits like a variety of

01:01:32.920 --> 01:01:36.199
angles, hits line, hits cross court, throws in

01:01:36.199 --> 01:01:38.420
a tip when it's available. Like they can see

01:01:38.420 --> 01:01:41.199
what's happening. If a player swings seam when

01:01:41.199 --> 01:01:43.639
the middle's not closed, you can see that. If

01:01:43.639 --> 01:01:45.579
a player swings seam and there's two blocks there,

01:01:45.619 --> 01:01:47.840
they're not seeing anything. If they throw a

01:01:47.840 --> 01:01:50.420
tip in when they've moved the defense back, if

01:01:50.420 --> 01:01:52.219
they see the blocker. You know what I love? When

01:01:52.219 --> 01:01:55.079
there's a replay and like an announcer's like,

01:01:55.179 --> 01:01:58.239
oh, incredible vision. And then there's a replay.

01:01:58.989 --> 01:02:01.889
And you see the hitter just hit straight. And

01:02:01.889 --> 01:02:04.130
it's like, no, they didn't see anything. Anyway.

01:02:04.210 --> 01:02:06.969
I think far less players have really good vision

01:02:06.969 --> 01:02:11.269
than what credit is given on broadcasts. 100%.

01:02:11.269 --> 01:02:14.929
100%. All right. For the looking forward segment,

01:02:15.190 --> 01:02:17.110
it's rounds one and two. There's going to be

01:02:17.110 --> 01:02:19.929
a ton of volleyball on. Have it on all day. Put

01:02:19.929 --> 01:02:23.510
it on your second monitor. It's volleyball mayhem

01:02:23.510 --> 01:02:26.949
this week. And as a reminder, we are hosting

01:02:26.949 --> 01:02:31.159
our own. uh ncaa bracket the link will be attached

01:02:31.159 --> 01:02:34.239
to the show notes uh it's not connected to the

01:02:34.239 --> 01:02:36.699
volley talk website i'm just hosting it on a

01:02:36.699 --> 01:02:39.900
random platform so that link is not a virus it's

01:02:39.900 --> 01:02:42.480
uh it's our bracket and we've tossed a little

01:02:42.480 --> 01:02:44.460
modifier in there so read the rules before you

01:02:44.460 --> 01:02:46.460
make your choices and we're looking forward to

01:02:46.460 --> 01:02:48.789
doing this with you guys That concludes this

01:02:48.789 --> 01:02:50.869
week's episode of Volley Talk. There's always

01:02:50.869 --> 01:02:52.690
something shaking in the volleyball world and

01:02:52.690 --> 01:02:55.190
we hope you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure

01:02:55.190 --> 01:02:57.409
to follow the show so you don't miss any updates

01:02:57.409 --> 01:02:59.570
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01:02:59.570 --> 01:03:02.250
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01:03:02.250 --> 01:03:06.070
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01:03:06.070 --> 01:03:08.030
there's a topic you'd like us to discuss, be

01:03:08.030 --> 01:03:10.710
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01:03:10.710 --> 01:03:14.130
at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much for joining

01:03:14.130 --> 01:03:16.110
us and we'll be back next week.