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. There's a lot of volleyball happening. There

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is not enough time in a week to watch everything

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that I want to watch. It's wild. It's tough to

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keep up. That's for sure. So we watch what we

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can. We watch what seems interesting. We get

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the juice and the gossip and all that from our

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listeners who like to write in, which we love.

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We love. But yeah, all over the place. MLV, love.

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And say it with amen. overseas you name it it's

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wild we had some matches get canceled this week

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snowstorm major snowstorm matches that i was

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actually really excited about but whatever so

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we'll dive in we'll talk about the matches we

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watched some things have been going on some insights

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just this episode might be all over the place

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so buckle up we don't even know what's coming

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so let's get started Alright, first things first.

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Is your volley fantasy a highlight or just a

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happening this week? No, it's a highlight. Of

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course it is. Dang it. As of this week, I'm 39th

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in the pool, which is good. I was as high as

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26 at one point. And I would be absolutely killing

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it if Mia Tueninga was not terrible. This man

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is cursing me a tuaniga every single day. Listen,

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she has cost me right now seven grand. Well,

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better than last week. She lost you eight grand

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last week. I've got her for one more week. She

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needs to have the best week of her career and

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I'll be in a good place. Mine started out being

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a highlight. I think I climbed up to in the 40s.

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And then, you know what happened? One of the

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games that had three players of mine playing

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got canceled. Too bad. So I am so upset. That

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was such a great opportunity for me to gain serious

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traction because one of my players underperformed

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in the first game of the week and I was like,

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okay, she can make up for it. I'm going to gain

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traction. Who was it? Raven Colvin. And then

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their game was canceled. I had three players

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participating in that match. Okay, so I'm upset.

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I think I'm in the high 70s. Shout out to NoDiggity,

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who is still leading the charge at number one.

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Dropped to number four for a hot second, but

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they're back. Maybe we'll have to get that person

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on the pod at some point and talk about the strategy.

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I clearly need some help. But we had somebody

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reach out on the chat feature in the Volley app

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asking if we could do a prize for the winner.

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Sure. It was not no diggity who asked in case

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anybody's wondering. No diggity's like, I'm killing

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it right now. Could I get a prize? It was not

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them. But the person requested that the winner

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of the fantasy league on volley gets assigned

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volleyball. So that will be the prize. And you

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know what? If we can cook up something else,

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we'll do that too. I love it. Great idea. Not

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a great incentive, you know. But if you're interested,

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there you go. A prize for the winner. Yeah, we

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have like 340 teams or something. Yeah, it's

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amazing. And again, I know we say this every

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week, but if you're just hearing about this for

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the first time or you're tuning in or you still

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want to play, you can join all season long. You

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come in halfway through the pack, you've got

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points, so you still have a chance to win. And

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I saw that there were some questions and some

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issues, but you can use the chat function The

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developer helps very quickly. Very quickly. And

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so anytime there's a question, they are on it.

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And let me tell you, I'm still so excited. I

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am refreshing my points. True story. All the

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time. I wake up and Sarah's on her phone looking

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at it. He just made that up. He's completely

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making that up. He's lying. But while my teams

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are playing, I am refreshing. Probably not going

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to catch the winners at this point, but I have

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faith. that I'm going to make some big moves.

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Shout out to Mimi Collier earning me some money.

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Having a good week. If you want to join and you

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haven't already, head to playvolley .com slash

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volley talk. That's playvolley .com slash volley

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talk to join our league. Jump on the chat. I

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check it every now and then. If I have insight

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or something that I can say, I do it. But really

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take a peek at if your players have been on the

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bench or not, because some players, they look

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good in theory, and then you look at their stats,

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and they haven't played for a bit. Not the best.

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Just a heads up. It didn't happen to me. I know

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I'm making it sound like it happened to me. It

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didn't. But it is a lot of fun, so please be

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sure to join, and we will see you over on the

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Volley app probably tomorrow. Okay, some noteworthy

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results in NCAA men. Number 17, UC Santa Barbara.

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And number 14, Stanford split their games. That

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is not like huge news. Like 17 -14 is pretty

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close. It is close, but you feel like Stanford

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should have won both of those. I mean, Stanford,

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they had a bad week last week too. No, I know.

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And we have to reset to the new norm of what

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they actually are. But I think expectations coming

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into the season were high. If you would have

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asked me. Four weeks ago, if they were going

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to win that home -and -home with UCSB, I would

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have said yes. Yeah, UC Santa Barbara was pretty

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bad last year. I watched a few of their games

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and called a couple. The way Stanford was talking

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and looking at the beginning of the season, I

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thought that they would be better. They're going

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to need to make some moves if they want to qualify

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for the tournament, which I have to assume is

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their goal. I think that's a tall order, but

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we'll see. Number five, UC Irvine beat number

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eight BYU in five in both of their matches. Those

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are big wins for them. Big wins. And that's a

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solid matchup too. So UC Irvine is still rolling

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after their big win against Pepperdine the week

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before. Will they crack a little higher than

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number five? We'll find out. Yeah, I'm not sure.

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That's tough. Number 15, McKendree swept number

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10, Penn State in their series 3 -0 and 3 -1.

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I take back everything I said about Penn State

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being like, oh my gosh, they're doing so much

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better than they did. They are doing better than

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they did last season because they started 0 -8.

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The low bar. But the McKendree boys coming back

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after their West Coast road trip had another

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week under their belts and they're like, you

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know what? Let's slap Penn State around. Congrats,

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gents. There we go. So those are the big news

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in NCAA men's volleyball. In MLV, Dallas has

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jumped to the top of the standings with Indy.

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They had huge wins over Atlanta and Orlando this

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week. I thought the Orlando game was outstanding.

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It was a ton of fun to watch. They're good. Last

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year, Indy was the expansion team. They made

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the final this year. Dallas is the expansion

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team. They're legit. I like them. We'll talk

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about that match a little bit later on, but Dallas

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is going to be a force this year in MLB, I think.

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There are no more unbeaten teams in MLB because

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Indy lost in four to Omaha. Omaha snapped a three

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-game losing streak. They needed that badly.

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And, of course, Adam's star player on his fantasy

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team, Mia Tuoniga, led the way for Indy. No comment.

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There's some unhittable balls. Let's just put

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it that way. Somehow I think she's getting minus

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50 for all of those unhittable balls. That's

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why she's dropping in value. I want to know what

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the modifiers and stuff are on the specific skills

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so I can read these stat sheets and really understand

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where my players are doing well and poorly. No

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unbeaten teams. That was not a fun match to watch.

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No, the volleyball wasn't good in my opinion.

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I didn't think Omaha was great, but they were

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better. I expected, that was my first time watching

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Indy who was 3 -0. I was expecting things to

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be humming and I don't. really think anybody

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played well. Anna DeBeer didn't play well. Alayna

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Scott didn't play well. I thought Lecter at Member

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Meadow was probably one of their better players,

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but I've seen her play much better. Yeah, it

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just wasn't cohesive on either side. She has.

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I expected more from that match. I was excited

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to watch that match, and it was a bit of a letdown.

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Reagan Cooper got in for Omaha after the press

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conference where the coach, Adam's favorite guy,

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was like, yeah. You know what? Reagan Cooper's

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a good attacker, but in volleyball, you need

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to serve and pass and have ball control and make

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some digs when people hit the ball at you. And

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all of our other outsides are better than her.

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That was a scathing message from a coach. He's

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like, you know what? In volleyball, you need

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to do anything. I thought she actually turned

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the match around for them. Well, you said that

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during the match. You're like, well, guess Sarah

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Parsons is never going to see the court again

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because Reagan Cooper, who couldn't do anything

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but hit, is playing well. According to the coach,

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we didn't say that. I was impressed with how

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she managed to come in and turn things around.

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It was good for her. And I think the current

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situation that is probably most surprising, question

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mark? I don't know. You guys tell me. Atlanta's

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currently in sixth. Out of eight. I can't say

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I saw that coming. They started well, and the

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wheels have been falling off. I can't quite put

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my finger on what's going sideways there. I need

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to watch a few more matches, but I expected them

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to be better. I mean, obviously, that was our

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prediction at the beginning of the season. There's

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still time to turn it around, obviously. We're

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early in the season, but this was not what I

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was expecting. Okay, on the love front, Salt

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Lake is leading the way right now. They're 3

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-1. They look good. They look real good. I watched

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a couple of their matches this week. I agree.

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Houston got their first win of the season. They

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dominated Austin three straight. I didn't get

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a chance to watch that game. I think the time

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was posted wrong on the place I looked. I went

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to watch it, and it was already over. What happened?

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Yes. It was like 14 -21 -14. How do you not win

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a match and then come out and smack Austin? That's

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so confusing to me because I watched them play

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Salt Lake and then I was like, wow, they look

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real bad. And then the next day I'm like, and

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they slapped Austin. If somebody watched that

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match, send us a message. I'm curious what happened.

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Did Houston just show up finally? I don't know.

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Give us your notes, everybody, because we missed

00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:43.620
that one. Some additional love news. Are you

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ready for this? I'm ready for this. This involves

00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:48.480
your favorite person. Do you know who it is?

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Yes. Okay, dang it. Okay, for Love San Francisco,

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they recently announced their head coach, and

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guess who got the job? Adam's favorite college

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coach, Alfie Reft from UCLA. He left UCLA and

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is going to take over that job. Tell us your

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thoughts. I'm not sure. he would have still been

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around much longer given his record at UCLA.

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So I think this is a good move for him. They

00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:18.980
just keep posting how he took UCLA to their first

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NCAA tournament appearance since 2021. Great.

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That should not be the standard at UCLA. I'm

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sorry. That roster underperformed with him as

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the coach consistently. I don't know if the roster

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underperformed, but I just don't understand how

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UCLA can't recruit better. They used to be so

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good. Fair or not fair. And maybe I was missing

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the boat. But when I watched his teams play,

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I was never quite sure what they were trying

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to do with their system, with their team, what

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the goal was. I never saw any adjustments. That's

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obviously just my opinion. I'm sure he was prepared.

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He has national team experience, but I could

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never figure it out. I don't think that was a

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good fit. My thing is I feel like they always

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had a good plan to start. we talked yes we've

00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:12.149
talked we could identify what they were trying

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to do at the start of the game but then once

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their opponent made an adjustment then it stopped

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what i was saying more was were they trying to

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run the middle were they trying to run a fast

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offense what was their defensive systems like

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it never It always seemed like there was something

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different they were trying to do each match for

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their opponent, but they weren't trained or skilled

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or prepared enough to execute that well. This

00:13:37.490 --> 00:13:39.669
is as mean as Adam will ever get. No, no, no.

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They were not skilled enough or trained well

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enough. My point was you do that with a national

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team, right? Like when you have the best of the

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best, you can put a different game plan together

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for each game and your players will execute.

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But in college. You have to build those adjustments

00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.539
into practice, into the athletes. They don't

00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:00.700
have that experience. And it almost seemed like

00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:03.580
they were trying to do something different every

00:14:03.580 --> 00:14:06.700
match. And it just never felt cohesive. I actually

00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:10.519
think this will be a better fit for him as a

00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:15.879
coach. And it will be curious to see if his style

00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:19.379
and experience meshes better in a professional

00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:22.259
environment than it did in college. Let's see.

00:14:22.669 --> 00:14:25.809
I knew Adam would be thrilled to hear this news.

00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:27.529
I'm very curious to see who's coaching UCLA,

00:14:27.769 --> 00:14:31.750
though. That is the big question mark. Okay,

00:14:31.809 --> 00:14:35.169
after the Kelly Sheffield episode, I got a lot

00:14:35.169 --> 00:14:42.389
of messages about Kim Drevniok and her association

00:14:42.389 --> 00:14:46.129
and ties with the Elite Volley Agency, which

00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:49.769
is the agency that Sheffield was referring to

00:14:49.769 --> 00:14:55.970
in his rant. In his tell -all. So many people

00:14:55.970 --> 00:14:58.889
sent me screenshots, et cetera, of Kimberly Drevniok,

00:14:58.950 --> 00:15:01.730
who is the right -side attacker for Love Nebraska.

00:15:02.470 --> 00:15:06.149
It says on her profile, elite volley manager.

00:15:06.669 --> 00:15:09.429
So everybody was like, oh my gosh, this girl

00:15:09.429 --> 00:15:12.350
plays for Love and she's working for them. Like,

00:15:12.350 --> 00:15:14.549
how is she preying on these student athletes?

00:15:14.750 --> 00:15:17.730
Blah, blah, blah. I didn't know if it meant that

00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:22.539
she was like... an agent for them or if like

00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:26.039
elite volley was her agent so i did some digging

00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:29.179
shockingly this agency does not list any of their

00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:31.840
athletes on their website which i think is a

00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:34.879
huge red flag because on almost every reputable

00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:39.360
agent's website it has headshots and career data

00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:42.500
on all of their athletes at least the good ones

00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:45.419
the ones that they want to put out there this

00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:50.899
has nobody so i don't know if they are her but

00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:58.700
she is employed by them as a mentor. She runs

00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:03.779
the elite volley sort of mentorship program.

00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:08.679
I think they kind of do client acquisition. So

00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:12.019
I'm, I'm saying this because the impression I

00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:14.580
get is that she is not involved in like the NIL,

00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:18.730
like agent stuff. but she is involved more in

00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:21.429
the mentorship side. So if that makes you guys

00:16:21.429 --> 00:16:26.330
like her a little more again, I hope so. And

00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:30.549
finally, Conigliano's back on top. They won the

00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:33.330
Coppa Italia this past weekend. It was their

00:16:33.330 --> 00:16:36.230
eighth Coppa Italia victory, their seventh in

00:16:36.230 --> 00:16:40.470
a row. They beat Scandici, who beat them in the

00:16:40.470 --> 00:16:42.769
final of Club World Championships in December.

00:16:42.870 --> 00:16:45.309
They beat them three straight. Never twice. But

00:16:45.309 --> 00:16:49.720
listen to the scores. 31 -29, 26 -24, 27 -25.

00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:54.299
That game, I believe, happened today or on Sunday,

00:16:54.379 --> 00:16:56.039
so we haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but

00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:58.080
that is going to be, as there's no volleyball

00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:00.299
on Monday or Tuesdays, and it would be way better

00:17:00.299 --> 00:17:03.200
if there was. I'm going to watch that match tomorrow

00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:05.900
or Tuesday because it seems like it was really,

00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:08.140
really good. I feel like, okay, you hear three

00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.440
straight, and you're like, wow, that's terrible,

00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:13.000
but the scores, it could not have been closer.

00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:15.740
Yeah, that's going to be my Monday treat. Well,

00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.440
Monica D 'Anginaro has been a part of all eight.

00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:23.579
That's crazy. Crazy. And Gabi recently signed

00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:25.799
with them, re -signed with them for the next

00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:30.039
three seasons. Dang. Good for her. So that is

00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:32.640
what's up. That was our biggest weekly highlights

00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:34.859
for a while. There was a lot cooking this week.

00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:38.480
So much going on. So, yeah, exciting stuff. Let

00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.859
us know your thoughts, especially if you saw

00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:43.019
the Houston -Austin game. We need to hear about

00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:46.549
it. Okay. As we talked about, we are all over

00:17:46.549 --> 00:17:49.890
the place with the matches. We are able to watch

00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:55.170
coherent enough to watch, you know, baby girl

00:17:55.170 --> 00:17:57.950
takes up a lot of time. So whenever we can sneak

00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.609
a match in, we are doing it. But of the matches

00:18:01.609 --> 00:18:04.490
you watched this week, what was your favorite

00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:06.809
match you watched and what was your least favorite

00:18:06.809 --> 00:18:10.000
match you watched? So I've got. Two favorite

00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.799
matches. That was not the rule, but sure. Okay.

00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.019
I'm not going to talk about the one, but I watched

00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:17.119
the... Well, tell us what the one is that you're

00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.259
not going to talk about. I watched Trentino Perugia.

00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:22.880
I just got... First of all, Semenyuk was playing,

00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.400
who I love watching. I think he's so good. So

00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:28.400
that was a highlight to begin with. But it just

00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:33.440
got me excited for VNL and Worlds and watching

00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.720
all of these guys play. I mean, there's so many

00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:38.000
good players on those teams. The volleyball...

00:18:38.329 --> 00:18:43.150
level was so high there was chirping and Great

00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:45.849
athletic plays that it was just a really really

00:18:45.849 --> 00:18:48.089
high level match even though two of the sets

00:18:48.089 --> 00:18:50.930
were blowouts It was so much fun to watch and

00:18:50.930 --> 00:18:54.910
I just we've watched a lot of NCAA Women's and

00:18:54.910 --> 00:18:58.390
women's pro it was it just hit me in the right

00:18:58.390 --> 00:19:01.359
place watching some high -level men's He's like,

00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.539
we're not going to talk about this. I'm not going

00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:05.480
to talk about this match at all, but let me go

00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:07.839
off on it. Actually, we can talk about it because

00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:10.400
that was my favorite match of the week for me.

00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.680
Okay, go ahead. That one was my favorite. Since

00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:14.519
you got the ball rolling, why not just continue?

00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:18.240
Outstanding. We're talking like national team

00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:22.599
stars. It's basically like we watched Scandiccio

00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:26.839
Navarro last week. You're taking top talent from

00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.539
everywhere and putting them together on the same

00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:32.220
court. I just have to say Janelle needs to figure

00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:36.619
his look out. Okay. He had like the side swipe

00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:40.740
over comb situation with a full mustache in the

00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:44.079
summer. And now he's rocking like the man bun

00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:48.859
clean shaven. Which look do you like? I prefer

00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:53.099
the mustache look. I feel like I don't recognize

00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:55.480
him anymore. I honestly didn't recognize him.

00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:57.680
I read the name and I was like, what? So, yeah,

00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:00.079
he needs to figure that out. I will say Semenyuk

00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.779
is my low -key favorite player. 100%. He's so

00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:07.700
good. I know this term gets thrown around way

00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:09.799
too much if you watch volleyball in the U .S.

00:20:10.089 --> 00:20:12.970
But his volleyball IQ is off the charts. I cannot

00:20:12.970 --> 00:20:15.990
believe you just said volleyball IQ. I just want

00:20:15.990 --> 00:20:18.170
to run away. I'm kind of making fun of everybody.

00:20:18.450 --> 00:20:22.150
But it's true. His ability to see and make decisions

00:20:22.150 --> 00:20:25.650
is unparalleled. He's a very intelligent player.

00:20:25.930 --> 00:20:30.210
Yes. This match, they owe for the French right

00:20:30.210 --> 00:20:33.170
side hitter. In the first set, I think he served

00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:35.349
like 15 balls in a row. It was unbelievable.

00:20:35.349 --> 00:20:36.670
That's a slight exaggeration. It was probably

00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:40.440
like 12. It was insane. And he was. beating the

00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:42.880
crap out of these serves and he was not missing

00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:44.619
and then these guys were getting blocked like

00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:46.759
crazy but then like these guys were in the middle

00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:48.779
and it's just like they're hitting their heads

00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:50.480
off the ceiling and just hitting the ball straight

00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:53.059
down and then the two setters going at it and

00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:56.119
like the talent on the court I wish Ishikawa

00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:57.779
coming off the bench Ishikawa coming off the

00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:01.000
bench Ishikawa his sister coming off the bench

00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:02.700
for Navarro we didn't even bring that up last

00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:05.660
week I was like how is this happening Gabby Garcia

00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:08.019
coming off the bench for Trentino like you name

00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:11.609
it these It was just such a high -level volleyball.

00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:14.549
Perugia held on to the first place with that.

00:21:15.670 --> 00:21:20.170
The one middle for Trentino, what was his name?

00:21:20.369 --> 00:21:23.869
Bartha. Bartha. His little celebration. He's

00:21:23.869 --> 00:21:27.509
got the big beard underneath. I saw him do that.

00:21:27.529 --> 00:21:30.069
That had to be one of the best things I ever

00:21:30.069 --> 00:21:34.349
seen. This man, he's massive. Bald head. He looks

00:21:34.349 --> 00:21:38.059
like... someone you don't want to see in a dark

00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:40.440
alley. And he gets this block and he comes down

00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:43.940
and looks at his teammates. And I was killing

00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:46.819
myself laughing. I loved watching it every time

00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:48.420
he did it. And let me tell you, he got a ton

00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:50.440
of blocks in the first set. So we saw a whole

00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:53.460
bunch. It was just an entertaining volleyball

00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:57.180
match to watch. Just so skilled, so high level.

00:21:57.740 --> 00:22:00.319
We're going to watch the Coppa Italia Monday,

00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:02.559
Tuesday. If you are looking for something Monday,

00:22:02.619 --> 00:22:05.690
Tuesday, watch. the Trentino -Pereja match because

00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:08.230
it was great. And like you said, even though

00:22:08.230 --> 00:22:11.670
two of the sets were complete blowouts. But I

00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:14.390
mean, they were blowouts because the execution

00:22:14.390 --> 00:22:17.630
from certain players was so high, like far serving

00:22:17.630 --> 00:22:20.210
that many balls. If you're hitting that many

00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:22.750
serves in a row with that kind of pace, that

00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:25.490
in and of itself is just statistically impressive

00:22:25.490 --> 00:22:28.470
to watch how consistent you can be with that.

00:22:28.529 --> 00:22:31.250
It's incredible. So that was my favorite match

00:22:31.250 --> 00:22:33.940
of the week. I think my... Second favorite or

00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:37.299
favorite, take your pick, was the Dallas -Orlando

00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:41.680
MLV match. It was a reverse sweep by Dallas.

00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:46.859
I thought the volleyball was really good. Again,

00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:51.319
we're not talking Navarro -Scandici, but I've

00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:55.180
been thoroughly impressed with how much better

00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:59.390
MLV is this year compared to last year. They've

00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:01.990
added some key athletes who make a difference.

00:23:02.029 --> 00:23:06.069
Yeah. The starting lineups are respectable now.

00:23:06.230 --> 00:23:08.890
And the volleyball is good. The passion is good.

00:23:09.170 --> 00:23:12.509
I thought Dallas did a really good job running

00:23:12.509 --> 00:23:14.589
the middle. I really like their one -two punch

00:23:14.589 --> 00:23:17.890
with Ben Buskirk and Savage. I think it's really

00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:21.690
– that's going to be a tough duo to manage. Collier

00:23:21.690 --> 00:23:25.269
is playing well. She is. Payne on the right side

00:23:25.269 --> 00:23:27.450
played well for them. I really like their team.

00:23:28.009 --> 00:23:30.369
They have some grit. You can kind of see what

00:23:30.369 --> 00:23:32.690
they're trying to do. They were running the middle

00:23:32.690 --> 00:23:35.250
off the net. Valentin Anderson did a really good

00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:38.789
job running the offense. I think right now she's

00:23:38.789 --> 00:23:42.410
setting better than anybody else in MLB. They're

00:23:42.410 --> 00:23:47.069
good. And Orlando started strong. You know, they

00:23:47.069 --> 00:23:49.750
took the two sets at home off Dallas. Dallas

00:23:49.750 --> 00:23:52.069
fought back. Well, your girl isn't starting for

00:23:52.069 --> 00:23:55.829
them anymore. Natalie Foster. I know. I mean,

00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:58.470
but their middles are also very good, so we'll

00:23:58.470 --> 00:24:00.150
see. She came in and served really well. She

00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:01.789
had a bunch of serves in a row. Brie Kelly took

00:24:01.789 --> 00:24:05.589
her spot. Yeah. We'll see where that ends up.

00:24:05.609 --> 00:24:08.009
I mean, they've lost. I mean, they're not losing,

00:24:08.089 --> 00:24:10.130
but they lost now. We'll see if they make any

00:24:10.130 --> 00:24:11.289
roster changes. Well, Charity Luper did pretty

00:24:11.289 --> 00:24:13.289
well. She did well. I mean, again, I thought

00:24:13.289 --> 00:24:16.109
it was an entertaining match. Well, you have

00:24:16.109 --> 00:24:17.890
both of their left sides that aren't even playing.

00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:20.099
from last season that are on the bench this season.

00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:22.900
Looper and then Maddox came in from Vegas and

00:24:22.900 --> 00:24:25.119
they snagged their spot. I'm really impressed

00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:27.640
with Maddox. Last year in Vegas, she was almost

00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.339
unserviceable, but she couldn't pass. If Lucas

00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:32.759
from Omaha was going to critique a player on

00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.359
ball control, it was going to be Maddox. She's

00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:37.680
got a live arm. She hits well. There were some

00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:39.220
matches she came in and played really well, but

00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:41.000
it was a roller coaster. You never knew what

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.380
you were going to get. And she has clearly put

00:24:44.380 --> 00:24:46.640
some work in around the ball control. It's not...

00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:49.539
great yet but it's getting better so i've been

00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:51.779
impressed with her she's my most improved player

00:24:51.779 --> 00:24:55.119
so far in mlv for me well and i feel like abercrombie

00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:58.640
is kind of taking a bit of a dip there i think

00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:00.640
there are are you setting people up to not pick

00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:03.019
her for for fantasy and then you're gonna pick

00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:07.980
her no okay um don't trust anything adam's 100

00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:11.559
untrustworthy i was gonna say i think there are

00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:13.920
a couple players who did really well in mlv last

00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:18.759
year who Are not going to have as good seasons.

00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:21.940
Because the caliber of the league has improved.

00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:24.619
And I think she's going to be one of them. She's

00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:26.900
still going to score. But she's not going to

00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:29.359
be as dominant this year. As she was last year.

00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.059
What was your least favorite match of the week?

00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:34.299
Indy Omaha. Where you kind of hinted at why.

00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:38.839
Yeah it was. I had high expectations. Indy coming

00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:43.559
in 3 -0. Omaha needing a win. I was expecting.

00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:50.039
Kind of a fight. And it was low execution. One

00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:51.680
of the things that really bothered me about that

00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.779
match was they only set the middle on perfect

00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:57.920
passes. Both sides? Both sides. And so every

00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:00.019
time there was a perfect pass, the middles would

00:26:00.019 --> 00:26:03.339
commit. They didn't score. It was very basic

00:26:03.339 --> 00:26:06.619
in terms of how the offenses were being run.

00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:09.559
I didn't think the execution was very good. It

00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:13.400
wasn't clean. It wasn't a fun match for me to

00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:15.920
watch. especially given I think I had pretty

00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.019
high expectations about what that was going to

00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:19.920
be. That was probably the match I had circled

00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:23.660
of being my most wanted to watch match this week,

00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.259
and it was kind of disappointing. What about

00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:28.000
you? What was your least favorite match? My least

00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:30.799
favorite match was Love Houston versus Salt Lake.

00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.920
I was kind of in and out on that one. Houston

00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:39.279
looks terrible. I said that and then they turned

00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:41.859
around and crushed Austin. So whatever. I was

00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:43.680
curious about Salt Lake because they got off

00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:45.700
to a pretty good start. So I wanted to check

00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:49.579
things out. Serena Gray is playing really, really

00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:52.779
well. Hedy Casanova is playing better than she

00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:55.640
did last season. The two left sides in Ronnie

00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:57.920
Jones -Perry and Danny Drews, I was not a fan

00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:00.779
of last year. And they are not on the court.

00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:04.119
Being replaced by Claire Hoffman and Alexa Gray,

00:27:04.220 --> 00:27:08.460
who are doing... Way better job. Kojima, I think

00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:11.240
she's got it. So watching them, I was like, okay,

00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:14.079
the pieces are there for sure. Houston, however,

00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:18.980
like, I'm sorry, you are second, alternating

00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:22.019
between first and second, all regular season

00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:25.539
last year. You basically return your entire roster,

00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:29.640
and it's just bad. It looks so uninspired. I'm

00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.940
like, did any of you train in the offseason,

00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:35.960
like, at all? Do you want to be there? It was

00:27:35.960 --> 00:27:39.019
just really disappointing to see a team that's

00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:42.660
almost intact come back and just go through the

00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:46.680
motions, I guess. And I wonder like how much

00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:49.799
of it is like player driven in that they just

00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:54.259
feel comfortable in the love situation and maybe

00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:57.619
weren't preparing, you know, hard to come in

00:27:57.619 --> 00:28:01.480
for the season. How much of it is coaching? with,

00:28:01.500 --> 00:28:03.640
you know, losing Barbellini and bringing in Sonja

00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:08.000
Tomasovic. I don't know, but it was just not

00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:13.220
good. My question for you is, with the change

00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:16.700
to some of the outside hitters, and Serena for

00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:19.099
that matter at Salt Lake City, do you think they're

00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:21.380
that much better than the players they replaced,

00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:23.759
or do you think they're a better fit with the

00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:27.369
type of offense that Poulter runs, or both? And

00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:29.849
for those of you who aren't familiar with what

00:28:29.849 --> 00:28:31.650
I'm referencing, Poulter generally runs a very

00:28:31.650 --> 00:28:33.970
quick offense, and I think sometimes last year

00:28:33.970 --> 00:28:37.089
watching Ronnie Jones -Perry try to hit some

00:28:37.089 --> 00:28:39.670
of those fast sets, it just wasn't necessarily

00:28:39.670 --> 00:28:43.589
a good fit, I didn't think. So I was curious,

00:28:43.730 --> 00:28:46.029
are they just better period in your opinion,

00:28:46.130 --> 00:28:49.789
or are they a better fit given the setter? Well,

00:28:49.809 --> 00:28:51.190
I mean, Alexa Gray has been hitting with Brie

00:28:51.190 --> 00:28:56.029
O 'Reilly for years, and she... runs a pretty

00:28:56.029 --> 00:28:59.789
fast offense too so she's well equipped to deal

00:28:59.789 --> 00:29:03.089
with that maybe yeah i mean danny drews is left

00:29:03.089 --> 00:29:05.430
-handed and left -handed left side with a fast

00:29:05.430 --> 00:29:10.390
offense is like really tough to manage so maybe

00:29:10.390 --> 00:29:14.130
but as far as casanova and like the middles they

00:29:14.130 --> 00:29:18.859
were there last year true casanova looks In better

00:29:18.859 --> 00:29:20.579
shape. Yeah, she looks like she put some work

00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:23.319
in in the offseason to come back with a point

00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:25.359
to prove. I think she looks really good this

00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:29.079
year. I've been impressed. Yeah, so that one

00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:33.220
was just disappointing. Okay, so Sarah and I

00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:35.259
have been watching some different volleyball.

00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:37.940
You know, we kind of always have it on, but we

00:29:37.940 --> 00:29:41.160
follow some different things. And one of the

00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:45.960
things I found interesting was Omaha's... latest

00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.599
stretch, and we talked about the coach interviews.

00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:49.819
He's had a couple more, which I think are interesting.

00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:53.779
And I've watched more or less their last four

00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:56.299
games. More importantly, he's been watching the

00:29:56.299 --> 00:30:00.559
post -game press conferences. His stock has risen

00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:03.299
a little in my book. Wait, really? Yeah, I liked

00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:05.539
his last presser against. I think they played

00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:08.339
Valkyries last, Orlando. They lost. They played

00:30:08.339 --> 00:30:11.400
Indy. Today. I haven't seen that press conference.

00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:13.619
It wasn't up yet. But I think they played Orlando.

00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:16.380
He was like making excuses about having to travel.

00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:18.839
Yeah, I didn't love that part. But throwing the

00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:21.619
roster under the bus I thought was kind of funny.

00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:23.500
He's like, oh, I saw this roster. I was like,

00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.680
don't think we're going to win. Don't think we're

00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:28.099
going to just walk through the league with this

00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:31.920
roster. I was like, whoa. So we'll talk about

00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:35.980
that. And then I have some thoughts about Omaha

00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:38.839
in general and roster construction, which I think.

00:30:39.390 --> 00:30:42.589
will be an interesting conversation and i i'm

00:30:42.589 --> 00:30:46.789
curious if you will agree with me or not hit

00:30:46.789 --> 00:30:51.109
me okay as of right now omaha won their last

00:30:51.109 --> 00:30:52.890
match against indy i didn't think it was a very

00:30:52.890 --> 00:30:56.130
good match personally and i didn't think indy

00:30:56.130 --> 00:30:58.490
was very good no mind you i was in and out of

00:30:58.490 --> 00:31:00.809
the match adam paid more attention than i did

00:31:00.809 --> 00:31:02.430
i didn't think indy was very good now i hadn't

00:31:02.430 --> 00:31:04.009
seen them play yet so i was excited and they

00:31:04.009 --> 00:31:09.619
were three and oh my instinct was omaha has Too

00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:13.519
many of the same type of players. Now, let me

00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:15.740
expand here. And before you get upset at me,

00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:18.160
listen to the whole take. Put those typing fingers

00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:19.940
away. Put your fingers away. For a second. Turn

00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:21.920
the volume up. Put on your listening ears, everybody,

00:31:22.099 --> 00:31:26.660
okay? Omaha, to me, is similar to a Nebraska

00:31:26.660 --> 00:31:31.039
team. You are incredibly skilled. The athletes

00:31:31.039 --> 00:31:36.359
are very polished. And they're very proper. You

00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:39.319
have this... feeling of kind of everybody gets

00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:42.099
along i mean like media trained media trained

00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:45.119
but like on the court it's really even you don't

00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.819
see any outbursts there's competitiveness but

00:31:48.819 --> 00:31:52.460
it's not it's not aggressive you can get a long

00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:55.619
way with having the most skilled players i think

00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:57.839
omaha can you think of any female teams like

00:31:57.839 --> 00:31:59.339
just off the top of your head that you would

00:31:59.339 --> 00:32:01.819
identify as aggressive pit was an aggressive

00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:05.140
team like you have babcock you have oh like swagger

00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:09.460
yeah like you've got You've got a little sandpaper

00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:13.819
on the team. You can have, I don't know how to

00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:17.759
say it other than you need a dog. And I know

00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:19.599
that I shouldn't be saying that. I know it doesn't

00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:24.019
come out properly. And I think Nunniveller has

00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:27.140
that personality. I think the league has caught

00:32:27.140 --> 00:32:30.900
up to her. She refuses to lose. She's aggressive.

00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.390
She plays good defense. She's tenacious. And

00:32:34.390 --> 00:32:36.609
I think that she's been one of the more physical

00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:39.190
players in the past in MLB. But you've added

00:32:39.190 --> 00:32:41.650
players like Heredia Colon. You've added Mimi

00:32:41.650 --> 00:32:45.049
Collier. You've added a bunch of kind of younger,

00:32:45.069 --> 00:32:46.890
more physical athletes. I don't think it's quite

00:32:46.890 --> 00:32:50.309
as easy for her to score. And so when Omaha needs

00:32:50.309 --> 00:32:52.390
a point, and this is what I saw prior to the

00:32:52.390 --> 00:32:54.869
Indy match, they don't have players who are getting

00:32:54.869 --> 00:32:57.230
it done. And they don't have anybody who's really

00:32:57.230 --> 00:33:00.369
sinking their teeth in and fighting. And I think

00:33:00.369 --> 00:33:02.630
you saw that in the finals in the playoffs last

00:33:02.630 --> 00:33:06.250
year. And I just think whoever's crafting those

00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:09.269
teams, and maybe it's the identity of kind of

00:33:09.269 --> 00:33:12.589
Nebraska volleyball, but you need somebody to

00:33:12.589 --> 00:33:15.529
get in a player's face. You need different personalities.

00:33:15.549 --> 00:33:19.309
And it's all a little vanilla to me when I watch

00:33:19.309 --> 00:33:21.990
them play. And we've talked about that kind of

00:33:21.990 --> 00:33:23.869
being the same thing on Nebraska in the past.

00:33:24.509 --> 00:33:26.690
I know Rebecca Alec was a little bit of that,

00:33:26.750 --> 00:33:30.329
but in general, that type of player seems to

00:33:30.329 --> 00:33:33.410
fit in Nebraska volleyball. What are your thoughts

00:33:33.410 --> 00:33:35.450
on that? Just don't make any waves. Be a nice

00:33:35.450 --> 00:33:41.730
girl. Kind of. Yeah. I mean, I can see it. Yeah.

00:33:42.150 --> 00:33:45.309
I see. I think none of Miller has it in her.

00:33:45.670 --> 00:33:48.529
And I agree with that. But I don't think she

00:33:48.529 --> 00:33:51.789
can put the same power and kill percentage on

00:33:51.789 --> 00:33:54.150
the floor this year as she has in other year.

00:33:54.529 --> 00:33:56.710
Because I think the league is better this year.

00:33:56.829 --> 00:34:00.269
I really do. I'm just thinking. I feel like the

00:34:00.269 --> 00:34:04.250
Omaha Middles are young. And then, yeah, they

00:34:04.250 --> 00:34:07.049
play. They rely on their skill. I mean, I can't

00:34:07.049 --> 00:34:09.230
disagree with what you're saying. I can understand

00:34:09.230 --> 00:34:12.190
what you're saying. You learn a lot about players

00:34:12.190 --> 00:34:14.489
when you watch them in the press conference and

00:34:14.489 --> 00:34:18.130
things like that. And again, I liked Beeson's

00:34:18.130 --> 00:34:20.989
answer after that first loss. I need to swing

00:34:20.989 --> 00:34:22.730
high. I need to stay aggressive. I need to...

00:34:22.730 --> 00:34:25.710
Said all of the right things. You didn't see

00:34:25.710 --> 00:34:29.090
her come out in the next match on fire with a...

00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:31.780
well hey she didn't get the start but when she

00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:35.119
did come in right you like when that happens

00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:38.480
you need to see the reaction you need to see

00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:42.719
the fire in the eyes you can tell when like you're

00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:45.059
just itching to go and it might not go your way

00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:47.539
but there's an attitude about players like that

00:34:47.539 --> 00:34:51.519
and i don't i don't see that from nebraska like

00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:53.789
even watching the indie match Lector, remember

00:34:53.789 --> 00:34:55.769
Mena, like they were losing. Indy did not play

00:34:55.769 --> 00:34:58.170
well, but she was, there was an intensity there

00:34:58.170 --> 00:35:00.250
even when it wasn't going right. And I don't

00:35:00.250 --> 00:35:02.670
see that from a lot of Omaha players other than

00:35:02.670 --> 00:35:06.389
none of other, but you need somebody else besides

00:35:06.389 --> 00:35:10.650
her in order to be successful. I think. I mean,

00:35:10.650 --> 00:35:14.750
it's tough because I think a lot of people don't

00:35:14.750 --> 00:35:17.090
know. And a lot of female athletes don't necessarily

00:35:17.090 --> 00:35:20.250
know how to respond to athletes like that. And

00:35:20.250 --> 00:35:23.860
I'm thinking one athlete that, is coming to mind

00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:27.079
watching MLV right now is Yovana Brokacevich

00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:31.639
for San Diego. She is, she is past her prime

00:35:31.639 --> 00:35:36.599
for sure, but she still has that dog mentality

00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:40.500
and she is intense. She's in your face and you

00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:42.960
can kind of see some of the girls on her team,

00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:47.119
like kind of laughing when she's like that, but

00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:50.440
it's like, no, you need an athlete like that

00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:53.050
because those are the ones that, pull the team

00:35:53.050 --> 00:35:55.190
along with them. Yeah. You know what I mean?

00:35:55.230 --> 00:35:56.929
And like, we can't all just be nice and be like,

00:35:57.010 --> 00:36:00.090
Oh, whatever happens happens. We tried our best.

00:36:00.130 --> 00:36:03.269
It's like, no, there's teams like that. And then

00:36:03.269 --> 00:36:05.349
there's teams who refuse to lose. And it's usually

00:36:05.349 --> 00:36:08.389
driven by one or two athletes who will pull everybody

00:36:08.389 --> 00:36:10.889
with them and be that special kind of crazy.

00:36:11.329 --> 00:36:14.250
Eva Hudson comes to mind. Yeah. She was acting.

00:36:14.289 --> 00:36:16.630
She was for sure like that, especially at Kentucky.

00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:20.820
But Brachowicz was that for San Diego and granted

00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:23.860
San Diego sucks. Nunavut does have it. I feel

00:36:23.860 --> 00:36:27.519
like everybody else is just very, we're going

00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:29.320
to try hard and whatever happens happens. Yeah.

00:36:29.380 --> 00:36:33.920
You need different personalities on a team, even

00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:39.420
if it's uncomfortable. And it seems like MLV

00:36:39.420 --> 00:36:43.079
Omaha and Nebraska to a certain extent standpoint

00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:49.469
tends to attract a similar type of player. Well,

00:36:49.789 --> 00:36:52.030
I mean, just say what you're saying. What I'm

00:36:52.030 --> 00:36:53.869
understanding you're saying is like, it's a very,

00:36:53.929 --> 00:36:55.829
I feel like you're implying that this is a John

00:36:55.829 --> 00:36:58.610
Cook thing. I don't know if he's had his hands

00:36:58.610 --> 00:37:01.730
on the roster for MLV yet. He's the GM, so maybe,

00:37:01.829 --> 00:37:04.889
but I get the impression that he likes that type

00:37:04.889 --> 00:37:08.510
of personality and he likes his teams to be cohesive.

00:37:08.670 --> 00:37:11.670
And I think sometimes you need somebody to walk

00:37:11.670 --> 00:37:13.489
into the locker room and kick the garbage can

00:37:13.489 --> 00:37:15.940
over. And I don't care if you're an a -hole,

00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:18.719
if you can go out and win. That's part of professional

00:37:18.719 --> 00:37:21.199
sports. That was an observation from watching

00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:25.980
this last four -game stretch. And I think the

00:37:25.980 --> 00:37:31.360
coach kind of said that without saying it. Or

00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:35.960
maybe Adam's just listening in and doing, like,

00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:38.539
I really hope this is what he means. Well, again.

00:37:39.559 --> 00:37:41.659
I think if you look at their roster on paper,

00:37:41.780 --> 00:37:44.300
they're the most skilled team in MLB. 100%. Okay.

00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:48.239
So for the coach to come out and say, everybody

00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:50.920
here expected us to walk through this season

00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:55.900
and dominate. And I don't think we're that good.

00:37:56.019 --> 00:37:58.659
That is essentially what he said in that interview.

00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:02.940
I don't think it's about the volleyball. I think

00:38:02.940 --> 00:38:06.219
he's looking at that and going, we don't have...

00:38:06.650 --> 00:38:09.809
that dogged mentality that it takes to be at

00:38:09.809 --> 00:38:12.170
the top it's different to get to the top and

00:38:12.170 --> 00:38:16.650
it's different to stay at the top and from coach

00:38:16.650 --> 00:38:19.070
speak that's what i read from those comments

00:38:19.070 --> 00:38:20.929
and i thought that was a ballsy comment from

00:38:20.929 --> 00:38:23.469
him i mean they had lost three games in a row

00:38:24.059 --> 00:38:26.099
but you're kind of throwing your team under the

00:38:26.099 --> 00:38:28.719
bus a little bit to make a point, and I can respect

00:38:28.719 --> 00:38:31.059
that. He made a whole lot of excuses around that

00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:33.179
and weather and whatever else and winning the

00:38:33.179 --> 00:38:35.980
stats battle and not winning the match, but that

00:38:35.980 --> 00:38:39.179
comment in particular I thought was very interesting.

00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:43.460
Do you think that Omaha, do you think you can

00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:46.440
learn that? Do you think that he can impart that

00:38:46.440 --> 00:38:49.320
on this team, and where do you see them kind

00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:53.329
of going now? Is this a wake -up call? Oh man,

00:38:53.489 --> 00:38:56.889
I don't know. I, I'm not sure that kind of attitude

00:38:56.889 --> 00:38:59.989
and mentality can be taught. I don't think it

00:38:59.989 --> 00:39:03.489
can be faked because like, especially at this

00:39:03.489 --> 00:39:06.590
point in people's careers, like if you're trying

00:39:06.590 --> 00:39:08.449
to put that on, like you're faking it at the

00:39:08.449 --> 00:39:12.170
beginning until it feels okay. But I don't think

00:39:12.170 --> 00:39:14.090
that you can just, I feel like you're either

00:39:14.090 --> 00:39:17.230
like that or you're not. And especially in women's

00:39:17.230 --> 00:39:19.329
sports, it's very difficult to be the person

00:39:19.329 --> 00:39:23.599
that's like that. It's not. Nice. And people

00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:26.639
like to be liked. Yeah. And I think there's immense

00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:29.300
amount of pressure for that team to be at the

00:39:29.300 --> 00:39:34.239
top of the standings. Oh, yeah. So I'm very curious

00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:36.500
to watch the Omaha experiment for the rest of

00:39:36.500 --> 00:39:41.300
the season. All right. It's game time. I think

00:39:41.300 --> 00:39:44.440
the game helps address a couple different aspects

00:39:44.440 --> 00:39:46.300
of volleyball because there's so much going on.

00:39:46.809 --> 00:39:49.409
Adam's like, this game is addressing all the

00:39:49.409 --> 00:39:51.090
things that I want to talk about, but I'm too

00:39:51.090 --> 00:39:55.269
nice. So I'm going to make Sarah say it. So once

00:39:55.269 --> 00:39:58.250
again, Sarah has no idea what's coming, which

00:39:58.250 --> 00:40:01.030
is the fun of this. So we're going to play Pavin's

00:40:01.030 --> 00:40:03.289
percentages. So I'm going to make a statement

00:40:03.289 --> 00:40:07.130
and you are going to pick the percent chance

00:40:07.130 --> 00:40:10.510
you think it will happen and give, you know,

00:40:10.530 --> 00:40:13.829
a little reason for your percentage. A little

00:40:13.829 --> 00:40:18.590
thought. Okay. So question one is Brittany Abercrombie

00:40:18.590 --> 00:40:23.449
won MVP of the league last year. This year, what

00:40:23.449 --> 00:40:26.670
do you think the chances one of the rookies,

00:40:26.750 --> 00:40:31.449
probably Heredia Colon or Mimi Collier, will

00:40:31.449 --> 00:40:35.630
be in the running for MVP of the league? Oh my

00:40:35.630 --> 00:40:38.610
goodness. Well, I think it all depends on how

00:40:38.610 --> 00:40:43.639
those teams do. So I'm going to say 30%. I don't

00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:45.719
think Columbus... Columbus is doing a lot better

00:40:45.719 --> 00:40:48.320
than last year. They're still in second last.

00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:51.500
So I don't think that they're going to make a

00:40:51.500 --> 00:40:57.440
push to win it all. Dallas... Dallas is my favorite

00:40:57.440 --> 00:41:01.340
MLB team right now. I really like them. I think

00:41:01.340 --> 00:41:05.400
they could make a push. If they do, Collier has

00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:08.380
started out really well. But that's the big if.

00:41:08.780 --> 00:41:13.119
So that's why I'm saying 30. Okay. All right,

00:41:13.139 --> 00:41:16.500
question two. Omaha will finish the regular season

00:41:16.500 --> 00:41:20.599
with the best record. 25%. I don't think they

00:41:20.599 --> 00:41:22.699
will. That was higher than I would have gone.

00:41:23.179 --> 00:41:26.119
Really? Yeah. What would you have done? 10%.

00:41:26.119 --> 00:41:30.159
Oh, baby. I don't know because I'm waffling between,

00:41:30.300 --> 00:41:33.420
okay, they had a reality check. They lost three

00:41:33.420 --> 00:41:37.039
in a row. Are they inspired and extra focused

00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:40.599
now to come back and not allow that to happen

00:41:40.599 --> 00:41:47.349
again? Or have other teams leveled up more, which

00:41:47.349 --> 00:41:50.829
is ironic that I'm saying that because Omaha

00:41:50.829 --> 00:41:53.309
picked up Hilly, Henson, like all these people

00:41:53.309 --> 00:41:56.349
from other teams. So like, okay. But like just,

00:41:56.449 --> 00:42:01.489
yeah, have other teams kind of caught up to them.

00:42:01.670 --> 00:42:04.349
So that's why I said 25 % is like there is the

00:42:04.349 --> 00:42:07.929
chance that like they could be like, okay, no

00:42:07.929 --> 00:42:12.289
more. But I don't think they're going to finish

00:42:12.289 --> 00:42:14.889
at the top of the league. Yeah, I think that

00:42:14.889 --> 00:42:20.869
their roster as they have it currently set would

00:42:20.869 --> 00:42:23.010
not be able to do that. I liked what Reagan Cooper

00:42:23.010 --> 00:42:25.210
came in and did. So if they're willing to move

00:42:25.210 --> 00:42:27.869
some pieces around and somebody comes in and

00:42:27.869 --> 00:42:31.210
plays well, maybe. But, you know, we talked about

00:42:31.210 --> 00:42:33.590
this already. The roster construction. I'm not

00:42:33.590 --> 00:42:37.190
sure is fantastic the way it is, the way the

00:42:37.190 --> 00:42:39.489
personalities fit. So yeah, I'm low on that.

00:42:40.110 --> 00:42:44.650
Question three, at least two players from MLV

00:42:44.650 --> 00:42:48.829
will make the VNL roster or a VNL roster for

00:42:48.829 --> 00:42:52.230
the U .S. national team. Now, it's safe to say,

00:42:52.289 --> 00:42:54.250
hence, we'll probably make one. So that's kind

00:42:54.250 --> 00:42:57.369
of my one nod. Yes, she's going to be there.

00:42:57.869 --> 00:43:00.829
Do you think any of the other MLB players will

00:43:00.829 --> 00:43:06.489
make the U S VNL roster? I'll say 15%. Okay.

00:43:06.590 --> 00:43:08.789
If someone was going to make it, who do you think

00:43:08.789 --> 00:43:12.409
it would be? Probably Collier, but I think her

00:43:12.409 --> 00:43:16.329
playing style is too similar to Sarah Franklin's

00:43:16.329 --> 00:43:20.070
who is improving or like, yeah, I think it's

00:43:20.070 --> 00:43:21.889
a stretch. And here's the other reason why I

00:43:21.889 --> 00:43:25.090
think it's a stretch is because Eric Sullivan

00:43:25.090 --> 00:43:30.440
in coaching love. is not able to scout athletes

00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:34.420
in MLV now. Whereas last season we saw him attend

00:43:34.420 --> 00:43:39.500
several MLV matches, scouting players. He can't

00:43:39.500 --> 00:43:43.159
do that now. And like, while Elena Scott should

00:43:43.159 --> 00:43:46.400
be considered, I heard that she said no last

00:43:46.400 --> 00:43:48.579
year. I don't know if there's any truth to that.

00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:50.579
So everybody who's like, what about Elena Scott?

00:43:50.699 --> 00:43:53.679
I heard that she said no. So that's why I took

00:43:53.679 --> 00:43:57.849
her off the list. Question four. Salt Lake from

00:43:57.849 --> 00:44:02.429
love finishes the season at the top of the pile,

00:44:02.570 --> 00:44:05.590
given their hot start. I'm going to say 50%.

00:44:05.590 --> 00:44:09.710
Oh, that's the number I would have picked. I

00:44:09.710 --> 00:44:15.289
think Salt Lake didn't do so hot last year, but

00:44:15.289 --> 00:44:18.369
so they've got that like working in their favor

00:44:18.369 --> 00:44:20.309
to like make that push. But I think you also

00:44:20.309 --> 00:44:23.469
have athletes there. Like Serena Gray has something

00:44:23.469 --> 00:44:27.690
to prove. Like, she, yes, was on the wide roster

00:44:27.690 --> 00:44:29.570
for VNL, traveled, I think, to one tournament.

00:44:29.630 --> 00:44:32.670
But, like, I get the impression that, like, she

00:44:32.670 --> 00:44:34.929
wants to make sure that she's in the discussion.

00:44:35.670 --> 00:44:38.710
Alexa Gray coming in in her first year in the

00:44:38.710 --> 00:44:42.010
league, I think, you know, wants to play well.

00:44:42.550 --> 00:44:46.250
Kojima, I feel like, has that mentality just

00:44:46.250 --> 00:44:49.510
from observing of, like, no, you get your job

00:44:49.510 --> 00:44:52.789
done. And I don't necessarily get that same feeling.

00:44:53.550 --> 00:44:56.949
from teams across the board, I think they have

00:44:56.949 --> 00:45:00.170
the pieces to be able to do it if they can stay

00:45:00.170 --> 00:45:05.610
consistent. They seem the most motivated and

00:45:05.610 --> 00:45:08.630
driven out of all of the love teams that I've

00:45:08.630 --> 00:45:11.170
watched this season. So I like your prediction.

00:45:11.369 --> 00:45:14.289
I think that's very astute. Okay, here's a spicy

00:45:14.289 --> 00:45:20.800
one. Fabulous. Sonja Tomasovic. will be the coach

00:45:20.800 --> 00:45:24.300
of Houston next season. See, this is what happens.

00:45:25.699 --> 00:45:29.239
Adam has, like, a spicy take, and he makes me,

00:45:29.500 --> 00:45:32.760
he sewers me in talking about it, and then everybody

00:45:32.760 --> 00:45:35.300
gets mad at me. Sonja Tomasovic will be the coach

00:45:35.300 --> 00:45:37.960
next year. Well, okay, without knowing details

00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:41.039
of her contract, so let's, like, maybe she signed

00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:43.099
a multi -year deal. This will be merit -based.

00:45:44.360 --> 00:45:47.219
Merit -based. I mean, we're really early in the

00:45:47.219 --> 00:45:54.849
season, but I'll say... 20%. I'm sorry. You shouldn't

00:45:54.849 --> 00:45:59.690
have the exact same roster and just be so bad.

00:46:00.070 --> 00:46:02.150
Well, and this is another case. I don't know

00:46:02.150 --> 00:46:04.050
what the numbers are off the top of my head,

00:46:04.130 --> 00:46:06.110
but she coached in college, and I do not think

00:46:06.110 --> 00:46:08.150
she had a great record. She coached at Arizona

00:46:08.150 --> 00:46:12.489
State. They were no good. Then she went, I think

00:46:12.489 --> 00:46:16.150
she was coaching in Turkey for a while. Maybe

00:46:16.150 --> 00:46:19.940
I think she was the assistant of Vacafe. And

00:46:19.940 --> 00:46:22.440
then she was somewhere else and then got the

00:46:22.440 --> 00:46:27.380
call back to love. I don't know. We'll have to

00:46:27.380 --> 00:46:29.280
see if she can get it back on the rails here,

00:46:29.400 --> 00:46:32.480
but it didn't start well. Not a great start.

00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:35.019
No. And obviously we didn't see the Austin game,

00:46:35.119 --> 00:46:37.480
but I'll be curious to keep my eye on that because

00:46:37.480 --> 00:46:40.920
she stepped into some pretty big shoes. I love

00:46:40.920 --> 00:46:42.940
that you made me say that after they've played

00:46:42.940 --> 00:46:45.619
like three games. Well, you know what? It was

00:46:45.619 --> 00:46:47.420
something that I was looking at the roster and

00:46:47.420 --> 00:46:50.199
I was looking at. you know, possible reasons

00:46:50.199 --> 00:46:53.559
for changes in performance. Like why is Salt

00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:56.000
Lake doing better? Why is Houston doing worse?

00:46:56.119 --> 00:46:59.019
You know, we looking at Dallas. So, I mean, the

00:46:59.019 --> 00:47:01.039
coach was the biggest change on that roster.

00:47:01.159 --> 00:47:04.219
So I was just curious. It's an early season prediction.

00:47:05.079 --> 00:47:08.659
We're not holding you to anything. I got two

00:47:08.659 --> 00:47:11.019
more here. We're going to move into men's NCAA.

00:47:11.980 --> 00:47:14.699
What do you think the chance is that we see an

00:47:14.699 --> 00:47:18.280
NCAA final rematch of Long Beach State versus

00:47:18.280 --> 00:47:23.260
UCLA this year? Oh, dear. Full disclosure, I

00:47:23.260 --> 00:47:25.539
haven't seen Long Beach State play yet this season.

00:47:26.019 --> 00:47:29.719
I haven't seen Hawaii play. But I'm going to

00:47:29.719 --> 00:47:36.199
say 60%. Oh, wow. Big number. Both teams seem

00:47:36.199 --> 00:47:38.920
to be dominating right now. I mean, Hawaii had

00:47:38.920 --> 00:47:42.230
that hiccup against. Who was it? They lost a

00:47:42.230 --> 00:47:45.590
match or something. Was it Loyola Chicago? I

00:47:45.590 --> 00:47:49.510
don't remember. I need to see the Big West teams

00:47:49.510 --> 00:47:52.449
play. I've only seen UC Irvine so far. But from

00:47:52.449 --> 00:47:55.170
what I saw of UCLA, they were looking so good.

00:47:55.989 --> 00:47:58.050
Heberdyne wasn't looking as strong as I expected.

00:47:58.230 --> 00:48:02.849
I have to check out USC still. But I feel like

00:48:02.849 --> 00:48:05.849
it could happen. Okay. And my last question,

00:48:05.909 --> 00:48:09.559
moving to international here, is... The Champions

00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:13.820
League winners on both the men and the women's

00:48:13.820 --> 00:48:20.139
side will both be from Italy. I'll say 60 again.

00:48:20.460 --> 00:48:22.739
Okay. Because on the women's side, you've got

00:48:22.739 --> 00:48:26.880
Conigliano, Scandici, Milano, like, Novar. Like,

00:48:26.940 --> 00:48:29.820
there's a good crop of women's teams there. Totally.

00:48:30.699 --> 00:48:33.980
And I think it's realistic that one of them could

00:48:33.980 --> 00:48:36.940
win. And then on the men's side, you've got Perugia.

00:48:36.940 --> 00:48:39.659
I think Trentino's in it. So the men I'm a little

00:48:39.659 --> 00:48:43.780
more iffy about, but yeah, I think it's a decent

00:48:43.780 --> 00:48:48.739
chance. So there you have it. Sarah's early season

00:48:48.739 --> 00:48:52.539
takes. Oh my gosh. Spicy and all on Paven's percentages.

00:48:54.199 --> 00:48:56.780
Okay, let's dive into some listener questions.

00:48:57.039 --> 00:49:01.539
Let's go. Question one. The difference in growth

00:49:01.539 --> 00:49:04.820
between Sarah Franklin and Jess Merzik is extraordinary.

00:49:05.199 --> 00:49:08.230
Merzik seems to not have improved at all. Shouldn't

00:49:08.230 --> 00:49:10.530
off -season practice and development have helped

00:49:10.530 --> 00:49:12.469
her passing and hitting game? Franklin, on the

00:49:12.469 --> 00:49:14.650
other hand, is making a statement overseas in

00:49:14.650 --> 00:49:17.849
one of the matches I saw. What should Merzik

00:49:17.849 --> 00:49:22.090
do to even hope for a U .S. team spot? Same for

00:49:22.090 --> 00:49:24.070
Jordan Thompson. I haven't seen much improvement

00:49:24.070 --> 00:49:27.210
this year. Other than Serena Gray, Love doesn't

00:49:27.210 --> 00:49:30.050
seem to be developing players. What has to change?

00:49:30.110 --> 00:49:33.929
Is international the only option? So a multifaceted

00:49:33.929 --> 00:49:36.530
question here. It's a great question and something

00:49:36.530 --> 00:49:40.389
that... We actually were talking about while

00:49:40.389 --> 00:49:44.170
we were watching Houston play. My unfortunate

00:49:44.170 --> 00:49:48.670
opinion is I think the ship for her on the national

00:49:48.670 --> 00:49:51.889
team has sailed. I don't think it's coming back.

00:49:52.429 --> 00:49:55.010
That's the thing. Not every player wants to play

00:49:55.010 --> 00:49:58.809
national team. True. So she might not want to,

00:49:58.889 --> 00:50:02.530
which, okay, case closed. Hypothetically, let's

00:50:02.530 --> 00:50:06.909
talk about if she did want to play. I think the

00:50:06.909 --> 00:50:10.250
ship has sailed. I mean, the reality of it is

00:50:10.250 --> 00:50:13.150
it started when she took a season off after college.

00:50:13.650 --> 00:50:17.349
I think, did she not decline to play for the

00:50:17.349 --> 00:50:20.570
national team or try out for, again, she cited

00:50:20.570 --> 00:50:23.630
mental health reasons, which is totally, she

00:50:23.630 --> 00:50:25.769
has the ability to do that and you have to take

00:50:25.769 --> 00:50:29.050
care of yourself 100%. But while you're doing

00:50:29.050 --> 00:50:31.949
that, the people you are competing with a spot

00:50:31.949 --> 00:50:33.869
for, and that's Sarah Franklin, that's Skinner,

00:50:33.909 --> 00:50:36.039
that's everybody, they're still training and

00:50:36.039 --> 00:50:41.199
playing and getting experience and going to play

00:50:41.199 --> 00:50:45.280
in VNL. And I didn't think she looked very good.

00:50:45.460 --> 00:50:49.579
No. Jess Merzik, she has not improved at all.

00:50:49.639 --> 00:50:52.780
I think it just shows the different goals that

00:50:52.780 --> 00:50:56.260
these athletes probably have in that Sarah Franklin

00:50:56.260 --> 00:50:59.369
chose to play. national team all summer chose

00:50:59.369 --> 00:51:01.750
to go to Italy where it can be uncomfortable

00:51:01.750 --> 00:51:05.010
and and sit on the bench on the bench to get

00:51:05.010 --> 00:51:09.269
better a lot of matches but you in the match

00:51:09.269 --> 00:51:12.090
that this person saw like clearly noticed improvements

00:51:12.090 --> 00:51:18.070
yeah that's not by accident so what can she do

00:51:18.070 --> 00:51:23.170
she can go overseas I don't know if she'll get

00:51:23.170 --> 00:51:25.369
a chance again to go to USA but if you're given

00:51:25.369 --> 00:51:28.849
the opportunity you have to take it Or you just

00:51:28.849 --> 00:51:31.469
like work your ass off in the offseason by yourself.

00:51:32.030 --> 00:51:35.489
Yeah. The one thing I will say is we're not yet

00:51:35.489 --> 00:51:38.349
comparing apples to apples, right? People who

00:51:38.349 --> 00:51:41.869
went overseas are in mid -season competition

00:51:41.869 --> 00:51:44.969
form and love is just starting. Let's be honest,

00:51:45.090 --> 00:51:48.289
Houston stunk for their first many games other

00:51:48.289 --> 00:51:49.929
than the one this weekend. But you have to also,

00:51:50.150 --> 00:51:52.570
like Jordan Thompson, for example, played the

00:51:52.570 --> 00:51:56.940
AU pro volleyball. And several of... The love

00:51:56.940 --> 00:52:00.880
players did. Micah Hancock played. A handful

00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:04.860
of those athletes played AU in the fall, so they

00:52:04.860 --> 00:52:08.159
aren't just starting up. Fair. I would argue

00:52:08.159 --> 00:52:11.539
that playing AU is different than competing in

00:52:11.539 --> 00:52:15.000
Europe and being in mid -season form. I'm saying,

00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:17.599
you're saying they're not mid -season form. You've

00:52:17.599 --> 00:52:19.000
been playing for several months at this point.

00:52:19.119 --> 00:52:21.440
Yeah, fair. You're seeing better competition

00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:25.380
in Europe, in Italy specifically. day in and

00:52:25.380 --> 00:52:28.119
day out. And in my opinion, that's the best way

00:52:28.119 --> 00:52:30.480
to get better, even if you're not playing. Sarah

00:52:30.480 --> 00:52:34.079
Franklin's training environment is probably unparalleled

00:52:34.079 --> 00:52:36.440
at this point. There's very few places you could

00:52:36.440 --> 00:52:38.699
go to get that kind of experience and play against

00:52:38.699 --> 00:52:41.579
those kind of hitters, even if you're on the

00:52:41.579 --> 00:52:44.300
B side. Are you even getting the impression that

00:52:44.300 --> 00:52:47.579
Love cares about developing players? I don't

00:52:47.579 --> 00:52:50.039
get that impression. No, it's not their mandate.

00:52:50.280 --> 00:52:53.400
They want a place. They're trying. Love is trying

00:52:53.400 --> 00:52:56.840
to grow a league and make money in the U .S.

00:52:56.840 --> 00:52:59.579
Don't kid yourself. That is the primary goal.

00:53:00.139 --> 00:53:02.940
Developing players and national team, if those

00:53:02.940 --> 00:53:05.320
incentives align, they will help, but they're

00:53:05.320 --> 00:53:07.940
not going to compromise their product for national

00:53:07.940 --> 00:53:12.659
team players. No. So, like, the part two of this

00:53:12.659 --> 00:53:16.260
question, I don't think Love cares to develop

00:53:16.260 --> 00:53:19.000
players. Serena Gray has improved a lot. I will

00:53:19.000 --> 00:53:21.610
attribute that to... For someone with a national

00:53:21.610 --> 00:53:24.630
team and training in that environment, I know

00:53:24.630 --> 00:53:28.570
we have been critical. But, like, she was in

00:53:28.570 --> 00:53:31.809
that environment. You know, she traveled to V

00:53:31.809 --> 00:53:34.489
&L stop. She has improved. Your perspective changes

00:53:34.489 --> 00:53:37.250
when you compete in V &L. You understand what

00:53:37.250 --> 00:53:40.349
is required. And you can see the fire in Amber

00:53:40.349 --> 00:53:43.670
IG. Like, I'm not talking across the board. But

00:53:43.670 --> 00:53:45.949
like you can see some players who got a taste

00:53:45.949 --> 00:53:48.030
of the international stuff and they're coming

00:53:48.030 --> 00:53:50.730
back with renewed energy and focus and other

00:53:50.730 --> 00:53:54.550
players just haven't. Listen, there's no better

00:53:54.550 --> 00:53:57.510
motivator than thinking you're good and having

00:53:57.510 --> 00:54:00.690
your rear handed to you, which I quite frankly

00:54:00.690 --> 00:54:03.070
think the U .S. did on several occasions in VNL.

00:54:03.170 --> 00:54:06.250
So you go out there, you are one of the top players

00:54:06.250 --> 00:54:09.110
in the U .S. And you're looking across the net

00:54:09.110 --> 00:54:11.170
at these other middles and they are owning you.

00:54:11.309 --> 00:54:13.150
You better believe that if you're competitive,

00:54:13.309 --> 00:54:15.070
you're coming back with a fire to get stronger,

00:54:15.190 --> 00:54:17.269
to get better. You understood. You watched video.

00:54:17.429 --> 00:54:20.170
You know what they did to you and what you need

00:54:20.170 --> 00:54:23.170
to do to get better. And for the players with

00:54:23.170 --> 00:54:25.170
the national team aspirations, yes, I totally

00:54:25.170 --> 00:54:27.530
see that. But I think for the players who don't,

00:54:27.530 --> 00:54:31.730
love is a very easy way to be comfortable, to

00:54:31.730 --> 00:54:34.579
be safe. Play volleyball, say you're a professional

00:54:34.579 --> 00:54:38.119
athlete, make decent money, I'm assuming. I don't

00:54:38.119 --> 00:54:42.119
know specifics. And just coast, honestly. Question

00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:44.699
two. Sarah Franklin's the star of our questions

00:54:44.699 --> 00:54:48.360
today. Is there any concern that Skinner, Avery

00:54:48.360 --> 00:54:51.019
Skinner, and Sarah Franklin mostly get in -system

00:54:51.019 --> 00:54:54.260
sets in Scandicci, and we know that that is not

00:54:54.260 --> 00:54:57.219
what they will get with Team USA, and Tropova

00:54:57.219 --> 00:55:00.840
gets most of the difficult balls? I think it's

00:55:00.840 --> 00:55:03.340
good that they're getting these. in system sets

00:55:03.340 --> 00:55:06.179
from Maya Onyanovich with Scandici because I

00:55:06.179 --> 00:55:10.599
feel like Onyanovich's style of setting is one

00:55:10.599 --> 00:55:13.280
of the closer ones we will see to Jordan Poulter.

00:55:13.679 --> 00:55:16.460
As far as speed, we know Avery Skinner loves

00:55:16.460 --> 00:55:20.179
to hit that speed ball from Poulter. You know,

00:55:20.179 --> 00:55:22.500
Sarah Franklin and some of the Texas athletes

00:55:22.500 --> 00:55:26.079
were not as comfortable with those. So I think

00:55:26.079 --> 00:55:30.139
for the transition back to Poulter with the national

00:55:30.139 --> 00:55:33.949
team, that is good. As far as the question at

00:55:33.949 --> 00:55:38.010
hand, I'm assuming this person's alluding to

00:55:38.010 --> 00:55:42.210
the U .S.'s passing is not great. Well, there's

00:55:42.210 --> 00:55:44.210
two things for that. You just need an opposite.

00:55:45.010 --> 00:55:46.210
I think it highlights the fact that they need

00:55:46.210 --> 00:55:50.130
an opposite. Well, I think two things. One, ideally

00:55:50.130 --> 00:55:52.710
Skinner and Franklin, if they're playing, will

00:55:52.710 --> 00:55:54.769
become better passers in Italy. So hopefully

00:55:54.769 --> 00:55:57.010
they'll be a little more in system than they

00:55:57.010 --> 00:56:00.469
were this summer. The second piece is it may

00:56:00.469 --> 00:56:02.150
not be happening in the match, but you better

00:56:02.150 --> 00:56:03.809
believe they're hitting out -of -system balls

00:56:03.809 --> 00:56:06.369
in practice. They're taking rips against Entropova.

00:56:06.570 --> 00:56:09.989
They're getting against good blocks. They're

00:56:09.989 --> 00:56:12.550
in those situations in practice. So even if you're

00:56:12.550 --> 00:56:15.909
not seeing it in match, they are still practicing.

00:56:15.989 --> 00:56:18.329
I guarantee you they have at least one out -of

00:56:18.329 --> 00:56:20.739
-system. Practice or segment. You know every

00:56:20.739 --> 00:56:24.699
week. So it's a fair point. And it's quite intuitive.

00:56:24.960 --> 00:56:26.840
No it's a fair point totally. Because the US

00:56:26.840 --> 00:56:28.340
doesn't have an opposite. That they can give

00:56:28.340 --> 00:56:31.380
those garbage balls to. They're going to those

00:56:31.380 --> 00:56:35.260
outsides. I agree but. I think it's also different

00:56:35.260 --> 00:56:38.400
to do it in a game situation. Fair. Rather than

00:56:38.400 --> 00:56:41.539
a controlled environment. They will become better

00:56:41.539 --> 00:56:45.380
out of system hitters. This year. Just from being

00:56:45.380 --> 00:56:48.940
in that environment. It may not be perfect. but

00:56:48.940 --> 00:56:52.659
they will get better. Question three. If Eric

00:56:52.659 --> 00:56:54.519
Sullivan has brought in basically the entire

00:56:54.519 --> 00:56:57.000
USA coaching staff, should there be consequences

00:56:57.000 --> 00:56:59.659
if the Austin team doesn't win the Love League

00:56:59.659 --> 00:57:02.340
in tournament or at least be second? I think

00:57:02.340 --> 00:57:04.340
hiring a head coach for the national team who

00:57:04.340 --> 00:57:06.599
has no true professional club or international

00:57:06.599 --> 00:57:09.320
head coach experience is still questionable a

00:57:09.320 --> 00:57:12.679
year later. I thought this was a lose -lose situation

00:57:12.679 --> 00:57:16.400
for him when I heard he took the gig. It's...

00:57:16.400 --> 00:57:19.110
Well, yeah, you're like... The head coach of

00:57:19.110 --> 00:57:21.829
the national team coaching love. You've got a

00:57:21.829 --> 00:57:25.130
handful of your national team players on your

00:57:25.130 --> 00:57:28.590
team. Like if you win, it's like, yeah, you should

00:57:28.590 --> 00:57:30.789
win. You have all these players that you've taken

00:57:30.789 --> 00:57:32.929
to the national team. And if you lose, it's like,

00:57:32.969 --> 00:57:36.909
what's wrong with you? It's not a great position.

00:57:37.070 --> 00:57:39.869
Yeah, he's in tough. And you bring all the national

00:57:39.869 --> 00:57:42.710
team coaches with you. I totally agree. Now,

00:57:42.809 --> 00:57:48.480
from his point of view, if he doesn't care. about

00:57:48.480 --> 00:57:51.880
what people say or the perception him and his

00:57:51.880 --> 00:57:53.980
staff are getting closer they have eyes on their

00:57:53.980 --> 00:57:55.880
athletes that they want on the national team

00:57:55.880 --> 00:57:59.079
you're getting the chance to coach them professionally

00:57:59.079 --> 00:58:01.320
in a lower stakes environment like there are

00:58:01.320 --> 00:58:05.500
lots of positives but consequences he's gonna

00:58:05.500 --> 00:58:09.019
take strays if they don't do well love i don't

00:58:09.019 --> 00:58:11.780
think love cares no love love doesn't care consequences

00:58:11.780 --> 00:58:15.059
as far as what him getting fired no i don't that'll

00:58:15.059 --> 00:58:18.000
happen no you'll get fired if they don't have

00:58:18.000 --> 00:58:20.980
a good season this year. From the national team?

00:58:21.099 --> 00:58:24.659
Yeah, it doesn't. Even if Austin finishes last

00:58:24.659 --> 00:58:26.900
in love, he's not losing his national team job

00:58:26.900 --> 00:58:30.199
because of that. Oh, no. Love has nothing to

00:58:30.199 --> 00:58:32.500
do with it. I just think, I love this question.

00:58:32.599 --> 00:58:34.920
I think it's great. No, it's totally a lose -lose

00:58:34.920 --> 00:58:37.619
for him. I was shaking my head, but better that

00:58:37.619 --> 00:58:40.599
he's coaching than not. And he's not going to

00:58:40.599 --> 00:58:43.059
get hired overseas. I mean, we were talking about

00:58:43.059 --> 00:58:45.000
this when he got hired. We're like, he has literally

00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:48.639
been an assistant coach in college. This is probably

00:58:48.639 --> 00:58:52.179
a good learning experience for him as well. Heading

00:58:52.179 --> 00:58:53.900
into the LA Olympics. Great learning experience.

00:58:54.900 --> 00:58:58.059
A few years still. Question four. Why is USA's

00:58:58.059 --> 00:59:01.510
tempo slower? What advantage do we get out of

00:59:01.510 --> 00:59:03.750
having a slower tempo? I know the camera angle

00:59:03.750 --> 00:59:05.369
doesn't show the pace very well, but when you

00:59:05.369 --> 00:59:07.730
compare it to top teams like Italy, they run

00:59:07.730 --> 00:59:10.469
a faster and more productive offense. And when

00:59:10.469 --> 00:59:12.530
we play teams like that, our defense is awful.

00:59:13.130 --> 00:59:15.949
What is USA's playing style and what advantages

00:59:15.949 --> 00:59:18.550
does it give? No, I was just going to say, I

00:59:18.550 --> 00:59:20.989
think the USA runs a slower pace. They have been

00:59:20.989 --> 00:59:24.050
known for running a faster pace with the personnel

00:59:24.050 --> 00:59:27.480
they had in like Tokyo and stuff like that. So

00:59:27.480 --> 00:59:29.460
they have been known for running a faster pace.

00:59:29.519 --> 00:59:31.599
I think this group that we saw this past summer

00:59:31.599 --> 00:59:34.719
is running a slower tempo because the athletes

00:59:34.719 --> 00:59:38.539
they have on the outsides aren't capable of hitting

00:59:38.539 --> 00:59:41.099
the fast offense yet, other than Avery Skinner.

00:59:41.300 --> 00:59:44.320
They are still playing a very slow college style

00:59:44.320 --> 00:59:49.000
of volleyball. And I think that that's why the

00:59:49.000 --> 00:59:52.800
pace is slower. Totally agree. They are making

00:59:52.800 --> 00:59:56.019
baby steps to speeding it up, but they're just

00:59:56.019 --> 01:00:01.980
not. there yet and you have different jumpers

01:00:01.980 --> 01:00:06.519
in this round of olympics than you had in other

01:00:06.519 --> 01:00:08.519
rounds of olympics and that i know it sounds

01:00:08.519 --> 01:00:10.280
funny to say that somebody's a different jumper

01:00:10.280 --> 01:00:13.380
but when you get off the ground faster and you're

01:00:13.380 --> 01:00:16.840
higher and you the ball needs to be in a different

01:00:16.840 --> 01:00:20.500
place and if you're not used to it it takes some

01:00:20.500 --> 01:00:23.000
time to figure out and to develop that chemistry

01:00:23.000 --> 01:00:26.420
and I think they will ultimately try and move

01:00:26.420 --> 01:00:29.780
in that direction. But there's passing issues.

01:00:31.440 --> 01:00:35.019
Everybody's young. There's all kinds of things

01:00:35.019 --> 01:00:37.219
we saw this past summer that need to be addressed

01:00:37.219 --> 01:00:40.480
before you can speed up the offense comfortably.

01:00:40.960 --> 01:00:43.360
Well, and I think that also translates to the

01:00:43.360 --> 01:00:46.539
defensive side. Like when you've seen a certain

01:00:46.539 --> 01:00:52.539
pace forever, it takes a second to adjust. through

01:00:52.539 --> 01:00:54.679
the pace, even on a defensive side. And I will

01:00:54.679 --> 01:00:57.920
say it is challenging. It's difficult to set

01:00:57.920 --> 01:01:00.940
a higher ball with pace. When you have players

01:01:00.940 --> 01:01:03.400
who are contacting the ball at a high point,

01:01:03.639 --> 01:01:07.719
which the U .S. currently has, there are very

01:01:07.719 --> 01:01:10.159
few setters who are capable of setting that high

01:01:10.159 --> 01:01:14.619
contact point with pace. So I think we will hopefully

01:01:14.619 --> 01:01:16.760
see an evolution there. And there's one other

01:01:16.760 --> 01:01:19.199
thing to consider is arm speed through the ball.

01:01:19.719 --> 01:01:24.239
So if you are higher and your arm is slow or

01:01:24.239 --> 01:01:27.500
slower, your window to actually hit that fast

01:01:27.500 --> 01:01:31.780
set is much smaller. If you have a really quick

01:01:31.780 --> 01:01:35.059
arm, you can fix more sets. And I think they'll

01:01:35.059 --> 01:01:38.159
see a few of the outsides speed up their arm.

01:01:38.239 --> 01:01:40.760
I'm thinking about Franklin specifically. You

01:01:40.760 --> 01:01:44.460
know, she's big. She's heavy. But she needs a

01:01:44.460 --> 01:01:46.340
little more speed on the arm to get herself out

01:01:46.340 --> 01:01:48.059
of some of those situations. I think he means

01:01:48.059 --> 01:01:49.940
she hits a heavy ball. Yeah, that's what I meant.

01:01:50.219 --> 01:01:54.340
What did I say? She's happy. Oh. There's improvements

01:01:54.340 --> 01:01:56.420
to be made and adjustments to be made to get

01:01:56.420 --> 01:02:00.320
the tempo up, and they're working on it. Okay,

01:02:00.360 --> 01:02:05.159
so USA of generations past has been very good

01:02:05.159 --> 01:02:07.599
ball control, run a very fast offense, middle

01:02:07.599 --> 01:02:13.429
dominant. What do you think this new USA generation's

01:02:13.429 --> 01:02:15.989
identity is? I don't think they have one yet.

01:02:16.090 --> 01:02:19.750
And I'm not sure what it's going to be. I don't

01:02:19.750 --> 01:02:22.909
think, I honestly don't know what to say. You

01:02:22.909 --> 01:02:26.989
had some tremendous middles, both blocking -wise

01:02:26.989 --> 01:02:29.510
and offensively in the past. I think there's

01:02:29.510 --> 01:02:33.130
some potential on the US team to replace those.

01:02:33.469 --> 01:02:35.510
But you also don't have Jordan Larson passing.

01:02:35.670 --> 01:02:40.059
Right. And that, to me, The U .S. will not be

01:02:40.059 --> 01:02:42.179
able to establish an identity until they can

01:02:42.179 --> 01:02:44.420
pass the ball and be in system. I don't think

01:02:44.420 --> 01:02:47.300
they're more physical than other teams. I don't

01:02:47.300 --> 01:02:49.739
think they have better ball control. I don't

01:02:49.739 --> 01:02:53.179
think they're specifically better servers. They're

01:02:53.179 --> 01:02:55.059
playing catch -up, and they're going to have

01:02:55.059 --> 01:02:58.039
to find an identity, and it's probably going

01:02:58.039 --> 01:03:01.159
to have to be we're really gritty or we're scrappy

01:03:01.159 --> 01:03:04.280
or we're really good defensively. You're not

01:03:04.280 --> 01:03:06.860
going to find an Iganu. You're not going to compete

01:03:06.860 --> 01:03:11.519
in that way. The order for them to medal at the

01:03:11.519 --> 01:03:15.900
Olympics, it's a tall order right now. Last question

01:03:15.900 --> 01:03:19.579
of the day. What should a good or even very good

01:03:19.579 --> 01:03:22.360
player, the ones who aren't super obviously going

01:03:22.360 --> 01:03:24.519
to go have a stellar pro career, national team

01:03:24.519 --> 01:03:26.699
career, like a Mimi Collier or Bergen Riley,

01:03:27.000 --> 01:03:29.159
what should they be doing in their final years

01:03:29.159 --> 01:03:33.159
of college or early post -college to develop

01:03:33.159 --> 01:03:36.440
into high caliber professional players? I'm asking

01:03:36.440 --> 01:03:38.440
because I remember last year you guys talking

01:03:38.440 --> 01:03:41.440
about Lexi Rodriguez's stint as a backup to Justine

01:03:41.440 --> 01:03:44.559
in love as potentially damaging for her development.

01:03:44.920 --> 01:03:47.760
And I'm thinking about like Avery Skinner, who

01:03:47.760 --> 01:03:50.860
is good but not a huge standout in college, becoming

01:03:50.860 --> 01:03:53.559
a starting left side for the U .S. national team.

01:03:53.639 --> 01:03:56.420
How does this happen? So is the question, what

01:03:56.420 --> 01:03:58.179
can you do while you're still in college to prepare?

01:03:58.179 --> 01:04:02.960
What can a player who's like good, like very

01:04:02.960 --> 01:04:07.760
good. but maybe not like an obvious choice to

01:04:07.760 --> 01:04:10.000
be a starting national team player. What can

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:12.940
they be doing in their later college years, early

01:04:12.940 --> 01:04:16.800
post -college years to really make that jump?

01:04:16.960 --> 01:04:19.800
My answer for all of these questions always comes

01:04:19.800 --> 01:04:21.940
back to the same thing. You have to put yourself

01:04:21.940 --> 01:04:24.940
in the most competitive atmosphere that you can

01:04:24.940 --> 01:04:29.579
find and you have to learn to hang. All of these

01:04:29.579 --> 01:04:32.159
players know how to play volleyball. All of these

01:04:32.159 --> 01:04:35.340
players have played in one way or another. You

01:04:35.340 --> 01:04:38.559
have to go get accustomed to new speed. You have

01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:41.139
to learn how to be uncomfortable. You have to

01:04:41.139 --> 01:04:44.000
understand how to be on a flight for 15 hours,

01:04:44.099 --> 01:04:46.780
don't like the food, can't sleep, and then show

01:04:46.780 --> 01:04:49.840
up and play. When the chips are down, all of

01:04:49.840 --> 01:04:52.159
those things you don't experience in college

01:04:52.159 --> 01:04:54.960
because it's pretty cushy. Well, like Kami Minor.

01:04:55.579 --> 01:04:57.780
She's going, she went to play for Milano. Is

01:04:57.780 --> 01:05:01.820
she a starter in some games? Yes, but for the

01:05:01.820 --> 01:05:05.380
most part, she is not touching the floor. But

01:05:05.380 --> 01:05:10.000
every single practice, she is digging Paola Egonu.

01:05:10.159 --> 01:05:13.739
She is, you know, running an offense against

01:05:13.739 --> 01:05:17.280
international style players. And she's probably

01:05:17.280 --> 01:05:20.039
having to mimic other offenses, which is also

01:05:20.039 --> 01:05:23.670
challenging. So the reason that I would say that

01:05:23.670 --> 01:05:26.269
that is a good choice versus Rodriguez playing

01:05:26.269 --> 01:05:30.349
a backup in love is not, is because, like, as

01:05:30.349 --> 01:05:32.809
a backup in love and on the team that she was

01:05:32.809 --> 01:05:37.389
on, like, you're playing every day against players

01:05:37.389 --> 01:05:40.929
who are, like, slightly past their prime. Do

01:05:40.929 --> 01:05:43.869
you know what I'm saying? Jekima, Jordan Larson,

01:05:43.929 --> 01:05:48.769
like, those players were outstanding at one point.

01:05:48.929 --> 01:05:50.840
They're at the end of their career. They're not

01:05:50.840 --> 01:05:54.460
Ogonu. They're not Paola Ogonu today. Yeah. And

01:05:54.460 --> 01:05:57.920
other players that, you know, like maybe early

01:05:57.920 --> 01:06:00.019
in their career, like she's not getting the same

01:06:00.019 --> 01:06:05.039
reps being a backup for Love Nebraska that Kami

01:06:05.039 --> 01:06:08.280
Miner would get being the backup at Milano, if

01:06:08.280 --> 01:06:11.320
that makes sense. Totally. You always want to

01:06:11.320 --> 01:06:13.639
be one of the worst players in the gym if you're

01:06:13.639 --> 01:06:17.019
trying to develop. 100%. That's how you get better.

01:06:17.139 --> 01:06:19.539
Yeah. Go in the gym. Have people be like, who

01:06:19.539 --> 01:06:22.179
the heck is this person? Are they even good enough

01:06:22.179 --> 01:06:24.320
to be on this team? And then work your butt off

01:06:24.320 --> 01:06:26.460
every single day to be like, no, I belong here

01:06:26.460 --> 01:06:31.380
and I'm going to show you that I do. That's it

01:06:31.380 --> 01:06:34.440
for questions today. It's been a little slow.

01:06:34.960 --> 01:06:37.940
We get our most questions during the summer and

01:06:37.940 --> 01:06:41.860
the fall. Winter's a little slower. If you have

01:06:41.860 --> 01:06:43.920
anything, shoot it our way. Just even random

01:06:43.920 --> 01:06:47.179
stuff. We love it. But we do still have a bunch

01:06:47.179 --> 01:06:49.199
in the bank. So don't worry. We're not going

01:06:49.199 --> 01:06:53.139
to run out or anything. But yes, winter does

01:06:53.139 --> 01:06:55.280
tend to be a little slower. All right. As per

01:06:55.280 --> 01:06:57.039
usual, there's way too much volleyball on and

01:06:57.039 --> 01:07:00.059
not enough time to watch it. But here are the

01:07:00.059 --> 01:07:02.840
things that you can watch this week if you have

01:07:02.840 --> 01:07:04.639
time and if you're interested on a given day.

01:07:05.130 --> 01:07:08.210
Thursday at 10 p .m. Eastern, Ohio State versus

01:07:08.210 --> 01:07:10.429
UCLA. And that will be on the Big Ten Network.

01:07:10.670 --> 01:07:13.869
Thursday at 9 p .m. Eastern, Love Austin versus

01:07:13.869 --> 01:07:17.570
Salt Lake. Austin got kicked this week. Top two

01:07:17.570 --> 01:07:19.590
teams, though. And Salt Lake is humming. So I

01:07:19.590 --> 01:07:22.949
think that will be a very good game. Friday at

01:07:22.949 --> 01:07:25.849
10 p .m. Eastern, Pepperdine versus Long Beach

01:07:25.849 --> 01:07:29.130
State. Do not miss that one. That is going to

01:07:29.130 --> 01:07:32.489
be a great game. Saturday at 7 p .m. Eastern,

01:07:32.650 --> 01:07:35.889
MLV Dallas versus Indy. That one's on YouTube.

01:07:36.010 --> 01:07:38.449
I'm expecting a bounce back from Indy. Top two

01:07:38.449 --> 01:07:41.329
teams again. And then moving internationally,

01:07:41.530 --> 01:07:44.710
Sunday at 12 p .m. Eastern, we have Italian A1

01:07:44.710 --> 01:07:48.889
men's Verona versus Civitinova. And then Sunday

01:07:48.889 --> 01:07:53.150
at 11 a .m. Eastern, A1 women's is Scandici versus

01:07:53.150 --> 01:07:56.230
Chieri. Now, I had a couple requests for the

01:07:56.230 --> 01:07:59.710
SV League. So I'm probably going to tune in this

01:07:59.710 --> 01:08:02.389
week now. Yeah, we're going to try and get to

01:08:02.389 --> 01:08:04.769
that. I know I made an error on the YouTube comments.

01:08:04.869 --> 01:08:07.550
That's my bad. Sleep deprived. But we do want

01:08:07.550 --> 01:08:09.530
to watch some of that. So we're going to try

01:08:09.530 --> 01:08:12.650
and fit that in over the next couple of weeks

01:08:12.650 --> 01:08:14.489
because we know a couple people asked for it.

01:08:14.530 --> 01:08:16.029
But those are the games that you should look

01:08:16.029 --> 01:08:18.819
out for this week. That concludes this week's

01:08:18.819 --> 01:08:20.720
episode of Volley Talk. There's always something

01:08:20.720 --> 01:08:22.659
shaking in the volleyball world and we hope you

01:08:22.659 --> 01:08:25.140
enjoyed this little fix. Be sure to follow the

01:08:25.140 --> 01:08:27.239
show so you don't miss any updates and we'd be

01:08:27.239 --> 01:08:29.539
so grateful if you'd leave us a five -star review.

01:08:29.800 --> 01:08:32.439
You can also find us on Instagram at volleytalk

01:08:32.439 --> 01:08:35.800
underscore podcast. If you have a topic you'd

01:08:35.800 --> 01:08:37.859
like us to discuss, you can reach out on Instagram

01:08:37.859 --> 01:08:41.840
or at info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much

01:08:41.840 --> 01:08:44.060
for joining us and we'll be back next week.