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. What's going on again? Volleyball happening

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everywhere. Yes. But then we have some other

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stuff like all -star games and, you know, training

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camps and this and that going on. So we're going

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to jump around. We're going to jump around. We

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watched some volleyball. We watched bits and

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pieces of a lot of games, some entire matches.

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Turn some off. Turn some off. It was a real mixed

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bag this week. We are excited to dive into some

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things that are a little different, mix it up

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a little bit, and of course, talk volleyball

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as always. So let's get started. Okay, before

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we get into anything. We misspoke last week.

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There's no excuse. We were just wrong. And we

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had a lot of people reach out to us to tell us

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just how wrong we were. Which is what I expect.

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About Catherine Plummer's playing time in the

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Olympics. You're right. We messed up. We said

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the wrong thing. She played every match. Had

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a couple good matches, a couple not so good matches.

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But we just wanted to address that. We made an

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error. So thank you to everybody who reached

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out. Was your fantasy a highlight or a happening

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this week? I was really excited about my fantasy

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this week because I looked at the number of points

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I scored and I thought it was a highlight. And

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then I looked at it relative to everybody else

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in our league. Wait, how do you do that? Well,

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this is a great, I don't know if it's a new feature,

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but I just found it, which makes me super competitive.

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So if you go to the league, so if you click on

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leagues and then you click the Volley Talk podcast

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league, there are two scores. There's a yellow

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score, which is your total accumulated points.

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And then there's a red score, which is your weekly

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points. And you can sort the list by either total

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score or weekly score. Tallahassee turtles crushing

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it. Well, I thought I was doing really well.

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Wait, how do I do it by league by week score?

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There's another sort button there. Oh my goodness.

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How do I find myself? Wow. Yeah, you're going

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to have to scroll down. Wow. Okay. It tells me

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right there. I don't need to say that out loud.

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Needless to say, I thought I had a good week,

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but I was still in the 100th. Like I was around

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100 in overall weekly score compared to everybody

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else. That was a little humbling. So maybe a

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happening. Mine's a happening. It's always a

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happening. When is it going to be a highlight?

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I was so confident in the roster I put together

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and then guess what happened? Well, you were

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unlucky. Both of my right sides didn't play.

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You had a really good week. If your right side

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had scored any points, you would have been up

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there. My starting right side didn't sniff the

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court. Azani Teeler thought it was a good pick.

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And then my backup got in just at the end of

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one match. So that really messed me up. I am

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sitting in around the same place I was last week

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overall. We don't need to talk about how I did

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this week. Worse than Adam. We'll put it that

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way. I jumped a few spots, but I'm still in the

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hundreds because of my zero week. But with my

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middle scored me really good points. I was feeling

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confident. Just wasn't. And guess what? My backup

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setter, Pukas, scored me 70 points. She killed

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it for you. Yeah, everybody did except for my

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right side. And Mimi Collier killed me. It was

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a happening. I love how they keep updating it,

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adding new features. I find that weekly tally

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so you can see how you're doing against other

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people in that specific week. It's addicting.

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It makes me look after every match, see where

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I'm going, see what I'm doing. It's so much fun.

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I need to stick with how I'm doing overall because

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weekly, not so much. But like I said, Tallahassee

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Turtles is in the lead for both week seven and

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overall. So they are the team to beat. It can

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only go up from where I'm at. Let me tell you,

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this is the game changer for MLV for me. I agree.

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And I love seeing what my budget is looking like

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every week. You know what I'm checking? I'm not

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checking the comparison of how I'm doing compared

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to everybody else. I'm checking how my contracts

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are doing. Am I gaining money? Sarah the agent.

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I lost money this week, but not as much as I

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did the first week. So I still have enough to

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buy players. So that's what I'm always focusing

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on. You got to catch Tallahassee turtles. Let's

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all group together. Let's agree that we're going

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to take this person down. This is how Sarah plays

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board games as well. Let's gang up. Everybody

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gang up on Adam. Okay. So yeah, we'll check who

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the leader is. Remember the grand prize at the

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end of this is a volleyball, a signed volleyball.

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But if you'd rather it not be signed, that's

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okay too. Join us. and take down the people who

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are ahead of me. No, I'm just kidding. Who are

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ahead of most of us. Play volley .com slash volley

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talk. Play volley .com slash volley talk to join

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and get in on the action. In NCAA men's volleyball

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this week, the noteworthy results, number 14,

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UC Santa Barbara beat number six, Pepperdine,

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three straight. That was actually kind of a fun

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game. We watched half of it. More than half.

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The right side for UCSB played really well. The

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right side for Pepperdine did not. He was a black

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hole defensively. I was like, is this Stishak

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on the court? Him and Stishak should pair up.

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They're both defensive black holes. They should

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not pair up. Keep those two as far away from

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each other as possible. That gravitational pull

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is too much for everybody. Who do you think would

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be worse? Stishak and Karakurt or Stishak and...

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Hartke. Oh, Karakor's Stitchy X was for sure.

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Anyway. Anyway, Hartke was a black hole defensively.

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And he was getting blocked a lot. Yeah. They

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played well. They were hyped. They were ready

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to go. Defend the home court. It was a fun game.

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They were definitely hyped. But Pepperdine, when

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they ran the middle, they were having a lot of

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success. They just weren't really running the

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middle all that much. That is always their Achilles

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heel. When they run the middle, they win. When

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they don't, it depends. Wouldn't anybody run

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the middle? Well, yes. Fair. But it's like pretty...

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On point. We run the numbers on that. I'd be

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curious. Let's see what I can do. Okay, so that

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was a very interesting game. Number 13, Ohio

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State beat number eight, Ball State, three straight.

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And then we had the rematch, UCLA, Long Beach

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State, and UCLA pulled off the sweep for the

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season. They won in four. UCLA is message sending.

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We have one goal. This is where we're heading.

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Come and take it from us. Do you think they're

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going to win it all? Or do you think they will

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find a way to lose it? I think it's theirs to

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lose. I think it's theirs to lose. They need

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to lose a match before the playoffs. Well, they've

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got BYU. They've got Pepperdine on the schedule.

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They've got USC still on the schedule. I think

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it's really hard to go undefeated. They've got

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UC Irvine coming up. Yeah. They need a loss.

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I think it just... It resets it. It changes the

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narrative. I hope they just don't take a deep

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breath after beating Long Beach State. Because

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I know that that was like the team that they

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were looking to be. Yeah. All things equal. Everybody

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playing to their potential. I think they're the

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best team. From what I've seen so far of the

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season, I would agree. Yeah. On the MLB side

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of things, Indy's still on top. They're looking

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good. They are. There was the 1 -2 matchup this

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week, them against Dallas. It was a close game

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for two of the sets, sets two and three. They

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beat Dallas three straight. It was a very close

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game aside from set one, which was like 16 or

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something. Yeah. Mimi Collier did not play well

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that game. No. And I also think, I've seen this

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a couple times from Dallas, where they don't

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start well and then they're finding their rhythm.

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And I think if they would have won that third

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set, we would have gone to five. I'm not saying

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that they would have beat them. But they need

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to find a way to get going early and then to

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close matches out. Because, again, they're successful

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when they run the middle, but they need their

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outside pins to score latent sets. And, you know,

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Mimi struggled. And, yeah. I feel like they can

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usually rely on one left side to produce. Yeah.

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Whether it's Maldonado Diaz or Collier, one of

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them is usually doing fine. I feel like it's

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just like the combo of the right side and the

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other left side. That's like a little inconsistent

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in the point scoring department. If they could

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like get consistency in one of those two positions,

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they'd be really, really good. Maldonado Diaz

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has trouble scoring as it gets later in the sets.

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She was automatic at the end of set three though.

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Again, people have good matches. I'm saying in

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general, she hits similar angles. You see teams

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make digs on her. I think in general, that's

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what I'm seeing. But you're right. One of those

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two players needs to have a good game for them

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to win close ones. Normally, if they're ahead

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and their middles are playing well, they're fine.

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But in those tight matches, the pins need to

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score. I just think Indy looks really good. Azani

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Teeler wasn't even playing as I was lamenting

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earlier. Cameron Hanna came in, did incredible.

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Lecateur, member Mena, really good. Their middles

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are running well. Tuoniga, the bane of your existence

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fantasy -wise, is playing a lot better. Elena

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Scott, your favorite libero in the whole world,

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also playing better. Better. She's playing well.

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I just think that they look really good. I love

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Dallas, but Indy is sailing. Here's the thing

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with Indy. I think the thing that sets them apart

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is their mentality. They never give up no matter

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what the score is, no matter if they're down.

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They dig balls. They grind. They're aggressive

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when they swing, even when they make mistakes.

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I think it's the mentality or the identity of

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the team that's allowing them. I don't necessarily

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think they're the best volleyball team, but I

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think they're the grittiest team with the best

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mentality. We have a new last place team. In

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Grand Rapids. Columbus got a four -set win over

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Orlando this week. San Diego got a five -set

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win over Omaha. So Grand Rapids is getting left

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behind. That is what happened in the MLV this

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week. Rumor has it Morgan Hintz requested the

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trade. Yeah, I don't think it's a rumor. I think

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it was mentioned on the broadcast. That's what

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I heard. By Sunderland. Yeah. Yeah, how would

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he have known that? I mean, somebody must have

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put it out there or said something because he

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wouldn't. He's got too much integrity to make

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something like that up. Why do you think she

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would have wanted the trait? I've actually read

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a couple theories online. One theory, I'm not

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sure how much I believe this, is that none of

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Ellers is a bullhawk. Oh my gosh. But that's

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purely conjecture and hearsay. So I'm going to

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leave the team because... My teammate's overenthusiastic.

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My guess is she didn't see eye to eye with the

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coaching staff. I'm sorry, this is professional

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volleyball. I mean, you see this happen all the

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time. Not overseas where you play, but in a league

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like this. The number of hockey players who request

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trades, basketball players who request trades.

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I mean, again, you have a limited career window.

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She's trying to make the Olympics if she doesn't

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think she's getting better. or you know whatever

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you're making a move finally morgan perkins the

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middle that played for texas a &m was waived

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by the san diego mojo and rumor has it according

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to her tiktok she's heading to love next season

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i'm not sure why she hasn't been given a chance

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but i don't know either anyway That's what's

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up in MLV. On the love side, Salt Lake and Houston

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are still 1 -2. Houston finally beat Salt Lake

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this week in four, so that was big. And then

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we had the bottom two teams play each other,

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and Madison came out on top, beating Nebraska

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in five. What a thriller for the basement. But

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Madison's still in last. There were a couple

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decent sets in that game, actually. I mean, they're

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a similar level. Yeah. The differentiation between

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the teams is becoming very clear. I'm loving

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Serena Gray for Salt Lake. I think she's playing

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so well. I think she looks really good. Motivated.

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Motivated is the word I would use to describe

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her. Heidi Casanova also has made huge improvements

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for me since last year. We've had questions like...

00:13:51.309 --> 00:13:53.950
Why isn't Skylar Fields being given a chance?

00:13:54.210 --> 00:13:56.649
Why don't we hear more about her? Because Heidi

00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:59.230
Casanova is doing really well. There's no reason

00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:01.210
for her to play. Yeah, I think it's mostly the

00:14:01.210 --> 00:14:04.009
connection with Poulter. I think they've ironed

00:14:04.009 --> 00:14:09.590
it out. When Bug was playing the last match that

00:14:09.590 --> 00:14:12.889
we saw. So yeah, Skylar Fields stepped in when

00:14:12.889 --> 00:14:14.730
Casanova was not playing. Well, last season she

00:14:14.730 --> 00:14:18.070
did a really good job. But this year Casanova

00:14:18.070 --> 00:14:20.149
has got it together. So there's been no reason

00:14:20.149 --> 00:14:25.059
to... To use fields, really. We were, there was

00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:27.720
a correction when we were explaining Coppa Italia

00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:31.879
last week. Apparently A1 has changed things around

00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:34.059
in Italy and now the winner of the Coppa Italia

00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:39.879
just goes to Chev Cup. So now word is that the

00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:43.059
Champions League berths go to the winner of the

00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:46.000
regular season and then the winner of the playoffs.

00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:50.159
And then they're distributed from there if like

00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:54.059
the same team and like all of that. So winner

00:14:54.059 --> 00:14:56.740
of Coppa Italia gets a birth to Chev Cup. And

00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:59.120
if you're like a Champions League type team,

00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:04.039
then it's for bragging rights. I actually think

00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.539
that makes more sense because I think like Coppa

00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:10.059
Italia is prestigious, but it's still only a

00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:12.879
couple matches per team. Like to me, winning

00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.220
the regular season and winning the playoffs is

00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:19.740
harder. So those benefits should be higher. I

00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:21.860
like the change from what it used to be, personally.

00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:26.320
Zarenspor rears its head again. Sarah Franklin

00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.399
is heading there next season. They'll be making

00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.120
that bank, maybe, if they pay. They're a big

00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:33.960
company, so they for sure have the money. Just

00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:37.340
maybe budgeting is an issue. So she is off to

00:15:37.340 --> 00:15:42.659
Turkey next year. And our last bit of news, Matt

00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:46.059
Furbringer, head coach of Love Madison. Charlie

00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:48.519
Furbringer's father, was just named the head

00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:52.299
coach of the men's USA beach volleyball national

00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:54.519
team. I don't know how long it's been since he's

00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:59.559
been involved in beach. Like since 2012 or 2013.

00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:01.940
I mean, it makes sense for him. He's back on

00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:05.259
the West Coast. He played beach for USA for a

00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:09.980
while and won some AVPs. Is he going to do both?

00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:13.960
I'm not sure. And again, you know, with the owners

00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:16.639
starting to take over, I'm not sure when the

00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.059
league will relinquish control. I don't know

00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:20.799
if these guys will all have coaches. I mean,

00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:23.899
his teams haven't done well. No. You know, they

00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:26.340
might not be renewing his contract. That's, again,

00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:30.059
speculation. But, I mean, working for Team USA,

00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.740
the Olympics are here in 2028. I'm sure the budget

00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:35.679
is good for those things. The men's program is

00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:38.440
kind of in disarray at this point. TBD to see

00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:41.360
what the outcome is, but good for him. So that's

00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:47.179
the news, the happenings. A wannabe highlight

00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.399
if you're Adam's fantasy team this week. But

00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:52.759
yeah, a bunch of stuff going on, a little bit

00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:56.399
of movement in the various leagues, but not much.

00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:03.159
And some extra little juice on the side. All

00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:10.430
right, so. The 2026 training camp for the women's

00:17:10.430 --> 00:17:16.369
national team collegiate training group was announced.

00:17:17.150 --> 00:17:19.990
I believe the training camp is like happening

00:17:19.990 --> 00:17:22.750
now, which is why Eric Sullivan hasn't been at

00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:27.650
the Love Austin matches. 62 collegiate athletes

00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:32.269
were invited to this training camp, plus a 15

00:17:32.269 --> 00:17:37.440
-year -old named... Carrie Knotts. First time

00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.200
I'm hearing that name. Which is very exciting.

00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:43.019
Good for her. Yes, love that for her. Has she

00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:45.279
committed anywhere? She's 15, so I'm guessing

00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.920
not. I have no idea. This is the first I've heard

00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:51.400
of this girl, too. We got asked a question if

00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:56.220
we could pick our personal starting seven from

00:17:56.220 --> 00:18:00.619
the 62 athletes that were sent. If you want to

00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:03.400
check out the list, it's on usavolleyball .org.

00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:06.720
So you can check it out there. This is about

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:09.680
to get controversial. Oh, I'm sure people are

00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.480
going to be up in arms about something. You don't

00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.279
need to agree. Looking at the list, this is who

00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:17.759
I would pick. Did I spend an hour thinking about

00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:21.240
it? No. But looking at the list, these are the

00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.960
seven names that jumped out at me. I'm sure ours

00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.680
are going to be very different as well. Could

00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.160
be. I found the middles the hardest to choose.

00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.279
Honestly, I think I was pretty decisive, but

00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:36.640
left sides were the ones I am. Should I read

00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:39.779
all the names off? No, there's 62 people. If

00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:41.380
you follow collegiate volleyball, you probably

00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:43.240
know most of them. Just go to usavolleyball .org.

00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:46.720
The list is there. Who did you pick for setter?

00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:50.920
I had Furbringer. Me too. Okay, we agree. Yours

00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:52.839
is in a nice list. Mine was just random when

00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:56.039
I looked at it. That's very handy. Who did you

00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.470
have for libero? I picked Etzler. I'm going with

00:19:00.470 --> 00:19:03.029
Rachel Van Gorp. That was my second choice, but

00:19:03.029 --> 00:19:04.809
I didn't get a chance to see her play enough.

00:19:05.009 --> 00:19:08.289
I didn't either, but... She was hyped this year.

00:19:08.930 --> 00:19:12.589
If she was that dominant... Honestly, the Liberos

00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:16.849
on this list, I'm very meh about top to bottom.

00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:19.750
I think this was the weakest position. I didn't

00:19:19.750 --> 00:19:22.430
pick her simply because I hadn't really watched

00:19:22.430 --> 00:19:25.329
her play. Who would have been your second? My

00:19:25.329 --> 00:19:28.500
second? I was thinking Etzler, actually. But

00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:32.200
we're not doing second. I love a second choice.

00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:34.440
Who did you pick for opposite? Kennedy Martin.

00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.279
Yeah, me too. Okay. We're pretty much on the

00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:40.960
same page so far. Yeah. Who were your two left

00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.259
sides? Kendall Storrs and Tori Stafford. Those

00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:46.420
were mine. Really? Yes. Okay. Who was your third?

00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:49.859
We're not doing seconds or thirds, but no. I

00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:53.680
had Elia Rubin. Me too. So we're pretty on the

00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:56.039
same page. Okay, who are your middles? No, you

00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:58.380
tell me your middles first. Jayla Auguste and

00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:04.680
Andy Jackson. That's who I had. Oh my gosh. I

00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:06.480
didn't think that we would be so on the same

00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.880
page. I had Lizzie Andrew and Erica Sayer also

00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:14.039
on my middle list. Oh, really? Interesting. Lizzie

00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:16.640
Andrew, I had a question mark. Favor and Yanwu,

00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:21.130
also question mark. Wow. I'm shocked that we

00:20:21.130 --> 00:20:23.269
were so close. I thought that we were going to

00:20:23.269 --> 00:20:27.710
disagree 100%. Who did you think I was going

00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:30.589
to choose instead? Where did you think we were

00:20:30.589 --> 00:20:35.170
going to differ? I thought we would differ in

00:20:35.170 --> 00:20:37.170
outsides and middles. Who did you think I was

00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.390
going to pick? Well, you made this sound like

00:20:39.390 --> 00:20:40.650
it was going to be the most controversial thing

00:20:40.650 --> 00:20:42.390
ever. Well, we didn't pick anybody from Nebraska.

00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:46.460
We did. We picked Andy Jackson. Oh, true. Okay,

00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:50.000
for my setters, I was debating between Riley

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.259
and Furbringer. Yes. But Furbringer really elevated

00:20:54.259 --> 00:20:56.460
herself in my books at the end of the season.

00:20:56.779 --> 00:20:58.420
There are two things I like about Furbringer.

00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:01.220
I think that she runs the best offense in the

00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:04.339
NCAA in terms of her decision -making, and she's

00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:06.680
got a little intangible juice. I think people

00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:09.000
are going to take exception to that. I don't

00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.079
care. I mean, we had Bergen Riley as a frontrunner

00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:15.509
for National Play of the Year. And that's, I'm

00:21:15.509 --> 00:21:18.750
not taking anything away from her. I would be

00:21:18.750 --> 00:21:21.490
fine with either of those two being picked. Totally.

00:21:21.529 --> 00:21:25.809
I was like waffling. Totally. I just, I think

00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:30.609
Charlie just makes better decisions from what

00:21:30.609 --> 00:21:33.230
I can see in terms of isolating hitters. That's

00:21:33.230 --> 00:21:36.549
a pretty bold statement. Liberos, I wasn't excited

00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:39.269
about any. Opposites, I mean, how do you not

00:21:39.269 --> 00:21:42.469
pick Kennedy Martin out of that group? Alana

00:21:42.469 --> 00:21:45.769
Clemente, I feel like, was second place. Yeah,

00:21:45.849 --> 00:21:46.710
but I don't think it's close. At this point,

00:21:46.769 --> 00:21:50.710
it's not close. Outsides were tough. Yeah, I

00:21:50.710 --> 00:21:53.529
don't know. I didn't think we would agree on

00:21:53.529 --> 00:21:56.630
the outsides. Because we kind of picked two P2s.

00:21:56.710 --> 00:22:00.009
Yeah, but which P1 is really standing out? I

00:22:00.009 --> 00:22:02.630
mean, I was just looking at them thinking international.

00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:05.730
That's how I was looking at it as well. And I

00:22:05.730 --> 00:22:09.230
was like, undersized. like not going to score

00:22:09.230 --> 00:22:11.849
blah blah and I just kept going down and then

00:22:11.849 --> 00:22:16.869
yeah yeah but those are those the players that

00:22:16.869 --> 00:22:20.849
I was choosing was like okay I can see with you

00:22:20.849 --> 00:22:23.029
know some work and some improvement and things

00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:26.049
like you have a potential on the national team

00:22:26.049 --> 00:22:27.769
these would be the players if I'm Eric Sullivan

00:22:27.769 --> 00:22:30.309
looking in the room like I have them circled

00:22:30.309 --> 00:22:32.650
as coming to the gym in the summer okay so our

00:22:32.650 --> 00:22:35.490
picks Bergen Riley Charlie Furbringer Spencer

00:22:35.490 --> 00:22:39.390
Etzler Rachel Van Gorp, Kennedy Martin, Corey

00:22:39.390 --> 00:22:42.210
Stafford, Kendall Stowers, with Elia Rubin as

00:22:42.210 --> 00:22:45.589
backup, Jayla Auguste, Andy Jackson. There it

00:22:45.589 --> 00:22:48.430
is. There's the list. Just building off of our

00:22:48.430 --> 00:22:51.690
starting seven, are there any people that were

00:22:51.690 --> 00:22:54.890
selected that were surprising to you? I mean,

00:22:54.910 --> 00:22:58.910
the list is so long that I feel like you can

00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:02.490
include whoever you wanted. I don't know how

00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:05.809
they made the selection, but... So I have a few.

00:23:05.970 --> 00:23:11.329
Okay. Alice Volpe, the libero from TCU. I'm not

00:23:11.329 --> 00:23:14.150
a fan. Also, and this might rub people the wrong

00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:17.750
way, Lainey Choboy and Olivia Mouch. One of them's

00:23:17.750 --> 00:23:20.049
decent at defense. One of them's decent at passing.

00:23:20.170 --> 00:23:24.190
But to bring both of them in had me racing. But

00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:26.210
mind you, literally everybody on the Nebraska

00:23:26.210 --> 00:23:29.799
roster got sent. Yeah. So that's a nod to the

00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:32.319
program. I also think it speaks to, I just don't

00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.200
think there were very many good liberos in college

00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:37.819
this year. Okay, so I have a libero that I think

00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:41.859
was snubbed. Camden Shrand? The Louisville libero?

00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:45.720
I had one too. Who? Molly Tuzzo. Is she a senior

00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:48.039
though? Did she graduate? No, she was a junior

00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:50.339
last year. She's a senior this year. Are you

00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:54.420
sure? Really? Okay, so yeah. I believe I looked

00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:57.220
it up, and I believe she is a senior in 2026.

00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:00.240
Okay, so if that's the case, then there's two

00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.460
liberos right there that I think were snubbed,

00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:06.400
given the list. Like, looking at the list of

00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:10.339
who was included, yes, I agree that there aren't

00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:13.019
a ton of good liberos out there, but, like, if

00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:15.220
you're including the ones you did, why are those

00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:17.799
two not on the list? I think that's fair. I was

00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:21.279
also surprised by that Grace Egan and Peyton

00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:24.619
Peterson were sent. Neither one of those is an

00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:27.099
international left side. Yeah, but again, you've

00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:30.440
invited 60 people. Like compared to their peers,

00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:33.740
those two are in the... No. I think compared

00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:36.640
to the list, they are not it. Chloe Chacoin even,

00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:39.420
I'd be like, hmm. Maybe they're looking at Chacoin

00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:43.519
as like a... Libero? Libero. Yeah. Maybe. But

00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:46.730
yeah, I was surprised about those two. I was

00:24:46.730 --> 00:24:50.089
also, from a middle perspective, surprised about

00:24:50.089 --> 00:24:53.470
Abby Emscht, Taylor Harvey, and Natalie Wardlow.

00:24:53.869 --> 00:24:56.509
Taylor Harvey was the third middle for Texas.

00:24:56.829 --> 00:24:58.630
She got some playing time in the tournament.

00:24:58.890 --> 00:25:02.569
And then Emscht was the freshman middle who replaced

00:25:02.569 --> 00:25:05.990
Ryla Jones for Pitt. And then Wardlow was the

00:25:05.990 --> 00:25:08.750
one who came in as a serving sub for Wisconsin,

00:25:09.029 --> 00:25:12.190
the one who missed the ball. Do you know which

00:25:12.190 --> 00:25:15.920
middle I think got snubbed? Who wasn't invited?

00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:19.039
Who? Because I think I had some too. Lizzie Carr.

00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:22.759
Oh. I think Kentucky got snubbed across the board.

00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:24.380
Kentucky got snubbed across the board. The only

00:25:24.380 --> 00:25:26.759
person from Kentucky who got an invite was the

00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:31.640
setter. Yeah. Delay was a huge snub. My first

00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:34.539
three snubs were Carr, Delay, and Tuzzo. I was

00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:37.619
like, how did you not? Makes me wonder if there's,

00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:42.400
as Taylor Swift would say, some bad blood. Great

00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:45.440
song. Yeah, Delay, I had her on my list. Given

00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:47.619
the setters that were invited, I was wondering

00:25:47.619 --> 00:25:50.900
why Logan Parks and Cabello weren't included.

00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:55.400
The Cabello one is a head scratcher for me. Yes.

00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.200
Because she brings, she's not the most consistent

00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:02.380
setter, but she's got a little jam. She's offensive.

00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:05.539
Like if you're bringing those other setters,

00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:06.519
like how are you not looking at her? And did

00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.039
you notice that Izzy Stark wasn't invited? I

00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:11.900
did notice Izzy Stark wasn't invited. I'm not

00:26:11.900 --> 00:26:16.099
sure. I think she's probably not invited out

00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:20.140
of respect to Penn State. Like, you can't get

00:26:20.140 --> 00:26:21.900
invited. This is a national team, people. No,

00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.400
no, no. But, I mean, either that or not condoning

00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:27.980
behavior. Like, she hasn't played. Fine. Fine.

00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:31.859
Not condoning, like, leaving her team high and

00:26:31.859 --> 00:26:34.380
dry, like, four matches into the season. Fine.

00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:36.900
So, I would consider that a snub with those two

00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:38.779
setters. Do I think Logan Parks is there right

00:26:38.779 --> 00:26:41.829
now? No. But, like. If you're going to include

00:26:41.829 --> 00:26:44.170
some of the people that were there, include her.

00:26:44.250 --> 00:26:49.029
The other two that I had, Kalissa Blackshear.

00:26:49.309 --> 00:26:53.230
I'm not a huge fan of Blackshear, but again,

00:26:53.349 --> 00:26:56.289
looking at the list, I'm like, she could have

00:26:56.289 --> 00:26:59.849
been included. And Jaden Living. I had Jaden

00:26:59.849 --> 00:27:02.950
Jagger on my list. Oh, from Indiana. Nobody from

00:27:02.950 --> 00:27:05.650
Indiana went in that program. like kind of came

00:27:05.650 --> 00:27:08.150
out of nowhere. They play a fast offense. They

00:27:08.150 --> 00:27:09.910
need people who know how to hit a fast ball.

00:27:10.130 --> 00:27:13.190
Yeah. So I was, I was surprised she wasn't on

00:27:13.190 --> 00:27:15.430
the list. I mean, we probably missed a whole

00:27:15.430 --> 00:27:18.210
bunch, but those were the ones that like jumped

00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:21.710
out at me that I thought were snubbed. And the

00:27:21.710 --> 00:27:23.509
ones that I was like kind of scratching my head,

00:27:23.569 --> 00:27:26.910
like, why are you on the list? Yeah. I'm sure

00:27:26.910 --> 00:27:28.609
people are going to tell us their list and it

00:27:28.609 --> 00:27:31.470
will look very different, but I'm curious. If

00:27:31.470 --> 00:27:34.890
you post your list. I always want to know why.

00:27:35.490 --> 00:27:37.950
Yeah, don't just post your list and be like,

00:27:38.009 --> 00:27:39.630
you guys are stupid. You don't know anything.

00:27:39.789 --> 00:27:44.130
Here's my list. At least explain it. Then we

00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:47.849
can have a dialogue. Yeah, thank you. Let us

00:27:47.849 --> 00:27:49.670
know. Yeah, let us know your thoughts. All right,

00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:55.349
so today, instead of a game, I believe the MLV

00:27:55.349 --> 00:27:58.029
All -Star voting opened up to the public this

00:27:58.029 --> 00:28:01.089
week. We are going to go through and pick our

00:28:01.089 --> 00:28:05.109
starting seven. Or what our votes for MVPs would

00:28:05.109 --> 00:28:07.410
be. I know people are going to be up in arms

00:28:07.410 --> 00:28:10.069
again. Instead of getting mad at our picks, how

00:28:10.069 --> 00:28:13.049
about you just share your picks? With a justification.

00:28:13.450 --> 00:28:15.230
With a justification. All right. Where do you

00:28:15.230 --> 00:28:17.890
want to start? Setter. It's easiest to start

00:28:17.890 --> 00:28:21.150
at Setter. I'm very curious if we're going to

00:28:21.150 --> 00:28:24.250
agree on any of this. Well, okay. We'll see.

00:28:24.369 --> 00:28:27.250
I had Valentina Anderson. Me too. Okay. Okay,

00:28:27.250 --> 00:28:30.470
perfect. One for one. Opposite. I don't love

00:28:30.470 --> 00:28:33.569
the opposites in this league. I would put Teeler.

00:28:34.029 --> 00:28:37.049
I had Abercrombie. She's not doing so hot this

00:28:37.049 --> 00:28:39.369
year. It's close. It was between those two, but

00:28:39.369 --> 00:28:43.390
Abercrombie for me. Edge is Teeler. Okay. Who

00:28:43.390 --> 00:28:48.130
did you have for your left sides? I had Raina

00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:53.809
Terry and Lecter Membermena. I had Brooke Nunneviller

00:28:53.809 --> 00:28:56.230
and Mimi Collier. I figured you were going to

00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:58.410
pick Nunneviller. I think that she's taken a

00:28:58.410 --> 00:29:00.720
dip this year. And I think Raina Terry is doing

00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:04.380
really well. Raina Terry is doing really well.

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:08.319
And I think she's leading the point scores currently,

00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:10.779
if I'm not mistaken. I think Brooke is second.

00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:13.019
Okay. And I'm like, she took a dip. I don't know

00:29:13.019 --> 00:29:14.799
what I'm talking about. You just, I think you

00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:19.619
have to be on like a plus 500 team to get like

00:29:19.619 --> 00:29:21.859
to be part of that. I don't know. There's just

00:29:21.859 --> 00:29:24.279
part of an all -star like your team needs to

00:29:24.279 --> 00:29:26.910
be winning. And I know that's not. Totally fair.

00:29:27.150 --> 00:29:29.609
No, Raina Terry is playing really well. It's

00:29:29.609 --> 00:29:33.170
not her fault she's on a bad team. I looked at

00:29:33.170 --> 00:29:35.890
her and I picked these two. Adam just picked

00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:39.390
them. No, I think Mimi Collier has come in and

00:29:39.390 --> 00:29:41.630
done an incredible job for Dallas. I think she's

00:29:41.630 --> 00:29:43.829
done a great job for Dallas. I don't think she's

00:29:43.829 --> 00:29:46.069
playing at the level of Raina Terry or putting

00:29:46.069 --> 00:29:47.829
up the numbers of Raina Terry or Elector Member

00:29:47.829 --> 00:29:50.950
Mena. She got me really poor points this week.

00:29:52.250 --> 00:29:55.019
Your fantasy voting. Can't be based off your

00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:59.039
volley stats. Adam, there's so many. More than

00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:01.779
two are going to be selected for the All -Star

00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:03.039
map. I'm not saying your choices are wrong. I'm

00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:05.279
just saying these are the two that I would have

00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:07.359
voted for. Okay, let us know who you guys are

00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:08.799
voting for. Okay, so perfect. We have enough

00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:10.839
for two teams. Our teams can play each other,

00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:13.019
and I'll take the setter. What did you think

00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:15.599
of Leah Edmond? I don't think that Atlanta's

00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:17.339
been doing well this year. I think they're having

00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:20.700
trouble scoring. See, here's the thing. I feel

00:30:20.700 --> 00:30:22.819
like the Leah Edmond, Brooke Nunneville are...

00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:26.400
They are, it might be slightly unfair, but I

00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:28.440
feel like the expectations on them or that I

00:30:28.440 --> 00:30:34.180
have of them in the MLV are really high. So Raina

00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:36.259
Terry has exceeded your personal expectations.

00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:39.640
She has exceeded my expectations. Okay. I mean.

00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:41.880
And Member Manna has like met my expectations.

00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:46.680
Edmund and Nunavilla are not performing the way

00:30:46.680 --> 00:30:49.420
I would expect given their past couple years.

00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:51.660
Okay. Which position do you want to do next?

00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:54.769
Middle. I'll pick a middle, then you pick a middle.

00:30:54.950 --> 00:30:56.529
Well, you just looked at mine, so you already

00:30:56.529 --> 00:30:59.130
know. I still don't know what you said. Okay.

00:30:59.190 --> 00:31:02.269
I have Pittman Nelson as my first choice. Did

00:31:02.269 --> 00:31:04.890
you just go on the Volley Fantasy app and see

00:31:04.890 --> 00:31:08.289
who was worth the most money? No. Okay, I picked

00:31:08.289 --> 00:31:11.029
Lydia Martin. That was my second choice. My second

00:31:11.029 --> 00:31:13.509
was Kaz Brown. Those are good options. I actually

00:31:13.509 --> 00:31:15.750
thought middle was the hardest because statistically,

00:31:16.089 --> 00:31:19.730
Rahmat Alhassan has played very well. So I thought

00:31:19.730 --> 00:31:22.900
there were some legitimate choices. At middle.

00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:27.220
I think the middle is one of the stronger positions

00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:29.539
in MLV. I would agree with that. I'm going to

00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:32.640
say, here's maybe my hot take, opposite for MLV,

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:35.839
worst position by far. Second worst position,

00:31:36.059 --> 00:31:39.599
setter. Yeah, those two, I would agree. I think

00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:43.319
left sides and middles are the two strongest

00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:45.519
ones. I would say the left sides are a little

00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:48.599
undersized. They're undersized for sure. Yes,

00:31:48.819 --> 00:31:50.400
I would agree with you. But as far as skill,

00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:55.400
yeah. number of like competent individuals. I

00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:57.440
think that's fair. Okay. Who'd you have for libero?

00:31:57.460 --> 00:32:01.119
Let me guess. Theodora Pusik. Whoa. I had Elena

00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:06.839
Scott. So my team overall, Natalia, Valentina

00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:09.519
Anderson, Raina Terry, and Lector Member Mena,

00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:12.799
Lydia Martin and Kaz Brown, Azani Teeler, and

00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:15.339
Elena Scott. My team is Brooke Noville, Mimi

00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:18.680
Collier, Valentina Anderson, Pittman Nelson,

00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:22.640
Lydia Martin. Abercrombie, and Theodore Pusik.

00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:24.920
Okay. Tell us whose team you think will win.

00:32:25.099 --> 00:32:28.200
If I was voting and maybe I will vote, I'm going

00:32:28.200 --> 00:32:30.559
to pick those players. Everybody go vote for

00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:32.920
MLB All -Star, okay? And then tell us who you

00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:34.700
would pick on your team, and I'm sure that they're

00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:37.700
very different from who we picked. It is time

00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:41.740
for listener questions, everybody. Everyone's

00:32:41.740 --> 00:32:45.720
favorite segment. Question one. Okay, this is

00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:49.160
one question that we received, but we get so

00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:53.960
many about this person. So we're just kind of

00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:56.940
looping them all in here. I don't hear a lot

00:32:56.940 --> 00:32:59.960
about Kendall Kipp. I know she's playing in Italy.

00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:02.119
Is there a reason we don't hear her name throw

00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:06.940
out there more for the Olympic team? Okay, so

00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:10.200
I'm going to start with how the national team

00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:13.140
process generally works. This is not the direction

00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:15.220
I thought he was going to take. I did a little

00:33:15.220 --> 00:33:18.500
digging on her. She hasn't really been invited

00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:20.940
to many national team functions since like a

00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:24.740
Norseca and I believe some age -related stuff.

00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:28.279
She was on a roster last summer. I don't know

00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:30.380
if it was the wide roster for VNL or if it was

00:33:30.380 --> 00:33:34.079
Worlds, but she was on a roster. I can't remember

00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:38.569
what. But she hasn't competed. for them if memory

00:33:38.569 --> 00:33:41.369
serves me correctly if she's not in the pipeline

00:33:41.369 --> 00:33:44.210
like they are looking at all of the players that

00:33:44.210 --> 00:33:48.190
they are considering for 2028 so outside of is

00:33:48.190 --> 00:33:50.630
she good enough or is she not she's not on the

00:33:50.630 --> 00:33:54.769
radar according to the program not spoken but

00:33:54.769 --> 00:33:57.170
in terms of how these things work they're not

00:33:57.170 --> 00:34:00.369
seriously considering her for that position so

00:34:00.369 --> 00:34:03.599
that's how i wanted to start in terms of how

00:34:03.599 --> 00:34:07.640
we look at things and who we decide to talk about,

00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:11.420
if they're not even on the USA radar, very rarely

00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:13.699
do those players get pulled into the Olympic

00:34:13.699 --> 00:34:16.960
cycle three years out. And I'll be completely

00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:20.559
honest, I have not seen her play enough to have

00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:23.420
an opinion about her. But the other thing you

00:34:23.420 --> 00:34:26.340
have to think about is, so she's not on the roster.

00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:28.820
She is playing in Italy, to her credit. She's

00:34:28.820 --> 00:34:31.360
at Bergamo this year, but she played at Stanford.

00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:33.699
For a long time, had a great college career.

00:34:34.980 --> 00:34:37.119
Played right out of college for the Columbus

00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:40.960
Fury. Then went to Il Bisonte Firenze in Italy,

00:34:41.099 --> 00:34:46.400
which is a mid team. Then last year was on the

00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:49.320
bench in back of bank. And now is playing at

00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:53.460
Bergamo. If you're going to jump positions or

00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:56.269
pass the people ahead of you who are... Play

00:34:56.269 --> 00:34:59.210
in love. Jordan Thompson. Well, yeah. No, that's

00:34:59.210 --> 00:35:01.130
a fair point, but it's Jordan Thompson. It's

00:35:01.130 --> 00:35:05.050
Olivia Babcock. It's Skinner. Take your pick.

00:35:05.150 --> 00:35:07.829
She very well could be better than them. I personally

00:35:07.829 --> 00:35:10.670
cannot speak to her level because I just haven't

00:35:10.670 --> 00:35:12.969
seen her play enough. And she's not playing for

00:35:12.969 --> 00:35:17.170
clubs good enough to garner that attention. I

00:35:17.170 --> 00:35:19.110
mean, back of bank. But that's the thing, Adam.

00:35:19.130 --> 00:35:22.369
We talk about how... girls should go over there

00:35:22.369 --> 00:35:25.190
and even be on the bench of a vac of bank, et

00:35:25.190 --> 00:35:28.869
cetera. So she did that. That's not like, I am,

00:35:28.869 --> 00:35:32.349
I am curious why she is not in the conversation

00:35:32.349 --> 00:35:34.510
more. Maybe I should go back and watch some of

00:35:34.510 --> 00:35:37.230
her games. That's on me. She's doing the right

00:35:37.230 --> 00:35:39.750
thing. Totally. She's just, I don't think in

00:35:39.750 --> 00:35:41.789
the conversation for 2020, if she keeps going

00:35:41.789 --> 00:35:44.150
and she keeps getting better, she might find

00:35:44.150 --> 00:35:47.250
her way onto the 2032 roster. Like again, she's

00:35:47.250 --> 00:35:50.360
taking all the right steps, but she hasn't. made

00:35:50.360 --> 00:35:54.500
enough waves professionally to bump current talent

00:35:54.500 --> 00:35:57.579
out so to answer the question we don't know why

00:35:57.579 --> 00:36:01.800
she's not on the radar we do not know maybe she

00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:04.619
should be question two i live in atlanta and

00:36:04.619 --> 00:36:07.659
we have both mlv and love teams i prefer watching

00:36:07.659 --> 00:36:11.550
mlv love seems like exhibition matches While

00:36:11.550 --> 00:36:13.349
watching Love, I'm struck that several players

00:36:13.349 --> 00:36:15.710
that used to play MLB are now playing in Love,

00:36:15.789 --> 00:36:18.969
like Kat Bell, Tori Dixon, Temi Thomas -Ailara,

00:36:19.110 --> 00:36:23.630
Magdalena Hilarova, Claire Chaussee. Do you think

00:36:23.630 --> 00:36:27.190
that because Love has a lock on several of the

00:36:27.190 --> 00:36:30.409
U .S. national team, that makes the players want

00:36:30.409 --> 00:36:34.989
to switch from PVF to Love? Should girls rather

00:36:34.989 --> 00:36:37.809
be on the bench and get little court time in

00:36:37.809 --> 00:36:41.880
a more competitive league? or be a starter six

00:36:41.880 --> 00:36:43.900
rotation player in a league that was not as high

00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:46.519
level. They use Mimi Collier as an example. She's

00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:49.539
a star in PVF, but would probably be on the bench

00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:51.880
in love. It depends what your goals are, right?

00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:54.579
So we talk about this. We just talked about it

00:36:54.579 --> 00:36:56.440
with Kendall Kipp, right? Go to Vacath Bank and

00:36:56.440 --> 00:36:58.699
be on the bench, right? And not be on the radar.

00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:03.960
Well, I feel like she, okay. Love is a better

00:37:03.960 --> 00:37:08.619
league than MLV from a performance standpoint.

00:37:10.049 --> 00:37:13.130
Pure, the athletes are better. The volleyball

00:37:13.130 --> 00:37:15.130
is better. They're more physical. If you want

00:37:15.130 --> 00:37:18.789
to get better, that's a better environment from

00:37:18.789 --> 00:37:20.690
an athlete perspective. I can't talk to the training

00:37:20.690 --> 00:37:22.289
or the coaches or anything like that, but you're

00:37:22.289 --> 00:37:24.170
playing against better competition. That's how

00:37:24.170 --> 00:37:27.829
you get better. So from that standpoint, I would

00:37:27.829 --> 00:37:30.650
say yes. If you just are planning on playing

00:37:30.650 --> 00:37:32.789
three years and you want to have fun and you

00:37:32.789 --> 00:37:36.449
want to be a pro athlete and be part of a team.

00:37:37.029 --> 00:37:39.030
MLB is the way to go for these players. But again,

00:37:39.210 --> 00:37:42.829
it totally depends what your goals are. But being

00:37:42.829 --> 00:37:44.889
in a more competitive situation is definitely

00:37:44.889 --> 00:37:47.730
makes it easier to improve. But you have to also

00:37:47.730 --> 00:37:49.909
think like the players that were named played

00:37:49.909 --> 00:37:53.449
PVF before love existed and then like moved over

00:37:53.449 --> 00:37:57.130
as soon as love existed. Do I like, but the question

00:37:57.130 --> 00:37:59.730
is like, do you want to be on the bench in love?

00:37:59.929 --> 00:38:01.690
Like I can be like, yeah, be on the bench in

00:38:01.690 --> 00:38:04.610
back of bank, be on the bench at Corneliano.

00:38:04.909 --> 00:38:07.019
Do you want to be on the bench in love? I understand

00:38:07.019 --> 00:38:09.860
what you're saying, but these players, it's about...

00:38:09.860 --> 00:38:11.539
It depends what your goals are, I guess. Right,

00:38:11.539 --> 00:38:13.739
but it also depends on perspective of how good

00:38:13.739 --> 00:38:17.360
you are, right? Sarah Franklin on the bench at

00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:20.360
a top team might be a similar experience to Claire

00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:23.619
Chassé on the bench at Love in terms of the level

00:38:23.619 --> 00:38:25.539
of competition you're playing against every day,

00:38:25.639 --> 00:38:28.260
right? If your level of competition... I think

00:38:28.260 --> 00:38:29.920
Sarah Franklin is getting much better competition.

00:38:31.219 --> 00:38:34.929
But I'm talking relative to your ability. Chasse

00:38:34.929 --> 00:38:37.250
is not going to be invited to be on the bench

00:38:37.250 --> 00:38:40.269
at a top Italian league team. You have to take

00:38:40.269 --> 00:38:42.070
the opportunities that are in front of you and

00:38:42.070 --> 00:38:43.889
then make the best of them. Okay, so if you had

00:38:43.889 --> 00:38:46.110
an athlete be like, should I go be a star in

00:38:46.110 --> 00:38:49.429
PVF or MLV or sit on the bench and love, what

00:38:49.429 --> 00:38:51.630
would you say? Again, I would ask them what their

00:38:51.630 --> 00:38:54.230
goals are. If your goal is to get better, I would

00:38:54.230 --> 00:38:55.250
say probably their love. I think if it's between

00:38:55.250 --> 00:38:59.530
love and MLV, go be a star in MLV. If it's a

00:38:59.530 --> 00:39:03.539
question between like... MLV and the bench in

00:39:03.539 --> 00:39:07.539
Milano. No brainer. But see, that's the thing.

00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:09.380
You're making it impossible to answer this question

00:39:09.380 --> 00:39:11.460
because you're like, it's apples and oranges.

00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:14.420
So then we can't answer the question. I mean,

00:39:14.460 --> 00:39:19.400
if your goal is to get better and you couldn't

00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:22.619
get a role in Italy, moving up and playing love

00:39:22.619 --> 00:39:25.440
is playing against better competition. You can

00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:27.340
try it for years. Is it that much better then?

00:39:27.679 --> 00:39:31.539
I agree that love is a better level. than mlv

00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:36.159
okay but let me to miss the reps and the kind

00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:38.360
of training that you will get as a starter in

00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:41.639
mlv versus being a b -side player in love where

00:39:41.639 --> 00:39:45.960
i wouldn't say the jump is like atmospheric okay

00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:51.179
name me an average left side in love just pick

00:39:51.179 --> 00:39:53.039
we're gonna we're gonna take an opposite let's

00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:55.440
say like anna hawk okay how big is anna hawk

00:39:55.440 --> 00:39:59.769
i don't know 5 10 is she only 5 10 i think Okay.

00:39:59.869 --> 00:40:04.230
Well, that ruins my example. Perfect. I was going

00:40:04.230 --> 00:40:07.949
to say, like, you're competing once or twice

00:40:07.949 --> 00:40:10.230
a week, so you're getting good game reps in MLV.

00:40:10.329 --> 00:40:12.449
I don't mean any disrespect here, but take a

00:40:12.449 --> 00:40:15.469
Lector member meta. She's 5 '8", right? If you

00:40:15.469 --> 00:40:17.829
practice against her four or five times a week,

00:40:17.929 --> 00:40:20.670
that's much different than hitting against a

00:40:20.670 --> 00:40:24.110
6 '3 blocker every day in practice. We went over

00:40:24.110 --> 00:40:27.579
this last week. It doesn't matter. Maybe Lector

00:40:27.579 --> 00:40:29.860
Member Men is a better blocker than the 6 -3

00:40:29.860 --> 00:40:31.739
girl because she can get over the net further.

00:40:31.980 --> 00:40:34.380
Maybe. Maybe the 6 -3 girl just throws those

00:40:34.380 --> 00:40:36.880
sticks in the air and is like, tool me. But we

00:40:36.880 --> 00:40:40.159
also just said that the best team in MLV will

00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:44.039
not beat the worst team in love. So you can't

00:40:44.039 --> 00:40:48.320
argue that the level of play is higher. Okay,

00:40:48.380 --> 00:40:50.719
would the bench players on the worst team in

00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:55.440
love beat the best team in MLV? I don't know.

00:40:55.980 --> 00:40:58.940
I don't know. It's a tough question. It's an

00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:01.800
interesting question. I think you would get better

00:41:01.800 --> 00:41:04.920
in the love environment, but it depends on what

00:41:04.920 --> 00:41:07.599
you want. Okay, question three. What do you think

00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:09.880
about Tessa Grubbs' chance of making starting

00:41:09.880 --> 00:41:12.719
for the national team? Last season, I saw something

00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:14.619
in her that really got me excited for the prospects

00:41:14.619 --> 00:41:17.460
of our national team finally having a true Terminator.

00:41:18.139 --> 00:41:20.320
Her mechanics are simple and clean and efficient.

00:41:20.460 --> 00:41:23.960
No wasted or unnecessary motions. She reaches

00:41:23.960 --> 00:41:27.179
high, contacts the ball high. This season, the

00:41:27.179 --> 00:41:29.300
announcers seem to agree with me and have heaped

00:41:29.300 --> 00:41:31.760
exceptional praise on her. Do you see what I

00:41:31.760 --> 00:41:35.119
see in her? First of all, I would put zero stock

00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:36.920
in what the love announcers say about players

00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:38.820
because they're all the best in the world. So

00:41:38.820 --> 00:41:43.829
use your eye test, not the announcer. I agree

00:41:43.829 --> 00:41:46.070
she had a good season, but she kind of came out

00:41:46.070 --> 00:41:49.409
of nowhere. I did not know who this person was

00:41:49.409 --> 00:41:53.989
until last season. And granted, I was off doing

00:41:53.989 --> 00:41:58.150
my own career. I was doing my own thing. So there

00:41:58.150 --> 00:42:02.050
is that as the explanation of why. But I don't

00:42:02.050 --> 00:42:04.670
know. When I look at her and I look at opposites

00:42:04.670 --> 00:42:07.710
that I use as the standard, she's not it. Are

00:42:07.710 --> 00:42:11.210
your standards international or American? International

00:42:11.210 --> 00:42:14.679
because the U .S. wants a medal. Right. Compare

00:42:14.679 --> 00:42:19.699
her to Skinner, to Babcock. But now she's been

00:42:19.699 --> 00:42:21.500
injured. Ever since she got that ankle injury,

00:42:21.599 --> 00:42:23.960
she keeps injuring her ankle. True. I think she

00:42:23.960 --> 00:42:27.219
has played herself into the mix. Yeah, but are

00:42:27.219 --> 00:42:28.460
they going to give her a chance? I don't know.

00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:30.440
Because national team stuff is so weird. If a

00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:32.460
coach just doesn't have a good feeling about

00:42:32.460 --> 00:42:35.500
you, you could actually be great, but it doesn't

00:42:35.500 --> 00:42:37.840
matter because they're like, no. I agree with

00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:40.039
you. She might not be on the radar. She might

00:42:40.039 --> 00:42:42.900
not be one that they're looking at. I personally

00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:46.860
think she's played her way into getting at least

00:42:46.860 --> 00:42:49.480
one. Okay. Do you think she's better? Okay. I

00:42:49.480 --> 00:42:52.519
will say last season I was confused why granted

00:42:52.519 --> 00:42:55.159
she was injured, but like I was confused why

00:42:55.159 --> 00:42:59.539
Danielle Coutinho was on these rosters. Granted

00:42:59.539 --> 00:43:01.780
grubs couldn't be because she was hurt, but like

00:43:01.780 --> 00:43:05.300
I was raising my eyebrow at that. I thought she

00:43:05.300 --> 00:43:07.239
should have been for sure over her if she was

00:43:07.239 --> 00:43:12.570
healthy, but like. I think you're okay. I think

00:43:12.570 --> 00:43:14.150
that's a fair point. Like when I think of the

00:43:14.150 --> 00:43:16.150
people they're traveling, like a Steph Samity,

00:43:16.329 --> 00:43:21.909
Taylor Mims, uh, Lednicki. Sure. I think she

00:43:21.909 --> 00:43:24.269
for sure should be in the conversation with those

00:43:24.269 --> 00:43:28.150
people. I maybe even a Skinner Babcock, I think

00:43:28.150 --> 00:43:31.070
brings more to the table from a whole, like whole

00:43:31.070 --> 00:43:35.269
skill perspective. I think that's fair. I also

00:43:35.269 --> 00:43:40.289
think that grubs needs to. find a few more angles

00:43:40.289 --> 00:43:43.230
like it's not going to be as easy to score well

00:43:43.230 --> 00:43:45.510
this person says she can hit over the block and

00:43:45.510 --> 00:43:47.809
very sharp angles with a lot of power she's not

00:43:47.809 --> 00:43:50.590
not hitting over any international blocks so

00:43:50.590 --> 00:43:52.869
she's gonna have to find different ways to score

00:43:52.869 --> 00:43:55.789
i think she's earned the chance to show what

00:43:55.789 --> 00:43:58.309
she has at the next level fair question four

00:43:59.230 --> 00:44:01.369
Assuming that your daughter is likely to play

00:44:01.369 --> 00:44:04.429
and perhaps be 6 '6 and left -handed, would you

00:44:04.429 --> 00:44:06.969
encourage her to be an opposite or a setter?

00:44:07.070 --> 00:44:10.730
I know she'll be coached to pass. You're right.

00:44:10.809 --> 00:44:14.090
She probably will be 6 '6. And if what she's

00:44:14.090 --> 00:44:16.230
currently doing is any indication, she is left

00:44:16.230 --> 00:44:20.690
-handed. Given my experience, I was coached to

00:44:20.690 --> 00:44:26.239
be both for... A long time. So, like, I know

00:44:26.239 --> 00:44:29.659
I played a 6 -2, like a true 6 -2, where I sat

00:44:29.659 --> 00:44:31.860
in the back row, hit in the front row until I

00:44:31.860 --> 00:44:36.219
was, what, 16? And then I strictly became a hitter.

00:44:36.400 --> 00:44:38.239
I don't know. What do you think? I think she

00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:40.199
should learn everything. I think she should,

00:44:40.199 --> 00:44:43.260
for sure, be coached to do both. She will learn

00:44:43.260 --> 00:44:46.420
to pass. She will learn to play defense. A little

00:44:46.420 --> 00:44:49.860
Mikuleto action. Ooh, a left -handed left side.

00:44:51.079 --> 00:44:53.079
Yeah, totally. And this goes back, I think all

00:44:53.079 --> 00:44:55.239
kids should learn how to do the majority of skills

00:44:55.239 --> 00:44:58.960
up until like 14 even. You're learning to do

00:44:58.960 --> 00:45:00.440
different things. So yeah, I would totally teach

00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:02.619
her to sit. I'd run her on a six too, unless

00:45:02.619 --> 00:45:06.539
she develops one better than the other, like

00:45:06.539 --> 00:45:09.440
in high school. Yeah, you would definitely start

00:45:09.440 --> 00:45:11.639
that way. And if she's right -handed, left side,

00:45:11.739 --> 00:45:14.280
passing left side. Can you imagine? And little

00:45:14.280 --> 00:45:19.219
Markova coming out. Six, six, little. Passing

00:45:19.219 --> 00:45:21.519
left side? Yes, please. Okay, question five.

00:45:22.079 --> 00:45:24.619
I remember watching the 2012 Olympics and seeing

00:45:24.619 --> 00:45:28.199
Destiny Hooker dominate. How is it that it hasn't

00:45:28.199 --> 00:45:30.559
been until Olivia Babcock that we've seen another

00:45:30.559 --> 00:45:34.139
dominant opposite? I know substitutions played

00:45:34.139 --> 00:45:36.880
a role, but why didn't colleges or Team USA make

00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:40.099
that investment? Well, Destiny, I played against

00:45:40.099 --> 00:45:43.380
her in college. She played left side in college.

00:45:43.659 --> 00:45:47.719
Trust me, I know because... I was playing defense

00:45:47.719 --> 00:45:51.340
behind Rachel Holloway, our setter, when Destiny

00:45:51.340 --> 00:45:54.159
was in the front row sometimes. Strap it on,

00:45:54.239 --> 00:45:59.519
baby. No offense to Rachel. That was wild. So

00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:01.679
she actually played left side in college. I mean.

00:46:01.739 --> 00:46:06.579
Yeah, I just don't think that the. I think substitutions

00:46:06.579 --> 00:46:09.500
play a huge role because there are very few opposites

00:46:09.500 --> 00:46:12.099
that are being used effectively in the back row.

00:46:12.679 --> 00:46:15.889
Colleges loved their starting to. Love running

00:46:15.889 --> 00:46:19.030
the pipe, but it's not many programs that are

00:46:19.030 --> 00:46:21.349
keeping a six rotation opposite on the court.

00:46:21.510 --> 00:46:23.389
And that is what is required internationally.

00:46:23.849 --> 00:46:27.530
Like I can't think of many out there who have

00:46:27.530 --> 00:46:29.510
been given the opportunity to play six rotations.

00:46:29.809 --> 00:46:33.909
Well, and not only that, but Destiny was a freak

00:46:33.909 --> 00:46:36.449
athlete. Like she was, wasn't she not a high

00:46:36.449 --> 00:46:38.030
jump champion? She was the NCAA champion high

00:46:38.030 --> 00:46:41.429
jumper. I believe she cleared six five to win.

00:46:41.590 --> 00:46:46.400
She physically outmatched. The majority of athletes

00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:50.000
out there granted her interpersonal things and

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:53.960
dynamics with coaches, et cetera, kind of led

00:46:53.960 --> 00:46:56.840
to her being phased out. Yeah. I feel like that,

00:46:56.880 --> 00:47:00.139
that is a big reason why we haven't seen the

00:47:00.139 --> 00:47:03.960
U S develop a dominant right side. And so long

00:47:03.960 --> 00:47:07.400
because none of them are allowed to hit back

00:47:07.400 --> 00:47:09.579
row where they're, where they're supposed to.

00:47:09.739 --> 00:47:13.630
And you need to find. those athletes that can

00:47:13.630 --> 00:47:16.210
compete. So if you were to look at the current

00:47:16.210 --> 00:47:19.630
USA opposites, do you think Babcock plays at

00:47:19.630 --> 00:47:22.429
the height that the top international opposites

00:47:22.429 --> 00:47:25.610
play at? Like that's your baseline starting point.

00:47:25.690 --> 00:47:27.789
And then we're not even talking about skill.

00:47:27.889 --> 00:47:30.989
I think she potentially could, but I think that

00:47:30.989 --> 00:47:33.989
she just physically outmatches so much of the

00:47:33.989 --> 00:47:37.409
college competition because believe me, college

00:47:37.409 --> 00:47:40.389
volleyball is not close to international volleyball.

00:47:41.739 --> 00:47:44.599
I just think that she's been able to be so dominant

00:47:44.599 --> 00:47:47.320
because she just is physically outmatching everybody

00:47:47.320 --> 00:47:49.539
she's playing against. So she hasn't been forced

00:47:49.539 --> 00:47:53.099
to develop the angles and the shots that a lot

00:47:53.099 --> 00:47:56.440
of her counterparts internationally started learning

00:47:56.440 --> 00:47:59.280
at a really young age. She can get away with

00:47:59.280 --> 00:48:01.579
what she's doing because she's just better. But

00:48:01.579 --> 00:48:05.460
you think she has the physical potential to be

00:48:05.460 --> 00:48:08.239
there. It's difficult, A, to find athletes of

00:48:08.239 --> 00:48:11.769
that caliber, but B, to then have them... you

00:48:11.769 --> 00:48:15.769
know, skilled and ready to go and developed in

00:48:15.769 --> 00:48:18.409
that way. It just doesn't happen very often.

00:48:18.469 --> 00:48:21.170
And I think without getting into a bigger conversation,

00:48:21.429 --> 00:48:24.769
this is the one flaw in the American system.

00:48:24.849 --> 00:48:27.429
I think I love the fact that the youth game is

00:48:27.429 --> 00:48:29.690
so big. I love that everybody gets to play, you

00:48:29.690 --> 00:48:33.070
know, the substitutions definitely have their

00:48:33.070 --> 00:48:37.179
merit. But when you have those uniquely physical

00:48:37.179 --> 00:48:40.059
players, they don't have a chance to play against

00:48:40.059 --> 00:48:41.940
the best of the best growing up, and they're

00:48:41.940 --> 00:48:44.480
not forced to adapt their game until they're

00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:47.059
in their mid -20s, if they're just that much

00:48:47.059 --> 00:48:49.340
better than their competition. Again, I go back

00:48:49.340 --> 00:48:52.780
to thinking about Gabi playing against you when

00:48:52.780 --> 00:48:56.389
she was 18. You know, you're forced to find different

00:48:56.389 --> 00:48:58.829
ways to score when you're young. And you were

00:48:58.829 --> 00:49:02.489
fortunate. Your dad made you work on shots you

00:49:02.489 --> 00:49:05.070
didn't need to score growing up. And you need

00:49:05.070 --> 00:49:08.769
somebody like that when you are that much better

00:49:08.769 --> 00:49:11.610
than your peers. And you just don't see that

00:49:11.610 --> 00:49:15.190
a lot. All right. Question six. Could you guys

00:49:15.190 --> 00:49:18.590
talk about Merritt Beeson? I feel like she was

00:49:18.590 --> 00:49:20.869
so highly regarded, but seems like she chokes

00:49:20.869 --> 00:49:24.110
year after year. Oscars final games both years

00:49:24.110 --> 00:49:26.909
at Atlanta and now with the Supernovas. Do you

00:49:26.909 --> 00:49:29.570
think it's stress slash pressure getting to her

00:49:29.570 --> 00:49:33.050
or is she overhyped? It's a great question. What's

00:49:33.050 --> 00:49:35.389
your instinct? My instinct is she's just not

00:49:35.389 --> 00:49:39.389
that player. So overhyped. Yes. Mine too. But

00:49:39.389 --> 00:49:41.809
I also think, I probably shouldn't say this.

00:49:41.869 --> 00:49:44.030
It's probably going to be like such a nice comment.

00:49:44.130 --> 00:49:48.369
He's like, well, no, I think how good. Nebraska

00:49:48.369 --> 00:49:51.610
is and how well they win like they roll teams

00:49:51.610 --> 00:49:55.530
consistently for the most part you know how many

00:49:55.530 --> 00:50:00.070
great matches do they get in a season and so

00:50:00.070 --> 00:50:04.210
there's limited opportunities for the athletes

00:50:04.210 --> 00:50:08.230
in Nebraska to work through being down stressful

00:50:08.230 --> 00:50:11.809
situations and not to say like they're not rolling

00:50:11.809 --> 00:50:15.269
everybody but if you look at you know some of

00:50:15.269 --> 00:50:17.489
the matches that other top teams play it just

00:50:17.489 --> 00:50:20.269
seems like they're closer they're in more battles

00:50:20.269 --> 00:50:25.449
where it's 22 22 and i believe winning is a skill

00:50:25.449 --> 00:50:29.550
and you need to practice it and not just in the

00:50:29.550 --> 00:50:32.269
biggest moments you learn how to win in the smaller

00:50:32.269 --> 00:50:37.210
moments and I agree with the general concept

00:50:37.210 --> 00:50:38.789
of what you're saying, but as it pertains to

00:50:38.789 --> 00:50:41.210
Nebraska, I don't agree. You don't agree? Sure,

00:50:41.369 --> 00:50:43.289
they rolled everybody they played this year,

00:50:43.429 --> 00:50:45.750
but in recent years, they've been going back

00:50:45.750 --> 00:50:48.429
and forth with Wisconsin, back and forth with

00:50:48.429 --> 00:50:53.590
Penn State. They haven't been rolling through

00:50:53.590 --> 00:50:57.030
conference the way they did this past year. So

00:50:57.030 --> 00:51:00.349
I think that that's an unfair statement. Okay.

00:51:00.949 --> 00:51:06.139
Like they didn't... beat Wisconsin in back -to

00:51:06.139 --> 00:51:09.980
-back matches in quite a while in a season and

00:51:09.980 --> 00:51:12.820
last year they split the Big Ten title with Penn

00:51:12.820 --> 00:51:16.000
State like I think that that's a that's just

00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:21.179
not correct okay so then personally like she

00:51:21.179 --> 00:51:26.500
she's fine but she doesn't hit like great angles

00:51:26.500 --> 00:51:31.820
she's not like doing any particular skill amazingly

00:51:31.820 --> 00:51:34.139
like I just I personally don't think she's that

00:51:34.139 --> 00:51:36.900
good and I was shocked when she was the first

00:51:36.900 --> 00:51:41.579
pick in the MLV draft and I honestly think that

00:51:41.579 --> 00:51:43.320
Kayla Bainworth picked her because of her ties

00:51:43.320 --> 00:51:46.199
to Nebraska and I think she's biased and I think

00:51:46.199 --> 00:51:49.179
like she should have been hitting back row in

00:51:49.179 --> 00:51:51.760
her senior year at Nebraska so do you think that's

00:51:51.760 --> 00:51:55.519
part of like her mental makeup or she just hasn't

00:51:55.519 --> 00:51:57.820
had an opportunity to work on it or she just

00:51:57.820 --> 00:52:00.579
hasn't adapted her game at all to the different

00:52:00.579 --> 00:52:03.340
level and situations she's been put in yeah and

00:52:03.340 --> 00:52:05.280
i i did like her press conference earlier this

00:52:05.280 --> 00:52:07.260
year talking about trying to swing high and swing

00:52:07.260 --> 00:52:10.320
for hands but then again you haven't seen much

00:52:10.320 --> 00:52:14.039
of that taking shape or any meaningful change

00:52:14.039 --> 00:52:17.380
from it at least that i can tell yeah seven when

00:52:17.380 --> 00:52:20.000
a middle serves can they play defense from six

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:22.380
rather than five and play defense wherever they

00:52:22.380 --> 00:52:26.969
want they just don't generally The person playing

00:52:26.969 --> 00:52:28.949
defense in six generally needs to be a little

00:52:28.949 --> 00:52:31.769
more mobile, read the game, be able to make kind

00:52:31.769 --> 00:52:33.929
of adjustments as the play develops, and that's

00:52:33.929 --> 00:52:38.489
not usually a skill middle develop. But then

00:52:38.489 --> 00:52:40.829
you also see most teams just tip down the line

00:52:40.829 --> 00:52:43.570
from the right side when a middle serves. So

00:52:43.570 --> 00:52:48.650
I think there's a valid argument for having the

00:52:48.650 --> 00:52:51.250
middle play in six, but it's like you said, they

00:52:51.250 --> 00:52:54.469
do need to be mobile because... the deep balls

00:52:54.469 --> 00:52:56.550
that are thrown to the corners the touches off

00:52:56.550 --> 00:52:59.489
the block you know reading the situation do i

00:52:59.489 --> 00:53:02.130
step into the seam and like take a step up or

00:53:02.130 --> 00:53:05.809
do i play back by the baseline because i'm i'm

00:53:05.809 --> 00:53:08.570
reading a touch here like do they have that type

00:53:08.570 --> 00:53:12.090
of like defensive knowledge i would say more

00:53:12.090 --> 00:53:14.670
often than not probably not there's probably

00:53:14.670 --> 00:53:17.650
there are exceptions obviously but okay question

00:53:17.650 --> 00:53:20.800
eight I'm curious what your guys' thoughts are

00:53:20.800 --> 00:53:25.039
on the Love Classic hot mess. Like, honestly,

00:53:25.199 --> 00:53:28.840
last year it was a tournament. This year they

00:53:28.840 --> 00:53:30.960
just had three random matches and all of them

00:53:30.960 --> 00:53:33.539
were three straight sweeps. Like, what's the

00:53:33.539 --> 00:53:36.340
point? Like, I get the point. Yes. You want to

00:53:36.340 --> 00:53:40.420
expose the young club athletes to the pro side.

00:53:41.380 --> 00:53:43.940
Totally get that. And the point is social media.

00:53:44.380 --> 00:53:46.440
You're seeing all of the clips from that weekend.

00:53:46.599 --> 00:53:48.420
You're seeing the athletes interacting with the

00:53:48.420 --> 00:53:51.820
kids. And it's a marketing piece. That's all

00:53:51.820 --> 00:53:53.880
it is. It's great for the kids. For what it is,

00:53:54.039 --> 00:53:56.679
it serves its purpose. But is it, though? Like,

00:53:56.679 --> 00:53:59.019
nobody wants to go and watch, like, half -assed

00:53:59.019 --> 00:54:00.579
volleyball where people are like, well, this

00:54:00.579 --> 00:54:02.579
is for nothing. No, but the kids want to meet

00:54:02.579 --> 00:54:05.039
the girls. Then have them meet the girls, but,

00:54:05.059 --> 00:54:07.900
like, take the games out. Because, like, honestly,

00:54:08.059 --> 00:54:10.889
there's so many injuries in love as it is. And

00:54:10.889 --> 00:54:14.949
then to play a completely meaningless match for

00:54:14.949 --> 00:54:19.829
literally nothing, it's like for show, is just

00:54:19.829 --> 00:54:23.110
increasing a risk of injury. It's clear based

00:54:23.110 --> 00:54:27.409
on the dominant sweeps that nobody really cares.

00:54:28.670 --> 00:54:30.610
Honestly, they should let the bench players play.

00:54:31.090 --> 00:54:33.210
The starters should rest. And I didn't watch

00:54:33.210 --> 00:54:35.030
it, so maybe that happened. But you should give

00:54:35.030 --> 00:54:38.139
the players who don't get a chance to play. on

00:54:38.139 --> 00:54:40.599
the court i'm curious what the turnout was to

00:54:40.599 --> 00:54:43.900
watch those matches i think i read somewhere

00:54:43.900 --> 00:54:46.860
that it wasn't amazing i think somebody posted

00:54:46.860 --> 00:54:48.699
on the youtube channel that they had so it wasn't

00:54:48.699 --> 00:54:51.440
even well attended i don't think so but yeah

00:54:51.440 --> 00:54:54.900
i think girls went to watch matches like they

00:54:54.900 --> 00:54:58.539
were out there meeting kids and doing those kind

00:54:58.539 --> 00:55:00.619
of things i think that is more meaningful totally

00:55:00.619 --> 00:55:04.519
because also like the kids it would be so exciting

00:55:04.519 --> 00:55:07.800
for the kids if like The players were watching

00:55:07.800 --> 00:55:09.500
them play. And that's what happened. So exciting

00:55:09.500 --> 00:55:12.539
for the kids if they can go up and talk to them

00:55:12.539 --> 00:55:15.480
and take pictures with them. Are they that interested

00:55:15.480 --> 00:55:17.360
in watching them play, especially when they have

00:55:17.360 --> 00:55:20.599
their own games going on? Probably not. I wouldn't

00:55:20.599 --> 00:55:23.539
be surprised if it was benches next year, if

00:55:23.539 --> 00:55:25.940
it wasn't already this year. It would be so nice,

00:55:25.940 --> 00:55:28.179
too, for the athletes to just have a weekend

00:55:28.179 --> 00:55:34.300
off. Just do PR stuff and not play. Okay. Last

00:55:34.300 --> 00:55:37.519
question of the week. Why don't you consider

00:55:37.519 --> 00:55:39.480
Jordan Thompson more of a front runner for the

00:55:39.480 --> 00:55:41.659
next Olympic roster? She's made the past two

00:55:41.659 --> 00:55:44.039
and is the love point leader. We've had numerous

00:55:44.039 --> 00:55:47.320
questions about Jordan Thompson generally in

00:55:47.320 --> 00:55:51.280
this like sentiment. And I'm pretty sure we did

00:55:51.280 --> 00:55:53.460
have her as a front runner for the next roster.

00:55:53.519 --> 00:55:56.780
When we're naming our like top three in each

00:55:56.780 --> 00:56:00.320
position, we named her. Agreed. But I think our

00:56:00.320 --> 00:56:03.510
talk has also been. she needs to show up to the

00:56:03.510 --> 00:56:05.449
national team and prove she still has it well

00:56:05.449 --> 00:56:07.969
I just kind of feel she doesn't seem and I don't

00:56:07.969 --> 00:56:11.550
know her mindset or anything but just like love

00:56:11.550 --> 00:56:14.929
in general I feel like nobody looks that motivated

00:56:14.929 --> 00:56:19.989
so my feeling watching her like does she look

00:56:19.989 --> 00:56:23.929
like she's gunning for a spot and like it's so

00:56:23.929 --> 00:56:27.409
motivated not really you know who does look motivated

00:56:27.409 --> 00:56:29.510
to me Serena Gray She's been playing really well.

00:56:29.590 --> 00:56:32.010
Like, she looks like she's not messing around

00:56:32.010 --> 00:56:34.449
and she's like, I deserve to be in the conversation.

00:56:34.670 --> 00:56:38.449
Like, I don't get that feeling from a Jordan

00:56:38.449 --> 00:56:40.570
Thompson, which is probably why I'm not so high

00:56:40.570 --> 00:56:43.150
on her right now is just because I feel like

00:56:43.150 --> 00:56:47.030
it's just like coast mode. Again, year one of

00:56:47.030 --> 00:56:49.550
the cycle just passed. She didn't play. She's

00:56:49.550 --> 00:56:53.730
still leading the league and making money. There

00:56:53.730 --> 00:56:58.340
is. A definite scenario where she shows up and

00:56:58.340 --> 00:57:00.760
decides she's going to go and she's by far the

00:57:00.760 --> 00:57:04.159
best right side that the U .S. has. But that

00:57:04.159 --> 00:57:06.760
being said, she hasn't competed in the top leagues.

00:57:07.000 --> 00:57:08.199
She didn't do national team last year. Well,

00:57:08.199 --> 00:57:10.380
in the last couple of years. Right. Since the

00:57:10.380 --> 00:57:13.599
last Olympics. So you, again, everybody just

00:57:13.599 --> 00:57:18.199
assumes that you don't lose it. Like she hasn't

00:57:18.199 --> 00:57:21.059
trained and been in the same environment as the

00:57:21.059 --> 00:57:24.280
other right sides have across the world. She

00:57:24.280 --> 00:57:25.840
still might be better than Babcock and the other

00:57:25.840 --> 00:57:28.320
options the U .S. has, but you can't tell me

00:57:28.320 --> 00:57:31.340
she's as game ready as the other international

00:57:31.340 --> 00:57:33.599
right side. So she's got to come out and show

00:57:33.599 --> 00:57:36.239
that she can do it. Thanks, everyone, for submitting

00:57:36.239 --> 00:57:38.059
your questions. This is always our favorite part

00:57:38.059 --> 00:57:39.860
of the podcast where we just kind of get to chat

00:57:39.860 --> 00:57:42.880
volleyball and answer some questions. So, again,

00:57:42.960 --> 00:57:45.139
we appreciate everybody who submitted. All right,

00:57:45.159 --> 00:57:46.360
looking forward to this week. Here's what you

00:57:46.360 --> 00:57:48.760
guys should watch. Wednesday at 8 p .m. Eastern,

00:57:48.940 --> 00:57:51.400
Love Salt Lake is playing versus Austin, and

00:57:51.400 --> 00:57:54.599
that's on the USA Network. Thursday at 8 p .m.

00:57:54.599 --> 00:57:57.760
Eastern, NCAA men's Ohio State versus Lewis.

00:57:58.699 --> 00:58:01.900
Friday at 10 p .m. Eastern, another NCAA men's

00:58:01.900 --> 00:58:05.699
match, UCLA versus UC Irvine. And then Friday

00:58:05.699 --> 00:58:09.000
at 8 p .m. Eastern, MLV Orlando versus Dallas.

00:58:09.119 --> 00:58:12.300
That's on CBS Sports. And Sunday at 2 p .m. Eastern,

00:58:12.440 --> 00:58:16.280
MLV Omaha versus Indy, also on CBS Sports. That

00:58:16.280 --> 00:58:18.380
will be a really good game. So I would check

00:58:18.380 --> 00:58:22.059
those out. That concludes this week's episode

00:58:22.059 --> 00:58:24.139
of Volley Talk. There's always something shaking

00:58:24.139 --> 00:58:26.059
in the volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed

00:58:26.059 --> 00:58:28.760
this little fix. Be sure to follow the show so

00:58:28.760 --> 00:58:31.340
you don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful

00:58:31.340 --> 00:58:34.039
if you would leave us a five -star review. You

00:58:34.039 --> 00:58:36.880
can also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore

00:58:36.880 --> 00:58:39.800
podcast. If you have a topic you'd like us to

00:58:39.800 --> 00:58:42.280
discuss, you can reach out on Instagram or at

00:58:42.280 --> 00:58:46.019
info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much for joining

00:58:46.019 --> 00:58:51.760
us, and we'll be back next week. Thank you.