WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.259 Hi, volleyball fans, and welcome back to Volley 00:00:02.259 --> 00:00:04.259 Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers 00:00:04.259 --> 00:00:06.480 who want to dig deep into what is going on in 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.359 NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host, 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:11.220 Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball 00:00:11.220 --> 00:00:14.099 world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:17.219 longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And 00:00:17.219 --> 00:00:19.300 I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:21.620 volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:24.679 guy. Playoffs are in full swing. As we said, 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:27.059 Men's Champions League playoffs have started 00:00:27.059 --> 00:00:29.980 up. Things are... getting shaken up a little 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:34.719 bit in love. Yep. And we've got some really big 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.740 matchups on the NCAA men's side. So good. So 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:42.619 yeah, we're all over the place, but we have a 00:00:42.619 --> 00:00:45.979 couple interesting segments lined up today that 00:00:45.979 --> 00:00:48.140 we are really looking forward to talking about. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:51.619 So hopefully you're excited to listen. Let's 00:00:51.619 --> 00:01:06.260 get started. You know what's coming. Was your 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:08.500 volley fantasy a happening or a highlight? I'm 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:10.920 not even talking about it. My middle scored me 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.719 no points. My opposite was terrible. Who were 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:17.519 you picking for your bench? I had a couple middles 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:21.400 from Indy. I had Kara Cressy as my bench middle. 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:24.920 Does she even play? She was kind of rotating 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:26.719 through, had a couple good weeks. So I picked 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:30.019 one Indy middle, and then I picked her as my 00:01:30.019 --> 00:01:33.159 backup, assuming one of them would play. Except 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:35.159 they probably have three medals or four medals. 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:38.560 Yeah, but if you have three medals, then... Yeah, 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:40.280 maybe she's not the backup for the one who didn't 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:44.379 play. Anyway, not great. Not great. I will say, 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:47.819 mine was a highlight. I'm happy for you. I moved 00:01:47.819 --> 00:01:51.519 up to 60th. Good for you. So I climbed a solid 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:55.579 30 spots. I had some players that I've been eyeballing 00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:59.050 for a few weeks, and for whatever reason... I 00:01:59.050 --> 00:02:01.890 refused to ever sign them. And then last week 00:02:01.890 --> 00:02:03.810 I was like, desperate times call for desperate 00:02:03.810 --> 00:02:07.189 measures. And I signed them and they scored me 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:10.250 so many points. Who were they? Why are you taking 00:02:10.250 --> 00:02:11.830 notes? Are you going to sign them this week? 00:02:11.889 --> 00:02:14.370 I can go look at the app and look at your roster. 00:02:14.509 --> 00:02:17.669 Oh, you can. Grace Loberg. Oh, she had a good 00:02:17.669 --> 00:02:19.330 week. I didn't want to pick her out of principle 00:02:19.330 --> 00:02:21.750 because she plays for San Diego. But she scored 00:02:21.750 --> 00:02:26.310 me a ton of points. And Phoebe Aulea scored me 00:02:26.310 --> 00:02:29.189 a ton of points. Cameron Turner scored me a ton 00:02:29.189 --> 00:02:31.449 of points. You know what? Top to bottom, it was 00:02:31.449 --> 00:02:33.770 a pretty good week. I still have some work to 00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:36.610 do to keep climbing. But we do have a new leader. 00:02:37.229 --> 00:02:40.889 That we do. Shame to see you go, Tallahassee 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:46.469 Turtles. Aloha Aces 808, baby, is our new leader. 00:02:46.590 --> 00:02:49.849 So everybody gang up on them. But there's a new 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:52.810 feature that was added that I'm loving. She's 00:02:52.810 --> 00:02:55.610 obsessed with it. The Daily Grid. I'm no good 00:02:55.610 --> 00:02:59.500 at it, but it's really fun. It's like Wordle 00:02:59.500 --> 00:03:05.759 and Tic -Tac -Toe for love and MLV. We both know 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:07.560 I'm terrible with players' names, so I'm never 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:09.379 going to get these. So we know that Adam's really 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:13.919 struggling. But if you click on the fantasy button, 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:19.180 it pops up as like a pop -up or like drop -down, 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:23.300 but it drops up, you know? And, you know, that 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:25.120 made sense though, didn't it? Everybody will 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:26.719 know what you're talking about. Click on it. 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:31.719 And then you basically have to put a player that 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:34.900 applies to where the rows and columns intersect. 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:39.000 But you can't use the same player more than once, 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:42.479 even if it applies. So you have to be strategic 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:47.020 and make sure you know what you're doing. I don't 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.300 know what I'm doing. I'm trying. I'm getting 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:52.800 better. You'll get there. But it's fun anyway. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:57.729 So check it out. And join our league, playvolley 00:03:57.729 --> 00:04:03.069 .com slash volleytalk. Play, V -O -L -L -I dot 00:04:03.069 --> 00:04:06.650 com slash volleytalk. You can get in on the trash 00:04:06.650 --> 00:04:09.250 talk happening. I'm wondering if Tallahassee 00:04:09.250 --> 00:04:10.770 Turtles is going to have something to say to 00:04:10.770 --> 00:04:13.330 me. Because I called them out for being second 00:04:13.330 --> 00:04:16.069 now. They'll probably be in first after this 00:04:16.069 --> 00:04:19.029 week. But whatever. Everybody keep forgetting 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:21.810 to fill out your rosters. Let me keep climbing. 00:04:22.029 --> 00:04:25.259 Thank you so much. We'll see you on the app. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:31.180 All right. On the NCAA men's side, we had a lot 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:34.819 going on. It was a good week. So we had a series 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:37.199 between number one UCLA and number five USC. 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:41.939 UCLA won both of them in five and then in four. 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:45.579 So they are still going strong. They are cruising. 00:04:45.899 --> 00:04:48.300 Do you think USC will drop in the rankings or 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:49.920 do you think they'll stay? I think they'll stay. 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:52.319 Yeah, me too. Well, because even Long Beach State. 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:55.120 Lost to UCLA twice and they're still second. 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:58.279 Yeah, fair, fair. Number eight, Loyola Chicago 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:01.660 beat number nine, Ball State three straight. 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:04.139 That's very close. But then they turned around 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:07.199 and they lost to number 19, Purdue Fort Wayne 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:12.420 in four. So. Not a wash. Negative. They're probably 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.139 going to drop. Yeah. Number seven, Pepperdine 00:05:15.139 --> 00:05:18.199 and number three, Hawaii had a series. We watched 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:21.279 the first match, Pepperdine won in four and then. 00:05:21.819 --> 00:05:25.540 Hawaii returned the favor and won in four. That 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:30.240 match was unbelievable. I did not expect Pepperdine 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.459 to go into Hawaii and win a match. No. It was 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:37.339 so much fun to watch. Cole Harkey was really 00:05:37.339 --> 00:05:39.480 feeling himself. That's all I got to say. And 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.000 good for him. I mean, he played great. But you 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:43.399 know when you're watching, you're like, oh man, 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:46.980 this player's really feeling himself. They're 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:49.600 like, everyone's watching me. I could totally 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:52.120 feel that. I had a couple thoughts watching that 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:54.139 match. I thought Tread struggled to set the right 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:56.139 side in the first two sets. The right side was 00:05:56.139 --> 00:06:02.379 not good for Hawaii. Kanoa Wade. Yeah. I've got 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:05.519 some thoughts. But he was unbelievable down the 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:09.019 stretch in sets three and four. Fair. But was 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:11.259 anybody else wondering why the coach's son was 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:14.480 playing over Tetriski? He's hurt. My question 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:18.319 stands. Because in the first couple sets. Okay, 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:21.110 I know Tetriski didn't even dress. Press pause 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:23.410 on your comment fingers. But I was surprised 00:06:23.410 --> 00:06:25.410 they didn't make. I'm surprised why I didn't 00:06:25.410 --> 00:06:27.490 make any subs on the left side or the right side. 00:06:27.589 --> 00:06:30.550 Because Rourke was not good either. I'm like, 00:06:30.610 --> 00:06:32.790 I mean, in the first couple sets, I was like, 00:06:32.850 --> 00:06:35.990 take Wade out. Yeah. Why is he still on the court? 00:06:36.129 --> 00:06:39.290 Put Finn Carney in. Yes. Put somebody in. Why 00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:41.470 are you keeping your kid on the court so long? 00:06:41.610 --> 00:06:43.949 So I was not happy about that. But I feel like 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:48.110 whenever we watch Hawaii, Rourke rarely has a 00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:51.569 good game. He's clearly very good. He's a player 00:06:51.569 --> 00:06:55.209 of the year watch list. Our favorite. And the 00:06:55.209 --> 00:06:57.569 men's watch list is a legitimate watch list. 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:01.290 There's not 97 players on it. Roar clearly is 00:07:01.290 --> 00:07:04.189 good, but I feel like whenever we watch Hawaii, 00:07:04.470 --> 00:07:08.829 we must put out some just terrible vibes because 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:12.689 he's not great when we watch. So I had a thought 00:07:12.689 --> 00:07:15.639 watching the first set. Going down to the wild, 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.319 I think the first set was 28 -26. There was a 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:22.300 play that happened, and I thought, this is the 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:25.819 definition of volleyball IQ. Oh, your favorite 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:28.160 term. My favorite term. So is this like a good 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.680 thing or a bad thing? It's a good thing, and 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:31.560 it actually doesn't apply to the players. The 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.759 Pepperdine coach was so on top of it. This was 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.870 spectacular. So Pepperdine made a sub. On the 00:07:39.870 --> 00:07:42.069 last rotation, they took a left side out and 00:07:42.069 --> 00:07:45.250 put a small player in. He was a passing left 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:48.670 side for defense. Jose Gomez. No, it wasn't Gomez. 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:53.009 Gomez was the starter. Which I also was wondering 00:07:53.009 --> 00:07:55.189 why the heck is Gomez starting over Lamarie. 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:58.449 I'll come back to Gomez. Okay. They left him 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:02.550 in the front row as they rotated through. So 00:08:02.550 --> 00:08:05.810 it's 27 -26. Pepperdine's going back to serve. 00:08:05.910 --> 00:08:09.350 And you can hear the announcers themselves are 00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:11.730 like, oh, man, I think they've run out of subs. 00:08:11.970 --> 00:08:15.889 They had to leave the short guy in the front. 00:08:15.970 --> 00:08:18.889 So the short left side rotates. I can't remember 00:08:18.889 --> 00:08:20.230 what his name is. Rotates into the front row. 00:08:20.490 --> 00:08:24.230 And the announcers are losing their mind. They're 00:08:24.230 --> 00:08:25.589 like, oh, my goodness, they got the short guy 00:08:25.589 --> 00:08:27.629 in the front row. Tretta's definitely going to 00:08:27.629 --> 00:08:31.990 run the right side. You know, what an awful time 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:34.769 to run out of subs. Pepperdine lines up. They 00:08:34.769 --> 00:08:37.950 serve the ball. And at the last second, Hartke 00:08:37.950 --> 00:08:42.629 shifts over and blocks the right side for match 00:08:42.629 --> 00:08:45.169 point. And I will tell you for set point. And 00:08:45.169 --> 00:08:47.750 I will tell you that the coach understanding 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:49.909 the flow of the game, what's happening, what 00:08:49.909 --> 00:08:52.029 the decision making is going to be, and to send. 00:08:52.649 --> 00:08:55.549 Hartke over there for that block was genius. 00:08:55.629 --> 00:08:58.570 That is understanding volleyball and making adjustments. 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:03.309 Adam was giddy. Outstanding. He was like, that 00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:05.769 was such a bait and switch. That was the greatest 00:09:05.769 --> 00:09:07.889 bait and switch. That bait and switch was the 00:09:07.889 --> 00:09:09.929 greatest thing I've ever seen. He was like running 00:09:09.929 --> 00:09:12.070 around. And I was like, wow, I haven't seen you 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:14.929 this fired up about it. I thought it was fantastic. 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:19.620 Kudos to the Pepperdine coach. Tread was flabbergasted 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:22.039 that his right side got blocked. Well, you were 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:25.200 like, how did he not notice? Yeah. It was a perfect 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:28.840 pass. So I thought that was the highlight of 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:33.700 the match for me. Other than Gomez hitting maybe 00:09:33.700 --> 00:09:35.820 the worst serve I have ever seen. We're talking 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:39.799 like ceiling. It was upper deck. And if it hadn't 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:41.779 hit the stands, it would have kept going. It 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:44.019 got chopped up by some fans, for sure. And I 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:48.269 mean ceiling fans. It was. There was so much 00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:53.970 backspin on that ball. It was unbelievable. The 00:09:53.970 --> 00:09:55.470 worst miss serve I've ever seen. I've seen a 00:09:55.470 --> 00:09:57.730 lot of terrible miss serves recently. I saw a 00:09:57.730 --> 00:10:00.929 Scandici middle. Her serve didn't even make it 00:10:00.929 --> 00:10:03.269 to the 10th line on her own side. Like, it's 00:10:03.269 --> 00:10:07.669 been a rough go out here, you guys. Why the heck 00:10:07.669 --> 00:10:10.149 was Gomez playing over Lameray? I have no idea. 00:10:11.070 --> 00:10:13.649 I was like, you guys. Lameray must have missed 00:10:13.649 --> 00:10:15.129 a team meeting or something. Yeah, I'm like, 00:10:15.230 --> 00:10:18.490 he must have. been late or had some punishment 00:10:18.490 --> 00:10:20.649 of like you're not going to play for the first 00:10:20.649 --> 00:10:22.990 two sets in Hawaii or something because like 00:10:22.990 --> 00:10:25.529 he came in and they're like oh and he scores 00:10:25.529 --> 00:10:27.450 whatever amount of kills were said he's hitting 00:10:27.450 --> 00:10:31.149 380 on the season yeah I didn't understand okay 00:10:31.149 --> 00:10:34.669 but there were a surprising number of rallies 00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:37.590 in that match which was great to see on the men's 00:10:37.590 --> 00:10:40.460 side Tread digs one -handed balls better than 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:42.639 anybody else. I've seen he just takes up space 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.460 and gets a hand on it consistently. He plays 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:46.480 very good defense. I will give him that. You 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.860 know who else plays really good defense? Saka. 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:53.600 Saka Noko. That man reads the game. Impressive. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.940 And the way he leads himself on his spin serve, 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:02.500 I'm like, good grief. Wow. But that match was 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:06.580 just, it was entertainment. It was great volleyball. 00:11:07.259 --> 00:11:11.100 And so entertaining. Harky went off. There was 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:13.539 a little banter back and forth. It was great. 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:15.220 When Pepperdine runs their middles, they are 00:11:15.220 --> 00:11:17.840 very good. And when they pass well. And they 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:20.299 passed well. Hawaii missed some serves at key 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:23.080 times, but what a match. Very, very good. We 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:24.679 didn't get to see the second one, but that one, 00:11:24.740 --> 00:11:28.419 first one, loved it. To round this out, we had 00:11:28.419 --> 00:11:30.820 a 12 -11 matchup with Santa Barbara and San Diego. 00:11:31.379 --> 00:11:36.740 Santa Barbara won in five. So a lot of very close. 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:40.379 close ranked matchups this week. That probably 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:43.419 won't affect much from a ranking perspective, 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:45.940 but I'm thinking Loyola Chicago is going to take 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:49.360 a bit of a dive. I don't know if Pepperdine Hawaii 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:53.059 will move at all. No, because they switched. 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:56.179 I think Pepperdine might make a case for themselves 00:11:56.179 --> 00:11:59.100 to move up a spot. Maybe a spot, but nothing 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:02.480 crazy. Exciting stuff, regardless. Very good 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:08.220 week in NCAA men's. On the MLV front, Indy Ignite 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:13.440 continue to roll. They're at 13 -2. We are still 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.100 at only two teams with winning records here, 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:21.100 everybody. This is insane. Atlanta and San Diego 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:24.320 switch spots, so Atlanta's back to fourth. But 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:29.259 we've got Omaha sitting in sixth at 7 -9 after 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:31.500 losing to, what did they lose to, Grand Rapids 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:35.470 or something? They looked lifeless. I think Omaha 00:12:35.470 --> 00:12:38.029 really needed to take a page out of Adam's roster 00:12:38.029 --> 00:12:42.870 construction book from last week because whatever 00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:45.590 they're doing, it's not working. They don't have 00:12:45.590 --> 00:12:48.750 that glue. They just tried to buy. This is what 00:12:48.750 --> 00:12:51.570 Adam was saying. They tried to buy the best players 00:12:51.570 --> 00:12:53.870 and they just are not working together. But it's 00:12:53.870 --> 00:12:55.929 also crazy to me because Brooke Nunneville is 00:12:55.929 --> 00:12:59.870 generally that glue. Like she is generally the 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:02.519 engine on a team. And for whatever reason. The 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:05.299 team just can't seem to rally around her. It's 00:13:05.299 --> 00:13:10.200 kind of miserable to watch. And they got spanked 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:12.419 in a couple of those sets. I think the last set 00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:16.320 was 25 -13 or something. That's embarrassing. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:18.220 You talk about watching the NCAA men's game and 00:13:18.220 --> 00:13:20.379 how exciting it is. This one was an absolute 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:23.279 snooze fest. I don't know what's going on. But 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.980 the fact that in an entire league only two teams 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:30.139 have winning records. It almost seems. Like, 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.059 it shouldn't be mathematically possible. Well, 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.799 two with winning, two at 500, and then the rest 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:37.879 are losing records. But still. Like, Indy is 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.080 just walking away with this. And if they pucker 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.179 during playoffs or something, I don't know what 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:46.960 to say. I think Dallas has a real shot to win. 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:50.480 Indy -Dallas final. Yes. Because of the way it's 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.299 lining up right now, we're going to have Indy 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:55.220 playing Atlanta. Atlanta's having some scoring 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:59.570 issues. And Dallas versus Orlando. Which Orlando 00:13:59.570 --> 00:14:02.889 is dropping random matches. I believe, yeah, 00:14:02.950 --> 00:14:06.029 they got smacked by Dallas three straight. Well, 00:14:06.049 --> 00:14:08.149 Abercrombie's not playing, right? Why did you 00:14:08.149 --> 00:14:12.950 sign her to your team? I did. That sucked. Got 00:14:12.950 --> 00:14:15.129 her for the long haul. You know what? I finally 00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:17.529 figured out if Azani Taylor isn't going to get 00:14:17.529 --> 00:14:19.809 me zero points, I'm going to sign her back up 00:14:19.809 --> 00:14:21.809 as my bench because at least one of them will 00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:24.789 be playing. Took me too long to figure that one 00:14:24.789 --> 00:14:27.570 out. On the love front, we have a new number 00:14:27.570 --> 00:14:32.500 one. We do. Houston, baby. They're at 9 -5 now. 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.379 They took over the number one spot because Salt 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:37.919 Lake has lost four in a row. They can't win. 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:41.580 Including getting swept by Nebraska of all teams. 00:14:41.580 --> 00:14:43.700 That's tough. They should be able to win that 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:46.740 match. But they have four players who are at 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:48.940 least semi -injured. Well, they're missing Alexa 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:54.340 Gray. So that's a huge, huge hole for them. Kojima 00:14:54.340 --> 00:14:57.559 was injured. Poulter was injured. Poulter played 00:14:57.559 --> 00:14:59.580 against Nebraska, though. Yeah, but she's still 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:01.820 coming off. I don't know if Kojima played, but 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:05.379 I know Alexa Gray didn't. But, like, we know 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:08.159 how I feel about Ronnie Jones -Perry. She's starting 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:11.279 back to last year. Alexa Gray needs to come back 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:14.440 because they were dominating. Yeah. And now they 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:17.240 don't look so hot. And also, like, okay, I understand 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:18.899 Alexa Gray is very good, but you're missing one 00:15:18.899 --> 00:15:20.620 player. Like, how have the wheels fallen off 00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:24.389 so drastically? I mean, the linchpin of... Your 00:15:24.389 --> 00:15:26.330 team who scores all your points opens everybody 00:15:26.330 --> 00:15:29.509 else up. And without that. Trust me. She's good. 00:15:29.690 --> 00:15:32.669 Yeah. We'll see. I'm assuming from what I've 00:15:32.669 --> 00:15:36.389 read that she's close to being back. Lower body 00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:39.929 injury. Lower body injury. But I think her status 00:15:39.929 --> 00:15:42.090 has moved. It has changed. Her injured status. 00:15:42.269 --> 00:15:45.690 So we'll see. Italian playoffs. All quarterfinal 00:15:45.690 --> 00:15:49.370 matches went too straight. Adam has something 00:15:49.370 --> 00:15:52.360 to say to the person who got. Pissed saying that 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:54.799 Boost, how dare we say that Conigliano is going 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:57.480 to crush Busto. Guess what they did. Busto won 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:01.220 one set in the whole series, you guys. So now 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:03.879 we've got Conigliano playing Novara and Scandici 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:07.700 playing Milano in the semis. And for the men, 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:10.720 the first quarterfinal has happened. And all 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:15.820 of the top seeds won except Trentino. They lost 00:16:15.820 --> 00:16:21.809 to Civitanova. Is Micheletto back? No. He's got 00:16:21.809 --> 00:16:24.190 a stress fracture, I think. That's tough. So 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:27.429 Perugia beat Monza, Verona beat Milano, Modena 00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:30.889 beat Piacenza, and then Civitano would beat Trentino. 00:16:31.029 --> 00:16:34.950 And Trentino also put themselves in a tough position 00:16:34.950 --> 00:16:37.789 in Champions League because they beat Warsaw 00:16:37.789 --> 00:16:47.509 in five. So they need to win in Warsaw or they've 00:16:47.509 --> 00:16:49.669 got to... Push it to five if they're going to 00:16:49.669 --> 00:16:52.330 lose. And play a golden set. They're going to 00:16:52.330 --> 00:16:54.970 need to have a good week or season's over. They've 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:58.389 had a rough week. Las Palmas beat Montpellier 00:16:58.389 --> 00:17:03.070 in four. And Reshov, I really struggle with that 00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:07.170 name, beat Rosalar from Belgium in three. So 00:17:07.170 --> 00:17:10.750 the return matches are happening Tuesday through 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:15.269 Thursday. I'm looking forward to men's quarterfinals 00:17:15.269 --> 00:17:16.809 starting for real. I think that's going to be 00:17:16.809 --> 00:17:19.750 fun. A lot happening. A lot happening. A lot 00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:21.730 happening. You will hear about what is going 00:17:21.730 --> 00:17:25.329 on, what matches to watch at the end, as always. 00:17:25.430 --> 00:17:28.910 But basically, Tuesday through Sunday, easy peasy. 00:17:29.670 --> 00:17:31.950 You'll have so much to watch. Okay, we got a 00:17:31.950 --> 00:17:36.690 really interesting question. And as we have been 00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:39.369 doing, we turned it into a segment. So here we 00:17:39.369 --> 00:17:43.809 go. The question was, can you go over the past 00:17:43.809 --> 00:17:46.650 10 to 20 years of national player of the year 00:17:46.650 --> 00:17:50.089 in NCAA women's volleyball, rank them by how 00:17:50.089 --> 00:17:53.230 they did in college, then after college, say 00:17:53.230 --> 00:17:56.849 whether they met pro expectations, surpassed 00:17:56.849 --> 00:18:02.720 expectations, or fell below. We polled. From 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:06.900 2010 to 2025. Full disclosure. I didn't really 00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:09.740 follow NCAA volleyball for a chunk of this time. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.660 So we were off doing our own thing. I was playing. 00:18:13.940 --> 00:18:15.859 There were about five athletes who I was like, 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.579 I don't really know who that is. Well, that answers 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:21.000 your question. That answers the question about 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.779 what they did. Yeah. So as far as ranking their 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:26.920 collegiate careers, we might be a little spotty, 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:30.660 but. I ranked like top eight. There were eight 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:32.759 that I thought I could put in place. The interesting 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:35.940 thing was looking past 2010, there were a bunch 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:38.779 of banger athletes in that decade too, which 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:43.099 was fun. Logan Tom was in there. Beluka was in 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:45.859 there. You were in there. Fawcett was in there. 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:48.619 Megan Hodge. Megan Hodge was in there. So that 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:50.599 decade before was also very good. I know we started 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:52.839 2010, but I figured I'd give you a share. I figured 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:54.839 it was safe to stop at 2010. I was like, let's 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:58.700 not dive any deeper. I don't need to be involved 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:03.380 in this. Well, so let me give you my list top 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:05.940 to bottom. Well, let's just say what they are, 00:19:06.059 --> 00:19:08.640 what the players are. So everybody get out your 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:13.400 pencils and paper. Okay. Because we got to at 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:15.400 least let you know who we're talking about here. 00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:20.839 So 2010, Carly Lloyd from Cal. Then we had Alex 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:27.700 Jupiter at USC. Elena Bergsma at Oregon. Krista 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:32.140 Van Sant at Washington. Micah Hancock, Penn State. 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:36.259 Samantha Brecho, USC. That takes us to 2015. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:41.299 So do you want to just go through the 2010 to 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:45.579 2015 and say about their pro career? And then 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:47.400 we can move on to the next chunk. And then at 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:51.700 the end we can. Okay, so Carly Lloyd. Oh, surpassed. 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:55.460 That's how I would write that. play she won the 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:57.400 italian league her first year after graduation 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:00.119 beat my team in the final i can't talk about 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:04.039 it it was i'll talk about it it was it went five 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:07.079 matches it was three or five it went five that 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:11.099 was against busto right yes the last match was 00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:15.180 17 15 in the fifth set that was the first year 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:20.059 we were married i can't believe it i was so mad 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:23.730 yes you were anyway And then she went and played 00:20:23.730 --> 00:20:26.930 for some top teams. She stayed at Buso for a 00:20:26.930 --> 00:20:29.690 while. She won Champions League with Palmy, Casal 00:20:29.690 --> 00:20:33.329 Maggiore. She played for Zazibashi. She was in 00:20:33.329 --> 00:20:36.630 Brazil for a bit. She played for some very reputable 00:20:36.630 --> 00:20:43.509 clubs and won with said clubs. So I agree. Surpassed. 00:20:43.509 --> 00:20:45.410 You probably know her from beach volleyball. 00:20:46.170 --> 00:20:53.200 That's Alex? Oh, okay. Is a taller black girl 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:58.180 who played for France. Got it. Her pro career 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:00.519 was uninspired based on what I could. No, she 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.099 played like one year for Le Canet. And then she 00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:06.339 went to the beach. And he wasn't good on the 00:21:06.339 --> 00:21:10.640 beach, no offense. Yeah. Below. I put below as 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:13.839 well. Okay, Elena Bergsmann. I don't know who 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:16.779 that is. Okay, I played against her my second 00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:20.099 season in Brazil. She played for Minas. Did she 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:24.240 play or was she on the bench? She played. I don't 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.079 remember her. And then she played for like, I 00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:30.200 want to say a season in China, a season in Korea. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.880 And then her career was over. So I said below. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.799 Yeah, below. Krista Van Sant. Again, I wasn't, 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:40.059 I didn't know who that was. She played like two 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:42.460 years and then started coaching. So I also said 00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:46.759 below. Micah Hancock. Above. Like, she's unreal. 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:50.019 Okay, but like her pro career. Do you include 00:21:50.019 --> 00:21:51.819 national team on the pro career? See, that's 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:54.640 what I was curious about. Because if we're including 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:57.240 national team, I'm going to say surpassed. If 00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:59.720 we're not, then I'm going to say she met my expectations. 00:22:00.259 --> 00:22:03.099 Because if you look at her body of work, she 00:22:03.099 --> 00:22:07.299 has never played for like a top team. She's played 00:22:07.299 --> 00:22:11.319 in good leagues for very mid -level teams in 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.779 those leagues. National team should count. But 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:18.049 I also think... professionally, it's a little 00:22:18.049 --> 00:22:20.430 more challenging for setters and liberos because 00:22:20.430 --> 00:22:24.309 you have the foreign player rule. And normally 00:22:24.309 --> 00:22:27.490 those really good teams will pick up the setters 00:22:27.490 --> 00:22:29.210 and the liberos from their own country so they 00:22:29.210 --> 00:22:33.309 can pick up hitters. So in her case, I'm not 00:22:33.309 --> 00:22:37.829 sure her playing for mid -range clubs. I mean, 00:22:37.869 --> 00:22:40.049 Carly Lloyd played for top club. I mean, yes. 00:22:40.210 --> 00:22:42.470 Maybe her agent wasn't as good. She played for 00:22:42.470 --> 00:22:46.339 like Monza in Italy. And then she played for 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:50.079 a few Polish teams, not the best ones. Yeah. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:52.599 I will say, okay, if you're counting national 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:56.140 teams surpassed, if not, then she met them. Okay. 00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:59.740 I think that's fair. I would personally probably 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:01.559 count national team for her. So I would say, 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:04.259 I would say I bet looking out after college, 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:08.559 she exceeded expectations. We disagree. Okay. 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:15.019 And 2015, Samantha Breachow, she. I played against 00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:21.259 her when she played for Caneliano. I said surpassed 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:25.200 because she has played for some very good club 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.400 teams. And I would say it is difficult to do 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.640 that if your national team doesn't perform well. 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:34.859 And she's Mexican. And the fact that she has 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:38.339 gotten opportunities and looks from top club 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:43.390 teams, I think speaks volumes. So I'm going to 00:23:43.390 --> 00:23:46.769 say surpass. I think that logic is right. You 00:23:46.769 --> 00:23:48.869 automatically get a couple points if you play 00:23:48.869 --> 00:23:51.609 for a great country. Absolutely. These American 00:23:51.609 --> 00:23:54.690 players who play for the U .S. national team, 00:23:54.809 --> 00:23:59.109 they have an advantage already because the national 00:23:59.109 --> 00:24:02.130 team is so good and they are seen by everybody. 00:24:02.390 --> 00:24:08.789 Mexico does not. I think that's fair. Okay, so 00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:14.990 the next five are... 2016, Sarah Wilhite, Minnesota. 00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:20.690 2017 and 18, Catherine Plummer, Stanford. 2019, 00:24:21.250 --> 00:24:25.329 Yosiana Presley from Baylor. Spring 2021 was 00:24:25.329 --> 00:24:31.170 Madison Lilly from Kentucky. As a purist, I wouldn't 00:24:31.170 --> 00:24:34.650 count that one. Dana Recchi was the player of 00:24:34.650 --> 00:24:37.130 the year that year. So do you count Kentucky's 00:24:37.130 --> 00:24:40.599 national championship in the spring of 21? Yeah, 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:42.640 I mean, they won. Well, if you're going to count 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:43.940 it, then you have to count player of the year. 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:46.039 Okay, fair enough, fair enough. I personally 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:48.099 put an asterisk next to that national championship, 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:50.359 but that's just me. Sarah Woolhite, I feel like 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:52.180 you're just going to, you're reading my answers 00:24:52.180 --> 00:24:53.599 right now, and you're just going to copy me, 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:56.339 so. I don't, I don't know enough about her. Okay, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:25:00.460 I say below. Here's her history. So right out 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:03.480 of college, she played for Bustor Sitio, then 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:09.359 went to Stuttgart, Desi Bauru in Brazil. played 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:13.400 for a weaker team in Turkey, Red Rockets in Japan, 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:15.720 and another weak team in Turkey before ending 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:19.559 up in Omaha. So basically you played for Busto 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.779 one year. Again, I played against her when she 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:25.160 was in Busto. She didn't play. Yeah, fair enough. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:27.259 But there are certain Italian clubs that always 00:25:27.259 --> 00:25:30.619 seem to snatch young American players. Busto 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:34.299 is one of them. Milano always ends up taking 00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:37.319 a couple of young ones. Yeah. And DG. I think 00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:38.819 that's fair. I think that's a fair assessment. 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:42.420 But I mean, after that, in my opinion, didn't 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:47.519 really do much. Yeah. So for me, particularly 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:50.019 if you're an outside hitter national player of 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:53.759 the year, we're looking national team here. We're 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:57.779 looking like club teams, particularly if you're 00:25:57.779 --> 00:26:00.880 an American. Yeah, that's fair. I think it's 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:03.059 a good assessment. So I put below. I can get 00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:06.339 behind that. Catherine Plummer. I want to say 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:13.099 met expectations. With the caveat that if she 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:17.180 has, if her next two seasons are good, it would 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:19.920 be an exceed. Okay, so she's played for Monza, 00:26:20.140 --> 00:26:25.220 the Denso Aribis in Japan, Toneliano for a couple 00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:28.000 seasons, three seasons, and then Izazibashi. 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:31.180 So she's played for some very good clubs. She's 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:34.509 not always starting. Not always starting. I personally 00:26:34.509 --> 00:26:37.809 think she has met expectations. Yeah, I agree 00:26:37.809 --> 00:26:40.230 with you. Yeah, I'm not saying, I'm not like 00:26:40.230 --> 00:26:43.230 countering you. I'm just saying for me, she met 00:26:43.230 --> 00:26:46.250 expectations. I think also, you know, again, 00:26:46.329 --> 00:26:48.109 there's a bit of a history there, some injury, 00:26:48.269 --> 00:26:53.269 some personal loss there. So I'm curious, I'm 00:26:53.269 --> 00:26:54.849 going to say met expectations, but I'm curious 00:26:54.849 --> 00:26:57.970 to see what her next couple of years look like. 00:26:58.109 --> 00:27:01.049 Her story is still being written. Yeah, I mean, 00:27:01.049 --> 00:27:04.309 she's still pretty young. All right, Yosiana 00:27:04.309 --> 00:27:08.609 Presley played for Mulhouse in France right after 00:27:08.609 --> 00:27:13.490 college and then went to the Atlanta Vibe, and 00:27:13.490 --> 00:27:18.329 that's all I know. Yeah, it's definitely below 00:27:18.329 --> 00:27:20.990 expectations. I remember her watching her in 00:27:20.990 --> 00:27:23.009 that season where she won Player of the Year 00:27:23.009 --> 00:27:26.190 for Baylor, and watching her was so much fun. 00:27:26.250 --> 00:27:31.599 She jumped so well. She was dynamic. But they 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:34.259 came out of nowhere. It was like Baylor's one 00:27:34.259 --> 00:27:38.099 year. Totally. And let's be real. If Catherine 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:41.019 Plummer hadn't gotten injured that year and had 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:44.200 fulfilled the quota for the requisite number 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.279 of matches to be considered, she would have won 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:49.660 player of the year again. Agreed. But in watching 00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:53.299 her in that stretch, you could see that there 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:56.500 was... potential there for her to go on and have 00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:58.460 a career if she wanted it. I didn't think she 00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:01.000 was going to have one. Below expectations, even 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:02.400 though I didn't think she was going to have much 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:04.519 of a career. I agree it was below expectations. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:07.680 I'm just saying it was impressive to watch her 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:11.240 on that run. And then Madison Lilly played for 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:13.640 Potsdam in Germany and then went to Bézier in 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:17.859 France and then went to coaching. Below expectations. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:20.039 Below. I thought there was nothing wrong with 00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:21.460 coaching. There's nothing wrong with coaching, 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:24.970 but... Given how highly people speak about her 00:28:24.970 --> 00:28:26.930 collegiate career, didn't do anything after. 00:28:27.309 --> 00:28:30.869 And the most recent now. In 2021, we had Dana 00:28:30.869 --> 00:28:34.529 Retke from Wisconsin. 22, Logan Eggleston from 00:28:34.529 --> 00:28:38.529 Texas. 23, Sarah Franklin from Wisconsin. And 00:28:38.529 --> 00:28:41.250 then the last two were Olivia Babcock from Pitt. 00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:44.049 I think Dana Retke has exceeded expectations. 00:28:44.109 --> 00:28:48.490 I agree. I agree. Now, she's played a few years 00:28:48.490 --> 00:28:52.839 at Milano and then is Ozzy Boshy. But I will 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:57.980 say to take those types of contracts as a foreign 00:28:57.980 --> 00:29:03.539 middle says a lot. Totally. It is very hard to 00:29:03.539 --> 00:29:09.640 get signed to those really strong clubs as a 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:13.519 middle because a lot of those budgets, and we've 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:17.140 talked about in the past, go to larger point 00:29:17.140 --> 00:29:21.380 scorers. So the fact that she has been able to 00:29:21.380 --> 00:29:26.180 play at that level as a foreign middle, I think 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:29.420 she has exceeded expectations. 100 % agree with 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:32.680 that. Logan Eggleston has played a couple seasons 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:36.380 for Galatasaray in Turkey and then went to Love. 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:40.019 For me, it's Below. Yeah, Love just feels like 00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:43.500 settling. And then Sarah Franklin, obviously. 00:29:44.490 --> 00:29:46.490 Went to love right out of college and now is 00:29:46.490 --> 00:29:50.470 at Scandici. She just signed with Ankara in Turkey 00:29:50.470 --> 00:29:53.430 for next year. For me, she has met expectations. 00:29:53.849 --> 00:29:56.910 Yes, I agree. I think leaving the season that 00:29:56.910 --> 00:29:59.910 she's had, she's got some playing time. I would 00:29:59.910 --> 00:30:02.450 agree with that assessment. And it remains to 00:30:02.450 --> 00:30:06.230 be seen for Olivia Babcock. So in building off 00:30:06.230 --> 00:30:09.289 of that question, as we said earlier, we are 00:30:09.289 --> 00:30:13.730 not super familiar. with a lot of these athletes 00:30:13.730 --> 00:30:17.529 collegiate careers so we're just going to kind 00:30:17.529 --> 00:30:21.329 of break down the ones that we think are top 00:30:21.329 --> 00:30:25.109 top that we know so if we don't say your player's 00:30:25.109 --> 00:30:27.390 name don't come at us because maybe we didn't 00:30:27.390 --> 00:30:30.690 watch them in college okay so i put a list of 00:30:30.690 --> 00:30:34.750 eight together in order and it was i thought 00:30:34.750 --> 00:30:38.630 about this exercise in terms of a how good they 00:30:38.630 --> 00:30:43.720 were period but also how much better than their 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:46.980 peers they were. So I kind of use two different 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:49.420 criteria because you have a couple of different 00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:53.420 positions here. I had, I used that as my kind 00:30:53.420 --> 00:30:57.079 of benchmark to, to pick that. Okay. So my criteria 00:30:57.079 --> 00:30:58.940 is probably going to be different than yours. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:04.299 Cause I think of it as like how many people have 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:07.660 done what you've done and did you win? Okay. 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:10.859 Our lists are going to be different. Our order 00:31:10.859 --> 00:31:12.819 is going to be different. Okay. Do you want me 00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:15.559 to start? Sure. I have Olivia Babcock at the 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:19.259 top of the list. No. Okay. Catherine Plummer. 00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:22.460 She won three national championships. She would 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:25.500 have been a three -time national player of the 00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:28.299 year if she hadn't gotten injured her senior 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:31.500 season. She was on track to be the only three 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:33.799 -time national player of the year and a four 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:36.759 -time first -team All -American. And win three 00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:39.240 national championships. That's the top for me. 00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:40.980 But she didn't. Okay, so she won player of the 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:42.319 year twice. You know how many people have done 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:44.720 that? Not many. Okay. Well, I had her a second. 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:47.839 Olivia Babcock hasn't won anything. We all know 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:50.480 that I'm an Olivia Babcock fan. She has not won. 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:55.079 Okay. So who is your two? Dana Redke. She is 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:58.339 the only five -time first -team All -American 00:31:58.339 --> 00:32:02.240 ever. You hate that. I hate it. I definitely 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:04.240 think that there needs to be an asterisk next 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:06.440 to it because not everybody got to play five 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:11.299 years. But there's something to be said for being 00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:13.700 a five -time first -team All -American. I mean, 00:32:13.740 --> 00:32:16.039 your argument is pretty compelling. And she won 00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:20.019 in 2021. Okay, who's your three? Micah Hancock. 00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:23.000 I had Micah Hancock at three as well. Okay, because 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:26.299 she won a couple. Who was after that? That I 00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:28.779 honestly don't really care. I had Dana Retke 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:32.160 and then Sarah Franklin. I'd probably put Eggleston 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:35.660 above Franklin. Really? I would probably put 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:41.279 Eggleston above Franklin because A, Eggleston 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:45.400 won and she was at Texas all four years. Franklin 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:48.200 transferred into Wisconsin from Michigan State 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:52.519 after they won. From a performance standpoint 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:55.859 in college, who do you think was better or had 00:32:55.859 --> 00:32:59.000 a bigger impact for their team? Well, I mean. 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:02.240 I don't like that question because they set Franklin 00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:05.519 almost every single ball versus like Eggleston 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:07.299 played on a more balanced team. She can't be 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:10.400 punished for that. I see your argument. I thought 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:13.940 Sarah Franklin carried more of a load and was 00:33:13.940 --> 00:33:17.519 more valuable to her team in that stretch. I 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:20.680 think both arguments are valid. Those reasons 00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:23.119 are just why I would put Eggleston above her. 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:25.940 And then I would honestly probably put Babcock 00:33:25.940 --> 00:33:29.430 up there because. I mean, if you want to compare 00:33:29.430 --> 00:33:34.029 similar situations, her situation is similar 00:33:34.029 --> 00:33:36.789 to Franklin's, except she's making the Final 00:33:36.789 --> 00:33:41.869 Four every year and arguably has worse pieces 00:33:41.869 --> 00:33:46.049 around her, especially this past year. If Babcock 00:33:46.049 --> 00:33:49.329 wins next year, where does she go on this list 00:33:49.329 --> 00:33:54.029 for you? Maybe third. Ahead of Mike Hancock? 00:33:54.450 --> 00:33:57.940 Mm -hmm. Okay. Fair enough. And to round out 00:33:57.940 --> 00:34:00.099 my list, as I didn't know many other people, 00:34:00.140 --> 00:34:03.539 I had Carly Lloyd and then Presley. Don't put 00:34:03.539 --> 00:34:05.920 Presley on the list at all. I'm not letting you 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:09.059 do that. She does not belong on that list. I'm 00:34:09.059 --> 00:34:11.579 sorry. But I could make an argument for Carly 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:14.980 Lloyd because Cal was never the same after she 00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:18.199 graduated. And I also have PTSD because I played 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:21.340 my final college match against Cal and lost to 00:34:21.340 --> 00:34:23.539 them in the regional final. And she was a freshman. 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:26.039 Honestly, I really liked this question. Great 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:28.619 question. It was very interesting. It was cool 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:32.739 to dive into these players' careers. And, you 00:34:32.739 --> 00:34:36.159 know, I'm sad that I kind of went dark on NCAA 00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:39.559 volleyball there for a while in the middle years, 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:43.639 the early 2010s. But, yeah, this was fun. Very 00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:46.760 fun. All right. So for our game this week, we 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:49.920 are going to do a little confirm or deny. Okay. 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:52.159 So I will make statements. I had no idea what 00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:53.980 we were getting into right now. It's always a 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:55.980 surprise for me too. Yes. This is the fun part 00:34:55.980 --> 00:34:58.139 for me. So I will make a statement and you will 00:34:58.139 --> 00:35:00.900 either confirm or deny it, you know, with a little 00:35:00.900 --> 00:35:03.199 bit of justification, not just a yes or no answer. 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:06.320 Okay. So we're going to start actually, and we 00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:12.039 have two questions about Omaha MLV. Confirm or 00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:16.860 deny Omaha's coach will still be with them next 00:35:16.860 --> 00:35:21.039 season, regardless. Of how this season finishes. 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:27.280 Deny. This is the absolute worst Omaha has done. 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.980 They've been at the top the last two seasons. 00:35:30.760 --> 00:35:36.860 Your organization was one of the major proponents 00:35:36.860 --> 00:35:40.260 or reasons that this league switched to MLV. 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:44.440 And now you snatched up all these players. And 00:35:44.440 --> 00:35:46.000 now you're going to be one of the worst teams. 00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:49.510 That's a bad look. Or the office, the front office. 00:35:49.889 --> 00:35:51.570 So I think they're going to get rid of him because 00:35:51.570 --> 00:35:54.429 that's a really bad look. I agree. And he has 00:35:54.429 --> 00:35:56.670 made comments about, you know, the team's not 00:35:56.670 --> 00:35:59.210 as good as they thought they were on paper and 00:35:59.210 --> 00:36:01.030 things like that. He's thrown a little shade 00:36:01.030 --> 00:36:06.269 at the management group of that one based off 00:36:06.269 --> 00:36:08.670 how they've played. And it doesn't look like 00:36:08.670 --> 00:36:09.769 they're going to make the playoffs right now. 00:36:10.269 --> 00:36:12.809 So, yeah, I agree. I think they're going to be 00:36:12.809 --> 00:36:16.920 finding a new coach. Bird Coon is just down in 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:21.019 Atlanta just like smirking. Okay, next question. 00:36:21.179 --> 00:36:25.059 Omaha will finish outside of the top four missing 00:36:25.059 --> 00:36:30.880 the playoffs this year. Confirm. We were iffy 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:32.739 at the beginning of the season, but we were like, 00:36:32.780 --> 00:36:34.139 no, they're going to figure it out. They're going 00:36:34.139 --> 00:36:35.719 to find their rhythm, blah, blah, blah. They're 00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:38.920 not finding their rhythm. This is not going well, 00:36:39.059 --> 00:36:40.739 so I don't think they're going to make playoffs. 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:43.940 I would confirm that one as well. I think they're 00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:46.139 going to be on the outside looking in. Confirm 00:36:46.139 --> 00:36:50.539 or deny Salt Lake will consistently return to 00:36:50.539 --> 00:36:53.579 the win column after Alexa Gray comes back from 00:36:53.579 --> 00:36:58.340 injury. Confirm. I think she's very good. And 00:36:58.340 --> 00:37:03.119 I think her presence probably puts Casanova, 00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:06.179 the other left side, et cetera, like at ease 00:37:06.179 --> 00:37:09.440 and not maybe doesn't, it makes them feel not 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:13.159 as much pressure. So depending on how bad her 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:16.699 injury was, which like let's assume that if she's 00:37:16.699 --> 00:37:19.019 playing it's not that bad and she's fine, then 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:21.860 I'll say yes, confirm they'll start winning again. 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:24.320 I will confirm that as well. I think they'll 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:27.099 go at least 500 down the stretch with her, which 00:37:27.099 --> 00:37:30.440 will be good enough. Does everybody make playoffs 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:34.139 again? I think so. Confirmer Janai, Hawaii will 00:37:34.139 --> 00:37:38.300 hand UCLA their first loss this week. They're 00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:41.340 playing in Hawaii, I believe. I think you're 00:37:41.340 --> 00:37:46.219 right. This is a hard question. I'm going to 00:37:46.219 --> 00:37:49.599 say deny. I'm going to confirm this. I think 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:55.039 UCLA will turn it up. They are hungry after not 00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:59.559 winning last year. They're playing really well. 00:38:00.059 --> 00:38:05.780 I think that the environment will fuel them even 00:38:05.780 --> 00:38:10.429 more. And I want to say they've learned from 00:38:10.429 --> 00:38:14.170 last season with their complacent starts, etc. 00:38:14.730 --> 00:38:18.929 I think Hawaii matches up well against UCLA. 00:38:18.969 --> 00:38:20.389 I'm not saying they're better than them, but 00:38:20.389 --> 00:38:22.769 you're going to have tread against Zach Rama. 00:38:22.889 --> 00:38:26.789 Zach Rama, that's fine. Zach Rama elevates. It's 00:38:26.789 --> 00:38:31.110 insane. He's like on a ladder. I'm really looking 00:38:31.110 --> 00:38:33.789 forward to that game. I think Hawaii can get 00:38:33.789 --> 00:38:38.409 a win here. Conigliano. will win its eighth league 00:38:38.409 --> 00:38:42.730 title in a row this year. Confirm. I think they 00:38:42.730 --> 00:38:46.969 started out the season slow, but I think they 00:38:46.969 --> 00:38:49.909 got back on track. I know I picked Vacav Bank 00:38:49.909 --> 00:38:52.369 to beat them in Champions League, but I think 00:38:52.369 --> 00:38:54.670 they will win the Italian League. I'm going to 00:38:54.670 --> 00:38:56.489 deny this. I think there's going to be a new 00:38:56.489 --> 00:39:00.250 league champion this year. Who? I think Scandici 00:39:00.250 --> 00:39:05.309 will win. I'm not sure. Last question. Confirm 00:39:05.309 --> 00:39:10.760 or deny. There will be no Italian team as the 00:39:10.760 --> 00:39:14.559 winner of Champions League for both men and women. 00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:18.900 Deny. I think I already predicted last week that 00:39:18.900 --> 00:39:21.539 Fenerbahce or Vacavank will win the women's side. 00:39:21.639 --> 00:39:25.039 But I think, you know, Perugia, Chivita, Nova 00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:29.239 are on opposite sides of the bracket. Granted, 00:39:29.239 --> 00:39:33.619 Chivita, Nova has to play Zverev. But there is 00:39:33.619 --> 00:39:37.739 a chance that Trentino. wins and then one of 00:39:37.739 --> 00:39:39.800 them in perugia they could match up in the semi 00:39:39.800 --> 00:39:44.440 so i think there are enough opportunities for 00:39:44.440 --> 00:39:46.699 an italian men's team to win i'm going to deny 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:49.739 that as well i think one one of the champions 00:39:49.739 --> 00:39:51.860 leagues will be won won by an italian team i 00:39:51.860 --> 00:39:54.960 agree there's just too many odds for for that 00:39:54.960 --> 00:39:56.599 to happen both on the men and the women i know 00:39:56.599 --> 00:39:58.599 that you're convinced it's going to be well i 00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:00.260 was completely wrong last year and i'll probably 00:40:00.260 --> 00:40:02.280 be completely wrong again but it's fun to speculate 00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:05.039 yeah that's confirm and deny this week i liked 00:40:05.039 --> 00:40:06.639 your answer that's a lot of fun good job adam 00:40:06.639 --> 00:40:09.500 okay let's get into some listener questions the 00:40:09.500 --> 00:40:14.320 first one is for you it is a build -off of it's 00:40:14.320 --> 00:40:17.760 a fun one okay it's a build -off of your roster 00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:21.219 construction one okay From last week? Yeah. The 00:40:21.219 --> 00:40:23.420 person says, okay, so Adam's 16U team will be 00:40:23.420 --> 00:40:26.579 assembled by athleticism, then attitude, then 00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:30.199 skill. Yeah. Where does height fit in? When I 00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:33.039 think of athleticism, height is kind of attached 00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:35.199 to that. There's a lot of tall people who are 00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:38.539 very unathletic. Yeah. So you're looking at, 00:40:38.699 --> 00:40:40.820 you know, how well do they jump? How high do 00:40:40.820 --> 00:40:43.460 they touch? You know, height would definitely 00:40:43.460 --> 00:40:47.179 come into play in that first category for me. 00:40:47.579 --> 00:40:51.389 I kind of include that in. Athleticism. Would 00:40:51.389 --> 00:40:54.789 you take a super tall kid who is not athletic 00:40:54.789 --> 00:40:56.869 at all? Are you one of those people that think 00:40:56.869 --> 00:41:00.690 that you can, like, just make athletes out of 00:41:00.690 --> 00:41:06.510 nothing? Definitely not. However, if their attitude 00:41:06.510 --> 00:41:09.969 is good and they're willing to put the work in, 00:41:10.030 --> 00:41:13.090 I would be apt to give them a shot. And, you 00:41:13.090 --> 00:41:16.010 know, tall and unathletic, maybe a middle. You 00:41:16.010 --> 00:41:18.599 know, if he's smart. No shade to the middles 00:41:18.599 --> 00:41:21.579 out there. No, no, no, no. But you can narrow 00:41:21.579 --> 00:41:24.119 in the focus, right? So maybe you're not a super 00:41:24.119 --> 00:41:26.119 attacking middle, but maybe you could be a good 00:41:26.119 --> 00:41:28.900 blocker. You know, good eye work, things like 00:41:28.900 --> 00:41:31.239 that. If I had a kid like that who really wanted 00:41:31.239 --> 00:41:33.599 to play, who was very coachable and worked hard, 00:41:33.820 --> 00:41:36.559 I'd keep him in the gym. Because that's, again, 00:41:36.639 --> 00:41:40.559 as we discussed, my soft spot. Part B is, so 00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:45.360 how do you fix the leaves? Ten years. Drafting. 00:41:46.349 --> 00:41:49.909 He says this every year, you guys. Oh, we're 00:41:49.909 --> 00:41:52.849 in a rebuild. But honestly, the Leafs issue, 00:41:53.090 --> 00:41:57.690 in my opinion, come down to this roster construction. 00:41:57.909 --> 00:42:01.590 You had too many players of the same type. You 00:42:01.590 --> 00:42:05.690 had skilled... Non -winners. Well, there is that. 00:42:05.829 --> 00:42:09.789 But you had skilled guys who weren't willing 00:42:09.789 --> 00:42:11.869 to go into the dirty areas, who couldn't play 00:42:11.869 --> 00:42:14.170 when the ice shrunk in the playoffs. Like, you 00:42:14.170 --> 00:42:17.409 need a couple of them. But then you need a couple 00:42:17.409 --> 00:42:19.650 guys around that who are willing to do the dirty 00:42:19.650 --> 00:42:23.329 work and not just third liners. So, I mean, the 00:42:23.329 --> 00:42:26.530 Leafs are sunk for the next decade. They got 00:42:26.530 --> 00:42:28.610 to draft a few new players. They don't have any 00:42:28.610 --> 00:42:30.449 draft capital. Nobody wants to play in Toronto. 00:42:30.530 --> 00:42:34.250 It's going to be bleak. All right. Moving on. 00:42:35.610 --> 00:42:37.769 Question two. Are there any collegiate players 00:42:37.769 --> 00:42:40.210 you guys expect or want to see playing for the 00:42:40.210 --> 00:42:43.610 U .S. VNL team? With the exception of Babcock, 00:42:43.889 --> 00:42:45.750 this person couldn't think of anybody who could 00:42:45.750 --> 00:42:48.230 make the jump right now except maybe Stafford. 00:42:48.530 --> 00:42:52.409 I would also like to see Andy Jackson. I want 00:42:52.409 --> 00:42:55.130 to get her out of that environment. I want to 00:42:55.130 --> 00:42:57.590 see, you know, her blocking is not going to be 00:42:57.590 --> 00:43:00.150 up to snuff at that level, but it would be interesting 00:43:00.150 --> 00:43:05.309 to see how she attacks the slide in those rotations. 00:43:05.449 --> 00:43:08.789 Could she be a factor there? What does it look 00:43:08.789 --> 00:43:10.429 like if they run her in front of the setter? 00:43:10.469 --> 00:43:12.789 I would be curious to see that maybe in a week 00:43:12.789 --> 00:43:15.809 one or against a couple teams. That's the first 00:43:15.809 --> 00:43:18.570 name that pops into my head. Andy Jackson popped 00:43:18.570 --> 00:43:20.409 into my head too. I'm trying to think if I agree 00:43:20.409 --> 00:43:23.130 if Stafford could make the jump right now. I'm 00:43:23.130 --> 00:43:28.170 not sure. I think it would be worth seeing. Yeah, 00:43:28.190 --> 00:43:30.789 I mean, I think it's worth a try. But even like 00:43:30.789 --> 00:43:34.070 a Kennedy Martin, like I don't think. Her all 00:43:34.070 --> 00:43:36.789 -around game is not good enough. She's a good 00:43:36.789 --> 00:43:39.250 attacker, but her other skills are not good enough. 00:43:39.250 --> 00:43:42.329 It would be interesting to watch her attack against 00:43:42.329 --> 00:43:44.809 an international block, but she'd get tipped 00:43:44.809 --> 00:43:50.150 every ball. Stitch -ack style. No, I don't know. 00:43:50.969 --> 00:43:54.230 Maybe a setter? Honestly, I would be curious 00:43:54.230 --> 00:43:57.769 to see Izzy Stark, but she's been out for so 00:43:57.769 --> 00:44:00.769 long. I would have picked Izzy Stark. If she 00:44:00.769 --> 00:44:03.170 hadn't played the whole NCAA season, she might 00:44:03.170 --> 00:44:05.230 be on my list. But, like, you haven't played 00:44:05.230 --> 00:44:09.429 in a match since, like, September, August. Yeah. 00:44:11.050 --> 00:44:15.190 Any Liberos? No. I thought the NCAA Liberos were 00:44:15.190 --> 00:44:19.010 weaker this year. Agreed. Yeah. I'm, like, I 00:44:19.010 --> 00:44:22.769 don't think that there are many that are, like, 00:44:22.769 --> 00:44:25.469 ready right now. Okay. Question three. I heard 00:44:25.469 --> 00:44:29.349 a 2024 interview with Karch Karai. in which he 00:44:29.349 --> 00:44:31.889 addressed spin serving in the U .S. women's gym. 00:44:32.090 --> 00:44:35.349 He said that because of lack of consistency and 00:44:35.349 --> 00:44:39.429 accuracy, at one point he mandated that everybody 00:44:39.429 --> 00:44:43.949 exclusively float serve. He also cited wear and 00:44:43.949 --> 00:44:46.409 tear as part of his rationale for discouraging 00:44:46.409 --> 00:44:49.610 spin serving. Do you think his approach still 00:44:49.610 --> 00:44:52.829 contributes to USA's conservative serving compared 00:44:52.829 --> 00:44:56.230 to international leagues? Do you anticipate more 00:44:56.230 --> 00:44:58.650 aggressive serving and spin serving on Team USA 00:44:58.650 --> 00:45:02.429 now that he's no longer the head coach? Who do 00:45:02.429 --> 00:45:05.349 you think has a good enough spin serve? Here's 00:45:05.349 --> 00:45:07.789 the thing. I hear that comment and I immediately 00:45:07.789 --> 00:45:09.789 think he just didn't think anybody had an effective 00:45:09.789 --> 00:45:12.349 enough spin serve. I feel like, yeah, that's 00:45:12.349 --> 00:45:15.130 like a very PC answer to be like nobody was good 00:45:15.130 --> 00:45:19.150 enough. Yeah, because think about it. If you 00:45:19.150 --> 00:45:22.269 have to be hitting the snot out of the ball with 00:45:22.269 --> 00:45:26.050 good control. moving across into seams to cause 00:45:26.050 --> 00:45:29.429 trouble i mean you and i both passed and i would 00:45:29.429 --> 00:45:32.289 rather pass a spin serve than a float serve 100 00:45:32.289 --> 00:45:35.550 there are very few and again i didn't play internationally 00:45:35.550 --> 00:45:37.429 so don't come at me with that but i'm just saying 00:45:37.429 --> 00:45:39.869 in general when you're at a level there are very 00:45:39.869 --> 00:45:43.289 few players who can blow you up well and it's 00:45:43.289 --> 00:45:45.110 different on the men's for in the men's game 00:45:45.110 --> 00:45:47.730 in the women's game like the men's game the spin 00:45:47.730 --> 00:45:51.780 serves are moving so fast but even like For me, 00:45:51.800 --> 00:45:54.099 when I saw somebody coming to spin serve, I'm 00:45:54.099 --> 00:45:57.519 like, oh, perfect. Yeah. And again, you have 00:45:57.519 --> 00:46:01.000 cartridges and incorrect, less control. Like 00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:04.719 if you can hit flat float serves into seams in 00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:08.179 between players, move them around, you're not 00:46:08.179 --> 00:46:10.119 necessarily getting aces, but you're getting 00:46:10.119 --> 00:46:12.500 out of system balls or passes behind the attack 00:46:12.500 --> 00:46:16.619 line. To me, this sounds like, hey, the numbers 00:46:16.619 --> 00:46:20.030 support us float serving. I'm going to break 00:46:20.030 --> 00:46:22.170 it to you guys as gently as possible without 00:46:22.170 --> 00:46:23.989 telling you you're not good enough spin servers 00:46:23.989 --> 00:46:27.750 to do it. That's how I read that. But I also 00:46:27.750 --> 00:46:31.630 think, and I don't know if this is fact, but 00:46:31.630 --> 00:46:34.869 kind of building off of something that we said 00:46:34.869 --> 00:46:39.010 last week, I think a lot of coaches in North 00:46:39.010 --> 00:46:42.190 America at like the club and university levels 00:46:42.190 --> 00:46:46.289 punish people for missing. So a spin server. 00:46:47.190 --> 00:46:52.550 starts to feel like a little nervous to really 00:46:52.550 --> 00:46:56.010 go for it if they're going to get punished and 00:46:56.010 --> 00:46:59.650 I can say like overseas when I would play professionally 00:46:59.650 --> 00:47:03.230 it was just like all the discourse always was 00:47:03.230 --> 00:47:06.250 Sarah you have a green light like do whatever 00:47:06.250 --> 00:47:09.269 you want like hit the crap out of the ball like 00:47:09.269 --> 00:47:12.369 we don't care if you miss and the freedom you 00:47:12.369 --> 00:47:16.730 feel being given that green light So I don't 00:47:16.730 --> 00:47:20.070 know if it's just been like pounded into North 00:47:20.070 --> 00:47:22.630 American athletes heads or American athletes 00:47:22.630 --> 00:47:25.670 heads that if you're going to spin serve, you 00:47:25.670 --> 00:47:29.150 need to get like nine out of 10 in and then they're 00:47:29.150 --> 00:47:31.650 like taking stuff off of it. And maybe that is 00:47:31.650 --> 00:47:34.690 why we've seen easier serving in the USA gym 00:47:34.690 --> 00:47:36.929 compared to international, not just from a spin 00:47:36.929 --> 00:47:39.090 serving perspective, but float serving as well. 00:47:39.289 --> 00:47:42.699 I think it. It would be interesting to explore 00:47:42.699 --> 00:47:45.659 that as a reason why the U .S. serving is so 00:47:45.659 --> 00:47:49.019 much easier. Who do I think? Who would you give 00:47:49.019 --> 00:47:51.300 the green light to? Well, I'm confused why Olivia 00:47:51.300 --> 00:47:53.360 Babcock put her spin serve away because honestly, 00:47:53.440 --> 00:47:55.019 it's better than the float serve she's doing. 00:47:55.179 --> 00:47:57.659 Yeah. So at that point, I'm just like, OK, I 00:47:57.659 --> 00:47:59.400 would just be like, OK, forget your float serve. 00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:01.420 Just go back to it. I'm wondering if that was 00:48:01.420 --> 00:48:03.800 a legitimate wear and tear issue because she 00:48:03.800 --> 00:48:05.719 hit a ton of balls in college. What about like 00:48:05.719 --> 00:48:08.599 Micah Hancock? Micah Hancock spin serve, I think 00:48:08.599 --> 00:48:10.139 is really good. I think she does a really good 00:48:10.139 --> 00:48:13.099 job of creating that side spin to get it to move 00:48:13.099 --> 00:48:15.639 and being a lefty serving from five that messes 00:48:15.639 --> 00:48:17.920 so many people up. So I would give for sure the 00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:19.280 green light to her. I think she has a really 00:48:19.280 --> 00:48:21.840 good serve. I would say Olivia Babcock. If Kennedy 00:48:21.840 --> 00:48:26.079 Martin ever went like she, the service she has 00:48:26.079 --> 00:48:28.460 is kind of a hybrid that she was using this past 00:48:28.460 --> 00:48:32.849 season. I really like that for her. And her serve 00:48:32.849 --> 00:48:34.829 got so much more aggressive. So I would give 00:48:34.829 --> 00:48:37.289 her the green light to do that. That one, which 00:48:37.289 --> 00:48:39.510 is like an in -between. But I think that's it. 00:48:40.030 --> 00:48:41.989 You're not giving it to Skinner. You're not giving 00:48:41.989 --> 00:48:44.630 it to Franklin. You're not giving it to Plummer. 00:48:44.710 --> 00:48:48.449 You're not giving it to Eggleston. None of the 00:48:48.449 --> 00:48:50.849 middles, I don't think. There's not many middles 00:48:50.849 --> 00:48:52.110 that are spin serving. Let's not kid ourselves. 00:48:52.429 --> 00:48:54.349 Yeah. The other thing I will say about having 00:48:54.349 --> 00:48:57.190 a spin serve is it can help just throw off the 00:48:57.190 --> 00:48:59.579 rhythm of the passer. If you're not seeing the 00:48:59.579 --> 00:49:02.059 same thing. To me, I think talking women's games 00:49:02.059 --> 00:49:05.239 specifically, four good float servers, two spin 00:49:05.239 --> 00:49:07.900 servers who have the green light. To me, that's 00:49:07.900 --> 00:49:12.559 kind of the best ratio in terms of aggressiveness, 00:49:12.619 --> 00:49:15.699 ability to make errors, changing up the pace 00:49:15.699 --> 00:49:18.900 for the passers. That's what I would generally 00:49:18.900 --> 00:49:21.320 shoot for. Again, you make adjustments based 00:49:21.320 --> 00:49:23.119 off the talent you have on the roster. If you've 00:49:23.119 --> 00:49:24.940 got three great spin servers, go for it. But 00:49:24.940 --> 00:49:28.380 I think that's maybe realistic for... the players 00:49:28.380 --> 00:49:30.679 we see coming down the pipeline. Question four. 00:49:31.039 --> 00:49:33.699 If Jordan Larson had gone and played sand after 00:49:33.699 --> 00:49:36.420 college instead of pro or national team, how 00:49:36.420 --> 00:49:39.400 would she have done? She has all the tools to 00:49:39.400 --> 00:49:42.340 be a great sand player. I agree. I think she 00:49:42.340 --> 00:49:45.239 would have done exceptionally well, especially 00:49:45.239 --> 00:49:49.320 at the time that she graduated. I think if the 00:49:49.320 --> 00:49:54.239 right person had been tasked with coaching her 00:49:54.239 --> 00:49:57.639 and made her a defender. Instead of a blocker. 00:49:57.699 --> 00:50:01.800 I think she would have revolutionized. The beach 00:50:01.800 --> 00:50:04.239 game. And that position. Because we're seeing 00:50:04.239 --> 00:50:10.039 that. Now. But like back then. Like when she 00:50:10.039 --> 00:50:12.880 graduated. The beach defenders we were seeing 00:50:12.880 --> 00:50:17.119 were like 5 -7. Okay. Can you imagine in 2008. 00:50:17.179 --> 00:50:21.619 Or whatever. Like a 6 -2 defender coming out. 00:50:21.699 --> 00:50:24.489 Like people would have lost it. Yeah. And she 00:50:24.489 --> 00:50:26.489 was good enough because the way that she reads 00:50:26.489 --> 00:50:30.309 the game, she's long. So, like, she could cover 00:50:30.309 --> 00:50:32.710 the court well. Her vision, which we're seeing 00:50:32.710 --> 00:50:36.110 now when she's, like, almost 40, able to score 00:50:36.110 --> 00:50:38.989 against much younger competition without being 00:50:38.989 --> 00:50:41.449 able to honestly get off the ground that well 00:50:41.449 --> 00:50:44.170 anymore. Like, I think she would have changed 00:50:44.170 --> 00:50:48.429 the game because it's only been in the last couple 00:50:48.429 --> 00:50:51.489 cycles. Yeah, quad and a half. Yeah, that we've 00:50:51.489 --> 00:50:55.280 seen six foot plus. defenders on the women's 00:50:55.280 --> 00:50:59.099 side so i think she would have been incredible 00:50:59.099 --> 00:51:02.699 would have cost her a couple zeros on her salary 00:51:02.699 --> 00:51:07.500 from what she made playing indoor but yeah and 00:51:07.500 --> 00:51:13.469 yeah no big deal question five Why do I routinely 00:51:13.469 --> 00:51:17.869 hear or read from U .S.-based media people who 00:51:17.869 --> 00:51:20.150 have followed pro volleyball for a long time 00:51:20.150 --> 00:51:23.949 say that they want or wish the top NCAA players 00:51:23.949 --> 00:51:26.769 to go to Italy or wherever to play? I understand 00:51:26.769 --> 00:51:29.469 wanting to see people play against the best competition, 00:51:29.670 --> 00:51:32.909 but if a person wants the U .S. leagues to be 00:51:32.909 --> 00:51:35.889 top level, then wouldn't they want the best players 00:51:35.889 --> 00:51:40.050 to stay and build up the talent? Am I misunderstanding 00:51:40.050 --> 00:51:43.750 the intent of others when they say this? Or are 00:51:43.750 --> 00:51:46.269 they just okay with pro volleyball here looking 00:51:46.269 --> 00:51:50.349 the same way MLS is in the soccer world? I think 00:51:50.349 --> 00:51:52.610 they're two completely different things. And 00:51:52.610 --> 00:51:55.909 it comes down to incentives. Well, no, I think 00:51:55.909 --> 00:51:59.750 the discussion of like building athletes is a 00:51:59.750 --> 00:52:02.730 completely different discourse than wanting a 00:52:02.730 --> 00:52:05.360 pro league in the US to succeed or not. Do you 00:52:05.360 --> 00:52:08.179 know what I mean? And quite frankly, if you take 00:52:08.179 --> 00:52:11.940 the top NCAA players and just immediately filter 00:52:11.940 --> 00:52:15.099 them into the U .S. Pro League pipeline, they're 00:52:15.099 --> 00:52:18.300 not going to get better because you need other 00:52:18.300 --> 00:52:20.860 top athletes from around the world to come to 00:52:20.860 --> 00:52:24.480 this league to build the level, to make the NCAA 00:52:24.480 --> 00:52:28.420 talent better. And quite frankly, nobody knows 00:52:28.420 --> 00:52:32.219 who top NCAA players are if you go to Turkey 00:52:32.219 --> 00:52:35.239 or Japan. Italy or wherever. They don't know. 00:52:35.380 --> 00:52:38.880 So those top players would never be incentivized 00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:42.699 to come play in the US with top NCAA players 00:52:42.699 --> 00:52:45.440 because they'd be like, who is this? Those NCAA 00:52:45.440 --> 00:52:48.519 players that are top need to go overseas, A, 00:52:48.739 --> 00:52:51.360 get better, improve, make a name for themselves, 00:52:51.519 --> 00:52:54.320 and then come back. Then players know who they 00:52:54.320 --> 00:52:56.340 are because they've already made a name for themselves 00:52:56.340 --> 00:52:59.119 and gotten good going overseas, playing against 00:52:59.119 --> 00:53:01.739 those top players, and then the league can grow. 00:53:02.409 --> 00:53:06.090 In my opinion, that's how I see it. You're not 00:53:06.090 --> 00:53:10.190 wrong. You also have to realize the people who 00:53:10.190 --> 00:53:11.889 are saying you should go overseas and play in 00:53:11.889 --> 00:53:14.889 Italy are thinking about the 2028 Olympics, the 00:53:14.889 --> 00:53:18.769 2030 Olympics. It depends what your goals are. 00:53:18.869 --> 00:53:21.710 If you don't want to play national team, if you 00:53:21.710 --> 00:53:24.230 want to explore pro volleyball in a comfortable 00:53:24.230 --> 00:53:25.889 environment, stay here. Yeah, but I'm saying 00:53:25.889 --> 00:53:27.929 the media people who are saying that. They're 00:53:27.929 --> 00:53:30.460 thinking about... How is the U .S. national team 00:53:30.460 --> 00:53:32.219 going to be? Are we considered media people? 00:53:32.500 --> 00:53:35.000 Probably. I think. Maybe I don't know. Maybe 00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:37.480 that's arrogant. I say that only because that's 00:53:37.480 --> 00:53:39.519 generally our take. We're just two people sitting 00:53:39.519 --> 00:53:42.599 on a couch here. Leagues take forever to develop. 00:53:42.760 --> 00:53:46.639 It's going to be a slow burn to catch up to Italy. 00:53:47.000 --> 00:53:49.599 They have more money. They have more establishments. 00:53:49.599 --> 00:53:52.079 They have a different system. You know, those 00:53:52.079 --> 00:53:55.059 two things don't have to be. mutually exclusive. 00:53:55.219 --> 00:53:57.119 Like you said, you may lose them for three or 00:53:57.119 --> 00:53:58.840 four years, but then they can come back if they 00:53:58.840 --> 00:54:01.860 want to. Love managed to get Gong to come play 00:54:01.860 --> 00:54:04.199 here. She's an up -and -coming star that everybody 00:54:04.199 --> 00:54:07.119 knows. But honestly, who doesn't make those decisions? 00:54:07.340 --> 00:54:11.139 Correct. Her pro team and the government make 00:54:11.139 --> 00:54:13.559 those decisions for her. She had no say in whether 00:54:13.559 --> 00:54:16.659 she came here or not. Right, but my point was... 00:54:16.969 --> 00:54:19.650 You have to find other ways to attract top talent 00:54:19.650 --> 00:54:21.849 to keep coming in, whether that's money, whether 00:54:21.849 --> 00:54:23.889 that's lifestyle, whether that's whatever. And 00:54:23.889 --> 00:54:26.230 it's not just about keeping the homegrown talent 00:54:26.230 --> 00:54:28.590 here. It's about luring other top talent to come 00:54:28.590 --> 00:54:30.550 play however you're going to do that. And that's 00:54:30.550 --> 00:54:32.510 going to take time. I'll say it again. You're 00:54:32.510 --> 00:54:34.130 not going to make the U .S. Pro League the top 00:54:34.130 --> 00:54:38.070 league by just making the version 2 .0 of the 00:54:38.070 --> 00:54:42.030 NCAA. I'm sorry. Okay, this question is from 00:54:42.030 --> 00:54:44.530 a completely different person, but I thought 00:54:44.530 --> 00:54:47.570 it was an appropriate Part B. To this other question 00:54:47.570 --> 00:54:50.130 that we just answered. So which of the U .S. 00:54:50.150 --> 00:54:52.250 players currently playing for love or MLB do 00:54:52.250 --> 00:54:54.329 you think would benefit most from playing pro 00:54:54.329 --> 00:54:57.289 overseas? And are we killing our hopes for a 00:54:57.289 --> 00:54:59.809 medal in L .A. by having so many U .S. players 00:54:59.809 --> 00:55:02.949 in the U .S. pro leagues? I mean, Jordan Thompson's 00:55:02.949 --> 00:55:05.650 the first person that comes to mind because she's 00:55:05.650 --> 00:55:08.650 your front runner for your starting opposite. 00:55:08.829 --> 00:55:11.650 I know she's already played overseas, but like. 00:55:12.369 --> 00:55:15.909 Go back. But think about it. This is the equivalent 00:55:15.909 --> 00:55:18.909 of an NBA player taking two seasons and playing 00:55:18.909 --> 00:55:21.409 in the G League. Or like LeBron James being like, 00:55:21.489 --> 00:55:23.190 you know what? I'm going to go play a season 00:55:23.190 --> 00:55:27.409 in Russia. Yeah. I'll be back. She's the first 00:55:27.409 --> 00:55:29.110 one. But the Russian League is pretty good, which 00:55:29.110 --> 00:55:32.469 is not the NBA. Maddie Skinner. Maddie Skinner 00:55:32.469 --> 00:55:35.769 is the next one. Logan Eggleston. Anybody who 00:55:35.769 --> 00:55:40.210 is thinking about being a starter for the Olympics, 00:55:40.250 --> 00:55:44.190 in my opinion, should be overseas. I'm even like 00:55:44.190 --> 00:55:46.889 Micah Hancock go back. I know you're like in 00:55:46.889 --> 00:55:49.230 your 30s now, but like if you're going to make 00:55:49.230 --> 00:55:51.010 a run, like do it right. You know what I mean? 00:55:51.309 --> 00:55:54.989 I'm actually really curious how long those people's 00:55:54.989 --> 00:55:57.489 contracts are and if the two years leading into 00:55:57.489 --> 00:56:00.829 the Olympics they play overseas. No, you don't 00:56:00.829 --> 00:56:04.550 think so. Are there any middles? Well, you love 00:56:04.550 --> 00:56:09.309 Tia Jemerson. Amber, I G'd. Go back. Play a whole 00:56:09.309 --> 00:56:11.170 season in Italy. Don't fill in for an injury. 00:56:11.369 --> 00:56:16.320 Yeah. Like seriously, her for sure. I think Fairbanks 00:56:16.320 --> 00:56:19.139 could actually benefit from playing overseas. 00:56:19.380 --> 00:56:22.239 You just, they play volleyball differently. I 00:56:22.239 --> 00:56:25.559 know that first year that I went overseas with 00:56:25.559 --> 00:56:28.719 you and, you know, chatted with the Italian coaches 00:56:28.719 --> 00:56:30.860 and like understood the system, what they were 00:56:30.860 --> 00:56:33.539 trying to do. They think about the game differently. 00:56:33.619 --> 00:56:35.599 It opened up my mind to other possibilities, 00:56:35.760 --> 00:56:38.639 to other ways to think, to approach the game. 00:56:39.159 --> 00:56:42.380 For me, it was transformative in how I looked 00:56:42.380 --> 00:56:44.420 at volleyball. Well, even playing in so many 00:56:44.420 --> 00:56:46.900 countries for me was transformative because you 00:56:46.900 --> 00:56:50.619 have your identity as a player and what you're 00:56:50.619 --> 00:56:52.400 good at and the style that you've grown up with 00:56:52.400 --> 00:56:55.360 and whatever. But everywhere you go, if you're 00:56:55.360 --> 00:57:00.039 open enough to it, you take pieces of that style 00:57:00.039 --> 00:57:04.340 with you. And at the end, you're just like this 00:57:04.340 --> 00:57:08.309 interesting... mosaic of just like everywhere 00:57:08.309 --> 00:57:12.309 you've been and you've like taken all these pieces 00:57:12.309 --> 00:57:14.989 that have made you a much more well -rounded 00:57:14.989 --> 00:57:17.769 and creative athlete and if there's no other 00:57:17.769 --> 00:57:22.050 reason like do it to just like see what you can 00:57:22.050 --> 00:57:25.489 add to your game yeah so i think i think fairbanks 00:57:25.489 --> 00:57:28.969 is another one that that pops into my head that's 00:57:28.969 --> 00:57:32.190 a good that's a good question yeah Well, the 00:57:32.190 --> 00:57:34.789 part two of that question was, are we doing ourselves 00:57:34.789 --> 00:57:39.409 a disservice and ruining the metal hopes? I think 00:57:39.409 --> 00:57:43.269 currently probably your top players, I think 00:57:43.269 --> 00:57:45.809 the front runners are currently in Europe. Well, 00:57:45.809 --> 00:57:50.349 you've got like Retki, you've got Abogu, you've 00:57:50.349 --> 00:57:55.329 got Plummer and Franklin and Skinner all playing 00:57:55.329 --> 00:57:57.369 overseas. And then you have a couple of those 00:57:57.369 --> 00:58:00.389 other players that we started looking at. Kendall 00:58:00.389 --> 00:58:03.510 Kipp. Kendall Kipp. Ruddins is playing over there. 00:58:03.949 --> 00:58:07.570 You have enough of the athletes there. I think 00:58:07.570 --> 00:58:09.769 we highlighted a couple who I think, again, would 00:58:09.769 --> 00:58:12.969 be beneficial, but lots of your potential starters 00:58:12.969 --> 00:58:16.650 are already playing there. So we're talking maybe 00:58:16.650 --> 00:58:20.309 4%, 5%, or 6 % increase in medal opportunity, 00:58:20.489 --> 00:58:22.550 I think, if those players are playing overseas 00:58:22.550 --> 00:58:24.949 that we mentioned. But again, I think a lot of 00:58:24.949 --> 00:58:26.769 them kind of see the writing on the wall and 00:58:26.769 --> 00:58:28.369 know what they have to do if they want to be 00:58:28.369 --> 00:58:32.570 competitive in 2028. I mean, they've chosen to 00:58:32.570 --> 00:58:34.650 go overseas when they don't have to. Oh, I thought 00:58:34.650 --> 00:58:35.710 you meant the ones that are staying in love. 00:58:35.750 --> 00:58:38.010 No, no, no. Yeah, the ones who chose to go overseas. 00:58:38.369 --> 00:58:41.050 All right, question six. I'm a setter and my 00:58:41.050 --> 00:58:43.329 club coach used to crash out when I would set 00:58:43.329 --> 00:58:45.650 the middle attacker on a ball that I had to back 00:58:45.650 --> 00:58:49.050 up to get, setting a 31 or a push one from zone 00:58:49.050 --> 00:58:51.719 two. It felt natural to reverse the flow and 00:58:51.719 --> 00:58:53.619 get the middle involved from this position, and 00:58:53.619 --> 00:58:56.199 it was relatively successful. However, my coach 00:58:56.199 --> 00:58:58.880 absolutely despised it regardless of the outcome, 00:58:58.960 --> 00:59:02.440 but never explained to me why. First of all, 00:59:02.480 --> 00:59:06.019 coaching error 101. I feel like especially with 00:59:06.019 --> 00:59:07.679 like back when we were kids, it was just like 00:59:07.679 --> 00:59:09.360 the coach says something and you just say, sure, 00:59:09.460 --> 00:59:11.119 and you don't ask questions. But I feel like 00:59:11.119 --> 00:59:13.440 athletes have evolved and like this new generation 00:59:13.440 --> 00:59:17.000 very much benefits from hearing why. Yeah. which 00:59:17.000 --> 00:59:20.079 is not a bad thing at all. Is this a principle 00:59:20.079 --> 00:59:23.059 you guys believe in or is it just bad coaching? 00:59:23.239 --> 00:59:26.780 It's bad coaching. Okay. I will say, and I don't 00:59:26.780 --> 00:59:29.079 know your coach at all. This is just a shot in 00:59:29.079 --> 00:59:32.460 the dark that I'm taking here. A lot of like 00:59:32.460 --> 00:59:37.940 setting 101 when you're coaching younger athletes 00:59:37.940 --> 00:59:41.480 in club or whatever, like a lot of coaches are 00:59:41.480 --> 00:59:44.099 like, do not set the middle unless you see them. 00:59:44.679 --> 00:59:47.559 Which is a really good principle when people 00:59:47.559 --> 00:59:50.880 are young and getting started because you want 00:59:50.880 --> 00:59:53.619 to train your setters to be able to set a fast 00:59:53.619 --> 00:59:56.599 offense properly and you want your middles to 00:59:56.599 --> 01:00:00.099 get appropriate timing. For young athletes saying 01:00:00.099 --> 01:00:02.119 like, don't set your middle unless you see it, 01:00:02.139 --> 01:00:04.739 unless you see them, it serves its purpose. It 01:00:04.739 --> 01:00:07.400 makes a lot of sense. I am wondering if this 01:00:07.400 --> 01:00:11.050 coach was like dying on that mountain. And when 01:00:11.050 --> 01:00:13.510 you were backing up to zone two, you probably 01:00:13.510 --> 01:00:16.550 weren't able to see your middle. And he was just 01:00:16.550 --> 01:00:18.849 like, absolutely not. You know, the other thing 01:00:18.849 --> 01:00:20.909 I can think of about this is I think when you're 01:00:20.909 --> 01:00:24.730 younger, a lot of coaches don't want the setters 01:00:24.730 --> 01:00:27.010 falling out of their sets specifically to the 01:00:27.010 --> 01:00:30.789 middle. It slows it down a little harder to pinpoint. 01:00:31.530 --> 01:00:35.849 So maybe that was the reason. But I don't think 01:00:35.849 --> 01:00:39.139 if you're executing it fine. I'm like, yeah. 01:00:39.420 --> 01:00:42.320 Yeah, I am too. And then strategically, the other 01:00:42.320 --> 01:00:44.440 thing too is you have to think about, you know, 01:00:44.440 --> 01:00:46.920 if your setter's being pulled to two, the middle 01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:49.960 has to take a step that way, you know, because 01:00:49.960 --> 01:00:52.000 the right side set becomes very quick or the 01:00:52.000 --> 01:00:53.679 setter's front rowing could potentially dump. 01:00:53.840 --> 01:00:56.000 Pushing the middle out, you know, forces the 01:00:56.000 --> 01:00:57.760 middle to stay, open some things up. If they 01:00:57.760 --> 01:00:59.380 don't, you have a clean swing. Like there are 01:00:59.380 --> 01:01:02.429 strategic reasons. that you would potentially 01:01:02.429 --> 01:01:05.090 run a push in that situation as well, at least 01:01:05.090 --> 01:01:07.110 for me personally, you know, what I think. So, 01:01:07.170 --> 01:01:11.309 again, coaches have all different levels of experience 01:01:11.309 --> 01:01:13.530 and philosophies depending on who they learn 01:01:13.530 --> 01:01:16.469 from. So, you know, it might have just been one 01:01:16.469 --> 01:01:19.530 of those, hey, I was told growing up never to 01:01:19.530 --> 01:01:23.130 do this. All right, question seven. You talk 01:01:23.130 --> 01:01:25.630 a lot about height limiting your options, which 01:01:25.630 --> 01:01:27.889 is true, but there are also athletes that overcome 01:01:27.889 --> 01:01:31.000 those limitations. Yes. Totally. We have talked 01:01:31.000 --> 01:01:35.179 about them. Yes. For example, Gabi at 5 '11 is 01:01:35.179 --> 01:01:37.579 one of the best players in the world. And she's 01:01:37.579 --> 01:01:39.320 a one in a million player. Yes. We've talked 01:01:39.320 --> 01:01:43.739 about Gabi, Ishikawa, Wada, like you name it. 01:01:43.760 --> 01:01:46.219 That was a general statement. Anyway, can you 01:01:46.219 --> 01:01:48.280 comment on how the other skills she developed 01:01:48.280 --> 01:01:52.519 to get there? Yes. Height generally helps. There 01:01:52.519 --> 01:01:55.780 are very talented players who are not really 01:01:55.780 --> 01:01:59.219 tall. Gabi jumps really well. You know what I 01:01:59.219 --> 01:02:03.039 mean? Yeah. Ishikawa, they run a very fast offense 01:02:03.039 --> 01:02:06.539 to open up seams in the block. Bigger does not 01:02:06.539 --> 01:02:10.820 always equal better. There are ways that smaller 01:02:10.820 --> 01:02:13.380 players can be successful. Last week, we were 01:02:13.380 --> 01:02:16.739 talking about Leketur member Mena and how she 01:02:16.739 --> 01:02:19.139 probably wouldn't make the national team. Smaller 01:02:19.139 --> 01:02:24.659 players can become a liability on the block and 01:02:24.659 --> 01:02:28.239 on a defensive end of things. If they're not 01:02:28.239 --> 01:02:30.420 getting off the ground super fast, like it's 01:02:30.420 --> 01:02:34.559 just not ideal. But as far as a smaller athlete, 01:02:34.619 --> 01:02:37.719 if you're jumping well, like what the height 01:02:37.719 --> 01:02:41.719 that you touch is way more important when you're 01:02:41.719 --> 01:02:44.380 attacking than how tall you are. Yeah. And that's 01:02:44.380 --> 01:02:46.780 what I was going to say is it's about how high 01:02:46.780 --> 01:02:48.719 you're playing over the net. What are the angles 01:02:48.719 --> 01:02:51.420 that you can hit that really matters and could 01:02:51.420 --> 01:02:54.940 be skies. And she's got great angles and she's 01:02:54.940 --> 01:02:59.150 got. Good vision. Amazing vision. And like Ishikawa, 01:02:59.289 --> 01:03:02.150 her setters are able... Because if you watch 01:03:02.150 --> 01:03:04.630 Ishikawa playing for Novara... Not the best. 01:03:04.909 --> 01:03:07.329 It's not the same Ishikawa we're seeing playing 01:03:07.329 --> 01:03:09.849 for Japan. Why? Because the setters... Offensively. 01:03:09.869 --> 01:03:12.030 Offensively. Because the setters aren't running 01:03:12.030 --> 01:03:14.889 that speed of offense to give her those openings 01:03:14.889 --> 01:03:18.280 and those... Broken blocks. She's still passing 01:03:18.280 --> 01:03:20.619 really well. She's still reading the game defensively 01:03:20.619 --> 01:03:23.139 incredibly well. Her serve, whatever. There are 01:03:23.139 --> 01:03:28.679 ways that smaller players can be incredibly effective. 01:03:29.320 --> 01:03:34.920 And Gabi has all of the tools from a ball handling 01:03:34.920 --> 01:03:39.699 perspective, jumping ability. Personality, work 01:03:39.699 --> 01:03:44.340 ethic. All of the intangibles she also has. If 01:03:44.340 --> 01:03:48.260 you are a smaller player and you're able to jump 01:03:48.260 --> 01:03:54.219 and touch high offensively, who cares? The only 01:03:54.219 --> 01:03:55.820 thing that I can see being a potential issue 01:03:55.820 --> 01:04:01.599 is blocking. If you're a small setter, there 01:04:01.599 --> 01:04:06.079 are lots of small setters, but deliver a fast 01:04:06.079 --> 01:04:09.340 offense. Deliver a precise ball. You don't have 01:04:09.340 --> 01:04:11.699 to be the tallest player in the gym to get looks 01:04:11.699 --> 01:04:14.960 unless... Your coach is biased. Yeah. The thing 01:04:14.960 --> 01:04:16.880 for the small players is make it impossible for 01:04:16.880 --> 01:04:18.820 your coach to take you off the floor. That's 01:04:18.820 --> 01:04:22.719 the goal. The passing is so good that you need 01:04:22.719 --> 01:04:25.039 to stay defensively. You turn so many more points 01:04:25.039 --> 01:04:28.019 that you're blocking isn't necessarily a liability 01:04:28.019 --> 01:04:30.360 or washes out. We're not saying small players 01:04:30.360 --> 01:04:32.920 can't play. It's just statistically speaking, 01:04:33.079 --> 01:04:35.420 the ones that make it to the national team have 01:04:35.420 --> 01:04:41.000 a general profile. Okay, last question. As Alexa 01:04:41.000 --> 01:04:44.280 Gray approaches her last possible Olympic chances, 01:04:44.519 --> 01:04:46.860 do you think Canada should stick with Johnson 01:04:46.860 --> 01:04:50.579 and Mitrovic on the outside or expose young outsides 01:04:50.579 --> 01:04:53.900 like Gusen and Taylor DeBoer that's currently 01:04:53.900 --> 01:04:57.599 at Illinois? You play who's the best and whoever's 01:04:57.599 --> 01:05:00.179 playing better. I mean, I thought Gusen came 01:05:00.179 --> 01:05:03.320 in and did a really good job in the last B &L. 01:05:03.460 --> 01:05:07.420 I don't think any of those left sides are shoe 01:05:07.420 --> 01:05:10.809 -ins to start and or play. This for me is completely 01:05:10.809 --> 01:05:14.170 merit -based in terms of who's playing better 01:05:14.170 --> 01:05:16.530 on that day. I don't think you have any untouchables 01:05:16.530 --> 01:05:19.110 at this point. As always, we appreciate the questions, 01:05:19.190 --> 01:05:23.309 whether it's Instagram, YouTube, email. We love 01:05:23.309 --> 01:05:26.070 interacting in this way and chat volleyball. 01:05:26.289 --> 01:05:28.250 So thanks for all of your questions. All right, 01:05:28.309 --> 01:05:31.030 looking forward. There's just so much going on 01:05:31.030 --> 01:05:33.050 right now. So here's a few things to take a look 01:05:33.050 --> 01:05:35.469 at. Tuesday through Thursday, Champions League 01:05:35.469 --> 01:05:39.730 on eurovolley .tv. Men are playing. women are 01:05:39.730 --> 01:05:42.269 playing both men and women it's i mean you could 01:05:42.269 --> 01:05:44.449 watch champions league all week so check out 01:05:44.449 --> 01:05:46.750 those matches follow your favorite teams all 01:05:46.750 --> 01:05:49.489 of the matches should be pretty good thursday 01:05:49.489 --> 01:05:53.730 at 7 p .m eastern we have mlv indy versus orlando 01:05:53.730 --> 01:05:58.909 that'll be on roku orlando needs to kind of find 01:05:58.909 --> 01:06:01.329 it here indy's cruising so i think that will 01:06:01.329 --> 01:06:05.920 be a good match Friday at 7 p .m. Eastern, NCAA 01:06:05.920 --> 01:06:09.019 men, Lindenwood versus our boys at McKendree. 01:06:09.179 --> 01:06:11.900 Good luck, boys. We'll be cheering for you. We 01:06:11.900 --> 01:06:14.920 will never forget. Saturday at 6 p .m. Eastern, 01:06:15.239 --> 01:06:18.420 Love Atlanta versus Houston. That's at Victory 01:06:18.420 --> 01:06:23.000 Plus. Now, Sunday at 1 a .m. Eastern, NCAA men's 01:06:23.000 --> 01:06:26.440 UCLA versus Hawaii. Probably won't be up for 01:06:26.440 --> 01:06:28.599 that one, but definitely watch the replay. Hawaii 01:06:28.599 --> 01:06:30.579 had an awesome game against Pepperdine, which 01:06:30.579 --> 01:06:33.539 we mentioned. This one should also be. Fantastic. 01:06:33.679 --> 01:06:36.139 So that might be the match of the week. And then 01:06:36.139 --> 01:06:39.099 Saturday and Sunday, Italian women's semifinal 01:06:39.099 --> 01:06:42.280 match one and men's quarterfinals match two. 01:06:42.460 --> 01:06:44.300 I mean, we could do nothing this week but watch 01:06:44.300 --> 01:06:46.300 volleyball and it would be amazing. Not going 01:06:46.300 --> 01:06:48.619 to happen for us, but there's just so much to 01:06:48.619 --> 01:06:51.099 choose from. That concludes this week's episode 01:06:51.099 --> 01:06:53.079 of Volley Talk. There's always something shaking 01:06:53.079 --> 01:06:54.980 in the volleyball world and we hope you enjoyed 01:06:54.980 --> 01:06:57.420 this little fix. Be sure to follow the show so 01:06:57.420 --> 01:06:59.400 you don't miss any updates and we'd be so grateful 01:06:59.400 --> 01:07:01.869 if you'd leave us a five -star review. You can 01:07:01.869 --> 01:07:04.289 also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore 01:07:04.289 --> 01:07:07.289 podcast. If you have a topic you'd like us to 01:07:07.289 --> 01:07:09.630 discuss, you can reach out on Instagram or at 01:07:09.630 --> 01:07:13.530 info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much for joining 01:07:13.530 --> 01:07:15.230 us and we'll be back next week.