WEBVTT

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Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley

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Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers

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who want to dig deep into what is going on in

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NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host

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Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball

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world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and

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longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And

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I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international

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volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat

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guy. We are continuing to be just... Spoiled.

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With some really high quality matchups. So good.

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All over the place. There's just not enough time

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to watch them all. Even though we can't watch

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them all, it is still very exciting. And I love

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getting messages from everybody keeping me in

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the know. Watch this game. Watch this game. Did

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you see that? It's so much fun. It's amazing.

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So we've got a lot to discuss this week. We've

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got a couple very interesting segments, we think.

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So hopefully you'll think they're just as interesting

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as us. So let's get started. All right, you know

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how we're starting. Was your volley fantasy a

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highlight or a happening? It was a highlight.

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I had a good week. I had... I think 350 points,

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which I'll take a win. That's my highest week.

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I thought you said over 400. No, that's what

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most, like that's what the best people get. I

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got 350, I think 360 something. My issue is that

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I signed two bad contracts that are continuing

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to age worse than their initial signings. I scored

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that with like two players basically doing nada

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for me. He scored that limping. Limping. I will

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take that. Once those contracts expire, hopefully

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I make some good decisions and we'll be back

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on track. But I think I was in the top 100 this

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week. Mine, I'm back to it just being happening.

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Old news. Last week I got a little treat. Made

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me excited. Gave me some confidence. All my players

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that did so well last week didn't do so well

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this week. So I am back down to like... Mid -90s.

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You're still double digits? Are you still triple

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digits? Yes. I don't think I even cracked 300

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points this week. Yeah, I climbed a little bit,

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but I'm still behind. It was a rough go, and

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let me tell you, I don't know if anybody else

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agrees, but these daily grids are tougher than

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they let on. I look at them, and I'm so confident

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when I just quickly glance, and then I actually

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get doing them, and I'm like, I have no idea.

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I don't know. You really need to have paid attention.

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I literally can remember maybe four first -round

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draft picks, if I'm lucky. And that first -round

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draft pick keeps coming up, so not doing so well.

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I did get a perfect score once, though. Sarah's

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changed the goals of her fantasy. It's now about

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the daily grid. Because I know there's no hope

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for me. But things on our leaderboard got shaken

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up like crazy this week. VBallFan17. is now winning

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things. Number one spot. Everybody, divert your

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attention. We're out to get them now. So this

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is exciting, okay? We're up to 450 teams. We

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always have room for more. So if you haven't

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yet joined, I know you have, but just in case

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you haven't, play volley .com slash volley talk

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to join our league. That's play V O L I .com

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slash volley talk to join our league. And then

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you'll know what we're talking about, about the

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daily grid and all these players who are not

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living up to their contractual obligations. Okay.

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Moving on. There were a lot of matches, so we're

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going to do a rundown. Okay. NCAA men, noteworthy

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results. Number 13, McKendree beat number eight,

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Lindenwood 3 -1. Lindenwood might be out of the

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top 10 again. Who knows? Yeah, I think that's

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going to happen. I feel like they're a little

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more lenient with some teams than others when

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it comes to dropping and ranking. So we'll see

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what happens. Number 18 beat number seven BYU

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twice. First time in four, second time in five.

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This is like the first good match. Not good match.

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This is the first highly ranked team that Stanford

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has beaten this year. And they did it twice.

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Do you think that they are? turning a corner

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or is this a one -off we've had this discussion

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about stanford last year and every time we were

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like oh they're figuring it out we said this

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all last year about stanford too every time they

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started doing well we're like oh they're turning

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a corner and then it was like no they need to

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win a few more i didn't watch this match these

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matches but i'm thinking it was probably a good

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matchup for them in some way yeah that's fair

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but we expected them to be better this year so

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yep we did We'll watch them down the stretch.

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They need to win a couple more good games for

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me, but it'll be interesting to see if they build

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off of this leading into playoffs. Number 11,

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UC Santa Barbara beat UC Irvine, who was number

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four in five. That's a big upset. Very big. Big

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upset. I know they're 11, but as a low single

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-digit ranked team, losing to anybody outside

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of the top 10 is... Well, that might screw up

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their Big West aspirations. Totally. Because

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I think they still have to play Hawaii. Have

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they played Hawaii yet? Hawaii and Long Beach

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State. And they're for sure going to drop. Yeah,

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that's not the game you want to lose. I mean,

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Santa Barbara's been having a really good season

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this year. They've made some big improvements

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since last season. But you still have to take

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care of matches, especially as a top team. You

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don't get any days off. Especially because it's

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Big West teams 2 -3 -4. Yep. That's crazy. Number

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one, UCLA beat number three, Hawaii in three.

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So we managed to catch the end of this match.

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We've caught the third set of this. And I have

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a couple questions because I didn't have a chance

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to go back and watch the first two sets before

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we recorded this. Somebody explain to me why

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Kanoa Wade is still playing. There's no rationale

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other than Tetriski being hurt that he was playing

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over Tetriski. But when Tetriski came in in the

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third set and hit 400, he's clearly okay. Now,

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I don't know whether they are managing him or

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what is going on there. So somebody who knows

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Hawaii volleyball, give us a lowdown because

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this just seems like your daddy's putting you

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on the court. Oh, look at Adam. And he's a good

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player. Oh, no. No backtracking now. You're in

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it now. He's not to Trisky. And he hit 067 against

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the number one team. And to Trisky came in. And

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you waited until the third set. And he hit 400.

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And you had a chance. And they lost the first

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set 25 -18. Yeah, I don't understand what's going

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on there. And even... I mean, Sakunoko got taken

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off. You know, he looks a little banged up. He

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hit negative. He hit negative in the first two.

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I don't know. But Adrian Rohr, we said last week,

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every time we watch Hawaii, he seems to be having

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a rough game. He was good. He was pretty good.

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At least in the third set. He made some swings.

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I was like, my eyes almost fell out of their

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sockets. It was impressive. But in the third

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set, Rohr and Tatriski were scoring well. It

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was so much fun to watch. If Kanoa Wade steps

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on the floor again, Like something's going on.

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At one point, Adam turns to me, he's like, what

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is Cade doing on the court? And I'm like, who

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are you talking about? Yeah, you know, Kanoa

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Wade, Cade. I was like, wow, okay. He was bad.

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But UCLA is very good. Oh my goodness. They run

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the pipe maybe as good as any international team

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I've seen. Tread Rosenthal was just like picking.

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shells by Sean Kelly, just getting absolutely

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hammered with balls. And then finally the middle

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takes away zone one. And then Kelly hits the

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perfect corner ball to zone five. I'm like, but

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the timing of it, when they choose to run it,

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it's, I would say David Decker has made huge

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improvements. Like he was looking much better.

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They're so good. Honestly. And I said it again,

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watching I'm like the biggest upgrade. Position

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wise that UCLA made was libero. Oh my God. He,

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if he doesn't get like player of the year, he

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should be in running for player of the year.

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He totally changes their dynamic. The fact that

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that's basically the only piece that really changed.

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And they are light years. I mean, in fairness,

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Decker looks like a different player. Decker

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has made a huge improvements, but I'm sorry,

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Chris Connolly, like. Coach Wade said at the

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end of the game that Sean Kelly was committed

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to Princeton and UCLA got him to decommit from

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Princeton. Can you imagine Sean Kelly just playing

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at Princeton? He is like, I think he has national

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team potential. 100%. If they don't get in their

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own way, I just think they're better than everybody

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else. Well, Hawaii had a chance to take that

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set off of them and who knows what would have

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happened after that. It will be interesting to

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see if Roar can play like that and Sakunoko is

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having a good match. It will be interesting.

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But Hawaii doesn't run the pipe the same way

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and their middles aren't as much of a threat.

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I think with Sakunoko, they do. Roar hit a couple

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really good pipe balls. It is not a UCLA pipe.

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No. But they do run it very well. I don't think

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Tread uses it the same way that UCLA does, though.

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Well, they don't really run their middles. The

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same way like Cameron Thorne when he is used

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is very good. Like the back to back with Thorne

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and like the pipe is insane. But like Hawaii

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doesn't really run their middles enough in a

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straight one. Like they usually run a 31 for

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it to like be as deceptive. And one pet peeve.

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The refs need to lay off the whistle. Let the

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boys stare each other down and yell. Like, you

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blow the whistle, you slow it down, but you're

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not actually doing it. You're not throwing out

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any cards. You're not going to fight each other.

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Well, I'm sorry, and it's a huge game. One versus

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three. It's like 30 -28 in the third set. Of

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course, everybody's feeling themselves getting

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fired up. Who even cares if they're going to

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stare through the net or, like, flex down on

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each other a couple times? Just lay off. It makes

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it interesting. Lay off. Let them go at it. There's

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a net there. Nobody's going to hurt each other.

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Sorry, everybody's a little fired up right now.

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That bothers me. Anyway, that set was so entertaining.

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It was so much fun to watch. MLV, Indy, and Dallas

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have just completely separated themselves as

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the top two teams. The battle is still on for

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the three and four spot, though, for the playoffs.

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So currently... 3 -4 belongs to Omaha and Orlando.

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They're both at 500 at 9 -9. It will be interesting

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to see how everything plays out. I will say Omaha

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handed Indy only their third loss of the season

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this week, which is huge, especially because

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Omaha has been going through it like a roller

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coaster ride over there. I'm curious if this

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gives them a spark. Adam, how many times have

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we said that this year? I understand that. Oh,

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are they finding their rhythm? Oh my gosh, they

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started so slow. Oh, look, they're coming on.

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They must be finding the rhythm and then they

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suck again. You didn't let me finish. I was too

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excited. Is this going to be a spark or is it

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they're just so much better than us? We play

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free. There's no expectations and they play well.

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Do you actually think Omaha has that attitude

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though of like admitting to themselves or like

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Indy's just better than us? But I don't, not

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outward, but there's a different kind of pressure.

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There's a different kind of feeling when the

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team is so far ahead of you in the standings.

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You can't catch them. The game doesn't necessarily,

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I don't want to say it doesn't matter, but they're

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just. It definitely matters for Omaha. It matters

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standing wise, but you, you played, you've always

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been the top dog. wherever you've played, you've

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always played for a very good team. So I don't

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expect you to know what this feels like. But

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when you go in and you're, they can't catch Indy.

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And so it's just like, hey, we can go out and

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play free, you know, kind of no expectations.

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Because I think there's a lot of pressure to

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win. And I'm wondering if playing against a team

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that's so far ahead of them just eases off those

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expectations a little bit. We'll see. I don't

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know. I don't know. I can't even predict what's

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going to happen. The top two, I feel like unless

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something absolutely wild happens, I feel like

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the top two are locked in and then everybody's

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kind of scrambling for the rest. It'll be interesting

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to see the race coming down for three or four.

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And it'll be, I'm curious if teams are going

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to look at it. We don't want to play Indy in

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the semi. We want to play Dallas. Like, I wonder

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if that's going to be a thing. I'm sorry. If

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you're playing like that, then. Don't even bother

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showing up to playoffs. You can't tell me that

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people don't think like that all the time. I

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think in beach volleyball, people think like

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that all the time. But I in indoor, especially

00:13:48.029 --> 00:13:51.250
in this in a pro league where you can't predict

00:13:51.250 --> 00:13:53.669
what's going to happen. You are just trying to

00:13:53.669 --> 00:13:56.669
win every single match to earn your spot. No,

00:13:56.769 --> 00:13:59.129
I'm sorry. And that's terrible karma. If you're

00:13:59.129 --> 00:14:00.570
going to play games like that, you don't even

00:14:00.570 --> 00:14:03.470
deserve to be there. Grand Rapids also beat Atlanta.

00:14:04.269 --> 00:14:06.929
Atlanta's going through it. Yeah. And Grand Rapids

00:14:06.929 --> 00:14:09.399
is making a push. It could get interesting down

00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:11.019
the stretch. Those are the games I'm going to

00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:12.919
want to watch from now on. The ones where you

00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.039
see if people like pucker or not? The pucker

00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:17.159
matches are my favorite. All right, in love,

00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:20.700
Houston keeps kind of growing that gap between

00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.360
everybody. Remember they started the season 0

00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.059
-3, and we're like, what actually happened to

00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:27.879
Houston this year? And then they're like, surprise,

00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:32.600
we're 11 -5 now. Impressive. Yeah, they're doing

00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:34.919
great. And Salt Lake finally got a win again.

00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.860
But they squeaked it out in five against Nebraska.

00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.360
But Alexa Gray is back. So that is probably a

00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:47.320
big reason why. We still have Atlanta in third.

00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:53.019
And Madison beat Austin 3 -1. Yikes. Nobody wants

00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:57.960
to lose to Madison. No. No. But we, well, mostly

00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:03.720
me. Mostly I watched Austin versus Houston. Let

00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:08.960
me just say. This is the fire and the spark that

00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.700
I have been waiting for from Love You Guys. We

00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:16.700
had some like stare downs between Maddie Skinner,

00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:21.360
Jordan Thompson, the young gun who is coming

00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.120
up, wants to steal Jordan's national team spot.

00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:27.000
And Jordan Thompson being like, absolutely not.

00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:30.279
It's been my spot and it's still going to be

00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:32.399
my spot. You know what? I just made up that narrative,

00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.840
but that's sure what it seemed like. And then

00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:37.899
the teams getting legit fired up and making pushes.

00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.919
This is what I have been wanting to see from

00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:44.299
Love. Didn't feel like an exhibition match. It

00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:47.840
felt like both sides really wanted to win. It

00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:51.039
was entertaining. Well, and I found out, thank

00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:53.179
you to the person who posted this for me, not

00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:54.720
everybody makes the playoffs in Love this year.

00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:57.519
Finally. They changed it. I mean, they played

00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.559
one season, but finally anyway. And it's a good

00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:05.009
change. The season has to mean something. You

00:16:05.009 --> 00:16:09.750
don't want to be embarrassed as the team that

00:16:09.750 --> 00:16:11.210
doesn't make the playoffs. Well, and can you

00:16:11.210 --> 00:16:13.830
imagine? Because Austin is like... The national

00:16:13.830 --> 00:16:16.570
team. The national team. And they're looking

00:16:16.570 --> 00:16:19.250
like they might not make playoffs. Like, they

00:16:19.250 --> 00:16:21.710
are right on the bubble. They're currently 7

00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:27.460
-9 in fourth. Nebraska's 6 -8. Nebraska has games

00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:31.740
in hand. Austin has played two more games than

00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:35.039
both the third and fifth place teams. Not great.

00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.759
So they are really on the bubble. Can you imagine

00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.960
you're the national team basically whole staff

00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:45.779
and so many of the national team players from

00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:48.360
last season and you can't make playoffs in your

00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:53.500
domestic league? It's not a great look. And half

00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:56.549
of the players in the league are like, Former

00:16:56.549 --> 00:16:58.970
national team players who are like retired from

00:16:58.970 --> 00:17:01.690
national team or are retired from their foreign

00:17:01.690 --> 00:17:03.909
national team or something like that. You know

00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:06.289
what I mean? Or never played one. Not the best.

00:17:06.410 --> 00:17:09.289
Not the best. So yeah, they really wanted that

00:17:09.289 --> 00:17:12.130
win. Jordan Thompson said not today. Moving on.

00:17:12.130 --> 00:17:13.930
So many messages. Why do you hate love? Why do

00:17:13.930 --> 00:17:16.529
you hate love? That was honestly, and we never

00:17:16.529 --> 00:17:21.099
hated love. But the exhibition feel was one reason

00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:23.900
that it was not as enjoyable to watch for me

00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:27.140
personally. So seeing that dynamic on the court,

00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.180
I was like, okay, I can tune in and watch something

00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:34.460
like this. 100%. When you see athletes trying

00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:37.700
and you see it mean something, it draws you into

00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:40.460
the match. It makes it fun. When you see that

00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:44.039
it matters to them. Yes. I feel like saying that

00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.740
they're trying might not be fair, but like...

00:17:46.910 --> 00:17:51.069
To see that it like legit matters if they like

00:17:51.069 --> 00:17:55.849
win. Yes, it's fun to watch. All right. The leagues

00:17:55.849 --> 00:17:59.269
keep coming, everybody. Italian playoffs. So

00:17:59.269 --> 00:18:02.170
we had the first match of semifinals happened.

00:18:02.710 --> 00:18:05.390
Milano actually beat Scandici three straight

00:18:05.390 --> 00:18:10.920
at Scandici. Yikes. Okay. And Conigliano beat

00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:13.660
Novara in five. So these matches are best three

00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:15.400
out of five. Originally, I thought they were

00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.480
two or three. They are three or five. Dropping

00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.559
a match at home for Scandici is no good for them.

00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:25.759
We will see what happens there. And for the men,

00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:28.759
the men's quarterfinals are actually three or

00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:34.500
five. So all matchups are currently 2 -0, except

00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:39.839
Piacenza Monza is 1 -1. Perugia, Verona, and

00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:42.019
Civita Nova all have to win just one more game.

00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:44.960
Civita Nova is actually playing Trentino. So

00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.559
Trentino's going through it. Their season might

00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:50.920
be over earlier than expected. Like two months

00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:54.200
earlier than they thought. Because moving on

00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:56.859
to Champions League, the quarterfinals are set

00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:59.400
for men. And guess what? Trentino's not in them.

00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:04.059
That was a self -inflicted gunshot wound. Yes.

00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.690
Because, again, we watched that game. which was

00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:10.609
outstanding. But they had chances to win the

00:19:10.609 --> 00:19:13.269
first set, which they blew. They had chances

00:19:13.269 --> 00:19:15.390
to close out that match. They ended up losing

00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:18.710
in five. They were up in the golden set. Well,

00:19:18.730 --> 00:19:22.230
they were up 7 -4. Yes. And then it was like

00:19:22.230 --> 00:19:24.269
12 -8 or something along those lines. I think

00:19:24.269 --> 00:19:27.769
they got outscored 7 -1. Okay, so if you didn't

00:19:27.769 --> 00:19:30.930
tune in last week, Trentino beat Warsaw in five.

00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:35.009
So they just had to win the match. Basically

00:19:35.009 --> 00:19:37.609
just win the match and you're fine. So Warsaw

00:19:37.609 --> 00:19:40.529
beat them in five. So because it was like equal,

00:19:40.650 --> 00:19:43.630
they had to play the golden set. In Trentino.

00:19:43.789 --> 00:19:45.529
Yeah, they came out firing. They looked good.

00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:48.430
I thought game over. 7 -4. They were cruising.

00:19:48.809 --> 00:19:51.589
And they couldn't pass. Well, four looked really

00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:54.369
good at the beginning of that match. And then

00:19:54.369 --> 00:19:57.150
he could not score. Gabby Garcia ended up coming

00:19:57.150 --> 00:20:00.009
in as a fifth set sub. And then in the golden

00:20:00.009 --> 00:20:03.730
set as well. I mean on the double sub, but. I

00:20:03.730 --> 00:20:07.089
mean, he struggled down the stretch. I just don't

00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:11.470
think they should have lost. Watching it, it

00:20:11.470 --> 00:20:15.950
was their match to lose because they always seemed

00:20:15.950 --> 00:20:20.250
to be in the lead. They found ways to blow it.

00:20:20.470 --> 00:20:24.910
And the Polish team just did not go away. No,

00:20:24.910 --> 00:20:28.609
they didn't. It was fun to watch. It was a really

00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:29.930
good match, really entertaining. And you know

00:20:29.930 --> 00:20:33.359
the Trentino management is like... Pissed. Having

00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:37.619
lots of meaning, not happy. Well, Trentino, you

00:20:37.619 --> 00:20:40.500
know, is typically one of, if not the best men's

00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:44.079
team in Italy, historically. So very high expectations.

00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:48.059
Yeah. So not the year you're looking for. Now,

00:20:48.220 --> 00:20:50.940
in fairness, Mickey Aleto has been out. He's

00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:53.759
one of the best left sides. If Mickey Aleto had,

00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:56.519
he would have made a massive difference. Yeah.

00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.470
But you still. have to take care of the matches

00:21:00.470 --> 00:21:02.650
you can win. You might not win Champions League

00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:06.089
without him, but that match, I think they should

00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:10.269
have won. So that being said, Warsaw is playing

00:21:10.269 --> 00:21:14.789
Lublin. Las Palmas is going to face Perugia.

00:21:15.150 --> 00:21:19.009
Chivita Nova is playing Zawierce and Vrešov is

00:21:19.009 --> 00:21:21.990
playing Ankara. So those are the quarterfinals.

00:21:22.109 --> 00:21:27.680
Let's go. We also had... The women's quarterfinal

00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:32.160
round one happened. Vakif Bank beat Milano in

00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.640
five. And they're taking it back to Vakif Bank

00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:39.319
to Istanbul for the next one. Corneliano beat

00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:42.839
Zeran Ankara three straight. Going back to Corneliano.

00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:47.019
Ezazi Baci beat Reshov in four. Playing in Istanbul

00:21:47.019 --> 00:21:49.880
for the next one. And Scandici beat Fenerbahce

00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:56.230
in three. That one, I didn't expect. Nope, me

00:21:56.230 --> 00:21:58.670
either, especially not in three. They are going

00:21:58.670 --> 00:22:01.789
back to Istanbul, but if Scandici can win two

00:22:01.789 --> 00:22:06.650
sets, there they are through. Yeah, lots of good

00:22:06.650 --> 00:22:08.730
international volleyball in Italian League to

00:22:08.730 --> 00:22:11.009
watch this week. A couple storylines to follow,

00:22:11.089 --> 00:22:15.069
and we'll see what happens. So, the last happening

00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:20.490
of the week, Julio Velasco announced that Antropova

00:22:20.490 --> 00:22:24.079
is going to be playing outside. for the national

00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:27.480
team this summer genius you think that's genius

00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:29.700
a hundred percent how do you how do you think

00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:32.319
that transition is gonna go for her who cares

00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:36.460
try it if you can get her if you can get her

00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.160
and aganu on the floor at the same time no i

00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:41.819
understand in theory yes it's a great move i

00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:44.000
feel like in trouble was completely wasted on

00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.880
the bench for that team i like it was a genuine

00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:49.380
question how do you think the transition is gonna

00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:53.759
go like can she pass Does her approach and arm

00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:57.859
swing lend itself to playing left side? She looks

00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:00.920
like she moves and controls her body pretty well.

00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:05.279
I mean, passing is tough, but I don't know. Will

00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:07.359
she be as bad as Karakurt? I don't think so.

00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:09.740
No, I don't think so either. You have nothing

00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:13.680
to lose in trying it. I think it's great roster

00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.140
management. I think you're looking for a chance

00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:19.559
to put your best players on the floor. They need

00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:23.309
a better... They win all the time. But having

00:23:23.309 --> 00:23:28.029
a bigger hitting left side to score points, it's

00:23:28.029 --> 00:23:30.309
smart. Give her a chance to play. See how she

00:23:30.309 --> 00:23:32.309
does. She's got three years to figure out the

00:23:32.309 --> 00:23:35.509
passing or to figure out if they can move her

00:23:35.509 --> 00:23:37.390
around with the new passing rules. They might

00:23:37.390 --> 00:23:39.549
even be able to hide her. Well, the tough thing,

00:23:39.569 --> 00:23:42.470
too, is Mogi Dajanaro retired. So they're bringing

00:23:42.470 --> 00:23:45.369
in a brand new libero. I think if you had Sila

00:23:45.369 --> 00:23:49.170
and Dajanaro on the court, you could basically

00:23:49.170 --> 00:23:52.730
pass. a two and a half person service Eve, but

00:23:52.730 --> 00:23:56.690
with a less experienced libero, like I wonder

00:23:56.690 --> 00:23:59.049
how that's going to go. Do you know what I'm

00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:00.849
saying? Like I understand what the new service

00:24:00.849 --> 00:24:03.730
Eve rules, they can like play with some things,

00:24:03.930 --> 00:24:08.309
but it's not like they're going to have overwhelming

00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:10.609
ball control like they have in the past. No,

00:24:10.630 --> 00:24:13.490
that's fair, but you can always take her out

00:24:13.490 --> 00:24:15.410
if it doesn't work. I think it's the perfect

00:24:15.410 --> 00:24:18.369
time to experiment with this because if it works,

00:24:20.379 --> 00:24:23.160
Yikes. Yikes. I wonder if Degrati is not coming

00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:25.500
back. Like, she's still not playing club after

00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:28.180
her knee injury. She played for Kyrie this season

00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:31.180
and Katerina Bosetti is... I think she's done

00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:34.599
with the national team. So, I mean, Nervini did

00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.000
a good job coming in and replacing Degrati during

00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:38.779
world championships and stuff. They obviously

00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:41.720
won with her. I understand wanting to level up

00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:44.259
a little bit if you can, but I'm just also like...

00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.599
It is hard to pass at that level when you haven't

00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:49.759
done it. And I'm just curious if she ever has.

00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:53.259
We will see how the experiment goes. I think

00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:56.400
it's a brilliant coaching move, personally. Our

00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:02.740
first segment of the week is a fan -generated

00:25:02.740 --> 00:25:06.599
segment. Both of our segments are. This one is

00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:09.180
building off of the segment we did last week.

00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:12.819
Which was a ton of fun. Ranking recent, the most...

00:25:13.150 --> 00:25:16.390
the last 15 national player of the years and

00:25:16.390 --> 00:25:19.609
their pro careers and then how they did collegiately.

00:25:19.670 --> 00:25:22.849
So we got a request to do the same thing for

00:25:22.849 --> 00:25:26.650
national freshman of the year. So rolling it

00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:31.930
back to 2010, let's just roll through 2010 to

00:25:31.930 --> 00:25:35.869
15 to start. And we will talk about if their

00:25:35.869 --> 00:25:39.369
pro careers met expectations, surpassed them

00:25:39.369 --> 00:25:43.019
or fell below. Again, with National Freshman

00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:45.640
of the Year, I feel like it's so tough because

00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:48.559
they still have their whole college career ahead

00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.460
of them after this. So I'm like, how can I have

00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:53.640
expectations of what their pro career will be?

00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:55.579
Do you know what I mean? I was actually going

00:25:55.579 --> 00:26:00.500
to start by asking you, if you win Freshman of

00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:05.279
the Year, what do you think is the baseline minimum

00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:09.450
acceptable? Oh, my gosh. Okay, so if you're freshman

00:26:09.450 --> 00:26:11.549
of the year, you're obviously starting and making

00:26:11.549 --> 00:26:16.349
a huge impact on a good team. Correct. So the

00:26:16.349 --> 00:26:20.390
expectation, you're probably starting your entire

00:26:20.390 --> 00:26:24.410
career collegially. Yeah. I'm expecting at least

00:26:24.410 --> 00:26:27.009
a couple first -team All -American nods. Yeah.

00:26:27.130 --> 00:26:29.369
And then from there... But what about national

00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:32.289
team? See, that's the thing. Because like if

00:26:32.289 --> 00:26:34.609
you're national player of the year, I feel like

00:26:34.609 --> 00:26:37.769
national team should be in your future. National

00:26:37.769 --> 00:26:40.730
freshman of the year. Like some people peak so

00:26:40.730 --> 00:26:43.269
early and then just like disappear. It's a really

00:26:43.269 --> 00:26:45.690
interesting conversation. It's so hard. Okay.

00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:48.390
Okay. So what is the standard for like if that

00:26:48.390 --> 00:26:51.789
met expectations? I think for me it would be

00:26:51.789 --> 00:26:55.910
minimum playing, you know, four or five years

00:26:55.910 --> 00:27:00.609
middle of the pack in Italy or Turkey or Brazil.

00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:05.720
Like you can play that level. Okay. I think for

00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:08.720
me, if you're the best out of everybody coming

00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.559
out in a year, you know, theoretically should

00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:14.740
probably be your floor. But it's also so interesting

00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:17.420
to like see how this has aged. When you look

00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:19.700
at like who has won national player of the year,

00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:22.700
like looking through this 2010 to 2025 list real

00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:26.680
quick of all of these athletes, only three of

00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:29.140
them have won national player of the year so

00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:32.539
far. granted a couple of them are still playing

00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:37.960
and might, but from 2010 to 2025, only three

00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:42.160
national freshmen of the year have been national

00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:44.240
player of the year so far. Okay. Like if that

00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:46.640
doesn't say something like, yeah, like it's like

00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.400
what it just says a lot about the kind of player

00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:53.299
who is able to like span four years. Like, yeah,

00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:56.720
that consistency for so like, anyway, give me

00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.460
the player and I'll give you their pro career

00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:02.299
history. In a nutshell. Okay. In 2010, we had

00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:06.480
Deja McClendon from Penn State. Okay. So she

00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:09.700
played six years of pro. Poland, Italy, Brazil.

00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:13.799
Played in Woods, Trentino, and Minas. Trentino

00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:16.359
was an A2 team at the time, I believe. And then

00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:21.619
Minas. So decent enough clubs. This, to me, is

00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:25.019
kind of my benchmark. I would say, yeah, met

00:28:25.019 --> 00:28:29.470
expectations. All right, 2011 was Haley Eckerman

00:28:29.470 --> 00:28:33.210
from Texas. Okay, so six -year pro, played in

00:28:33.210 --> 00:28:35.630
Korea, Puerto Rico for three years, I think,

00:28:35.710 --> 00:28:40.970
and then Baku, Monza, Italy, and Russia. So she

00:28:40.970 --> 00:28:44.849
played a long time, but the league she played

00:28:44.849 --> 00:28:48.150
in weren't phenomenal, and I didn't recognize

00:28:48.150 --> 00:28:50.990
the Russian team, so I'm not sure. I think she's

00:28:50.990 --> 00:28:54.089
close, but a little bit under. Yeah, my instinct

00:28:54.089 --> 00:28:57.279
was below. I think she's the head coach of Kent

00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:59.740
State now, though. I believe so, yeah. So she's

00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:03.000
still involved in the game. 2012 was Ziva Recek

00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:08.680
from Florida. No pro career. So below. Yep. I

00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:10.960
think she's coaching, though. I believe so. 2013

00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:16.619
was Ebony Nwanebu of USC. So two -year pro, Turkey

00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:21.960
and Italy, and that was it? Below. Yep. 2014

00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:25.589
was Allie Franti of Penn State. Pretty impressive

00:29:25.589 --> 00:29:29.029
career. Still playing. Played for Rejlov, Kieri,

00:29:29.250 --> 00:29:32.529
Casal Maggiore, Vakif Bank, Galates or I. I would

00:29:32.529 --> 00:29:35.690
say above. Yeah. And she's still going. And national

00:29:35.690 --> 00:29:38.529
team. Yeah. The only one on the list so far,

00:29:38.650 --> 00:29:41.210
I believe. I know you guys will correct me if

00:29:41.210 --> 00:29:43.549
I'm wrong. That's been on the national team.

00:29:43.569 --> 00:29:45.990
I believe that's out here. Okay. We have our

00:29:45.990 --> 00:29:48.009
first surpassed. And not Pan Am, like national

00:29:48.009 --> 00:29:50.309
team. Yeah. We're not talking B team. We're not

00:29:50.309 --> 00:29:54.670
talking U23. It was V &L roster. Yeah. 2015,

00:29:54.809 --> 00:29:58.289
we had Haley Hodson of Stanford. Interesting

00:29:58.289 --> 00:30:03.910
case. Yeah. No pro, was medically retired from

00:30:03.910 --> 00:30:05.269
concussions. I think she only played two years

00:30:05.269 --> 00:30:09.049
of college. And sued the university. And the

00:30:09.049 --> 00:30:12.329
NCAA. Yeah. I don't know how that ended up going.

00:30:12.910 --> 00:30:15.950
Well, I heard that her testimony was huge in

00:30:15.950 --> 00:30:19.390
passing NIL. Interesting. I didn't realize that.

00:30:19.549 --> 00:30:21.480
Yeah, she only played. Two years of college.

00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:24.299
I heard she had a very promising career and then

00:30:24.299 --> 00:30:27.940
post -concussion syndrome or something. So that's

00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:33.500
sad. But we can't comment on her much at all.

00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:38.299
2016, Catherine Plummer of Stanford. We went

00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:43.019
over her last week. Because she was a National

00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:45.400
Player of the Year, I believe we said she met

00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:50.630
expectations. If we're comparing her to Freshman

00:30:50.630 --> 00:30:52.750
of the year and the standard is different. Highly

00:30:52.750 --> 00:30:54.849
exceeded expectations. It would be surpassed.

00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:57.569
Yeah, totally. 2017 was Dana Redke of Wisconsin.

00:30:58.349 --> 00:31:01.569
Surpassed. Same thing. We had her surpassed as

00:31:01.569 --> 00:31:03.309
a national player of the year. So, of course,

00:31:03.369 --> 00:31:07.410
surpassed as a national freshman. 2018 was Heather

00:31:07.410 --> 00:31:12.410
Gneiding of BYU. So, she played one season at

00:31:12.410 --> 00:31:17.839
Galatasaray. 2019, Magna Hilajarova. One season

00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:20.400
of MLB. Washington State. Yeah, one season of

00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:23.519
Love. Still going. I mean. This is where it gets

00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:24.859
interesting. This is when it gets tough because

00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:26.839
a lot, like, some of them are still playing.

00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:30.839
Yeah. College. Yeah. So it's hard. Like, she

00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:34.019
has a long. These next ones have their whole

00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:35.599
career ahead of them still. Yeah, are going to

00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:39.490
be. Tough to say. Let's keep going though. Let's

00:31:39.490 --> 00:31:40.509
make a prediction on the rest of them. Because

00:31:40.509 --> 00:31:42.650
we can talk about their collegiate careers for

00:31:42.650 --> 00:31:45.430
the most part except the last two. 2020 we had

00:31:45.430 --> 00:31:48.750
Emily Landot of Ohio State. So I mean she's playing

00:31:48.750 --> 00:31:51.410
MLV now. I think her professional career is probably

00:31:51.410 --> 00:31:53.009
going to end up being below. It's going to end

00:31:53.009 --> 00:31:57.390
up being below. Honestly Magda though she plays

00:31:57.390 --> 00:32:00.029
for the Czech national team. I think she does

00:32:00.029 --> 00:32:03.690
have potential for it to go well. If she chooses

00:32:04.509 --> 00:32:06.670
To keep playing and if she wanted to go there.

00:32:06.789 --> 00:32:09.769
Yeah. I think she has more potential than Landau

00:32:09.769 --> 00:32:12.950
for sure. 100%. Yeah. 2021 was Lexi Rodriguez

00:32:12.950 --> 00:32:17.069
of Nebraska. This one is interesting. She was

00:32:17.069 --> 00:32:19.490
so good as a collegiate player, but hasn't had

00:32:19.490 --> 00:32:23.289
a chance to really play professionally. Is playing

00:32:23.289 --> 00:32:26.670
more this year. and the team is starting to win.

00:32:26.990 --> 00:32:29.690
Yeah, I think it's going to end up being meat

00:32:29.690 --> 00:32:32.769
or below. Yeah, I agree. Because I didn't think

00:32:32.769 --> 00:32:35.670
her showing with the national team was particularly

00:32:35.670 --> 00:32:38.349
great. We gave her some grace because she hadn't

00:32:38.349 --> 00:32:40.809
been given a chance in her pro team because she

00:32:40.809 --> 00:32:43.769
was playing behind just somebody better in Justine.

00:32:44.170 --> 00:32:47.569
And then to come into an international, like

00:32:47.569 --> 00:32:50.289
we understand that it was like a different game.

00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.480
Now she's getting a chance or got a chance and

00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:56.519
the team wasn't winning. Yeah, there's a whole

00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:59.859
thing. So my prediction is it's going to either

00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:02.920
meet or fall below expectations. I think that's

00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:07.119
probably fair. 2022, Mimi Collier from Oregon.

00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:10.339
I think she's going to end up being below. I

00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:13.900
think she'll play MLV. I'm not sure she'll go

00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:18.460
anywhere else. Maybe Love. I'm not expecting.

00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:22.480
Like an Ali Franti style career. Agreed. 2023,

00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:26.259
Olivia Babcock from Pitt. I think she will exceed

00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:28.839
expectations. I hope she exceeds expectations.

00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:31.579
I think at least she'll meet them. Yeah, out

00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:33.339
of everybody that we've kind of looked at since

00:33:33.339 --> 00:33:36.640
2019, I think she has the highest potential.

00:33:37.299 --> 00:33:39.359
100%. To exceed expectations. I agree. Yeah.

00:33:39.420 --> 00:33:42.240
And these last two obviously still have the majority

00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:44.900
of their playing career ahead of them. 2024 was

00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:47.480
Izzy Stark from Penn State. And 2025 was Cassie

00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:50.359
O 'Brien from Kentucky. Yeah. Hard to tell. Yeah.

00:33:50.380 --> 00:33:54.079
And setters need time. It's probably the hardest

00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:58.079
position to put. Those are the pro careers. Now

00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:02.240
let's kind of rank their collegiate careers.

00:34:02.420 --> 00:34:06.779
I think it's fair to say because a couple of

00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:09.199
them were on the National Player of the Year

00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:12.280
list and were topping that list. You know, Catherine

00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.300
Plummer at the top. Yeah. By far the best collegiate

00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:18.239
career, followed by Dana Recchi. five -time first

00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:20.739
-team All -American. You know, we have some national

00:34:20.739 --> 00:34:25.400
champions here. We have a potential four -time

00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:28.139
first -team All -American in Olivia Babcock coming

00:34:28.139 --> 00:34:31.880
through, assuming she gets it again in her senior

00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:36.159
season. Deja McLennan had a really good career.

00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:40.000
494 sets played, two NCAA championship wins.

00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:44.420
To be the top of a statistical leader at a story

00:34:44.420 --> 00:34:48.159
school is... I mean, you would know. Well, no,

00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:52.199
and the thing is, too, if she was freshman of

00:34:52.199 --> 00:34:55.559
the year in 2010, she had to fill in Megan Hodge's

00:34:55.559 --> 00:34:59.219
shoes. And Megan Hodge was a four -time first

00:34:59.219 --> 00:35:03.599
-team All -American 2006 to 2009. And then for

00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:06.739
Deja to come in and have to be put in that, that's

00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:12.239
hard to do. So when I read her list, I was impressed.

00:35:13.469 --> 00:35:16.690
With Haley Ackerman. She was top 10 in six different

00:35:16.690 --> 00:35:20.369
statistical categories at Texas, including fifth

00:35:20.369 --> 00:35:24.070
in both total points with 1910 and kills with

00:35:24.070 --> 00:35:28.250
1662. That's. How many? She won in 2012. She

00:35:28.250 --> 00:35:30.929
won a national, one national title. Like that's

00:35:30.929 --> 00:35:34.309
a, that's nothing to turn your nose up at. Those

00:35:34.309 --> 00:35:37.829
are good numbers. Okay. I will put Deja McLennan

00:35:37.829 --> 00:35:41.929
at three. Ackerman at four. Babcock at five.

00:35:42.699 --> 00:35:45.360
But Ali Franti won a couple too. How did she

00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:52.519
do? So Ali Franti had 1 ,283 kills, hit 257 for

00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:55.659
her career. But she won two national championships.

00:35:55.880 --> 00:35:58.500
One national championship and a semifinal appearance.

00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:02.400
So the numbers weren't as prolific as the other

00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.639
ones. But she still won. Olivia Babcock still

00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:08.690
hasn't won. How many All -American? I don't have

00:36:08.690 --> 00:36:12.309
that information. It wasn't all super easy to

00:36:12.309 --> 00:36:16.929
find. Okay, so we got Plummer, Redkey, McClendon,

00:36:17.070 --> 00:36:22.550
Eckerman. Then I think we can say Babcock. Franti.

00:36:23.349 --> 00:36:29.010
Maybe Franti. How did Ebony Nwanabu do? Honestly,

00:36:29.110 --> 00:36:31.030
guys, I hadn't even heard of some of these people.

00:36:31.269 --> 00:36:34.789
They were second twice at the NCAA. She played

00:36:34.789 --> 00:36:36.869
for a couple different schools, so then the records

00:36:36.869 --> 00:36:42.119
aren't. aren't as clean in terms of being on

00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:45.500
leaderboards or things like that. Talaprova was

00:36:45.500 --> 00:36:48.019
national blocks leader. I think she has the NCAA

00:36:48.019 --> 00:36:50.579
record for blocks, doesn't she? I think she probably

00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:54.179
does have the lead because Dana Rettke has 738

00:36:54.179 --> 00:36:59.820
in five seasons and Magda had 796 in four. So

00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:05.199
she also had 1 ,253 kills and hit 384 on her

00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:08.190
career. Dana's stats were, she's the Wisconsin

00:37:08.190 --> 00:37:11.809
leader in hitting percentage at 423, blocks at

00:37:11.809 --> 00:37:16.570
738, and points at 2314. Again, she played an

00:37:16.570 --> 00:37:18.710
extra season. Yeah, it kind of skews the numbers.

00:37:18.710 --> 00:37:21.429
That helps. I mean, the kill percentage is what

00:37:21.429 --> 00:37:24.010
it is. Hitting percentage, yeah. But yeah, she's

00:37:24.010 --> 00:37:29.610
got 2300 kills, or 2300 points, sorry, which

00:37:29.610 --> 00:37:32.710
is pretty impressive. I mean, there's a lot to

00:37:32.710 --> 00:37:37.179
rank here, but I think... I mean, Landau, even

00:37:37.179 --> 00:37:41.960
1 ,718 kills, over four kills a set. Her team,

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:45.079
they did well one season. Correct. I'm talking

00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:48.699
individual kind of performances over. But our

00:37:48.699 --> 00:37:50.860
ranking for National Player of the Year had to

00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:52.800
do with All -American and had to do with if they

00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:56.099
won or not. And then, I mean, there's Alexi Rodriguez.

00:37:56.260 --> 00:38:00.000
First time ever libero for freshman of the year.

00:38:00.300 --> 00:38:03.900
Had 4 .33 digs per set. Nebraska dig leader.

00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:07.380
I think it was a four -time All -American, three

00:38:07.380 --> 00:38:11.840
times first team, one time second, two NCAA second

00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:15.559
-place finishes, once in the semis. I think that's

00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:18.679
a pretty good college career as well. Okay, just

00:38:18.679 --> 00:38:22.380
running through it real quick. Plummer, Retke,

00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:28.840
McClendon, Eckerman, Babcock, Branty, Kalahrova,

00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:34.889
then maybe Rodriguez. Magda. magda then yeah

00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:37.690
yeah what a great exercise and it's kind of fun

00:38:37.690 --> 00:38:40.550
to go back and look at like you and i were getting

00:38:40.550 --> 00:38:44.150
married and overseas for a stretch of that and

00:38:44.150 --> 00:38:46.070
not really paying attention so to go back and

00:38:46.070 --> 00:38:48.929
see that caliber of player what they did kind

00:38:48.929 --> 00:38:50.570
of look through their career it was kind of fun

00:38:50.570 --> 00:38:52.849
it was this was a great exercise and we love

00:38:52.849 --> 00:38:55.349
these suggestions keep them coming yeah that's

00:38:55.349 --> 00:39:00.210
fun okay Our second listener suggested segment

00:39:00.210 --> 00:39:02.590
of the day. I really liked this one. I thought

00:39:02.590 --> 00:39:06.610
it was interesting. So here it is. There are

00:39:06.610 --> 00:39:08.989
so many teams in the women's game that are so

00:39:08.989 --> 00:39:11.309
close to being a contender for a gold medal.

00:39:11.630 --> 00:39:15.469
Turkey, Poland, USA, Brazil, Japan, China, Serbia,

00:39:15.650 --> 00:39:19.530
sort of, etc. If there was a transfer portal

00:39:19.530 --> 00:39:23.809
for the national teams, what is one player from

00:39:23.809 --> 00:39:26.769
anywhere in the world? that could fill the gap

00:39:26.769 --> 00:39:29.869
in that national team and push them past the

00:39:29.869 --> 00:39:33.190
level of simply being a contender. Notice that

00:39:33.190 --> 00:39:35.809
Italy was not included. We know that Italy is

00:39:35.809 --> 00:39:39.289
like a favorite. So, okay, we will just use the

00:39:39.289 --> 00:39:42.510
teams that this person named. My question is,

00:39:42.670 --> 00:39:48.050
in doing this, do we pick a player who is not

00:39:48.050 --> 00:39:52.530
on one of the teams that has been named? Can

00:39:52.530 --> 00:39:57.119
we repeat players? If we think a team's need

00:39:57.119 --> 00:40:00.059
is the same or similar? Let's do it this way.

00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:03.199
Let's pick the biggest position of weakness for

00:40:03.199 --> 00:40:06.860
the team. Okay. And then pick the player that

00:40:06.860 --> 00:40:11.420
we think would fill that position the best. For

00:40:11.420 --> 00:40:20.199
example, if Brazil needs a role that China excels

00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:23.360
at, we can use that even though they're all contenders?

00:40:24.110 --> 00:40:27.409
I think so. Okay. Can we use the same player

00:40:27.409 --> 00:40:32.650
if the need is similar? Like are we operating

00:40:32.650 --> 00:40:36.070
as each team independently? It would be more

00:40:36.070 --> 00:40:37.730
interesting to think through if we couldn't use

00:40:37.730 --> 00:40:41.269
the same player. Okay. Let's do it two ways.

00:40:41.409 --> 00:40:43.389
Let's do one where we just pick the best player

00:40:43.389 --> 00:40:45.630
and then one where we pick a player from a team

00:40:45.630 --> 00:40:48.230
not listed. And you can't use those players more

00:40:48.230 --> 00:40:53.429
than once. Okay. Okay. Here we go. So let's start

00:40:53.429 --> 00:40:57.389
with Turkey. I already wrote down what I think

00:40:57.389 --> 00:41:00.909
that each team's biggest weaknesses. So this

00:41:00.909 --> 00:41:03.170
is Sarah's brought the segment to the table.

00:41:03.210 --> 00:41:06.750
So I'm I'm working. It is my turn to be prepared

00:41:06.750 --> 00:41:09.510
for a segment and Adam to have to scramble because

00:41:09.510 --> 00:41:12.590
it always happens to me. OK, so if I had to pick

00:41:12.590 --> 00:41:15.969
a need for Turkey, it's got to be the P2 ball

00:41:15.969 --> 00:41:19.409
control position for Turkey. I put ball control

00:41:19.409 --> 00:41:23.070
left side. Yes. Okay. Because they've got a decent

00:41:23.070 --> 00:41:27.289
setter grade opposite. Their middles are solid.

00:41:27.409 --> 00:41:30.050
They're libero. Like you need a compliment for

00:41:30.050 --> 00:41:33.730
Kirk. Really good ball control. Left side is

00:41:33.730 --> 00:41:36.550
required. So like, who is the standard for me?

00:41:36.630 --> 00:41:40.269
Yes. I think we, and this is why I think going

00:41:40.269 --> 00:41:42.869
outside of the box here now. Okay. This first

00:41:42.869 --> 00:41:44.269
time through is probably going to be pretty fast.

00:41:44.489 --> 00:41:45.889
The second time through is going to be harder

00:41:45.889 --> 00:41:48.070
because we're going to have to. Figure it out.

00:41:48.210 --> 00:41:51.789
Okay. So Gabi to Turkey. Moving on to Poland.

00:41:52.510 --> 00:41:55.849
I'm going to say a point scoring left side. That's

00:41:55.849 --> 00:41:58.829
what I said. Okay. Who are we going to pick?

00:41:59.130 --> 00:42:02.789
Kim. And we bring Kim Jong -un out of retirement.

00:42:03.429 --> 00:42:07.409
Oh, that's a good question. I mean, Anna Christina

00:42:07.409 --> 00:42:11.170
comes to mind for me. Markova comes to mind for

00:42:11.170 --> 00:42:14.849
me. Fedorov Seva comes to mind. Anna Christina

00:42:14.849 --> 00:42:17.409
was my first instinct. Yeah, all of those are

00:42:17.409 --> 00:42:22.630
good choices. Would you pick Karakur? No. Okay.

00:42:22.769 --> 00:42:26.289
Well, because I feel like there would be some

00:42:26.289 --> 00:42:29.789
personality clashes, perhaps. That's fair. Yeah,

00:42:29.829 --> 00:42:31.369
I think Anna Christina is the answer for this

00:42:31.369 --> 00:42:34.590
one for me. Again, I would like to pick one of

00:42:34.590 --> 00:42:36.550
the Russians, and they look good in Champions

00:42:36.550 --> 00:42:39.269
League in a national team setting for a while.

00:42:39.469 --> 00:42:44.590
So it's tougher to justify that. Okay, Anna Christina.

00:42:44.889 --> 00:42:48.550
USA. Opposite. Or a ball control left side. Or

00:42:48.550 --> 00:42:52.889
a libero. For me, it's still an opposite. I would

00:42:52.889 --> 00:42:56.429
probably, if we're looking at, like, they run

00:42:56.429 --> 00:43:00.849
a pretty fast offense. I know who I would pick.

00:43:01.010 --> 00:43:03.449
I would say Igonu would probably fit the best.

00:43:03.710 --> 00:43:06.230
I was going to say Antropova. Really? Yeah. I

00:43:06.230 --> 00:43:10.269
think she fits the vibe of that program better.

00:43:10.329 --> 00:43:13.230
I was thinking about, like, hitting. More speed.

00:43:13.849 --> 00:43:17.269
speed yeah she just has that fire that I think

00:43:17.269 --> 00:43:21.050
would add to that team over Iganu and I think

00:43:21.050 --> 00:43:23.630
that she'd be able to connect with Poulter we

00:43:23.630 --> 00:43:25.369
spent the last couple weeks talking about roster

00:43:25.369 --> 00:43:27.130
construction and like personalities and things

00:43:27.130 --> 00:43:29.289
so I'm trying to think about that as we go through

00:43:29.289 --> 00:43:32.730
this they need a spark on that floor and Iganu

00:43:32.730 --> 00:43:35.869
can be a little deadpan so that's why I would

00:43:35.869 --> 00:43:38.449
pick I mean as long as we think Antropova could

00:43:38.449 --> 00:43:41.730
hit a fastball it might take a second for her

00:43:41.730 --> 00:43:44.380
and Poulter to find their connection, but I think

00:43:44.380 --> 00:43:46.039
Poulter could set her and I think she'd figure

00:43:46.039 --> 00:43:48.739
it out. Okay. Brazil. I'm going to say a setter.

00:43:48.760 --> 00:43:50.880
I think they need an opposite. Okay. Which position

00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:53.179
are we picking? I mean, let's not kid ourselves.

00:43:53.659 --> 00:43:57.880
Like Brazil finishes top three in most tournaments.

00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:01.199
Agreed. And like we have said when we've analyzed

00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:04.380
it, that it's like their lack of production on

00:44:04.380 --> 00:44:07.199
the right side that has cost them. I don't disagree

00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:10.000
with your assessment. But I think a better setter

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:12.519
would greatly help that. You never know who's

00:44:12.519 --> 00:44:14.719
going to start. It seems like they try and figure

00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:17.340
out who's playing the best at any given moment

00:44:17.340 --> 00:44:19.519
or what the matchup is. I don't think setting

00:44:19.519 --> 00:44:21.960
for them is a position of strength. I think they

00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:23.719
have lots of hitters. I think they pass pretty

00:44:23.719 --> 00:44:27.139
well. I think if they had a top -tier setter,

00:44:27.239 --> 00:44:31.019
that would make a bigger difference than somebody

00:44:31.019 --> 00:44:33.059
who's going to score five or six more points.

00:44:33.460 --> 00:44:35.039
That's the difference of what they're losing

00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:37.800
in these big matches. I also don't think either

00:44:37.800 --> 00:44:39.500
setter set the right side particularly well.

00:44:40.119 --> 00:44:43.360
No? Adam's bullying me. I'm what? Okay, fine.

00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:46.059
Setter. No, we can pick one of each. You pick

00:44:46.059 --> 00:44:49.400
yours, I'll pick mine. Fine, pick a setter. Which

00:44:49.400 --> 00:44:52.420
setter would suit the Brazilian style the best?

00:44:52.599 --> 00:44:55.679
I think if you put Oro on that team, they'd look

00:44:55.679 --> 00:44:59.159
really good. Fair. Yeah, that's my pick. Who

00:44:59.159 --> 00:45:01.260
do you think would make a difference for them

00:45:01.260 --> 00:45:06.550
on the right? I think Hawk. Ooh. I really like

00:45:06.550 --> 00:45:09.030
that pick. I think she fits the style. I think,

00:45:09.090 --> 00:45:12.190
yeah, that's a good choice. I like that. I like

00:45:12.190 --> 00:45:14.789
that a lot. So we disagreed with that one. Japan.

00:45:15.329 --> 00:45:17.650
I'm going to say an opposite. I'm going to say

00:45:17.650 --> 00:45:19.929
a middle. I actually like yours better. Like

00:45:19.929 --> 00:45:22.090
their middles, they rarely run the middle. Yeah.

00:45:22.150 --> 00:45:25.250
And I think if they could like have a middle

00:45:25.250 --> 00:45:29.909
that teams respect, they could do so much with

00:45:29.909 --> 00:45:32.750
their outside, like their pin hitters. Yep. No,

00:45:32.889 --> 00:45:37.219
I'm wrong. That's. 100 % the right choice. The

00:45:37.219 --> 00:45:39.860
question is, which medal? Like, the Italian medals

00:45:39.860 --> 00:45:44.480
both score fine. The Brazilian medals can score

00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:49.000
fine. Even the American medals score well. My

00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:52.880
instinct is far. I think that she is... Or Julia

00:45:52.880 --> 00:45:56.780
Kudais. Yeah. Either of those two would be really

00:45:56.780 --> 00:45:59.139
good additions for them. I think that's fair.

00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:02.469
Okay, China. I might say middle as well. Yeah,

00:46:02.530 --> 00:46:04.250
I like their one middle. She's a good blocker,

00:46:04.269 --> 00:46:06.210
but I think they need a more offensive middle.

00:46:06.610 --> 00:46:10.250
So, I mean, same thing. Same too. Yeah, I think

00:46:10.250 --> 00:46:13.570
that's fair. And Serbia. Which Boscovich do they

00:46:13.570 --> 00:46:16.289
have? I mean, let's say the good one. Okay, a

00:46:16.289 --> 00:46:19.130
left side. I think a setter. Who would you put

00:46:19.130 --> 00:46:21.829
if you had to pick a setter? Oro, probably. Yeah.

00:46:21.869 --> 00:46:24.389
I mean, you have to pick. She's like the standard

00:46:24.389 --> 00:46:26.829
right now. Yeah, agreed. Okay, let's go through

00:46:26.829 --> 00:46:29.869
it again. We can't use the same player, and we

00:46:29.869 --> 00:46:33.980
can't use... players from any of the teams that

00:46:33.980 --> 00:46:39.559
are being listed. Yeah. All right. So Herky needs

00:46:39.559 --> 00:46:41.920
the ball control left side. We said Gubby before.

00:46:42.059 --> 00:46:45.820
We can't use her. My initial instinct, again,

00:46:45.860 --> 00:46:48.719
kind of going off gut, is either Alsmeyer or

00:46:48.719 --> 00:46:51.820
Herbots were the first two that popped into my

00:46:51.820 --> 00:46:54.340
head. You know who else could potentially fit

00:46:54.340 --> 00:46:57.519
that is Miriam Silla. True. I guess I wasn't

00:46:57.519 --> 00:46:59.199
thinking about Italy. But they're not listed.

00:46:59.639 --> 00:47:03.219
True. Yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah. Any of those three,

00:47:03.280 --> 00:47:06.320
I think, would be good. I think Scylla's the

00:47:06.320 --> 00:47:09.000
best of the three, though. I do, too. I would

00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:12.280
agree with you. She's got probably more offensive

00:47:12.280 --> 00:47:14.960
upside along with that. Yeah, she's not your

00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:18.519
typical P2, and she's not a P2 for Italy, but

00:47:18.519 --> 00:47:21.239
she has the characteristics of being able to

00:47:21.239 --> 00:47:23.619
be that, I think. Yeah, that's a good choice.

00:47:24.500 --> 00:47:28.199
Okay, Poland, we said, needs a point -scoring

00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:31.170
left side. And we said Anna Christina, so we

00:47:31.170 --> 00:47:34.650
have to switch that. Alexa Gray is the first

00:47:34.650 --> 00:47:37.750
player that comes to mind for me. Or we could

00:47:37.750 --> 00:47:42.369
go with one of the Russians. Oh, yeah. Markova

00:47:42.369 --> 00:47:45.730
or Fedorovseva. Oh, probably Markova, I would

00:47:45.730 --> 00:47:48.849
say. I like her. I feel like she could fit in

00:47:48.849 --> 00:47:52.389
with the Polish vibe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay,

00:47:52.489 --> 00:47:57.449
that's a better choice. USA, we said opposite,

00:47:57.630 --> 00:48:01.090
and we sent Entropova there, so we can keep that

00:48:01.090 --> 00:48:06.349
one. And then Brazil, we disagreed. I said opposite

00:48:06.349 --> 00:48:09.010
and sent Hawk there, so I can keep that. And

00:48:09.010 --> 00:48:12.170
you said a setter, and I believe you sent Oro

00:48:12.170 --> 00:48:16.650
there. Japan, middle, we said Seraphar, so we

00:48:16.650 --> 00:48:19.070
can keep it. Keep that one. All right, China,

00:48:19.170 --> 00:48:22.610
second middle, we had Julia Kudais, so we have

00:48:22.610 --> 00:48:29.670
to change that one. My initial instinct was Weitzel,

00:48:29.730 --> 00:48:34.010
but we could go Denaise too. Yeah. I was thinking

00:48:34.010 --> 00:48:37.349
Weitzel too. Just because I feel like Italy is

00:48:37.349 --> 00:48:40.070
kind of a cop -out. Yeah, I was thinking the

00:48:40.070 --> 00:48:41.250
same thing. You know who else I was thinking

00:48:41.250 --> 00:48:45.010
we could use for Turkey instead of Scylla? Is

00:48:45.010 --> 00:48:48.309
Helena Cazotte from France. Oh, that's a good

00:48:48.309 --> 00:48:50.869
one. And instead of Oro, I was also thinking

00:48:50.869 --> 00:48:53.500
of Brie O 'Reilly. Well, there's another setter

00:48:53.500 --> 00:48:57.440
coming for Serbia. Well, Brie O 'Reilly. Yeah,

00:48:57.480 --> 00:48:59.619
just to mix it up and not just like bail out

00:48:59.619 --> 00:49:02.119
and use Italy for all of them. Kazot, I think,

00:49:02.119 --> 00:49:04.679
is a decent pick. Kazot is a good pick. For Turkey.

00:49:05.219 --> 00:49:09.619
And then, yeah, Weitzel for China. Weitzel for

00:49:09.619 --> 00:49:14.079
China. We can go Brie O 'Reilly for Serbia. Yeah.

00:49:14.119 --> 00:49:19.780
So we use Antropova. Well, for Antropova, you

00:49:19.780 --> 00:49:24.710
could also... go hawk or well i used hawk we

00:49:24.710 --> 00:49:26.929
used i used hawk for my right side for brazil

00:49:26.929 --> 00:49:29.530
you could also bring in kira van rijk kira van

00:49:29.530 --> 00:49:31.969
rijk was the other one i thought could work too

00:49:31.969 --> 00:49:34.889
and we had another middle i'm trying to think

00:49:34.889 --> 00:49:38.829
does does canada have a good middle like middles

00:49:38.829 --> 00:49:41.389
are middles are tough to come by in the countries

00:49:41.389 --> 00:49:43.989
that we have left i don't we're probably missing

00:49:43.989 --> 00:49:46.829
some things like super obvious there i bet you

00:49:46.829 --> 00:49:48.409
there's a couple good russian middles but we

00:49:48.409 --> 00:49:50.639
just don't see them I think those are pretty

00:49:50.639 --> 00:49:52.920
good picks, though. I do, too. I actually really

00:49:52.920 --> 00:49:56.719
like this exercise. People keep sending us ideas

00:49:56.719 --> 00:49:59.760
like this because it's a lot of fun to kind of

00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:02.719
think about and pick players. Sarah and I don't

00:50:02.719 --> 00:50:04.639
always agree, which is also fun. We can have

00:50:04.639 --> 00:50:06.019
a little back and forth. There's like one out

00:50:06.019 --> 00:50:08.179
of seven we didn't agree on. I like this one.

00:50:08.519 --> 00:50:10.840
All right. It is time for listener questions,

00:50:11.139 --> 00:50:14.679
everybody. So question one. I really want to

00:50:14.679 --> 00:50:17.000
see if Anacostia will play for the national team.

00:50:18.030 --> 00:50:20.670
You said that her height might be her biggest

00:50:20.670 --> 00:50:25.250
hindrance, but Ogbogu is also 6 '2". How can

00:50:25.250 --> 00:50:28.949
Kasakwala get to Ogbogu's level? Does she need

00:50:28.949 --> 00:50:31.570
to go overseas? I want to clarify something because

00:50:31.570 --> 00:50:34.170
we get a lot of comments when we talk about height.

00:50:34.349 --> 00:50:37.610
I'm not shocked. When we say, you know, height

00:50:37.610 --> 00:50:40.539
is... I don't think we ever say it's necessary,

00:50:40.880 --> 00:50:43.619
but it helps. It's just, it's not that shorter

00:50:43.619 --> 00:50:45.960
players can't do great things. I don't think

00:50:45.960 --> 00:50:48.320
we've ever said that. It's about A, how high

00:50:48.320 --> 00:50:51.800
you play above the net, and B, you got to work

00:50:51.800 --> 00:50:54.500
a little bit harder and bring a few more intangibles

00:50:54.500 --> 00:50:57.300
to the court if you're shorter than a counterpart

00:50:57.300 --> 00:50:59.860
who is just as good. It's just the way it goes.

00:50:59.980 --> 00:51:03.280
Coaches look at a 6 '6 middle versus a 6 '2 middle,

00:51:03.360 --> 00:51:06.059
and your tendency is to take the 6 '6 because...

00:51:06.480 --> 00:51:09.079
They're just bigger. Well, it's not even a question

00:51:09.079 --> 00:51:12.320
necessarily. Okay. It is a question how high

00:51:12.320 --> 00:51:14.320
you play above the net, but it also, if you're

00:51:14.320 --> 00:51:18.360
smaller, it's like how quickly can you make up

00:51:18.360 --> 00:51:20.360
that difference? Correct. Do you know what I

00:51:20.360 --> 00:51:23.440
mean? Because the game is played so fast. So

00:51:23.440 --> 00:51:26.599
if you're smaller, even if you jump really well,

00:51:26.900 --> 00:51:30.380
you know, it's like how quickly can you react

00:51:30.380 --> 00:51:34.659
to make up for that four to six inches of difference?

00:51:35.519 --> 00:51:37.880
to then be able to take up the space that you're

00:51:37.880 --> 00:51:40.039
able to yeah and i think think about it from

00:51:40.039 --> 00:51:42.440
a middle perspective right so if i'm six six

00:51:42.440 --> 00:51:44.760
and i can reach above the net i can do a toe

00:51:44.760 --> 00:51:47.699
jump in the middle on a quick and get a slow

00:51:47.699 --> 00:51:50.460
down if we're not committing on the middle and

00:51:50.460 --> 00:51:52.300
then my feet are almost still on the ground where

00:51:52.300 --> 00:51:54.739
i can then move laterally and close as a woman

00:51:54.739 --> 00:51:57.579
outside as a Yes. As a female player. As a female

00:51:57.579 --> 00:51:59.719
player. Kossak Paula, for example, she'll need

00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:02.739
to leave the ground to get that same soft touch.

00:52:02.860 --> 00:52:04.820
And then when she lands, she's got to be just

00:52:04.820 --> 00:52:07.780
as quick or faster to close the block. So those

00:52:07.780 --> 00:52:09.800
are the kind of nuances that we're talking about

00:52:09.800 --> 00:52:12.380
that you have to be able to overcome. And I actually

00:52:12.380 --> 00:52:14.320
think it's a little more challenging in the middle

00:52:14.320 --> 00:52:17.360
than it is outside. I would say yes, because

00:52:17.360 --> 00:52:18.960
the plays that are happening in the middle of

00:52:18.960 --> 00:52:21.320
the court are even faster than what we're seeing

00:52:21.320 --> 00:52:23.300
on the outsides. What does she have to do to

00:52:23.300 --> 00:52:25.260
get to a Bogu's level? She needs to play against

00:52:25.260 --> 00:52:29.699
speed. The college game, even though it has evolved,

00:52:29.820 --> 00:52:33.820
is still incredibly slow compared to the top

00:52:33.820 --> 00:52:38.360
professional and international levels. So she

00:52:38.360 --> 00:52:43.260
needs to play against speed, period. And I think

00:52:43.260 --> 00:52:46.179
being able to have that exposure and that experience

00:52:46.179 --> 00:52:50.000
and then you inherently just adapt as you're

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:53.420
exposed to those different styles and tempos

00:52:53.420 --> 00:52:56.739
and everything like that. So I think she needs

00:52:56.739 --> 00:53:00.940
to be removed from the college game where she

00:53:00.940 --> 00:53:04.000
was incredibly dominant from a blocking perspective

00:53:04.000 --> 00:53:06.320
in particular. She was very good offensively

00:53:06.320 --> 00:53:09.340
as well. And just go into an environment where

00:53:09.340 --> 00:53:14.409
she just has to. Adapt. Adapt and keep up. Unfortunately,

00:53:14.469 --> 00:53:17.590
she's not getting a chance to play at Salt Lake

00:53:17.590 --> 00:53:23.389
at all. Somebody shared some stats with me on

00:53:23.389 --> 00:53:26.469
Tori Dixon's last few performances. I don't understand.

00:53:27.090 --> 00:53:36.500
She has hit negative or under 300. for the last

00:53:36.500 --> 00:53:39.239
several matches negative you guys as a middle

00:53:39.239 --> 00:53:41.920
and that's ridiculous I'm sorry why are you still

00:53:41.920 --> 00:53:44.699
on the court I get if your team is rolling you

00:53:44.699 --> 00:53:47.659
don't make lineup changes fine I can get behind

00:53:47.659 --> 00:53:50.159
that from a coaching standpoint but you're not

00:53:50.159 --> 00:53:53.940
rolling anymore no it's time I know like we were

00:53:53.940 --> 00:53:56.260
saying this last year like we were like why is

00:53:56.260 --> 00:53:58.679
Tori Dixon playing over Serena Gray last season

00:53:58.679 --> 00:54:01.460
this season we're like why is Tori Dixon playing

00:54:01.460 --> 00:54:04.280
over like why are you not giving her a chance

00:54:04.969 --> 00:54:07.190
I understand the injury of Alexa Gray is what

00:54:07.190 --> 00:54:09.750
has caused some issues here, but like give the

00:54:09.750 --> 00:54:13.230
girl a chance. Okay. Especially when your middle

00:54:13.230 --> 00:54:15.590
is putting up negative hitting numbers where

00:54:15.590 --> 00:54:16.969
I'm sorry, as a middle, you should be hitting

00:54:16.969 --> 00:54:19.389
400. And she's not a prolific blocker either.

00:54:19.590 --> 00:54:23.610
No, we digress. She needs to get a chance to

00:54:23.610 --> 00:54:25.789
play. So, I mean, if she's not giving a chance

00:54:25.789 --> 00:54:28.289
to do anything in Salt Lake, she's wasting her

00:54:28.289 --> 00:54:31.389
time. She might as well go overseas and get exposed

00:54:31.389 --> 00:54:34.679
to that. I'm okay with her playing in love. This

00:54:34.679 --> 00:54:36.579
year, for the most part, I don't think she's

00:54:36.579 --> 00:54:40.179
going to be a 2028 middle for the national team.

00:54:40.659 --> 00:54:43.840
I think it's too close. So play love. You know,

00:54:43.860 --> 00:54:45.900
there's some really, really good setters in love.

00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:47.940
I think that's their strongest position. So she's

00:54:47.940 --> 00:54:50.219
getting a chance to play love, like play love.

00:54:50.320 --> 00:54:52.440
She's sitting on the bench. She can't help that.

00:54:52.480 --> 00:54:54.019
I'm talking about the last part of the question

00:54:54.019 --> 00:54:55.559
in terms of what league they need to play in.

00:54:55.840 --> 00:54:59.880
She will get better playing in love for a year

00:54:59.880 --> 00:55:02.019
or two. And then depending on where she goes,

00:55:02.139 --> 00:55:04.449
then it's time to adapt again. Like, play against

00:55:04.449 --> 00:55:07.670
a different style. See different setters. You

00:55:07.670 --> 00:55:09.989
know, I think the love jump out of college is

00:55:09.989 --> 00:55:12.690
fine for her. Good chance for her to get better.

00:55:12.750 --> 00:55:15.329
And then, you know, probably in a couple years,

00:55:15.469 --> 00:55:18.670
go overseas. Okay, question two. How do you guys

00:55:18.670 --> 00:55:21.489
feel about Rebecca Alec? She's playing at Madison

00:55:21.489 --> 00:55:24.130
right now. Why do you think she looked and played

00:55:24.130 --> 00:55:26.269
better at Nebraska than how she's playing right

00:55:26.269 --> 00:55:29.969
now for Madison? Does the defensive digging and

00:55:29.969 --> 00:55:32.789
passing have something to do with that? I know

00:55:32.789 --> 00:55:36.070
that she's used to having great defensive plays

00:55:36.070 --> 00:55:39.469
and ups being right on target, which makes it

00:55:39.469 --> 00:55:41.309
easier for her to become available. Do you think

00:55:41.309 --> 00:55:44.070
love has exposed her for not actually being a

00:55:44.070 --> 00:55:47.869
very good middle? It's a complete, like, you

00:55:47.869 --> 00:55:51.710
cannot compare college and pro. I'm sorry. Yes,

00:55:51.849 --> 00:55:54.030
she played for one of the top programs in the

00:55:54.030 --> 00:55:57.760
country. played for a team that has incredible

00:55:57.760 --> 00:55:59.860
ball control, a setter that can run the middle

00:55:59.860 --> 00:56:03.780
from many locations on the court, but love teams

00:56:03.780 --> 00:56:07.019
would still beat them. Like the jump from college

00:56:07.019 --> 00:56:11.780
to pro is large. The pace of the game is large.

00:56:11.860 --> 00:56:14.039
The physicality, the physicality, the angles,

00:56:14.119 --> 00:56:16.320
the experience. And I know you guys say that

00:56:16.320 --> 00:56:18.300
we hate on love all the time. And I'm like, I'm

00:56:18.300 --> 00:56:20.400
sorry that that is the impression we're giving.

00:56:21.019 --> 00:56:22.940
It's still a pro league. But the league is still

00:56:22.940 --> 00:56:24.500
a way higher level than you're seeing in the

00:56:24.500 --> 00:56:27.619
NCAA. So I don't think it's fair to say that

00:56:27.619 --> 00:56:29.780
she doesn't look good. I actually have thought

00:56:29.780 --> 00:56:32.380
that she's done a good job. Yeah. And I think

00:56:32.380 --> 00:56:35.079
that's what all comes down to expectation. I

00:56:35.079 --> 00:56:36.579
don't know if this person's a Nebraska fan or

00:56:36.579 --> 00:56:38.460
not, but if you're a Nebraska fan, you love those

00:56:38.460 --> 00:56:40.920
athletes, which is totally fair. I think looking

00:56:40.920 --> 00:56:44.539
at how athletes make the jump to pro. I think

00:56:44.539 --> 00:56:46.880
she's exceeded my personal expectations. Honestly,

00:56:47.039 --> 00:56:49.539
I was impressed that she's starting for them.

00:56:49.599 --> 00:56:51.059
Correct. Because I thought she was going to go

00:56:51.059 --> 00:56:53.460
there and have to sit on the bench and learn

00:56:53.460 --> 00:56:58.519
and gain some experience to make that transition.

00:56:58.559 --> 00:57:01.119
So I was impressed that she stepped in and started

00:57:01.119 --> 00:57:02.300
right away. And I don't think she looks out of

00:57:02.300 --> 00:57:06.429
place. No. You know, she's not as dominant. You're

00:57:06.429 --> 00:57:08.610
not going to be. You're not higher than everybody

00:57:08.610 --> 00:57:12.070
else. You lose your physical advantage. Like,

00:57:12.090 --> 00:57:16.570
she's big. She's physical. She could out -muscle,

00:57:16.570 --> 00:57:18.730
out -work a lot of players in college. That doesn't

00:57:18.730 --> 00:57:21.550
happen. Like, now everybody's that size. Because

00:57:21.550 --> 00:57:26.170
think of the number of players who went to Love,

00:57:26.269 --> 00:57:29.230
for example. We had, what, six players this year?

00:57:29.289 --> 00:57:32.670
Six or seven? If you count Matty Wack, eight

00:57:32.670 --> 00:57:35.440
with Jillian Grimes. So, like... Of the entire

00:57:35.440 --> 00:57:39.360
senior class that graduated, only eight of those

00:57:39.360 --> 00:57:42.260
players are now playing in love. Well, and I

00:57:42.260 --> 00:57:43.760
don't think you're putting Rebecca Alec in the

00:57:43.760 --> 00:57:46.119
top eight in the country who graduated, probably.

00:57:46.519 --> 00:57:49.019
I mean, I'd have to take some time to think about

00:57:49.019 --> 00:57:52.559
it. My point being, you know, I think she's done

00:57:52.559 --> 00:57:56.480
exceptionally well. Yeah. Ooh, question three

00:57:56.480 --> 00:57:59.840
is from a young listener in Canada. Love that.

00:58:00.650 --> 00:58:03.090
So I listened to your episode from a couple weeks

00:58:03.090 --> 00:58:06.570
ago where you compared the three top opposites,

00:58:06.690 --> 00:58:10.030
Vargas, Hawk, and Iganu, and I was wondering

00:58:10.030 --> 00:58:13.289
where Kira Van Ryke would fall on that list.

00:58:13.530 --> 00:58:15.630
I know that she isn't good enough to be in the

00:58:15.630 --> 00:58:17.789
top three, but what is missing from her game

00:58:17.789 --> 00:58:20.190
that makes the other three more dominant than

00:58:20.190 --> 00:58:23.909
her? How would you compare her to the USA opposites

00:58:23.909 --> 00:58:26.949
like Thompson and Skinner? Okay, so I don't have

00:58:26.949 --> 00:58:29.639
any numbers in front of me. But I would say I

00:58:29.639 --> 00:58:33.260
think the one thing that stands out to me is

00:58:33.260 --> 00:58:36.300
blocking. I don't think she's a great blocker.

00:58:36.400 --> 00:58:38.920
That's what I was going to say. I think her serve

00:58:38.920 --> 00:58:42.159
is on pace with the other right sides. I think

00:58:42.159 --> 00:58:45.500
she's got a very good serve. Yeah. 100%. I think

00:58:45.500 --> 00:58:47.699
she plays better defense than them, honestly.

00:58:47.760 --> 00:58:50.500
I think she's a very good defensive right side.

00:58:50.639 --> 00:58:53.300
Low bar for those three, but yes. No, but she

00:58:53.300 --> 00:58:56.500
is, though. And even in some V &L, she has been

00:58:56.500 --> 00:59:00.050
ranked among the top. defenders in all of VNL

00:59:00.050 --> 00:59:02.329
in the past. Like she picks up a lot of balls.

00:59:02.449 --> 00:59:05.650
I think a, again, I'm sure there's going to be

00:59:05.650 --> 00:59:08.730
people out here there who like find some games

00:59:08.730 --> 00:59:11.210
to prove this wrong, but I feel like she is a

00:59:11.210 --> 00:59:14.309
little more error prone. Granted, every one of

00:59:14.309 --> 00:59:16.489
these players does have matches and does have

00:59:16.489 --> 00:59:19.110
streaks where they make a ton of errors. Okay.

00:59:19.409 --> 00:59:21.989
I don't want to hear about it, but I would say

00:59:21.989 --> 00:59:25.389
overall, she is a little more error prone. And

00:59:25.389 --> 00:59:28.179
I don't think then these hitters. And her blocking

00:59:28.179 --> 00:59:31.480
is not as good. I don't think she has quite the

00:59:31.480 --> 00:59:34.099
same angles as the other ones. But I think she

00:59:34.099 --> 00:59:38.179
does hit harder. She hits a heavy ball. Maybe

00:59:38.179 --> 00:59:42.599
then Hawk hits a heavy ball. Hawk hits a heavy

00:59:42.599 --> 00:59:44.960
ball. I don't think she's hitting as sharp of

00:59:44.960 --> 00:59:48.300
an angle. Yes. Like cross -court angle as the

00:59:48.300 --> 00:59:51.360
other ones. So those three, who else would you

00:59:51.360 --> 00:59:54.300
potentially put in front of her? And Tropova.

00:59:54.699 --> 00:59:57.980
Yeah. I think she's better than Stischiak. I

00:59:57.980 --> 01:00:00.380
think she's better than Stischiak. Boscovich,

01:00:00.460 --> 01:00:02.579
I think, I haven't watched a ton of Azazibashi,

01:00:02.699 --> 01:00:04.500
but from what I know, and I know she was injured

01:00:04.500 --> 01:00:07.940
last summer, but the Boscovich I saw last summer,

01:00:08.079 --> 01:00:10.440
I thought Kira Van Rijk was better than that

01:00:10.440 --> 01:00:14.239
version of Tiana. I mean, I would put her among

01:00:14.239 --> 01:00:16.760
the top. I think when we've kind of talked about

01:00:16.760 --> 01:00:19.280
her, we've put her in the top five or six opposites

01:00:19.280 --> 01:00:22.480
in the world for sure. Yeah. My favorite one,

01:00:22.559 --> 01:00:28.239
B. Yes, Adam loves to say 1B. Yeah, I would say

01:00:28.239 --> 01:00:33.800
lack of cross -court angle, blocking, and errors.

01:00:34.199 --> 01:00:36.599
But she's very good. And very close. I think

01:00:36.599 --> 01:00:38.920
she's very good, and she's right there. And you

01:00:38.920 --> 01:00:41.940
wouldn't be shocked to see her have a better

01:00:41.940 --> 01:00:45.099
game than any of those three. Like on any given

01:00:45.099 --> 01:00:48.400
night. Yeah. It's just not quite as consistent,

01:00:48.539 --> 01:00:52.420
I don't think. I do think she's better than the

01:00:52.420 --> 01:00:55.360
American opposites. Agreed. Agreed. Do you think

01:00:55.360 --> 01:00:57.320
she's better than the version of Jordan Thompson

01:00:57.320 --> 01:01:00.760
we're currently seeing in Love? I can't say because

01:01:00.760 --> 01:01:04.840
it's just not. I'm going to say yes. I think

01:01:04.840 --> 01:01:07.239
she would do very well in the Love League. Right

01:01:07.239 --> 01:01:11.719
now, yes. But if Jordan Thompson plays V &L this

01:01:11.719 --> 01:01:15.420
year, I wouldn't be surprised if she looks better.

01:01:15.780 --> 01:01:19.739
Okay. Question four. We have gotten so many.

01:01:20.510 --> 01:01:24.389
iterations of this question. Here we go. Why

01:01:24.389 --> 01:01:26.570
do you think Jenna Gray hasn't been involved

01:01:26.570 --> 01:01:29.510
with USA? Do you see her with the team for this

01:01:29.510 --> 01:01:34.670
summer or LA? I am pretty sure, and I know someone

01:01:34.670 --> 01:01:38.349
is going to be writing in immediately. She was

01:01:38.349 --> 01:01:40.909
on the VNL wide roster last year, and I'm pretty

01:01:40.909 --> 01:01:43.250
sure she was injured for the majority of the

01:01:43.250 --> 01:01:46.730
summer. If my memory is serving me correctly.

01:01:47.250 --> 01:01:51.300
Why hasn't she been included? Again, great question.

01:01:52.079 --> 01:01:55.380
She definitely should be in the mix. Now, keep

01:01:55.380 --> 01:01:58.519
in mind, in the last couple cycles, like Jenna

01:01:58.519 --> 01:02:02.260
Gray graduated in like 2019. So she wasn't going

01:02:02.260 --> 01:02:05.199
to do anything for Tokyo. Okay, it was too close.

01:02:05.360 --> 01:02:08.739
Then leading into Paris, the U .S. had won gold

01:02:08.739 --> 01:02:12.090
in Tokyo. You were bringing back... Jordan Poulter

01:02:12.090 --> 01:02:15.349
and Micah Hancock, who both were part of that

01:02:15.349 --> 01:02:18.190
gold medal. Lauren Carlini was also in the mix.

01:02:18.289 --> 01:02:20.949
Are they going to make a switch necessarily when

01:02:20.949 --> 01:02:25.469
they won gold with those setters who are still

01:02:25.469 --> 01:02:28.690
arguably like in the prime of their career? It

01:02:28.690 --> 01:02:32.030
would be very hard to break in in that moment,

01:02:32.110 --> 01:02:37.280
I would say. And so I think the first real opportunity

01:02:37.280 --> 01:02:42.260
we saw for that kind of transition was last summer.

01:02:42.360 --> 01:02:46.380
And with her injury, it would have made it tough.

01:02:46.460 --> 01:02:49.139
If she's not included this summer, then yeah,

01:02:49.179 --> 01:02:51.519
I'm going to have questions. Absolutely. But

01:02:51.519 --> 01:02:55.239
I think she should be included in the VNL roster

01:02:55.239 --> 01:02:58.599
this year and, you know, be in the discussion

01:02:58.599 --> 01:03:03.340
for LA. That second setting position is. Wide

01:03:03.340 --> 01:03:06.199
open. Yeah. They're going to need to get looks

01:03:06.199 --> 01:03:09.559
at other setters. Okay, question five. What are

01:03:09.559 --> 01:03:13.880
your takes on grass doubles and triples? It's

01:03:13.880 --> 01:03:16.659
very popular on the East Coast and Midwest. There

01:03:16.659 --> 01:03:19.199
are huge tournaments like Pottstown and Wapaka,

01:03:19.239 --> 01:03:21.340
and grass tends to be more accessible than beach

01:03:21.340 --> 01:03:24.960
volleyball. 100%, I completely understand that.

01:03:25.710 --> 01:03:28.250
It's so much easier to side out in grass than

01:03:28.250 --> 01:03:31.269
indoor or beach, and it puts more onus on having

01:03:31.269 --> 01:03:33.989
a good serve. Triples can be quite chaotic, but

01:03:33.989 --> 01:03:38.389
it's fun to watch at a high level. What are our

01:03:38.389 --> 01:03:43.309
thoughts on grass? It's great. It's great. Well,

01:03:43.369 --> 01:03:47.230
no. No, I agree. It's much more accessible to

01:03:47.230 --> 01:03:52.329
areas that aren't on literal shoreline. Well,

01:03:52.429 --> 01:03:55.409
we... live very close to a beach and there's

01:03:55.409 --> 01:03:57.349
a park by our house and there are people playing

01:03:57.349 --> 01:04:01.829
grass there pretty consistently it's a it's a

01:04:01.829 --> 01:04:05.590
ton of fun it's a great game anybody again you

01:04:05.590 --> 01:04:08.190
can play you're still working on the same skills

01:04:08.190 --> 01:04:12.909
i like i don't have an issue I'm not sure exactly

01:04:12.909 --> 01:04:15.250
what the question is asking. Like, do we think

01:04:15.250 --> 01:04:16.429
it's fun? Do we think it's still volleyball?

01:04:16.869 --> 01:04:20.250
Are we like looking down our noses at it? Like,

01:04:20.269 --> 01:04:23.630
do we think it's legit? I will say for me personally,

01:04:23.829 --> 01:04:28.869
I worry about grass because all I can think about

01:04:28.869 --> 01:04:33.550
trying to play it is like sliding or like slipping

01:04:33.550 --> 01:04:36.530
out on the grass and like pulling a hamstring

01:04:36.530 --> 01:04:39.329
or something, you know, like it just makes me.

01:04:39.980 --> 01:04:44.239
really really nervous about getting injured right

01:04:44.239 --> 01:04:46.699
and you're thinking about you know how it affects

01:04:46.699 --> 01:04:48.639
your professional career and and all of those

01:04:48.639 --> 01:04:50.579
kind of things professional career doesn't exist

01:04:50.579 --> 01:04:53.340
anymore now it's just like quality of life slash

01:04:53.340 --> 01:04:57.219
middle age yeah i i hear what you're saying but

01:04:57.219 --> 01:04:59.539
again it's a ton of fun i've been to a whole

01:04:59.539 --> 01:05:01.179
bunch of tournaments i've watched i've played

01:05:01.179 --> 01:05:04.079
i've helped run them yeah it's definitely has

01:05:04.079 --> 01:05:07.300
the volleyball vibe and the spirit and you see

01:05:08.030 --> 01:05:11.070
Good blocks and you see great plays. I feel like

01:05:11.070 --> 01:05:13.409
the vibe and the attitude of the players is an

01:05:13.409 --> 01:05:16.949
interesting mix or like a hybrid between indoor

01:05:16.949 --> 01:05:21.190
and beach. Like for beach, you get a very distinct

01:05:21.190 --> 01:05:24.570
type of personality. And then in indoor, it's

01:05:24.570 --> 01:05:27.570
definitely different. But I feel like grass is

01:05:27.570 --> 01:05:30.670
a good mix of the two. When I was young and didn't

01:05:30.670 --> 01:05:32.510
worry about getting injured or anything, I loved

01:05:32.510 --> 01:05:35.050
playing grass. Totally. No, there's, there's

01:05:35.050 --> 01:05:38.309
no, like, I wouldn't think of it as the younger

01:05:38.309 --> 01:05:41.650
stepchild or whatever. Oh, I think you meant

01:05:41.650 --> 01:05:43.670
ugly stepchild, but whatever. Sure, take your

01:05:43.670 --> 01:05:46.050
pick. It's the game and watching people play

01:05:46.050 --> 01:05:48.050
is fun. And if you have an opportunity to play,

01:05:48.170 --> 01:05:50.369
great. You can work on your skills. You can improve

01:05:50.369 --> 01:05:52.869
all of your other ones. Like there's, there's

01:05:52.869 --> 01:05:57.170
no, shame is the wrong word, but yeah, it's like

01:05:57.170 --> 01:06:00.409
anything. It's the sport. We've legit, we know

01:06:00.409 --> 01:06:04.599
Wapaka. We know Pottstown. We know how big grass

01:06:04.599 --> 01:06:09.460
is. No, huge fan. Okay, question six. Do you

01:06:09.460 --> 01:06:13.639
have any insight on Eric Sullivan's rationale

01:06:13.639 --> 01:06:16.260
for having Eggleston play defense in one and

01:06:16.260 --> 01:06:20.099
Matty Skinner play defense in five or six? It

01:06:20.099 --> 01:06:22.900
seems like that's not the best for their development

01:06:22.900 --> 01:06:25.119
in their positions when any other coach would

01:06:25.119 --> 01:06:28.000
have them be switched like normal. It's to have

01:06:28.000 --> 01:06:31.659
Skinner hit out of the back row. Yeah. It Maddie

01:06:31.659 --> 01:06:34.320
Skinner is very good at hitting the pipe. I would

01:06:34.320 --> 01:06:36.539
say much better at hitting the pipe than she

01:06:36.539 --> 01:06:40.699
is at hitting the D ball or the zone one back

01:06:40.699 --> 01:06:43.760
row attack. I think hitting back row is her best

01:06:43.760 --> 01:06:47.000
attack. Neither Skinner nor Eggleston are top

01:06:47.000 --> 01:06:49.539
of the charts defensively. If they do happen

01:06:49.539 --> 01:06:52.280
to get a dig. I would much rather have Maddie

01:06:52.280 --> 01:06:54.840
Skinner hitting the pipe than Eggleston. And

01:06:54.840 --> 01:06:56.519
I think Maddie would rather have Maddie hitting

01:06:56.519 --> 01:06:58.940
the pipe too. Yeah. I have noticed them, her

01:06:58.940 --> 01:07:02.800
playing a lot in position six. I haven't seen

01:07:02.800 --> 01:07:05.179
her playing in five, but I also haven't been

01:07:05.179 --> 01:07:08.719
watching them like every single match. So if

01:07:08.719 --> 01:07:11.139
she is playing in five that I don't understand,

01:07:11.219 --> 01:07:14.059
I do understand her playing in six though. Well,

01:07:14.179 --> 01:07:17.139
it depends. There may be some rotations where

01:07:17.139 --> 01:07:18.639
they think she's not going to be able to dig

01:07:18.639 --> 01:07:20.800
the ball in six. So they're going to put, the

01:07:20.800 --> 01:07:23.039
libero to play there and if she doesn't dig in

01:07:23.039 --> 01:07:24.980
five then she can still back out and hit like

01:07:24.980 --> 01:07:27.719
an in -between pipe or whatever like so i think

01:07:27.719 --> 01:07:31.940
that i would imagine if there's a strategic reason

01:07:31.940 --> 01:07:34.260
for doing it would be something along those lines

01:07:34.260 --> 01:07:37.800
you know and potentially if he is you know looking

01:07:37.800 --> 01:07:40.480
ahead to national team if he's planning on having

01:07:40.480 --> 01:07:43.739
maddie b play opposite and and logan play left

01:07:43.739 --> 01:07:47.900
side again from my understanding logan was playing

01:07:47.900 --> 01:07:52.960
right side When she played for Galatasaray, the

01:07:52.960 --> 01:07:56.360
Turkish club she played for after college, maybe

01:07:56.360 --> 01:07:59.900
she is comfortable playing defense there. I don't

01:07:59.900 --> 01:08:02.900
know. I like that he's thinking outside the box.

01:08:02.980 --> 01:08:04.679
And quite frankly, if they stay with Austin,

01:08:04.820 --> 01:08:06.900
they're not going to have another coach. So he's

01:08:06.900 --> 01:08:09.599
getting options for the national team. He's their

01:08:09.599 --> 01:08:11.159
club coach. He's the national team coach. He

01:08:11.159 --> 01:08:13.539
can try whatever he wants. I actually like the

01:08:13.539 --> 01:08:16.479
fact that he's... trying to figure out the best

01:08:16.479 --> 01:08:18.420
utilization of his players and thinking outside

01:08:18.420 --> 01:08:20.979
the box. I think that's promising, quite frankly.

01:08:21.199 --> 01:08:24.279
Okay, our last question today. I understand needing

01:08:24.279 --> 01:08:28.239
power and consistency to be impactful with a

01:08:28.239 --> 01:08:30.760
jump serve, like a spin serve, and I don't disagree,

01:08:30.979 --> 01:08:34.079
but why don't teams encourage the hybrid serve

01:08:34.079 --> 01:08:37.439
more on the women's side? Yoshino from Japan

01:08:37.439 --> 01:08:39.659
does it and does it effectively enough that it

01:08:39.659 --> 01:08:42.619
can change the outcome of a game. You are right.

01:08:42.819 --> 01:08:46.520
Yoshino's hybrid serve is insane. Kim Young -kyung

01:08:46.520 --> 01:08:51.579
did one when she was playing that was wild. When

01:08:51.579 --> 01:08:55.340
they are done effectively or correctly, they

01:08:55.340 --> 01:09:00.340
are monsters to pass. It is very hard to do.

01:09:00.859 --> 01:09:06.779
I will say your toss needs to be so consistent

01:09:06.779 --> 01:09:11.479
and so perfect. And I think a lot of players

01:09:11.479 --> 01:09:15.920
who spin serve are just like, see ball, hit ball.

01:09:16.260 --> 01:09:20.260
Just let me yass this thing up there and just

01:09:20.260 --> 01:09:23.920
go after it. It doesn't require a ton of precision,

01:09:24.039 --> 01:09:27.300
to be honest. Good step close. Yeah, have a good

01:09:27.300 --> 01:09:30.100
step close and just go up and hit the snot out

01:09:30.100 --> 01:09:32.159
of it. Well, the other thing, too, is if you're

01:09:32.159 --> 01:09:34.500
hitting that hybrid, sometimes you're hitting

01:09:34.500 --> 01:09:38.340
float, sometimes you're hitting spin. If you

01:09:38.340 --> 01:09:41.420
want to hit the spin out of that approach, you

01:09:41.420 --> 01:09:44.739
don't have your full lead and weight there. So

01:09:44.739 --> 01:09:48.300
your arm has to be so quick to get the pace on

01:09:48.300 --> 01:09:50.760
the ball to make it effective. There's a whole

01:09:50.760 --> 01:09:54.239
bunch of things that have to be in place for

01:09:54.239 --> 01:09:57.600
that to go. A, to get it in the court. B, to

01:09:57.600 --> 01:10:01.300
be effective. And it's much harder than it looks.

01:10:01.340 --> 01:10:04.500
And it takes a very specific athlete to be able

01:10:04.500 --> 01:10:06.619
to do it. The precision and consistency of the

01:10:06.619 --> 01:10:09.670
toss. The speed of the arm. And I think you have

01:10:09.670 --> 01:10:12.970
to have a very specific arm swing, too, to make

01:10:12.970 --> 01:10:18.630
it work. So it's not conducive to work for everybody.

01:10:19.130 --> 01:10:21.409
But that's a really good question, though, because

01:10:21.409 --> 01:10:25.229
I agree. It's like the hardest serve to get a

01:10:25.229 --> 01:10:27.789
handle on. Thanks again for everybody who's writing

01:10:27.789 --> 01:10:29.729
in questions. I know we got all kinds of volleyball

01:10:29.729 --> 01:10:34.409
going on. International, Champions League. Love

01:10:34.409 --> 01:10:36.789
MLV. We love getting all the different questions,

01:10:36.810 --> 01:10:39.869
talking about grass, different players. So thanks

01:10:39.869 --> 01:10:42.029
everybody who wrote in this week. All right.

01:10:42.050 --> 01:10:44.270
These days, the looking forward segment could

01:10:44.270 --> 01:10:46.750
possibly be the longest part of the podcast,

01:10:46.829 --> 01:10:49.970
but we've narrowed it down to a few things that

01:10:49.970 --> 01:10:52.869
you guys should watch this week. So Tuesday and

01:10:52.869 --> 01:10:55.609
Wednesday, Italian A1 men's quarterfinal match

01:10:55.609 --> 01:10:59.810
three. Watch it. It's amazing. It's been, the

01:10:59.810 --> 01:11:03.060
volleyball has been fantastic. Wednesday and

01:11:03.060 --> 01:11:06.100
Thursday, Women's Champions League second quarter

01:11:06.100 --> 01:11:09.260
matches. That's on Euro Volley TV. Again, I think

01:11:09.260 --> 01:11:11.840
it was like 16 euros for three months. You can

01:11:11.840 --> 01:11:13.779
watch the whole thing. Again, great volleyball,

01:11:14.039 --> 01:11:18.079
great storylines to follow. And then we get into

01:11:18.079 --> 01:11:21.220
the local stuff. Thursday at 7 p .m. Eastern,

01:11:21.359 --> 01:11:25.020
MLV, Orlando versus Atlanta. Friday and Saturday

01:11:25.020 --> 01:11:28.560
at 10 p .m. Eastern, NCAA Men's Hawaii versus

01:11:28.560 --> 01:11:31.310
Long Beach State right after it. We'll see if

01:11:31.310 --> 01:11:35.470
Cade is playing for Hawaii or who's going for

01:11:35.470 --> 01:11:38.829
them there. And then Saturday at 2 p .m. Eastern,

01:11:39.050 --> 01:11:42.329
Love Atlanta versus Salt Lake. That's on Victory

01:11:42.329 --> 01:11:45.310
Plus. On the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Italian

01:11:45.310 --> 01:11:50.949
A1 semifinal match two on the women. Yes. So

01:11:50.949 --> 01:11:54.739
lots to watch. Take your pick. That concludes

01:11:54.739 --> 01:11:57.159
this week's episode of Volley Talk. There's always

01:11:57.159 --> 01:11:58.819
something shaking in the volleyball world, and

01:11:58.819 --> 01:12:01.000
we hope you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure

01:12:01.000 --> 01:12:02.819
to follow the show so you don't miss any updates,

01:12:02.859 --> 01:12:04.939
and we'd be so grateful if you'd leave us a five

01:12:04.939 --> 01:12:07.380
-star review. You can also find us on Instagram

01:12:07.380 --> 01:12:10.420
at volleytalk underscore podcast. If you have

01:12:10.420 --> 01:12:12.520
a topic you'd like us to discuss, you can reach

01:12:12.520 --> 01:12:15.960
out on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin .com.

01:12:16.359 --> 01:12:18.500
Thanks so much for joining us, and we'll be back

01:12:18.500 --> 01:12:19.140
next week.