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. The saga continues and I say saga. In the

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best way possible. We got playoffs. We've got

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teams climbing ranks. We've got teams hitting

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the basement. You name it, we've got it. Champions

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League Final Four for women is set. Playoffs

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are winding down in major leagues around the

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world, which for a lot of you means VNL is right

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around the corner, which is very exciting. And

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for others of you, it means that we are that

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much closer to restarting NCAA women's season.

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No matter what your flavor, it's around. So yeah,

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we've got a bunch going on this week. We're very

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excited to talk volleyball with you guys as always.

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So let's get started. We've got a new leader

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in volley, Crafty Killers. Only person to crack

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4 ,000 aggregated points so far. Congrats. You

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know, things were pretty stable in our fantasy

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league for like nine rounds. And now everything's

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getting shaken up week after week, which means

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maybe we all have hope. I don't, but I think

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a lot of people might still have hope because

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guess what? I'm in the hundreds now. Oh, I was

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going to ask if you were. I'm a has been. And

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the highest I got was what? My 50s? Yeah. Looking

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bleak yet again. I had a decent week. I scored

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350. I can't seem to get above that. Yeah, I

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scored about 349, which I thought was great.

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Then I looked at what other people scored this

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week and I was like, not even close. There were

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lots of people who had great weeks. Like, what

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did you guys do? It's what I want. I know I could

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just look it up, but just tell me. Because I

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thought I did really well. Well, I finally had

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my two dud players come off the books this week.

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Those signings. Who were your duds? I had Abercrombie.

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And then, yeah, so that was terrible. Adam's

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not looking at the injury report. I thought she

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was going to be coming back. To be honest, neither

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am I, which is probably why I'm not doing well.

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I don't think there's an injury report for MLB,

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only for love. There has to be. I don't think

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so. That's tough. I had a couple bad signings

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for three weeks that really killed me. I was

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playing wounded, down two men. You know what?

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I'm cheering for you guys. All you guys at the

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top are vying for that number one spot. I'm happy

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for you. I'm more sad for me than I am happy

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for you, though. I think my new goal is to have

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one 400 -point week before the season ends. Okay,

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that's fair. That's what I'm shooting for. I

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can aim for that, too. Okay, that's our new goal

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because we are... Sucking. Terrible. We're in

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the top quarter because we've got over 450 teams

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in our league. If you feel like you're missing

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out, you are. Okay, there's still time. You can

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join in at the average score, which... Right

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around me. Right around Adam. So it's not too

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late. Go to playvolley .com slash volleytalk.

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Playvolley .com slash volleytalk if you want

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to get in on the action and understand our pain.

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It is fun, though. I'm really enjoying it. Okay,

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noteworthy. Results in the NCAA men's side. Are

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you ready for this? Number 18, Ohio State beat

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number 7, Loyola Chicago 3 -1 and number 15,

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Lewis 3 straight. That's a good week for them.

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Yeah, they are climbing. Loyola Chicago is going

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to have to drop. Outside of the top 10, I think.

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Amoeba has been like all over the place. This

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season. They're all like beating up on each other.

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But it kind of happened last year too. So that

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conference is dangerous, you guys. And Hawaii

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Long Beach State played this week. Do you know

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what happened? Did you look it up? I have not

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seen the results yet. Do you want me to tell

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you? Yes. I'm going to tell you because I have

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to tell everybody. Hawaii won both matches. They

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were playing in Long Beach. First one they won

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in five. The second one they won three straight.

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Did you look at who played? No. Did you? Are

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you asking me who played because you want your

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boy Cade to have not played? Also known as Kanoa

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Wade. I'm just curious if they won with him playing,

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but it looks like Trisky did play, although it

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doesn't seem like he had two great matches. But

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having him on the floor, I think, just changes

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the dynamic. It forces teams to look at anything.

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They're just better with him on the floor. So

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good to see that he's back playing. Well, we're

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going to have a new number two now, everybody.

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Yep. So those were the big. Matches this week

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on the men's side. UCLA still unbeaten. That

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makes me nervous going into playoffs. It really

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does. I just, I firmly believe you need a little

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adversity. And maybe that adversity will be not

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winning the MPSF, but winning nationals. I don't

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know. But it's just so hard to be perfect all

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year long. On the MLV side, the all -star game

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is this weekend. We are going to talk about who

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made the cut shortly. But same story as always.

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Indy at the top, followed by Dallas. Omaha, however,

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has jumped into number three. So who knows? We'll

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talk about that later too. If they've righted

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the ship or not. And big result of the week,

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Atlanta beat Orlando three straight. So Orlando

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is kind of floundering. Yes, they have not been

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great. Do we know what's wrong with Abercrombie?

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I haven't heard anything. And I can't, again.

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I might not be looking in the right place, but

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I don't think there is a clear injury report

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for MLV. Not sure. On the love side, Houston

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holding on to that number one spot, although

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they did just lose to Madison. So that's very

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straight. I looked it up. Everybody was playing

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except Rafaela Foley. Who knows? I mean, everybody

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drops a game now and then. I mean, we just said

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it about UCLA. Adam wants these teams to drop

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games. But Atlanta jumped Salt Lake. We watched

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Love this week. We did. We watched Atlanta Salt

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Lake. We watched Nebraska -Austin. Austin has

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fallen. They've lost four in a row. They've fallen

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to number five. They are currently out of the

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playoffs. And we'll look at a couple Love teams

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in our game this week. We talked about this at

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the beginning of the year. What happens if the

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U .S. national team doesn't make the playoffs?

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It is a definite possibility at this point. Somebody

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tell me why the middle from the Polish national

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team is playing behind Molly McCage and Asia

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O 'Neal. Somebody tell me this. This girl is

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playing in world championships for Poland, and

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she's riding the bench at Love Austin. She didn't

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go to Texas. I'm honestly surprised that Inouye

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is playing libero. It was a little hit and miss

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there for a while. Touching goes. Zoe Jarvis

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was starting over her now and then, but finally

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Inouye is playing. So I'm like, okay, at least

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something's happening. At least I saw a match

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where Carly Lloyd started setting over Brio Riley.

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Tell me when that should happen. There's a lot

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of weird stuff happening in Austin. But anyway,

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they're in fifth. What did you think of the Nebraska

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-Austin match? How is Kettle not playing for

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Nebraska? I don't know. They tried to say that

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the setter has a better connection with the other

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two middles. Trust me, she'd probably have a

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good connection with Cattle. I don't know if

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she's still injured or... That doesn't make any

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sense to me. I mean, Nebraska's winning games

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right now, but Cattle is a very, very good middle.

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And an outstanding blocker. And Nebraska's passing

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well. Like, you can run... I don't know. Can

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we also talk about the fact that Austin started

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out that match serving Jordan Larson? That...

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We talked about the U .S. team at VNL looking

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like they didn't necessarily have a plan, not

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being able to understand what they were trying

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to accomplish. Austin looks the same way to me

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now. I don't know what their plan is. I don't

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know what they're trying to do offensively, defensively.

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Sometimes they're in rhythm. Sometimes they're

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not. It feels messy watching them. And yeah,

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I'm not sure what their like defensive plan is.

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I'm sorry. Dykema is not a particularly consistent

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setter. No. Jordan Larson is in her retirement

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phase of her career. She's not super terminal

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at this point. No, but she is though. Like she's

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scoring a ton of points. She's not like jumping.

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That's my point. Jordan carved. That team to

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pieces. They moved. They weren't in position.

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They weren't reading anything. Like, if you see

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the ball go over Jordan's shoulder and she's

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leaning off the net because the set's not good,

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she has nowhere to go but into position four.

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Or like rolling it into the middle of the court,

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which has scored, I can't even tell you how many

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points. She scored on bad sets consistently against

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them. What are you looking at? What have you

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prepared for? Give Jordan props. The way that

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she's finding ways to score is incredible. But

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guys. The thing is, is that Jordan is no longer

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going to blow you off the ball. Right? You need

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to go. You know what, Jordan? If you're going

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to hit perimeters and you're going to beat us.

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Have at it. You can score those shots. We're

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not going to give you the stuff that you're good

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at because as soon as you move and she sees open

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court, she can hit it. Again, I'm not trying

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to take anything away from Jordan Larson. That's

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just the reality of the situation. And Austin

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was moving consistently, opening things up for

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her. They didn't have a plan. They weren't recognizing

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when the sets were off the net. They weren't

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recognizing when Jordan couldn't swing. It was

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like watching high school volleyball. And Bausch.

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I do like that Bouch is playing over Jaylee Winters

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now. Agreed. Thank you. She's not a player going

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up and hitting just outstanding angles either.

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And, like, why are you serving Jordan? I'll go

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back to it. Serve Ann. Or Lexi. They're not prepared.

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They are not prepared to compete against athletes

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who know what's going on. It's messy. It's not

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disciplined. And there doesn't look like there's

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a plan. This is embarrassing, quite frankly,

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watching them play. Like you and I had this conversation.

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I don't, I didn't have the stats to back it up,

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but the two coaches who have international experience,

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who have coached outside of the USA system have

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brought their teams to the top of love now. And

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I don't think that that is by accident. You look

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at which teams started hot. Remember when we

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were like Sonja Tomasovic not getting rehired?

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I take that back. I'm sorry. She's done a fantastic

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job. They've done a lot better. This is the mark,

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in my opinion, of a good coach. Your teams get

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better as the season goes on. You find your rhythm.

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Again, maybe it's messy at the beginning because

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you're trying to do something the players aren't

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used to or you're trying to put a system in or

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you're trying to build cohesiveness or a culture.

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It has worked for those two teams. They are playing

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better and better as the season goes on. And,

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I mean, Madison has been bad the whole time,

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but Austin started out pretty well, and I don't

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believe they've had any significant injuries,

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and they have gotten worse and worse. They are

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not adjusting to anything that's happening, and

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that is not a good sign because that's your national

00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.960
team staff. Well, similarly, Salt Lake started

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8 -1, and we watched them play Atlanta. They

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looked very bad. Horrible. Very bad. Alexa Gray,

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what was it? She had two kills on 20 swings with

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eight errors. You're hitting negative 300. That

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is hard to do. That is hard to do. Well, she

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wasn't very good. Their passing was in disarray.

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Jordan Poulter did not set well. I don't think

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she set well. She was running all over the court

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on the balls that were actually passed well to

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the net. Her sets were trailing off for the hitters.

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I thought she actually set better from the attack

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line than she did from good passes, but I didn't

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love her back row setting. Casanova was leading

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the hitters enough in the back row. Yeah, it

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was brutal. That's another team that has regressed

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because they had their full starting lineup there.

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Everybody's back. Everybody is back. That'll

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be interesting. Definitely the teams. who are

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at the top, who are playing well, have shifted.

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I think they probably have the best shot to win

00:13:20.389 --> 00:13:23.350
at this point because they're just playing better.

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They're making adjustments. They're doing what

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they're supposed to be doing. Now, I will say,

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I think Atlanta can have their passing broken

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down, but the league doesn't serve super tough

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consistently. So if they can pass, they'll be

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all right. But that, to me, is kind of where

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I see their Achilles heel being. Yeah, you've

00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:47.399
got McKenzie Adams, San Giacomo, and Hanoi. Yes.

00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:53.139
Not the most elite passing lineup there is. Yeah.

00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:58.179
But they look way better than Salt Lake. Yeah.

00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:01.460
Okay. Something else to talk about with Salt

00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:03.419
Lake. They've gotten rid of all their spin serves.

00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:05.960
Yes, they have. They were only float serving.

00:14:06.509 --> 00:14:08.509
That also has to come from the coach because

00:14:08.509 --> 00:14:09.990
you have a couple players. Casanova used to spin

00:14:09.990 --> 00:14:12.490
serve. Ronnie Jones -Perry came in to serve,

00:14:12.690 --> 00:14:16.610
float serve. She's a spin server. Was there anybody

00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:20.529
else? I mean, those are two right off the bat.

00:14:20.649 --> 00:14:23.350
They were all float serving. And not only that,

00:14:23.509 --> 00:14:26.669
they were float serving poorly. They were missing

00:14:26.669 --> 00:14:29.009
serves. They weren't putting a ton of pressure

00:14:29.009 --> 00:14:31.330
on. You need to make Mackenzie Adams pass with

00:14:31.330 --> 00:14:33.169
her forearms, and she was just stepping up and

00:14:33.169 --> 00:14:35.129
passing with her hands. You're letting her off

00:14:35.129 --> 00:14:39.389
the hook. If that's the case. And I was a shock

00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:45.330
to see that. And where is Kosa Paula? She's like

00:14:45.330 --> 00:14:47.629
the only person on the team not playing. All

00:14:47.629 --> 00:14:50.970
right. Italian playoffs. Two matches have been

00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:54.009
played in the women's semifinals. Milano's up

00:14:54.009 --> 00:14:59.490
2 -0 on Scandici. And Corneliano's up 2 -0 on

00:14:59.490 --> 00:15:03.590
Novara. So this is potentially coming to an end

00:15:03.590 --> 00:15:09.440
next match. On the men's side, three of the four

00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:14.279
quarterfinal series are done. Perugia beat Monza

00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:18.259
and Chivita Nova beat Trentino. Three matches

00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:22.059
to zero. Trentino has had a rough season. This

00:15:22.059 --> 00:15:25.019
is not up to their standards. No. I'm trying

00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.480
to think if... I mean, Micheleto's out. They're

00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:31.029
other left side out. We know that. But... still

00:15:31.029 --> 00:15:34.169
as a club and the history and tradition they

00:15:34.169 --> 00:15:36.649
have, it's got to be disappointing. Yeah, I totally

00:15:36.649 --> 00:15:38.710
agree. It's disappointing. I mean, again, you

00:15:38.710 --> 00:15:43.350
lost your first two left sides and passing was

00:15:43.350 --> 00:15:46.070
a real issue for them against Chivitsa Nova,

00:15:46.190 --> 00:15:50.450
but it just didn't seem like they were pushing.

00:15:51.690 --> 00:15:53.850
It almost looked like they were resigned to the

00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:55.669
fact that it was a written off season. I didn't

00:15:55.669 --> 00:15:58.990
think Farr played very well. It's not what you

00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:03.549
would expect from a winning culture, from an

00:16:03.549 --> 00:16:06.990
attitude and fight standpoint. I know they came

00:16:06.990 --> 00:16:09.009
back. I know they pushed a couple sets, but you

00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:11.750
would just expect it to be a little different,

00:16:11.870 --> 00:16:16.029
I think. But again, Mickey Leto is such a good

00:16:16.029 --> 00:16:18.070
player. You've lost your ball control left side

00:16:18.070 --> 00:16:21.649
as well. It's definitely a tough position. Verona

00:16:21.649 --> 00:16:25.850
beat Milano three matches to one and Piacenza

00:16:25.850 --> 00:16:29.450
Modena are heading to a fifth match. So yet to

00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:32.289
be determined the exact matchups, but Verona's

00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:34.769
playing Chivita Nova and then Perugia is waiting

00:16:34.769 --> 00:16:38.429
to see who they play in the semis. And Champions

00:16:38.429 --> 00:16:43.250
League. Women's semifinals are set. Vakif Bank

00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:47.929
is taking on Conigliano and Scandici is playing

00:16:47.929 --> 00:16:51.970
Izazibashi. So, Vacavbank and Milano went five,

00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:56.230
both matches. Obviously, Vacavbank won both of

00:16:56.230 --> 00:17:02.009
them. Zarin Ankara beat Conigliano in five in

00:17:02.009 --> 00:17:05.450
the return match, but Conigliano won the first

00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:07.130
one three straight, so it didn't even matter.

00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:11.250
Reshov beat Izazibashi in five in the away match,

00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:14.170
but they lost the home match in four, so that

00:17:14.170 --> 00:17:17.109
one didn't matter. And then Fenerbahce, Scandici

00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:22.890
went to a golden set. Gandicci won 15 -13 in

00:17:22.890 --> 00:17:27.529
the Golden Set. Full disclosure, we did not watch

00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:29.910
the Champions League matches this week. So we

00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:32.890
are going to go back and watch them because we've

00:17:32.890 --> 00:17:35.589
got a whole month before the Final Four starts.

00:17:35.769 --> 00:17:37.750
So we are going to go back and watch those so

00:17:37.750 --> 00:17:40.009
we can talk about them more in depth next week.

00:17:40.750 --> 00:17:43.490
But that is what's happening on that front. And

00:17:43.490 --> 00:17:48.829
then on the news front. Zarin, Sport, Ankara.

00:17:49.230 --> 00:17:51.630
It was said that they got their financial problems

00:17:51.630 --> 00:17:55.910
under control, but Aleksic and Mihailovic left

00:17:55.910 --> 00:18:01.230
the team during playoffs and went back to Serbia

00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:03.890
because they are still waiting for a whole lot

00:18:03.890 --> 00:18:10.690
of money. So turns out the financial stuff maybe

00:18:10.690 --> 00:18:15.539
isn't resolved. But for players to go home. at

00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.519
the end very end of the season during playoffs

00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:22.660
like that is bold and obviously something is

00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:26.259
going on so i mean you have played with mihailovich

00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:29.900
she doesn't seem like a person who has a ton

00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:34.000
of patience so i'm kind of it seems in line with

00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.619
what i've seen of her but it Kind of means you're

00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:39.859
probably not going to get paid at all. Like,

00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:42.059
why not wait it out? Yeah, interesting to see

00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:44.299
what's going on there and how that ends up playing

00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:46.079
out. And if they're a team next year. Well, Sarah

00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.400
Franklin signed with them. The question that

00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:50.099
I kept getting on messages is like, does this

00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:52.140
mean Sarah Franklin's going to reconsider her

00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:56.640
going there? Who knows? It would definitely make

00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.700
me pause. It would raise some red flags for me,

00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:03.460
too. Absolutely. As we said, lots going on. Been

00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:08.000
a big week. We obviously have some huge mashups

00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:09.720
that we unfortunately were not able to catch.

00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:12.480
So we're going to go back and catch some of those.

00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:15.839
Well, I think it's good that we have a month

00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:18.140
until the women's Final Four. We can kind of

00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:19.900
break down the different series maybe week by

00:19:19.900 --> 00:19:22.339
week and watch the games as a little lead -in.

00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:25.140
Because there aren't other games happening. It's

00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:27.119
fine. But that volleyball is very good. From

00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:30.220
the scores of the matches, it looks like they're

00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:32.619
going to be entertaining to watch, period. As

00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:35.759
we alluded to earlier, the MLV All -Star Game

00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:39.119
is this weekend, and that obviously means that

00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.940
the MLV All -Stars were selected. In taking a

00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:47.119
look, it seems that the players were selected

00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:50.619
through a combination of fan voting, player input,

00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:53.680
not sure what that means, and league selection.

00:19:54.829 --> 00:19:57.910
I'm guessing it's mostly fan voting with some

00:19:57.910 --> 00:20:01.829
veto power for making sure every team gets some

00:20:01.829 --> 00:20:04.410
person or something along those lines. That'd

00:20:04.410 --> 00:20:07.329
be my guess. If you were looking at the volleyball

00:20:07.329 --> 00:20:10.109
landscape, which team do you think would get

00:20:10.109 --> 00:20:12.569
the most pick? My first instinct is who's got

00:20:12.569 --> 00:20:15.170
the biggest fan base, which leads me to Omaha.

00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:18.589
But I think it should be the best team. So to

00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:21.109
me, Indy and Dallas should have the most players.

00:20:21.730 --> 00:20:25.910
Okay, so... Indy does have the most players.

00:20:26.509 --> 00:20:29.710
They have five. They're also super fun to watch,

00:20:29.910 --> 00:20:32.750
which I think is good for fans. Dallas and Orlando

00:20:32.750 --> 00:20:38.289
had four each. Tracks. Omaha had two. Maybe the

00:20:38.289 --> 00:20:40.730
Omaha fans are upset with their team and voted

00:20:40.730 --> 00:20:43.049
for other people. So I was pretty surprised to

00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:46.869
see that they had two because Grand Rapids also

00:20:46.869 --> 00:20:53.640
only had two. Columbus. Only had two, but they're

00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:57.940
at the bottom. Makes sense. But the fact that

00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:01.539
Omaha only has two, I was like, what? So that

00:21:01.539 --> 00:21:04.019
was weird. You would expect a program with that

00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:07.380
much support to get more love. Guess which player

00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:10.740
had the most votes out of anybody. Lexi Rodriguez.

00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:13.640
They're wrong league. No, I know she's in the

00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:15.420
other league. See, I don't even understand why

00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:19.480
Adam's trying to be funny. Brooke and Nana Viller.

00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:24.789
No. Leah Edmond. Adam. I'm so disappointed. I

00:21:24.789 --> 00:21:27.829
have no idea. Elena Scott. Your favorite player

00:21:27.829 --> 00:21:30.309
of all time. And it wasn't even on your radar.

00:21:30.650 --> 00:21:32.890
I didn't think it would get the most votes. Wow.

00:21:32.990 --> 00:21:36.470
Okay. So Elena Scott got the most votes. We all

00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:38.589
know how I feel about all -star games. We talked

00:21:38.589 --> 00:21:41.589
about it last year at this time. Bane of my existence.

00:21:42.109 --> 00:21:45.750
When I was a player, I was like, no, I do not

00:21:45.750 --> 00:21:48.130
want to be in this game. All -star games are

00:21:48.130 --> 00:21:51.690
terrible for players and for people who like

00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:56.230
the sport for the purity of the sport. All -star

00:21:56.230 --> 00:21:58.750
games are great for corporate sponsors and families.

00:21:59.630 --> 00:22:01.589
Families of the players or families who go watch?

00:22:01.670 --> 00:22:04.269
No, families who go watch. The city that is hosting

00:22:04.269 --> 00:22:06.910
the all -star game, it's a ton of fun. It's interactive

00:22:06.910 --> 00:22:10.089
for the fans, for the kids. It's great for that.

00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:12.930
But if you like high -level sports, all -star

00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:15.569
games is not it. How do you feel about the college

00:22:15.569 --> 00:22:20.720
coaches? Who coach these games. I mean. This

00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:23.440
year's Dan Maskey and Beth Launier, by the way.

00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:26.660
Sure. We'll see it on social media, but. Adam

00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:28.839
doesn't rip apart anybody, but Dan Maskey catches

00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:32.180
so many strays from him. Okay. Dan Maskey is

00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:37.279
to Adam as Ellis Wendell is to me. I get it.

00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:40.400
You don't want coaches from your league doing

00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.299
it. I think that's just a little strange and

00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:46.690
you don't really have. Any other high profile

00:22:46.690 --> 00:22:49.390
coaches you can pull in, like the national team

00:22:49.390 --> 00:22:51.029
is coaching in love, so you're not going to bring

00:22:51.029 --> 00:22:54.549
them in. College would be the next biggest names

00:22:54.549 --> 00:22:56.450
in the sport that you would potentially bring

00:22:56.450 --> 00:22:59.109
in. So I'm fine with it. I mean, you see this

00:22:59.109 --> 00:23:01.930
a lot. I'm okay with it. Let's go through the

00:23:01.930 --> 00:23:06.789
list and we can say if there's anybody that we're

00:23:06.789 --> 00:23:10.049
like, why are you here? And anybody that is missing.

00:23:10.549 --> 00:23:13.049
All right, hit me. Okay, so I'll go by position.

00:23:14.760 --> 00:23:18.900
Opposites, we've got Iko Jones, Azani Teeler,

00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:23.579
Raina Terry, and Emily Laundot. I don't love

00:23:23.579 --> 00:23:27.900
the opposites in the league overall. Same. Abercrombie's

00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:31.059
hurt, which makes sense. I would probably have

00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:35.099
picked Kaylee Cox over Emily Laundot. I was thinking

00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:37.579
about Cox, yeah. That would be, I think the other

00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:41.339
three are fine. They've had good seasons. I don't

00:23:41.339 --> 00:23:44.470
know whether this was... Like, Londot didn't

00:23:44.470 --> 00:23:48.009
even start. She took over. And also, is Raina

00:23:48.009 --> 00:23:50.230
Terry even playing opposite? Because let me tell

00:23:50.230 --> 00:23:52.809
you, in fantasy, I have her as an outside. I'm

00:23:52.809 --> 00:23:55.950
not 100 % sure. But I'm sure they have her. I

00:23:55.950 --> 00:23:57.670
mean, I'm sure they have it right here. Okay.

00:23:58.009 --> 00:24:00.710
Yeah, I think that would be the only potential

00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:04.150
switch that I would make. Fair. I also am not

00:24:04.150 --> 00:24:06.950
a fan of the opposites in the league. So, meh.

00:24:07.589 --> 00:24:12.049
Okay, Liberos. Morgan Hentz. Shara Venegas. Elena

00:24:12.049 --> 00:24:15.700
Scott. Theodora Pusich. I'm like, where's Elena

00:24:15.700 --> 00:24:18.279
Ogilvie? That was the one that came to mind as

00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:21.980
well. Who would you replace? I mean, she's had

00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:25.720
a better season than Morgan Hentz. Fair. Honestly,

00:24:25.980 --> 00:24:30.039
like, okay, Venegas, her team isn't very good,

00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:33.480
but, like, she has done well over the last couple

00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:37.579
seasons. Yeah, it is what it is, but I'm just

00:24:37.579 --> 00:24:39.940
saying, like, Ogilvie's had a pretty good season.

00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:43.210
I think statistically she... Earned a spot in

00:24:43.210 --> 00:24:45.789
the All -Star game. But I don't know who you

00:24:45.789 --> 00:24:48.390
replace with that. Given fan votes and everything

00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:56.190
else. Setters. We've got Mia Tuoniga. Adams.

00:24:56.549 --> 00:25:02.390
Fantasy. Setter. Trumpu. Natalia Valentine Anderson.

00:25:02.730 --> 00:25:06.609
And Marley Monserez. I think Sydney Hilly is

00:25:06.609 --> 00:25:09.009
one of the best setters in the league. I'm surprised

00:25:09.009 --> 00:25:12.839
she's not on this list. Same. I would replace

00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:15.019
Marley Monserez, as everybody probably could

00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:17.759
guess. Yeah, that's probably the switch I make

00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:20.700
too. And just, I thought she was a fan favorite

00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:24.019
in Omaha. Well, Omaha clearly didn't show up

00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:26.700
because only two of their players got picked.

00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:29.400
And Emily Landau was one of them. She's not one

00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:30.519
of the ones that I thought would get picked.

00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:34.380
No, definitely not. So I'm a little confused

00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:36.140
about that. So who is missing for me from this?

00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:37.920
And I'm trying to do this from like objectively

00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:40.259
who's had good seasons and statistically is playing

00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:43.619
well. Not kind of my favorite, but I think Sidney

00:25:43.619 --> 00:25:45.019
Hill is probably one of the better setters in

00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:48.920
the league. So that was surprising to me. Middle

00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:52.700
blockers, Reagan, Pittman, Nelson, Lydia Martin,

00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:57.460
Kaz Brown, Lane Van Buskirk, Blake Moeller, Maren

00:25:57.460 --> 00:26:02.039
Grote. I think those are solid choices. I'm not

00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:04.940
sure I would replace anyone, but I think that

00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:08.559
Ramat Alhassan has had a really good season.

00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:13.539
So I think that. She could have been on that

00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:15.579
list and I would have been okay with it as well.

00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:17.980
But she was the one that came to mind as was

00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:20.359
potentially left off or just missed the cut.

00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:23.140
Like this list for me, I'm okay with it. This

00:26:23.140 --> 00:26:25.940
has been the best so far, I think. Yeah. And

00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:30.039
then finally, outsides, we've got Mimi Collier,

00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:34.539
Paige Briggs -Romine, Brooke Nunneviller, Leah

00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:38.160
Edmond, Sofia Maldonado -Diaz, Charity Looper.

00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:42.349
Key names missing for me would be Lector Member

00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:48.230
Mena. Yeah. And Carly Snyder. Also. I'm wondering

00:26:48.230 --> 00:26:50.289
if Lector Member Mena was left off just because

00:26:50.289 --> 00:26:54.750
Indy had so many players that were already selected.

00:26:55.490 --> 00:26:58.049
I don't know how you leave her off the list.

00:26:58.109 --> 00:27:00.490
I'm not sure. I think she's probably one of their

00:27:00.490 --> 00:27:02.289
best players, if not their best player. One of

00:27:02.289 --> 00:27:03.869
the better players in the whole league. Yeah.

00:27:03.890 --> 00:27:06.430
For sure. Maybe she's nursing an injury. Like

00:27:06.430 --> 00:27:09.700
maybe she decided not. I'm just I'm shocked that

00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:13.099
she is not there. Yeah. And then Carly Snyder,

00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:15.079
I think, is having a really good season. They

00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:18.039
did take breaks from that team, though. True.

00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:20.559
Who is having a good season? Grand Rapids and

00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:24.079
overall is not. I mean, you can make a case for

00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.119
all the outsides who were picked, but I could

00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:31.299
also make a case for those ones, too. You know

00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:35.700
what I mean? It's like. So, I mean. Again, it

00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:37.940
is what it is. We don't know. I'm sure some people

00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:40.660
decided not to go. I'm nursing an injury. I don't

00:27:40.660 --> 00:27:42.400
want to travel. I wonder if you can choose not

00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:44.599
to go. I'm sure you need a medical reason. Maybe

00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:46.240
that's the player input thing. Yeah. But those

00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:48.700
would be, looking at that list, just kind of

00:27:48.700 --> 00:27:50.220
off the top of my head, those would be the players

00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:53.259
that I thought could have, should have been in

00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:55.759
the running or I wouldn't have batted an eye

00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:58.299
if they had been on the list. So do you think

00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:02.799
the list is outrageous? Do you think it's about

00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.460
what we expected? I think it's pretty close.

00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:07.119
I don't think it's outrageous. There's nobody

00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:10.220
on that list who sticks out as not belonging.

00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:14.119
Yeah. There's a couple on the edges, but that's

00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:16.779
going to happen in an all -star game. We'll watch

00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:18.640
the all -star game. I'm curious to see how it

00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:20.339
actually happens. I'm curious to see what the

00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:23.180
compete level is, but we'll follow up with this

00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:26.000
next week as to what the atmosphere was like,

00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:28.819
what the competition was like, see who actually

00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:33.069
played. I'm hoping it's a fun event. But I think

00:28:33.069 --> 00:28:35.369
very rarely all -star games are done really well.

00:28:35.730 --> 00:28:42.089
It's time for our game. Great. I'm nervous again.

00:28:42.390 --> 00:28:47.369
So this game is called fraudulent or for real.

00:28:47.589 --> 00:28:50.450
Adam loves an alliteration. I think it's pretty

00:28:50.450 --> 00:28:51.710
much mandatory when you're naming something.

00:28:52.009 --> 00:28:56.289
So I'm going to give you a couple streaks that

00:28:56.289 --> 00:29:00.920
are currently happening in volleyball. I want

00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:05.099
you to tell me whether you think the streak is

00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:09.579
fraudulent and will be reversed or whether you

00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:12.480
think the streak is for real and this is what

00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:15.180
the team actually is. So most of them have to

00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:17.700
do with teams that have kind of flip -flopped,

00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:19.599
whether they've been winning, going to losing,

00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:22.180
or vice versa. And I want your opinion on kind

00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:24.160
of where they're at and what we can expect to

00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:26.779
see. So we talked about this a little bit, but

00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:35.390
since February 21st, Salt Lake City is 1 -7 after

00:29:35.390 --> 00:29:40.789
having a commanding lead in love. Poulter's played

00:29:40.789 --> 00:29:44.549
in half those sets, and Alexa Gray has played

00:29:44.549 --> 00:29:47.549
in all of those sets in some way, shape, or form.

00:29:47.630 --> 00:29:51.349
So this is not a case of missing players. They

00:29:51.349 --> 00:29:53.589
might not be healthy, but they have been playing.

00:29:54.910 --> 00:29:57.829
Where's your head at with Salt Lake and how they

00:29:57.829 --> 00:30:02.049
finish the season? So to go with the naming convention

00:30:02.049 --> 00:30:05.230
of this game, I'm going to say that this streak

00:30:05.230 --> 00:30:10.710
is for real. I think I was high on Salt Lake

00:30:10.710 --> 00:30:11.809
at the beginning of the year. I thought they

00:30:11.809 --> 00:30:15.849
looked so good. But this decline and just like

00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:19.529
the certain changes we've seen from like serving

00:30:19.529 --> 00:30:24.609
tactics, demeanor on the court. decision -making,

00:30:24.750 --> 00:30:29.250
who's playing, who's not. I feel like this slide

00:30:29.250 --> 00:30:35.470
is showing who this team is. I tend to agree

00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:39.190
with you. It's not just one thing. The passing

00:30:39.190 --> 00:30:41.789
didn't look good. The serving was not great.

00:30:42.069 --> 00:30:45.109
Jordan Poulter doesn't look like herself. There's

00:30:45.109 --> 00:30:49.390
just too many things going on to, I think, fix

00:30:49.390 --> 00:30:53.009
it right away. I agree with you. I think this

00:30:53.009 --> 00:30:54.250
is for real. I think they're going to have to

00:30:54.250 --> 00:30:59.490
hang on to a playoff spot. Okay. Also, from Love,

00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:01.789
flipping in the other direction, in the last

00:31:01.789 --> 00:31:07.750
nine games, Austin is 2 -7 after getting out

00:31:07.750 --> 00:31:10.650
to a pretty good start at the beginning of the

00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:14.230
season. They don't have any major injuries. There's

00:31:14.230 --> 00:31:17.809
nothing discernible that you can kind of put

00:31:17.809 --> 00:31:20.799
your finger on. Do you think they're the first

00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:24.059
half of the season team, or do you think this

00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:26.539
is how they're going to finish? I'm going to

00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:28.960
also say for real, because watching them play

00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:33.220
from a technical perspective, like you said,

00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:39.420
it's not anything glaring. I think it's a tactical

00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:42.960
type of thing. Like, Brie O 'Reilly has a good

00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:44.960
connection with the middles. She has a pretty

00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:48.700
good connection with Eggleston. I don't think

00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:50.700
that she has a good connection with Skinner at

00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:57.519
all. Does anyone? I don't know. It's just like

00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:01.420
something's missing. It's just not it for me.

00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:06.819
And yeah, it's not like I watch it. It just seems

00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:09.660
like a tactical thing. I don't know. It's like,

00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:11.900
I can't even put my finger on it, but I kind

00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:14.240
of feel like it's a, this is just the team. This

00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:17.579
is how the team is. I also have a hard time articulating

00:32:17.579 --> 00:32:21.119
what's going on with them. It seems like they're

00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:25.079
moving in a direction at a decent pace. You just

00:32:25.079 --> 00:32:27.079
don't know what direction that is. Sometimes

00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:30.299
one player will be playing well, it'll come together,

00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:32.480
and then it's three head -scratching moments

00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:35.319
in a row, and then they'll just do something,

00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:37.579
like you said, tactically that leaves you wondering

00:32:37.579 --> 00:32:40.700
what the plan is. I think they probably have

00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:42.680
a... Better chance of getting it on the rails

00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:45.119
than Salt Lake, but I'm still not high on that

00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:49.859
happening. Okay. Omaha has won their last three

00:32:49.859 --> 00:32:54.779
matches after losing six in a row. They have

00:32:54.779 --> 00:32:57.019
beaten... They lost six in a row. They lost six

00:32:57.019 --> 00:33:01.140
in a row. MLB? Yes. Their last three games, they

00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:05.839
have beaten Columbus, Indy, and Grand Rapids.

00:33:06.910 --> 00:33:09.730
Have they figured it out, and is their three

00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:13.750
-game win streak for real? Fraudulent. You beat

00:33:13.750 --> 00:33:17.230
the two worst teams in the league. Granted, the

00:33:17.230 --> 00:33:21.509
Indy match was a huge win, but I don't know.

00:33:21.589 --> 00:33:24.309
I'm not buying it. They've been all over the

00:33:24.309 --> 00:33:28.109
map this season. They just, something's off with

00:33:28.109 --> 00:33:32.549
them. I don't know. I'm not buying it. I think

00:33:32.549 --> 00:33:34.190
they're going to continue to see -saw the whole

00:33:34.190 --> 00:33:36.329
rest of the way. Yeah, I mean, it's great that

00:33:36.329 --> 00:33:38.410
you've won three games in a row. Indy was going

00:33:38.410 --> 00:33:41.269
to eventually lose to someone, but you need to

00:33:41.269 --> 00:33:43.190
beat some good teams. Like, I want to see you

00:33:43.190 --> 00:33:47.890
beat Atlanta or Orlando or Dallas before I'm

00:33:47.890 --> 00:33:50.490
on board with... Or when, like, beat two of those

00:33:50.490 --> 00:33:53.509
teams in a row. Yeah. And then I might start

00:33:53.509 --> 00:33:58.809
changing my mind. You've just seen too much inconsistency

00:33:58.809 --> 00:34:04.329
to believe that right now. Trevitsynova is...

00:34:04.670 --> 00:34:09.769
Six and one in their last seven matches. Are

00:34:09.769 --> 00:34:14.090
they the real deal? Or are they going to wash

00:34:14.090 --> 00:34:17.829
out in the semis? I'm going to say for real.

00:34:18.630 --> 00:34:22.230
They are playing Verona, who is like, I don't

00:34:22.230 --> 00:34:25.429
know, the little brother for me of the Italian

00:34:25.429 --> 00:34:30.340
League. A little more free spirited, fun loving,

00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:35.400
goofy. Like it's a different vibe of team. But

00:34:35.400 --> 00:34:38.440
Chivita Nova, I don't know, they've got some

00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:44.000
like dogs. You know what I mean? Nikolov is impressive.

00:34:44.579 --> 00:34:50.039
He's playing so well. They're like, Chivita Nova

00:34:50.039 --> 00:34:52.139
is also a young team, but they're just like.

00:34:53.369 --> 00:34:56.730
Not like the fun -loving young team. They're

00:34:56.730 --> 00:35:00.190
the young team who are like, no, we are going

00:35:00.190 --> 00:35:04.010
to show you all that we deserve to be here. You

00:35:04.010 --> 00:35:06.929
know what I mean? They're out to earn some respect.

00:35:07.929 --> 00:35:11.809
So I think it's for real. They're still alive

00:35:11.809 --> 00:35:14.050
in Champions League. They're in the semifinals

00:35:14.050 --> 00:35:17.949
of the Italian League. I think it's real. Yeah,

00:35:17.969 --> 00:35:20.769
watching them play and beat Trentino in the way

00:35:20.769 --> 00:35:24.170
that they did. Even if they don't win, I think

00:35:24.170 --> 00:35:27.949
they're for real. The matches they play, they're

00:35:27.949 --> 00:35:31.250
fighting. They want to win. They're clicking

00:35:31.250 --> 00:35:35.210
on all cylinders. I think they're for real. All

00:35:35.210 --> 00:35:37.269
right, and our last one. I have a little smile

00:35:37.269 --> 00:35:38.710
on my face because I know how you feel about

00:35:38.710 --> 00:35:43.630
these guys. Stanford is on a six -game win streak.

00:35:44.190 --> 00:35:47.190
Yeah, who have they played though? She didn't

00:35:47.190 --> 00:35:50.809
even let me finish. So they beat Concordia twice.

00:35:51.440 --> 00:35:54.780
They beat St. Francis University twice, but they

00:35:54.780 --> 00:36:00.539
did just beat BYU twice. Yeah. I have a feeling

00:36:00.539 --> 00:36:04.199
they're playing UCLA. They have UCLA, and I believe

00:36:04.199 --> 00:36:06.480
they have one other top -tier school. Rodulent.

00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:10.340
I had high hopes for Stanford going into this

00:36:10.340 --> 00:36:14.920
season, but all season long until BYU, it was

00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:18.480
exactly what we were seeing. They could not buy

00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:22.650
a win against a... top ranked team or a decently

00:36:22.650 --> 00:36:25.190
ranked team they've they've done what they needed

00:36:25.190 --> 00:36:30.369
to do against unranked teams but you like you

00:36:30.369 --> 00:36:34.909
need to BYU I think was the exception I don't

00:36:34.909 --> 00:36:38.250
I think this streak is going to come to an abrupt

00:36:38.250 --> 00:36:42.170
halt definitely they play UCLA they're not going

00:36:42.170 --> 00:36:44.409
to win that game I in fact I would imagine they're

00:36:44.409 --> 00:36:47.150
going to lose 3 -0 3 -0 I believe they play another

00:36:47.150 --> 00:36:50.690
top team after that and then they have a gimme

00:36:50.690 --> 00:36:53.510
match after that before the playoffs. So they're

00:36:53.510 --> 00:36:57.650
probably going to go two and six, one and seven

00:36:57.650 --> 00:37:02.489
in those matches. So I fraudulent as well. Well,

00:37:02.570 --> 00:37:04.670
that was fraudulent or for real. I actually,

00:37:04.690 --> 00:37:06.869
how long did it take you to find these streaks?

00:37:07.489 --> 00:37:13.070
I had to dig. I had to do a little digging, but

00:37:13.070 --> 00:37:16.590
I kind of liked the game. So we love an alliteration.

00:37:16.630 --> 00:37:20.090
That's like, everyone's going to, I feel like

00:37:20.090 --> 00:37:22.289
people are going to have something to say. About

00:37:22.289 --> 00:37:25.050
which part? All the ones who are on a like, I

00:37:25.050 --> 00:37:27.989
don't know. I feel like I was not positive for

00:37:27.989 --> 00:37:30.630
anybody except Chibi Tanova. I mean, if you're

00:37:30.630 --> 00:37:32.309
going to swing your fortunes, you have to be

00:37:32.309 --> 00:37:34.210
good teams and you have to look consistent. And

00:37:34.210 --> 00:37:36.250
I'm not sure any of those teams are. And quite

00:37:36.250 --> 00:37:37.949
frankly, there were more losing streaks than

00:37:37.949 --> 00:37:41.369
winning streaks happening. It will be curious

00:37:41.369 --> 00:37:45.989
to see. Particularly, I think Omaha is the one

00:37:45.989 --> 00:37:48.690
I'm most interested. to watch because you had

00:37:48.690 --> 00:37:52.429
such high expectations you kept waiting out of

00:37:52.429 --> 00:37:56.469
the teams that are in the U .S. leagues who need

00:37:56.469 --> 00:37:59.230
to keep their streaks going like Salt Lake needs

00:37:59.230 --> 00:38:02.510
to win Austin needs to win I think Omaha has

00:38:02.510 --> 00:38:06.469
the best chance of keeping their win streak going

00:38:06.469 --> 00:38:09.789
and finishing strong I would say over Austin

00:38:09.789 --> 00:38:14.170
or Salt Lake dang we'll see I don't know I don't

00:38:14.170 --> 00:38:17.829
know I don't buy it. I'm not buying a lot these

00:38:17.829 --> 00:38:21.710
days, apparently. But this is what makes the

00:38:21.710 --> 00:38:24.349
run into the playoffs so interesting. The games

00:38:24.349 --> 00:38:28.789
matter now. Austin could catch Salt Lake. For

00:38:28.789 --> 00:38:31.650
me, love will be interesting for the last three

00:38:31.650 --> 00:38:34.250
weeks. Who is going to fight? Who's going to

00:38:34.250 --> 00:38:35.969
squeak in? Is Austin going to win some games?

00:38:36.090 --> 00:38:38.469
Is Salt Lake going to keep plummeting? There's

00:38:38.469 --> 00:38:40.670
actually some storylines and some intrigue to

00:38:40.670 --> 00:38:42.070
follow now. And not everybody makes playoffs

00:38:42.070 --> 00:38:44.530
this year, thankfully. Which is fantastic. I

00:38:44.530 --> 00:38:47.289
do think Love has made a couple good changes

00:38:47.289 --> 00:38:50.389
to the league to make these matches mean something.

00:38:50.469 --> 00:38:51.869
You know what else I'm going to say about Love?

00:38:52.349 --> 00:38:57.349
I am so happy that they don't say best in the

00:38:57.349 --> 00:39:01.010
world every other sentence this year. Correct.

00:39:01.150 --> 00:39:04.010
They've done a much better job with the announcing

00:39:04.010 --> 00:39:08.820
of the matches. If only some North American broadcasts

00:39:08.820 --> 00:39:11.460
would show the end court view, I'd be happy.

00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:14.739
All right, let's dive into some listener questions.

00:39:15.019 --> 00:39:18.619
We've got a whole bunch today. Let's go. So question

00:39:18.619 --> 00:39:20.360
one, who do you think are the contenders for

00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:25.519
Liberos for 2026 VNL? I assume Hentz and Rodriguez.

00:39:26.139 --> 00:39:29.139
But do you think Maya Sands, Elena Scott, or

00:39:29.139 --> 00:39:32.239
Elena Ogilvie all have the potential of being

00:39:32.239 --> 00:39:36.739
invited? Is Zoe Fleck slash Jarvis still an option

00:39:36.739 --> 00:39:39.360
or has she not progressed enough? I think the

00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:42.539
first two will be she wins to get a shot. And

00:39:42.539 --> 00:39:45.920
has had the worst season. I mean, I think she'll

00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:47.840
still get a chance. I think those two are still.

00:39:48.019 --> 00:39:49.679
She has not been playing well. But those two

00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:52.039
are. She's improved since leaving Omaha. Still

00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:54.519
going to be the front runners for VNL. I think

00:39:54.519 --> 00:39:59.110
Zoe has played herself off personally. Yeah,

00:39:59.150 --> 00:40:01.090
I thought that before last season too, though.

00:40:01.250 --> 00:40:03.210
Well, yeah, but she got some opportunities and

00:40:03.210 --> 00:40:06.769
she didn't perform. If I'm a USA coach, I'm looking

00:40:06.769 --> 00:40:09.610
at that going, okay, I saw what I needed to saw.

00:40:09.730 --> 00:40:11.289
I want to give somebody else a chance and see.

00:40:11.369 --> 00:40:13.989
I've seen what I needed to see. Yeah. Potentially

00:40:13.989 --> 00:40:17.429
Elena Scott, potentially Ogilvy could get a shot.

00:40:17.750 --> 00:40:20.210
Maya Sands, I don't think so. No, I don't think

00:40:20.210 --> 00:40:23.710
so either. So I think one of those two will be

00:40:23.710 --> 00:40:26.280
added to the roster, whether or not. They get

00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:28.639
a chance to play VNL. I'm not sure, but I think

00:40:28.639 --> 00:40:31.880
they'll be on the wide roster. Agreed. I mean,

00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:35.159
somebody like tell us, but I like kind of heard

00:40:35.159 --> 00:40:38.820
last season that Elena Scott said no to national

00:40:38.820 --> 00:40:42.199
team. But then I also heard that she wasn't invited.

00:40:42.440 --> 00:40:44.539
So I'm like, those are two very different things.

00:40:45.320 --> 00:40:49.440
Which one is true? If she wasn't invited last

00:40:49.440 --> 00:40:52.469
season. I think she's made a case for herself

00:40:52.469 --> 00:40:55.650
for sure to be picked. If she wasn't invited

00:40:55.650 --> 00:40:58.750
to me, that was a, we're choosing Zoe over you.

00:40:58.909 --> 00:41:01.949
Now Zoe's gone, but you have to have three liberos

00:41:01.949 --> 00:41:05.250
at minimum three liberos on the wide roster in

00:41:05.250 --> 00:41:07.010
case somebody gets hurt. You're either going

00:41:07.010 --> 00:41:10.449
to have three or four. I think Elena Scott after

00:41:10.449 --> 00:41:12.869
those other two is probably my first call up.

00:41:13.389 --> 00:41:15.510
I would put Elena Scott over Morgan Hentz right

00:41:15.510 --> 00:41:18.510
now, honestly. Elena Ogilvie has made a case

00:41:18.510 --> 00:41:20.929
for herself. Agreed. After the season she's had

00:41:20.929 --> 00:41:25.570
in MLV. But also, would I be shocked if they

00:41:25.570 --> 00:41:31.889
hold up Roseno again? No. I feel like the love

00:41:31.889 --> 00:41:37.480
athletes definitely get priority. And so, yeah,

00:41:37.539 --> 00:41:40.340
I wouldn't be shocked if Briseño, I wouldn't

00:41:40.340 --> 00:41:42.800
be shocked, honestly, if they even put Grimes

00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:45.139
ahead of them because now she's playing for Madison.

00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:49.380
I just think that it's. If that happens, it's

00:41:49.380 --> 00:41:51.519
a case of them not doing their full homework.

00:41:51.639 --> 00:41:53.820
The whole staff is playing. Or just like being

00:41:53.820 --> 00:41:56.699
prejudiced against MLB. I mean, maybe. And like

00:41:56.699 --> 00:41:59.159
the perceived level of that league, I would say.

00:41:59.500 --> 00:42:02.960
I honestly. Even though I think Ogilvy has made

00:42:02.960 --> 00:42:05.320
a case for herself and that Elena Scott has made

00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:08.579
a case for herself, I think that they will prioritize

00:42:08.579 --> 00:42:13.679
Briseño because she's playing love. Whether it's

00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:16.699
deserved or not, it is what it is. But I think

00:42:16.699 --> 00:42:18.380
Hentz will get a chance because she's been in

00:42:18.380 --> 00:42:22.300
the program. But that is just my intuition. Question

00:42:22.300 --> 00:42:25.280
two, I would like to hear more about how NCAA

00:42:25.280 --> 00:42:28.800
athletes and pro athletes train. What was training

00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:32.059
like when Sarah was at Nebraska? It was forever

00:42:32.059 --> 00:42:35.360
ago. How did she manage the jump to pros? What

00:42:35.360 --> 00:42:38.079
were her strategies to maximize performance and

00:42:38.079 --> 00:42:41.280
minimize injury? Does it seem like the current

00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:43.900
NCAA teams are emphasizing or investing in strength

00:42:43.900 --> 00:42:47.239
training more than in years past? Does NIL money

00:42:47.239 --> 00:42:49.679
allow NCAA athletes to train more like pros?

00:42:50.710 --> 00:42:54.730
First of all, I played a long time ago in college,

00:42:54.789 --> 00:42:57.789
but I will say Nebraska was definitely ahead

00:42:57.789 --> 00:43:02.429
of its time for strength and conditioning, which

00:43:02.429 --> 00:43:06.510
was a big draw for me of why I chose to go there.

00:43:06.650 --> 00:43:13.190
For us, in my experience, in season, we trained.

00:43:13.789 --> 00:43:17.760
We had games Wednesdays and Saturdays. We trained

00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:20.659
every other day, like three hours a day. We had

00:43:20.659 --> 00:43:24.079
one day off a week, two days a week. We were

00:43:24.079 --> 00:43:29.840
also lifting in the off season from January till

00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:33.260
March. We did conditioning, strength and conditioning

00:43:33.260 --> 00:43:37.500
for mornings a week. And we also did the same

00:43:37.500 --> 00:43:40.579
thing in the summer. So all of us always stayed

00:43:40.579 --> 00:43:44.940
in the summer. We took summer classes and did

00:43:44.940 --> 00:43:47.030
strength and conditioning. to prepare for the

00:43:47.030 --> 00:43:56.110
season I honestly think that a strong emphasis

00:43:56.110 --> 00:43:59.929
on strength and conditioning and recovery whether

00:43:59.929 --> 00:44:05.409
it's stretching or yoga or recovery stationary

00:44:05.409 --> 00:44:10.610
bike whatever I think is a huge reason why I

00:44:10.610 --> 00:44:17.250
had such a long career I spent a ton of time

00:44:17.250 --> 00:44:21.449
taking care of my body and really, really prioritized

00:44:21.449 --> 00:44:25.110
strength and conditioning, my band exercises,

00:44:25.469 --> 00:44:31.170
my warmups. Like I showed up at practice so early

00:44:31.170 --> 00:44:35.409
to just like go through all my band work for

00:44:35.409 --> 00:44:39.949
my hips, for my shoulders, for everything. So

00:44:39.949 --> 00:44:46.239
it is tedious. It is boring. It's not fun. But

00:44:46.239 --> 00:44:49.940
I will say I probably spent as much, if not more

00:44:49.940 --> 00:44:54.480
time taking care of myself outside of practice

00:44:54.480 --> 00:44:57.519
time than I did in. And that includes like body

00:44:57.519 --> 00:45:02.880
work, chiropractic, massage, you name it. And

00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:04.800
this is one of the things that I was going to

00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:08.280
bring up is your health and how you play. Again,

00:45:08.360 --> 00:45:09.900
sometimes there are freak injuries. Sometimes

00:45:09.900 --> 00:45:13.150
there are bodies that just break down. That happens.

00:45:13.489 --> 00:45:17.030
But I think for the most part, whether you stay

00:45:17.030 --> 00:45:20.150
healthy or not is about consistency and how diligent

00:45:20.150 --> 00:45:23.409
you are when you're not injured. This is one

00:45:23.409 --> 00:45:24.929
of the most common things I see with athletes

00:45:24.929 --> 00:45:27.309
is they're very good with rehab when they're

00:45:27.309 --> 00:45:28.969
coming back from injury, but then they don't

00:45:28.969 --> 00:45:31.670
do anything when they're quote unquote healthy.

00:45:31.869 --> 00:45:34.309
That's just about your own personal discipline.

00:45:34.469 --> 00:45:37.440
It's about knowing your body. It's about. understanding

00:45:37.440 --> 00:45:39.820
what you have to do to stay healthy. It's about

00:45:39.820 --> 00:45:42.559
grinding it out. And sometimes that's tough in

00:45:42.559 --> 00:45:44.380
college when you're doing classes and everything

00:45:44.380 --> 00:45:48.039
else, but definitely as a pro, it's a non -negotiable

00:45:48.039 --> 00:45:50.159
if you want to have a long career. And I think

00:45:50.159 --> 00:45:51.639
it's something you did really well. And that

00:45:51.639 --> 00:45:54.380
includes eating well, sleeping eight hours a

00:45:54.380 --> 00:45:57.400
night, making sacrifices and prioritizing those

00:45:57.400 --> 00:45:59.679
things, which, you know, we've talked about before,

00:45:59.860 --> 00:46:01.880
but you were always very disciplined with that.

00:46:02.380 --> 00:46:05.039
But I will say like in college, you're young,

00:46:05.179 --> 00:46:07.840
you are, I mean, at least when I went to school,

00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:10.539
it was like very much about education. And obviously

00:46:10.539 --> 00:46:14.320
times have changed. When you're young, it is

00:46:14.320 --> 00:46:18.980
very much program and coach driven. So like our

00:46:18.980 --> 00:46:21.739
whole team did strength and conditioning in the

00:46:21.739 --> 00:46:24.380
off season. Our whole team stayed in the summer.

00:46:24.559 --> 00:46:27.860
We had to go to strength and conditioning in

00:46:27.860 --> 00:46:30.699
season on this day and this day. When you go

00:46:30.699 --> 00:46:35.019
to the pro level, it's like nobody's babysitting

00:46:35.019 --> 00:46:39.789
you. It's up to you. And the way I always viewed

00:46:39.789 --> 00:46:44.489
it is like, this is my job. I am being paid to

00:46:44.489 --> 00:46:48.809
be as prepared as possible to perform at my best.

00:46:48.909 --> 00:46:52.949
And nobody is going to make sure I'm doing it.

00:46:52.989 --> 00:46:58.130
So it's on me because like my body is my job

00:46:58.130 --> 00:47:00.670
and how I make money. So it is, I have to like

00:47:00.670 --> 00:47:04.530
hone that tool. And I truly believe that like,

00:47:05.289 --> 00:47:09.710
You need to invest in your career. And that is

00:47:09.710 --> 00:47:12.090
an investment of time. That's an investment of

00:47:12.090 --> 00:47:15.750
money. That's, you know, because your body is

00:47:15.750 --> 00:47:18.289
your tool. And I really believe that you need

00:47:18.289 --> 00:47:20.670
to invest in it, especially at the pro level

00:47:20.670 --> 00:47:23.989
when you can only depend on yourself. NIL, do

00:47:23.989 --> 00:47:27.230
I think that it impacts things? I really do think

00:47:27.230 --> 00:47:31.789
that it is still program driven despite NIL money.

00:47:32.230 --> 00:47:35.849
I mean, I can't speak to it because. exact knowledge

00:47:35.849 --> 00:47:38.610
but my interpretation would be that these things

00:47:38.610 --> 00:47:41.550
are still very much program driven and not athlete

00:47:41.550 --> 00:47:44.530
driven to me that's the time in your life where

00:47:44.530 --> 00:47:46.710
you're learning what your habit should be like

00:47:46.710 --> 00:47:49.010
this doesn't happen as much anymore a lot of

00:47:49.010 --> 00:47:51.150
the kids coming into university have strength

00:47:51.150 --> 00:47:54.090
coaches their club is is lifting and doing those

00:47:54.090 --> 00:47:56.909
kind of things but you're learning your body

00:47:56.909 --> 00:47:59.650
you're understanding what a college season grind

00:47:59.650 --> 00:48:03.099
looks like what you need to do There's a lot

00:48:03.099 --> 00:48:05.719
or should be a lot of education around staying

00:48:05.719 --> 00:48:08.800
healthy in college so that you're prepared and

00:48:08.800 --> 00:48:11.360
you have the knowledge to make your own decisions

00:48:11.360 --> 00:48:15.219
when and if you choose to play pro. Okay, question

00:48:15.219 --> 00:48:19.320
three. This one's for you. Because we know that

00:48:19.320 --> 00:48:23.860
Adam did watch Chivita Nova Trentino this week.

00:48:23.980 --> 00:48:27.800
So I'm curious to know what Adam's opinions are

00:48:27.800 --> 00:48:32.260
on Chivita Nova's three outside system. Okay,

00:48:32.280 --> 00:48:34.500
because we were talking about how this question

00:48:34.500 --> 00:48:38.300
came in weeks ago, but I feel like we haven't

00:48:38.300 --> 00:48:40.219
had a chance to watch Chivita Nova, but Adam

00:48:40.219 --> 00:48:43.559
finally did. So we were talking about how so

00:48:43.559 --> 00:48:46.280
many teams have two distinct outsides, one very

00:48:46.280 --> 00:48:49.300
clear right side, but Chivita Nova plays the

00:48:49.300 --> 00:48:52.420
three. So anyways, that's the background. Watching

00:48:52.420 --> 00:48:55.820
them was actually outstanding. I had a ton of

00:48:55.820 --> 00:49:00.150
fun. watching. Sometimes they had Nikolov not

00:49:00.150 --> 00:49:03.449
passing. Sometimes he was in all of their hitters.

00:49:03.550 --> 00:49:06.989
I mean, let's be honest. If you have a person

00:49:06.989 --> 00:49:09.289
who can terminate on the right side and pass,

00:49:09.530 --> 00:49:12.650
it's a bonus. It just gives you so much flexibility

00:49:12.650 --> 00:49:15.090
in terms of how you can line up, how you can

00:49:15.090 --> 00:49:17.670
set up your serve receive against different servers,

00:49:17.849 --> 00:49:19.429
depending on what angles they're coming from,

00:49:19.489 --> 00:49:21.190
depending on which way the ball curves, depending

00:49:21.190 --> 00:49:24.909
on who you want to hit out of the back row. And

00:49:24.909 --> 00:49:28.670
I thought, They used it incredibly well. I think

00:49:28.670 --> 00:49:31.969
it's definitely a luxury to have two of three

00:49:31.969 --> 00:49:34.610
outside hitters who are both terminal and can

00:49:34.610 --> 00:49:37.989
pass. Great roster construction. And I thought

00:49:37.989 --> 00:49:39.969
Nikolov was great in the matches that I watched,

00:49:40.070 --> 00:49:42.090
as were the other outside hitters for them. But

00:49:42.090 --> 00:49:45.969
I do think Chivita Nova does a really good job

00:49:45.969 --> 00:49:49.449
utilizing their personnel, specifically in that

00:49:49.449 --> 00:49:52.510
three outside hitter configuration they have

00:49:52.510 --> 00:49:56.659
going on. Okay, question four. What do you think

00:49:56.659 --> 00:50:01.500
about UCLA's new women's coach? If you missed

00:50:01.500 --> 00:50:06.780
recent episodes, Alfie Reff has moved on to be

00:50:06.780 --> 00:50:10.039
the head coach of the new Love San Francisco

00:50:10.039 --> 00:50:13.559
team. So there was a vacancy, which has been

00:50:13.559 --> 00:50:18.300
filled by Matt Worley, which if you want to wind

00:50:18.300 --> 00:50:22.619
it back to last year, was the head coach of...

00:50:22.960 --> 00:50:27.880
Grand Canyon men volleyball. He left them halfway

00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:30.539
through the season to go be the assistant coach

00:50:30.539 --> 00:50:36.139
for Kansas women's volleyball. And now he was

00:50:36.139 --> 00:50:39.039
named the head coach of UCLA women. He also brought

00:50:39.039 --> 00:50:44.340
over Brian Delamico, who he kind of screwed over

00:50:44.340 --> 00:50:49.420
and left the head coaching job to NGCU. So it's

00:50:49.420 --> 00:50:52.440
a big mess. That's what's happening. I don't.

00:50:52.860 --> 00:50:56.900
So he was successful at GCU, ran a good program,

00:50:57.139 --> 00:51:00.159
was very good there, so knows obviously how to

00:51:00.159 --> 00:51:03.519
run a program. Do you know if he's ever coached

00:51:03.519 --> 00:51:06.519
women before? Kansas. Kansas had their worst

00:51:06.519 --> 00:51:08.840
season historically, I think, in a very long

00:51:08.840 --> 00:51:15.139
time. They didn't do horrendous, but they lost

00:51:15.139 --> 00:51:18.380
a lot of Big 12 games. A lot of players left

00:51:18.380 --> 00:51:23.199
the program, and they got absolutely... Slapped

00:51:23.199 --> 00:51:29.219
by Nebraska. He obviously knows volleyball. He

00:51:29.219 --> 00:51:35.119
knows men's volleyball. Having coached both at

00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:40.260
a high level, they're different. Yeah. Particularly

00:51:40.260 --> 00:51:44.719
NCAA men's where there is like a limited number

00:51:44.719 --> 00:51:50.719
of teams. Yes. And then NCAA women's where it's

00:51:50.719 --> 00:51:55.090
insane. And you're entering the Big Ten. Yeah.

00:51:55.190 --> 00:51:59.110
Not only is some of the volleyball pieces different,

00:51:59.230 --> 00:52:04.889
but how you approach men and women, specifically

00:52:04.889 --> 00:52:09.610
at this age, is very different. If you haven't

00:52:09.610 --> 00:52:13.670
done it before, it may take a few tries to kind

00:52:13.670 --> 00:52:18.170
of find your legs in terms of... You know, how

00:52:18.170 --> 00:52:20.869
you motivate people, how you get the best out

00:52:20.869 --> 00:52:24.250
of your players, how you communicate. Like, I

00:52:24.250 --> 00:52:27.590
think back to how I was coached in college, and

00:52:27.590 --> 00:52:31.369
my college coach definitely couldn't have coached

00:52:31.369 --> 00:52:37.050
women. I'm curious to see how it goes more from

00:52:37.050 --> 00:52:39.809
a can he get his team to buy in, can he get the

00:52:39.809 --> 00:52:42.969
most out of them, less about the volleyball,

00:52:43.090 --> 00:52:45.289
if that makes sense. When the job came open,

00:52:45.369 --> 00:52:47.550
I was speculating who it could be. Never in a

00:52:47.550 --> 00:52:49.030
million years did I think it would be this guy.

00:52:49.969 --> 00:52:53.869
I was shocked. Do you think part of it is because

00:52:53.869 --> 00:52:56.210
people don't want the job? Do you think this

00:52:56.210 --> 00:53:00.170
is a coveted position? I mean, it should be.

00:53:00.750 --> 00:53:02.869
I mean, they're not doing well. I don't know

00:53:02.869 --> 00:53:05.230
what their budget is for women's volleyball these

00:53:05.230 --> 00:53:08.690
days, but historically they have been a good

00:53:08.690 --> 00:53:11.769
program in the past. I just don't love how it

00:53:11.769 --> 00:53:15.909
all went about. Like you leave Grand Canyon suspiciously

00:53:15.909 --> 00:53:18.809
and then the program folds. So it's like, hey,

00:53:18.849 --> 00:53:21.130
you clearly knew something was up. You got out

00:53:21.130 --> 00:53:23.550
there, kind of like left everybody high and dry

00:53:23.550 --> 00:53:26.829
while you like made sure you were OK. Then you

00:53:26.829 --> 00:53:30.889
go to Kansas and then last one season and immediately

00:53:30.889 --> 00:53:33.010
go take another job. I just I just don't love

00:53:33.010 --> 00:53:36.829
it. And I just never expected him to be the head

00:53:36.829 --> 00:53:40.349
coach. But who knows? Maybe he'll do. Something

00:53:40.349 --> 00:53:43.769
special. We'll see. Question five. How do some

00:53:43.769 --> 00:53:46.989
teams crack into the final four and then seem

00:53:46.989 --> 00:53:49.809
to become a power program? For example, Kentucky,

00:53:50.090 --> 00:53:52.769
Louisville, Pitt, et cetera, but others fizzle

00:53:52.769 --> 00:53:55.949
out and can't seem to regain that again, such

00:53:55.949 --> 00:54:00.130
as a BYU, San Diego, Kansas, Baylor. What did

00:54:00.130 --> 00:54:03.090
Louisville, Pitt, and others do to stay on top?

00:54:03.469 --> 00:54:06.110
Can you analyze these teams that made an appearance

00:54:06.110 --> 00:54:09.179
but can't go back? And look at the ones that

00:54:09.179 --> 00:54:12.179
keep coming back. I love this question. I know

00:54:12.179 --> 00:54:13.760
what my answer is. I'm curious what your answer

00:54:13.760 --> 00:54:18.820
is. You go first. Okay. My perspective on this

00:54:18.820 --> 00:54:24.880
is that the ones who crack through and stay for

00:54:24.880 --> 00:54:29.840
good are the ones who have committed to long

00:54:29.840 --> 00:54:35.170
-term growth of a program. They have... mapped

00:54:35.170 --> 00:54:39.829
out a long -term vision of what a rebuild or

00:54:39.829 --> 00:54:42.170
a building a program looks like and they are

00:54:42.170 --> 00:54:47.369
okay slowly getting there and their recruiting

00:54:47.369 --> 00:54:52.389
is very intentional they start with the athletes

00:54:52.389 --> 00:54:55.809
who might not be pursued by the top top programs

00:54:55.809 --> 00:55:02.309
but have the grit the personality the team mindset

00:55:03.159 --> 00:55:05.480
to kind of like ride it through and understand

00:55:05.480 --> 00:55:08.460
what they're getting into. And they build it

00:55:08.460 --> 00:55:11.980
piece by piece by piece and eventually build

00:55:11.980 --> 00:55:15.719
it. The ones who are like a flash in a pan, they're

00:55:15.719 --> 00:55:18.460
either recruiting from the transfer portal and

00:55:18.460 --> 00:55:21.059
they gather a whole bunch of athletes that have

00:55:21.059 --> 00:55:23.840
like one or two, maybe two years of eligibility

00:55:23.840 --> 00:55:28.039
left, or they happened to like hit the jackpot

00:55:28.039 --> 00:55:32.869
by recruiting one stud player. Who rides it out

00:55:32.869 --> 00:55:36.110
for four years and then they just can't keep

00:55:36.110 --> 00:55:40.969
drawing. So I think it is a very intentional

00:55:40.969 --> 00:55:45.010
piece on the coaching staff's part of like what

00:55:45.010 --> 00:55:47.530
they're committing to and their vision. And they

00:55:47.530 --> 00:55:51.550
do not waver from that vision. The other ones

00:55:51.550 --> 00:55:53.949
just either get lucky with a really good recruit.

00:55:54.030 --> 00:55:56.309
And I'm thinking of BYU with Alexa Gray during

00:55:56.309 --> 00:55:59.659
that period. But didn't San Diego have it? San

00:55:59.659 --> 00:56:02.519
Diego brought in Gabby Blossom for a year and

00:56:02.519 --> 00:56:05.139
a couple other ones and made the final four.

00:56:05.900 --> 00:56:08.820
And then you don't hear Baylor had Presley for

00:56:08.820 --> 00:56:11.960
a year or for her time. And then like that was

00:56:11.960 --> 00:56:15.199
it. Yeah. For me, that's the difference. My answer

00:56:15.199 --> 00:56:18.659
is along the same lines. The programs who make

00:56:18.659 --> 00:56:22.780
it there and stay have done the little things

00:56:22.780 --> 00:56:26.860
right along the way to getting there. They've

00:56:26.860 --> 00:56:31.130
developed. a culture where it's team first and

00:56:31.130 --> 00:56:33.809
you're building skill and you're teaching your

00:56:33.809 --> 00:56:36.969
players, you know, what is it expected to be

00:56:36.969 --> 00:56:40.369
a Kentucky athlete or a Pitt athlete or Louisville?

00:56:40.449 --> 00:56:43.170
You create a culture and you bring athletes in

00:56:43.170 --> 00:56:45.050
and then you teach them how to compete. So it

00:56:45.050 --> 00:56:47.690
doesn't matter when you lose one or two players,

00:56:47.750 --> 00:56:51.110
even if they're studs. Like when Pitt loses Babcock,

00:56:51.369 --> 00:56:53.889
they're not going to be the same team, but they're

00:56:53.889 --> 00:56:56.780
still going to make. The quarterfinals. They're

00:56:56.780 --> 00:56:58.719
still going to have players in the pipeline that

00:56:58.719 --> 00:57:00.559
are really good that want to go there. And you

00:57:00.559 --> 00:57:04.320
look at the coaches like Craig Skinner. I mean,

00:57:04.340 --> 00:57:07.239
we both know him. He went there in 2005, you

00:57:07.239 --> 00:57:11.260
guys. Like, think about this. Yes. He coached

00:57:11.260 --> 00:57:14.480
me at Nebraska my freshman year. Went to Kentucky

00:57:14.480 --> 00:57:18.360
in 2005. Was building that program until they

00:57:18.360 --> 00:57:22.119
won in 2020 and then like has been going ever.

00:57:22.179 --> 00:57:25.539
That is a long time. It's a long time. It's those

00:57:25.539 --> 00:57:29.320
programs. You don't have sustained success overnight.

00:57:29.500 --> 00:57:33.420
It is. You have to grind and you have to work

00:57:33.420 --> 00:57:36.780
through it. The schools that you see come and

00:57:36.780 --> 00:57:39.940
go. It's like you said, they get one or two athletes

00:57:39.940 --> 00:57:41.760
and then they build the program around that athlete.

00:57:41.820 --> 00:57:45.260
They recognize we're going to be good for. Two

00:57:45.260 --> 00:57:47.699
years when this player, like, and everything

00:57:47.699 --> 00:57:49.619
is about doing that. And then that player leaves

00:57:49.619 --> 00:57:51.800
and you have to start over. Because they haven't

00:57:51.800 --> 00:57:54.820
put in the work. Exactly. And this is, we kind

00:57:54.820 --> 00:57:58.099
of rag on SMU, but that is kind of, it feels

00:57:58.099 --> 00:57:59.880
like that's their philosophy. They are trying

00:57:59.880 --> 00:58:03.320
to recruit from the portal and hit that flash

00:58:03.320 --> 00:58:07.780
to get, like, the right mix. You don't see. But

00:58:07.780 --> 00:58:10.639
it's not sustainable long term. Yes. And maybe

00:58:10.639 --> 00:58:12.679
there's a strategy there. We don't have to talk

00:58:12.679 --> 00:58:15.280
about it. But that strategy, when I think of

00:58:15.280 --> 00:58:18.059
it, is kind of the SMU, what I think they're

00:58:18.059 --> 00:58:20.380
trying to do. That's a great question, though.

00:58:20.699 --> 00:58:23.980
Real good. Question six. Do you think it's bad

00:58:23.980 --> 00:58:26.000
for volleyball that the capital of volleyball

00:58:26.000 --> 00:58:28.820
has two bad teams in their respective leagues?

00:58:29.860 --> 00:58:36.480
Omaha. That was the question. No. I equate this

00:58:36.480 --> 00:58:39.409
to being a Leafs fan. The Leafs. They've been

00:58:39.409 --> 00:58:41.829
good for a while, but even when they stink, they

00:58:41.829 --> 00:58:44.789
sell out. They're the highest grossing team in

00:58:44.789 --> 00:58:47.909
the NHL. Same with Omaha. People from Nebraska

00:58:47.909 --> 00:58:50.010
love volleyball, and it's great, and they're

00:58:50.010 --> 00:58:52.730
going to go support the teams no matter what.

00:58:52.849 --> 00:58:56.349
Whereas when you have a new team, they need to

00:58:56.349 --> 00:58:59.250
be good for people to go and watch. So do you

00:58:59.250 --> 00:59:02.289
want Omaha to be bad? No. You don't want anyone

00:59:02.289 --> 00:59:04.909
to be bad, but it's not going to kill the sport.

00:59:05.369 --> 00:59:06.750
Because people are still going to go support

00:59:06.750 --> 00:59:08.409
them and they're going to put the money and they're

00:59:08.409 --> 00:59:10.650
going to try and figure it out. So if anyone

00:59:10.650 --> 00:59:13.469
is going to be bad, especially when you're starting.

00:59:14.110 --> 00:59:16.610
It's actually really better than the bad team.

00:59:16.889 --> 00:59:19.530
Question seven. As a Korean, we're very proud

00:59:19.530 --> 00:59:22.309
that Kim Young Kyung was considered as one of

00:59:22.309 --> 00:59:24.909
the all -time best players in the world. I heard

00:59:24.909 --> 00:59:27.210
you mention her last episode that got me thinking

00:59:27.210 --> 00:59:29.329
to ask you if you've ever played against her

00:59:29.329 --> 00:59:31.929
or with her during your career. And what is your

00:59:31.929 --> 00:59:34.289
impression of her volleyball career during her

00:59:34.289 --> 00:59:37.880
prime? Yes, I did play against her. In her prime.

00:59:38.079 --> 00:59:40.780
I played against her in world championships when

00:59:40.780 --> 00:59:43.760
I played indoor world championships for Canada.

00:59:43.840 --> 00:59:47.219
And I played against her Champions League when

00:59:47.219 --> 00:59:50.480
she was playing for Fenerbahce. What can you

00:59:50.480 --> 00:59:55.380
say? She could do everything. I have so much

00:59:55.380 --> 00:59:58.340
respect for her. I never played with her. I wish

00:59:58.340 --> 01:00:01.920
I had. But yes, I played against her. The thing

01:00:01.920 --> 01:00:07.309
for me is just how... high. Like I contacted

01:00:07.309 --> 01:00:09.530
the ball at a very high point. Like that was,

01:00:09.530 --> 01:00:12.650
that was how I made my career is like my contact

01:00:12.650 --> 01:00:16.090
point and the angles I could hit. She hit so

01:00:16.090 --> 01:00:21.510
high and so consistently to sidelines and perimeter.

01:00:21.590 --> 01:00:25.489
Like she was so difficult to stop, but not only

01:00:25.489 --> 01:00:28.690
that, her serve, that hybrid serve, she was,

01:00:28.750 --> 01:00:32.320
that thing was. Incredible. Her ball control,

01:00:32.480 --> 01:00:34.719
the way she read the game, her presence on the

01:00:34.719 --> 01:00:40.920
court, her decision making. Just, yes, she's

01:00:40.920 --> 01:00:43.679
100 % one of the best players of all time. Yeah,

01:00:43.760 --> 01:00:46.579
I have only good things to say. I have a question

01:00:46.579 --> 01:00:49.880
for you. Do you think this is a fair characterization?

01:00:50.139 --> 01:00:54.599
Do you think she is a bigger, more terminal Gabi?

01:00:55.920 --> 01:01:00.239
I think she is a better offensive Jordan Larson.

01:01:01.460 --> 01:01:05.019
Fair enough. Okay, question eight. What do you

01:01:05.019 --> 01:01:07.539
think about moving Van Rijk to the outside and

01:01:07.539 --> 01:01:10.980
letting Anna Smrek play opposite? This person

01:01:10.980 --> 01:01:13.460
was like, I know Kira Van Rijk is objectively

01:01:13.460 --> 01:01:16.780
a better opposite than Anna Smrek, but we're

01:01:16.780 --> 01:01:23.050
seeing teams start to move. on opposite to the

01:01:23.050 --> 01:01:25.429
left side do you think this could benefit canada

01:01:25.429 --> 01:01:28.050
with their current issues this approach is good

01:01:28.050 --> 01:01:30.650
in theory if you have two players that you want

01:01:30.650 --> 01:01:34.389
on the court but at this point from what i've

01:01:34.389 --> 01:01:38.349
seen anna's just not a serviceable six rotation

01:01:38.349 --> 01:01:41.969
right side she's i think this person was like

01:01:41.969 --> 01:01:45.909
saw her play because she's with azubashi right

01:01:45.909 --> 01:01:49.090
now and it's like she played so well I didn't

01:01:49.090 --> 01:01:51.150
see this match, so I can't speak to it, but...

01:01:51.150 --> 01:01:55.690
Yeah, again, she hasn't been able to compete

01:01:55.690 --> 01:01:59.489
internationally for six rotations. Defensively,

01:01:59.489 --> 01:02:02.610
she's not particularly good. She only hits in

01:02:02.610 --> 01:02:04.889
-system balls well, so her out -of -system hitting

01:02:04.889 --> 01:02:07.989
needs to get better for her to be a true right

01:02:07.989 --> 01:02:10.449
side. I hope she's gotten better, and if she

01:02:10.449 --> 01:02:13.289
does become that player, then yes, it makes sense

01:02:13.289 --> 01:02:16.170
to move. van rijk to the left if she can pass

01:02:16.170 --> 01:02:19.949
if she can pass like so there's a lot of variables

01:02:19.949 --> 01:02:22.309
there for canada and i would imagine that that's

01:02:22.309 --> 01:02:25.090
the hope for smack but i haven't seen it yet

01:02:25.090 --> 01:02:27.889
question nine i know when a team wins their league

01:02:27.889 --> 01:02:30.590
they either get a bonus or an mlv the team gets

01:02:30.590 --> 01:02:34.010
a million dollars how is the amount given to

01:02:34.010 --> 01:02:37.690
each player on the team decided i can speak to

01:02:37.690 --> 01:02:43.489
the bonus structure model basically when most

01:02:43.489 --> 01:02:46.050
players have agents that negotiate their contracts

01:02:46.050 --> 01:02:52.269
so in the process of negotiating a salary etc

01:02:52.269 --> 01:02:57.050
bonuses also are negotiated by the agent and

01:02:57.050 --> 01:03:01.170
so it could look different for every player or

01:03:01.170 --> 01:03:04.929
a team could just offer the same amount to every

01:03:04.929 --> 01:03:08.460
player but nobody really knows But the agents

01:03:08.460 --> 01:03:12.380
negotiate those on each player's behalf. For

01:03:12.380 --> 01:03:15.619
MLV, when the amount is given to the whole team,

01:03:15.659 --> 01:03:19.539
and I believe a lot of international teams work

01:03:19.539 --> 01:03:22.460
this way as well when there is prize money for

01:03:22.460 --> 01:03:25.699
winning big tournaments. Internationally, a lot

01:03:25.699 --> 01:03:30.139
of teams just... split it equally among everybody.

01:03:30.239 --> 01:03:33.480
And I believe in MLV, the 1 million is split

01:03:33.480 --> 01:03:36.000
equally among the roster. I'm not sure if coaching

01:03:36.000 --> 01:03:39.099
staff is included in that. And I know for some

01:03:39.099 --> 01:03:42.760
teams internationally, there are some cash prizes

01:03:42.760 --> 01:03:46.119
for being like the best opposite or best setter.

01:03:46.420 --> 01:03:50.260
And sometimes it depends on the country, but

01:03:50.260 --> 01:03:52.920
the country, sometimes the player just keeps

01:03:52.920 --> 01:03:55.719
it. And sometimes even the individual prizes

01:03:55.719 --> 01:03:58.980
are split among the team. Okay, last question

01:03:58.980 --> 01:04:03.059
of the day. Right now, tall offensive setters

01:04:03.059 --> 01:04:05.280
like Mone and Janelli are dominating the men's

01:04:05.280 --> 01:04:07.559
game. Do you see a similar kind of player ever

01:04:07.559 --> 01:04:10.760
being developed on the women's side? I think

01:04:10.760 --> 01:04:15.139
it's unlikely in the near future just because

01:04:15.139 --> 01:04:20.260
you don't have enough terminal women yet for

01:04:20.260 --> 01:04:22.159
it to make sense to move them to the setting

01:04:22.159 --> 01:04:25.079
position when they're young. Fair. I think what

01:04:25.079 --> 01:04:29.260
we are seeing, the women's version of what we're

01:04:29.260 --> 01:04:32.579
seeing right now with the tall offensive setter

01:04:32.579 --> 01:04:38.039
is we're seeing very, very tall left sides. Yes.

01:04:38.099 --> 01:04:41.679
We are starting to see the emergence of the 6

01:04:41.679 --> 01:04:48.079
'6 left side, which typically players that size

01:04:48.079 --> 01:04:51.260
were either thrown into the middle or as opposites.

01:04:51.260 --> 01:04:55.099
But now we're seeing, you know, Markova we're

01:04:55.099 --> 01:04:59.500
seeing Karakurt and Tropova we're seeing that

01:04:59.500 --> 01:05:03.000
stature of athletes start to make the transition

01:05:03.000 --> 01:05:06.900
to the left side and that will change the women's

01:05:06.900 --> 01:05:10.960
game agreed 10 15 years down the road when you

01:05:10.960 --> 01:05:14.440
normally have a 6 -6 left side you'll start to

01:05:14.440 --> 01:05:17.400
see some athletes become really big and be like

01:05:17.400 --> 01:05:21.579
I'm gonna set but you started setting and there

01:05:21.579 --> 01:05:25.190
just weren't enough hitters to score to make

01:05:25.190 --> 01:05:28.010
it make sense to have you set and I think you're

01:05:28.010 --> 01:05:29.869
still seeing that whereas on the men's side people

01:05:29.869 --> 01:05:34.110
are just so physical and so athletic that it

01:05:34.110 --> 01:05:36.969
makes more sense to have that big of a player

01:05:36.969 --> 01:05:39.090
there that is what is starting to differentiate

01:05:39.090 --> 01:05:42.289
teams versus in the women's side having a 6 -6

01:05:42.289 --> 01:05:44.949
passing left side is now the differentiator the

01:05:44.949 --> 01:05:47.289
women's evolution is just a little bit behind

01:05:48.039 --> 01:05:50.159
the men's game because we've seen this happen

01:05:50.159 --> 01:05:52.659
with the men's. So now the women are just like

01:05:52.659 --> 01:05:55.960
that step behind. Does that make sense? Love

01:05:55.960 --> 01:05:57.980
the questions this week. Oh, they're great questions.

01:05:58.519 --> 01:06:01.460
Honestly, this is always just so much fun. All

01:06:01.460 --> 01:06:03.980
right. Looking forward this week, Tuesday and

01:06:03.980 --> 01:06:07.099
Wednesday, Champions League men's quarterfinals.

01:06:07.420 --> 01:06:10.199
Let's go. The volleyball has been great. Wednesday

01:06:10.199 --> 01:06:13.980
and Sunday, Italian A1 semifinals for women.

01:06:14.559 --> 01:06:18.000
Thursday at 8 p .m. Eastern, NCAA men's Ball

01:06:18.000 --> 01:06:21.780
State versus Lindenwood. Thursday, 8 p .m. Eastern,

01:06:22.039 --> 01:06:26.380
Love Madison versus Austin on Victory Plus. Bottom

01:06:26.380 --> 01:06:29.159
feeders. Basement game. Friday and Saturday,

01:06:29.480 --> 01:06:33.320
9 p .m. Eastern, NCAA men's Pepperdine versus

01:06:33.320 --> 01:06:37.300
BYU. And then Saturday at 12 p .m. Eastern, MLV

01:06:37.300 --> 01:06:40.000
All -Star game. So we'll be bringing you some

01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:42.900
coverage from that next week. That concludes

01:06:42.900 --> 01:06:45.260
this week's episode of Volley Talk. There's always

01:06:45.260 --> 01:06:46.860
something shaking in the volleyball world, and

01:06:46.860 --> 01:06:49.159
we hope you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure

01:06:49.159 --> 01:06:51.139
to follow the show so you don't miss any updates,

01:06:51.260 --> 01:06:53.519
and we'd be so grateful if you'd leave us a five

01:06:53.519 --> 01:06:55.940
-star review. You can also find us on Instagram

01:06:55.940 --> 01:06:59.099
at volleytalk underscore podcast. If you have

01:06:59.099 --> 01:07:00.940
a topic you'd like us to discuss, you can reach

01:07:00.940 --> 01:07:04.400
out on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin .com.

01:07:04.739 --> 01:07:06.940
Thanks so much for joining us, and we'll be back

01:07:06.940 --> 01:07:07.659
next week.