WEBVTT

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Hi, volleyball fans, and welcome back to Volley

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Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers

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who want to dig deep into what is going on in

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NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host,

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Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball

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world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and

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longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And

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I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international

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volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat

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guy. We are down to crunch time. We got crunch

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time in MLV and love who the heck is going to

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make playoffs. We got crunch time and NCAA men's

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as we head into conference tournaments here in

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about less than a month. I want to say, and then

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playoffs are fully engaged. overseas. Lots to

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talk about, some great segments this week suggested

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by our listeners. So we are pumped as always

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to kind of get into the nitty gritty, cause some

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controversy, you know how it is. So let's get

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started. Weekly highlights and happenings. You

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know what's coming up first. Was your volley

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fantasy a highlight or a happening? It was in

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the middle, but it was a happening because I

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set a goal of getting 400 and I did not hit my

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goal. Were you even close? Not really. And that's

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that. Well, let me see how many points I got.

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I only got 350. Yeah, I was around there. 340,

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I think. On a positive note, only two of my bench

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players had to come in as opposed to my usual

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four. Yeah, I was going to say, I'm still having

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too many bench players outperforming my starters,

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which is never a good sign. Not a good thing.

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But, you know, I made improvements there. I'm

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101st right now, so things got a little more

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bleak than last week. The daily grids are still

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fun. You know, we were pretty consistent there,

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top of the leaderboard for, you know. People

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were holding on to their number one spot for

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a few weeks. In the last few weeks, things have

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been volatile. Okay, I think everybody's kind

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of going through it the way we are, but it seems

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like some people are going through it for the

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positive, whereas we're going through it for

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the negative. The best team is currently number

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one in our league. Makes sense. I mean, they

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manifested it. You know what I mean? My lack

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of strategy is clearly hurting me. Adam's strategy

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clearly doesn't work. either. So if anybody has

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any tips for how to really make the most of these

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last few weeks, please reach out and tell me

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what the heck I should do. One 400 week. That's

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all I want. Fun. Regardless, the daily grids,

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I think the highest ranking I've gotten on a

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daily grid is third. Is it time -based? Like

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if you tie somebody, I think it might, it has

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to be time -based of how fast you complete it.

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Better get my typing fingers going. Because I

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want to be number one at least in that for one

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day. But third is better. They're like, only

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three people did it. No, I'm just kidding. Only

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a few weeks remain. So you still have a chance

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to at least surpass Adam and I. Not hard to do

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at this point. Not hard to do at this point.

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So feel free to join our league at playvolley

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.com slash volley talk. That is playvolley .com

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slash volley talk to get in on the MLV fantasy

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action. NCAA men for probably the first week

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ever, there are no upsets. There were some decent

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matchups happening. You know, we had UCLA -Stanford.

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UCLA smashed them three straight both games.

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We had like Pepperdine -BYU. We had like CSUN

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-Long Beach State. We had some ranked matchups,

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but... According to these teams' rankings, everything

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kind of held true. Nothing alarming to report

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on the NCAA men's front. In MLV, the three worst

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teams in the league pulled off some upsets this

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week. Teams are mailing it in before the playoffs.

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Well, it's dicey. Columbus beat Orlando three

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straight. Orlando is going through it. What the

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heck is happening there? The wheels have come

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off. They are scraping along the ground. Grand

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Rapids beat Indy in four. I'm wondering if Indy's

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just cruising at this point. I don't know. They've

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only lost four matches all season. It's hard

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to criticize. Yeah. And San Diego beat Omaha

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in four. The bottom three teams are like, you

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know what? We're still here. We're just going

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to make your guys' lives hell as you try to make

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it into playoffs. Indy and Dallas are so far

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ahead. A joke. Omaha and Orlando can't afford

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to lose matches. Well, Omaha's at 500. Five out

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of eight teams have a losing record. That is

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how far ahead Indy and Dallas are. When over

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half the league has a losing record, the other

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teams, those two teams are just light years ahead

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in the record department. Honestly, people are

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battling it out for third and fourth. And if

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it's not an Indy -Dallas final, I have no words.

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I have no words. It's a mess. It's literally

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a mess in MLB this year. But that's what you

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want. You want these games to mean something.

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You want the last place teams, the teams at the

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bottom to play. To keep fighting. Yeah, to keep

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fighting and to upset teams who want to go. These

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losses mean something, which is what you want.

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100 % is what you want. Did I expect like this

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kind of disparity? No, I think in our preseason

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MLB, we had Dallas in like fifth. We had India

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at the top, but then we had like Atlanta in second,

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who's just cruising like down there. And I don't

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know, fifth, sixth, maybe in the mix. Yeah. I

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mean, I think every, a lot of teams are in the

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mix for three and four minus like Columbus. Kudos

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to the bottom three teams for sticking it out

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and continuing to put up a fight. Well, you know,

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it's pucker time. Adam's favorite time of year,

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everybody. Pucker time. On the love front, Nebraska

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had a really good week. They beat Atlanta 3 -2

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and Salt Lake in three. So they have jumped into

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third place in a surprising turn of events here.

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I think last week I or we said that. The Nebraska

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team stink. So we'll have to rescind that. No,

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that was a question. No, no, no, no. T. T. That

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is how old I am. Remember? Did you ever used

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to say that? On the playground? T. Yeah. Instead

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of timeout, we used to just yell T. Anyways,

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that's a 90s kid thing. In Ontario. We didn't

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say that. A listener said it. In the form of

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a question, and we just answered. Okay, fair

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enough. Well, I will point out that Nebraska

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has come on strong in love. Yeah, they jumped.

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It's wild to me that they are now in third. Salt

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Lake, have I seen a more drastic plummet? This

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is a millstone situation. No, think about it.

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Have we seen a more drastic plummet in recent

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time? What are we talking about? Volleyball.

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I mean, I can think of a couple, at least on

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the beach side, that were more drastic than this.

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Okay, tell me. The Canada -Mexico meltdown for

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the Olympics. Oh my gosh, RIP. We're not talking

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about that. It wasn't me, you guys. But no, I

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mean, this is hard to do with their roster. We

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were watching Champions League, and we were talking

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about Salt Lake while we were watching Champions

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League. We will talk about the Fenerbahce -Scandici

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series in a bit here, but these women were absolutely

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blasting serves. Were there a lot of errors?

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Yes. Were there a lot of aces? Also, yes. But

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it's just the fearlessness, the like, I need

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to go for this if my team is going to have a

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chance mentality. The way that Salt Lake has

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just put that away and are serving muffins. Pillow

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fight. It's a pillow fight out there. You're

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not going to win a pillow fight. Okay. You need

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to grenade these people. I mean, you need some

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sort of aggression from the service line. And

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it's not only that. And I'm sorry. Where is.

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Like at this point, you have almost lost double

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digit matches in a row and your middles. I think

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Dixon had one game where she was like four for

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five. I just don't understand. That is literally

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the question every week. It's like, where's Waldo?

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Where's Efena Kosipala? Oh, she's over there

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on the bench. Unless she has a broken femur,

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she needs to play. I'm sure. Give her a chance.

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And you know what? Get your spin server spin

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serving again, because right now, whatever you're

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doing, it's not working. But no, again, no changes.

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No changes for the worse. Yeah. Let's all stand

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on the ground and float serve. so confused as

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to what happens because I think that's one of

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the better rosters in the league. Yes. It's shocking.

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There's no words for that. No words. So they

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were crushing it so far ahead in first place

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for a lot of the season and now they're in fourth.

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They're going to miss the playoffs. As of today,

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Austin and Madison are out of playoffs if it

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were today. But Austin plays Salt Lake this week.

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Who's going to show up or better yet, in Adam's

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words, who is going to pucker? That's always

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the question. Okay. It's going to be interesting

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to see what happens. Again, love that these matches

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actually mean something. I wonder if there's

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a bonus structure attached to making playoffs.

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I think just to winning. No, not mistaken. In

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love there is? Yeah. What do they get to win?

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Money. They do? I believe so. Did they last year?

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I think last year the money was for the tournament.

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The Triple Crown tournament? I think so. If I'm

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not mistaken. There was a cash prize somewhere

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along the way. Regardless. Let's see what happens

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because this is wild stuff. The Italian playoffs,

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baby. Corneliano won their semifinal series against

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Navarra. Three matches to none. Rolling. Heading

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into this week, Scandici Milano. Milano was up

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two matches to none. Scandici won match three,

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3 -1. And match four. Milan 0 -1, 3 -1. So it's

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a Conigliano -Milano final. Meanwhile, Scandici

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has to chill for another month and a bit to go

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to the final four for Champions League. That

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is tough. I hope they got a week off. You aren't

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playing league anymore and you just have to train

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for a whole month. Yeah, I hope they were given

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a week off. That's tough to do. Mentally, for

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the players who aren't Italian, even for the

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ones who are Italian. It's going to be hard to

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stay engaged, so I'm curious to see what happens.

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That is really tough. I hope they gave them at

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least a week off or something just to kind of

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recharge the batteries. A little trip to Lake

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Como. Oh my gosh, for real. As I said, Corneliano

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Milano in the final. For men, the semifinals

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are set. Piacenza beat Modena 3 -1 in match five

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of the quarterfinal series. So we've got Verona

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versus Civitanova and Perugia versus Piacenza.

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So that will be interesting. And in Champions

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League, the men's quarterfinal home matches happened

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this past week. So Warsaw beat Lublin 3 -1. Perugia

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beat Las Palmas in 5. Zawierce beat Civitanova

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3 -0. And Ankara beat Sheshov, which I think

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that's how you say it because I heard some announcers

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on Champions League say Sheshov. So here I was

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saying like Reshov. I'm trying my best over here,

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everybody. So yeah, Ankara beat Sheshov 3 -0.

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The return matches are this week. Perugia needs

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to make sure they win or if they lose, at least

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lose in five. Yep. You hate. They're going home,

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though, so hopefully it'll work. But Trentino

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did the same thing to Warsaw. That will be interesting

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stuff. I mean, it's so hard to pick what to watch

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because there's so many matches that have meaning

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that are such a high caliber with a high compete

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level. I mean, again, it's a great time of year.

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Well, I also have to say, for us, our focus has

00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:23.759
had to be narrowed so much. Now, because of having

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a little baby, so we don't have like the same

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time as we used to, to just like chill out and

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watch volleyball like whenever we want. So we

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have had to really, really dial in our focus

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of what we're watching too. And so this week,

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full disclosure, we went back and watched the

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women's quarterfinals of Fenerbahce -Scandici

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because we wanted to get that breakdown. And

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I went back and watched the Hawaii match from

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the previous week because I heard it was really

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good and I wanted to see Trisky play. Versus

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Long Beach. Yeah. So what were your takeaways?

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I mean, it was a good game. I thought Trisky

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did well. Hawaii is... No Cade. No Cade. You

00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:10.799
know I'm not going to drop this for the rest

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of time anymore. Swindle and Cade. I was just

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about to say, but I was like, you know what?

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You're going to overdo it. Don't bring Swindle

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into this. Adam did. Thank you. Hawaii is humming.

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I'm looking forward to another showdown with

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Hawaii and UCLA. I think it's going to be...

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I still think UCLA is better, but I think it'll

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be a better game. You think that that would be

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the best final? I do. Right now, I do. I just

00:14:34.809 --> 00:14:37.049
think they're... I think they're the two best

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teams. Do you think Hawaii will win the Big West

00:14:39.649 --> 00:14:44.090
tournament? Yes. Do you think UCLA will win the

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MPSF tournament? Yes. Do you care who's hosting?

00:14:49.769 --> 00:14:52.730
Not really. BYU is hosting MPSF, by the way.

00:14:53.389 --> 00:14:58.330
These aren't new teams. They've competed at a

00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:01.470
high level. They've been to finals. They understand

00:15:01.470 --> 00:15:04.850
how to prepare. If that's going to be your reason,

00:15:05.049 --> 00:15:07.529
it just shouldn't be for those two teams, in

00:15:07.529 --> 00:15:10.269
my opinion. You know what the deal is. You've

00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:13.210
been to the dance. Well, regardless, you know

00:15:13.210 --> 00:15:14.690
both of those teams are making the tournament

00:15:14.690 --> 00:15:18.679
anyway. Yeah, totally. And it went up to 12 teams

00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.259
instead of just eight. Regardless of where they

00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:25.759
play. I know Hawaii gets a boost at home and

00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:28.139
it's a further travel. They need to be ready

00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:31.799
to go. And I think they will be. I'm also excited

00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:34.379
for the MIVA tournament because that conference

00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:38.720
is always a mess. All season long, they all just

00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:43.059
beat up on each other. It's not quite the same

00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:47.490
caliber. But the sheer competitiveness of it

00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:52.610
makes it very entertaining. All that to say,

00:15:52.710 --> 00:15:55.370
it is very difficult for us to narrow in on what

00:15:55.370 --> 00:15:57.370
we want to watch in any given week. It has been

00:15:57.370 --> 00:16:01.529
a challenge. Those were the big highlights, happenings,

00:16:01.529 --> 00:16:04.970
you name it, this week in the volleyball world

00:16:04.970 --> 00:16:09.909
that we really focus in on. So, yeah, very exciting

00:16:09.909 --> 00:16:14.710
stuff. All right. This segment, we had a listener

00:16:14.710 --> 00:16:16.289
write in, and I thought this was a great idea,

00:16:16.409 --> 00:16:18.529
and it's a fun exercise. So we're going to put

00:16:18.529 --> 00:16:22.250
together dream teams from three different categories.

00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:26.169
First will be an international dream team. Second

00:16:26.169 --> 00:16:29.870
will be a U .S. roster dream team. And the third

00:16:29.870 --> 00:16:34.389
one will be an NCAA dream team with players who

00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:37.269
will be playing next year, so no graduating seniors.

00:16:37.889 --> 00:16:41.049
So let's dive in and see what you got. Are we

00:16:41.049 --> 00:16:43.929
starting international? Sure. What position?

00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:47.950
Setter? Okay. Who do you have for your setter?

00:16:48.029 --> 00:16:51.250
I picked Oro. Me too. On the same page so far.

00:16:51.309 --> 00:16:55.289
Perfect. Who do you pick for left sides? My instinct

00:16:55.289 --> 00:17:00.149
was Gabi and Markova. Gabi is on mine too. I

00:17:00.149 --> 00:17:02.549
struggled with the second one for this because

00:17:02.549 --> 00:17:07.829
I thought Markova, but her passing is rough.

00:17:08.250 --> 00:17:12.839
Beyond rough. Anna Christina. She's not getting

00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:17.859
a ton of court time with Fenerbahce and coming

00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:21.900
back from her knee surgery. I'm like, I mean,

00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:24.400
if it was pre -surgery, I'd probably pick Anna

00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.200
Christina. But right now I'm like, I haven't

00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:32.039
been able to see her enough. Like maybe my opinion

00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:34.240
would change after VNL if she gets a chance to

00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:37.859
start again. Then I thought about Fedorov -Seva,

00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:40.519
but I'm like, wow, her passing is even more tragic.

00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:42.579
And I don't love her arm swing, to be honest.

00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:46.000
Her arm swing is crazy. I like her. I think she's

00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.539
an outstanding player. She keeps her shoulders,

00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:50.559
we'll talk about this anyways, so open on her

00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:53.900
attack. It's really hard to find a left side

00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:58.099
that has it all. You know? And so I'm like, who

00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:02.740
has it all? And Ishikawa has it all. But she

00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:05.380
has it all within the Japanese system. And we've

00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:08.119
seen internationally it doesn't work for her

00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:10.829
as well. Like at Navarra. Yeah. All that to say

00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:12.890
that I've been stumped. You're going to pick

00:18:12.890 --> 00:18:16.509
Antropova? That would make my right side decision

00:18:16.509 --> 00:18:20.450
easier. She's unproven on the left side so far.

00:18:20.710 --> 00:18:25.430
I just think you can hide Markova enough with

00:18:25.430 --> 00:18:29.289
Gabi. And a really good libero. And a good setter.

00:18:29.430 --> 00:18:33.549
You need another terminal piece. Okay, I can

00:18:33.549 --> 00:18:35.250
get behind Markova because she was definitely

00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:37.609
on my list. My hang up with her was her passing.

00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:41.369
Sure. But which, again, which left side? And

00:18:41.369 --> 00:18:45.569
I know Gabi can score, but you just need another

00:18:45.569 --> 00:18:49.109
hitter out there. And I think I like her. Okay.

00:18:49.329 --> 00:18:53.069
So we got Oro, Gabi, and Markova right side.

00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:58.970
This was my toughest decision. And I'm not sure

00:18:58.970 --> 00:19:02.829
that I would make this decision all the time.

00:19:03.049 --> 00:19:06.869
And I'm willing to admit there is some recency

00:19:06.869 --> 00:19:12.039
bias here. I think right now Antropova is playing

00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:15.279
the best volleyball out of any of the right sides.

00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:16.539
Did you say that because you knew I was going

00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:18.680
to pick her? I didn't know who you were going

00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.039
to pick. I thought you were going to pick Pagano.

00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:24.220
You guys, I know that people are going to be

00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:27.500
up in arms about this. I am obsessed with Antropova.

00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:32.960
Obsessed with her. This girl, her serving, her

00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:37.500
attacking. And she tries on defense. She tries

00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:39.519
on defense. She's not a defensive stalwart, but

00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:42.980
she's better than, she might be the best defensive

00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:45.319
right side out of the top players that there

00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.140
is. And she's 6 '7", and she's like getting to

00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:50.859
the ground, doing pancakes. Yeah, my thing with

00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:54.579
her is that I've just seen her, specifically

00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:57.779
in Champions League, affecting the match in all

00:19:57.779 --> 00:20:00.900
phases. All phases. From the baseline, from the

00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:05.240
block, attacking front row, back row. Not a liability

00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:10.259
on defense. She's just, right now, she's playing

00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:14.779
better than any of the other right sides. I love

00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:19.660
her. She was my pick. Okay. Middles? I'm going

00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:25.720
to go with Farr and Julia Kudais. This was another

00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:28.440
one that stumped me. I also, just before you

00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:33.289
go, Gunesh was also on my list. Okay. Ogbogu

00:20:33.289 --> 00:20:36.789
was on my list. So I was thinking Ogbogu for

00:20:36.789 --> 00:20:41.250
sure. And then I was deciding between Julia Kudais

00:20:41.250 --> 00:20:46.990
and Farr. I think I'm going to give it to Kudais.

00:20:47.309 --> 00:20:50.430
Okay. You guys know I love the Italian roster,

00:20:50.609 --> 00:20:54.930
period. But I have to go with Ogbogu and Kudais.

00:20:56.670 --> 00:21:01.509
Libero? I struggle with this. Or can we pick...

00:21:01.529 --> 00:21:03.470
Retired national team because I was going to

00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:07.069
go Dajanaro again. Well, that's the obvious answer,

00:21:07.289 --> 00:21:09.869
but I think she's done. Oh, so we can't pick

00:21:09.869 --> 00:21:13.230
her? So who else? Let's make it interesting.

00:21:13.450 --> 00:21:15.049
Okay, then I'm going to go with Brenda Castillo.

00:21:15.589 --> 00:21:21.170
Ooh. Yeah, maybe Gizm. Over a Japanese libero

00:21:21.170 --> 00:21:26.769
or Justine? I have a hard time. I would have

00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:30.170
picked Justine, but in my mind, she's ineligible.

00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.400
okay you decided that well she's not she's not

00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:35.839
playing okay we have to talk about the eligibility

00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:38.180
rules for the u .s stream team okay when we get

00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:40.839
there okay fair so okay if juan orantes is in

00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:44.619
i would pick her if she's not i like castillo

00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:50.339
i like everything about gizm's game except for

00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:53.859
her in -system nonchalant approach to setting

00:21:53.859 --> 00:21:57.099
but Other than that, I think defensively, I watched

00:21:57.099 --> 00:21:59.299
her dig a ton of balls down the line. It was

00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:02.099
really good. I like the way she passes. There's

00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:05.000
tempo. She moves well. She's definitely up there

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:06.660
for me. And again, I will admit that there's

00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:08.519
some recency bias because we watched that series,

00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:10.619
but I was impressed with what I saw. And she

00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:13.740
did well in VNL too. This is for me. Okay, so

00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:19.220
my roster is Alessia Oro, then Gabi and Markova,

00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:25.660
then Entropova. Julia Kudais and Ogbagu and Brenda

00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:28.539
Castillo. So my roster was the same, but for

00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:32.640
middles I had Farr instead of Ogbagu and Gizem

00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.000
instead of Castillo. Okay, let us hear it. I

00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.180
know people are punching their computer screens

00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:40.480
right now. I love listening to what other people

00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.480
would pick and who they think is the best. So

00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:45.099
yeah, let's have at it. Yeah, let's like have

00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:47.140
a nice discussion about it. Post your roster.

00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:49.700
We put ourselves out there. Now it's up to you.

00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:52.289
Let's see what you've got. What changes would

00:22:52.289 --> 00:22:55.089
you make? All right. U .S. Dream Team. What are

00:22:55.089 --> 00:23:01.349
the stipulations? Are we saying anybody who potentially

00:23:01.349 --> 00:23:05.730
could play in L .A.? Are we saying people who

00:23:05.730 --> 00:23:11.230
are currently eligible as in non -injury, not

00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:15.289
pregnant, not on maternity leave? Let's go 2028

00:23:15.289 --> 00:23:17.829
roster. Anybody that potentially could be available.

00:23:18.589 --> 00:23:21.009
Are we talking people who have like said they've

00:23:21.009 --> 00:23:22.849
for sure announced their retirement from national

00:23:22.849 --> 00:23:27.309
team? No. People who have retired, who have said

00:23:27.309 --> 00:23:31.150
they've retired publicly are off the list. Okay.

00:23:32.349 --> 00:23:34.329
So that takes out like a Lauren Carlini, for

00:23:34.329 --> 00:23:38.730
example. Yes. Okay. Satter. A non -injured Poulter.

00:23:38.769 --> 00:23:41.750
She is not playing well at Salt Lake, but I still

00:23:41.750 --> 00:23:45.730
think given the type of offense they need to

00:23:45.730 --> 00:23:50.069
run. I think she's my choice still. That's my

00:23:50.069 --> 00:23:53.390
issue, is watching her recently. I'm like, no.

00:23:53.730 --> 00:23:56.750
I mean, that's totally fair. But even recently,

00:23:56.910 --> 00:23:59.230
who are you going to pick over her? Well, then

00:23:59.230 --> 00:24:00.789
I was thinking Micah Hancock, but I'm like, I

00:24:00.789 --> 00:24:02.089
haven't even seen her play all season because

00:24:02.089 --> 00:24:04.930
of her neck. Right. So I'm like, can I actually

00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:08.470
say her? Not really. Not with any kind of faith.

00:24:08.470 --> 00:24:11.910
I haven't watched Jenna Gray play. I want her

00:24:11.910 --> 00:24:14.349
to be on my list. I haven't seen Kami Miner play

00:24:14.349 --> 00:24:17.309
much because of her backup situation in Milano.

00:24:17.410 --> 00:24:19.690
So, yeah, I feel like I need to say Poulter even

00:24:19.690 --> 00:24:23.369
though I don't really want to. Again, they're

00:24:23.369 --> 00:24:26.410
limited in that position currently. You're going

00:24:26.410 --> 00:24:28.549
to have to wait until VNL to see, but I think

00:24:28.549 --> 00:24:31.170
the spot is still Poulter's in my opinion. Left

00:24:31.170 --> 00:24:34.349
sides? I have been thoroughly impressed with

00:24:34.349 --> 00:24:39.930
Skinner, Avery. So she is on the roster for sure.

00:24:41.099 --> 00:24:46.000
It's a little murky after that for me. So Avery

00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:50.839
Skinner is my pick for sure. I want to say Kalia

00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:54.640
Lanier. Based off how she's been playing recently,

00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:58.960
that's a defensible choice. Do you think her

00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:03.420
upside is good enough? Let's say over a healthy

00:25:03.420 --> 00:25:09.079
and motivated plumber. But I haven't been impressed

00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:11.359
with plumber this season. And that's totally

00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:15.680
fair. She's riding the bench at Azazibashi. Her

00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:20.279
ball control at its best for me wasn't like stupendous.

00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.980
Plummer or Franklin? At this point, I would say

00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:26.700
Franklin. And then between Franklin and Lanier,

00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:28.940
you're picking Lanier. I'm picking Lanier because

00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:31.500
she's consistently been on the court for a top

00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:34.180
team. Franklin comes in every now and then and

00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:37.759
does a good job when she comes in. But I think

00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:41.079
Lanier, given the chance to play, is the choice.

00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:43.480
Cause I think she's better than Eggleston. I

00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:46.299
think she's, you know, better than who they had

00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:49.799
traveling last summer. Sure. Franklin, I would

00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:52.200
say is in the mix right now, but like, unless

00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:54.299
you want to add like Kelsey Robinson cook back

00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:57.400
to the mix, but offensively, I think her time

00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:01.599
has passed. Lanyer this year, but I don't think

00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:04.119
she's going to be the final solution for 2028.

00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:06.000
Who do you think is going to be? I'm not sure

00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.440
yet. Do you think like a college kid? I think

00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:12.880
it's too close for the college kids. No, I think

00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:16.059
there's at least a high likelihood that one of

00:26:16.059 --> 00:26:20.019
Franklin and or Plummer passes her. Okay. Opposite?

00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:25.740
Thompson. Part of me almost said Babcock. I have

00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:27.900
to go with Thompson right now. I want to see

00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:30.960
Kendall Kipp this summer in an international

00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.039
situation. I want to see Olivia Babcock again.

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:38.000
Madison Skinner is not it for me on the right

00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:41.460
side, but I would say right now. And I don't

00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:46.039
love any Drews, Schumacher. So for me, it's Jordan

00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:48.019
Thompson currently. I know we talked about what

00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:50.319
league she plays in, and I think that that is

00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:53.619
still a fair point comparing her to international

00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:58.259
right sides. But in the U .S., she's just currently

00:26:58.259 --> 00:27:00.380
playing better than any of the other right sides.

00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:05.930
It's hers, period. Well, we have heard some whispers

00:27:05.930 --> 00:27:09.349
about Taylor Bannister from Sheshov. I didn't

00:27:09.349 --> 00:27:12.470
watch them play yet. They're on our list to watch

00:27:12.470 --> 00:27:14.269
as we go back and watch those Champions League

00:27:14.269 --> 00:27:16.750
matches. So I'll put an asterisk next to that.

00:27:16.769 --> 00:27:19.809
I might change my mind, but right now it's her.

00:27:20.049 --> 00:27:22.470
Whether we agree with her choice to play in Love

00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:25.609
or go internationally, you can only play where

00:27:25.609 --> 00:27:30.049
you're at in the moment. And she is playing very

00:27:30.049 --> 00:27:32.940
well and better than anybody else. In her current

00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:38.880
situation. Middles? Rettke and Abagu. Same. And

00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.220
Libero. I mean, Justine. Same. Again, assuming

00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:45.220
she comes back, you know, close to what she was

00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:48.059
before. No, but these were the rules. Yeah. I

00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:50.119
just don't think anybody is close to her right

00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:52.980
now. Her read of the game, her positioning, her

00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:56.660
touch on the ball, the trust she's built in her

00:27:56.660 --> 00:27:59.339
defensive unit and the other passers. I just

00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:01.319
don't think there's anybody close to her. Okay,

00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:04.440
so we agreed pretty much across the board. Our

00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:09.460
U .S. Dream Team currently is Poulter, Avery

00:28:09.460 --> 00:28:14.700
Skinner, and Clea Lanier, Jordan Thompson, Chiaka

00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:18.339
Agbagu, and Dana Retke, and then Justine Wong

00:28:18.339 --> 00:28:21.019
-Arantes. I hope we get to see that roster at

00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:22.579
VNL. I'd be curious to see how they do. Well,

00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:25.099
we're not going to see Justine. Well, fair. But

00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:27.819
the rest, I hope, and I hope some of the players

00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:31.099
that we mentioned at least get to travel. So

00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:34.559
we can see like how they do. Okay. Our last dream

00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:39.440
team, current U S collegiate dream team. And

00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:42.680
as Adam said, it is players who are going to

00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:47.140
be playing in the upcoming 2026 season. So we've

00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:51.900
taken off a huge chunk of the seniors who, who

00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:55.460
finished their eligibility. Let's get the obvious

00:28:55.460 --> 00:29:00.299
one out of the way. Who's your rights? Well,

00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:01.599
people are going to probably, there's probably

00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:02.980
going to be some people who are pissed and be

00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:05.019
like, Olivia Babcock, what about Kennedy Martin?

00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:07.380
I don't care. Olivia Babcock. Yeah, Olivia Babcock.

00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:09.720
Okay. Okay, now we got that one. Now it gets

00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:12.180
interesting. Setter. I know who you're going

00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:14.640
to pick. Who am I picking? Harley Frebringer.

00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:17.640
Correct. You guys know I love Izzy Stark. I haven't

00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:21.200
seen her play in a long, long time, so I can't

00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:24.140
in good conscience pick her anymore. For me,

00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:26.160
at this moment, it comes down to Bergen -Riley

00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:28.859
and Charlie Furbringer. I think the thing that

00:29:28.859 --> 00:29:31.180
pushes Charlie over the edge is her out -of -system

00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:33.740
setting. A, she's had to set out -of -system

00:29:33.740 --> 00:29:36.559
a whole lot more than Bergen -Riley because Wisconsin's

00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:38.539
ball control is not near what Nebraska's is.

00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:42.660
And when she's had to set out -of -system, her

00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:45.579
location's just better than Bergen's, I think.

00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:49.799
So that is why I'm picking Charlie, too. Okay.

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:53.529
Left sides. Do you want to go one -on -one? Okay,

00:29:54.349 --> 00:29:58.210
so my first pick is Kendall Stowers. Interesting.

00:29:58.410 --> 00:30:03.529
She was in my mix. Okay. I was going to do Tori

00:30:03.529 --> 00:30:06.769
Stafford. She was my second. Okay, I was also

00:30:06.769 --> 00:30:10.269
kind of throwing Brooklyn DeLay around. Fair

00:30:10.269 --> 00:30:12.910
choice. I know I can't say this. I don't know

00:30:12.910 --> 00:30:18.529
her. I don't coach her. But there is a doggedness

00:30:18.529 --> 00:30:23.690
and an attitude about Kendall Stowers. That just,

00:30:23.730 --> 00:30:27.690
I love. And she's the kind of athlete that I

00:30:27.690 --> 00:30:31.089
would love to coach. She is it for me in terms

00:30:31.089 --> 00:30:35.170
of coming back, resilience, her mindset, how

00:30:35.170 --> 00:30:38.250
aggressive she is, the swings she's willing to

00:30:38.250 --> 00:30:41.490
take. I just think that those things matter.

00:30:41.670 --> 00:30:46.849
And I saw those in her run with Texas A &M. That

00:30:46.849 --> 00:30:50.250
is, Delay's a great choice. I just, for me, the

00:30:50.250 --> 00:30:52.920
intangibles. We're over the top with Stowers.

00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:56.160
No, I didn't say I picked. I said it was like

00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:59.660
between Delaney and Stowers for me. Tori Stafford

00:30:59.660 --> 00:31:01.539
was one of my picks, and then I was like flip

00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:04.559
-flopping between the two. Straight skill, though.

00:31:05.220 --> 00:31:07.519
You're bringing intangibles in for this one person,

00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:09.839
which we haven't done for anybody else. Straight

00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:14.720
skill. Is she still your pick? Yes. I can get

00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:19.539
behind it. Middles? I had Annie Jackson. Okay,

00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:23.960
yes. Me too. And Lizzie Andrews. She was also

00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:28.279
on my list. Who else did you have? The only other

00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:30.720
one that I was kind of throwing around was Jayla

00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:33.700
Auguste. Fair consideration, but I don't think

00:31:33.700 --> 00:31:37.420
she's on the same level as those two. And Libero.

00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:40.759
I picked Van Gorp. I mean, I know we talked about

00:31:40.759 --> 00:31:44.700
the Libero pool not being super deep this year,

00:31:44.819 --> 00:31:48.519
but I picked Van Gorp. I was thinking Tuzzo.

00:31:49.130 --> 00:31:53.109
You guys know I hate her jump setting, but yeah,

00:31:53.170 --> 00:31:56.970
she's... Or even Lola Schumacher. Ooh, yeah.

00:31:57.190 --> 00:31:59.349
I thought Lola Schumacher really stepped into

00:31:59.349 --> 00:32:01.650
her own this season. Her freshman year, I was

00:32:01.650 --> 00:32:03.430
a little concerned about her passing, but I think

00:32:03.430 --> 00:32:06.809
she got a lot better and really, like, owned

00:32:06.809 --> 00:32:10.710
her role at UCLA. Yeah, she was forced to pass

00:32:10.710 --> 00:32:12.769
and take a lot of balls because they were not

00:32:12.769 --> 00:32:15.690
very good. Yeah. You're sticking with Van Gorp?

00:32:16.490 --> 00:32:19.519
Schumacher... I mean, I thought... Tuzzo and

00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:21.819
Van Gorp were kind of the two I was going between.

00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:25.119
Schumacher's a good pick. I'll stay with Van

00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:29.259
Gorp. Take Schumacher. Okay, so we are pretty

00:32:29.259 --> 00:32:32.160
much the same except for Liberos. Yeah. So we

00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:36.200
had Charlie Furbringer. Then we had Olivia Babcock

00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:40.420
on the right side. We had Tori Stafford and Kendall

00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:43.880
Stowers, potentially Brooklyn Tilley, on the

00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:46.839
left side. Andy Jackson and Lizzie Andrew in

00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:51.299
the middle. And you had Rachel Van Gorb. I had

00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:55.720
Lola Schumacher at Libero. This was a lot of

00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:57.180
fun to think about, actually. I really enjoyed

00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:59.240
this segment. These stress me out so much. I

00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:01.319
know, but thank you for the suggestions. Keep

00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.099
them coming because, I mean, I hope you guys

00:33:03.099 --> 00:33:04.819
like listening to them because we really enjoy

00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:10.079
doing them. As promised, we're going to go through

00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:13.579
the Women's Champions League quarterfinal series

00:33:13.579 --> 00:33:17.390
this week. we wanted to dive into Fenerbahce

00:33:17.390 --> 00:33:20.589
-Scandici because I thought Fenerbahce was going

00:33:20.589 --> 00:33:22.769
to make the final four. I had them making the

00:33:22.769 --> 00:33:26.089
final, okay? It's been a while since we've done

00:33:26.089 --> 00:33:27.829
this. I'm kind of excited. I needed to see what

00:33:27.829 --> 00:33:30.829
was going on. And this is the only series that

00:33:30.829 --> 00:33:33.930
went to a golden set, so we were very intrigued.

00:33:34.650 --> 00:33:37.430
Match one. Okay, hold on. I was thinking for

00:33:37.430 --> 00:33:39.910
all of these, we should go over the teams and

00:33:39.910 --> 00:33:42.390
just say on paper who you think would be better

00:33:42.390 --> 00:33:46.130
in each position. Adam came with a plan today.

00:33:46.269 --> 00:33:50.089
I'm excited. We dove into some numbers for these

00:33:50.089 --> 00:33:54.009
ones. I'm looking forward to it. Let's start

00:33:54.009 --> 00:33:57.589
with a fun one. Fenerbahce, Vargas, Scandici,

00:33:57.890 --> 00:34:01.890
Antropova. On paper, without having watched it,

00:34:02.029 --> 00:34:05.609
who do you give the nod to? You know how I feel

00:34:05.609 --> 00:34:08.809
about Antropova. But who do you think common

00:34:08.809 --> 00:34:12.019
perception? I don't know what the perception

00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:14.440
is. I mean, there are clearly Vargas fans out

00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:18.079
there. I think people probably expected Fenerbahce

00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:20.320
to win. I think people probably expected Vargas

00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:24.400
to take over. Yeah, I would agree. So I think

00:34:24.400 --> 00:34:26.719
Fenerbahce actually gets the nod on the right

00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:31.119
side position on paper. What about on the setting

00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:35.000
position? Fenerbahce. Okay. And then what do

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:37.679
you think on the left side position? Fenerbahce.

00:34:38.820 --> 00:34:42.030
So you think... Fedorov, Seva, and then you've

00:34:42.030 --> 00:34:44.409
got the combo of Baladine and Anna Christina

00:34:44.409 --> 00:34:47.730
versus Avery Skinner and Katerina Rossetti. And

00:34:47.730 --> 00:34:50.190
Sarah Franklin, if you're looking at three. And

00:34:50.190 --> 00:34:52.889
Sarah Franklin. And then in the middle? I think

00:34:52.889 --> 00:34:54.590
that Fenerbahce has the edge. I think Fenerbahce

00:34:54.590 --> 00:34:56.309
has the edge in every position except Libero.

00:34:56.610 --> 00:35:00.590
Okay. Fair enough. On paper. Yeah. I think it's

00:35:00.590 --> 00:35:03.369
a fun exercise to just quickly think about and

00:35:03.369 --> 00:35:05.690
go through. I mean, you said it. You thought

00:35:05.690 --> 00:35:10.300
Fenerbahce was going to win. So give me your

00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:15.460
thoughts on the first match. Antropova. She,

00:35:15.579 --> 00:35:19.400
for me, Scandici won three straight. Antropova

00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:25.800
had 25 points, six of which were aces. She literally

00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:31.039
lit them up in every facet of the game. She scored

00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:33.760
incredibly well offensively. She was blocking

00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:37.820
Fedor Otseva so well. To the point that Fenerbahce

00:35:37.820 --> 00:35:41.099
switched their rotation in set two to get her

00:35:41.099 --> 00:35:44.900
away from her and served lights out. They could

00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:50.340
not handle her serve. She carried that team and

00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:55.599
was unbelievable. I think she just was wow. So

00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:58.420
I agree with you that she was the difference

00:35:58.420 --> 00:36:01.579
maker on that. But the numbers are interesting.

00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:05.860
So everything you just said, forget it. I think

00:36:05.860 --> 00:36:08.199
your perception of watching it is accurate. But

00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:11.179
the biggest difference was from the serving line.

00:36:11.340 --> 00:36:14.000
All of the other stats are similar, or even Vargas

00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:16.179
was better. So if you look from an attacking...

00:36:16.179 --> 00:36:18.300
But I'm not even thinking, like, what's the difference

00:36:18.300 --> 00:36:21.460
between head -to -head players? And Tropova just,

00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:24.380
like, showed up and carried her team. Totally

00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:26.840
fair. But I think the difference came from how

00:36:26.840 --> 00:36:29.179
good she was from the baseline. Because the stats

00:36:29.179 --> 00:36:32.980
on the serves were... Scandicci had 11 aces to

00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:37.239
7 errors. And Fenerbahce had three aces on eight

00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:40.639
errors. And to me, that's the difference, given

00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:45.500
how close most of the sets were. And Andropova

00:36:45.500 --> 00:36:47.260
single -handedly, I think, had a serving run

00:36:47.260 --> 00:36:50.280
to put a set out of reach when it was close.

00:36:50.420 --> 00:36:56.500
But she hit 205 on the match with 17 kills. Vargas

00:36:56.500 --> 00:37:00.559
hit 486 with 21 kills. And they both had two

00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:06.519
blocks. So minus the... serving run or continual

00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:09.000
serving that Antropova put on, like Vargas played

00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:11.860
well. No, I'm not saying she didn't. Yeah, I

00:37:11.860 --> 00:37:14.860
know. I never said that she didn't. I was just

00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:17.960
so incredibly impressed with how Antropova showed

00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:21.219
up. Fenerbahce can't pass. Agreed. Like you've

00:37:21.219 --> 00:37:23.639
got the best setter in the world who is setting

00:37:23.639 --> 00:37:27.099
most balls from behind the 10 foot line or in

00:37:27.099 --> 00:37:29.860
front of the 10 foot line off of a knee. Okay.

00:37:30.019 --> 00:37:33.409
It is so, I don't care how good you are. It is

00:37:33.409 --> 00:37:37.250
so hard to run a productive offense if you are

00:37:37.250 --> 00:37:40.489
running all over the place. They weren't able

00:37:40.489 --> 00:37:42.750
to get their middles involved, hardly at all.

00:37:42.889 --> 00:37:47.289
It was like high balls to Fedor Oseva and Vargas

00:37:47.289 --> 00:37:51.130
the whole match. Then Fedor Oseva and Baladin

00:37:51.130 --> 00:37:54.070
are just getting lit up in server -sieve. Yeah,

00:37:54.090 --> 00:37:56.710
so middle -wise... They actually, and again,

00:37:56.750 --> 00:37:58.650
this is where perception is so interesting. You

00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:01.650
are wrong. Keep talking, keep talking. Tell me

00:38:01.650 --> 00:38:03.329
everything. I'll just say you're wrong. You're

00:38:03.329 --> 00:38:05.929
not wrong. But they ran the middle the same amount

00:38:05.929 --> 00:38:09.130
of time. So Fenerbahce ran 14 middle balls. Scandicci

00:38:09.130 --> 00:38:12.030
ran 13. But it felt like Scandicci always had

00:38:12.030 --> 00:38:14.469
an option in the middle. And the percentage was

00:38:14.469 --> 00:38:17.170
way better. So Fenerbahce only hit 286. And out

00:38:17.170 --> 00:38:20.340
of the middle, that's atrocious. And for Scandici,

00:38:20.460 --> 00:38:23.719
they hit 462. And most of that was Weitzel. But

00:38:23.719 --> 00:38:26.420
when you have Ada Erdem, who runs that slide

00:38:26.420 --> 00:38:31.440
so well, you need to be using her more. Totally.

00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:33.780
And because the passing was so bad, you knew

00:38:33.780 --> 00:38:35.139
when Fenerbahce was going to run the middle.

00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:37.280
So it wasn't as effective. So even though the

00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:41.199
numbers are similar, it just didn't feel like

00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:43.880
Fenerbahce ever owned the center of the court

00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:46.369
or the middle of the court. I can't say I expected

00:38:46.369 --> 00:38:49.230
them to come into Scandici and get swept first

00:38:49.230 --> 00:38:52.590
straight. No, absolutely not. That first match

00:38:52.590 --> 00:38:57.710
was shocking. And again, without Antropova, it

00:38:57.710 --> 00:39:02.329
doesn't happen that way. Not only was she so

00:39:02.329 --> 00:39:05.650
good, but she was clutch in the moments she needed

00:39:05.650 --> 00:39:07.570
to be. We talk about this a lot on the podcast

00:39:07.570 --> 00:39:11.650
about having a player. Who can step up in the

00:39:11.650 --> 00:39:13.829
situations. Of somebody who can score. When you

00:39:13.829 --> 00:39:17.469
know where the ball is going. Antropova was unbelievable.

00:39:17.809 --> 00:39:21.030
In the big moments. Whether it was blocking.

00:39:21.250 --> 00:39:25.210
Attacking. Serving. Vargas was too. I don't want

00:39:25.210 --> 00:39:28.010
to take that away from her. She was too. She

00:39:28.010 --> 00:39:30.309
just wasn't as good as Antropova. Because her

00:39:30.309 --> 00:39:33.690
team in general. They weren't putting each other

00:39:33.690 --> 00:39:36.989
in a position. To be successful. It's so hard

00:39:36.989 --> 00:39:40.420
to run an offense at that level. 12 feet off

00:39:40.420 --> 00:39:43.059
the net yeah you i don't think you can look at

00:39:43.059 --> 00:39:45.440
that match and go vargas needed to be better

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:47.699
but no it's not that's just not accurate better

00:39:47.699 --> 00:39:49.880
at save i thought had a really tough connection

00:39:49.880 --> 00:39:52.920
with oral though she could not get going at all

00:39:52.920 --> 00:39:56.079
yeah like she started real slow she found her

00:39:56.079 --> 00:39:58.539
rhythm here and there but like that connection

00:39:58.539 --> 00:40:01.840
between those two players looked rough well fenerbahce

00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:07.460
outsides as a core hit 163 versus 222 for scandici

00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:09.739
Similar number of kills, just more errors. And

00:40:09.739 --> 00:40:11.619
despite all that, Katerina Bossetti gets player

00:40:11.619 --> 00:40:14.619
of the game. Which is outrageous. Unless I completely

00:40:14.619 --> 00:40:17.000
misunderstood what that award was she was holding

00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:19.679
at the end. I think I had the TV on mute because

00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:22.340
the baby was sleeping, but... Maybe it was a

00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:25.820
passing award. Like, I'm like, why is she going

00:40:25.820 --> 00:40:30.500
up and getting anything? Like, Entropova scored

00:40:30.500 --> 00:40:33.539
a full set out of three. The first two sets were

00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:35.900
good. The third set, they kind of rolled them.

00:40:36.269 --> 00:40:38.769
But the first two sets, the margins were so slim.

00:40:38.989 --> 00:40:44.730
It was very entertaining. Okay. Match two. You

00:40:44.730 --> 00:40:49.130
saw the response from Fenerbahce that I think

00:40:49.130 --> 00:40:52.010
we expected to see. Yeah. I mean, they had to

00:40:52.010 --> 00:40:55.070
win in three or four to have a chance. Set one

00:40:55.070 --> 00:40:59.809
was super tight. Super tight. Then Scandici blew

00:40:59.809 --> 00:41:02.849
them out. I think it was like 16. Then Fenerbahce

00:41:02.849 --> 00:41:06.840
had to like. Scandigi could not win another set.

00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:11.840
So coming off of that tied 1 -1, Fenerbahce hammers

00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:14.719
them. I think at one point it was... 11 -4 or

00:41:14.719 --> 00:41:16.199
something at one point. I think it was like 16

00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:19.380
-6 or something crazy. It was ridiculous. Well,

00:41:19.420 --> 00:41:23.159
and let's also say that Fenerbahce made an adjustment

00:41:23.159 --> 00:41:27.199
in the middle. They put Kalach in for... Oh,

00:41:27.239 --> 00:41:30.059
Kornelic. For Kornelic. Okay, so you had heard

00:41:30.059 --> 00:41:35.470
rumors about this match in that... management

00:41:35.470 --> 00:41:39.849
told Marcello who to start yeah I heard I heard

00:41:39.849 --> 00:41:43.610
some rumblings unverified wouldn't be shocking

00:41:43.610 --> 00:41:49.110
that there were some suggestions in air quotes

00:41:49.110 --> 00:41:51.090
made to the coaching staff as to what should

00:41:51.090 --> 00:41:54.010
happen so I don't know what those were so Kornelik

00:41:54.010 --> 00:41:56.650
who if you need a reminder is the starting middle

00:41:56.650 --> 00:42:00.570
for Poland best middle blocker of VNL last year

00:42:01.159 --> 00:42:03.719
She was on the bench in match two. She also wasn't

00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:06.380
very good in match one. It's a good substitution

00:42:06.380 --> 00:42:09.480
because Kalik played. She brings a fire too.

00:42:09.539 --> 00:42:11.739
And she played really well. Like, Benerbachi's

00:42:11.739 --> 00:42:14.380
middles were better than Scandici's middles.

00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:18.219
They went and hit 413. They were 14 for 29. Like,

00:42:18.219 --> 00:42:20.719
they, to me, I thought that was. Double the number

00:42:20.719 --> 00:42:23.159
of sets they had in match one. Which, I mean,

00:42:23.179 --> 00:42:24.840
they passed better. They scored better. Like,

00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:27.800
it all makes sense. But I thought that was a

00:42:27.800 --> 00:42:30.880
really. Smart sub. That worked out. Regardless

00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:35.820
of. Where the idea came from. And Tropova. And

00:42:35.820 --> 00:42:40.219
Vargas. Still a battle. Yes. I wouldn't say that.

00:42:40.340 --> 00:42:43.539
And Tropova. Still like. Scored a bunch of points.

00:42:43.599 --> 00:42:46.780
But she didn't like. Dominate in the same way.

00:42:46.860 --> 00:42:49.539
It's hard to replicate that performance. And

00:42:49.539 --> 00:42:53.159
Vargas. Stepped up. Particularly in set four.

00:42:53.260 --> 00:42:56.500
When it was super tight again. Yeah. Scored.

00:42:56.739 --> 00:43:00.280
The last two points. The last one being like

00:43:00.280 --> 00:43:03.440
a flaming ace in between players. That thing

00:43:03.440 --> 00:43:07.139
was moving. Andropova, how she affects the game

00:43:07.139 --> 00:43:09.960
from the service line is just, it's incredible.

00:43:10.219 --> 00:43:13.940
And it's not just aces and errors. She served

00:43:13.940 --> 00:43:18.639
26 times in that match. And you're just, that

00:43:18.639 --> 00:43:20.940
doesn't show up on the scorecard because you're

00:43:20.940 --> 00:43:24.199
not necessarily getting aces all the time. you're

00:43:24.199 --> 00:43:26.719
just putting teams in trouble. But I think that

00:43:26.719 --> 00:43:29.400
that is worth mentioning because like that is

00:43:29.400 --> 00:43:31.800
something at a higher level that teams look at

00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:37.320
is how many points your service rotation generates

00:43:37.320 --> 00:43:41.599
for your team. And the fact that she is serving

00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:46.519
26 times in a four set match, like they are turning

00:43:46.519 --> 00:43:49.739
points when she is at the baseline, which is

00:43:49.739 --> 00:43:53.719
an important thing to look at when you're Planning

00:43:53.719 --> 00:43:56.880
your game plan. And just to clarify. Because

00:43:56.880 --> 00:43:59.579
I know somebody has the numbers memorized. These

00:43:59.579 --> 00:44:01.699
stats for match two also include the golden set.

00:44:01.920 --> 00:44:04.219
They weren't separated on this game sheet. And

00:44:04.219 --> 00:44:06.179
I wasn't. I didn't go through them set by set.

00:44:06.280 --> 00:44:10.039
But still. It's her ability to generate points.

00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:13.619
Either directly or through her team. I'm not

00:44:13.619 --> 00:44:15.860
sure I've ever seen anything like it. Her serve

00:44:15.860 --> 00:44:18.280
has gotten a lot more consistent. In the last

00:44:18.280 --> 00:44:23.480
year. I would say. She used to be. 50 -50, I

00:44:23.480 --> 00:44:25.820
would say, on getting them in. She has gotten

00:44:25.820 --> 00:44:27.559
a lot more consistent. You know who has gotten

00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:32.380
way less consistent? Vargas? Oro. She has completely

00:44:32.380 --> 00:44:35.519
changed her serve. She did just like a vanilla

00:44:35.519 --> 00:44:39.400
jump float serve. She is trying to put a lot

00:44:39.400 --> 00:44:42.320
more pace on it, is missing a lot more, which

00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:44.940
the announcer was kind of critical of Marcello

00:44:44.940 --> 00:44:48.219
for putting in the backup setter. Or Oro when

00:44:48.219 --> 00:44:50.739
Oro was going to serve. If she's not confident

00:44:50.739 --> 00:44:52.980
and she's making mistakes, take her out to serve

00:44:52.980 --> 00:44:55.500
for like one rotation. It's a half rotation,

00:44:55.699 --> 00:44:58.019
but she's being put in as soon as the serve is

00:44:58.019 --> 00:45:02.239
lost. Like she's clearly doing a different serve.

00:45:02.360 --> 00:45:04.780
It was not working in that match. She was making

00:45:04.780 --> 00:45:06.219
a lot of errors. You could tell that she did

00:45:06.219 --> 00:45:09.219
not look particularly confident in it. Absolutely

00:45:09.219 --> 00:45:12.099
put the backup setter in for that half rotation.

00:45:12.119 --> 00:45:15.760
So here's the most telling stat that I found

00:45:15.760 --> 00:45:18.079
from this match. Fenerbahce and Scandicci both

00:45:18.079 --> 00:45:22.800
had seven team aces. Okay. Scandicci had six

00:45:22.800 --> 00:45:25.300
errors, six service errors, which is a fantastic

00:45:25.300 --> 00:45:29.280
ratio. Yeah. I want you to throw me out a number

00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:33.159
of the number of serves you think Fenerbahce

00:45:33.159 --> 00:45:37.199
missed in this match. Well, I think Oral missed

00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:41.159
three herself. And then I'm just trying to think

00:45:41.159 --> 00:45:44.820
if I can remember anybody else missing. Vargas

00:45:44.820 --> 00:45:49.519
missed. A couple. Did they miss like six? Seven?

00:45:50.420 --> 00:45:56.420
28 serves. I almost blacked out. I blacked out,

00:45:56.460 --> 00:45:59.760
you guys. 28 missed serves. Okay, now I just

00:45:59.760 --> 00:46:03.420
feel ridiculous that I'm like, hmm. They didn't

00:46:03.420 --> 00:46:09.639
miss many. This is a solid one to four. We're

00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:11.960
talking like that's worse than men's volleyball.

00:46:12.300 --> 00:46:16.869
But it brings up a very interesting point. Because

00:46:16.869 --> 00:46:19.190
it didn't feel like there were that many missed

00:46:19.190 --> 00:46:20.909
serves. Well, clearly not. Here I am scratching

00:46:20.909 --> 00:46:25.429
my head. Did they even get seven? But they needed

00:46:25.429 --> 00:46:29.570
to apply pressure. And it worked because the

00:46:29.570 --> 00:46:31.550
Scandici middles were far less effective in this

00:46:31.550 --> 00:46:33.829
match. They only hit 300. They were six for 20.

00:46:34.050 --> 00:46:37.050
The outsides had far more pressure on them. Fenerbahce

00:46:37.050 --> 00:46:39.119
out hit. as an outside core. Fenerbahce went

00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:43.039
453 to Scandicci's 271. For outsides hitting

00:46:43.039 --> 00:46:46.059
453 in a match, that's insanity. Well, Fedoroceva

00:46:46.059 --> 00:46:49.139
hit 547 with 29 kills on the match. She played

00:46:49.139 --> 00:46:52.880
much better this match, yes. They knew they needed

00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:54.480
to apply pressure, and they were going to go

00:46:54.480 --> 00:46:58.199
for it, and that was their strategy. And, I mean,

00:46:58.219 --> 00:47:01.260
they won the first match, right? So clearly it

00:47:01.260 --> 00:47:04.059
wasn't all terrible. Well, I know we talked about

00:47:04.059 --> 00:47:06.000
this earlier, but Salt Lake needs to take some

00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:10.079
notes here. Okay. You can't just run away from

00:47:10.079 --> 00:47:14.739
the errors. It's too many. That was a lot. But

00:47:14.739 --> 00:47:17.500
there's a philosophy behind that that the team

00:47:17.500 --> 00:47:21.159
buys into that is important to win at high level

00:47:21.159 --> 00:47:24.639
volleyball. You have to be applying service pressure.

00:47:24.900 --> 00:47:26.639
Otherwise, good teams are just going to eat you

00:47:26.639 --> 00:47:30.179
up. And, you know, you're kind of hoping if you

00:47:30.179 --> 00:47:31.940
keep the mentality like your servers are going

00:47:31.940 --> 00:47:34.420
to. are going to find it. Some of them, some

00:47:34.420 --> 00:47:36.360
of them didn't. And you know, you had some people

00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:38.619
with lollipop servers who were missing badly,

00:47:38.739 --> 00:47:42.619
but in general, I mean, it's not a bad philosophy.

00:47:43.139 --> 00:47:47.900
We got, I got some messages about balloting being

00:47:47.900 --> 00:47:51.719
taken out at the end of the regular match and

00:47:51.719 --> 00:47:54.719
then not being put back in, in the golden set.

00:47:54.840 --> 00:47:59.019
And what were your thoughts on keeping Anna Christina

00:47:59.019 --> 00:48:03.079
in for the golden set? I honestly, I didn't mind

00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:05.260
the move because I didn't think Valadine was

00:48:05.260 --> 00:48:07.539
playing particularly well. I don't have her numbers

00:48:07.539 --> 00:48:09.900
directly in front of me, but if their outsides

00:48:09.900 --> 00:48:16.039
hit 453 and Federal Seva hit 547, like the other

00:48:16.039 --> 00:48:19.619
two were not particularly good. You know, you

00:48:19.619 --> 00:48:22.159
got to go for it. Anna Christina, you know, has

00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:24.380
a reputation of being a gamer, of being a big

00:48:24.380 --> 00:48:27.090
time player. I mean, Baladine couldn't pass,

00:48:27.250 --> 00:48:29.630
but neither could Ana Christina. Right. And so

00:48:29.630 --> 00:48:32.829
then you're thinking about upside for Ana Christina

00:48:32.829 --> 00:48:35.190
from an attacking standpoint and a blocking standpoint.

00:48:35.769 --> 00:48:38.929
Baladine defensively is maybe better. Yeah. I

00:48:38.929 --> 00:48:42.250
mean, it's a situation where you're making a

00:48:42.250 --> 00:48:45.030
gut call based off what you're seeing and what

00:48:45.030 --> 00:48:48.230
you know of your team. And the thing is, you

00:48:48.230 --> 00:48:52.050
can criticize it now, but if it would have worked

00:48:52.050 --> 00:48:54.369
and they were two points away from winning, you're

00:48:54.369 --> 00:48:56.800
like, Marcel is a genius. He's a genius. He's

00:48:56.800 --> 00:48:59.019
a genius. It was a great call. Whoa. But as a

00:48:59.019 --> 00:49:01.219
coach, you live and die by those decisions, right?

00:49:01.360 --> 00:49:04.400
Yeah. I don't think you can sit here and say

00:49:04.400 --> 00:49:07.400
it was like a wild decision. Fenerbahce was down

00:49:07.400 --> 00:49:11.000
substantially for most of that golden set, too.

00:49:11.639 --> 00:49:13.460
You know, at one point. I think they were down

00:49:13.460 --> 00:49:17.039
four for most of it. Three or four for most of

00:49:17.039 --> 00:49:19.340
it. At one point, it was 12 -8. Yeah. They made

00:49:19.340 --> 00:49:23.400
a push. They made a push. You know, we had a

00:49:23.400 --> 00:49:27.269
setting. Timing miscommunication. You know. For

00:49:27.269 --> 00:49:29.730
Scandici. For Scandici. We had. A hitting error.

00:49:29.889 --> 00:49:31.530
A hitting error. As the set was progressing.

00:49:31.530 --> 00:49:33.670
You were like. Oh my gosh. Scandici is going

00:49:33.670 --> 00:49:35.809
to just run away with this. But to Fenerbahce's

00:49:35.809 --> 00:49:38.349
credit. They did make a push. In the eyes of

00:49:38.349 --> 00:49:42.090
their fans. And their management. Does that matter?

00:49:42.309 --> 00:49:45.369
No. No. Well they're 0 -5 in golden sets. I think.

00:49:45.429 --> 00:49:50.170
I think it's 0 -6 now. Maybe. Not great. Like.

00:49:50.469 --> 00:49:54.070
They were talking about. Oh they. Won. Champions

00:49:54.070 --> 00:49:56.369
League in 2012. That's when I was in the Champions

00:49:56.369 --> 00:49:59.349
League Final Four, okay? Like, a club of that

00:49:59.349 --> 00:50:02.250
reputation, I would have thought they would have

00:50:02.250 --> 00:50:06.329
won it for sure more recently than 2012. I will

00:50:06.329 --> 00:50:09.090
say, you know, I thought Scandici had a pretty

00:50:09.090 --> 00:50:11.869
good game plan when they were in trouble in terms

00:50:11.869 --> 00:50:17.090
of taking the attack to the Vargas, Federov -Seva

00:50:17.090 --> 00:50:21.650
tip defense. That intersection between Federov

00:50:21.650 --> 00:50:25.010
-Seva and Vargas. Not great. That tip zone in

00:50:25.010 --> 00:50:27.289
the middle, Bermuda triangle, as Adam likes to

00:50:27.289 --> 00:50:30.650
call it. The ball just disappears. So, you know,

00:50:30.650 --> 00:50:32.849
and not only that, they're both going for it

00:50:32.849 --> 00:50:34.469
because they know somebody has to dig it. Then

00:50:34.469 --> 00:50:36.869
you're taking away their two best hitters. And

00:50:36.869 --> 00:50:39.519
now, you know, you're going to get. you know,

00:50:39.539 --> 00:50:42.019
a marginal back row ball if they make a dig.

00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:44.900
They had an offensive plan that they were able

00:50:44.900 --> 00:50:46.960
to exploit in certain situations, and I thought

00:50:46.960 --> 00:50:49.679
Skinner did a good job of that. The game was

00:50:49.679 --> 00:50:52.800
so close. It could have gone either way. I know

00:50:52.800 --> 00:50:55.480
four points is a lot in a 15 -point set, but

00:50:55.480 --> 00:50:57.380
they fought back. Yeah, it was 15 -13 at the

00:50:57.380 --> 00:51:00.440
end. Yeah. Who would you say are your players

00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:03.800
of the match for each side in match two slash

00:51:03.800 --> 00:51:07.199
golden set? I mean, I thought Federal Seva was

00:51:07.199 --> 00:51:09.340
outstanding for Fenerbahce. I mean, that's the

00:51:09.340 --> 00:51:11.880
response you want to have from one of your top

00:51:11.880 --> 00:51:14.320
players. Tons of credit to her. She was outstanding.

00:51:15.460 --> 00:51:17.400
I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but

00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:20.079
I want to give it to Skinner. She did a really

00:51:20.079 --> 00:51:22.860
good job. I thought she was solid. I thought

00:51:22.860 --> 00:51:25.139
she passed pretty well. I know they're pinching

00:51:25.139 --> 00:51:26.639
her and they're not giving her a lot of responsibility,

00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:28.840
but she took care of the ball she needed to.

00:51:29.039 --> 00:51:33.460
She made some massive swings. ballsy swings at

00:51:33.460 --> 00:51:36.059
the end of the golden set well against she was

00:51:36.059 --> 00:51:39.119
the one who had the miscommunication and made

00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:42.179
a hitting error and then they set her again and

00:51:42.179 --> 00:51:46.219
she scored two in a row like she could have crumbled

00:51:46.219 --> 00:51:48.860
she came back and made a big time swing in a

00:51:48.860 --> 00:51:54.199
big moment that's for me it's growth it shows

00:51:54.199 --> 00:51:58.340
she is and I'm going to say this and people are

00:51:58.340 --> 00:52:00.239
going to jump down my throat. She is learning

00:52:00.239 --> 00:52:03.039
how to win in the biggest moments. When you make

00:52:03.039 --> 00:52:07.400
a mistake to close that gap in a fifth set to

00:52:07.400 --> 00:52:11.019
go to the semifinals in Champions League, that's

00:52:11.019 --> 00:52:13.159
probably one of the biggest pressure moments

00:52:13.159 --> 00:52:17.320
of her career. And to come back and to make two

00:52:17.320 --> 00:52:20.400
great swings against a good block. I don't know

00:52:20.400 --> 00:52:22.179
how anybody can disagree with that. I'm sorry.

00:52:22.300 --> 00:52:25.219
Winning is a skill that you need to learn like

00:52:25.219 --> 00:52:27.820
everything else. And if you're never put in those

00:52:27.820 --> 00:52:31.059
moments where you need to execute when you feel

00:52:31.059 --> 00:52:32.539
like you're going to barf all over the floor,

00:52:32.719 --> 00:52:35.099
then what are you doing? You're never going to

00:52:35.099 --> 00:52:37.820
learn how to do that. Like you need to be put

00:52:37.820 --> 00:52:39.880
in those situations where you want to run and

00:52:39.880 --> 00:52:42.699
hide and you don't have anywhere to go. And you

00:52:42.699 --> 00:52:44.739
need to prove to yourself and to everybody else

00:52:44.739 --> 00:52:47.500
that you can do it because then the next time

00:52:47.500 --> 00:52:50.599
you're there, you just replicate it. And then

00:52:50.599 --> 00:52:53.440
that's how you become a winner. So I think that

00:52:53.440 --> 00:52:55.699
that is huge. We've seen Antropova do it. We've

00:52:55.699 --> 00:52:58.559
seen Vargas do it. We've seen players that were

00:52:58.559 --> 00:53:01.260
in that match do it. Fedorovseva did it. Skinner

00:53:01.260 --> 00:53:03.780
needed that. I totally agree. And again, you

00:53:03.780 --> 00:53:06.940
can probably always give MVP to Antropova. Like

00:53:06.940 --> 00:53:09.380
she also played well. She had the game winning

00:53:09.380 --> 00:53:12.260
swing. Like she serves great. But I think if

00:53:12.260 --> 00:53:15.219
you look at her performance from match one to

00:53:15.219 --> 00:53:17.320
match two, like she was better in match one.

00:53:17.360 --> 00:53:19.699
And I thought Skinner, you know, when the chips

00:53:19.699 --> 00:53:22.500
were down. played really well. So I was impressed.

00:53:22.780 --> 00:53:24.860
I was really, really impressed watching her take

00:53:24.860 --> 00:53:27.679
those last couple swings. Regardless of the outcome,

00:53:27.940 --> 00:53:31.300
I do feel for Fenerbahce. To play for a club

00:53:31.300 --> 00:53:34.679
like that, the expectations are sky high. And

00:53:34.679 --> 00:53:38.360
to consistently lose in a golden set situation,

00:53:38.780 --> 00:53:42.900
that is tough. And I'm sure that they are hearing

00:53:42.900 --> 00:53:47.760
about it from all angles. It is hard to play

00:53:47.760 --> 00:53:50.929
for a club that demands excellence. But it's

00:53:50.929 --> 00:53:52.969
also something that you need to do to advance

00:53:52.969 --> 00:53:57.010
your career and get better, etc. I thought, so

00:53:57.010 --> 00:54:01.250
even though I do feel for them, I loved watching

00:54:01.250 --> 00:54:05.130
this series. It was so entertaining, such high

00:54:05.130 --> 00:54:11.150
quality volleyball. I love this. This is why

00:54:11.150 --> 00:54:14.190
we do the podcast, quite frankly. Yeah, it was

00:54:14.190 --> 00:54:17.880
just so good. And you're moving. Just watching

00:54:17.880 --> 00:54:21.659
how the athletes are attacking defenses, adjustments,

00:54:22.099 --> 00:54:26.179
serving strategies, it doesn't get much better

00:54:26.179 --> 00:54:29.699
than this, quite frankly. Well, NDG moving on

00:54:29.699 --> 00:54:32.219
to their second Final Four in a row. They came

00:54:32.219 --> 00:54:35.000
second last year, so we will see if they can

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:38.139
improve on that this year because they will go

00:54:38.139 --> 00:54:41.440
head -to -head with Azazibashi in the semifinals

00:54:41.440 --> 00:54:45.110
in a month. Okay, let's dive into our listener

00:54:45.110 --> 00:54:48.210
questions for the week. Question one. Do you

00:54:48.210 --> 00:54:50.570
guys think there will be massive movement in

00:54:50.570 --> 00:54:53.929
love once the second season comes to an end?

00:54:53.989 --> 00:54:57.170
Do you think the voice of media people, Volley

00:54:57.170 --> 00:54:59.530
Talk, the forum, outside voices, loved ones,

00:54:59.610 --> 00:55:02.110
etc. will be enough to convince players to play

00:55:02.110 --> 00:55:05.989
overseas? So we're talking about players leaving

00:55:05.989 --> 00:55:09.590
love for overseas. Is that? Yeah, massive movement.

00:55:09.670 --> 00:55:12.389
Because a lot of players sign two -year contracts

00:55:12.389 --> 00:55:16.030
at the start of Love. And obviously the second

00:55:16.030 --> 00:55:18.429
season is coming to an end. They're wondering

00:55:18.429 --> 00:55:21.989
if we think that there will be a mass exodus.

00:55:22.090 --> 00:55:26.769
I don't think so. I think that players like playing

00:55:26.769 --> 00:55:30.590
in Love. I think if they're not national team

00:55:30.590 --> 00:55:35.210
potentials, that they won't leave. So what about

00:55:35.210 --> 00:55:38.610
players that are like a Maddie Skinner or a Logan

00:55:38.610 --> 00:55:43.030
Eggleston, those types? Honestly, I have no idea

00:55:43.030 --> 00:55:47.090
where their head's at. I think that Avery Skinner

00:55:47.090 --> 00:55:49.489
has done so well overseas. If she's talking to

00:55:49.489 --> 00:55:52.690
her sister, she might be able to convince her

00:55:52.690 --> 00:55:55.190
to go. But again, they're playing for the national

00:55:55.190 --> 00:55:57.869
team coach. It's hard. And I think those two

00:55:57.869 --> 00:56:00.429
realistically are the big ones, right? None of

00:56:00.429 --> 00:56:04.130
the, I want to say, legacy players. but the U

00:56:04.130 --> 00:56:05.730
S national team who have done it a whole bunch

00:56:05.730 --> 00:56:07.309
are going to go back overseas if they're going

00:56:07.309 --> 00:56:09.530
to play national team. So I think what we're

00:56:09.530 --> 00:56:14.070
really talking about is Skinner, Angleston, and

00:56:14.070 --> 00:56:17.050
maybe Jordan Thompson. Like those would be the

00:56:17.050 --> 00:56:18.429
three. I would consider Jordan Thompson a legacy

00:56:18.429 --> 00:56:20.289
type player too. She's played a couple Olympics.

00:56:20.650 --> 00:56:24.090
But she is also going to be integral to their

00:56:24.090 --> 00:56:26.969
success going forward. I think as a hitter, it's

00:56:26.969 --> 00:56:28.929
more important to play against the big block

00:56:28.929 --> 00:56:31.670
and to get the feel than let's say for a setter.

00:56:31.949 --> 00:56:34.710
you can kind of still run your offense. I think

00:56:34.710 --> 00:56:37.510
for me, those three players are the big question

00:56:37.510 --> 00:56:39.630
mark, but I honestly don't think Eggleston is

00:56:39.630 --> 00:56:42.269
going to end up being a starter. So it's really

00:56:42.269 --> 00:56:45.150
between Maddie and Jordan, who's going to start

00:56:45.150 --> 00:56:47.110
and is, are either of them going to go overseas

00:56:47.110 --> 00:56:49.409
to cement that I think is the real question.

00:56:50.170 --> 00:56:52.050
Well, and I mean, like you said, I think love

00:56:52.050 --> 00:56:55.309
is comfortable. Yeah. And even just like watching

00:56:55.309 --> 00:56:59.269
champions league, it's just a different vibe

00:56:59.269 --> 00:57:03.420
and just. Like these coaches are screaming at

00:57:03.420 --> 00:57:06.179
these players and you do not see that in North

00:57:06.179 --> 00:57:09.599
America. It's just a complete, you see the fans

00:57:09.599 --> 00:57:13.659
like booing, throwing things on the floor, hissing,

00:57:13.659 --> 00:57:16.579
like, you know, management is getting in people's

00:57:16.579 --> 00:57:19.260
faces. And I guarantee you, this is not the case

00:57:19.260 --> 00:57:23.179
in the North American league. So it's just, what

00:57:23.179 --> 00:57:28.719
are you willing to handle to get better? It'll

00:57:28.719 --> 00:57:31.260
be an interesting question, and I'm very curious,

00:57:31.340 --> 00:57:35.659
but I don't think so. I think it's too, like

00:57:35.659 --> 00:57:38.239
you said, it's comfortable. Okay, question two.

00:57:38.320 --> 00:57:41.079
Now that Turner took over the starting role for

00:57:41.079 --> 00:57:43.760
Grand Rapids Rise, does this hurt Sage's chances

00:57:43.760 --> 00:57:47.000
of returning to the national team? I would think

00:57:47.000 --> 00:57:49.059
that it wouldn't make sense for her to make the

00:57:49.059 --> 00:57:51.019
lineup if she couldn't even keep her starting

00:57:51.019 --> 00:57:54.519
spot in a weaker league. I mean, I think you

00:57:54.519 --> 00:57:58.980
and I both didn't really picture her setter for

00:57:58.980 --> 00:58:01.239
the national team so when she got named to the

00:58:01.239 --> 00:58:03.900
roster last season we were just jaw on the floor

00:58:03.900 --> 00:58:07.300
all things equal yes losing your starting spot

00:58:07.300 --> 00:58:11.219
doesn't look great especially in the quote -unquote

00:58:11.219 --> 00:58:13.960
lower league but honestly she was like the only

00:58:13.960 --> 00:58:16.139
setter that the former texas players could connect

00:58:16.139 --> 00:58:19.340
with last summer i thought yeah so that is the

00:58:19.340 --> 00:58:22.539
one thing she has going in her favor but the

00:58:22.539 --> 00:58:24.420
offense isn't an international offense when she

00:58:24.420 --> 00:58:27.099
said no it's not long term it's not a good decision

00:58:27.719 --> 00:58:29.820
But we did have a lot of setter injuries last

00:58:29.820 --> 00:58:32.340
year. Like Jenna Gray, I think, was injured.

00:58:32.460 --> 00:58:35.179
Rachel Fairbanks was injured. Kami Miner was

00:58:35.179 --> 00:58:38.800
in school. So it'll be really interesting to

00:58:38.800 --> 00:58:44.099
see if they choose to utilize those players that

00:58:44.099 --> 00:58:47.380
were unavailable last season. And I mean, those

00:58:47.380 --> 00:58:50.780
four setters alone are ahead of her. I think

00:58:50.780 --> 00:58:53.880
so. Yeah. Okay, question three. Rewatching some

00:58:53.880 --> 00:58:57.000
older USA volleyball matches, Logan Tom was thought

00:58:57.000 --> 00:58:58.960
of as one of the best U .S. women's volleyball

00:58:58.960 --> 00:59:02.099
players ever. I would say by now Jordan Larson

00:59:02.099 --> 00:59:05.179
can be added to that list. Who is better, Logan

00:59:05.179 --> 00:59:09.119
or Jordan, and why? Who is better in their prime?

00:59:09.559 --> 00:59:12.519
If Logan Tom was in this era of volleyball, who

00:59:12.519 --> 00:59:16.460
would be better? It is so hard to answer questions

00:59:16.460 --> 00:59:20.010
like this because you even look at like... NBA

00:59:20.010 --> 00:59:22.150
discussions and stuff and it's like if Kareem

00:59:22.150 --> 00:59:24.329
Abdul -Jabbar was playing in this era like how

00:59:24.329 --> 00:59:26.489
would he fare and it's just like comparing apples

00:59:26.489 --> 00:59:29.230
to oranges but you also played with both of them

00:59:29.230 --> 00:59:31.889
I did play with both of them okay Kareem Abdul

00:59:31.889 --> 00:59:33.829
-Jabbar to now is like more of a stretch than

00:59:33.829 --> 00:59:37.849
Logan Tom playing now I get it so back off but

00:59:37.849 --> 00:59:40.489
it's really interesting question because they

00:59:40.489 --> 00:59:45.869
are very very similar athletes their their style

00:59:45.869 --> 00:59:51.280
of play is similar their makeup as like their

00:59:51.280 --> 00:59:54.679
skill sets as far as ball control defense when

00:59:54.679 --> 00:59:59.139
Jordan was spin serving like it's actually eerie

00:59:59.139 --> 01:00:02.920
how similar their styles are I think it's fair

01:00:02.920 --> 01:00:05.579
to say that Jordan can 100 % go down as one of

01:00:05.579 --> 01:00:08.440
the best ever without in US women's volleyball

01:00:08.440 --> 01:00:10.519
like she's won four Olympic medals are you kidding

01:00:10.519 --> 01:00:15.090
me I think it's worth taking a look at the personnel

01:00:15.090 --> 01:00:17.789
around those athletes and the types of teams

01:00:17.789 --> 01:00:19.610
that they were on because it's hard to compare

01:00:19.610 --> 01:00:22.869
people's results to each other when the makeup

01:00:22.869 --> 01:00:26.570
of teams is so different. I mean, when you have

01:00:26.570 --> 01:00:29.889
players slotted in the right spot, it allows

01:00:29.889 --> 01:00:33.050
them to succeed on a team level. And I think

01:00:33.050 --> 01:00:36.150
that's where you can't really compare because

01:00:36.150 --> 01:00:38.309
the U .S. was in their golden age of volleyball

01:00:38.309 --> 01:00:41.449
when Jordan was playing. I know that Jordan and

01:00:41.449 --> 01:00:43.969
Logan played together in the 2012 games in London.

01:00:44.829 --> 01:00:49.550
But just the whole vibe of USA Volleyball at

01:00:49.550 --> 01:00:52.489
the time was just different. And I think that

01:00:52.489 --> 01:00:55.690
they became more of a unit as time went on. Who

01:00:55.690 --> 01:00:59.170
was better in their prime? How do you answer

01:00:59.170 --> 01:01:02.230
that? What's your instinct? There's no right

01:01:02.230 --> 01:01:04.429
or wrong answer. They're both amazing. You can't

01:01:04.429 --> 01:01:06.710
prove it one way or the other. But what comes

01:01:06.710 --> 01:01:10.460
to mind? Well, let me ask you this. Who do you

01:01:10.460 --> 01:01:15.179
think was a more fierce competitor? Logan. That

01:01:15.179 --> 01:01:18.320
was my instinct as well. I think at the time,

01:01:18.360 --> 01:01:21.400
Logan was doing things that you didn't see many

01:01:21.400 --> 01:01:25.860
players doing. When I think of hitting a cross

01:01:25.860 --> 01:01:30.539
-body line shot, I think of Logan Tom. You know

01:01:30.539 --> 01:01:36.139
what I mean? Jordan is a polished, skilled athlete

01:01:36.139 --> 01:01:39.900
from top to bottom. But do I think she necessarily

01:01:39.900 --> 01:01:44.840
like revolutionized a game? No. Like I wanted

01:01:44.840 --> 01:01:49.019
to be Logan. So that is also coloring my opinion.

01:01:49.179 --> 01:01:52.239
I don't think it's fair for me to answer this

01:01:52.239 --> 01:01:55.480
because like I literally looked up to Logan and

01:01:55.480 --> 01:01:58.719
wanted to be her when I was like young. That

01:01:58.719 --> 01:02:01.460
is always going to be hanging in my mind. I mean,

01:02:01.480 --> 01:02:03.480
if you're looking straight at results, who is

01:02:03.480 --> 01:02:04.960
better in their prime, you have to say Jordan.

01:02:05.039 --> 01:02:09.340
She won four Olympic medals. Like, you can't

01:02:09.340 --> 01:02:12.699
deny that. If Logan played now, if I take Logan

01:02:12.699 --> 01:02:15.099
in her prime and slot her in now, would she start

01:02:15.099 --> 01:02:19.519
for the national team? Yes. This question is

01:02:19.519 --> 01:02:23.019
so challenging. Do you have a take at all? I

01:02:23.019 --> 01:02:25.559
didn't get to see much of Logan in her prime.

01:02:25.719 --> 01:02:29.480
You played with her towards the end. But just

01:02:29.480 --> 01:02:32.159
understanding how she approached her craft and

01:02:32.159 --> 01:02:34.820
even how she performed in that season with you.

01:02:35.550 --> 01:02:39.429
and having watched Jordan for longer, there's

01:02:39.429 --> 01:02:45.309
an edge to Logan that you see with the greatest

01:02:45.309 --> 01:02:49.449
competitors. And I think, for me, that's what

01:02:49.449 --> 01:02:53.210
maybe puts it over the top. I love this question.

01:02:53.349 --> 01:02:59.050
I'm sorry I'm not answering it well. Okay, question

01:02:59.050 --> 01:03:02.190
four. MLV seems to be starved for opposites.

01:03:02.389 --> 01:03:06.360
True. Agreed. Is it typical for stronger opposites

01:03:06.360 --> 01:03:08.940
to go overseas or is it a position that isn't

01:03:08.940 --> 01:03:11.579
as developed in college players? It seems like

01:03:11.579 --> 01:03:14.179
a lot of the opposites were outsides in college.

01:03:14.860 --> 01:03:19.639
There's two factors to this question. One is

01:03:19.639 --> 01:03:22.420
opposites are generally the highest paid players.

01:03:22.679 --> 01:03:25.260
So if you're a good opposite, you can get more

01:03:25.260 --> 01:03:28.340
money than you can playing an MLV unless you're

01:03:28.340 --> 01:03:31.119
a 6 '7 passing left side who's terminal. Those

01:03:31.119 --> 01:03:33.670
are always worth the most. The other piece of

01:03:33.670 --> 01:03:37.010
it is in college, opposites don't play six rotations.

01:03:37.190 --> 01:03:40.329
Very rare. You can't have them on the floor in

01:03:40.329 --> 01:03:43.809
MLV because you can't sub them off. I mean, and

01:03:43.809 --> 01:03:46.469
that goes across the board. MLV, love, take your

01:03:46.469 --> 01:03:49.469
pick. So even if you see some of these big terminal

01:03:49.469 --> 01:03:51.969
athletes coming out of college, they're not ready

01:03:51.969 --> 01:03:54.869
to compete in a game like this because they have

01:03:54.869 --> 01:03:57.570
to play in the back row. They have to play defense.

01:03:57.769 --> 01:04:00.989
They become a huge liability. You take a passing

01:04:00.989 --> 01:04:04.150
outside. Who's maybe not your best passer, but

01:04:04.150 --> 01:04:06.050
has ball control and you move them over to be

01:04:06.050 --> 01:04:08.909
terminal and your team is better than having

01:04:08.909 --> 01:04:11.590
a really offensive player with a black hole in

01:04:11.590 --> 01:04:14.030
the back row. The transition is tough. I think

01:04:14.030 --> 01:04:15.929
you'll end up seeing them trying to train some

01:04:15.929 --> 01:04:19.030
of these players, maybe quote unquote red shirting

01:04:19.030 --> 01:04:22.010
them on an MLB team for a year to get their defense

01:04:22.010 --> 01:04:25.329
kind of up to par. But I think for right now,

01:04:25.349 --> 01:04:28.059
that's the reason you see the issue. Yeah. I

01:04:28.059 --> 01:04:30.980
mean, I think in recent years, even the NCAA

01:04:30.980 --> 01:04:34.980
has been starved for good opposites. But if you

01:04:34.980 --> 01:04:38.980
think of bigger opposites and a smack went overseas

01:04:38.980 --> 01:04:43.340
right away, let Nikki went to love. What other

01:04:43.340 --> 01:04:46.239
great, I don't even want to say great. What other

01:04:46.239 --> 01:04:49.579
decent opposites have come out of college recently?

01:04:49.800 --> 01:04:52.559
And like, I'm saying this on the fly. I'm sure

01:04:52.559 --> 01:04:54.239
everybody has a list in their head, but like

01:04:54.239 --> 01:04:56.940
just thinking of this, like in a split second,

01:04:57.449 --> 01:04:59.130
I'm like, okay, Olivia Babcock will probably

01:04:59.130 --> 01:05:02.150
go overseas, I hope. Kennedy Martin. Kennedy

01:05:02.150 --> 01:05:04.530
Martin's coming. And then I'm like, okay, Noemi

01:05:04.530 --> 01:05:07.849
Glover is an MLV -style opposite for me. I agree.

01:05:08.250 --> 01:05:12.210
Like, she could do MLV. But, yeah, I think the

01:05:12.210 --> 01:05:17.269
U .S. in general is not developing opposites

01:05:17.269 --> 01:05:20.869
to be able to play six rotations, like you said.

01:05:21.289 --> 01:05:24.010
And at the pro level, you have to be able to

01:05:24.010 --> 01:05:26.269
play a little bit of defense, at least, like

01:05:26.269 --> 01:05:29.250
serviceable. hopefully, and know how to hit in

01:05:29.250 --> 01:05:32.590
the back row. Well, you even see, we watched

01:05:32.590 --> 01:05:34.510
some Champions League matches this week, and

01:05:34.510 --> 01:05:38.289
the defensive hole between Vargas and Federer

01:05:38.289 --> 01:05:40.550
-Seva, who are both great offensive players,

01:05:40.849 --> 01:05:43.929
was exploited by Scandici. Like, you have to

01:05:43.929 --> 01:05:46.969
be able to not be a minus on defense. You don't

01:05:46.969 --> 01:05:49.849
have to make spectacular plays, but good coaches

01:05:49.849 --> 01:05:54.210
and well -run teams will exploit defensive holes,

01:05:54.369 --> 01:05:57.210
and you can't have them. Okay, question five.

01:05:57.309 --> 01:06:00.289
Do you think Kalia Lanier has a strong chance

01:06:00.289 --> 01:06:02.510
of being selected for the VNL this year based

01:06:02.510 --> 01:06:04.849
on her strong performance with Milano? Given

01:06:04.849 --> 01:06:07.289
that she's often performing at or above the level

01:06:07.289 --> 01:06:09.309
of some current contending outsides, will she

01:06:09.309 --> 01:06:12.269
finally be given a real opportunity after only

01:06:12.269 --> 01:06:15.539
limited chances in the past? I mean, I hope so.

01:06:15.579 --> 01:06:17.579
We saw last summer, I think she might've been

01:06:17.579 --> 01:06:20.079
injured during VNL actually, but then like at

01:06:20.079 --> 01:06:22.820
world champs, she got subbed in for a game and

01:06:22.820 --> 01:06:25.539
like got aced twice, like right away. And then

01:06:25.539 --> 01:06:27.619
they took her out again. And it's like, not really

01:06:27.619 --> 01:06:30.219
fair. You're not being put in a position to succeed.

01:06:30.340 --> 01:06:32.500
If your team is sucking and then they're like,

01:06:32.539 --> 01:06:34.619
just go in, make a difference. And you're like,

01:06:34.619 --> 01:06:37.000
okay. And like, then you're never given a chance

01:06:37.000 --> 01:06:39.820
again. Like that's really unfortunate. I think

01:06:39.820 --> 01:06:42.920
she's proven that she's capable of playing. at

01:06:42.920 --> 01:06:45.280
that high level. Like she's starting for Milano

01:06:45.280 --> 01:06:49.119
who advanced to the quarters, took back of bank

01:06:49.119 --> 01:06:51.920
to the down to the wire for champions league.

01:06:52.000 --> 01:06:55.059
Like, yeah, she a hundred percent should be given

01:06:55.059 --> 01:06:57.800
a chance. She's without question better than

01:06:57.800 --> 01:06:59.699
some of the players who've been on the roster

01:06:59.699 --> 01:07:04.659
last season. It's just a question of, I think,

01:07:04.659 --> 01:07:06.460
you know, national teams have sometimes politics

01:07:06.460 --> 01:07:08.699
comes into it. I was going to say if she's not

01:07:08.699 --> 01:07:11.739
given. a legitimate chance, like here, take a

01:07:11.739 --> 01:07:13.980
week and start the matches. Let's see what you

01:07:13.980 --> 01:07:17.440
have. I think that becomes political, quite frankly.

01:07:17.559 --> 01:07:20.559
I think she's earned, I think she's earned the

01:07:20.559 --> 01:07:23.500
chance to see if she can perform at that level.

01:07:23.639 --> 01:07:25.500
Well, I think a bunch of these players have earned

01:07:25.500 --> 01:07:27.800
a chance. I think she's earned a chance. Kendall

01:07:27.800 --> 01:07:30.699
Kipp has earned a chance. Amy Minor has earned

01:07:30.699 --> 01:07:33.019
a chance. Granted, she was a backup setter on

01:07:33.019 --> 01:07:37.179
Milano, but that experience is like really valuable.

01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:40.460
There are numerous players that we didn't see

01:07:40.460 --> 01:07:42.980
last year who for sure deserve a chance, and

01:07:42.980 --> 01:07:45.239
if they were not given a chance last year because

01:07:45.239 --> 01:07:47.760
of injury, that's one thing. If they didn't want

01:07:47.760 --> 01:07:51.420
to be there, that's also a thing, but we'll see

01:07:51.420 --> 01:07:54.360
how it plays out this season. All right, question

01:07:54.360 --> 01:07:58.119
six. It is known that Flormarie Heredia Colon

01:07:58.119 --> 01:08:01.619
from Columbus Fury will play for Minas next season

01:08:01.619 --> 01:08:04.780
in Brazil with Hilary Johnson, who's having an

01:08:04.780 --> 01:08:07.820
amazing club season so far. What can we expect

01:08:07.820 --> 01:08:10.440
from the Dominican? Okay, first of all, I thought

01:08:10.440 --> 01:08:12.500
after seeing V &L last year that Hillary Johnson

01:08:12.500 --> 01:08:15.079
was going to have a terrible club season. So

01:08:15.079 --> 01:08:18.300
glad to hear it's going well. Good for her. Yes.

01:08:18.659 --> 01:08:21.859
I'm glad she proved me wrong, really. Good for

01:08:21.859 --> 01:08:25.260
Canada. Yeah, good for Canada. Here's the thing.

01:08:25.880 --> 01:08:28.939
Radio Cologne scores a ton of points because

01:08:28.939 --> 01:08:33.819
she's fearless, but she makes so many errors.

01:08:34.319 --> 01:08:39.670
So many errors. Do I foresee that changing in

01:08:39.670 --> 01:08:44.510
a higher level where teams will have time to

01:08:44.510 --> 01:08:47.270
really prepare and it's a professional environment?

01:08:47.609 --> 01:08:51.890
No. I think we will see, my prediction is, we

01:08:51.890 --> 01:08:55.250
will see a lot of volatility. We'll see one game

01:08:55.250 --> 01:08:59.470
where she is scoring like 25 points and then

01:08:59.470 --> 01:09:01.369
we'll see another game where she's subbed out

01:09:01.369 --> 01:09:05.329
in set one because she's making so many errors.

01:09:06.060 --> 01:09:08.840
I think she was given the green light to just

01:09:08.840 --> 01:09:12.800
go for it at Miami. And I think she just has

01:09:12.800 --> 01:09:16.119
to really become a little more consistent and

01:09:16.119 --> 01:09:20.779
understand when to press the gas pedal and when

01:09:20.779 --> 01:09:23.600
to maybe tap the brake a bit. Yeah, I think that's

01:09:23.600 --> 01:09:26.859
a fair prediction for what will happen in her

01:09:26.859 --> 01:09:29.359
season. I also think playing in Brazil will help

01:09:29.359 --> 01:09:33.500
with that. style of training she'll already be

01:09:33.500 --> 01:09:35.239
a little bit familiar with it given her coaching

01:09:35.239 --> 01:09:38.100
staff at miami but it's part of a maturing process

01:09:38.100 --> 01:09:41.039
and honestly as a coach i'd rather teach you

01:09:41.039 --> 01:09:43.600
to dial it back and make different decisions

01:09:43.600 --> 01:09:46.739
than have to force you to ramp it up and be more

01:09:46.739 --> 01:09:50.239
aggressive so it's part of a learning curve of

01:09:50.239 --> 01:09:52.600
an athlete who has that kind of mentality which

01:09:52.600 --> 01:09:56.699
is good i think she will get better in that regard

01:09:56.699 --> 01:10:00.500
playing in brazil And question seven, why is

01:10:00.500 --> 01:10:03.939
the libero position so lacking in the U .S. in

01:10:03.939 --> 01:10:06.340
regards to talent? We have tens of thousands

01:10:06.340 --> 01:10:08.600
of younger girls and huge amounts of money in

01:10:08.600 --> 01:10:11.380
youth club volleyball, and we have hence Grimes,

01:10:11.380 --> 01:10:15.560
Tuzzo, and Ogilvy as the top runners for 2026

01:10:15.560 --> 01:10:19.699
VNL. They're good, but not great. I think Rodriguez

01:10:19.699 --> 01:10:22.199
could be added to that list, but I understand

01:10:22.199 --> 01:10:25.680
what you're saying. Great question. I think there's

01:10:25.680 --> 01:10:28.979
a very easy answer. Okay, what is it? They're

01:10:28.979 --> 01:10:33.760
not having a chance to compete with higher level

01:10:33.760 --> 01:10:37.279
athletes. You look at, again, I'm a fan of the

01:10:37.279 --> 01:10:39.439
North American system. I'm a fan of athletes

01:10:39.439 --> 01:10:42.079
having to play, of getting to go to college.

01:10:42.319 --> 01:10:46.119
It's a more holistic experience. But if you look

01:10:46.119 --> 01:10:51.960
at the world -class liberos, at 14, 15, 16, they're

01:10:51.960 --> 01:10:55.079
playing against the top athletes at their clubs.

01:10:55.529 --> 01:10:58.989
If you get identified as being good, you go and

01:10:58.989 --> 01:11:02.550
play with the pros. You see volleyball at a faster,

01:11:02.710 --> 01:11:06.569
higher, better level for longer. Well, look at

01:11:06.569 --> 01:11:11.170
Gutsch again right now. She graduated from Tennessee.

01:11:11.250 --> 01:11:14.229
She is the backup libero for Fenerbahce right

01:11:14.229 --> 01:11:17.590
now. Who's hitting at you every day? Playing

01:11:17.590 --> 01:11:22.449
against Vargas, Fedorov, Seva, Airdem. She's

01:11:22.449 --> 01:11:25.250
on the B -side digging those players. It's different.

01:11:25.369 --> 01:11:27.470
I'm not picking on Lexi, but we'll use her as

01:11:27.470 --> 01:11:31.149
an example. When she played VNL from a defensive

01:11:31.149 --> 01:11:33.869
standpoint, teams were scoring on her because

01:11:33.869 --> 01:11:36.710
she wasn't used to athletes being able to hit

01:11:36.710 --> 01:11:40.869
the angles that were being hit against her. At

01:11:40.869 --> 01:11:42.430
the pace that they were coming. Yeah, you can

01:11:42.430 --> 01:11:44.109
talk about game plan. You can talk about positioning.

01:11:44.270 --> 01:11:47.149
But the fact of the matter is she wasn't in the

01:11:47.149 --> 01:11:49.689
right place for the speed and the angle of the

01:11:49.689 --> 01:11:51.729
attacks that were coming because she could make

01:11:51.729 --> 01:11:54.829
those digs in college. It's really hard to get

01:11:54.829 --> 01:11:57.850
better when you don't see things, when you don't

01:11:57.850 --> 01:11:59.930
see a bigger block, you don't see better attackers.

01:12:00.069 --> 01:12:02.989
A year of training in that environment, you would

01:12:02.989 --> 01:12:05.890
figure out which of these liberos had a chance

01:12:05.890 --> 01:12:07.550
to move to the next level and which don't, but

01:12:07.550 --> 01:12:09.340
you don't get to see that. And then all of a

01:12:09.340 --> 01:12:11.399
sudden you're playing VNL and you're shell shocked

01:12:11.399 --> 01:12:13.760
and you're traveling and all of this. I think

01:12:13.760 --> 01:12:17.359
that's why you see this issue. The other thing

01:12:17.359 --> 01:12:19.819
that I'll add, and I'm not saying that this is

01:12:19.819 --> 01:12:24.020
like true 100 % of the time, but in my experience,

01:12:24.140 --> 01:12:28.699
the best liberos in the world are in your face,

01:12:28.739 --> 01:12:33.020
aggressive, don't hold back, or kind of will

01:12:33.020 --> 01:12:36.199
tell you like it is. These girls that were named

01:12:36.199 --> 01:12:39.289
seem like nice girls. Do you know what I mean?

01:12:39.329 --> 01:12:43.130
And like North American sport culture, like everybody

01:12:43.130 --> 01:12:46.609
has to be nice. If you're like in the girls side,

01:12:46.689 --> 01:12:50.270
you watch champions league, you watch top VNL

01:12:50.270 --> 01:12:53.689
teams. The liberos are barking at their passers

01:12:53.689 --> 01:12:55.970
about what to do. They're going up and getting

01:12:55.970 --> 01:12:59.489
in the face. of hitters after making bad decisions.

01:12:59.649 --> 01:13:01.890
Or if somebody makes a serve, they're going up

01:13:01.890 --> 01:13:04.130
and telling them about it. Like, do you see Moki

01:13:04.130 --> 01:13:06.810
Dajunaro like sitting there smiling, being passive?

01:13:06.909 --> 01:13:10.270
Like, no, she is means business and she is running

01:13:10.270 --> 01:13:12.329
the court. And you don't, I don't really get

01:13:12.329 --> 01:13:15.369
that vibe from these liberos who were listed

01:13:15.369 --> 01:13:18.710
in American history. Who did I get that vibe

01:13:18.710 --> 01:13:22.149
from? Like a Stacy Sikora. She gave me that impression.

01:13:22.550 --> 01:13:25.270
What about Wong Arantis? What kind of vibe do

01:13:25.270 --> 01:13:28.010
you get from her? Cause she's. Very good. She's

01:13:28.010 --> 01:13:30.649
very good. I wouldn't, I don't get like the aggressive

01:13:30.649 --> 01:13:35.109
vibe from her, but you can see that she has control

01:13:35.109 --> 01:13:38.649
of the back court. Like she's speaking to her

01:13:38.649 --> 01:13:41.720
passers and she's gotten things down. Granted,

01:13:41.720 --> 01:13:43.899
she's nicer than some of the liberos that I,

01:13:43.960 --> 01:13:46.520
she seems like nicer than some of the liberos

01:13:46.520 --> 01:13:48.859
I'm thinking of internationally. I think the

01:13:48.859 --> 01:13:51.880
libero position, it's like more than just like

01:13:51.880 --> 01:13:55.239
knowing how to play. It's about having that intangible

01:13:55.239 --> 01:13:57.840
of like, almost like a bulldog. Well, you're

01:13:57.840 --> 01:14:00.979
the back row boss and you have to act like it.

01:14:00.979 --> 01:14:03.659
Like you, you're running the show. The setter

01:14:03.659 --> 01:14:05.800
is running the offense and you are running the

01:14:05.800 --> 01:14:08.460
defense. You're talking to blockers. You're letting

01:14:08.460 --> 01:14:11.000
them know you have a vision of what's happening

01:14:11.000 --> 01:14:12.880
and unfolding on the court. And you need to be

01:14:12.880 --> 01:14:14.659
able to communicate that and make sure people

01:14:14.659 --> 01:14:16.680
are doing what they're supposed to be doing.

01:14:16.739 --> 01:14:19.939
And again, a lot of these liberals listed seem

01:14:19.939 --> 01:14:22.420
passive. They're not ready for that role yet.

01:14:22.500 --> 01:14:25.060
And I don't think that type of attitude is necessarily

01:14:25.060 --> 01:14:29.439
rewarded sport culture. All right. Looking forward

01:14:29.439 --> 01:14:32.100
this week, Tuesday to Thursday, Champions League

01:14:32.100 --> 01:14:36.859
men's. quarterfinals away matches are on the

01:14:36.859 --> 01:14:38.939
board. You know how to think about Champions

01:14:38.939 --> 01:14:41.939
League. Watch them. Thursday at 8 p .m. Eastern,

01:14:42.159 --> 01:14:45.159
Love Austin versus Salt Lake. That's on Victory

01:14:45.159 --> 01:14:47.260
Plus. These two teams are competing for that

01:14:47.260 --> 01:14:49.819
number four spot. Yes, so this should be, this

01:14:49.819 --> 01:14:51.760
game has some meaning. We don't say that about

01:14:51.760 --> 01:14:53.399
Love very often, so this will be a good one to

01:14:53.399 --> 01:14:56.220
watch. Thursday at 9 p .m. Eastern and Saturday

01:14:56.220 --> 01:15:00.880
at 10 p .m. Eastern, NCAA men UCLA versus Pepperdine.

01:15:01.239 --> 01:15:05.000
This could either Be a good game or an absolute

01:15:05.000 --> 01:15:08.640
shellacking? Well, they're doing a home in a

01:15:08.640 --> 01:15:12.819
way. I'm curious which Pepperdine shows up. I

01:15:12.819 --> 01:15:14.600
think everybody's going to come out and do their

01:15:14.600 --> 01:15:17.520
best against UCLA. When you're at the top, when

01:15:17.520 --> 01:15:19.159
you're undefeated, everybody knows they've got

01:15:19.159 --> 01:15:20.460
nothing to lose against you and you're going

01:15:20.460 --> 01:15:22.939
to get everybody's best. But I'm curious if they

01:15:22.939 --> 01:15:25.680
can do it for more than a set. Like, is it one

01:15:25.680 --> 01:15:28.279
good set and then they roll or can they fight

01:15:28.279 --> 01:15:32.529
for the whole match? I'm curious to see how Hartke

01:15:32.529 --> 01:15:35.789
does specifically against this team. And then

01:15:35.789 --> 01:15:38.590
Friday and Saturday at 9 p .m. Eastern, NCAA

01:15:38.590 --> 01:15:41.890
men Hawaii versus UC Irvine. The NCAA men's this

01:15:41.890 --> 01:15:44.550
week is going to be fantastic. And Saturday at

01:15:44.550 --> 01:15:47.970
4 p .m. Eastern, MLV Indy versus Omaha. And that

01:15:47.970 --> 01:15:51.989
will be on YouTube. Omaha needs a win here. So

01:15:51.989 --> 01:15:56.050
we'll see how that goes. Well, Omaha beat Indy

01:15:56.050 --> 01:15:57.710
in their last matchup, I believe. I know. So

01:15:57.710 --> 01:15:59.689
Indy will be out for blood. But Omaha needs to

01:15:59.689 --> 01:16:02.319
keep winning. That concludes this week's episode

01:16:02.319 --> 01:16:04.359
of Volley Talk. There's always something shaking

01:16:04.359 --> 01:16:06.279
in the volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed

01:16:06.279 --> 01:16:08.979
this little fix. Be sure to follow the show so

01:16:08.979 --> 01:16:11.079
you don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful

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if you'd leave us a five -star review. You can

01:16:13.680 --> 01:16:16.300
also follow us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore

01:16:16.300 --> 01:16:19.180
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01:16:19.180 --> 01:16:22.239
discuss, you can reach out on Instagram or at

01:16:22.239 --> 01:16:25.840
info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much for joining

01:16:25.840 --> 01:16:27.340
us, and we'll be back next week.