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 Pavin. 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. Winter slash spring season is winding down.

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We have the Italian Women's League finish. NCAA

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Men's finishing. Love, obviously, finished last

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week. Turkish Women finished last week. We had

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the Japanese League finish this week. Our highlights

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and happenings are going to be a little sparse.

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But it's also a very exciting time because we're

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heading into NCAA Men's Championship weekends

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coming up. and MLB playoff situation. So there

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is still a little bit happening before we switch

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gears and focus on the international side of

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things. So we are really excited to do a deep

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dive into everything NCAA men's championship.

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So let's get started. Okay, last couple weeks.

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Adam, was your volley fantasy a highlight or

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a happening this week? A happening. Unless there's

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something lower than happening. How many points

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did you get? I think I was at 313 maybe. Wasn't

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a great week. Yeah, I had like 326. It was a

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bad week. I was like 130 something for the week.

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Yeah, not great. I'm 74th overall. So that didn't

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do too much damage for me. But my weekly stats,

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watch out. You know what my strategy was this

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past week? No. I'll tell you. Pick the players

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on the teams who are still fighting for a playoff

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spot. Because I was like, you know, the ones

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who are like locks, they might not play their

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starters. So I was like, I don't want to take

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that risk. So let me play the teams who are still

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fighting. Didn't work out so great. Because Lydia

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Martin scored so many points, I should have just

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picked her. But anyway, so I'm a little bit upset

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about that if you can't tell. Heavy hitter is

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pulling away. I'm not sure that they're going

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to be caught at this point. I don't think so

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either. We've got one more week. So everybody,

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let's put our brain power together to really

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spice things up and try to make this go down

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to the wire, okay, for our final week. Otherwise,

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heavy hitter is going to be the grand champion.

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My advice, heavy hitter, don't pucker. And everybody

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else, don't forget to submit your rosters, okay?

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It's the last week, so submit those rosters.

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Yeah, you can kind of check out what's been happening

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and see what is going on in the Volley Talk League

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at playvolley .com slash volleytalk. So playvolley

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.com slash volleytalk. I'm sad that it's coming

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to an end, but as we said last week, there's

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a lot more fantasy to be played in the upcoming

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seasons. Speaking of MLV, the playoff teams are

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set. So basically all matches this week don't

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matter. The four teams who are going to compete

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in the championship weekend are Indy, Dallas,

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San Diego, and Omaha. San Diego is currently

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in third. They've got two matches left to play.

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Omaha has one. So not sure how those two are

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going to finish up. Feel like Grand Rapids had

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a chance, but they really blew it against Orlando

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this week. They needed to win that match. They

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absolutely needed to win that match. And I didn't

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think they looked great. I mean, same story.

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We were talking about Salt Lake City a couple

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weeks ago. Grand Rapids, this is your chance,

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you guys. You gave it away. Yep, agreed. And

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it's not even like Orlando's playing well. No,

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they were there for the taking. Abercrombie does

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not look like her former self. The team in general,

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I mean, again, they played decent down the stretch

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and in the fifth set, but I thought Grand Rapids

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was going to take it and make a push. And they

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were not able to. Really looked like uninspired

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play by Orlando. Well, there's your chance. Well,

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I think they were out at that point already.

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Orlando? Yeah. So you needed to just push them

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a little bit more. Grand Rapids just couldn't

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take advantage. That would have made it interesting.

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If they would have won that match, this week

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would have been interesting. But here we are.

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This week coming up is kind of a write -off,

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honestly. The only people who have anything on

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the line in MLB this week is us, our community

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with the fantasy. We are the ones who care, but

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you know what? This could be a real toss of the

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dice here because who the heck knows what's going

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to happen now that these games don't matter.

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It's going to be wild. What is anyone going to

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tank for draft pick? Well, that's what I'm saying.

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Like, you don't know who's going to even like

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be on the court. Agreed. You know what would

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be crazy? If somebody picked, like, the most

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random players and then they just went off and

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then, like, our whole fantasy league just blew

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up. Atlanta finishing second last. We had them

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finishing, what, in our preseason preview, like,

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second, third? Yeah, top three, I think. Oh,

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my gosh. Wow. Do you think Kayla Banworth is

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going to get fired? I think she has one more

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year just because of who she is. You think? Mm

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-hmm. Because Atlanta was decent and then she

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came in and it was like, oof. But I don't know

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any of the owners very well. So you don't know

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what they're in two years. You can't generate

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a reputation. Some owners are patient. Some will,

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you know, make an assessment and make a judgment.

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It's really hard to know without more data on

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how they operate. You know what I think? Again,

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I don't know her contract situation, but I'm

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thinking easy transition. Boop, boop. Bird Coon

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goes in. Former head coach of Omaha, who's like

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on the bench for them now. And Kayla out. It's

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possible. It'll be interesting to see what the

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offseason shakeup looks like. We'll see. Playoffs

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are set. Dallas surprised us. We had them at

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the bottom in our preseason poll. We had San

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Diego down there. We didn't have Dallas at the

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bottom. We had Dallas at like five with the caveat.

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We had them in the middle of the pack with the

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caveat that their coach could get them in a good

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play. And that ranking came out before we knew

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they had Mimi Collier. So I think. You remember

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we did them and then it was announced that she

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was going there. Okay, okay. I'm clearly not

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remembering anything. The Atlanta one was a big

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miss and the San Diego was a big miss. Yikes.

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That is the MLV situation in Italy. The championship

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is over. Milano made a push. They took down Conigliano

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in match three in Treviso at Conigliano's home

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court. which was completely unexpected. So it

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went match four. Conigliano came and just slapped

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him in Milano. So there you go. Can you imagine

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if Milano would have pulled off that first match

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upset? I know. They had a really good chance.

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We'd be in the fifth match here. Everybody's

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just getting upset at home. That would have been

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wild. Do you think looking at Conigliano, like

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they're getting a little bit older. Do you think

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they make, Any changes? Like, do you think Zhu

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Ting is coming back? Do you, they have been pretty

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much infallible for years, like winning everything.

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Yeah. There were, I would say a few cracks in

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the armor this year, especially early. We'll

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see what happens in champions league, but do

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you think they return more or less the same roster

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or do you think they make a few changes? And

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if they made changes, what do you think they

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would change? I mean, I feel like it's probably

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set. In all transparency, I haven't like looked

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at the market or anything or seen who has signed

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where. The only one I do know is Gabi signed

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there again. And I know like it's probably done.

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So you guys let us know. Hawk is what, 27? Not

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that old. Seraphar is a 22. So when we're talking

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old, we're talking Moki. We're talking Volosh.

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Kirikella is like medium. Zhu Ting. Zhu Ting's

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not even that old. Everybody talks about how

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old she is. Like, I don't think she's that old.

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I think she just like moves older than she is.

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Regardless. And Gabi's like early 30s. No, Gabi

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is still at the height of her athletic performance.

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I guess what I'm asking you is, given the fact

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that they didn't, I mean, they were dominant,

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but that there were some times where you were

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kind of like, hmm, where would you, if you were

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the GM, where would you look at the upgrades?

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We watched them a bunch this year, and where

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would you go, hey, I would maybe look for someone

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else here? I mean, I could see them maybe replacing

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Zhu Ting. But I don't know. Honestly, I could

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see them replacing Volosh with someone, but at

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that point, she has been a part of every consecutive

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championship. There's the loyalty aspect at that

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point. So honestly, I don't think they... We'll

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change anything. Unless they already have, I

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know you guys will know. So let us know because,

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as I said, I don't really dive in. I wait and

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see how things play out. Let's dive into NCAA

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men's. So right off the hop, the tournament format

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has changed. We've talked about it before, but

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if you're unaware, there are 12 teams. now competing

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in the NCAA men's tournament as opposed to the

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eight that were in it in the past. That's a huge

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change and the format goes four teams got draws

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right to the quarterfinals. There will be a play

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-in in the round of 16 for the teams that didn't

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get that buy -in. Let's go through. We'll talk

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about those first round matchups and then we'll

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talk with the teams that got the buys, how the

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breakdowns from the conference went, and a little

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bit of history on how the conference finals went.

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some of the big matches from this past week,

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and then maybe some predictions at the end. Let's

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actually start with the teams that got buys,

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and we'll go from there. So the 4 -1 seeds. Correct.

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UCLA won the NPSF. We'll talk about their games

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a little bit later, but they get a buy. Ball

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State won MIVA. They had a 3 -0 win over Loyola

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Chicago in the finals. They also have a buy to

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the quarterfinals, and they are in the UCLA side

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of the bracket. Then you have Hawaii, who didn't

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win the Big West, but came in ranked second.

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And then Long Beach, who did win the Big West,

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ranked third. You want to get into that now or

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later. Can somebody remind me, did this happen

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last year where Hawaii won the Big West and then

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Long Beach State took the top seed? I feel like

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it did, but am I just like... No, we ranted about

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this last time, about how the Big West tournament

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doesn't seem to mean anything. Why win? Who cares?

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What were their overall records? Hawaii finished

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27 -5, had the higher RPI than Long Beach State,

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who finished 24 -4. So Hawaii RPI ranking was

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1, Long Beach State was 3. And I mean, I get

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that this ranking is important and strength of

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schedule, blah, blah, blah. But at the end of

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the day, and again, I understand this doesn't

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mean anything. You're 2 -3, you're playing the

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same matchups in the semifinal if you win out.

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I get it. But there is a part of me that on principle,

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if you win your conference tournament, you should

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not be seated lower than somebody else in your

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conference who you just beat when it matters.

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Well, that happened last year too with Pepperdine.

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Totally. Pepperdine beat UCLA in the final and

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were ranked lower. Now, I agree with you. However,

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Hawaii swept the conference series. See, I hear

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you, but to me it doesn't matter. Conference

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play is important, and Hawaii goes back -to -back

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in Hawaii, and then they travel out. Their schedule

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in and of itself is a little strange, but winning

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when you're quote -unquote supposed to win, or

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let's call it a command performance, when you

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win in that tournament, it should mean more than

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other matches throughout the season, in my opinion,

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because you're preparing to win the conference.

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That's what matters. Nobody looks back and goes,

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oh. Who won middle of the season in 2026? Who

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cares? Who won the conference title? That matters.

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You're putting a banner up. It's weird to me.

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Particularly when we're talking about some of

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the smaller conferences, a team could have been

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undefeated all conference and then blew it in

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the conference championship. And it's a conference

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that won't get an at -large. So you're not going.

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Yeah, exactly. And the MPSF and the Big West

00:12:54.509 --> 00:12:59.659
is not as critical. But yeah, I bet it is kind

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of annoying. And I would be annoyed if I won

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my conference championship and then they're like,

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and who cares? Yeah. I want to know who makes

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that decision. The athlete in me, when I look

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at that, is like, this is messed up. This is

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just not how it should be. Yeah. I actually agree

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with this decision. I don't think it's wrong.

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But what do you think about Ball State getting

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the other bye? over let's say I think Pepperdine

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is below them USC is below them USC is below

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them I think Miva deserves their their champion

00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:39.509
should go into the buy with the extended schedule

00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:41.990
so I'm personally okay with it well we'll get

00:13:41.990 --> 00:13:44.389
into that next matchup but yeah I mean if you

00:13:44.389 --> 00:13:48.649
look at the RPI the top four teams in the RPI

00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:53.409
took the top four seeds albeit the order is a

00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:57.539
little different I mean, Neva slugs it out all

00:13:57.539 --> 00:14:00.159
season. If you come out on top of that conference,

00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.039
I feel like you deserve something. I agree. I

00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.059
agree. Because dang, you guys are just like beating

00:14:06.059 --> 00:14:08.360
on each other all season long. Yeah. I mean,

00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.679
I think it's fair that the top three conferences

00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:15.080
are represented in the top four seats. I agree.

00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:17.899
So now let's go back around. We'll go to the

00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:20.840
play in round. And so top of the play on round

00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:25.440
is. UC Irvine versus Penn State. Okay, winner

00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.639
of that will play UCLA. Penn State beat Princeton

00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:32.759
3 -0 in the EIVA division. They went 22 -7 on

00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:36.039
the season, 12 -0 in conference play. They will

00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:40.139
play UC Irvine, who lost in the semis, to Long

00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:43.720
Beach 0 -3. And the winner of that, like I said,

00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:47.360
will play UCLA. I'm predicting UC Irvine to win

00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:52.219
that quite handily. Never forget last year. When

00:14:52.219 --> 00:14:54.899
Penn State kept being ranked and we were just

00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:57.759
like cheering for them to be unranked. Looks

00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:00.879
like they got it together, everybody. Okay, good

00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:04.440
turnaround. 12 -0 in conference play. Last year,

00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:08.899
didn't even sniff. Didn't even sniff the tournament.

00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:11.539
I'm happy for them, but I do think UC Irvine

00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:13.980
is going to beat them. And then, I mean, once

00:15:13.980 --> 00:15:16.019
we get to the regional. Okay, anyways, keep going.

00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.980
Yeah, we'll circle back to the regional finals.

00:15:19.100 --> 00:15:22.769
So next round. We have Pepperdine, who lost to

00:15:22.769 --> 00:15:27.590
USC in the MPSF semifinal. Serious payback because

00:15:27.590 --> 00:15:31.370
USC got swept by Pepperdine twice in the final

00:15:31.370 --> 00:15:34.350
week of regular season play. So I actually want

00:15:34.350 --> 00:15:36.330
to touch on that game later on. So we'll talk

00:15:36.330 --> 00:15:38.830
about that. But they're going to play Fort Valley

00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:43.970
State, who won the SIAC division. They beat Central

00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:47.070
State 3 -0. They were 14 -12 on the season, 8

00:15:47.070 --> 00:15:50.240
-0 in conference play. So they're coming out

00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:52.840
of that division. Again, we haven't watched them

00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:54.980
play, but I have to assume that Pepperdine is

00:15:54.980 --> 00:15:57.720
probably going to win that one relatively handily.

00:15:57.740 --> 00:16:00.000
And then we're going to see a Pepperdine all

00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.279
-state matchup in the quarterfinals. I agree.

00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:06.639
They do very well. They were in the tournament

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:10.879
last year. But I think Pepperdine, that's a tough

00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:13.639
matchup. You know, and we talk about this all

00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:17.330
the time. When you get to play... better teams

00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:20.690
more often. Even if you're kind of equal, and

00:16:20.690 --> 00:16:23.210
I'm not saying they are, it's just, it's harder

00:16:23.210 --> 00:16:26.870
to be as sharp. And so I think being in the conferences

00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.450
that UC Irvine and Pepperdine are in, they're

00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:31.450
just, they're more battle -hardened and ready

00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:33.629
to go. There can always be an upset, but that's

00:16:33.629 --> 00:16:36.029
my prediction so far. Looking at the next round,

00:16:36.250 --> 00:16:40.409
USC, who finished second to UCLA in a barn burner

00:16:40.409 --> 00:16:43.610
in the MBSF final, is playing Belmont Abbey.

00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.659
who won the Conference Carolinas. They were 20

00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:51.580
-5 on the season, going 13 -1 in conference play,

00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.679
and they beat Mount Olive 3 -1 in their final.

00:16:56.299 --> 00:16:59.759
I actually think USC is my dark horse team. They're

00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.759
playing really well coming into the stretch.

00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:04.980
I think they're going to take this one, and I

00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:06.859
think they're going to give Hawaii a run for

00:17:06.859 --> 00:17:10.180
their money. I mean, Belmont Abbey is 15 in the

00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:14.460
RPI. USC is 10. I mean, USC is picking a good

00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:18.440
time to, like, come on strong. They've been ranked

00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:23.500
top 10 in the ABCA poll all year. I mean, I think

00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:26.119
that USC will take this match, yes. And next

00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:29.160
we have Loyola Chicago, who finished second in

00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:33.099
MIVA, losing to Ball State 3 -0. They went 20

00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:38.210
-8 on the season, 12 -4 in conference play. And

00:17:38.210 --> 00:17:41.789
they're playing St. Francis from the NEC division,

00:17:42.009 --> 00:17:45.430
who went 18 -11, 10 -2 in conference play, and

00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:50.369
they beat FDU 3 -1. I've liked Loyola Chicago.

00:17:50.549 --> 00:17:53.390
We've watched them play a couple times this year.

00:17:53.670 --> 00:17:57.569
I like them in this matchup moving on to play

00:17:57.569 --> 00:18:00.869
Long Beach in the quarterfinals. Agreed. I mean,

00:18:00.910 --> 00:18:08.170
you obviously have to play the game, you know,

00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:11.710
MPSF, Big West, MIVA, like at this point in time,

00:18:11.789 --> 00:18:16.190
the competition they're getting in their conference

00:18:16.190 --> 00:18:19.910
play is just consistently stronger, which I think

00:18:19.910 --> 00:18:24.390
really helps them come tournament time. And I

00:18:24.390 --> 00:18:26.670
mean, I feel bad. Like I don't want to take anything

00:18:26.670 --> 00:18:29.430
away from these teams. The men's game needs to

00:18:29.430 --> 00:18:31.730
continue to grow so we can like continue to develop

00:18:31.730 --> 00:18:34.890
these conferences, you know, but. And this is.

00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:37.930
going to be one of the benefits of expanding

00:18:37.930 --> 00:18:42.250
the Nationals is that you need to go, and we

00:18:42.250 --> 00:18:43.910
talk about this all the time, you need to go

00:18:43.910 --> 00:18:47.069
play against the best so that you understand

00:18:47.069 --> 00:18:51.049
where the gaps are. And as these teams get to

00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:53.910
go every year, they will get better and better

00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:55.910
at understanding what they need to do. And it

00:18:55.910 --> 00:18:58.589
won't happen right away, but I bet you in five

00:18:58.589 --> 00:19:02.589
years, these aren't gimme games anymore. These

00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:04.690
teams coming out of these conferences are going

00:19:04.690 --> 00:19:07.690
to be better. And so I love this for the growth

00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:10.009
of the game. Well, and even like expanding to

00:19:10.009 --> 00:19:12.730
12 teams and expanding to 16 teams, it's like

00:19:12.730 --> 00:19:15.930
all of a sudden a bunch more schools have the

00:19:15.930 --> 00:19:18.690
opportunity to compete for a championship. So

00:19:18.690 --> 00:19:21.809
maybe we'll start to see the talent like disperse

00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:25.549
a little bit more instead of having like 18 top

00:19:25.549 --> 00:19:28.150
recruits on one team with all of them sitting

00:19:28.150 --> 00:19:29.970
on the bench because they want to win a national

00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:32.789
championship. Now that more and more schools

00:19:32.789 --> 00:19:35.690
are being included in the tournament, I think,

00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:39.150
yeah, we'll be able to see the talent kind of

00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:42.430
spread a little more. And yeah, the rosters change.

00:19:42.710 --> 00:19:44.930
And maybe schools invest in these programs. Now

00:19:44.930 --> 00:19:46.529
that you're going to have a consistent conference

00:19:46.529 --> 00:19:49.450
winner going, some school might be, hey, we want

00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:51.789
to have that conference banner. We want to go.

00:19:51.910 --> 00:19:53.890
We want that prestige. So we're going to put

00:19:53.890 --> 00:19:55.829
a little more money into it. I hope that happens.

00:19:56.130 --> 00:19:59.950
It's always when you expand, there's some. water

00:19:59.950 --> 00:20:02.210
down teams that are there to start but this is

00:20:02.210 --> 00:20:04.970
how you make it better and more competitive a

00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:08.369
couple matches i want to talk about in full transparency

00:20:08.369 --> 00:20:10.789
like i said we were in canada we couldn't get

00:20:10.789 --> 00:20:12.990
these matches so we are still catching up on

00:20:12.990 --> 00:20:15.670
them i i took a deep dive into some of the matches

00:20:15.670 --> 00:20:18.349
i was really interested in in terms of some of

00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:20.089
the stats and some of the close matches from

00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:21.990
the top conferences and i just want to throw

00:20:21.990 --> 00:20:24.609
these out there and get your thoughts on the

00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:30.089
results so let's look at usc I mean, I knew it

00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:31.890
was going to be a big game, but I probably thought

00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:33.589
Pepperdine was going to have the edge in that

00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:36.710
one. And they end up losing 16 -14 in the fifth.

00:20:37.829 --> 00:20:40.950
Notable stats from that match is Pepperdine made

00:20:40.950 --> 00:20:45.029
30 hitting errors to USC 17. And they were out

00:20:45.029 --> 00:20:49.390
blocked 19 and a half to eight and a half. You

00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:54.509
are starting to see USC take on the persona of

00:20:54.509 --> 00:20:58.710
Jeff Nygaard. They are. They are blocking machines

00:20:58.710 --> 00:21:01.170
out there because their stats in the finals were

00:21:01.170 --> 00:21:04.529
also, you know, pretty impressive. So I think

00:21:04.529 --> 00:21:06.549
you're starting to see an identity here. You

00:21:06.549 --> 00:21:11.730
saw Ryan Barnett hit 091 on 33 attempts. He made

00:21:11.730 --> 00:21:14.990
10 errors. You saw, which is unusual because

00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:17.869
he is usually steady Eddie and it's heart key

00:21:17.869 --> 00:21:21.269
that is going up and down. You saw Foley Sterling

00:21:21.269 --> 00:21:25.539
hit. 429 on 35 sets in that match. And the USC

00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:27.519
middles were outstanding. I think both of them

00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:30.960
hit over 600 and had 13 kills each. So they are,

00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.140
they're running the middle. They're getting blocks.

00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:35.460
I'm assuming they're passing well if their middles

00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:38.140
are running that much. So they are clicking on

00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:41.900
all cylinders and they just outlasted Pepperdine.

00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:45.640
So if they beat Belmont Abbey, they play Hawaii?

00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:54.180
Yes. Oh. Are you predicting an upset? I am. I

00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:57.019
think they're going to beat Hawaii. Really? Yeah,

00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:02.279
I do. Let's look at Long Beach State versus Hawaii.

00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:05.180
So Long Beach State beat Hawaii. They beat them

00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:08.460
in five sets. They won 15 -11. The other sets

00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:11.839
were super close. The statistics for this match

00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:16.180
were, again, incredibly close. 65 kills each,

00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:19.829
seven aces each. Long Beach out -blocked them

00:22:19.829 --> 00:22:23.250
17 to 14 .5, but over five sets, like, that is

00:22:23.250 --> 00:22:27.430
minimal. 42 to 32 digs for Long Beach, so they

00:22:27.430 --> 00:22:30.029
had a few extra opportunities. But for all intents

00:22:30.029 --> 00:22:33.410
and purposes, a super tight match. You had Gajic

00:22:33.410 --> 00:22:38.829
hit 489 on 45 sets, and Vargas hit 237 on 38.

00:22:38.990 --> 00:22:41.369
So Vargas kind of held his own, but Gajic looked

00:22:41.369 --> 00:22:44.730
like he played unbelievably well. And then, you

00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:49.740
know, Tetriski hit 293 on 41. Not bad. Roar struggled,

00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:51.559
which I think is going to be their Achilles heel

00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:54.380
down the stretch. He only hit 175 on 40 balls,

00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:57.960
and Louie hit 353 on 34. First name basis over

00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:06.079
here, everybody. Sakonoko. My boy Louie hit 353.

00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:08.339
I like Louie. They're going to need all three

00:23:08.339 --> 00:23:11.039
of those players to play really well, I think,

00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:14.470
and I'm just not sure. Normally when we watch,

00:23:14.529 --> 00:23:16.490
Roar doesn't play well. We didn't watch, Roar

00:23:16.490 --> 00:23:18.750
didn't play well. So who knows what's going to

00:23:18.750 --> 00:23:21.029
happen there. Yeah, Long Beach outlasted them.

00:23:21.069 --> 00:23:24.029
Gadget played really well. And I mean, again,

00:23:24.210 --> 00:23:26.930
this is one I want to go back and watch. Tight

00:23:26.930 --> 00:23:28.769
in the fifth set and all the way through. But

00:23:28.769 --> 00:23:30.690
they just couldn't pull it out. And that's happened

00:23:30.690 --> 00:23:33.789
to them a few times this year. And then the last

00:23:33.789 --> 00:23:37.650
match is UCLA -USC. And that went the way we

00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:40.940
thought. But... The sets were super tight. All

00:23:40.940 --> 00:23:43.259
of them were by two, except the second set was

00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:46.059
won by three points. Two of them went to overtime.

00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:49.900
The stats were unbelievably close as well. UCLA

00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:54.259
had six aces to three for USC, but USC outblocked

00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:59.200
them 12 -7. Statistically, the UCLA hitters didn't

00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.759
have great nights. Rama only hit 186 on 43 balls.

00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:07.440
Kelly only hit 207 on 29. Decker was their best

00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:12.480
hitter at 400. I mean, I still have picked them

00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:15.240
to win. I think they're unbelievably good. Well,

00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:17.940
no. USC was clearly like, we're going to make

00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:20.960
David Decker beat us. Yeah. Like, shut down the

00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:24.559
two guys who are hitting 400 on the year. That's

00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:27.259
an exaggeration for Zach Roma. Ron Kelly legit

00:24:27.259 --> 00:24:29.619
is. And David Decker was like, okay, I will beat

00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:31.700
you. Bye. And we've talked about this. That has

00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:33.539
to be the strategy going in. And if Decker hits

00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:36.369
400, you lose. And with a match that close, like

00:24:36.369 --> 00:24:39.190
Sterling again had a good game, hit 438. So he

00:24:39.190 --> 00:24:42.230
had an unbelievable conference weekend. Dylan

00:24:42.230 --> 00:24:44.769
only hit 167 on 30 balls. Hold up. You called

00:24:44.769 --> 00:24:47.069
him Foley Sterling before. His first name is

00:24:47.069 --> 00:24:50.109
Sterling. I screwed that up. First name basis

00:24:50.109 --> 00:24:52.069
on people, last name basis with others. But now

00:24:52.069 --> 00:24:55.710
he's first name basis with Dylan too. It depends

00:24:55.710 --> 00:24:58.029
which stat sheet I'm looking at. You know, he

00:24:58.029 --> 00:25:00.829
played unbelievably well. Dylan's going to need

00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:04.140
to step up if they're going to beat Hawaii. But

00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:06.700
let's dive into the quarterfinal predictions

00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:09.000
now. Well, somebody sent me a message saying

00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:11.319
that Dylan Klein is not going to play volleyball

00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:14.420
after college. Like he saw the person saw a video

00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:16.980
somewhere. I'm wondering if that's accurate because,

00:25:17.099 --> 00:25:20.039
wow. I mean, if he doesn't want to play, he doesn't

00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:21.359
want to play. But like, that's a shame. He's

00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:23.500
very good. Maybe he's got a sweet job lined up.

00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:25.619
I mean, yeah. And maybe he's just volleyball

00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:27.690
is not his passion. Who knows? Those are the

00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:29.829
matches that I'm the most interested in watching,

00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:31.390
so we'll do that this week. If there are any

00:25:31.390 --> 00:25:34.069
other good matches that you guys watch that are

00:25:34.069 --> 00:25:37.529
worth going back and taking a look at, fire it

00:25:37.529 --> 00:25:39.450
into the chat. We're always looking for good

00:25:39.450 --> 00:25:42.250
games. Let's quickly go over our predictions

00:25:42.250 --> 00:25:44.869
for the quarterfinals. The men's tournament is

00:25:44.869 --> 00:25:46.529
different this year. They're playing it in two

00:25:46.529 --> 00:25:50.170
segments, so the regional finals will be at the

00:25:50.170 --> 00:25:53.589
Top Seeds facility, and then we will come to...

00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.779
UCLA for the semis and the finals the week after.

00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:59.079
I think we both agree UC Irvine over Penn State.

00:25:59.339 --> 00:26:02.740
And then what are your thoughts UCLA versus UC

00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:06.420
Irvine? I think it'll be a good match. I think

00:26:06.420 --> 00:26:11.019
UC Irvine can push them, but I think UCLA is

00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:13.299
going to win. I'll say that UC Irvine will take

00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:16.859
a set. Do you think they hold UC Irvine to under

00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.819
20 points in any set? Yes. Okay. I like your

00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:24.329
prediction on that one. Oh, thanks. We have Pepperdine

00:26:24.329 --> 00:26:28.109
beating Four Valley State. Then we have Pepperdine

00:26:28.109 --> 00:26:32.470
going to Ball State. Do you think that affects

00:26:32.470 --> 00:26:34.230
the outcome at all, or are you Pepperdine all

00:26:34.230 --> 00:26:37.470
the way on this? I'm Pepperdine all the way,

00:26:37.490 --> 00:26:39.990
but I think Ball State will take at least a set.

00:26:40.289 --> 00:26:42.630
Do you predict, who do you think will be the

00:26:42.630 --> 00:26:45.950
best player for Pepperdine in that match? Barnett.

00:26:45.990 --> 00:26:50.069
Barnett, okay. But actually, Hartke's from Illinois.

00:26:50.890 --> 00:26:54.150
which is just like a state over. So maybe he'll

00:26:54.150 --> 00:26:55.809
have all his friends and family there, and then

00:26:55.809 --> 00:26:58.009
it'll be extra pumped. What Sarah really meant

00:26:58.009 --> 00:27:00.230
to say was, we'll see a little more peacocking

00:27:00.230 --> 00:27:04.730
than usual. Yeah. Okay, I agree. Pepperdine in

00:27:04.730 --> 00:27:06.509
that one as well. But Barnett's from up there

00:27:06.509 --> 00:27:10.910
too, so. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I think Barnett's

00:27:10.910 --> 00:27:12.849
from somewhere in New York. But you know what

00:27:12.849 --> 00:27:17.190
I mean. Okay, so I think we agree. USC over Belmont

00:27:17.190 --> 00:27:22.049
Abbey playing Hawaii. In Hawaii, what are your

00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:25.250
thoughts? I mean, you've made a good argument

00:27:25.250 --> 00:27:29.549
for USC, but I think playing in Hawaii, it will

00:27:29.549 --> 00:27:32.490
be very difficult to overcome that environment.

00:27:33.089 --> 00:27:36.150
So I will say Hawaii in five. I'm going to stick

00:27:36.150 --> 00:27:39.490
with my guns. I'm going to say USC in five. Hawaii

00:27:39.490 --> 00:27:42.809
has shown me a few cracks this year in the armor.

00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:46.200
But you are also a proponent of the cracks and

00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:49.039
losing games. I am a proponent of losing games.

00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:51.859
Not more than one, though. Hawaii and UCLA are

00:27:51.859 --> 00:27:56.059
not the same team. They are. I don't ever question

00:27:56.059 --> 00:27:59.359
whether Hawaii is going to show up with energy

00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.000
and intensity, which has been an issue. The laissez

00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:04.960
faire approach that we've talked about with UCLA

00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:09.759
in the past. I'm concerned that some of the matches

00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:12.359
I've watched with Hawaii. They don't have all

00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:14.819
three of their pin hitters firing at the same

00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:18.819
time. We've watched matches where my boy Louie,

00:28:18.859 --> 00:28:21.700
my first name Louie, is not playing super well.

00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:25.779
And Roar plays well and vice versa. I think Hawaii

00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:29.740
is the better team when they are all firing and

00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:32.140
playing well. And that includes Tread's set location.

00:28:32.460 --> 00:28:35.519
I think USC is playing well enough right now

00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:37.980
to cause them some issue. So I'm going to ride

00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:40.940
the hot streak on that. Okay. All right. I think

00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:43.079
we're picking Loyola Chicago over St. Francis.

00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:46.740
What are your thoughts about Long Beach versus

00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:50.039
Loyola Chicago? I'm going to go Long Beach. I

00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:51.720
think Long Beach is playing really well right

00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:54.700
now as well. So I am, they mean business. I think

00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:56.859
that's probably going to be a 3 -0. I think it'll

00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:58.619
be close. Like, Loyola Chicago is a good team,

00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:01.259
but I think Long Beach in 3. There you have it.

00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:03.900
We'll see how our predictions hold up after this

00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:06.920
week. We'll look at the results next week and

00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:10.519
make our final four predictions after that. All

00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:12.839
right, time for everybody's favorite segment

00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:17.000
of the podcast, listener questions. Question

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:19.940
one. I have a question for the volleyball community.

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:23.019
As someone that primarily watches national team

00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:25.559
volleyball, where should I start in terms of

00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:28.759
watching league play? Any leagues people recommend?

00:29:29.019 --> 00:29:33.220
I know a lot about football or soccer to the

00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:36.559
American audience, but I'm a relative newbie

00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:39.410
when it comes to volleyball. Shout out to all

00:29:39.410 --> 00:29:41.190
the Haikyuu fans out there for getting me into

00:29:41.190 --> 00:29:45.269
volleyball. First of all, yes. If you have ever,

00:29:45.329 --> 00:29:47.349
like, no. I was going to say if you're an anime

00:29:47.349 --> 00:29:50.130
fan, check out Haikyuu. If you're a volleyball

00:29:50.130 --> 00:29:54.630
fan, check out Haikyuu. It is a Japanese anime

00:29:54.630 --> 00:29:58.150
about volleyball and man does it hit. Very good.

00:29:58.210 --> 00:30:01.250
No pun intended. Very good. It had me in tears.

00:30:01.910 --> 00:30:05.289
Multiple episodes. Double digits at least. Double

00:30:05.289 --> 00:30:08.059
digits. So check it out. But anyway. This was

00:30:08.059 --> 00:30:10.700
put out to the community at large, but I felt

00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:13.240
like we should answer it too. So Adam, take it

00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:15.579
away. Well, I think it depends on where you're

00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:17.539
from and which national team you like to watch.

00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:21.839
But if you're looking for a high caliber volleyball,

00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:24.400
I think you start with the Italian League. Generally,

00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:26.160
like the top teams are the best in the world.

00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:27.660
They're always competing for Champions League.

00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.599
You said you're familiar with soccer, so it would

00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:32.140
be kind of the same situation. So I would start

00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:35.700
there. Or Turkey, but Turkey's harder to watch

00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:38.400
if you're in North America, I would say. Turkey,

00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:41.519
the games are harder to find. VBTV is probably

00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:44.700
the best place if you want to watch volleyball.

00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:47.099
They have the Italian League, they have the Brazilian

00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:49.420
League, and they have the Japanese League. And

00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:51.299
the Polish. Do they have the Brazilian League?

00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:52.619
They do have the Brazilian League. Okay, they

00:30:52.619 --> 00:30:54.700
have the Polish League, too. Excluding the American

00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:59.200
Leagues, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Japan, and Brazil

00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:03.690
are all pretty good volleyball. With Italy probably

00:31:03.690 --> 00:31:06.029
being my favorite or at least the highest production

00:31:06.029 --> 00:31:09.650
value. I enjoy watching the Italian League. I

00:31:09.650 --> 00:31:11.769
just, yeah, they've been doing it for a very

00:31:11.769 --> 00:31:14.609
long time. And then obviously watching Champions

00:31:14.609 --> 00:31:18.230
League during the season is always a highlight.

00:31:18.750 --> 00:31:21.950
Eurovolley .tv. Yes, Eurovolley .tv is where

00:31:21.950 --> 00:31:24.869
you can find those. very inexpensive for the

00:31:24.869 --> 00:31:26.750
three months that you can watch it so that's

00:31:26.750 --> 00:31:28.789
where i would start and then if you're interested

00:31:28.789 --> 00:31:31.430
in the north american leagues you have love and

00:31:31.430 --> 00:31:35.049
mlv which you're never quite sure where you can

00:31:35.049 --> 00:31:36.869
find them but a lot of them are on youtube when

00:31:36.869 --> 00:31:38.769
they always specify which channels are on but

00:31:38.769 --> 00:31:40.869
those would be the ones that i would start with

00:31:40.869 --> 00:31:42.869
kind of find your style see what you like and

00:31:42.869 --> 00:31:45.630
then go from there i honestly feel like if you're

00:31:45.630 --> 00:31:47.609
into national team volleyball and you're looking

00:31:47.609 --> 00:31:53.319
to dabble or get into pro leagues vbtb is I think

00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:56.420
it is, it has gone up in price, but it is worth

00:31:56.420 --> 00:32:00.319
the subscription fee in my opinion, because you

00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:03.700
get all the national team stuff. You get all

00:32:03.700 --> 00:32:05.940
the leagues we mentioned, plus all the beach

00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:08.779
volleyball. Like I just think it's a good deal.

00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:10.519
If you like volleyball, if you're going to watch

00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:14.400
it. Question two, when players watch film, do

00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:18.240
they watch entire games? Do you take notes or

00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:20.859
is it coaches pointing out plays and tendencies?

00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:23.440
I would say the good players watch full matches.

00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:26.500
And I think there's two parts to this question.

00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:28.220
And I don't know if this is a beach person or

00:32:28.220 --> 00:32:30.559
an indoor. I think it's indoor. Okay. I'm going

00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:32.180
to split these. If you're a beach player, you

00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:36.799
100 % watch full matches. There's just more feel

00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:39.319
and you can see situational awareness and things

00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:41.299
like that. You need to watch the matches start

00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:44.779
to finish. On indoor, it's less important because

00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:48.000
you're watching more for tendencies and rotational

00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:52.140
things. I would say coaches watch matches all

00:32:52.140 --> 00:32:55.140
the way through or should be. And then we're

00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:57.859
distilling those down for the players in terms

00:32:57.859 --> 00:33:00.559
of what we want them to focus on. Really an indoor

00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:02.720
because the coach can be involved quite a bit.

00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:05.259
You want your players familiar with the situations

00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:07.299
that they want to take advantage of. So you're

00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:09.920
showing them generally rotations and individual

00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:12.559
player tendencies. And then you kind of have

00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:15.259
more of a feel for the match, I would say. Now

00:33:15.259 --> 00:33:18.210
you've played for some of the best. Tell me if

00:33:18.210 --> 00:33:20.529
it's different, but that's generally how I, how

00:33:20.529 --> 00:33:22.829
I would approach it. I think if we're speaking

00:33:22.829 --> 00:33:25.809
about indoor from a player's perspective or like

00:33:25.809 --> 00:33:29.470
from this player's perspective, I would watch

00:33:29.470 --> 00:33:34.750
matches. But if I was watching to, you know,

00:33:34.750 --> 00:33:36.769
familiarize myself with a team that we were playing,

00:33:36.950 --> 00:33:41.630
I would watch myself attacking and stuff against

00:33:41.630 --> 00:33:45.740
them. to see how they defended me but then for

00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:49.880
our team's defensive system I would more wait

00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:52.880
for the team sessions because so much has to

00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:56.019
be coordinated as to what the blocking schemes

00:33:56.019 --> 00:33:59.779
are going to be how like we're going to defend

00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:03.480
as a unit yes the coach kind of dictated and

00:34:03.480 --> 00:34:06.480
determined how that would work and so we all

00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:09.570
had to be on the same page with that But as far

00:34:09.570 --> 00:34:11.889
as like my own personal play, I would watch myself

00:34:11.889 --> 00:34:14.909
attacking to see how they were defending me.

00:34:16.750 --> 00:34:26.730
For me, this is a tricky question to answer because

00:34:26.730 --> 00:34:30.190
I think the Mojo's issue at the beginning of

00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:33.730
the season was setting. And I think that, you

00:34:33.730 --> 00:34:37.449
know, Alicia being a setter, she was in a unique

00:34:37.449 --> 00:34:41.280
position. to make that better so I think she

00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:45.619
did a fantastic job getting Montserrat into a

00:34:45.619 --> 00:34:49.039
place where she could help the team reach their

00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:52.179
potential when your setting is that much of an

00:34:52.179 --> 00:34:55.880
issue you don't really notice the other changes

00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:59.380
so much it's not fair for me to say one way or

00:34:59.380 --> 00:35:01.199
another like I think she made the outsides better

00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:03.519
I think she made you know this and that I just

00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:06.559
don't have enough data to go yeah, I love what

00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:09.260
she did or no, I don't think she was very good.

00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:12.199
I will say in the position where she had the

00:35:12.199 --> 00:35:13.820
most experience and the team had the greatest

00:35:13.820 --> 00:35:16.900
amount of need, she managed to improve that player

00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:19.159
and make the team very competitive. And at the

00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:21.000
end of the day, that's your job at any given

00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:24.639
time. So kudos to her for understanding what

00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.679
the problem was and making it better. And the

00:35:26.679 --> 00:35:29.199
team is playing well. So she's obviously got

00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:32.500
good preparation and she's got all the players

00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:35.559
moving in the right direction. Great job this

00:35:35.559 --> 00:35:37.980
season, I would say. But also, like, I'm not

00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:41.860
sure how much they were kind of sewered by injuries

00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:45.460
at the beginning. Like, Sanbothi wasn't playing

00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:48.119
early on, came back wearing a cue collar, so

00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:51.599
did she have concussion issues at the beginning?

00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:55.179
I'm sure you guys know. I don't, like, dive into.

00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:57.900
the discussion forums and stuff to find this

00:35:57.900 --> 00:36:00.940
stuff out the choice of like bringing her and

00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:03.199
putting her on the court for matches like she

00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:07.039
had some really good games I think Grace Loberg

00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:11.219
really showed up like I'm surprised at the season

00:36:11.219 --> 00:36:14.119
that Loberg has put together for her team my

00:36:14.119 --> 00:36:17.400
fantasy teams when I pick her are very thankful

00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:20.460
so that's wonderful especially because she's

00:36:20.460 --> 00:36:22.559
been like coming off the bench for a lot of her

00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:25.059
career who would have thought that Tabron would

00:36:25.059 --> 00:36:28.320
have like Kind of had those moments, you know,

00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:31.860
the decision to switch up and bench Brock Hochevich

00:36:31.860 --> 00:36:34.900
and put Lewis in. Like, those are coaching choices,

00:36:35.019 --> 00:36:38.280
too. So I think. that there's something to be

00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:40.219
said for that as well. If we're going to look

00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:42.920
at who we would give coach of the year, nobody

00:36:42.920 --> 00:36:44.699
predicted them to be in this position, I don't

00:36:44.699 --> 00:36:47.119
think. Well, they were like, we predicted them

00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:49.659
to be at the bottom. Right. And they started

00:36:49.659 --> 00:36:52.800
off at the bottom. Yeah. 100 % this year, she's

00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:55.340
done a great job. Hands down, credit where credit

00:36:55.340 --> 00:36:57.840
is due. If you're asking me technically, like,

00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:00.019
can she take players to the next level and hitters

00:37:00.019 --> 00:37:01.860
and all of those things, I need to see one more

00:37:01.860 --> 00:37:05.539
season. of it being now we're competing at a

00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:07.980
high level. Can they beat Indy? Can they beat

00:37:07.980 --> 00:37:10.840
Dallas? Are they making adjustments? Like those

00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:14.000
are kind of the next level of coaching, but man,

00:37:14.059 --> 00:37:15.719
she did a great job getting her team, getting

00:37:15.719 --> 00:37:17.820
the most out of the players that she had this

00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:19.960
year and kudos to her for that. Okay. Question

00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:22.340
four, you guys have mentioned before that winning

00:37:22.340 --> 00:37:24.900
is a skill. Do you think that that had anything

00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:27.139
to do with the outcome of the love championship

00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:30.699
game? It feels like certain Austin athletes such

00:37:30.699 --> 00:37:33.719
as Madison Skinner, Asia O 'Neill, Logan Eggleston

00:37:33.719 --> 00:37:35.920
are players that turn it on when it really matters

00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:38.820
and find that way to win. Maddie Skinner winning

00:37:38.820 --> 00:37:42.179
five championships in six years is crazy. Do

00:37:42.179 --> 00:37:44.219
you think that gives her an advantage over Jordan

00:37:44.219 --> 00:37:46.880
Thompson? It's been concerning that her team

00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:49.300
has been at the top for both of those years and

00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:52.019
lost in the semifinals. Okay, so multifaceted

00:37:52.019 --> 00:37:55.519
question here. There's a ton to unpack. Let's

00:37:55.519 --> 00:38:01.619
go in order. You go first. Do you think it had

00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:05.460
a, an effect on the outcome of the game? And

00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:08.880
do you think that those three are winners? Like

00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:12.079
mindset wise, being in those situations has helped

00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:16.059
them. Okay. I don't know them as people. Like

00:38:16.059 --> 00:38:18.960
I don't know them personally, so I can't speak

00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:22.139
to, you know, their mindset and stuff like that.

00:38:22.720 --> 00:38:25.460
Watching them, obviously they have had success

00:38:25.460 --> 00:38:27.980
at the collegiate level. They've had success

00:38:27.980 --> 00:38:32.900
in the love, you know, domain. I think what we

00:38:32.900 --> 00:38:36.539
saw in the championship, we talked about it last

00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:40.460
week, just Salt Lake gave it away. So I wouldn't

00:38:40.460 --> 00:38:42.719
necessarily say that Austin went and took it,

00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:45.840
but there has to be a certain level of mental

00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:49.239
toughness and a certain like take it attitude

00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:55.630
to hang in there. and not crumble. They delivered

00:38:55.630 --> 00:38:58.530
when they had to. They did what they had to do

00:38:58.530 --> 00:39:02.889
to stay steady enough while Salt Lake is imploding

00:39:02.889 --> 00:39:05.949
to keep chipping away. So I do think something,

00:39:06.110 --> 00:39:08.929
they have to get credit for that. If Salt Lake

00:39:08.929 --> 00:39:11.289
had been playing well and maintained that level,

00:39:11.389 --> 00:39:13.969
would they have found that way to turn the dial

00:39:13.969 --> 00:39:17.550
even more? I don't know. I don't know. But from

00:39:17.550 --> 00:39:19.630
all they can do is what is in front of them.

00:39:19.670 --> 00:39:23.010
And I think that what they showed in that moment

00:39:23.010 --> 00:39:26.070
to stay steady and keep chipping away an argument.

00:39:26.110 --> 00:39:28.429
Yes, an argument could be made that they do have

00:39:28.429 --> 00:39:30.909
a winning mentality. Yeah. And I think familiarity

00:39:30.909 --> 00:39:34.909
with your emotions in those big matches allows

00:39:34.909 --> 00:39:37.889
you to handle. you know, those situations better.

00:39:37.989 --> 00:39:40.090
Were they all world? No. Maddie Skinner did some

00:39:40.090 --> 00:39:41.949
great things down the stretch when she needed

00:39:41.949 --> 00:39:44.409
to, you know, kudos to her for blocking was good

00:39:44.409 --> 00:39:47.329
from everybody. Yeah. The short answer in the

00:39:47.329 --> 00:39:50.730
college and love conversation, I think is yes.

00:39:50.909 --> 00:39:53.230
I think it does give them an edge. They know

00:39:53.230 --> 00:39:55.929
how to be there. They know how to prepare themselves.

00:39:56.030 --> 00:39:58.070
They know how to manage their emotions. Quite

00:39:58.070 --> 00:39:59.849
frankly, the players on Salt Lake should know

00:39:59.849 --> 00:40:02.010
that too, given how long they've been playing

00:40:02.010 --> 00:40:05.059
didn't happen. Good for them for doing what they

00:40:05.059 --> 00:40:08.280
need to win. Absolutely. Let's hop to part two

00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:11.559
of the question. Do I think that winning five

00:40:11.559 --> 00:40:13.699
championships in six years gives her an advantage

00:40:13.699 --> 00:40:16.760
over Jordan Thompson? No. I still think that

00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:19.420
Jordan Thompson is the better opposite. We saw

00:40:19.420 --> 00:40:22.760
Austin turn it on when they absolutely needed

00:40:22.760 --> 00:40:26.420
to. Good for them. It worked for them. They won.

00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:29.219
But we saw Jordan Thompson be absolutely dominant

00:40:29.219 --> 00:40:32.170
for the majority of his whole season. And we're

00:40:32.170 --> 00:40:35.849
talking like teams are preparing for you because,

00:40:35.929 --> 00:40:39.369
quite frankly, she was the engine of that team.

00:40:39.489 --> 00:40:42.070
And, you know, everybody played their role, but

00:40:42.070 --> 00:40:44.349
she was the one scoring points. Good for Madison

00:40:44.349 --> 00:40:47.250
that she's been winning in recent years, but

00:40:47.250 --> 00:40:49.869
I still think that Jordan Thompson should be

00:40:49.869 --> 00:40:52.730
the forerunner for opposite. I agree, but my

00:40:52.730 --> 00:40:55.409
reasoning is slightly different. So we talk about

00:40:55.409 --> 00:40:59.860
winning as a skill, and I agree with that. But

00:40:59.860 --> 00:41:02.000
looking at these three athletes specifically,

00:41:02.420 --> 00:41:05.719
they win or the winning they have done up until

00:41:05.719 --> 00:41:08.820
this point has been in an environment where they

00:41:08.820 --> 00:41:10.760
are physically dominant than their opponents.

00:41:11.179 --> 00:41:15.239
They're better athletes at just pure athletic,

00:41:15.460 --> 00:41:18.139
how high they get, how agile they are, how strong

00:41:18.139 --> 00:41:21.170
they are. compared to, in general, the opponents

00:41:21.170 --> 00:41:22.730
that they've been playing, both in college and

00:41:22.730 --> 00:41:25.230
in love. Yes, you can prepare yourself and you

00:41:25.230 --> 00:41:27.429
have to be in that mindset and you have to execute,

00:41:27.630 --> 00:41:30.090
but you do have an advantage. And I think that's

00:41:30.090 --> 00:41:32.570
true for probably for all three of those athletes,

00:41:32.730 --> 00:41:36.550
specifically Skinner. How does she deal with

00:41:36.550 --> 00:41:39.889
being prepared to score when she doesn't have

00:41:39.889 --> 00:41:43.269
that advantage anymore, when she can't just go

00:41:43.269 --> 00:41:47.050
over top, down the line or tip and score? I haven't

00:41:47.050 --> 00:41:50.489
seen her have to be prepared to score in more

00:41:50.489 --> 00:41:52.510
creative ways. And that's not to say she hasn't

00:41:52.510 --> 00:41:54.889
done it, but Jordan Thompson has done it. She

00:41:54.889 --> 00:41:57.670
has that next level experience. And I don't think

00:41:57.670 --> 00:41:59.750
that Maddie did a particularly great job last

00:41:59.750 --> 00:42:03.050
year at VNL. So there is still a huge learning

00:42:03.050 --> 00:42:07.050
curve for her when one of her biggest assets

00:42:07.050 --> 00:42:09.130
is neutralized because everybody else is just

00:42:09.130 --> 00:42:11.550
as big and physical. Is it a good stepping stone

00:42:11.550 --> 00:42:14.889
knowing how to win? Yes, but I think... Now you're

00:42:14.889 --> 00:42:16.929
going to have to see if her volleyball execution

00:42:16.929 --> 00:42:21.130
can be at that high of a level against opponents

00:42:21.130 --> 00:42:23.329
who are preparing for you. And I'm not saying

00:42:23.329 --> 00:42:26.269
yes or no. I'm just saying jury's out. You got

00:42:26.269 --> 00:42:29.369
to earn it. So I would give the nod to Thompson

00:42:29.369 --> 00:42:32.829
still at this point. Okay, question five. I've

00:42:32.829 --> 00:42:35.289
played volleyball for about six years now and

00:42:35.289 --> 00:42:38.510
have always heard that lefties make great opposites.

00:42:39.079 --> 00:42:41.579
But when you and Adam talked about the best opposites

00:42:41.579 --> 00:42:43.880
in the world, the majority are right -handed.

00:42:44.159 --> 00:42:47.820
Why is it that the best are right -handed, but

00:42:47.820 --> 00:42:50.340
everyone talks about lefty right sides being

00:42:50.340 --> 00:42:54.239
so good? It's an interesting question. First

00:42:54.239 --> 00:42:56.579
and foremost, there just aren't that many lefties

00:42:56.579 --> 00:43:01.219
out there who are playing. We're a rare bunch.

00:43:01.639 --> 00:43:06.519
The chances of a lefty playing volleyball...

00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:10.179
being physically dominant and going up and being

00:43:10.179 --> 00:43:12.900
able to do all of those things is just statistically

00:43:12.900 --> 00:43:18.880
less probable. The thing that makes lefties,

00:43:18.940 --> 00:43:21.300
I don't want to say better on the right side,

00:43:21.420 --> 00:43:24.460
but tricky on the right side is that part A is

00:43:24.460 --> 00:43:27.400
you don't see those angles very often. So it

00:43:27.400 --> 00:43:30.579
takes time to line up the block, to make adjustments.

00:43:31.079 --> 00:43:33.900
It's just different. And you have to be very...

00:43:34.349 --> 00:43:37.010
in tune with the situation and know what your

00:43:37.010 --> 00:43:40.190
adjustments are to block a lefty and to play

00:43:40.190 --> 00:43:42.070
defense against them. So there's a bit of an

00:43:42.070 --> 00:43:44.090
advantage in just that they're unique. Kind of

00:43:44.090 --> 00:43:46.329
like left -handed pitchers. So it's not that

00:43:46.329 --> 00:43:49.150
it's left -handed are just naturally better.

00:43:49.329 --> 00:43:52.889
It's just if you have a righty and a lefty who

00:43:52.889 --> 00:43:55.610
were identical, the lefty would probably have

00:43:55.610 --> 00:43:57.710
better stats just because it takes longer to

00:43:57.710 --> 00:44:00.730
adjust to those situations and you can hit angles

00:44:00.730 --> 00:44:04.050
that... aren't as common and it's harder to prepare

00:44:04.050 --> 00:44:08.829
for. That's really all it is. And I think lefties

00:44:08.829 --> 00:44:13.050
are better suited to hitting on the right side

00:44:13.050 --> 00:44:15.329
and being opposites. And we've talked about this

00:44:15.329 --> 00:44:18.650
in the past because their hitting arm is closer

00:44:18.650 --> 00:44:22.489
to where the set is coming from. It is inherently

00:44:22.489 --> 00:44:26.110
more difficult to hit a ball that crosses your

00:44:26.110 --> 00:44:29.650
whole body as opposed to being able to cut it

00:44:29.650 --> 00:44:32.880
off early. So that's why it is more difficult

00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:37.199
and incredibly rare to see a left -handed outside

00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:39.820
hitter because the ball has to travel so far.

00:44:39.980 --> 00:44:43.460
That's why lefties are better suited to be opposites.

00:44:43.460 --> 00:44:47.260
And as Adam said, there often aren't many lefties

00:44:47.260 --> 00:44:52.360
on teams. So righties have, you know, taken more

00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:55.739
of those roles just because lefties are a rare

00:44:55.739 --> 00:44:58.760
breed. Okay, question six. What are your thoughts

00:44:58.760 --> 00:45:03.960
on the AVP wildcard teams? The drama. Who would

00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:06.219
you guys have given the slots to? Is this a missed

00:45:06.219 --> 00:45:09.360
opportunity to grow the game via Hughes and Batenhorst

00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:11.519
who are building their fan base on social media?

00:45:12.159 --> 00:45:14.380
Urango and Rice have been slumping and lost in

00:45:14.380 --> 00:45:16.559
the qualifiers to pairs who didn't get a wildcard

00:45:16.559 --> 00:45:20.659
pick. Okay. So for context in, in late March

00:45:20.659 --> 00:45:23.800
into early April, there were qualification tournaments

00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:27.400
for the AVP league, which we talked briefly about

00:45:27.400 --> 00:45:30.860
a couple episodes ago. Basically the league is,

00:45:30.940 --> 00:45:33.860
you know, a man, a men's and a women's team are

00:45:33.860 --> 00:45:38.019
assigned to a specific city and cities compete

00:45:38.019 --> 00:45:42.539
against each other in quick 15 point matches.

00:45:42.619 --> 00:45:47.030
And it's just like, yeah, a fun, different, set

00:45:47.030 --> 00:45:49.710
up to the typical AVP tournaments. Only a couple

00:45:49.710 --> 00:45:53.510
teams in each gender were automatic entries and

00:45:53.510 --> 00:45:56.610
the rest had to qualify through these single

00:45:56.610 --> 00:45:59.610
elimination tournaments. In tournament one, for

00:45:59.610 --> 00:46:04.710
example, Betsy Flint and Kylie DeBerg won. So

00:46:04.710 --> 00:46:07.269
they earned a berth. In tournament two, Kelly

00:46:07.269 --> 00:46:11.690
Chang and Megan Kraft earned a berth. And in

00:46:11.690 --> 00:46:13.550
tournament three, I believe Maddie Anderson and

00:46:13.550 --> 00:46:16.929
Elena Chacon. You know, we had a bunch of other

00:46:16.929 --> 00:46:20.570
teams attempting. We had Molly Shaw and Tony

00:46:20.570 --> 00:46:24.610
Rodriguez. We had Gina Urango, Megan Rice, Sarah

00:46:24.610 --> 00:46:28.349
Hughes, Allie Batenhorst. Like the typical names

00:46:28.349 --> 00:46:32.510
that play AVP were competing, but they didn't

00:46:32.510 --> 00:46:37.389
win. So they gave two wild card spots. I'm assuming

00:46:37.389 --> 00:46:40.010
this is just about the women because I think

00:46:40.010 --> 00:46:42.269
on the men's side, it seems pretty cut and dry.

00:46:42.409 --> 00:46:44.789
But if you want me to talk about the men. all

00:46:44.789 --> 00:46:48.409
around me. The wild cards were given to Molly

00:46:48.409 --> 00:46:51.789
Shaw and Tony Rodriguez and Gina Urango and Megan

00:46:51.789 --> 00:46:55.070
Rice. And then the rest are just like out of

00:46:55.070 --> 00:46:58.429
luck. Aren't going to play ABP league this year.

00:46:58.590 --> 00:47:01.030
I think I also gave that context to Adam because

00:47:01.030 --> 00:47:03.570
I'm not sure he was aware of what has happened.

00:47:03.730 --> 00:47:05.909
I had a little bit of the backstory, but not

00:47:05.909 --> 00:47:08.150
much. So that was helpful. It's tough. So I know

00:47:08.150 --> 00:47:11.199
all of these people personally. So it's hard

00:47:11.199 --> 00:47:15.900
to be objective, I guess. It is hard to, yeah.

00:47:17.460 --> 00:47:21.619
Looking at it from an outside perspective, Hughes,

00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:23.800
Baton Horse hasn't done anything in the sport,

00:47:23.880 --> 00:47:26.360
so that is what it is. And all you people who

00:47:26.360 --> 00:47:28.239
are like, oh, but she won a medal, a couple medals

00:47:28.239 --> 00:47:31.659
at a challenger, you guys, stop it. There was

00:47:31.659 --> 00:47:33.579
nobody playing those challengers. Yeah, she hasn't

00:47:33.579 --> 00:47:36.159
done anything in the sport yet. But for Sarah

00:47:36.159 --> 00:47:39.099
Hughes to not get... the wild card first and

00:47:39.099 --> 00:47:40.719
foremost you should have won and earned your

00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:43.159
spot in so you put yourself in the situation

00:47:43.159 --> 00:47:46.380
but i'm surprised i am surprised that she didn't

00:47:46.380 --> 00:47:49.880
get it just because she's been an olympian world

00:47:49.880 --> 00:47:53.780
champion a world champion she like this from

00:47:53.780 --> 00:47:57.500
a branding perspective seems like a miss and

00:47:58.030 --> 00:47:59.730
I will be the first one to say that the volleyball

00:47:59.730 --> 00:48:02.030
world is cliquey. So I don't know who made the

00:48:02.030 --> 00:48:04.550
decisions. I don't know any of that stuff. But

00:48:04.550 --> 00:48:08.510
from a pure Sarah Hughes is the best player out

00:48:08.510 --> 00:48:12.329
of that group who wasn't given a wild card. I'm

00:48:12.329 --> 00:48:15.650
shocked, honestly. I mean, whether you agree

00:48:15.650 --> 00:48:18.889
with it or not, Sarah Hughes has been the golden

00:48:18.889 --> 00:48:21.150
girl of USA Volleyball for a very long time.

00:48:21.570 --> 00:48:25.909
You can't deny. The success she's had in the

00:48:25.909 --> 00:48:29.550
AVP. She's won a lot of events, world champion.

00:48:29.650 --> 00:48:32.869
So Allie Batenhorse, whether she's what she's

00:48:32.869 --> 00:48:35.150
done or not, like to me is irrelevant. Like she's

00:48:35.150 --> 00:48:38.150
a non -factor here. Like you, Sarah Hughes should

00:48:38.150 --> 00:48:41.150
have been given the spot. I think just for the

00:48:41.150 --> 00:48:43.590
success and the, that she's had in the player

00:48:43.590 --> 00:48:46.690
that she is. And then she can bring her a tag

00:48:46.690 --> 00:48:48.750
along partner with her. It shouldn't matter.

00:48:48.849 --> 00:48:51.079
Which is generally how it works. which is generally

00:48:51.079 --> 00:48:53.159
how it works. Like if we want to, like if it

00:48:53.159 --> 00:48:55.639
was April Ross playing with a high school kid,

00:48:55.760 --> 00:48:57.599
you better believe they would have given the

00:48:57.599 --> 00:48:59.559
spot to April Ross. Do you know what I mean?

00:48:59.760 --> 00:49:03.400
I'm surprised. I honestly don't think I'm definitely

00:49:03.400 --> 00:49:05.840
biased. And this statement is definitely colored

00:49:05.840 --> 00:49:09.039
by my own experience, but I think it should not

00:49:09.039 --> 00:49:10.920
come down to what your social media following

00:49:10.920 --> 00:49:14.500
is said by somebody who. hate social media and

00:49:14.500 --> 00:49:16.760
never really cared about it. I think it should

00:49:16.760 --> 00:49:19.980
be based on your, I understand that the world

00:49:19.980 --> 00:49:22.699
is shifting and it's like, how many eyeballs

00:49:22.699 --> 00:49:25.179
can we get on this? So I understand that it is

00:49:25.179 --> 00:49:27.760
a factor, but I think it should be more about

00:49:27.760 --> 00:49:33.219
your play. I am surprised at the wild cards they

00:49:33.219 --> 00:49:36.119
gave. I'm even a little bit surprised. I'm so

00:49:36.119 --> 00:49:38.739
like Gina Urango, Megan Rice. Yes. Surprised

00:49:38.739 --> 00:49:41.219
about that. I'm even like. slightly surprised

00:49:41.219 --> 00:49:44.920
at Molly Shaw like Tony Rodriguez because Molly

00:49:44.920 --> 00:49:48.099
Shaw was fine when she played with Kelly Chang

00:49:48.099 --> 00:49:51.559
but she hasn't done much with anybody else again

00:49:51.559 --> 00:49:53.719
I don't know there's all kinds of factors that

00:49:53.719 --> 00:49:56.880
come in in terms of who's doing what and how

00:49:56.880 --> 00:49:58.320
they make the decisions like at the end of the

00:49:58.320 --> 00:50:00.400
day it's one or two people who get to pick the

00:50:00.400 --> 00:50:04.179
wild cards so you just you never know are they

00:50:04.179 --> 00:50:06.119
helping build the brand have they done things

00:50:06.119 --> 00:50:08.380
in the like there's all kinds of factors but

00:50:08.380 --> 00:50:10.650
this Without knowing any of that information,

00:50:10.869 --> 00:50:13.949
this seems like a very strange omission. Okay,

00:50:13.949 --> 00:50:16.250
question seven. Who were your volleyball idols

00:50:16.250 --> 00:50:19.250
when you were growing up? I wasn't really one

00:50:19.250 --> 00:50:22.110
who, I played a lot of sports growing up and

00:50:22.110 --> 00:50:26.510
I didn't watch hardly any. So I'm not sure I

00:50:26.510 --> 00:50:29.719
really had an idol. I was fortunate to train

00:50:29.719 --> 00:50:32.599
with Paul Durden when I was in university and

00:50:32.599 --> 00:50:35.780
he is an amazing human. I really enjoyed him.

00:50:35.800 --> 00:50:38.440
He was very nice to us. He was an amazing volleyball

00:50:38.440 --> 00:50:41.219
player. I learned a lot and that was a cool experience.

00:50:41.320 --> 00:50:44.300
So I would pick him, but I really wasn't immersed

00:50:44.300 --> 00:50:49.199
in the sport outside of I'm playing. So that's

00:50:49.199 --> 00:50:53.460
all I've got. Logan Tom, period. I've talked

00:50:53.460 --> 00:50:55.679
about this a little bit in the past, but yeah,

00:50:55.760 --> 00:51:00.219
she did. everything that I wanted to do. And

00:51:00.219 --> 00:51:02.760
so I just she was the perfect person to kind

00:51:02.760 --> 00:51:06.039
of follow. She made her national team when she

00:51:06.039 --> 00:51:09.599
was 16. She had an incredible collegiate career.

00:51:09.820 --> 00:51:12.340
She played professionally, national team, etc.

00:51:12.539 --> 00:51:15.960
Like so everything she did aligned perfectly

00:51:15.960 --> 00:51:19.619
with my own goals. Yeah, I wanted to be her.

00:51:19.760 --> 00:51:23.860
Question eight. Question for Sarah. Do you coach?

00:51:23.960 --> 00:51:28.019
Why or why not? Today's athletes are way too

00:51:28.019 --> 00:51:30.139
soft mentally and emotionally. I'd love to see

00:51:30.139 --> 00:51:32.920
hard -nosed players like you back in the fray.

00:51:33.179 --> 00:51:36.659
Well, thank you. I agree. I love some personality.

00:51:37.219 --> 00:51:41.139
But I want to say, I mean, yes, I do, but also

00:51:41.139 --> 00:51:46.000
no. I did a lot of coaching, like private lessons

00:51:46.000 --> 00:51:51.739
in small groups pre -COVID. And, you know, obviously

00:51:51.739 --> 00:51:55.309
in recent... time I've been taking care of a

00:51:55.309 --> 00:51:58.250
little baby so it's a lot more challenging but

00:51:58.250 --> 00:52:01.989
I think I answered this question recently like

00:52:01.989 --> 00:52:05.010
today I think just for with somebody and I think

00:52:05.010 --> 00:52:09.030
for the right situation I would I have Betsy

00:52:09.030 --> 00:52:11.510
Flint was coming back and needed some help you

00:52:11.510 --> 00:52:14.730
know coming back from pregnancy and so got out

00:52:14.730 --> 00:52:17.989
on the sand with her she's a great person you

00:52:17.989 --> 00:52:20.969
know I was I was happy to do that I've been approached

00:52:20.969 --> 00:52:23.889
by certain other organizations that I would definitely

00:52:23.889 --> 00:52:28.389
think about it in the future, especially as our

00:52:28.389 --> 00:52:31.690
daughter kind of gets older. But yeah, up until

00:52:31.690 --> 00:52:36.070
recently, I was playing so much. So I had no

00:52:36.070 --> 00:52:38.510
time because I had my own career going on. And

00:52:38.510 --> 00:52:41.989
then immediately after retirement, I could not

00:52:41.989 --> 00:52:45.099
be. that immersed in the sport I kind of needed

00:52:45.099 --> 00:52:47.639
to exhale and remove myself just just a little

00:52:47.639 --> 00:52:50.380
bit but I'm I'm at a point that like once things

00:52:50.380 --> 00:52:53.480
settle down I'm ready to dive back in hey last

00:52:53.480 --> 00:52:56.000
question for the day why do you typically see

00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:58.659
players always serve from the same spot when

00:52:58.659 --> 00:53:01.539
it would be more beneficial to move around that's

00:53:01.539 --> 00:53:04.960
a great question great question and honestly

00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:08.280
one without a good answer I can't answer that

00:53:08.280 --> 00:53:11.179
question for you because it's absolutely It's

00:53:11.179 --> 00:53:14.179
outrageous that you don't see more players serving

00:53:14.179 --> 00:53:17.219
from different angles to put passers in trouble.

00:53:17.360 --> 00:53:20.219
And I don't know for the life of me why coaches

00:53:20.219 --> 00:53:22.840
don't implement this strategy. You see them go,

00:53:22.920 --> 00:53:25.340
hey, serve to one, serve to five, but they don't

00:53:25.340 --> 00:53:29.000
talk about a serve from here and make that angle

00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:32.400
tougher or look at statistically where people

00:53:32.400 --> 00:53:33.980
struggle when the balls are coming. You have

00:53:33.980 --> 00:53:35.679
passers who struggle with all kinds of things.

00:53:35.840 --> 00:53:38.260
Depth perception with balls coming from right

00:53:38.260 --> 00:53:40.719
in front of them. Not dropping their shoulder

00:53:40.719 --> 00:53:42.679
when they're passing balls coming across the

00:53:42.679 --> 00:53:44.820
seam. Two passers who don't communicate when

00:53:44.820 --> 00:53:46.940
the ball comes. Like there's so many things you

00:53:46.940 --> 00:53:50.579
could exploit if you trained your players to

00:53:50.579 --> 00:53:53.059
serve from other places. And for the life of

00:53:53.059 --> 00:53:54.599
me, I don't know how to answer this question

00:53:54.599 --> 00:53:57.519
because it 100 % should be done. I have this

00:53:57.519 --> 00:54:01.360
question. I will say this applies to indoor.

00:54:01.579 --> 00:54:05.300
And I don't know what, I think several teams

00:54:05.300 --> 00:54:08.300
do this, but on the beach. This was something

00:54:08.300 --> 00:54:12.380
that I really focused on, like because it's such

00:54:12.380 --> 00:54:15.079
a nuancy sport, like you look at everything.

00:54:15.239 --> 00:54:18.679
So in preparing for games, we would look at like

00:54:18.679 --> 00:54:22.099
exactly what Adam was talking about, where to

00:54:22.099 --> 00:54:25.659
serve from, what angle to serve to, to create

00:54:25.659 --> 00:54:27.840
as much disruption as possible. But like it is

00:54:27.840 --> 00:54:32.360
not done enough indoor at all. As always, you

00:54:32.360 --> 00:54:34.699
guys, the listeners throw in so many great questions.

00:54:35.519 --> 00:54:38.480
Thank you for continuing to listen and give us

00:54:38.480 --> 00:54:40.639
your questions and keep them coming. We love

00:54:40.639 --> 00:54:42.880
doing this. Coming up this week, Thursday at

00:54:42.880 --> 00:54:45.539
2 .30 p .m. Eastern, match one of the Italian

00:54:45.539 --> 00:54:50.039
A1 men's final, which is Perugia versus Trevizianova.

00:54:50.239 --> 00:54:52.980
That's on VBTV. That is the tongue twister of

00:54:52.980 --> 00:54:55.400
Adam White. I struggle with that one for whatever

00:54:55.400 --> 00:54:57.380
reason. I even practiced before we got on here

00:54:57.380 --> 00:55:00.139
and it didn't help. So that's on Thursday. And

00:55:00.139 --> 00:55:03.530
then match two will be on Sunday. Stay tuned.

00:55:03.670 --> 00:55:06.409
You can hear my voice in your head as they announce

00:55:06.409 --> 00:55:10.750
the team names. Chivitsa, Chivitsa Novi. Anyway,

00:55:11.030 --> 00:55:13.650
the sad thing is I lived in Italy for several

00:55:13.650 --> 00:55:15.369
years and I still can't say it, but that's what

00:55:15.369 --> 00:55:18.869
it is. NCAA men's regional semifinals and finals,

00:55:18.949 --> 00:55:20.710
which we spent so much time talking about, will

00:55:20.710 --> 00:55:24.869
be Friday and Saturday this week. Tune in. Yeah,

00:55:24.989 --> 00:55:30.050
ESPN+. Go celebrate and support men's volleyball,

00:55:30.510 --> 00:55:34.239
please. There'll be some great games. Yes. And

00:55:34.239 --> 00:55:36.340
then finally, Women's Champions League Final

00:55:36.340 --> 00:55:38.960
Four in Istanbul this weekend. First match is

00:55:38.960 --> 00:55:42.000
Saturday at 10 a .m. Eastern, and you can find

00:55:42.000 --> 00:55:45.880
that on eurovolley .tv. That concludes this week's

00:55:45.880 --> 00:55:47.820
episode of Volley Talk. There's always something

00:55:47.820 --> 00:55:49.739
shaking in the volleyball world, and we hope

00:55:49.739 --> 00:55:52.179
you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure to follow

00:55:52.179 --> 00:55:54.380
the show so you don't miss any updates, and we'd

00:55:54.380 --> 00:55:56.639
be so grateful if you'd leave us a five -star

00:55:56.639 --> 00:55:59.260
review. You can also find us on Instagram at

00:55:59.260 --> 00:56:02.099
volleytalk underscore podcast. If you have a

00:56:02.099 --> 00:56:03.900
topic you'd like us to discuss, you can reach

00:56:03.900 --> 00:56:07.219
out on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin .com.

00:56:07.619 --> 00:56:09.800
Thanks so much for joining us and we'll be back

00:56:09.800 --> 00:56:10.380
next week.