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 back after a couple weeks hiatus.

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Took some time to recharge the batteries a little

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bit. But we are very, very excited because we

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love, love international season and women's VNL

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started this past week. So we are very excited

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to dive in. We've got the men's VNL coming up

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this week. Lots of new signings happening in

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the American Domestic League. So there's a lot

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to dive into. We are very excited. We know you

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guys love international season too because we

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have gotten a lot of messages. So as I said,

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lots to talk about this week. We are excited.

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Let's get started. Our weekly highlights this

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week is pretty much a list of players who at

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the time of this recording have signed with MLV

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and or love. Now, there is some movement happening.

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I'm not going to dive into players who are moving

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within the league. We'll do that when the leagues

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start again. That can be a preview of the league

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situation. But new players that the leagues are

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bringing in that I personally found interesting,

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we are going to talk about. For MLV, the teams

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that have made the biggest moves so far that

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I've seen are Minnesota and Omaha. Those both

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track a new team and the team with the biggest

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budget. Exactly. Last episode, we talked about

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how Steph Samity was the first player who signed

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with MLV Minnesota. And the question was like,

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is this where her career goes to die? Well, a

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bunch of other international players have since

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signed with Minnesota too. Maybe not. First one

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is Quinn Pellen. She's a Canadian setter. She

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was the backup at VNL last year. Ended up starting

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the majority of the time because Bria Riley got

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injured. So she'll be joining them. Irie Miyabi.

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She's the middle blocker for Japan. She played

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college at Minnesota. So that tracks. I mean,

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she's been there. She knows what she's getting

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into. Okay. So far, it makes sense. I think Pellen.

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It's tough for international setters overseas

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in terms of what teams you can get to, how much

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money you can make if you're not like top of

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the top. So coming back, I can understand why

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she would do that. I mean, I think she was playing

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in like Spain or something. Right. So I'm saying

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liberos and setters have it tough. Her coming

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back, I'm not super shocked. Setters have it

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tough, you think? Like a backup setter from Canada

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is not going to go start in Italy. We've got

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Marie Skulzel. Excuse my German pronunciation

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with that double dot. You know what I mean? So

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she's the German middle blocker. So another international

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player. I mean, pretty solid. Yeah, I mean, that's

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the starting of a good roster. So we got a setter,

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opposite, middle, two middles. If they get half

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decent left sides, they're going to be in contention

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almost right away, I would imagine. Yeah, they're

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looking good right now. As I said, the other

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team is Omaha. So Kami Minor, girl, what are

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you doing? I'm disappointed. What are you doing?

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I'm disappointed. The funny thing is I saw a

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video after the red -white scrimmage. Kami grew

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up in Redondo Beach, and they were like, oh,

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are you excited to come back and play MLV? Why

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did you decide to do that? She's like, oh, I

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just really think it'll be so great to be so

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close to family, blah, blah, blah. Girl, you

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are from LA. There is an MLV LA team. There's

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an MLV NorCal team. You are not from Nebraska.

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So that one confused me a little bit. I'm not

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okay with this. I am not sure what her thought

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process was because you were literally on one

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of the best teams in the world. I know you were

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a backup. Like I understand that, but this just

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seems like such a step down. I hope she travels

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to a VNL stop because I need to see her set.

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They must have offered her a ton of money. It

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must be a money decision. Which, I mean, you

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can't fault an athlete for wanting to make money.

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Like, I get it. That's fine. It just, she's still

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so young in her career. But she also strikes

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me more as a love setter than an MLV setter.

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Granted, love strengths is their setters. But,

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like, there's a spot for her. Where? Who do you

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think she would replace? There's four new teams.

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That's true. I wonder what a candid conversation.

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How much money did she make? There you go. That's

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the question. Omaha also picked up Kimberly Drevniok

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from Love Omaha. Or Love Nebraska, as it's called

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now. I mean, they did need an upgrade in the

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opposite position. 100%. They re -signed Merritt

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Beeson. My point stands. And maybe Emily Wanda.

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Again, to me, that team, it's not skill that

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they're missing. It's... that cohesion and that

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go after it mentality. And I don't think that

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the two players they've added are any different.

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There's more. Okay. We've also got Natalie Lemons,

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who is Belgian. We've got Lena Stigrot, who's

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German. And those are the two main ones. Who's

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coaching them? Carl McGowan, who used to coach

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BYU, I believe, who also John Cook is a big fan

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of. I'm pretty sure. He's gold medal. McGowan

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was like a consultant or there's a relationship

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there. I'm so curious to see what that team looks

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like. They've pulled out all of the stops to

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try and be good. I thought there was a foreigner

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limit in MLV except for a couple of years ago.

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Did they drop that? Can somebody tell me, did

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they drop that foreigner rule? Because these

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Minnesota and Omaha are picking up foreigners

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left and right here. So somebody tell me about

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that, please. And thanks. Our girl Zoe Jarvis

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is heading to Atlanta, MLV, Atlanta. I'm not

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surprised that she's no longer in love. Somebody

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sent me a message and they're like, did she go

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to MLV because she didn't make the national team?

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Or did she not make the national team because

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she went to MLV? Great question all around. Omaha,

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Atlanta also signed Karina Chmielewska, who is

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a Polish. player okay so again another foreigner

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i mean i like that they're putting more you have

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to assume they're putting more money into the

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system if they're able to attract some of these

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foreign players i'm so curious what this is going

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to do to the dynamic to the teams like because

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it was kind of a college league and now you are

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bringing in people who have played professionally

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i i'm so interested to see the culture shifts

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in some of these teams. When you start playing

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with Polish and German athletes, there's a different

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level of conversation and frankness that happens

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on the court, in practice, in those situations.

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I'm very curious to see what the team dynamic

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and league looks like with the addition of these

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players. I don't hate it. I'm just very curious.

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Are you... competing with love here like are

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you trying are you trying to bring in this foreign

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talent to compete with love or like are you trying

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to stay true to your own product you know what

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i mean i know what you mean but i think that

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i don't think mlv was ever intended to just be

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after college i think that was the budgets they

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had yeah at that point so if they have better

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funding. And if they're opening it up to foreign

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players and it's going to bring the level up,

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I, I don't have an issue with that. Granted,

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they are adding several more teams. It's just

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the thing for MLV is like, it was giving a place

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to those college athletes who probably never

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would have made a career otherwise a chance.

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And now by bringing in four and not every team

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is doing it. I know, but by continuing to bring

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in foreign talent, it's going to limit the those

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opportunities for the middle to high end players

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from the US who needed MLV to be their professional

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outlet. They might be on the bench to start,

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but it also give them probably a better training

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environment, maybe an opportunity to get better

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in the long run. Like you have to remember volleyball

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players don't hit their peak until like 27 to

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30, I would say for on the female side. So being

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able to be in that, see some. pro athletes who

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have played for five or six years. Again, you

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have three on some of the top teams. So I don't

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think you're displacing that many athletes. And

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if it brings the level up, like I love the Japanese

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girl coming back when she went to college there.

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Like, I think that that's great. We've criticized

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the setting in MLV in the past, like being able

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to bring in Pellan is going to help that team

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and speed up the offense. So I actually like

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moves like that. And I'm curious to see, I hope

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they keep the... product and how they show it

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the same. I'm curious to see if this improves

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the volleyball for those teams, because I like

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the Minnesota roster already, depending on who

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the websites are. Just a couple more. Oh, Orlando

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is bringing in Oikana Valle, a Puerto Rican libero.

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And you know, the team that I think is not making

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great choices that I think, I don't even know

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what these rosters are, but my pre pre. Preseason

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last pick. Last place, NorCal. What are you guys

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doing? They signed Haley Bennett. I don't know

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who that is. And they signed Zhang Chen, who

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is a player for the Taiwanese national team.

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Okay. Like a starter or? Starter or not. When

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is the last time anybody has seen Taiwan's national

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team play, aside from Asian games? It registered

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in my brain as Thailand. Taiwan. Okay. Yeah.

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That's different. Could be tough. Seriously.

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NorCal. What are you guys doing? Find some players.

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NorCal's in trouble. That's the player side.

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On the coach's side, there's been a lot of movement

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too. As I said, Carl McGowan's heading to Omaha.

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Francois Salvani is going to Orlando. He coached

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Mulhouse in the French League for a while. Dieter

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Collins. Parker is going to D .C. She is a legendary

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American player. And Dave Boos is going to Columbus.

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Dave Boos actually recruited me when he was coaching

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an assistant coach in Minnesota. And he spent

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a very long time as the assistant at Florida.

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I love that pick because I really like him. I

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mean, it seems like they're trying to get more

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experienced coaches in there, which again. all

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the way around. They're investing in some of

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the infrastructure and bringing in some players.

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I like all these moves. Are they going to catch

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up to Love in one season? Probably not, but they're

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heading in the right direction, which is all

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you can really ask for. You want to get a little

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bit better every year. And on the Love side,

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things are a little more quiet, but Catherine

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Bowden, as we already knew, is heading to Love.

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Malia Deacon. The two -time Olympian from Turkey

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is heading to Love. And Kara Holick, formerly

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Kara Bajma, is also joining the league. So those

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are the updates there. Cesar Hernandez is going

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to be the head coach of Minnesota. Just a little,

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you know, taster. I'm going to keep checking

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in on what is happening. Already, we've got some

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power moves being made in MLV. Of course, Love

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is not announcing where any of these players

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are signing. They need to move the dominoes a

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little bit. You know what I mean? But stay tuned

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to see what happens next week. Okay, we know

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you guys are very excited to dive into the Women's

00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.720
VNL Week 1. But before we do that, we just wanted

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to chat through the men's... U .S. VNL wide roster

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because we just, you know, want everyone to be

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prepared for this week when the men's tournament

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starts. Yes, and we have received some questions.

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So we are going to run through this, my preliminary

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run through. I'm liking what I'm seeing, but

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let's break it down. Okay, so let's go position

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by position. And you tell me snubs, misses, thoughts.

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So we'll start at setting. Christensen. Ma 'a,

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Rowan, and Rosenthal. Two vets. Two young guys.

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Got some size. Got some size. Got some sweet

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hands. I like this. I like this because you have

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the veterans. You're also kind of preparing for

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the future. I mean, I don't see any. I don't

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know who else I would have put on here. And I

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like, like you said, old and young. This is spot

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on for me. I like this. All right, so on the

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outside, we have a bit of a longer list. Matt

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Anderson, Cooper Robinson, Jacob Pasteur, TJ

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DeFalco, Zach Rama, Ethan Chamberlain, Nolan

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Flexin, Jordan Ewert, Sean Kelly. What do you

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think about that list? Can we talk about Matt

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Anderson being listed as an outside? I just assumed

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that was a typo. No, because I saw multiple posts

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where he was listed as an outside too. Has he

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ever played outside? I mean, I'm not worried

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about him attacking on the outside. Here I was

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being like, oh, man, all those right sides, watch

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out. Matt Anderson's back. Like, no, he's not.

00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.639
The question for me is ball control. Like, how

00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:42.860
much can you hide him? I mean, I always found

00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:45.879
as a right -handed right side, moving to the

00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:48.039
left was easier to attack. Your vision was better.

00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.519
I personally felt more comfortable doing that.

00:14:51.070 --> 00:14:54.610
But to me, the question is, what does that ball

00:14:54.610 --> 00:14:58.909
control look like? Yeah, yeah. We won't know

00:14:58.909 --> 00:15:00.309
until we see. Because are the opposites that

00:15:00.309 --> 00:15:02.110
much better? We'll get into them in a second,

00:15:02.190 --> 00:15:06.870
but geez. Okay, so anyway, recovering from that.

00:15:07.009 --> 00:15:09.129
He needs to be on the team, so put him wherever

00:15:09.129 --> 00:15:12.110
he wants. Put him on the roster. Cooper Robinson,

00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:16.309
yes, he had a good season last year. DeFalco's

00:15:16.309 --> 00:15:20.120
back, absolutely. Bringing in some young guys

00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:25.419
in Rama and Flexin. And I love that Sean Kelly's

00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:27.519
on the list. I really think that he's the future.

00:15:27.899 --> 00:15:32.120
He's very young. I think this is great. And Champlin

00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:34.659
had a pretty good season last season. Again,

00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:38.980
I think he nailed this. You know who I'm wondering?

00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.740
Aaron Russell. What's he doing? Because he had

00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.580
a really good Champions League. His pro season.

00:15:45.929 --> 00:15:48.529
He's still playing at a high level. So I'm wondering

00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:55.429
if he didn't want to play or if he wasn't included.

00:15:56.049 --> 00:15:58.929
Because we have known, like Karch, if you look

00:15:58.929 --> 00:16:00.950
back on some of his decisions, he's not afraid

00:16:00.950 --> 00:16:04.110
to cut good players if they don't fit with what

00:16:04.110 --> 00:16:06.149
he's looking for. He did it to Destiny Hooker.

00:16:06.190 --> 00:16:09.149
He did it to Logan Tom. So you kind of have to

00:16:09.149 --> 00:16:13.110
fit personality -wise and style -wise into what

00:16:13.110 --> 00:16:15.139
he's doing because he doesn't... He'll just cut

00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:17.700
you. Yeah. Which is, I mean, totally fine. You

00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:19.159
have to have a vision. You have to move with

00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:21.460
that. I'm just curious. He's the one person I

00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:23.879
thought after watching him play internationally

00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.799
this year, I was like, nah, that's a player that

00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:28.700
has some utility and can be used in a bunch of

00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:30.980
different places. I would say that this position

00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:35.320
is on the younger end in general. We're not seeing

00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:38.960
a real grizzled vet here other than. Maybe that's

00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:41.159
why Anderson's moved over there. Kind of like

00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:43.559
wrangle them. You know what I mean? Where would

00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.919
you put DeFalco? I mean, what is he, like, 27?

00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:49.580
Yeah, I don't think he's that old, but he's a

00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:51.820
ton of experience and he's very good. No, I'm

00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:54.419
talking about, like, Grozer. You know what I

00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:56.360
mean? Like, let's get a 40 -year -old out there.

00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:58.879
Somebody who's going to drag those kids and bang

00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.299
them into shape. Yeah, fair enough. Like, okay,

00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:06.619
like, yes, DeFalco is experienced. He's outstanding.

00:17:07.889 --> 00:17:11.670
Yeah, of course. Sure, he could be considered

00:17:11.670 --> 00:17:13.589
the experienced player. Maybe you don't need

00:17:13.589 --> 00:17:15.490
one of those players when Karch is your head

00:17:15.490 --> 00:17:18.630
coach. Well, I don't know. Can you tell that

00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:21.470
Adam has a man crush on Karch? It's allowed.

00:17:21.809 --> 00:17:25.690
I have a lot of respect for what he does. I honestly

00:17:25.690 --> 00:17:29.509
don't. Other than Aaron Russell, this is a good

00:17:29.509 --> 00:17:32.210
choice. Again, you have older players. I'm curious

00:17:32.210 --> 00:17:35.049
to see the Matt Anderson experiment. We saw it

00:17:35.049 --> 00:17:37.720
with Antropova on the women's side. TBD on how

00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:40.440
that's going to go. I mean, if he can pass, great.

00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:43.299
We'll see. Okay. Since we had questions moving

00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:46.079
on to opposite. All right. So here's what we

00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:51.019
have. Kyle Ensign, Gabby Garcia, Jake Haynes,

00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:53.759
and Cole Harkey. So I don't know who Jake Haynes

00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.039
is. I haven't seen him play. I don't really have

00:17:56.039 --> 00:18:01.480
any reason to see or know him. So not sure about

00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:03.319
that choice, but I mean, the other ones all make

00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:06.519
sense. Well, we had it. And singing Garcia last

00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:10.200
season. Bringing Hartke up. I mean, if you're

00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:13.900
bringing a Sean Kelly up, you're bringing Tread

00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:17.420
up. He makes sense, too. Again, it's a really

00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:22.779
good mixture for me of the older and younger

00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:26.720
players. Agreed. Not sure why Matt Anderson was

00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:28.660
moved to the right side, though, or to the left

00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:30.960
side, but we'll stay with it. Well, and again,

00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:33.789
nothing is written in stone, right? He starts

00:18:33.789 --> 00:18:36.130
there, doesn't work, you move him over. Maybe

00:18:36.130 --> 00:18:39.470
he's not. I haven't seen him play recently. Maybe

00:18:39.470 --> 00:18:41.829
he's not elevating in quite his terminal. You

00:18:41.829 --> 00:18:44.990
never know. Okay, middle blockers. Jeff Jendrick,

00:18:45.190 --> 00:18:49.170
Michael Marshman, Taylor Averill, Cameron Thorne,

00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:53.210
Daniel Wetter, Merrick McHenry, Matthew Nagy,

00:18:53.210 --> 00:18:56.650
and Parker Tomkinson. And Wesley Smith. Right

00:18:56.650 --> 00:18:57.789
at the end of the list, I thought I missed him.

00:18:57.990 --> 00:19:00.490
Well, Averill's back. Averill's back. That's

00:19:00.490 --> 00:19:03.109
positive for them. That is positive. This position

00:19:03.109 --> 00:19:05.089
for me is a little up in the air in terms of

00:19:05.089 --> 00:19:08.170
who they're going to play. Avril will play. Avril

00:19:08.170 --> 00:19:09.690
will start when they need him. Well, Jendrik

00:19:09.690 --> 00:19:13.769
is solid. He is, but they don't have... Like,

00:19:13.789 --> 00:19:16.990
they're not standouts. They're solid. They're

00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:19.250
good players. They play well in a system, but

00:19:19.250 --> 00:19:21.549
I feel like there's a couple young guys who are

00:19:21.549 --> 00:19:25.059
pretty dynamic, who... could potentially make

00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:27.720
a push here. This is the most interesting position

00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.279
for me. Like Mick Henry for me was up and down

00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.259
during the season last year. Agreed. I've said

00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:35.500
this last year. I'm not sure Cameron Thorne is

00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:38.940
an international middle. I'm under, he's way

00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:42.359
undersized. And while offensively, it might not

00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:45.019
cause problems. We've talked about it defensively.

00:19:45.019 --> 00:19:49.009
I think it will not sure about him. Tomkinson,

00:19:49.009 --> 00:19:52.630
I think, deserves a chance. Again, he has brought

00:19:52.630 --> 00:19:56.210
a very young athlete, at least one in every single

00:19:56.210 --> 00:19:58.829
position, and that is very calculated in the

00:19:58.829 --> 00:20:02.529
best way. Tomkinson needs a chance. And then

00:20:02.529 --> 00:20:07.849
Canigo was in last season. Yeah, but to me, in

00:20:07.849 --> 00:20:10.089
terms of who ends up taking that spot, there's

00:20:10.089 --> 00:20:14.430
the most room for upward movement for some of

00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:17.099
those young guys in that spot, I think. The one

00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:20.099
thing I will say about Cameron Thorne, if they

00:20:20.099 --> 00:20:23.819
play a smaller team that runs a really fast offense,

00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:30.519
he might be a utility player or be able to play

00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.539
him against specific teams. I'm thinking about

00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:34.680
maybe playing against a Japan where he gets the

00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:38.319
hands up fast with the different tempos and motions

00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:41.339
and speed that they run. If he's not playing

00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:44.900
against the seven -foot Polish guy who's... you

00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:46.720
know, going over top of him and he has to leave

00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.660
the air. There is a use case for him. He could

00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:52.900
even come in as like a blocking sub or like a

00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:55.759
setter or something for a rotation. So there's

00:20:55.759 --> 00:21:00.279
some interesting places you could utilize him

00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:04.079
if it makes sense to bring him. Yeah, fair. Finally,

00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:08.460
we've got the Liberos. So Mason Briggs, Kyle

00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:12.500
D 'Agostino. We have Eric Shoji, obviously, and

00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:15.650
Troy Gooch. I mean, I'm only really familiar

00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:18.690
with, I'm not familiar with Gooch. No, me either.

00:21:20.170 --> 00:21:23.390
Shoji, who else are you going to pick? He plays

00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:26.130
every time, all the time. He's never hurt. D

00:21:26.130 --> 00:21:28.630
'Agostino did a good job when he came in last

00:21:28.630 --> 00:21:32.250
season. So, you know what? The liberal position

00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:36.069
is only available if Shoji gets hurt. The men's

00:21:36.069 --> 00:21:38.490
USA roster is never as interesting to discuss

00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:41.869
because it actually makes sense. It's thoughtful.

00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.619
That's all we have to say about it. I mean, I

00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:46.759
think they're going to be very competitive. Yeah,

00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:49.599
we were unsure of them last season. I think they're

00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:52.519
going to be even better this season. I was so

00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:54.259
sad for them that they didn't make the final

00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:56.000
eight last year, but I think this roster can

00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.539
do it. Some of the Olympians and veteran players

00:22:00.539 --> 00:22:03.839
are coming back. I think they're going to do

00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:05.779
it. Having DeFalco and Anderson there, I think

00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:09.500
it's going to make a big difference. Avril? Yeah.

00:22:10.579 --> 00:22:15.339
DeFalco, Avril, Anderson, back. Yes. You have

00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:18.000
some more options, some more experience in matches

00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.779
that might get tight. I guess the thing for the

00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:25.619
men that I'm most curious to see is how he utilizes

00:22:25.619 --> 00:22:28.160
these young players. Were they brought in and

00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:30.539
they're not going to travel? Are some of them

00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:31.980
going to get to travel? Are they going to get

00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:35.769
some playing time? That balance of... okay, fine,

00:22:35.869 --> 00:22:37.670
you can come to the training gym, but are you

00:22:37.670 --> 00:22:39.269
actually going to get some experience? Are you

00:22:39.269 --> 00:22:41.630
going to get a chance to prove that you could

00:22:41.630 --> 00:22:44.930
do something in 2028? That usage for me will

00:22:44.930 --> 00:22:46.930
be one of the interesting storylines for how

00:22:46.930 --> 00:22:50.029
Karch manages that. Well, we have the week one

00:22:50.029 --> 00:22:52.750
travel roster already, if you want to know it.

00:22:53.869 --> 00:22:58.130
Hit me. So this is numerical order, not by position.

00:22:58.329 --> 00:23:02.609
So Matt Anderson, Mason Briggs, Jeff Gendrick.

00:23:03.049 --> 00:23:07.490
Cooper Robinson, Mike Marshman, Taylor Avril,

00:23:07.809 --> 00:23:13.069
Micah Ma 'a, Andrew Rowan, Jake Haynes, Cole

00:23:13.069 --> 00:23:17.890
Hartke, Ethan Champlin, Eric Shoji, Merrick McHenry,

00:23:17.970 --> 00:23:22.089
Jordan Ewert. Okay. So a little bit of a mix,

00:23:22.210 --> 00:23:24.390
given some of the guys who had long pro seasons,

00:23:24.730 --> 00:23:28.410
some time at home. So the opposite position is

00:23:28.410 --> 00:23:31.430
very young. Yes. You're taking Haynes and Hartke.

00:23:31.509 --> 00:23:35.250
Yeah. Having Anderson there, that will probably

00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:38.470
play both positions smart. Yeah. Ma 'a and Andrew

00:23:38.470 --> 00:23:41.170
Rowan. And you can get him to pass in this situation,

00:23:41.349 --> 00:23:44.910
so you're double duty. Ma 'a and Andrew Rowan

00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:50.529
setting. We've got Briggs and Shoji in the libero.

00:23:50.609 --> 00:23:55.450
We've got Jendrick, Marshman, Avril, McHenry

00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:59.529
in the middle. Yeah. This is a solid roster.

00:23:59.789 --> 00:24:05.740
Yeah. Old and new. I'm very curious to see Hartke

00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:10.539
on the international stage when he's not bigger

00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:12.960
and more physical than most of his opponents.

00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.519
I mean, he's still pretty big. He is big, but...

00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.839
Have him listed at seven feet on the USA website.

00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.240
I think he's like 6 '10". Can you score? Now

00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:24.259
we're going to see his volleyball shots. It's

00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:27.640
not just going to be, you know, high to six or...

00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:29.660
Over the block. So I'm really curious to see

00:24:29.660 --> 00:24:32.000
how he does, how he steps up. I think... giving

00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.380
him a shot in week one. I like that. I hope he

00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:38.440
plays. Not surprising the roster is pretty straightforward,

00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:41.579
well -constructed. I think most of the storylines

00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:44.400
will be about usage and how they perform. I would

00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:47.680
say the expectations for this team are relatively

00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:50.900
high. Quarterfinals, for sure, and pushing for

00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:54.210
a semi, I think. Whoa. I'm just like make the

00:24:54.210 --> 00:24:57.109
final eight. I'm not saying, no, I think definitely

00:24:57.109 --> 00:24:59.890
minimum goal is make the final eight. I'm not

00:24:59.890 --> 00:25:01.490
saying I think they'll make the semi, but like

00:25:01.490 --> 00:25:05.390
push a team. Like we're talking above 20 in your

00:25:05.390 --> 00:25:08.309
quarterfinal match, which I think would be expectations.

00:25:09.210 --> 00:25:12.589
As we said at the top of the episode, it was

00:25:12.589 --> 00:25:16.970
week one of the women's VNL this past week. Full

00:25:16.970 --> 00:25:21.369
disclosure before we get started, our daughter.

00:25:22.089 --> 00:25:25.670
Is on the move. She doesn't like to sleep. And

00:25:25.670 --> 00:25:30.390
we don't show her any screens. So. Makes it challenging

00:25:30.390 --> 00:25:33.150
to watch. I was actually impressed with the amount

00:25:33.150 --> 00:25:36.710
of volleyball. We were able to consume. We are

00:25:36.710 --> 00:25:40.930
trying our best. We watched. A bunch of Canada.

00:25:41.369 --> 00:25:47.690
We watched. A medium amount of US. We obviously.

00:25:48.029 --> 00:25:51.690
Because they were in the same site. Inherently

00:25:51.690 --> 00:25:55.190
watched all the Quebec City teams. Saw some Italy

00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:59.990
and a little Brazil. So that's what's up. So

00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:04.089
we did not see the China site. Even though we

00:26:04.089 --> 00:26:08.750
were awake. And we wanted to. Just, you know,

00:26:08.750 --> 00:26:11.700
we're working through things over here. Again,

00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:13.799
most of the questions we received were about

00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:16.660
USA and Canada. So if you have questions about

00:26:16.660 --> 00:26:19.039
a specific team, let us know and we will definitely

00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.119
watch a couple of those matches so that we can

00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:23.440
address it. But for this week, that's where we

00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:27.880
focused our time. Just off the hop, brief sort

00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:30.539
of overview. We have two undefeated teams right

00:26:30.539 --> 00:26:36.500
now. Italy, their 39 -match unbeaten streak was

00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:40.690
broken in the final match of this week. Against

00:26:40.690 --> 00:26:43.529
Brazil, they almost pulled off the reverse sweep

00:26:43.529 --> 00:26:47.910
with their second string lineup. So world record

00:26:47.910 --> 00:26:53.470
for consecutive matches won. That is done. Everybody

00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:56.630
can kind of start fresh. But Brazil and Japan

00:26:56.630 --> 00:27:00.990
are the two undefeated teams right now. We also

00:27:00.990 --> 00:27:03.069
have two teams that are still looking for a win

00:27:03.069 --> 00:27:06.930
in Dominican Republic and Thailand. Well, so

00:27:06.930 --> 00:27:09.799
let's talk about those teams a little bit. Both

00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:13.339
Brazil and Japan pretty much playing their full

00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:18.559
rosters. Brazil minus Gabi this week. Obviously,

00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:20.680
give and take, people are coming and going. But

00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:22.980
for the most part, they're addressing who we

00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:26.880
would expect to see. Yeah, Brazil. I mean, obviously,

00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:30.299
Gabi is a huge part of the Brazilian lineup.

00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:33.400
But she, for all intents and purposes, was the

00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:37.140
only traditional starter missing from the court.

00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:41.640
On that team. And then Japan. A very similar

00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:46.940
look. To last season. They had everybody. I feel

00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:49.299
like Canada had everybody. Canada had everybody.

00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:54.000
Italy had nobody. And Tropova was playing left

00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:56.000
side. As we knew was going to happen. But she

00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:00.440
was the only. What we are assuming to be regular

00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:03.500
starter. Present. The other ones didn't even

00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:06.940
travel. Well and that to me. I watched a little

00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:09.839
bit of the Brazil -Italy match. Now, obviously,

00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:13.500
they got smacked in the first set, but that resilience

00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:17.799
from the young players, it just goes to show

00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:20.619
you what you can learn from being in the environment

00:28:20.619 --> 00:28:25.720
with the senior starters, right? I'm impressed,

00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:28.420
honestly. You learn how to compete. I mean, they

00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:31.200
could have easily rolled over and lost Brazil

00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:34.059
3 -0 and gone, yep, they're starting lineup.

00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:37.200
We're getting started. Their fight and the character

00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:39.839
they showed. They're good. Yeah, really, really

00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:42.880
impressive for me. Future's bright for Italy

00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:46.599
after all their winners retire. Yep, they're

00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:49.339
going to be good for a while. Just running through,

00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:53.720
as Adam said, Canada had their best players there.

00:28:54.509 --> 00:28:57.150
It looked like Netherlands did. Turkey A had

00:28:57.150 --> 00:29:00.349
nobody. They played their second string roster

00:29:00.349 --> 00:29:03.049
as well, their young kids. Germany looked like

00:29:03.049 --> 00:29:05.910
they were pretty. Germany was solid. I'm really

00:29:05.910 --> 00:29:10.210
impressed by Grozer. She already is good, but

00:29:10.210 --> 00:29:13.190
she's going to be very good. France had their

00:29:13.190 --> 00:29:17.769
people there. Dominican played modified lineup,

00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:20.890
like half, a couple starters, but not everybody.

00:29:21.150 --> 00:29:24.390
It was kind of all over the map. But the teams

00:29:24.390 --> 00:29:27.430
that are at the very, very top in Japan and Brazil

00:29:27.430 --> 00:29:30.809
played their starters. And it was kind of a mixed

00:29:30.809 --> 00:29:33.690
bag from there. So based on what we were able

00:29:33.690 --> 00:29:39.009
to watch, what are your feelings? Everything

00:29:39.009 --> 00:29:43.410
as clear as mud is how I end up this week. Okay.

00:29:43.470 --> 00:29:46.490
How did you feel about Canada? I was hoping that

00:29:46.490 --> 00:29:48.769
their left sides were going to be better. I was

00:29:48.769 --> 00:29:50.609
impressed with Maglio. I thought she had a really

00:29:50.609 --> 00:29:54.779
good first week. Offensively, I think she played

00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:58.500
very well, both offensively and from a blocking

00:29:58.500 --> 00:30:01.599
perspective. I like the hybrid serve she's doing

00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:03.359
because last V &L, the girl could not have had

00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:05.259
a serve to save her life. I thought she was a

00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:08.740
bright spot. Kiervin Reich as well. Yes. She

00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:12.460
started slow. Match one. So I would agree with

00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:15.380
that. Their left sides, Guidetti's trying to,

00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:18.890
he's putting in whoever he thinks. can play well

00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:22.190
at that particular moment. Nobody is grabbing

00:30:22.190 --> 00:30:26.130
a spot. You see flashes of brilliance for moments

00:30:26.130 --> 00:30:28.210
and then it disappears and they're subbing in

00:30:28.210 --> 00:30:30.289
and out. Gusen looks good and then she doesn't

00:30:30.289 --> 00:30:32.710
look good. That's the position for me that they

00:30:32.710 --> 00:30:35.750
need to solidify or somebody needs to step up

00:30:35.750 --> 00:30:38.650
and show some consistency because right now it's

00:30:38.650 --> 00:30:41.630
left side by committee and roll the dice as to

00:30:41.630 --> 00:30:44.170
who's going to play well on any given night.

00:30:44.450 --> 00:30:46.529
You and I were talking about this. You brought

00:30:46.529 --> 00:30:49.230
this up. The double sub doesn't work for them.

00:30:49.609 --> 00:30:52.309
I hate it. Kira Van Ryke needs to be on the floor

00:30:52.309 --> 00:30:55.289
at all times. I hate it. I agree with what you're

00:30:55.289 --> 00:30:58.089
saying about the left sides. I mean, we saw the

00:30:58.089 --> 00:31:01.210
same Alexa Gray that we saw in Love. She does

00:31:01.210 --> 00:31:04.109
fine when nothing matters, and then as soon as

00:31:04.109 --> 00:31:05.890
things get tight and they need a point, it's

00:31:05.890 --> 00:31:08.630
like air machine, shank machine, you name it.

00:31:09.069 --> 00:31:13.390
Don't rely on her. I like Gusen probably the

00:31:13.390 --> 00:31:16.779
best. She's still young. She makes some young

00:31:16.779 --> 00:31:20.140
mistakes. She really, really exaggerates that

00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:22.259
toss on her serve. Sometimes it gets a little

00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:25.400
wild. I think she's got the biggest upside. You

00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:27.819
know, I think Hillary Johnson and Mitrovic did

00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:30.880
a good job when they came in against Japan. It's

00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:34.319
not a benchmark game. Yeah. Yeah. Fair. I agree.

00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:38.630
But the connection between Brie. Now France and

00:31:38.630 --> 00:31:42.009
Brie O 'Reilly and Kira Van Ryk was not good

00:31:42.009 --> 00:31:44.509
in the first match against Germany. Almost non

00:31:44.509 --> 00:31:46.690
-existent. Did not play well at all. They should

00:31:46.690 --> 00:31:49.309
not have lost that match. But Van Ryk got better

00:31:49.309 --> 00:31:52.170
as the matches went on. I agree with what you're

00:31:52.170 --> 00:31:56.549
saying. That double sub with Baker and Smrek

00:31:56.549 --> 00:32:00.650
is just a liability. For me, it's on both accounts.

00:32:00.789 --> 00:32:04.369
Like Baker, I don't really enjoy her as a setter

00:32:04.369 --> 00:32:06.549
from what I've seen so far. Like she threw up

00:32:06.549 --> 00:32:11.539
some. unhittable balls. And you just, I, how

00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:13.960
is there not a better option? Well, what happened

00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:16.319
to Pellen? I don't, I'm not sure. And I know

00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:19.779
Smrek is big, but used on the block can only

00:32:19.779 --> 00:32:22.500
hit really in system. Like it just, she's not

00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:24.359
intimidating anybody. Like, what are you doing?

00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:27.059
And it's not like Brie O 'Reilly is a huge liability.

00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:30.279
It's like you hear the Japanese timeout. It's

00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:32.339
like, okay, well that girl's in, just use her

00:32:32.339 --> 00:32:35.200
on the block. And if you, gets Sedge's tip of

00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:37.700
the wall near her. Nobody's intimidated by this.

00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:40.819
I think there were one or two scenarios. This

00:32:40.819 --> 00:32:43.359
is the thing about Smirk that I've seen so far

00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:48.299
is she has, she always has future potential and

00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:50.759
she will have one, like there were a couple runs

00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:54.319
where she went across the front row where Kira's

00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:56.019
serving and they're getting a lot of points.

00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:58.519
A lot of them are because Kira's serving, but

00:32:58.519 --> 00:33:01.759
you have that run. But when that doesn't work,

00:33:02.670 --> 00:33:05.869
I'm sorry, when Japan is getting massive touches

00:33:05.869 --> 00:33:09.049
on you on the block, what's happening? There's

00:33:09.049 --> 00:33:12.490
no way somebody that is a foot shorter than you

00:33:12.490 --> 00:33:15.910
should be getting control blocks on you. Ever.

00:33:16.150 --> 00:33:19.390
Okay? So here's my thing. In the games that I

00:33:19.390 --> 00:33:22.109
watched, they would do these double subs. Kira

00:33:22.109 --> 00:33:24.430
is generating so many points from the service

00:33:24.430 --> 00:33:28.750
line. They put Smrek in while she's serving,

00:33:28.809 --> 00:33:31.309
and then as soon as Kira exits the floor, it's

00:33:31.309 --> 00:33:35.289
like, The team bleeds out. Keep her on the floor

00:33:35.289 --> 00:33:37.849
as a back row option. We've talked last year

00:33:37.849 --> 00:33:40.410
about how she's pretty good defensively. And

00:33:40.410 --> 00:33:42.210
she hits well out of the back row. She has no

00:33:42.210 --> 00:33:44.309
business ever being taken off the court. Agreed.

00:33:44.410 --> 00:33:48.609
So stop the double sub. That's my feedback. They

00:33:48.609 --> 00:33:50.849
beat the US in three, which is a whole thing.

00:33:51.029 --> 00:33:55.009
Pretty sure. I think somebody was like. Oh, it's

00:33:55.009 --> 00:33:56.849
the first time Canada's ever beaten the U .S.

00:33:56.849 --> 00:33:59.069
at VNL. You guys, let's be real. It's probably

00:33:59.069 --> 00:34:01.390
the first time Canada has beaten the U .S. at

00:34:01.390 --> 00:34:04.970
a senior women's event, period, okay? You think

00:34:04.970 --> 00:34:07.849
that's going on Eric's CV? I thought CVs are

00:34:07.849 --> 00:34:09.429
supposed to highlight the good things you do.

00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:14.889
Anyway, okay, U .S. thoughts. I'm confused. Okay,

00:34:14.949 --> 00:34:18.849
well, a question that we got is how are some

00:34:18.849 --> 00:34:23.550
players, namely Sage, behind Torres and Morgan

00:34:23.550 --> 00:34:25.570
Hentz playing better for the national team than

00:34:25.570 --> 00:34:27.730
they do for their club teams. There are certain

00:34:27.730 --> 00:34:31.110
players who play better in a structured environment.

00:34:31.409 --> 00:34:34.349
So when you play against athletes of a lower

00:34:34.349 --> 00:34:36.909
caliber, which obviously in the leagues they're

00:34:36.909 --> 00:34:39.269
in, those athletes are lower than national team

00:34:39.269 --> 00:34:42.210
athletes, there's a little less predictability.

00:34:42.230 --> 00:34:48.170
So that could potentially be one. I think, so

00:34:48.170 --> 00:34:50.570
for Sage, she runs a bit of a slower offense.

00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:54.340
With bigger, better hitters, they can score in

00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:57.860
those situations versus usually her hitters have

00:34:57.860 --> 00:35:01.340
a two -man block because the sets are slower.

00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:03.800
So that would be one reason you have better hitters

00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:06.699
to hit those balls. She has decent location.

00:35:06.820 --> 00:35:10.059
It's just not paced, and I don't love her decision

00:35:10.059 --> 00:35:13.280
-making. So I think with bigger, better hitters,

00:35:13.320 --> 00:35:17.000
you see her look more efficient in that regard.

00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:19.480
And quite frankly, a lot of the hitters on the

00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:22.789
U .S. like to hit a higher set so i think it's

00:35:22.789 --> 00:35:27.969
a good fit stylistically even if it's not great

00:35:27.969 --> 00:35:30.869
strategically i didn't watch a ton of hens playing

00:35:30.869 --> 00:35:35.530
in this season i mean i think it's a weird season

00:35:35.530 --> 00:35:38.590
for her with her requesting out of omaha i don't

00:35:38.590 --> 00:35:42.070
know what happened there and she was fine at

00:35:42.070 --> 00:35:46.429
grand rapids i still don't think she's i mean

00:35:46.429 --> 00:35:50.690
the girl can't dig a ball to her left good She

00:35:50.690 --> 00:35:54.269
moves to her right on almost every contact and

00:35:54.269 --> 00:35:56.789
she's loaded. And then if the ball goes to her

00:35:56.789 --> 00:35:59.989
left, she has to sprawl at it. She never takes

00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:03.349
a step. She's not stopped on defense. And yeah,

00:36:03.449 --> 00:36:05.750
like you said, she's always moving to her right.

00:36:06.630 --> 00:36:09.309
And when the ball is hit to her left, she does

00:36:09.309 --> 00:36:11.730
not take a step with the left. She just falls

00:36:11.730 --> 00:36:15.190
to the left. And I'm like, what is going on here?

00:36:16.090 --> 00:36:19.769
Which begs another question. Of the Lexi Rodriguez

00:36:19.769 --> 00:36:23.389
versus Morgan Hentz debate. I'm sorry, you guys.

00:36:23.409 --> 00:36:25.969
Lexi Rodriguez, her defense does not cut it at

00:36:25.969 --> 00:36:28.070
the international level. It does not cut it.

00:36:28.110 --> 00:36:31.489
Period. She's still not reading what's possible.

00:36:32.070 --> 00:36:34.909
Morgan Hentz isn't reading either. We don't know

00:36:34.909 --> 00:36:36.469
what Morgan Hentz is reading because she's moving.

00:36:36.590 --> 00:36:38.469
She's moving all the time. And then she has to

00:36:38.469 --> 00:36:41.590
make all these like running, diving plays, which

00:36:41.590 --> 00:36:44.329
might look good. But like I said this last year

00:36:44.329 --> 00:36:47.250
and I will say it again. She makes spectacular

00:36:47.250 --> 00:36:49.570
looking digs because she's out of position all

00:36:49.570 --> 00:36:52.630
the time. She has to make up for it by diving

00:36:52.630 --> 00:36:55.349
all over the place. I think Lexi's passing is

00:36:55.349 --> 00:36:58.210
better than Morgan Hentz's. Agreed. I think Lexi

00:36:58.210 --> 00:37:02.449
did a good job passing this week. When she played,

00:37:02.550 --> 00:37:05.650
I was like, okay, fair. She covers pretty well.

00:37:05.809 --> 00:37:09.349
But the defense, the U .S. defense in general

00:37:09.349 --> 00:37:12.730
and their out -of -system setting is killing

00:37:12.730 --> 00:37:15.070
them. Killing them. Absolutely killing them.

00:37:15.420 --> 00:37:18.940
If I had to pick... I'd play Lexi. I mean, I

00:37:18.940 --> 00:37:21.619
hate Morgan Hentz's setting. And watching her

00:37:21.619 --> 00:37:23.679
play defense and moving on contact all the time,

00:37:23.699 --> 00:37:27.139
it was driving me absolutely bonkers. So at least

00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:29.800
let's get somebody passing the ball. And Lexi's

00:37:29.800 --> 00:37:33.559
a better setter. Yeah, fair. So we saw Logan

00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:36.800
Eggleston play like a match and a half. And then

00:37:36.800 --> 00:37:41.739
it was predominantly Simone Lee, Vonk. I'm going

00:37:41.739 --> 00:37:44.440
to say Vonk because I think she's married. To

00:37:44.440 --> 00:37:47.360
a German. To the Germans. And I think the W is

00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:52.000
a vonk. So we saw Simone Lee and Avery Skinner

00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:54.460
holding it down on the left side for the most

00:37:54.460 --> 00:37:58.280
part. We saw a little bit of mix -up. Well, we

00:37:58.280 --> 00:38:00.480
saw Maddie Kubik make an appearance too. She

00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:02.920
played well. I feel like it was fair play week

00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:07.139
for the U .S. This is what is confusing me about

00:38:07.139 --> 00:38:10.519
this whole situation. And again, I'm going to

00:38:10.519 --> 00:38:13.090
say... Okay, all this being said, and they won

00:38:13.090 --> 00:38:15.769
three matches out of four. Right. But, like,

00:38:15.809 --> 00:38:18.250
this is what we're here for. This was a bit of

00:38:18.250 --> 00:38:20.630
a joke pool, let's be honest. It was pretty weak.

00:38:20.809 --> 00:38:22.869
Fine, if you're looking at this going, okay,

00:38:22.869 --> 00:38:24.610
we're probably going to win a bunch of matches,

00:38:24.650 --> 00:38:28.010
still trying to figure out who's who and who

00:38:28.010 --> 00:38:30.690
can do what, but we shouldn't be at that place

00:38:30.690 --> 00:38:34.190
anymore. Like, I think you need to do well. And,

00:38:34.250 --> 00:38:35.710
again, they're coming out with three wins, so

00:38:35.710 --> 00:38:38.690
that's fine. They lost to Canada. Sorry. They

00:38:38.690 --> 00:38:41.250
lost to Canada. And then it was a completely

00:38:41.250 --> 00:38:45.090
different set of players playing. And this is

00:38:45.090 --> 00:38:47.989
what I can't figure out. Was that planned? Was

00:38:47.989 --> 00:38:52.590
that a reaction to the loss? I have no feel for

00:38:52.590 --> 00:38:55.349
what the purpose of those decisions are. Jordan

00:38:55.349 --> 00:38:57.909
Thompson was even taken off. Are we evaluating

00:38:57.909 --> 00:39:00.789
players? Are we trying to figure it out? There's

00:39:00.789 --> 00:39:05.530
still no style because Micah and Sage set completely

00:39:05.530 --> 00:39:08.329
different offenses. I felt like nobody could

00:39:08.329 --> 00:39:11.320
connect with Micah, though. I don't disagree

00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:13.860
with you. I think the players were connecting

00:39:13.860 --> 00:39:16.780
better with Sage, which I'm like, what is happening

00:39:16.780 --> 00:39:22.860
here? Yeah, I... There doesn't seem to be...

00:39:22.860 --> 00:39:25.420
I guess the question I have is, what is an Eric

00:39:25.420 --> 00:39:29.239
Sullivan team? That's my thing. I'm watching

00:39:29.239 --> 00:39:33.119
them play, and I'm not even sure what... The

00:39:33.119 --> 00:39:36.159
goal is. The goal is what they're trying to move

00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:41.059
toward. I don't understand. what the vision is

00:39:41.059 --> 00:39:43.840
here. It's almost like they're like, okay, let's

00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:46.400
just go win. Figure it out. And I'm sorry, if

00:39:46.400 --> 00:39:50.780
I have to hear up and down one more time in a

00:39:50.780 --> 00:39:54.119
timeout, I'm going to punch my TV. Well, up and

00:39:54.119 --> 00:39:57.420
down on what? Like literally every situation

00:39:57.420 --> 00:39:59.199
that's happening, a timeout's called. It's like

00:39:59.199 --> 00:40:02.340
up and down. Okay. Okay. Up and down. It's such

00:40:02.340 --> 00:40:04.800
a good phrase. It can be used for anything. But

00:40:04.800 --> 00:40:07.000
I'm like, is this like don't get aced? It can

00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:09.739
be used for blocking. Is it the set? It can be

00:40:09.739 --> 00:40:13.559
used for passing a hard serve. It can be used

00:40:13.559 --> 00:40:17.059
for. That's what I'm saying. I'm like, what are

00:40:17.059 --> 00:40:18.940
you referring to? And why do you keep saying

00:40:18.940 --> 00:40:23.199
that? Anyway, that's an aside. The thing for

00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:28.420
me is. The U S has lots of good physical volleyball

00:40:28.420 --> 00:40:32.219
players. They can continue to make the quarterfinals

00:40:32.219 --> 00:40:36.019
doing this situation. Like they came in, they

00:40:36.019 --> 00:40:37.559
played a whole bunch of different lineups. They

00:40:37.559 --> 00:40:40.119
sub people in and out. They want a five setter.

00:40:40.199 --> 00:40:42.860
They beat a bunch of teams. Like they will qualify

00:40:42.860 --> 00:40:45.760
for the quarterfinals. They will finish top eight.

00:40:45.800 --> 00:40:49.320
Then what are you doing? Like what? What cohesiveness

00:40:49.320 --> 00:40:51.840
have you built? What lineup are you going in

00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:54.900
and playing? You see teams have a purpose. Brazil

00:40:54.900 --> 00:40:57.000
is trying to find their rhythm. They have all

00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:59.119
of their starters playing. Italy is trying to

00:40:59.119 --> 00:41:01.860
determine what they have in their second line

00:41:01.860 --> 00:41:05.340
players and get them experience. Canada is trying

00:41:05.340 --> 00:41:07.400
to figure out who's playing on the left side

00:41:07.400 --> 00:41:10.699
and solidify that competitive roster. When you

00:41:10.699 --> 00:41:14.219
look at those teams, it's very evident what the

00:41:14.219 --> 00:41:17.460
goals and what the purposes are. When I watch

00:41:17.460 --> 00:41:22.219
the U .S. play, I am left wondering why decisions

00:41:22.219 --> 00:41:24.980
are being made. And it just looks like a bunch

00:41:24.980 --> 00:41:27.260
of individuals on the court to me. Like, what

00:41:27.260 --> 00:41:29.920
happened to the pipe? They used to run the pipe

00:41:29.920 --> 00:41:32.820
so well. And I remember last V &L, we were like,

00:41:32.920 --> 00:41:35.380
it was a freaking dumpster fire in week one.

00:41:35.420 --> 00:41:37.420
And we're like, but they ran that pipe real well.

00:41:38.099 --> 00:41:40.300
Where did the pipe go? I thought that was going

00:41:40.300 --> 00:41:42.960
to be their identity. Where did the pipe go?

00:41:43.139 --> 00:41:45.280
Even Avery Skinner wasn't hitting the pipe well.

00:41:45.849 --> 00:41:48.889
And, like, Simone Lee, I'm sorry, she brings

00:41:48.889 --> 00:41:51.869
fire, which I love. We know I love that. She

00:41:51.869 --> 00:41:54.510
is aggressive. That's fine. But, like, her plus

00:41:54.510 --> 00:41:56.530
minus has got to be in the negative. Not the

00:41:56.530 --> 00:42:00.250
best. And the timing of these errors. She single

00:42:00.250 --> 00:42:02.349
-handedly bled out on the court against Canada

00:42:02.349 --> 00:42:04.570
in set three. I think the U .S. was up 23 -16,

00:42:04.769 --> 00:42:08.949
and she got aced, like, four times and hit three

00:42:08.949 --> 00:42:12.730
balls out, and I was just like, blech. And this

00:42:12.730 --> 00:42:16.599
is the thing that I find. Humorous is the wrong

00:42:16.599 --> 00:42:20.519
word. But can you picture a previous U .S. team

00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:25.800
being okay, being up 23 -16 and losing? No, it

00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:27.659
would not have happened. What do you think Jordan

00:42:27.659 --> 00:42:30.519
is going to do? It would not have happened. It's

00:42:30.519 --> 00:42:34.960
not okay. No, I just don't understand what's

00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:39.579
going on. Yeah, I'm just very confused about

00:42:39.579 --> 00:42:44.909
what the plan is. And your one bread and butter

00:42:44.909 --> 00:42:49.449
in the pipe just completely disappeared. Week

00:42:49.449 --> 00:42:54.750
two needs to be your legitimate roster, and they

00:42:54.750 --> 00:42:57.210
need to be going, in my opinion. I think I've

00:42:57.210 --> 00:43:00.050
said it before, and I will say it again. I think

00:43:00.050 --> 00:43:03.269
this season is make or break for Sullivan. I'm

00:43:03.269 --> 00:43:05.429
not sure I want to run fair play on my make or

00:43:05.429 --> 00:43:07.909
break year. You mentioned Earl. Okay, moving

00:43:07.909 --> 00:43:14.500
on. I can't. I'm sweating. Grosser. I agree.

00:43:14.599 --> 00:43:17.119
She's gotten a lot better since last year for

00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:20.519
the German team. The young French left side.

00:43:20.719 --> 00:43:23.840
Also. Very good. Very good. I thought she did

00:43:23.840 --> 00:43:26.119
well. There was one other performance in the

00:43:26.119 --> 00:43:28.699
French match that I wanted to point out. I thought

00:43:28.699 --> 00:43:32.099
Cazote struggled for. For when they played the

00:43:32.099 --> 00:43:33.920
U .S.? When they played the U .S. I thought she

00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:37.340
struggled for the most part of that match. And

00:43:37.340 --> 00:43:40.289
then there was a point towards the end. where

00:43:40.289 --> 00:43:42.650
she got set a couple balls in a row and just

00:43:42.650 --> 00:43:46.630
went up and unloaded. And I just, I couldn't

00:43:46.630 --> 00:43:48.949
help but think, you know, there's somebody who's

00:43:48.949 --> 00:43:52.010
played at a high level. She's experienced struggling,

00:43:52.210 --> 00:43:54.869
but knows how to stick with it and come up and

00:43:54.869 --> 00:43:58.630
make big swings when her team needs her. And

00:43:58.630 --> 00:44:00.969
she hadn't been good. And then all of a sudden

00:44:00.969 --> 00:44:03.690
they needed a couple swings and she was there.

00:44:03.769 --> 00:44:08.269
And it's that sort of mental fortitude and resilience.

00:44:09.809 --> 00:44:13.510
That's what playing in Champions League in those

00:44:13.510 --> 00:44:16.869
environments gives you. Those are the moments

00:44:16.869 --> 00:44:20.949
that matter. And I know France still lost, but

00:44:20.949 --> 00:44:24.289
those individual plays and that individual experience,

00:44:24.750 --> 00:44:27.849
it's important. And when we talk about players

00:44:27.849 --> 00:44:30.530
going overseas and making choices about where

00:44:30.530 --> 00:44:33.230
they're going to play, that is an example of

00:44:33.230 --> 00:44:35.989
what I think it gives you. Anything else you

00:44:35.989 --> 00:44:39.210
want to talk about? Antropova on the left. I

00:44:39.210 --> 00:44:40.849
looked like she passed pretty well from the games

00:44:40.849 --> 00:44:43.449
that I saw. I will just say from what I saw and

00:44:43.449 --> 00:44:45.710
I didn't see every game, her passing was better

00:44:45.710 --> 00:44:48.849
than I expected. I personally reserve judgment

00:44:48.849 --> 00:44:52.610
because I think she is athletic. I've seen her

00:44:52.610 --> 00:44:54.690
play pretty good defense when she's playing.

00:44:54.829 --> 00:44:58.409
So I thought there was a decent chance she would

00:44:58.409 --> 00:45:01.550
be okay passing. I mean, obviously still needs

00:45:01.550 --> 00:45:06.030
to develop the range of shots offensively. She's

00:45:06.030 --> 00:45:11.199
got, you know, the deep angles. But seeing her

00:45:11.199 --> 00:45:13.739
get a little more uncomfortable, taking a sharp

00:45:13.739 --> 00:45:17.840
angle, she just needs a little more time. But

00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:25.619
I think if she can really lock in, dang. Markova

00:45:25.619 --> 00:45:29.000
and her, and Christina as an example, people

00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:33.019
like that are changing the game because we're

00:45:33.019 --> 00:45:38.599
seeing 6 '5 plusers who are now playing. serve

00:45:38.599 --> 00:45:41.019
receive playing left side. It's not just like,

00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:42.800
let's hide the big girl. You know what I mean?

00:45:42.920 --> 00:45:46.539
Yeah. I think the biggest thing that she's going

00:45:46.539 --> 00:45:49.559
to have to get used to is having to pass and

00:45:49.559 --> 00:45:52.179
then get outside. Yeah. You saw her when people

00:45:52.179 --> 00:45:55.099
were able to take her to the ground. That's a

00:45:55.099 --> 00:45:58.340
lot of body to get off the ground. So I think

00:45:58.340 --> 00:46:00.780
that's going to be people's strategy is to either

00:46:00.780 --> 00:46:04.480
serve dropout serves to take her to a knee, make

00:46:04.480 --> 00:46:07.570
her go to the ground because she's not. getting

00:46:07.570 --> 00:46:09.869
up and getting a good approach right away so

00:46:09.869 --> 00:46:13.489
either figuring out how to do that or adapting

00:46:13.489 --> 00:46:17.570
the offense to either come run a lower ball like

00:46:17.570 --> 00:46:19.550
right in front of the setter or like an inside

00:46:19.550 --> 00:46:22.469
set or something just to kind of counteract that

00:46:22.469 --> 00:46:25.829
yeah there were a couple times i saw her get

00:46:25.829 --> 00:46:28.650
pulled inside to pass and then not get outside

00:46:28.650 --> 00:46:32.469
and miss an angle swing by half a foot like great

00:46:32.469 --> 00:46:36.730
swing just not quite what she's used to so i

00:46:36.730 --> 00:46:40.849
think that more than the passing is going to

00:46:40.849 --> 00:46:44.730
be okay what she is gonna kind of struggle with

00:46:44.730 --> 00:46:47.070
again we mentioned that we weren't able to watch

00:46:47.070 --> 00:46:51.369
the chinese location so can anybody somebody

00:46:51.369 --> 00:46:54.929
please let us know what check looked like because

00:46:54.929 --> 00:46:59.269
they won three matches and they were new to vnl

00:46:59.269 --> 00:47:02.650
last year they did like not decently well but

00:47:03.179 --> 00:47:06.440
This was a pretty decent location. So somebody

00:47:06.440 --> 00:47:10.099
just like, let us know what happened. Were they

00:47:10.099 --> 00:47:13.300
playing their best roster? Were teams playing

00:47:13.300 --> 00:47:15.840
their second string? Were they just looking really,

00:47:15.940 --> 00:47:19.619
really good? So hit us up, please. It will probably

00:47:19.619 --> 00:47:22.639
work out from week to week that we're able to

00:47:22.639 --> 00:47:26.360
kind of focus on one pool and watch some of those

00:47:26.360 --> 00:47:29.039
games. We'll bring you a little bit of an update

00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:32.719
from different teams. I want to watch Italy a

00:47:32.719 --> 00:47:35.320
little bit more. I'm curious to watch China specifically.

00:47:35.519 --> 00:47:38.340
You mentioned Czech. Turkey didn't have anybody.

00:47:39.039 --> 00:47:42.280
Serbia continued to struggle. I was expecting

00:47:42.280 --> 00:47:44.239
them to have a little bit of a better result.

00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:47.099
I don't think Boscovich played. I know Uzalak

00:47:47.099 --> 00:47:51.199
played for sure, but I didn't check box scores.

00:47:51.920 --> 00:47:56.110
We'll see what they look like. From week to week,

00:47:56.150 --> 00:47:59.130
we'll find a few other teams to watch. By the

00:47:59.130 --> 00:48:01.389
time we get to the finals, we'll have gone through

00:48:01.389 --> 00:48:04.210
everyone and we'll have a good picture of what

00:48:04.210 --> 00:48:06.170
those matchups look like, strengths and weaknesses

00:48:06.170 --> 00:48:08.269
of the rosters, and where everything's heading.

00:48:09.449 --> 00:48:13.969
Listener question time, everybody. I think we've

00:48:13.969 --> 00:48:17.409
got some good ones. We've been flooded with questions

00:48:17.409 --> 00:48:21.369
this week. Well, we tried to address several

00:48:21.369 --> 00:48:25.000
of... the Team USA ones during the VNL segment,

00:48:25.239 --> 00:48:31.300
but we have more. So just before we dive in,

00:48:31.699 --> 00:48:35.280
we, as we said, we addressed a lot of the Team

00:48:35.280 --> 00:48:38.900
USA stuff because that is where most of the questions

00:48:38.900 --> 00:48:41.420
were directed. So like we are open to talking

00:48:41.420 --> 00:48:44.900
about anybody. So send us your questions. And

00:48:44.900 --> 00:48:48.719
that also kind of forms what we watch during

00:48:48.719 --> 00:48:50.659
the week. So if we know ahead of time that there's

00:48:50.659 --> 00:48:53.909
lots of questions about. Italy, Germany, whatever.

00:48:54.050 --> 00:48:56.349
We'll watch more of those games. Okay, so question

00:48:56.349 --> 00:48:59.210
one. What are the chances of Eric Sullivan getting

00:48:59.210 --> 00:49:02.269
fired before the Olympics? Has it ever happened

00:49:02.269 --> 00:49:06.590
before this late to the Olympics starting? And

00:49:06.590 --> 00:49:09.269
if so, what were the results? If it was up to

00:49:09.269 --> 00:49:12.489
you, what would you do? And who would you think

00:49:12.489 --> 00:49:15.170
the other candidates are? Okay, so there's a

00:49:15.170 --> 00:49:19.030
lot there. I don't know my U .S. volleyball history.

00:49:19.630 --> 00:49:22.170
off the top of my head. So I can't say whether

00:49:22.170 --> 00:49:23.849
this has happened before, but coaches... Well,

00:49:23.889 --> 00:49:25.789
not even US. Let's just say anywhere. Coaches

00:49:25.789 --> 00:49:29.809
get fired all the time. And we're not that far

00:49:29.809 --> 00:49:32.909
into the quad. We're like halfway. Halfway. Whether

00:49:32.909 --> 00:49:36.250
he gets fired or not is dependent on how this

00:49:36.250 --> 00:49:38.730
summer goes. And listen, there's... Do you think

00:49:38.730 --> 00:49:41.530
they would actually fire him though? 100%. You

00:49:41.530 --> 00:49:44.809
have... The UCLA nepotism won't hold anything

00:49:44.809 --> 00:49:48.599
back. Listen, if the U .S. has a poor showing

00:49:48.599 --> 00:49:52.940
on home soil in L .A., that's embarrassing. No,

00:49:52.940 --> 00:49:54.760
I'm not denying that at all. But you could lose

00:49:54.760 --> 00:49:58.099
sponsors. There's all kinds of things that could

00:49:58.099 --> 00:50:02.260
happen if they're not on the podium. So if his

00:50:02.260 --> 00:50:05.099
plan or what has been communicated is not coming

00:50:05.099 --> 00:50:07.219
to fruition by the end of the summer, there will

00:50:07.219 --> 00:50:09.760
be legitimate conversations about replacing him.

00:50:10.039 --> 00:50:14.320
100%. It is unacceptable for the U .S. not to

00:50:14.320 --> 00:50:17.690
meddle in L .A. Again, fully agree. I think if

00:50:17.690 --> 00:50:19.510
they don't perform this summer, by the end of

00:50:19.510 --> 00:50:22.170
the summer, yeah, he should be fired. Do I think

00:50:22.170 --> 00:50:25.889
it will happen? I'm going to go out and say no.

00:50:26.630 --> 00:50:29.789
I don't think they will. Honestly, I'm sure it's

00:50:29.789 --> 00:50:32.050
happened before that a coach has been fired.

00:50:32.289 --> 00:50:34.550
Coaches get fired all the time. I can't think

00:50:34.550 --> 00:50:37.769
of it off the top of my head. I've been so immersed

00:50:37.769 --> 00:50:39.969
in the beach world in recent years. When did

00:50:39.969 --> 00:50:43.050
Shannon Windsor get let go from Canada? Right

00:50:43.050 --> 00:50:47.250
after the quad. I'm sure it has happened. If

00:50:47.250 --> 00:50:50.130
it were to happen, this is a tough question because

00:50:50.130 --> 00:50:52.809
all the coaches that I would consider to be candidates

00:50:52.809 --> 00:50:56.690
are working, except for Shannon Windsor. Maybe

00:50:56.690 --> 00:51:00.210
I would just say her. Guidetti went and asked

00:51:00.210 --> 00:51:02.309
USA Volleyball if he could coach them, and they

00:51:02.309 --> 00:51:06.349
said no. All the coaches that I would be like,

00:51:06.449 --> 00:51:10.449
yeah, they could do a good job, are already working.

00:51:10.750 --> 00:51:12.730
So I'd put Shannon Windsor, but you guys know

00:51:12.730 --> 00:51:15.559
that we love her. I'm curious if someone would

00:51:15.559 --> 00:51:18.500
leave a current job to take that job. Like if

00:51:18.500 --> 00:51:21.059
somebody was playing for or coaching in not a

00:51:21.059 --> 00:51:24.900
top like European country, would they drop and

00:51:24.900 --> 00:51:27.679
come back? Like there are lots of good international

00:51:27.679 --> 00:51:30.519
coaches, good assistant coaches. It just depends

00:51:30.519 --> 00:51:33.719
on whether they're willing to hire a non -American

00:51:33.719 --> 00:51:36.260
or not. Well, clearly they're not because they

00:51:36.260 --> 00:51:38.219
hired somebody who's never been a head coach

00:51:38.219 --> 00:51:40.639
over a proven winner. I understand that, but

00:51:40.639 --> 00:51:45.610
losing changes. Not only is the Volleyball Federation,

00:51:45.769 --> 00:51:47.449
they're going to get pressure from the Olympic

00:51:47.449 --> 00:51:50.409
Committee. Volleyball is a sport that they are

00:51:50.409 --> 00:51:53.230
expected to do well in. Things change when you

00:51:53.230 --> 00:51:56.449
don't win. Good question. Great question. Okay,

00:51:56.469 --> 00:52:02.090
question two. Do you need the slide at the VNL

00:52:02.090 --> 00:52:05.789
level? Do other top nations use it as extensively

00:52:05.789 --> 00:52:08.760
as the U .S.? And the reason that this person

00:52:08.760 --> 00:52:10.980
was asking, like they run it so extensively because

00:52:10.980 --> 00:52:13.079
of college, right? Where the opposites aren't

00:52:13.079 --> 00:52:14.659
really hitting in the back row. And then that

00:52:14.659 --> 00:52:18.099
bleeds into the national team. You don't need

00:52:18.099 --> 00:52:22.000
a slide. I would, I would say that the Italians

00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:24.280
don't really run a slide, but guess who they've

00:52:24.280 --> 00:52:30.119
got hitting the D ball. I also think there's

00:52:30.119 --> 00:52:32.500
another, there's another case with this is that

00:52:32.500 --> 00:52:36.239
the slide allows a middle blocker. Who's maybe

00:52:36.239 --> 00:52:40.260
not. a great two -foot jumper to still be offensive

00:52:40.260 --> 00:52:42.679
if they're a really good blocker. If you had

00:52:42.679 --> 00:52:45.619
two great blockers who could run super dynamic

00:52:45.619 --> 00:52:47.639
in front of the setter, I don't think you need

00:52:47.639 --> 00:52:50.800
it. But if you have a hitter who's just really

00:52:50.800 --> 00:52:54.119
good on the slide and you can move the D -ball

00:52:54.119 --> 00:52:56.780
in and out based off where they're running, it

00:52:56.780 --> 00:52:59.079
makes sense to use it. I think the reason this

00:52:59.079 --> 00:53:00.920
question came up is because we were saying that

00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:04.619
we like Chiaka and Dana Retke in front of the

00:53:04.619 --> 00:53:07.420
setter more. And we were saying, why are they

00:53:07.420 --> 00:53:09.679
running Dana behind the setter? I think that's

00:53:09.679 --> 00:53:12.059
where this question came from. So then totally,

00:53:12.119 --> 00:53:14.320
if you have two middles that run better in front

00:53:14.320 --> 00:53:15.860
of the setter, and that's not to say you can't

00:53:15.860 --> 00:53:19.039
run like a 61 close behind. It's a two -foot

00:53:19.039 --> 00:53:22.300
takeoff is what you're looking for. Yeah, I think

00:53:22.300 --> 00:53:25.460
that's understood. The question is around, like,

00:53:25.460 --> 00:53:28.300
do the top teams use the slide as much as the

00:53:28.300 --> 00:53:31.599
U .S.? And I would say no. Turquoise uses it

00:53:31.599 --> 00:53:34.880
because... Historically, Ada Airdem runs the

00:53:34.880 --> 00:53:38.460
slide incredibly well. The Italians don't really

00:53:38.460 --> 00:53:44.380
run it. The Brazilians historically have. The

00:53:44.380 --> 00:53:46.559
Japanese do just because their offense needs

00:53:46.559 --> 00:53:50.539
to be so fast and dynamic. But no, you don't

00:53:50.539 --> 00:53:52.900
need to run one to win. I think it depends on

00:53:52.900 --> 00:53:57.320
your personnel hitting in the back row. And compared

00:53:57.320 --> 00:54:00.119
to other top countries, I would argue... Other

00:54:00.119 --> 00:54:02.820
than Brazil, the U .S. has not had an opposite.

00:54:03.199 --> 00:54:05.900
A dominant opposite, yeah. Strong enough in the

00:54:05.900 --> 00:54:08.139
back row attack abilities. And I know people

00:54:08.139 --> 00:54:10.039
are going to be like, Jordan Thompson. I don't

00:54:10.039 --> 00:54:12.300
think Jordan Thompson's back row attacking is

00:54:12.300 --> 00:54:16.079
superlative. Well, and the other thing I would

00:54:16.079 --> 00:54:18.300
mention is USA has historically been a very good

00:54:18.300 --> 00:54:20.719
ball control team. So if you are in system and

00:54:20.719 --> 00:54:23.360
you run that slide, if you're good, you can run

00:54:23.360 --> 00:54:25.179
it short. You can run it long. You can run a

00:54:25.179 --> 00:54:27.610
mid. Like there's lots of different ways. to

00:54:27.610 --> 00:54:29.469
make it challenging for the block to line that

00:54:29.469 --> 00:54:31.690
up if you're passing really well consistently,

00:54:32.010 --> 00:54:34.869
which the U .S. has historically done. Okay,

00:54:34.869 --> 00:54:37.289
question three. Do you think Eric Sullivan would

00:54:37.289 --> 00:54:41.150
ever use two liberos like Japan does? And if

00:54:41.150 --> 00:54:44.070
so, which two would you choose? I mean, we've

00:54:44.070 --> 00:54:46.889
seen him do it at Austin. Yes. I don't think

00:54:46.889 --> 00:54:50.070
there's any reason not to do it if you don't

00:54:50.070 --> 00:54:53.989
have one stud libero. Which they don't. And honestly,

00:54:54.110 --> 00:54:56.409
right now, I don't think there's a frontrunner.

00:54:56.730 --> 00:54:59.750
I didn't love Lexi this week. But that's, again,

00:54:59.769 --> 00:55:02.110
not to say that they won't come along. Her passing

00:55:02.110 --> 00:55:05.489
is pretty good. I think defensively she's out

00:55:05.489 --> 00:55:07.789
of her depth right now. So that might be a situation

00:55:07.789 --> 00:55:09.769
where she's passing and Hentz is playing defense.

00:55:10.369 --> 00:55:12.829
But I don't think Hentz reads the game well enough.

00:55:13.070 --> 00:55:16.429
She just dives around the court and she makes

00:55:16.429 --> 00:55:18.070
it spectacular because I don't think she reads

00:55:18.070 --> 00:55:21.070
well. Fair. I'm saying that as an example. It

00:55:21.070 --> 00:55:24.030
doesn't have to be her. I honestly would probably,

00:55:24.210 --> 00:55:28.019
if they did, And you know my feelings on the

00:55:28.019 --> 00:55:31.880
US liberos. I would probably have like Elena

00:55:31.880 --> 00:55:34.519
Scott even be the defensive libero because her

00:55:34.519 --> 00:55:37.019
out of system setting is better than all of the

00:55:37.019 --> 00:55:41.320
other ones. Yeah. Obviously she's untested defensively.

00:55:41.420 --> 00:55:45.019
Just we don't know. But hypothetically, let's

00:55:45.019 --> 00:55:47.239
say she's on par defensively with the other ones.

00:55:47.260 --> 00:55:50.260
I would use her as the defensive libero because

00:55:50.260 --> 00:55:53.679
she'll put up a hittable ball in transition if

00:55:53.679 --> 00:55:57.369
need be. And then for passing, I guess I would

00:55:57.369 --> 00:56:01.610
pick Flexy. And the U .S. setters are generally

00:56:01.610 --> 00:56:04.050
pretty good defensively, so there are lots of

00:56:04.050 --> 00:56:06.730
opportunities to set. That's a good call. But

00:56:06.730 --> 00:56:08.449
he's used before. I don't see any reason why

00:56:08.449 --> 00:56:11.289
he wouldn't. He's used it at Austin, but I don't.

00:56:11.530 --> 00:56:13.849
In some of the U .S. games that I watched this

00:56:13.849 --> 00:56:18.010
week, they only even dressed one with the jersey,

00:56:18.110 --> 00:56:19.949
and then there was a serving sub. So I'm just

00:56:19.949 --> 00:56:22.429
like. What are you gaining from the service line

00:56:22.429 --> 00:56:26.210
as opposed to like losing in having two of them

00:56:26.210 --> 00:56:29.869
dressed is my question. Okay. Question four.

00:56:29.929 --> 00:56:32.250
What are your thoughts on the new VNL awards?

00:56:32.730 --> 00:56:36.210
So Adam, I don't think is aware. No. So let's

00:56:36.210 --> 00:56:39.050
tell him. VNL is not going to have a dream team

00:56:39.050 --> 00:56:43.309
anymore. Basically what they're going to do is

00:56:43.309 --> 00:56:46.769
at the end of the preliminary round. So like

00:56:46.769 --> 00:56:50.530
before the final eight. The statistical leaders

00:56:50.530 --> 00:56:53.750
for best score, best attacker, best whatever,

00:56:53.989 --> 00:56:57.750
all are just going to get $10 ,000 each. For

00:56:57.750 --> 00:57:02.030
the MVP of VNL, it's going to be selected by

00:57:02.030 --> 00:57:07.130
one player that's playing in the final. And it's

00:57:07.130 --> 00:57:12.070
going to be a combination of fan voting and statistics.

00:57:12.289 --> 00:57:17.909
And that person gets $30 ,000. I like it. You

00:57:17.909 --> 00:57:20.010
don't like it? I was going to say, I don't love

00:57:20.010 --> 00:57:24.869
it. Only because stats don't tell the whole story.

00:57:25.230 --> 00:57:27.730
If you were going to do that mostly and then

00:57:27.730 --> 00:57:30.369
have like two awards. No, but I'm sure like it

00:57:30.369 --> 00:57:33.369
has to be like they have swung on a minimum of

00:57:33.369 --> 00:57:35.849
X balls. I understand that. But like, what about

00:57:35.849 --> 00:57:38.829
the best all around left side who is passing,

00:57:38.969 --> 00:57:40.869
attacking set? Like they're not going to, that

00:57:40.869 --> 00:57:42.610
player is not going to win any awards and can

00:57:42.610 --> 00:57:46.909
be incredibly. They're going by skill instead

00:57:46.909 --> 00:57:49.809
of each individual skill instead of individual

00:57:49.809 --> 00:57:54.210
position. I get that. I think it's going to overlook

00:57:54.210 --> 00:57:58.389
certain players who are well -rounded and incredibly

00:57:58.389 --> 00:58:00.570
important to their team, but are never going

00:58:00.570 --> 00:58:03.639
to be statistical leaders. But don't you think

00:58:03.639 --> 00:58:05.539
that it's a better system than what it currently

00:58:05.539 --> 00:58:07.900
was where all of the award winners were from

00:58:07.900 --> 00:58:10.300
a final four team. And then you started scratching

00:58:10.300 --> 00:58:12.440
your head to be like, Oh, well that person was

00:58:12.440 --> 00:58:14.360
clearly picked because that team in the final

00:58:14.360 --> 00:58:16.340
four needed a player. Do you know what I mean?

00:58:16.380 --> 00:58:20.079
Yes. That's totally fine. I just wish there was

00:58:20.079 --> 00:58:23.460
some consideration other than just. Best hitting

00:58:23.460 --> 00:58:25.340
like so best hitting percentage is obviously

00:58:25.340 --> 00:58:27.300
gonna go to a middle best blockers gonna go to

00:58:27.300 --> 00:58:29.739
a middle It's not hitting percent. We don't know

00:58:29.739 --> 00:58:31.800
exactly what stuff they're looking at. We're

00:58:31.800 --> 00:58:33.460
gonna be the hitting percentage is it gonna be

00:58:33.460 --> 00:58:38.760
a combination of you know kills per set and Sure,

00:58:38.940 --> 00:58:41.440
like we don't know. Okay, so let's wait and see

00:58:41.440 --> 00:58:44.119
what the stats are But my I like it better in

00:58:44.119 --> 00:58:46.880
theory than what they were doing before my apprehension

00:58:46.880 --> 00:58:50.679
with the system would be that Stats don't ever

00:58:50.679 --> 00:58:54.199
tell the whole story. And I'm a stats guy. That

00:58:54.199 --> 00:58:56.800
would be my two cents on that. Having heard this

00:58:56.800 --> 00:58:59.599
for the first time. I prefer it to what it was.

00:59:00.280 --> 00:59:03.019
Because then it gives like, you can be a superstar

00:59:03.019 --> 00:59:06.579
on a not so good team and you can be considered.

00:59:07.099 --> 00:59:11.039
No, I like the format. I like the idea in general.

00:59:11.400 --> 00:59:13.440
That's where my head went to when you told me.

00:59:14.699 --> 00:59:18.059
Okay, question five is about indoor serving strategies.

00:59:18.280 --> 00:59:21.500
So for coaches, how do you balance having your

00:59:21.500 --> 00:59:25.800
servers serve their best serve zone with targeting

00:59:25.800 --> 00:59:29.360
opponents' weaknesses? So sometimes they align

00:59:29.360 --> 00:59:33.320
well, and that's great. So like if your best

00:59:33.320 --> 00:59:37.280
serve is from zone five, cross court to zone

00:59:37.280 --> 00:59:41.639
five. Amazing. Sometimes it works out that it's

00:59:41.639 --> 00:59:44.269
in the game plan. So this person said, I've been

00:59:44.269 --> 00:59:46.429
part of programs that prioritize their players

00:59:46.429 --> 00:59:49.769
serving the zones that they serve most effectively.

00:59:50.630 --> 00:59:53.329
I've also been part of programs that prioritize

00:59:53.329 --> 00:59:57.190
their opponent's weaknesses despite a player's

00:59:57.190 --> 01:00:01.369
maybe struggling with those angles. What are

01:00:01.369 --> 01:00:05.130
some of the dependencies of what to choose or

01:00:05.130 --> 01:00:08.889
prioritize? This is a very good question. I love,

01:00:09.210 --> 01:00:12.590
love, love this question. Let's let them run

01:00:12.590 --> 01:00:14.670
here with it, you know? Do you have anything

01:00:14.670 --> 01:00:16.329
or do you want me to go? You're excited. Go for

01:00:16.329 --> 01:00:18.429
it. Okay, let's start with this. It depends on

01:00:18.429 --> 01:00:21.469
how... Look at his grin, everybody. But these

01:00:21.469 --> 01:00:25.250
questions are my jam. You basically have an efficiency

01:00:25.250 --> 01:00:27.750
problem, right? So you have an outcome that you're

01:00:27.750 --> 01:00:31.070
looking for. And is it better to use somebody's

01:00:31.070 --> 01:00:33.269
best serve or to go after somebody's weakness?

01:00:33.409 --> 01:00:36.909
It's a great debate. For me, the question comes

01:00:36.909 --> 01:00:40.059
down to if I take that player... And they're

01:00:40.059 --> 01:00:42.980
not comfortable making that serve. Is it so bad

01:00:42.980 --> 01:00:44.880
that it's a free ball? Do you know what I mean?

01:00:45.039 --> 01:00:48.059
So what am I gaining and losing versus what I'm

01:00:48.059 --> 01:00:50.079
doing? And the other thing is, is there green

01:00:50.079 --> 01:00:53.699
light serve where they go like one to one? Is

01:00:53.699 --> 01:00:57.500
it a hard pass regardless of who's passing on

01:00:57.500 --> 01:01:00.480
the other side? So you are continually weighing.

01:01:01.280 --> 01:01:03.559
You're looking for the best outcome from the

01:01:03.559 --> 01:01:06.340
service line. And you have to figure out. whether

01:01:06.340 --> 01:01:08.900
your green light serve of what you hit best is

01:01:08.900 --> 01:01:12.320
going to give you consistently a worse pass than

01:01:12.320 --> 01:01:14.820
taking you out of your comfort zone and shooting

01:01:14.820 --> 01:01:18.280
for a specific target. Okay, yes. So that basically

01:01:18.280 --> 01:01:22.039
repeats the question. What are the scenarios

01:01:22.039 --> 01:01:25.559
where you would select one over the other? If

01:01:25.559 --> 01:01:28.880
somebody's got a great spin serve, generally

01:01:28.880 --> 01:01:33.179
let them rip and we'll see what happens. If...

01:01:33.869 --> 01:01:39.570
If somebody has a mediocre serve at best at a

01:01:39.570 --> 01:01:43.210
top level, then I'm making that person go into

01:01:43.210 --> 01:01:44.630
the weakness because I'm going to trust that

01:01:44.630 --> 01:01:47.829
our scouting report has given us something that

01:01:47.829 --> 01:01:50.429
we're going to be able to use. So those would

01:01:50.429 --> 01:01:54.929
be kind of the two blatant scenarios that I would

01:01:54.929 --> 01:01:56.889
look at. I think it depends on where the lineup

01:01:56.889 --> 01:02:02.349
arranges itself to. Or like if the coach is deliberately,

01:02:02.449 --> 01:02:05.550
usually you're deliberately lining up your lineup

01:02:05.550 --> 01:02:07.989
for blocking and defensive purposes, not serving.

01:02:08.449 --> 01:02:11.210
So in the moment, I think it would come down

01:02:11.210 --> 01:02:13.570
to more of like, oh, what did we end up with?

01:02:13.929 --> 01:02:16.170
Yeah. So that was going to be the next thing

01:02:16.170 --> 01:02:18.309
I said was like, you have to kind of find the

01:02:18.309 --> 01:02:21.070
flow of the match. Do we just need aggressive

01:02:21.070 --> 01:02:24.730
serving to switch a mindset? Is that player struggling

01:02:24.730 --> 01:02:27.130
more than we expected? So now we really just

01:02:27.130 --> 01:02:29.110
want to target him with anything because that

01:02:29.110 --> 01:02:32.170
person is in the tank. There's some feel stuff

01:02:32.170 --> 01:02:35.329
around those situations as well. For example,

01:02:35.489 --> 01:02:40.250
let's say their best passer is in zone one. You're

01:02:40.250 --> 01:02:42.889
really good at serving one -to -one, and their

01:02:42.889 --> 01:02:46.269
best passer is in zone one, but you happen to

01:02:46.269 --> 01:02:50.360
hit that passer. When they're in rotation one

01:02:50.360 --> 01:02:52.860
and you are kind of disrupting things because

01:02:52.860 --> 01:02:55.639
the setter's coming in, they're running in, and

01:02:55.639 --> 01:02:57.760
then even though their best passer's there, the

01:02:57.760 --> 01:02:59.400
setter's getting kind of turned around. Like,

01:02:59.440 --> 01:03:06.440
there's a lot of rotational scenarios, too, of,

01:03:06.480 --> 01:03:08.480
like, where the setter's coming in from, this

01:03:08.480 --> 01:03:11.820
and that, who their hitters are. It's hard to

01:03:11.820 --> 01:03:15.280
say. Like, the it depends answer is extensive.

01:03:16.219 --> 01:03:19.800
It is. But I think the main one should be what

01:03:19.800 --> 01:03:22.360
gives which scenario in this given moment is

01:03:22.360 --> 01:03:24.400
going to give you the advantage. And I don't

01:03:24.400 --> 01:03:28.179
think it's ever a good policy to be we're a team

01:03:28.179 --> 01:03:30.500
that does this or we're a team that does that.

01:03:30.579 --> 01:03:33.000
It should be all options should be on the table

01:03:33.000 --> 01:03:36.360
at any given time to get the best outcome. It

01:03:36.360 --> 01:03:41.190
depends. Okay, question six. At the elite pro

01:03:41.190 --> 01:03:43.250
level, what percentage of time is spent improving

01:03:43.250 --> 01:03:47.750
individual skills or strengths versus team strategy?

01:03:48.070 --> 01:03:51.110
How much is done in the gym versus on video?

01:03:51.769 --> 01:03:56.650
So I can only really speak to my personal experience.

01:03:57.369 --> 01:04:02.070
So for all of the pro, pretty much all the pro

01:04:02.070 --> 01:04:06.710
teams I played for, there were often double days

01:04:06.710 --> 01:04:09.960
training. So whenever there was a double day,

01:04:10.199 --> 01:04:14.840
morning practice was devoted more to individual

01:04:14.840 --> 01:04:19.159
skill work. And the evening practice was devoted

01:04:19.159 --> 01:04:24.980
to team play, team cohesion, systems, things

01:04:24.980 --> 01:04:29.119
like that, or game planning. If there was one

01:04:29.119 --> 01:04:34.420
practice in a day, it was team stuff. I would

01:04:34.420 --> 01:04:38.619
say... In my experience, the individual stuff

01:04:38.619 --> 01:04:43.320
was all done in gym. The individual reps, whether

01:04:43.320 --> 01:04:47.360
it's passing, defense, setting, whatever, was

01:04:47.360 --> 01:04:49.739
all done in gym. There wasn't a ton of individual

01:04:49.739 --> 01:04:53.340
video work done with coaches. That, for me, was

01:04:53.340 --> 01:04:57.300
done more in college. And then for team stuff,

01:04:57.519 --> 01:05:01.579
the video was mostly done looking at opponents

01:05:01.579 --> 01:05:05.380
and game planning. Any game opponent related

01:05:05.380 --> 01:05:08.579
stuff was like video first, then we go put it

01:05:08.579 --> 01:05:13.340
into practice. But any team system stuff as far

01:05:13.340 --> 01:05:17.599
as offensive abilities were just in gym. I don't

01:05:17.599 --> 01:05:22.579
know. It would probably be 35 % individual, 65

01:05:22.579 --> 01:05:28.199
team roughly. Yeah. slides as the season goes

01:05:28.199 --> 01:05:30.239
on right more individual work the beginning of

01:05:30.239 --> 01:05:33.360
the season less as you move on and also probably

01:05:33.360 --> 01:05:37.300
dependent on what level of pro like i'm sure

01:05:37.300 --> 01:05:39.719
some of the younger kids in your clubs who were

01:05:39.719 --> 01:05:42.719
going to stay there long term were getting more

01:05:42.719 --> 01:05:44.980
video work from the coaches and things like that

01:05:44.980 --> 01:05:49.659
and our last question of the day i know sarah

01:05:49.659 --> 01:05:53.860
dislikes love austin How does this affect your

01:05:53.860 --> 01:05:57.260
thoughts of the U .S. national roster and coaches?

01:05:57.719 --> 01:06:01.579
How should this affect our perceptions and pride

01:06:01.579 --> 01:06:06.440
for our national team as U .S. fans? We dislike

01:06:06.440 --> 01:06:08.519
them for certain reasons, but we need to have

01:06:08.519 --> 01:06:12.840
pride for them in VNL and the Olympics. This

01:06:12.840 --> 01:06:15.019
question starts with your dislike of Austin,

01:06:15.119 --> 01:06:18.420
so I'll let you go first on this one. Definitely

01:06:18.420 --> 01:06:20.579
not the only one who dislikes Austin. Come on.

01:06:20.909 --> 01:06:25.449
How does my dislike for Austin affect my thoughts

01:06:25.449 --> 01:06:28.210
of the roster and coaches? I mean, I think it's

01:06:28.210 --> 01:06:30.889
a chicken and the egg situation. Like I disliked

01:06:30.889 --> 01:06:34.110
Austin before the coaching staff got there. And

01:06:34.110 --> 01:06:35.750
then the coaching staff getting there made me

01:06:35.750 --> 01:06:38.989
like eyebrow raise a little more. I just think

01:06:38.989 --> 01:06:43.469
I just dislike that. It seems like nepotism.

01:06:43.610 --> 01:06:48.409
I dislike the fact that so many athletes from

01:06:48.409 --> 01:06:52.469
this one team. are on the national team sometimes

01:06:52.469 --> 01:06:55.909
because it just seems like they're part of that

01:06:55.909 --> 01:06:57.210
team. You know what I mean? Like, it's just,

01:06:57.269 --> 01:07:00.590
I'm not sure that the roster is based off of

01:07:00.590 --> 01:07:05.090
full merit. That is my issue with the U .S. I'm

01:07:05.090 --> 01:07:08.130
not American, so I don't feel a need to, like,

01:07:08.130 --> 01:07:11.190
cheer for them at all. So I'm, like, chilling.

01:07:11.710 --> 01:07:15.969
But as Americans, I can understand what you're

01:07:15.969 --> 01:07:19.559
saying, and that's challenging. But I would say

01:07:19.559 --> 01:07:21.559
like, yeah, I don't know. What do you think?

01:07:21.780 --> 01:07:24.460
I don't think it should have any bearing on it

01:07:24.460 --> 01:07:26.739
whatsoever. Like you're aware of the performance.

01:07:27.420 --> 01:07:31.920
And so you question some of the roster decisions,

01:07:32.039 --> 01:07:33.699
like you were saying. Yeah. I think like that

01:07:33.699 --> 01:07:36.659
is my issue. Yeah. And that's, and that's, and

01:07:36.659 --> 01:07:38.599
I think they're separate things. Like I don't

01:07:38.599 --> 01:07:40.900
love Austin for a variety of reasons, but like

01:07:40.900 --> 01:07:44.599
are, do these people deserve to be on the national

01:07:44.599 --> 01:07:47.460
team? But once, once they pick the rosters and

01:07:47.460 --> 01:07:51.119
you start, playing it's relevant and then you're

01:07:51.119 --> 01:07:53.099
just looking straight at the performance then

01:07:53.099 --> 01:07:55.719
i start to question like and i'm gonna travel

01:07:55.719 --> 01:07:58.079
roster decisions and who's actually on the court

01:07:58.079 --> 01:08:00.699
decisions like yes that bleeds into it for me

01:08:00.699 --> 01:08:04.699
and i think you can look at the rock you look

01:08:04.699 --> 01:08:06.440
at the coaching staff and the players differently

01:08:06.440 --> 01:08:09.460
in this situation the players can only do what

01:08:09.460 --> 01:08:11.400
they're given the opportunity to do whether they're

01:08:11.400 --> 01:08:15.269
good enough to be there or not But Sullivan's

01:08:15.269 --> 01:08:18.109
decisions on who plays and those kind of things,

01:08:18.210 --> 01:08:21.890
that's a line that's hard to unblur. Or like,

01:08:21.930 --> 01:08:25.369
is he playing people for Austin, who he knows

01:08:25.369 --> 01:08:27.149
he'll get to work with on the national team?

01:08:27.289 --> 01:08:30.409
And I just think of the Polish middle, who was

01:08:30.409 --> 01:08:34.850
on the bronze medal winning VNL team, who's been

01:08:34.850 --> 01:08:37.069
an Olympian, who rode the bench for Austin all

01:08:37.069 --> 01:08:40.850
year. Decisions like that, I'm like scratching

01:08:40.850 --> 01:08:43.420
my head. I mean, if you're an American, you're

01:08:43.420 --> 01:08:47.199
going to cheer for your country. I don't know.

01:08:47.420 --> 01:08:49.159
But this is one of those situations. Would I

01:08:49.159 --> 01:08:53.939
cheer for Canada in all sports regardless? I

01:08:53.939 --> 01:08:56.439
don't know. I think this is one of those situations

01:08:56.439 --> 01:08:59.359
where if they win, no one's going to say anything.

01:08:59.479 --> 01:09:01.439
They're going to be like, great, we won. If they

01:09:01.439 --> 01:09:03.880
lose, there's going to be lots of questions about

01:09:03.880 --> 01:09:07.100
the decision -making process. I think that's

01:09:07.100 --> 01:09:10.260
the thing. Like the athletes, it is. I know we

01:09:10.260 --> 01:09:12.859
talk about who we feel should be playing, who

01:09:12.859 --> 01:09:14.960
should have been on the roster. Do they deserve

01:09:14.960 --> 01:09:16.880
to be there? This and that. But like, like you

01:09:16.880 --> 01:09:21.220
said, my issues with the whole thing have more

01:09:21.220 --> 01:09:24.659
about coaching decisions and the decision making.

01:09:24.760 --> 01:09:26.819
Like the athletes are just doing what they are

01:09:26.819 --> 01:09:29.640
told to do or given the opportunity to do. And

01:09:29.640 --> 01:09:32.479
that's it. Yeah. These decisions will either

01:09:32.479 --> 01:09:36.310
come back to bite him. And I. Understand the

01:09:36.310 --> 01:09:39.310
urge to pick players that you have more time

01:09:39.310 --> 01:09:42.710
to work with as a coach. I get that instinct,

01:09:42.890 --> 01:09:46.810
but you also have to be able to judge that talent

01:09:46.810 --> 01:09:49.470
against the top international talent, given your

01:09:49.470 --> 01:09:53.210
goal is a gold medal. So if he believes that,

01:09:53.310 --> 01:09:55.630
and I don't, I'm just going to use these players

01:09:55.630 --> 01:09:59.369
just because that like Asia O 'Neill and Eggleston

01:09:59.369 --> 01:10:03.050
are going to be your gold medal left sides and

01:10:03.050 --> 01:10:05.890
middles. given three years of working with me,

01:10:05.949 --> 01:10:09.229
you make that decision and you live or die by

01:10:09.229 --> 01:10:12.069
that decision, I can respect that as a coach.

01:10:12.210 --> 01:10:17.350
I may not agree with it, but I can respect that,

01:10:17.350 --> 01:10:19.949
but you got to own it. And quite frankly, you

01:10:19.949 --> 01:10:22.810
should come out and say that, which I don't think

01:10:22.810 --> 01:10:26.470
we'll ever get. I think about it this way for

01:10:26.470 --> 01:10:31.090
the fans who kind of are feeling a little disconnected.

01:10:33.770 --> 01:10:37.189
a lot of people that I just do not like. But

01:10:37.189 --> 01:10:38.750
at the end of the day, I'm like, I don't have

01:10:38.750 --> 01:10:42.829
to like you, but I will play with you and I will

01:10:42.829 --> 01:10:46.789
go to battle with you to win games. So I think,

01:10:46.789 --> 01:10:50.130
I think it's like a similar thing as a fan. It's

01:10:50.130 --> 01:10:53.529
like, okay, I might not like the situation here,

01:10:53.670 --> 01:10:57.430
but I want my country to do well. So it's just

01:10:57.430 --> 01:10:59.890
like kind of blurring the line, like putting

01:10:59.890 --> 01:11:03.859
it aside for the greater good, I guess. I understand

01:11:03.859 --> 01:11:06.680
these questions coming up and these feelings

01:11:06.680 --> 01:11:09.779
coming up now with love being so fresh, with

01:11:09.779 --> 01:11:12.020
Austin being at the bottom and then winning the

01:11:12.020 --> 01:11:14.260
championship and like coming right out of season

01:11:14.260 --> 01:11:17.479
into first week of VNL. I get the visceral reaction.

01:11:18.180 --> 01:11:21.220
I think we need to wait and see what happens.

01:11:21.300 --> 01:11:23.399
We need to revisit this conversation in August.

01:11:23.520 --> 01:11:25.100
I mean, because last year, VNL week one, they

01:11:25.100 --> 01:11:28.199
looked real bad. Yeah. And they made the final

01:11:28.199 --> 01:11:31.779
eight. Yeah. All things ick when it comes to

01:11:31.779 --> 01:11:36.359
this. I think need to be put on hold for at least

01:11:36.359 --> 01:11:39.199
two more rounds. Great questions this week, you

01:11:39.199 --> 01:11:42.760
guys. Love talking about this. Even if we're

01:11:42.760 --> 01:11:44.140
going to put the ick on hold, if you still want

01:11:44.140 --> 01:11:46.060
to ask questions, we probably will talk about

01:11:46.060 --> 01:11:48.180
it. I never in a million years thought that I

01:11:48.180 --> 01:11:50.399
would hear Adam use that term, but here we are.

01:11:50.760 --> 01:11:54.239
Wrong usage and everything, but it is what it

01:11:54.239 --> 01:11:57.840
is. But I think that's the feeling. All right,

01:11:57.880 --> 01:12:00.750
there is a ton of volleyball. going on during

01:12:00.750 --> 01:12:03.109
VNL. So we've handpicked a couple matches that

01:12:03.109 --> 01:12:07.470
we think will be great coming up this week. Wednesday

01:12:07.470 --> 01:12:12.350
at 4 p .m. Eastern, we have Italy versus France.

01:12:13.170 --> 01:12:14.810
Doesn't matter who's playing, that's always going

01:12:14.810 --> 01:12:19.069
to be a great match. Thursday at 8 a .m. Eastern,

01:12:19.289 --> 01:12:23.310
early riser, Slovenia versus Poland. Two Final

01:12:23.310 --> 01:12:25.949
Four teams, baby. Two Final Four teams, little

01:12:25.949 --> 01:12:30.170
geographical rivalry. So that one will also be

01:12:30.170 --> 01:12:33.750
good. And then Saturday at 4 p .m. Eastern, Canada

01:12:33.750 --> 01:12:38.050
versus USA. That's always a good rivalry. Most

01:12:38.050 --> 01:12:39.510
of our listeners are in Canada and the U .S.,

01:12:39.510 --> 01:12:40.550
so I had to throw it in there, you know what

01:12:40.550 --> 01:12:42.170
I mean? Yeah, we'll definitely be watching that

01:12:42.170 --> 01:12:45.090
one. That concludes this week's episode of Volley

01:12:45.090 --> 01:12:46.770
Talk. There's always something shaking in the

01:12:46.770 --> 01:12:48.770
volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed this

01:12:48.770 --> 01:12:50.970
little fix. Be sure to follow the show so you

01:12:50.970 --> 01:12:52.890
don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful

01:12:52.890 --> 01:12:55.430
if you'd leave us a five -star review. You can

01:12:55.430 --> 01:12:57.829
also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore

01:12:57.829 --> 01:13:00.829
podcast. If you have a topic you'd like us to

01:13:00.829 --> 01:13:03.449
discuss, you can reach out on Instagram or at

01:13:03.449 --> 01:13:06.850
info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much for joining

01:13:06.850 --> 01:13:07.850
us and we'll be back.