Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley
Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers
who want to dig deep into what is going on in
NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host
Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball
world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and
longtime pro both indoor and on the beach. And
I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international
volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat
guy. Men's VNL week one kicked off. So we are
in the full throes of VNL season now, everybody.
Well, let me just say I was completely shocked
at how good Anderson was at passing, having not
done it at all in his career. Hilarious. Okay.
Thank you so much to everybody who told us what
idiots we are that were shocked that Matt Anderson
was playing outside. Listen. Okay, fair. We deserve
to be dragged for that one. We totally deserve
to be dragged for that one. But in my defense,
I was playing having my own career until literally
late 2024. I was not watching what Matt Anderson
was doing professionally. I'm not going to lie.
Only knew him through the US stuff as an opposite.
So that is my only defense. I've got nothing
else to say. Feel free to roast me. It's fine.
I will also say. I had a shocking revelation
this week. Our daughter is starting to walk and
both of us gave her USA volleyball feedback.
We told her to be more up and down because she
was head forward and rushing and a little top
heavy. So that feedback is universal. It can
be used absolutely anywhere. And now I know why
they're doing it. Credit. You can use it for
anything. So they're onto something. Week one
was a little spicy, lots of five setters, and
we're excited to talk about a few teams in particular.
So let's get started. It is so hard. We've talked
about this. The hardest position to make money
is libero. So American liberos, it's really hard,
A, to get a contract, B, to like make good money
playing overseas. All of these libero signings
I'm seeing are foreigners. They're like taking
away the opportunity from their domestic liberos
because like you go to any country in the world,
pretty much the liberos are like citizens. Homegrown.
Homegrown. You have a select few. Who go elsewhere.
All these liberos that love is bringing in are
foreign. So I think it just sucks for the American
liberos. Cause like, that's a tough position
to like make it anyway. That's what I was talking
to somebody about online this week for love.
Annie Schumacher is coming back. She, I haven't
gotten the update, but I'm sure she's either
given birth or is about to. So she'll have a
solid six months to get back in shape. Sammy
Francis is coming back to love. And Sabrina Starks.
Sabrina Starks played for Pitt and was part of
two of their final four appearances. They are
coming to love. Then we've got Wang Mengjie.
Excuse my Mandarin. That pronunciation was probably
terrible. Former Chinese national team libero.
We've got Thok Boom from Canada coming over.
We've got a Thai left side, Kokram and Alexandra
Szyszkowska. You get the idea. My, you know,
there's some languages that I really struggle
with. Polish being one of them. Polish is tough.
And all the consonants. Those are the noteworthy
international national team athletes coming back.
We do have other ones. We've got... A selection
of others. I'm not going to go through them all,
but Paolo Coco is moving from Atlanta to Miami
to be the head coach. A little bit of an upgrade.
Location geography wise. Doesn't everybody want
to be in Miami? I mean, it's not my first pick,
but maybe you do. Those are the noteworthy ones
that I came across this week. There's a lot more,
but the names I highlighted were the ones that
I felt like the majority of people would know.
And on the MLV side, we've got Pure Kongvat going
to Dallas. She is a Thai player. We've got Maddie
Bug, who's going to Grand Rapids. Peyton Caffrey,
who's been playing in Brazil, is going to Minnesota.
So Minnesota is continuing to up their ante here.
They're going to be good. You know what other
team is making big moves? I wouldn't. put it
at the same level right now as Minnesota or Omaha,
but Columbus. Good for them. They have been making
moves. They are really trying to reinforce and
strengthen that roster. Well, they were much
better this year than they were the year before,
even though their record wasn't. They still finished
like last. I understand that, but you have to
admit they started the season strong. They were.
much better from a volleyball perspective than
they were before so clearly somebody there is
invested in trying to make them better so I'm
all for that and I'm glad to see they're making
some roster changes and hopefully they work those
are the highlights of who has signed in the two
domestic leagues in the U .S. from the USA national
team perspective the week two roster came out
there's been lots of talk you know from last
week and online and comments and this and that.
The only changes they made were in the middle.
They're bringing Red Key and Ogbagu. Makes sense.
And they're adding Jordan Poulter. So they are
having three setters, but literally everything
else is the same. I'm a little surprised by that.
That must mean that they are running with this
roster. Like for all intents and purposes, this
must be what they believe. they can do the best
with barring players who are injured, who aren't
traveling. Clearly they've done their talent
identification. You would think that if they
were going to make any other switches, they would
make them in week two because you have to. Well,
somebody tell me, is Kendall Kip injured? Like
is Steph Samity really better than Kendall Kip?
I don't know. We don't know. We haven't seen
her play. You know, is Sarah Franklin injured?
I don't know. Is Kara Halleck injured? Yeah,
there's some question marks there. Be curious
to know who actually can't travel and how much
of these decisions are limited based on who's
available. Well, I guess cameo minors aren't
going to get a chance. No, she's not. Anyway,
yeah, I'm just really confused. At least they're
upgrading in the middle. We'll see how they do
this week. All right, let's get into the meat
of the episode with men's V &L. Week one had
a whole bunch of storylines. We'll give a little
highlight, a little recap, and then talk about
some of the games that we watched. First, let's
look at, you know, who teams brought and what
the expectations were. Looking at the rosters,
I think pretty much everybody except for Italy,
Poland, and the Cuba roster left me scratching
my head. But everybody else had pretty competitive
rosters. Besides missing a player here or there,
like, for example, France left Lagoff at home.
You know, some of the other rosters that I'm
not quite so familiar with, Iran, Germany, like,
it looked like they had most of their main players
there. Like, Grozer wasn't there for Germany.
Yeah. But, like, he was on the bench for a while
last season. Expecting a full field and competitive.
Now I will say Italy's roster had an average
age of less than 24 and Poland's was just around
25. So those two teams in particular were very
young and left lots of very good players off.
Results wise, Brazil and Japan are the only undefeated
teams after week one. Same as the women. Yeah.
USA is in third, which not sure I expected that.
I didn't expect third. I thought they would be,
I thought they would do well. And I thought that,
you know, they had a legit shot to make final
eight this year, but they got off to a very good
start in a pretty tough group. And we will dive
into the specifics of that later. Lots of five
setters, lots of weird standings with teams winning
or losing matches. and having better records,
but going to five a lot, so not having as many
points. Very interesting week one. For instance,
Canada lost three games in five sets, finished
third in their pool in terms of points, where
Slovenia won three matches in five, and they're
below teams with a better quote -unquote record.
So really interesting. And two teams that have
not got a win yet in Cuba and Argentina. Cuba,
given the roster, that doesn't surprise me, but
I'm surprised Argentina. Cuba needed to win that
China match, though. They're going to be cruising
potentially for relegation. That's going to hurt
them. Yeah, definitely. Any other surprises for
you or storylines from week one that caught your
attention? I am surprised that France only got
one win. They are plummeting in the ranks. They,
I wouldn't even say they looked bad. Because
I don't think bad, they didn't look bad by any
means. So I spent some time thinking about this
because I was also shocked at the results that
they posted in week one. Do you remember last
episode in VNL? We talked about them looking
a little laissez -faire in some matches. Kind
of having the impression that they assumed they
would be able to just turn it on and win when
they needed to. Did you get that impression watching
them? It wasn't quite like that, but they also
didn't look incredibly sharp. It was, you know,
one error here, one error there. Errors by committee,
quite frankly. I didn't think anybody played
really, really well, but it just lacked... The
intensity that I've seen from them when they're
playing really well. Yeah, I don't know if I
got a laissez -faire attitude from them. They
definitely tried to save Brizard for as long
as they could. And then it's like, oh, dang.
Okay. Time to put him in. But they played a couple
of young middles. As you said, Le Goff didn't
go. So Guy and the 18 -year -old were playing.
A lot. There's that Boye, I think, did pretty
well. Honestly, Klevno was not as good as he
was in week one last year. And you know why?
He can't do the slime balls. I love Klevno. You
guys know that. But like, honestly, these new
rules are really changing the game for a lot
of players who were excelling in the last couple
seasons. I was going to ask you about that because
I think. If you ask me to pick a slimy team,
volley overs, one -handed nonsense. Well, Brissard
runs a lightning fast offense. France's left
sides are greasy in the best of ways. No, we've
talked about this before. We talked about this
last year. They run a really fast offense, and
their players are really good at manipulating
the ball. The score points. Yeah, I was also
thinking of do the rule changes affect France
maybe a little more than some of the other teams?
Because they're not, France's left sides aren't
big. No, and there's no other, I mean, off the
top of my head, I can't think of another explanation
as to why they would be plummeting so quickly.
Other than they are now forced to play a cleaner
style of volleyball, which they haven't had to
do. So that will be an interesting storyline.
Will they claw back? Yeah. Can they find a rhythm?
Are they going to have to slow their offense
down to the left side? What does that look like
then if Klevno and Heno and the rest of the left
sides are hitting against a more solid block?
But Canada blocked really well against them.
Yes. That's the thing. The thing about a fast
offense is if you can use it to get one -on -ones,
it's really, really good. But if teams have you
dialed in, hitting a really fast ball against
a well -formed block is very difficult. Agreed.
So that's something I definitely want to watch
as we continue. Now, we watched mostly the Ottawa
pool. Canada was playing, so I wanted to see
how they looked along with the U .S., but they
also had Italy and France in that pool. I watched
a bit of the China pool. Yeah, you got a little
bit more of that. I watched more of the Canada
pool. We got a whole bunch of questions about
Canada and the U .S. Give me your overall impression
of watching Canada, your thoughts, and after
your initial impressions, we'll talk about the
reason we think they're losing so many matches
in five. Well, that was the first thing. They're
pushing teams to five and losing. Every match
they go to five. The reverse sweep against the
U .S., come on. There was no reason for that
to happen. Same against France. Like, I don't
know. I think they're looking better. They're
a stronger team than they were last year. I think
Chinsky's playing really well. I think Demyanyenko
is virtually unstoppable when he gets the ball.
Howe played really well. Even Howe. Like, their
middles and right side are doing really well.
The Lepke -Marr combo are also good. I honestly
think, like, if you're losing in five that consistently,
I feel like it's a mentality thing. And I think
we spoke about this a little bit. I think their
coach, Dan Lewis, kind of messes things up for
them frequently. I think he's done a really good
job. It rubs off on the team and not in a good
way. I had the same instinct. And I was wondering
if it was because I'm actually Canadian and I
felt a little embarrassed watching him. It was
cringy for sure. But then you see the classiness
of some of the other coaches when they are asked
questions. And even if their team is losing,
they show up to the interview. They're able to
give credit. to the other team and be objective
and offer some tidbits of what their team has
to work on. He's like too busy to even come talk
to the people in between and just. If Bernardo
and Karch and Gerbich can come and do interviews
in between sets two and three, you can get out
there and do it. I get sometimes there's things,
but like I didn't see him do one. The thing for
me is I agree with you. I don't think I've seen
Canada play this well. in a long time they are
good and they start on time they're ready to
go they're competitive they're the game plans
are clearly in place so i'm impressed from a
volleyball standpoint but the word i think that
comes to mind for me when i watch those things
is immature he was he's a hot -headed player
and i don't think he has shifted to being in
that mindset of i'm a coach now part of that
is Bringing a presence is bringing a calmness
is understanding that it's more than just your
team in that moment, that there is TV, that there
are like, it's all part of that package. No,
like you can get fired up as a coach. Don't get
me wrong. But like, what are you doing running
around the court and then like swearing and like
jumping in the air? Like you're on the court,
you're not on the court. So I'm then yelling
at the rat, like, stop it. He just, he has a
bit more. maturing from the player to coach role,
I think. But he's also being outcoached at the
end of matches. Like, so for example, in the
US game, Demyanko scored at will that whole match.
And then in the fifth set, the US got two or
three really good slowdowns on him and turned
for points. Now, you can't tell me that's by
accident. You get it once maybe, but multiple
times. They made adjustments. And I think...
And I don't know what his staff is like, but
if you're that fired up and in the moment, you're
not always paying attention. The assistants look
young. Yes. And I know one of them personally,
like they're young. There is maybe a growing
as a staff as well to understand some of the
changes because clearly the game plans at the
beginning are good, but the in -game adjustments
and he gives good technical feedback in match,
specifically passing and defense wise, but we'll
see offensively if they can. continue to make
adjustments when teams change their defense and
just like yeah your attitude starts at the top
and I think the fact that we're seeing them crumble
in fifth sets like as you said teams are making
adjustments but also like when you see your coach
complaining to the ref saying that this is this
oh you didn't call this it's a subjective call
blah blah that as a player You hear that and
then all of a sudden it's like, yeah, you're
right. We're being hard done by. We're being
hard done by. Like, no. Put your head down and
work. There was one other incident that I saw
that I also think kind of adds to that culture.
There was a moment in the fifth set against France
where Marr was in the front row and he rotated
back and I think they were point for point to
try and finish that set off. It was match point
for France, I believe. And he was going back
to serve. And you could see him go and ask for
a sub from what I could see. He ended up serving.
A good ball. He served a really good ball. But
that mentality of, hey, take me off the floor.
Dude, I get it. How many players out there are
super excited to go back and hammer a spin serve
when it's match point for the other team? It's
not the best feeling in the world. I get it.
But you're the leader on the team. You're the
most experienced player there. And all of a sudden,
you side out and you immediately walk to the
sideline and take me out. What message is that
sending? And so when you have those actions by
your veterans and your coach, there's a little
bit of a shift that needs to happen there, I
think, for them to push through. Because they
were good enough to win some of those matches.
And they're just not doing it yet. So it's not
the end of the world for Canada. They still got
a decent number of points even though they lost
three matches in five. I mean, they're in 13th.
That's not great. No, it's not great. But if
they have a good week two and they change some
of those results, they're by no means out of
it at this point because they did manage to get
some points. So hopefully they can regroup and
come back because I think missing elimination
rounds would be a huge disappointment for them
given the age of their roster and I think the
expectations going in. Thoughts on the U .S.?
I'm a fan. I'm a fan. I enjoy watching the men
significantly more than the women. I think to
see their development over the last year, I think
a lot of players have gotten better. I'm thinking
particularly like some of the younger guys. I
understand why they put Matt Anderson on the
outside. Okay. Haynes and Hartke played very
well. Have arrived. Wow. Their middles were solid.
You know, I think they looked really good. They
did. Really good. My only concern is, do you
have, like, their right sides need to continue
being able to score. So right now, nobody has
video on them. They're new. Well, you also got
Garcia and Ensign that can play right side too.
100%. But if there's a question mark, so I like
Anderson on the left. He gives you someone who's
a little more terminal. Again, I thought he passed
pretty well. I like their middles. McHenry is
virtually unstoppable. He goes over top of the
block. He went over Demyanko into six, like a
foot in front of the baseline. That's an undigable
swing. And Maha set him incredibly well. Rowan,
I thought, had a really good connection with
him. Yeah. Again, it's going to be, can those
right sides score those big points when they
need them? By all accounts, the showings this
week from both of them, it was outstanding, quite
frankly. I was a little worried when Hardkey
scored his first ever point and that tongue came
out. I was like, dude, not the place. Read the
room. But I don't know what happened, if somebody
talked to him or what, but he toned it down a
little bit after that and just played and played
well. That's what this is about, right? So you
come in, you're a young buck, you're playing
well, you're amped up. Somebody sits you down.
He had a post -match interview where he gave
his coaches credit. He was very humble. Like,
I can't tell you, I can't speak highly enough
about A, how he performed, and then B, how he
acted afterwards. I think that's huge growth
for him, and I'm super happy and excited for
him. He could be player of the year in the NCAA
next year after this experience because he was
outstanding. And thanks, Ottawa, who booed. The
U .S. every single time they went back to serve.
So that is classy. Not sure Ottawa deserved thanks
at the end of that game. Well, I think the U
.S. maybe gets that in a lot of different places.
So they're used to it. But overall, I think they're
going to be very good. Yeah, I agree. And TJ
DeFalco wasn't there. Christensen wasn't there.
Like, they still have pieces that they can add.
But I was pleasantly surprised with their performance.
All of a sudden, that opposite position is crowded.
Yeah. Very crowded. And Eric Shoji coming in
as a serving sub. With a couple points. Watch
out. Yeah. Honestly turned the trajectory of
that set because it was neck and neck. And then
I think he served like four balls. I was like,
wow. He came in, served a ball. And got a dig.
I was like, well, that's what he was supposed
to do. Good job. I wonder when the last time
he served was. I know. I was thinking that. Liberos
love doing other skills other than digging and
passing, so he was probably in his element. I'm
really curious to see what their final roster
looks like. They're going to be one of those
teams that's super structured, very difficult
to play against. It's just going to be, and their
star players elevate to the star players of the
Italy's, the Poland's, when it comes down to
that. but they're very good. I was very impressed.
Italy had some kids who looked like they were
still 16 or 17. I'm sure they were older than
that, but there were some babies there. Well,
yeah, we saw some of them play Vienna last year,
but yeah, you didn't have Gianelli there. You
didn't have your usual suspects, but I mean,
they're playing in the Italian league, so they
held it down pretty well. Yeah, I was impressed.
Rich Lissky, I didn't think was... great again
he was subbed in and out he's not my favorite
but yeah so we'll i mean we'll leave it like
that but i'm just so impressed with the italian
federation that they have the depth and i'm so
curious how they build that composure into those
young athletes to come out onto that stage and
compete like they're winning a couple like dug
in matches coming back after being down I was
thoroughly impressed, A, with the volleyball,
but B, just with the mentality and the expectation
of the program. Italy, across the board, is doing
it right at all levels. It's impressive. What
were your thoughts on, I know you watched some
Japan, you watched some Slovenia. What else did
you see? I mean, I saw like a little bit of Japan,
Poland, and Slovenia. I mean, Slovenia, I thought
looked pretty good. Mujanovic is playing really
well. I feel like he's improved. Like he was
coming in off the bench last season. He, I think
he's improved and he is their go -to player now.
I think he's doing really, really well. Japan
had a pretty solid roster across the board. And
honestly, Slovenia in their match against Japan,
they served really well, like created a lot of
disruption and generated a lot of aces by serving
across passing zones. I was pretty surprised.
But I mean, ultimately, Japan won in four after
giving away the first set. So, I mean, when Slovenia
was in system, Japan couldn't really touch them.
It was definitely a serving battle. Poland, as
we said, didn't have their main players there,
but still pushed teams to five. I think that
pool was solid. I mean, I enjoyed watching them.
Yeah, I wasn't watching like I was against with
Canada being like, what are you doing? Well,
we also have Serbia with more wins in week one
than I think they had a whole last year. What
happened? They've righted that ship this year.
They finished second in that pool. Three wins
already. I thought the action was really good.
I didn't watch any match that I thought was somewhat
of a dud. Competitive. The teams look good, ready
to go. So I'm excited for week two. I think we'll
have more of a clear picture. I'm assuming Poland's
going to bring some of their main guys back.
I have no feel for what Italy's going to do.
They were good enough that maybe they don't.
seeing if people are healthy. But overall, a
great week one with the men's VNL, and I'm thoroughly
looking forward to next week as well. All right,
let's dive into our listener questions. Question
one, what is your guys' thoughts on a setter
setting the ball on her way down instead of at
the apex of her jump? I think Kimmy Miner does
this and there's one international setter who
does it also. It supposedly freezes the blockers
for a longer time and gives the offensive team
an advantage. What do you think? Two things pop
into mind when you tell me that. One is I think
it would really screw up the timing of the middle
because generally you're looking to connect with
them at the apex of your jump. And the second
thing is it would make you more inconsistent
as a setter because... It's really hard to connect
and release the ball at the same time on the
way down as opposed to always releasing at your
apex. So I think it would make you more inconsistent.
I feel like it also kind of neutralizes your
ability offensively to be an offensive threat
as a setter because once a team dials into your
timing and stuff, they could key in on you before
you actually set the ball. So it kind of... neutralizes
you as an offensive option thinking about it
it also makes me think the back set would be
more inconsistent because it's really hard it
would be hard to throw your hips and release
on the way down now I haven't seen anyone teach
this I haven't seen and that doesn't mean it
doesn't happen doesn't mean it's right or wrong
I just haven't personally seen it I'm honestly
wondering if this you know what this person is
referring to is kind of a byproduct that has
developed As a result of these setters trying
to see what the blockers on the other side are
doing or like waiting off the blockers on the
other side. And it just happens to have that
kind of timing. I would be shocked if somebody
was teaching this. So my instinct is that it's
these setters way of finding the blockers. Yeah.
The best setters, in my opinion, when I think
of like who are the top setters, they're contacting
the ball at the top. I've honestly never looked
at or noticed that when I've been scouting teams
in terms of a setter coming down or anything
like that. So, I mean, obviously this person
has found two. It's rare, but my instinct is
it would give you less of an advantage than it
would cause you issues. Okay, question two. Why
aren't African teams included in the VNL on the
women's side? I know the actual reason. I think
VNL is based on ranking, but... It seems like
African teams get the short end of the stick.
I know funding and talent level isn't the best,
but if you want to grow the game, doesn't it
make sense to have representation? Honestly,
I feel like that's what the Olympics are for.
Like in the Olympics, there needs to be at least
one team per continent. And I feel like the Olympics
kind of embodies that spirit of. and representation
and bringing the world together as one. I personally
think that VNL should be elite and should be
the best of the best. That might not be a popular
opinion, but yeah. Well, that's what VNL is for,
right? There are other ways to qualify for different
types of tournaments and things like that. If
you really wanted Africa to be good and driven
in the sport. You need to put money in there.
You need to help them establish leagues. Then
you need to allow them to play against teams
from other continents to see where they need
to go. In terms of skill and what the level is,
you need to have some competitions that are high
level. If you had an African team in there that
was getting hammered by everybody, if you happen
to be the team that didn't get to play them in
pool play, Because you don't play everybody.
Now you get a severe disadvantage points -wise.
I mean, and let's say they include an African
team and then they just get relegated right away.
Yeah. Like, is that fun also? No. You need to
help them earn a berth to grow the sport. You
know, I think the FIVB does run initiatives for
underfunded countries when they do submit. you
know, applications, the FIVB sends coaches there.
I know, especially on the beach side, they fund,
I'm pretty sure travel coaching expenses, et
cetera, for certain teams that apply for that
financial aid. And I'm pretty sure they do the
same thing for indoor. If countries apply and
show a need for services, the FIVB does pay for
a lot. Am I saying that that is enough to like,
get them to where they need to be to be in VNL?
No, but there are resources available that have
been put in place to try to get something going.
You want them in VNL, yes. But just putting them
there is not the right solution, I don't think.
You have to help them earn their way in, which
is a long process, but that's the better way
to grow the game. Okay, question three. So it's
about the new rule for the double -handed tip,
the throw. Giovanni Guidetti got a red card arguing
this against Japan in the fifth set on week one
of the women's game. But we're seeing this as
an issue in almost every match that we're watching.
Do you understand this rule? Isn't it very subjective?
I think they should give up on this before the
EuroLeague starts. It will be chaos. What do
you think? I am 100 % all for this rule. It has
gotten so sloppy in terms of what you can do
with the ball, how you can change the direction.
For me, it's taking away the need of a good set,
a good hittable ball. I'm a huge fan of the rule.
I understand where the confusion comes in, but
it will get better. The refs will get more consistent.
Everybody will understand. what the rules are.
Essentially, it's about how long the ball is
in your hand and if you're changing the direction
of the ball while it's in your hand. Those are
kind of the two criteria. Now, obviously, there's
a sliding scale on that and some refs are here,
some refs are there. The referees do video replay
of all of their calls and their matches before
they come into tournaments. Like, they will get
the calls dialed in eventually. There's a little
growing pain, but this happens in almost all
sports and I think it's for the better of the
game. I mean, I agree with what you're saying.
I also agree with this listener's question. It
is chaotic currently. The refs are on different
pages. Yes, it is subjective, which makes it
tricky. You can tell that the refs, you know,
are not all on the same page, which is where
a lot of the frustration comes from the athletes,
the coaches, and even as viewers. Like, why are
we stopping play? I think that this needs to
be implemented because like offenses have gotten
so, so fast to counteract the huge blocks, the
really improved defenses. that hitters have gotten
so sloppy because in order to catch up with the
sets and the inconsistency that comes with lightning
speed offenses, this rule is going to make either
setters much more consistent or we're going to
see offenses start to slow down a little bit
more. I think both are going to happen because
to get incredibly consistent, you need to slow
things down a little bit. I think it will make
the game more beautiful, for lack of a better
word. I just think, yeah, there are growing pains
while we figure it out. Question four. Do you
think Jamie Morrison would have been a good option
as a coach over Eric Sullivan? He's exposed to
international volleyball and he's worked with
Karch before. I think his stint as the head coach
of the Dutch national team did not go well. Now,
again, he's young. He's learned. It's really
hard to know which coaches will connect with
which athletes. The one thing I will say is.
I think having that international experience
and understanding how that works, having been
a head coach before, I think all of that experience
matters. Well, let's not forget, Eric Sullivan
has international experience too. He's been an
assistant on the men's team for a long time.
So it's not like he's new to international volleyball.
He's new to women's international volleyball.
And he's new to a head coaching role. I think
there is a huge, huge difference between being
a head coach and an assistant coach. And the
fact that he has never been a head coach even
in college, I think that's very obvious. Do I
think Jamie Morrison would be doing a better
job? I don't know. I know when he was coaching
internationally, it did not go well. And he was
a scout. for Karch, at least at the beginning.
I don't know how he elevated within the coaching
ranks with USA. I think his understanding of
the international stats game and what to look
for, I think that could be an asset. It's not
fair to say he would be better or not, but I
do think international experience on the women's
side and having been a head coach, I mean, probably
should be a prerequisite for being a head coach
of a national team. Having been a head coach
somewhere. Yeah. Okay, question five. What is
your opinion on Champlin's gameplay? What makes
him effective despite his height? So I watched
a lot of US men's this week. And here are the
things that I noticed from him. The first thing
is when he attacks, his shoulders are facing
in the same place on every swing. That allows
him to be a little more deceptive. He's got a
really good... thumb down so he can pull that
in the angle if he sees the block because his
vision is good his shoulders are kind of in that
five six seam he can wait and snap it down the
line he's very smart but he works away from the
ball to put himself in the same position and
look the same all the time which is incredibly
important for a smaller hitter. So offensively,
that was the biggest thing I noticed. In general,
he's a very technical player. His block with
his left hand on the outside is good. He goes
over first and then waits to see and pushes it.
He just technically sound in all facets of the
game. And then I really like his decision making.
But from an attacking standpoint, I think that's
the difference for him. All right, question six.
For the men and women's game, why are right sides
so important to winning games? Well, you're an
oppo. You start with this one. Oh my gosh. Yes,
I was an opposite. So am I the right person to
answer this? Maybe I'm biased. I mean, I think
this is a good question. I think the answer that
pops to mind for me is the opposite sole focus
is point scoring. We make fun of opposites for
like not playing defense, having the easiest
job out there. But when you have an outside,
for example, they need to really dial in their
passing. Most of the serve receive balls run
through the outside hitters. And if they're not
executing, nobody's hitting. Okay, so they have
like a lot of responsibilities aside from just
point scoring. As an opposite, you can literally
just dial in. I need to score points offensively.
I need to block some balls and serve some aces.
That is it. They are so important because they
are the outlet for those points. And most of
the out of system balls or garbage balls or panic
balls or whatever run through them. And it does
take a very specific skill set to be able to
score when everybody knows you're getting the
ball. To be able to score when... Your teammates
are just panicking in and out of system ball
and throwing it up there. Not a lot of people
are comfortable or confident kind of taking those
swings and being terminal on them. They also
are usually a bigger presence. So they shut down
the other team's outside hitters. They are helping
block the middle. They're helping block the,
you know, back row balls, particularly the pipe,
obviously. And they have the green light to just
go for it on serve. Can you tell that I played
the position? I'm just like doing a serious cell
job here. Everything that you said is accurate.
The one thing I will say is you don't need a
great opposite if you have a left side who can
do those things. Positions are relevant. That's
what Adam's saying. Well, no, you need a player
who can do the things that you've talked about.
Historically, they have been opposites. But we
are starting to see that change a little bit.
Antropova moving to the left. Markova. Markova.
You have some left sides who are stepping into
that role. Now, like you said, it's more challenging.
We saw Antropova struggle a little bit having
to get her approach out when she's passing. But
if you can, you need a point scorer who can score
both in and out of system and be a threat from
the service line. And we have said. We've said
it more about the women's game than the men's
because the transition is much more drastic that
we're seeing. Athletes like Antropova and Markova
will revolutionize the game. 100%. If the game
heads this direction and there are more players
that are able to play left side like they are
capable of, the women's game is going to completely
change. I agree with your answer, but I think
you're starting to see it maybe not be quite
as position specific. So you're not as important
as you thought you were. Okay, question seven.
Am I crazy to think that Sullivan should start
adding Kari Knotts to the VNL roster? I know
she's young, but that's how Vargas, Igonu, and
the other greats started. Obviously, she's on
their radar, but it would be nice to see how
she performs internationally. I am a proponent
of send her to be on the bench. Gain that experience.
Put her in to serve some balls because we've
talked about how the US women do not serve very
aggressively. That's honestly how I got started
with my senior team. Not that we can compare
the Canadian women's national team early 2000s
to, you know, the US women now. I'm not trying
to make that comparison. But as a 16 year old
kid, I traveled to what was World Grand Prix
at the time. I rode the bench and I got put in
to serve. in certain situations against Russia
against you know Korea against Brazil it was
important for me a to have a different role than
I've I had had in my career up to that point
being not 15 16 and also being in that environment
having to come in execute a skill stay focused
stay dialed in I think it was really important
for my development to be put into that role and
I definitely think that she should travel that's
just me if you had somebody at usa volleyball
who was looking out for the program past 2028
like somebody who could make decisions that person
would be the person to go you're taking this
player make a spot i don't care what else sullivan
needs to win games he needs to get his current
roster going he's not thinking about Anything
else? This is a long -term play for somebody
who you believe will be important. Yeah, but
it's not like he's emptying the bench anyway.
You know what? He should, but he won't because
there's too many Texas athletes that need to
be brought along. We can't help ourselves. Okay,
question eight. They just announced the week
two roster for the American women. No Cara Bajma
slash Alec. I don't understand. Last season.
She reported to the Turkish league five weeks
late and she had the most block, the outside
hitter with the most blocks at the end of the
season. How can they ignore her and keep certain
athletes on the roster? The only change we've
seen from the Americans in week two is their
middles and they've added a third setter in Jordan
Poulter. That is literally the only change they've
made. What do you think their reasoning is or
their logic? I'm beginning to suspect that this
is what the staff believes is going to be the
final roster. Because they need to start gelling.
They need to start winning. I think I was expecting
to see a few other faces in week two. And the
fact that we're not makes me believe that this,
outside of one or two players, is going to be
it. I think you're going to see Franklin. Come
at some point? I don't know. I think maybe I
might have heard whispers that she's injured.
I don't know. But I did hear Elena Scott is injured.
You know, outside of those injured players, you
know, again, you're looking at Plummer's injured.
If Franklin is injured, you know, those are potentially
two left sides. I think they're dialing in on
who they think they're going to want come. Peak
competition time. So I'm not expecting to see
many changes from here on out unless injured
players get healthy. Question nine. What happens
if the host nation places last after the preliminary
phase? So we did do some research into this question.
And it turns out if you host the final eight.
Even if you finish 18th in the preliminary round,
you cannot be relegated. Now, that is not specifically
stated in the rules. So what I read was the teams
that make the final eight finish one to eight
in the tournament, regardless of what the record
is. So China, no matter where they finish, cannot
finish. worse than eighth and the relegation
is not based off anything other than those tournament
results like it has nothing to do with your overall
ranking or record it's where you finish china
as far as i could tell cannot and will not be
relegated so it'll be if they were to finish
last the 17th place team would end up how do
you feel about that i'm honestly okay with it
if you're gonna put the money in to host and
you're gonna show up and you want to build your
program I believe everybody has the same opportunity
to host these events. And if China is going to
put the money in and they're building their men's
program. Now, I don't think they're going to
finish last. They already beat one team. So they're
ahead of. I mean, there's still a lot of games
to be played. There are. But regardless, I'm
OK with it. This is one of the avenues to build
a team and a program. We know they're putting
money in. They're competitive. So just to play.
Like I my initial instinct was to answer the
way you did, too. But you just think it's okay
for teams to buy their way into, you know, when
you put it that way, I don't love it as much,
but you need teams to host and you need money
to come in. And, you know, we had a question
about teams being in Africa. This isn't a way
for them to do that. If they're serious with
it, like China is putting a serious amount of
money in to host a pool play to post a final.
They've brought a coach in their men's team is
getting better. Like by all accounts. They are
working on building a legitimate team. And if
this helps and it furthers the game, it's hard
to argue with it from a practical standpoint.
Okay, last question. This one's right in Adam's
wheelhouse. How does coaching women versus men
at the highest level differ slash are similar?
Karch was all about culture and community with
the women, whereas with the men, it seems he
lets them have more fire and personality. Obviously,
both have to have the skill set to compete at
the highest level. What skill sets, mindsets,
and physical abilities matter most when coaching
women versus men? I just sprung this one on him.
He had no idea it was coming. Okay, so I'm going
to go to culture first. And I think Karch's culture
is probably the same for the men and women in
terms of his expectation around practice habits.
around excellence about expectations about how
you conduct yourself i'm not sure the difference
in demeanor between the men and the women would
be his doing i think that might just be personality
that would be my first but i think that you can
still have a focus on culture and community while
allowing people to be fiery i totally agree with
that so i don't think they're mutually exclusive
i agree so i mean i'm assuming this person is
talking about like destiny hooker and logan tom
being excluded that that would be my instinct
and you know that could have been coach related
they could have looked at okay taking those two
individuals like generally speaking yeah what
is the difference between coaching men and women
from a training standpoint you have more ability
to influence the game in terms of your systematic
play on the women's side because you don't have
quite so many athletes who can go off and just
become unstoppable. Now, we are starting to see
more of that on the women's side. So having your
systems dialed in, knowing what adjustments to
make, and your team all being on the same page
in terms of how you're going to operate and defend
different situations would be the first one that
comes to mind. The second one, these are huge
generalizations. Like a lot of times when you
get to the highest levels, athletes are athletes
and it doesn't really matter. But in general,
how feedback is taken is different between men
and women. And not to say one is right or one
is wrong, but you have to know your athletes
and how they receive feedback. And whether that
feedback is going to help them or hurt them or
put them in the tank. In my experience, you have
to know your athlete on the women's side a little
bit more in terms of how they respond to feedback.
And most of the time, men receive feedback in
a very similar manner. That has been my experience.
Would you agree with that? I would say, yeah,
I agree with that because, and again, this is
a huge generalization, but women's tendencies
is to feel, always think that they're not good
enough. And men... tend to always think they're
better than they are. And again, huge generalization,
but I think because women tend to think they're
worse than they are or to hear the negative in
feedback more than the positive, it does need
to be reworked a little bit. I think for men,
you can be much more honest because, not honest,
but like a little less filtered or guarded in
how you deliver information because a man's default
typically is to have to be like brought back
down to earth in my experience I think that's
totally fair but anything in terms of culture
preparation all of that kind of stuff I think
is the same across genders at least I've seen
very similar things like Bernardo coaching a
women's club team and coaching the men's national
team like his approach is generally the same
in how he does that so I don't think those things
change between genders But I think a man coaching
a women versus a man coaching men, there is inherent
differences. Like a man can go be rowy with men.
But if he attempted that with women, that would
kind of be crossing a line and inappropriate.
So there's definite just, yeah, things like that
I think need to be considered. True. As always,
we love your questions. Keep them coming. As
V &L unfolds, it's been really interesting to
read comments and get the questions and stuff.
We had a ton of comments on the YouTube channel
this week and I laughed out loud with a lot of
them. So keep those coming. I'm reading them
and loving them and responding as soon as I can
find them. So thank you to everybody who took
the time to write in. It's greatly appreciated
and enjoyed. All right, so looking forward, obviously,
we have VNL coming up this week on the women's
side. A couple of matches of note here. We have
Thursday at 4 a .m. Eastern, Czech versus USA.
Czech was outstanding in the first week of VNL,
so that will be a very interesting match. Saturday
at 9 a .m. Eastern, China versus Brazil. We'll
see. I'm curious to see which squad China has
here this week. They were very young last week
and inexperienced, so we'll see. And Sunday at
8 a .m. Eastern, Japan versus Italy. And again,
curious to see which Italy team is there. And
that game is always good between those two countries.
It's a rough week for North American viewers.
We got Ankara, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Hence the super early morning wake -ups. So not
the best week if you are hoping to watch live
as a North American, but if you're in Asia and
Europe, you're living your best life. So lots
of replays going to be watched in this household.
That concludes this week's episode of Volley
Talk. There's always something shaking in the
volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed this
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