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. Week two of Women's VNL has wrapped up.

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I will say that I experienced some surprises.

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There was a lot of back and forth, teams winning,

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upsets that I was a little bit shocked about,

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then teams turning around and then losing. Things

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were all over the place this week. We've got

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some things to discuss for sure. We also have

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a really interesting listener suggested segment

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to go over that we're pretty excited about. It

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was quite challenging. As always, so excited

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to talk volleyball with you guys. So let's get

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started. All right, weekly highlights and happenings.

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So continuing the MLV and love signings train,

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I'm not going to go into specifics this week,

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but the trend that we are seeing in MLV is that

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a lot of love bench players are making the shift

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to MLV. Do we know if that's because their contracts

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aren't being renewed or they're choosing to go

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where they think they're going to play? Very

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good question. Because Love has been signing

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a lot of international athletes. Are they signing

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enough to fill four new teams? I'm not sure about

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that, but I bet it's a little bit of A, a little

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bit of B. Makes sense. Because I think there

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were a lot of two -year contracts in Love, which

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obviously two years is up. Yeah, I'm not sure.

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I'd be curious if anyone knows any specifics.

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I wonder what the ratio is between contracts

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renewed, people choosing to leave. It would just

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be a curious. I'm thinking like Love Bench. They're

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probably going to make on the higher end an MLV.

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Probably. So they probably are getting a pay

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increase. Fair. But I don't know. That's what

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we've been seeing. The exception question mark

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to this rule is I have noticed that Dallas is

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taking a lot of current top talent from MLV.

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Kaz Brown signed there. There are several names

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that I was like, oh, they did really well in

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MLV, and they're going to Dallas. So that is

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interesting because we've seen Minnesota gather

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some players that were playing overseas. NorCal

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is gathering, I couldn't tell you, to be honest.

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They posted their first 12, and I'm like, I literally

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don't know any of these people. And then Dallas,

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I feel like, is pulling from within. MLV already,

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Omaha's looking outside. So it's been pretty

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interesting to watch that unfold. On the love

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side, a lot more international athletes have

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signed. Current Czech women's head coach, Giannis

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Athanasopoulos. If I said that right, somebody

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give me a gold star because that name is like

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28 letters long. He is the head coach of Nebraska.

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Interesting. Yes. What happened to Susie? Susie.

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Your question. Just MIA. Maybe her contract was

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up. Oh, fair. So we're seeing a lot more international

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coaches coming to love as well. So that you can

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tell that they're trying to make the push that

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we've been discussing about like having to bring

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more good international talent if they want to

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keep making the push to consider themselves among

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the top leagues. Are they bringing top international

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talent? In my opinion, not yet. But they are

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transitioning and heading that way. You need

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to start somewhere and you need to build positive

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momentum. Like players come and go, oh, it was

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a good experience. Then maybe another player

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comes or somebody from their national team comes.

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So, I mean, it's not going to happen overnight.

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We knew that like the salaries in Turkey and

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Italy and China are still way higher than you

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can get here. But again, it's a start. Definitely.

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So that's that on the American domestic front

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for the week. A couple. happenings in the vnl

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world there were three coaches who were sanctioned

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by the fivb this week the first giovanni guadetti

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for his red card in their match against japan

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he earned that one he earned that one also earned

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a 1500 franc swiss franc fine and i'll tell you

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there's no way that canada's paying that fine

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that's coming out of his pocket If he was a player,

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absolutely not. Volleyball Canada wouldn't pay

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it. I'm wondering if they paid it. I would be

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shocked if they paid it. Volleyball Canada is

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holding on to that money. They need to. That

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they don't have. He got a red card. The Chinese

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men's coach was sanctioned because he used inappropriate

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language during the press conference. He earned

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that one as well. Did you watch it? I didn't,

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but I read about it. Oh, I didn't read about

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that one. And then Zé Roberto, the head coach

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for Brazilian women, had to miss a game. He had

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to sit at least 20 feet away from the court.

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They won't tell us. Oh, I found out. I saw a

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video. I didn't know. What was the wording they

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used? Inappropriate conduct toward a member of

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the global volleyball community. You know the

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Italian, like... Yeah. Basically, F you. He did

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that to Julio Velasco during their Brazil's match

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against Italy in week one. Earned it. Earned

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it. But the thing for me is, like, you're going

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to get fired. I mean, he was probably not happy

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they were losing to their, like, juniors. But

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that's not the time you blow a gasket. I don't

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know the context. I know somebody's probably

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watched that game and knows the context, but

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I saw it and I was like, oh, that's good. Earns

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suspension and fines across the league. Those

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sanctions. I mean, it's kind of what you want.

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You want personality. You want a little juice.

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Do we want that? I don't know. Happens in every

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league. Kara Kurt is out for all of VNL. Injury?

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has pain. I read a Brazilian site, and so going

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off of my Portuguese. Which is very good. Thank

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you. From what I read from this Brazilian site,

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she has pain in her back and legs that will take

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four to six weeks of rest to heal, which takes

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her in between the final of VNL and the European

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Championship time. So she's going to miss all

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of VNL. Makes me think like pinched nerve or

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disc something. Yeah, what if it's like a sciatic

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nerve thing? That's terrible. Not that I've never

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had that before, but like we're on the street.

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Terrible stuff. Hopefully that gets cleared up.

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Or maybe like a disc issue. Could be. Four to

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six weeks. That seems short for a disc. Anyways,

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speculation here. So she's out and Italy announced

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that Antropova will be moving back to the right

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side. She is done on the left. Oh, I assumed

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it was just for this week because they struggled

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a little bit. No, she's done. Interesting. So

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it's like, is it because the girls who have been

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playing right side with Egon Ugon aren't, he

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doesn't consider them good enough to be the backup

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option? Or does he think that in trouble can't

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cut it? It's curious. I didn't think the opposite.

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played particularly well this week. Again, it's

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a small sample size. She's young. I get it. Well,

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there were two different ones that have been

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playing. I know. I didn't love either of their

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games. Well, Italy was very high error this whole

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week. Yeah. And again, you have a whole bunch

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of young players. It's not only one team's fault,

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but you have Aganu and Antropova, and it was

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a big dip after that from both of them. I don't

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know whether Aganu is going to play in week three

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if she's coming back. Or if they want to run

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with Anthropova and they think they're going

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to be able to win without her. It'll be curious

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to see. I'm a little surprised the experiment

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ended so quickly. Me too. I mean, she definitely

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wasn't as comfortable hitting on the left as

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the right, obviously. Yeah. I mean... It just

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seems like not a big enough sample size. Yeah.

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I didn't think she was doing that bad. No. No.

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I didn't either. And I still think the upside

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is really high, but we'll... We'll see. I bet

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you this isn't the end of her on the left. Well,

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because she wasn't, in my mind, given her lack

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of experience on the left wasn't that bad, it

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makes me think that they just feel like they

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need a better option for the right side. I agree.

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Especially because their passing wasn't as on

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point as it usually is. And so you need a terminal

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option that you can just jack the ball to. You're

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weighing future considerations to winning now.

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In that situation. So we'll see. So that. Is

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what was up this week. Couple tidbits. Couple

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news items. So we'll see if anything else comes

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to light. This current week. As we head into

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men's week two. We got a very interesting. Listener

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question. Slash segment request. And so I'll

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just read it. I was wondering about the athletes

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who don't get to participate in VNL because their

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countries don't make the cut. If you were to

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create a dream team comprised of these athletes,

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what would your starting lineup look like? And

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how far do you think they'd make it? This was

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really challenging. Well, half of this assignment

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was very easy. Half of the assignment was very

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hard. Half of the assignment was very easy. Half

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was very hard because. Every player that I was

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thinking of, I'm like, oh, they're not playing

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VNL. I was like, but their country is playing

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VNL. So I couldn't put them on my list. Walk

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through kind of our process. I manually looked

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at all of the Italian teams or any players that

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were not on a VNL team, looked at their bio,

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looked at their history. and then i used a combination

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of manual search and ai to scrub some of the

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other leagues germany turkey china and then poland

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japan brazil and then i kind of looked at some

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of the national team members from some of the

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south american countries argentina puerto rico

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peru just to kind of see mexico if there was

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anybody out there that we were missing and compile

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the list and then from there we picked some players

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now I will say I didn't look heavily at outside

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hitters and opposites because I was 100 certain

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I wasn't going to find anybody as good as the

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ones we picked yeah when we were going like we

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didn't work together on this we kind of like

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brainstormed some potential athletes that could

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be in the pool but as we were going through this

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I mean I think it's obvious to everybody who

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our pick for opposite was. Yes. Isabel Hawk.

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Correct. Sweden. Okay, so obviously she's our

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opposite. Now, Tolok is also out there. No, Hawk's

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better. I understand that, but I'm just saying

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that was another option. Yeah, Tolok was another

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option for opposite. And then for left sides,

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we landed on the same two immediately in Marina

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Markova and Irina Fedorovskaya, both from Russia.

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Now this would have gotten much more interesting

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if we excluded Russia, assuming given the political

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climate, if they were competing in VNL, because

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they would have been, they're good enough. And

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it might've been easier if we were like, you

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know what? Let's just look at, do a deep dive

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into Russia. Yeah. But we're like, you know what?

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Players we've seen. Let's spread it out a little

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bit. We're not going to just do Russia. But I

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will say on the outside, I probably would have

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picked Melanie Parra for at least one of those

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positions outside from Mexico. She's. She's very

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good. So she was, I'm going to give her a little

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bit of a shout out just cause I've seen her play.

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I like her game and I think she's a good outside.

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Who did you have for your setter? I picked Valentina

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Anderson. Okay. I, she's got a ton of Puerto

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Rico from Puerto Rico. She's got a ton of experience.

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She's 36 years old. She's been playing in the

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U S pro leagues for the last several years, but

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she's played in a bunch of other leagues. I like

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the offense she runs. I like how fiery and competitive

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she is. My only knock on her is that she's short,

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but given what else I was working with, I was

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going to take the experience and the set location

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and the offensive kind of style. Okay, I took

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Karla Atunovic from Croatia. Yeah, fair. She's

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quite young, but she played this past season

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in Chieri. The year before, she was in Severin.

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Germany, I believe. She's an up -and -comer.

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Kyrie is pretty good. Schwerin is always a very

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good German team. So I was like, okay, we can

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work with this. I didn't love the other options

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as much. There was a Greek girl that I was looking

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at, but she actually retired a couple years ago.

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So I was like, I can't pick her. Then we had,

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I looked at like Raquel Lazaro. There was a Cuban

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setter, Austrian, but no. Those were the two

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that I looked at too. I liked Anderson over Atunovic,

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just a little more experienced. Okay, who did

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you pick for middles? I stayed in Europe and

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I picked Bozana Butiga from Croatia. She's 25.

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She played for Canigliano. or I will say she

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trained with Conigliano for a year. She spent

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four years in Italy A1 on a bunch of different

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teams. She's won a bunch of awards on the European

00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:48.899
side. I mean, when you play for Croatia, you're

00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:51.379
not going to be in the top, but she's seen some

00:14:51.379 --> 00:14:54.960
initial recognition. So just being in that environment

00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:58.659
specifically with Conigliano and being able to

00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:01.139
come back then and play in Italy for four years,

00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:05.059
I like my chances with her. I also had her. Who

00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:08.480
was your second? Sasha Planincek from Slovenia.

00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:11.139
I had her as my second on studio. Okay, she played

00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:15.960
for Woods for the last few seasons. She's played

00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:19.320
in China. She's been in Turkey. A lot of experience.

00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:25.340
She's 31. I really liked her career trajectory

00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:28.720
and where she's been. She jumped out at me. Another

00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.679
person I was considering was Bianca Fario from

00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:35.840
Argentina. But I just liked the body of work

00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:39.000
from these other two more. They played for more

00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.700
reputable clubs. Yeah. Okay, we had the same

00:15:42.700 --> 00:15:45.480
ones. And then who did you pick for libero? Shara

00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.600
Venegas from Puerto Rico. I picked the same.

00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:51.240
The libero options were tough because you can't

00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:55.059
see any of them play, really. And I've seen Venegas

00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:58.340
play. Most countries keep their liberos in their

00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:01.259
own leagues, as we've discussed, unless you're

00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:03.950
from the U .S. she's the only one I had seen

00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:07.029
play and none of the resumes were super good

00:16:07.029 --> 00:16:08.649
because they were all kind of local leagues.

00:16:08.769 --> 00:16:11.710
So that's where I landed. I think that's probably

00:16:11.710 --> 00:16:13.909
the one where somebody could throw out a bunch

00:16:13.909 --> 00:16:15.549
of suggestions and be like, well, you've missed

00:16:15.549 --> 00:16:17.590
this player or this person. I'm sure people are

00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:19.710
going to throw out a bunch of everything and

00:16:19.710 --> 00:16:22.049
be like, you did this completely wrong. Well,

00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:23.909
so I would be, I would be curious because it

00:16:23.909 --> 00:16:26.710
does take, it took a lot of time to look for

00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:31.360
players and to kind of figure it out. Yeah. It's

00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.200
hard. When you eliminate the countries that are

00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.820
playing VNL, there are not a ton of options left.

00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.600
It was an interesting assignment. And then on

00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:41.179
top of that, when you take out Hawk and the two

00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:45.340
Russians, you're left trying to find middles,

00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:49.899
liberos, and a setter. Like, that is hard. Yes.

00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.600
Yeah. So I challenge you guys to try to top our

00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:57.700
roster. Please post them if you do. But how do

00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.820
we think this team would do in VNL? I'm going

00:17:00.820 --> 00:17:03.460
to say not good. If they can get the ball in

00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:06.500
the air to set super high balls to the Russians

00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:08.579
and just like put a ball in a hittable spot for

00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:11.599
Hawk, then yes. So, you know what? Maybe they'd

00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:14.779
do okay. I mean, you have enormous firepower

00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:18.160
on both the left side and the right side. You

00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:20.660
just, you can be out of the system the whole

00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:22.460
time. Are you going to block anybody? Yeah, but

00:17:22.460 --> 00:17:25.140
like your block defense. Like, are you going

00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:28.720
to do anything? You're doing solo blocks with

00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:32.019
the outsides. You're just making big moves. Markova,

00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:33.980
you're going one -on -one middles. We're just

00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:36.880
focusing on the middle left side, okay? You're

00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.980
leaving Markova by herself. Yeah, Hawk's not

00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:42.980
outstanding defensively. Markova's not wonderful.

00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:47.279
We've got to be a high -efficiency out -of -system

00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.200
team. So, Fedorov, save up. Bomb your serve.

00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:55.740
Hawk, you as well. Markova. So, you know what?

00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:59.299
Maybe they wouldn't do 2 -2 bad. I think they

00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:02.359
would finish above Thailand. Yeah, eventually

00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:04.500
they'd finish like 14th. So Thailand's currently

00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:06.779
14th. I think they would finish above that group.

00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:09.359
You know what? They could push those mid -range

00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.480
teams. It all depends on how their ball control

00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.680
is. How many aces do we give up? How many aces

00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.900
do you give up? How out of system are we setting

00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:22.380
these hitters? Okay. That's the question. We're

00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:24.819
shooting to pass around the four or five meter

00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:28.460
mark. And can these setters set out of system?

00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:30.900
Can my setter set out of system is a question.

00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:34.660
So I'm going to say like they're not making the

00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:38.000
final eight. No. But I think they would do like.

00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.460
They wouldn't get relegated. No, absolutely not.

00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:42.900
They would not get relegated. This is a really

00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:44.839
interesting question. It was very difficult.

00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:47.559
It was a lot of fun. All right, let's dive into

00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:52.000
week two VNL. Just to start, I want to go over

00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.000
a couple of the roster changes from this year.

00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:59.880
Notably, Dominican brought a new opposite, Gonzalez.

00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:02.799
So she was probably one of their better players.

00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:05.700
Wasn't there week one, was here week two. So

00:19:05.700 --> 00:19:08.960
that was a good addition. Germany added four

00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:12.200
new players to their roster, including Kinderman,

00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:14.900
who's an opposite, and Timmer, who's an outside.

00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.079
So we saw them bring a few new players. Italy

00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.799
added Farr. So she was here week two. Poland

00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:27.279
added Stisiak. Turkey said the rest week is over

00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:29.859
and revamped their roster. So they were looking.

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.119
Well, they were playing at home. Yeah. So they

00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:35.420
were looking pretty stacked. Karakurt wasn't

00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:37.240
on there, but obviously you said she was injured.

00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:39.779
So I think they were pretty much back to full

00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:44.200
strength. USA added Poulter, Rettke, and Obagu.

00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:50.950
to their roster. So lots of similar rosters with

00:19:50.950 --> 00:19:54.230
a couple additions of players who had, you know,

00:19:54.230 --> 00:19:56.289
maybe had a longer international season and came

00:19:56.289 --> 00:19:58.809
up other than Turquoise who kind of went crazy.

00:19:58.849 --> 00:20:02.769
I mean, playing at home makes sense, but those

00:20:02.769 --> 00:20:05.710
were the major additions. Now, if we look at

00:20:05.710 --> 00:20:13.349
how week two went, Turquoise Forno, USA Forno,

00:20:13.849 --> 00:20:19.869
France 0 -4 and Japan 2 -2. So we no longer have

00:20:19.869 --> 00:20:24.470
any unbeaten teams left in VNL. Brazil almost

00:20:24.470 --> 00:20:27.710
got blanked 3 -0 against Germany, but then pushed

00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:31.630
it to almost achieve a reverse sweep. Not the

00:20:31.630 --> 00:20:34.430
team I thought they would lose to. No, me either.

00:20:34.789 --> 00:20:38.019
So they lost that match. But before we go into

00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:41.740
a couple of the notable matches, let's look at

00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:45.240
the standings as we currently sit. So USA and

00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:49.079
Brazil are at the top, 7 -1. Did we ever think

00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:53.200
we would say USA is currently number one? Italy,

00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:57.799
Poland, Japan, Turkey, all tied at 6 -2. And

00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:00.039
rounding out the current top eight is Canada

00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:04.700
and China at 5 -3. Now, at the bottom, battling

00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:08.150
for relegation, Dominican and France both only

00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:12.670
have one win. So we will see what happens with

00:21:12.670 --> 00:21:14.849
that. I think the standings will be very different

00:21:14.849 --> 00:21:17.329
at the end of week three, but this is where we

00:21:17.329 --> 00:21:20.710
stand currently. Particularly, well, everywhere.

00:21:20.869 --> 00:21:22.509
I was going to say particularly at the bottom,

00:21:22.569 --> 00:21:25.150
but like a lot of teams up at the top haven't

00:21:25.150 --> 00:21:29.130
played each other. So for example, in one pool

00:21:29.130 --> 00:21:32.049
next week, and this is just USA schedule. USA

00:21:32.049 --> 00:21:36.029
plays Poland, Turkey, and Brazil. And Japan is

00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:38.009
also in that pool. But they're not playing Japan.

00:21:38.009 --> 00:21:39.349
They're not playing Japan. But I'm just saying

00:21:39.349 --> 00:21:42.930
like that pool is stacked. So you're going to

00:21:42.930 --> 00:21:45.630
see some losses there. Clearly one of the USA

00:21:45.630 --> 00:21:47.789
or Brazil is going to end up taking the top.

00:21:47.950 --> 00:21:51.109
And we'll see who Italy ends up bringing. So

00:21:51.109 --> 00:21:53.089
there's going to be lots of movement. But for

00:21:53.089 --> 00:21:55.950
now, it's an interesting leaderboard. But even

00:21:55.950 --> 00:21:58.900
at the bottom. Bulgaria, Ukraine are kind of

00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:01.420
hanging out down there too. And there's a pool

00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:03.359
with all of those teams in it next week. Isn't

00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:06.740
that so crazy? It's wild. Well, I think a lot

00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:09.579
of it is somewhat mathematical in how they pick

00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:11.880
the pools. I mean, this is entertainment, right?

00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:13.920
You have a lot of the top teams playing for the

00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.680
top spots, and then you have a lot of matches

00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.779
with relegation potential also in week three.

00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:23.900
It'll be really interesting watching. There'll

00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:25.980
be pucker matches, so it'll be a lot of fun.

00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:28.920
What's your favorite term? Dominican had a shot

00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:33.880
to beat Czech Republic. They did. They were reverse

00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.200
swept. But they did beat Japan. No, but that's

00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:39.859
huge. You're telling me you're going to beat

00:22:39.859 --> 00:22:41.380
Japan and then you're going to get reverse swept

00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:43.960
by the Czech Republic when you are like at the

00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:46.880
bottom? I mean, that loss could come back to

00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:49.000
haunt them. Can you imagine if they get relegated

00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:50.900
and they have to think about that? Yeah, not

00:22:50.900 --> 00:22:54.480
great. Not great. A couple matches. I want to

00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:57.400
just kind of get your thoughts on. Four matches

00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:01.059
kind of caught my attention. USA beat Italy 3

00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:06.059
-0. Give me your thoughts about that, about that

00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:10.200
match. What does it mean? If anything, were you

00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:13.279
surprised? Okay, so I heard the result before

00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:16.880
I watched it. Like, I didn't watch it live. I

00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:20.859
had an idea in my head of who the USA, of who

00:23:20.859 --> 00:23:23.539
the US played started. I could not have been

00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:26.859
more wrong. The U .S. lineup was not what I thought

00:23:26.859 --> 00:23:29.359
it would be when I heard they won 3 -0. To be

00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:32.740
fair, U .S. looked much better this week. I need

00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:37.880
to, you know, give props when they're due. And

00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:40.599
they looked much better this week. Eric Sullivan

00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.339
talked in timeouts. That's point number one.

00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:47.640
But they definitely looked smoother. Running

00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:51.039
the pipe a little bit more. Was it up to what

00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:55.579
I... thought it was last year no but they were

00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:58.539
running it a bit more the middles were doing

00:23:58.539 --> 00:24:01.799
really well and you know my the biggest surprise

00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:05.059
for me on team usa do you know who it is i think

00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:08.420
we probably the same i'm a cubic banks well i

00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:09.920
thought we were going to say it at the same time

00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:13.920
but he got too excited yes biggest surprise for

00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:18.960
me is maddie banks she has put herself in the

00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:22.119
running now i'm eggleston is just like Gone.

00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:24.440
She's been voted off. She played against the

00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:27.480
Dominican Republic and Serbia. They split some

00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:29.559
time with the left sides, and we'll go over their

00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:32.880
full usage after we talk about these couple matches,

00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:36.220
but there's a log jam there of athletes now.

00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:39.059
People I didn't think would really be in consideration

00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:40.660
have stepped up and played well. I was showing

00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:43.099
that Maddie Banks was on the roster and seeing

00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:46.079
her play. I'm like, she is doing a good job.

00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:50.269
I agree. Not to mention, this is an aside. She

00:24:50.269 --> 00:24:52.730
just seems like such a great teammate that like

00:24:52.730 --> 00:24:56.089
not related to her play at all, but just, you

00:24:56.089 --> 00:24:58.289
know what I mean? Yep. She's a, she's a glue

00:24:58.289 --> 00:25:01.049
player. She seems to bring everybody together.

00:25:01.390 --> 00:25:03.990
There's a good positive demeanor there when there's

00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:07.410
a bit of a flat line, I think on that team, I

00:25:07.410 --> 00:25:09.589
think she brings some intangibles and I thought

00:25:09.589 --> 00:25:12.990
her game honestly for two weeks has been very

00:25:12.990 --> 00:25:16.329
good. Yeah. So I needed to say that. I know I've

00:25:16.329 --> 00:25:19.740
been critical of the U S. But much improved.

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.880
Going back to your question about Italy, Italy

00:25:21.880 --> 00:25:25.839
obviously playing their B team. And not the Ross,

00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:29.940
like no Retke, no Agbagu, no Poulter or Hancock.

00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:34.779
Running a two libero system. It was not, no Jordan

00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:37.720
Thompson. Yes. Like literally all the players

00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:39.140
that I thought would have been on the court were

00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:42.299
not. So I was, it was weird. It seemed like it

00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:46.140
was a. rest match for the starters. So that was

00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:48.480
the third match that they played. The starting

00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:50.460
lineup for the first two matches they played

00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:52.859
were, I think, what you would expect. Against

00:25:52.859 --> 00:25:55.779
Dominican was Jordan Thompson. It was Kubik,

00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:58.480
Eggleston, Retke, Obagu, and Poulter. So they

00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:01.420
started the first game. In the second game against

00:26:01.420 --> 00:26:04.759
Czech, it was pretty much the same roster, except

00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:08.200
Skinner played for Kubik. Then you had a bit

00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:10.920
of a wild roster against Italy. So you had Kubik,

00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:15.480
Samity. Wank, Skinner, O 'Neal, McCage, and Kahana

00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:17.920
Torres set. And then for the last match against

00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.440
Serbia, it went back. It was Skinner, Eggleston,

00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:24.319
Thompson, O 'Neal, Holter with Retke and Obagu

00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:26.960
splitting time. So it was kind of like you had

00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:30.839
a staple and then that Italy game was, I almost

00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:33.920
wonder if he saw that as a throwaway game or

00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:36.920
if players needed rest. Those were the roster

00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:41.269
decisions for week two. He had that error, in

00:26:41.269 --> 00:26:45.170
my opinion, last year against China, where beating

00:26:45.170 --> 00:26:48.089
China would have pushed them out of competing

00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:53.970
against Italy. And he threw that game away. So

00:26:53.970 --> 00:26:56.049
I would like to think that they learned from

00:26:56.049 --> 00:27:00.690
that and realized this is a team that if we beat

00:27:00.690 --> 00:27:03.329
them, it will really impact things later. So

00:27:03.329 --> 00:27:06.180
I would say it was not a throwaway game. So then

00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:08.599
you're assuming that he was resting players that

00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:12.579
needed to be rested. Yeah. Okay. That's my guess.

00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:15.000
But what do I know? I mean, I thought O 'Neal

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.140
blocked well in that match. To me, the narrative

00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:21.819
of the USA -Italy match was Italy's errors. They

00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:25.539
made so many hitting errors. And then when they

00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:27.380
were out of system, to the US's credit, they

00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:29.640
blocked really well. O 'Neal blocked well. I

00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.559
thought Samity attacked well. Kubik attacked

00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:36.059
well. Gahanatoris. set good balls i still don't

00:27:36.059 --> 00:27:39.039
love her offense i don't love the way she runs

00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:42.660
the middle pipe combo but her hitters were in

00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:44.819
rhythm and gelling so she managed to do that

00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:48.000
really well they were solid i mean you can't

00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:50.539
control if another team makes errors totally

00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:54.119
you just need to not make them yourself which

00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:57.200
they did and the u .s kind of across the board

00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:59.640
stat wise was good they used the double a barrel

00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:02.220
system which i think is a step in the right direction

00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:04.200
for them because I don't think hence is going

00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:06.980
to be able to pass. And I think that her, I'm

00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:09.720
sorry, her out of system setting is not it. I

00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:12.799
know. And I know there's probably people like

00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:17.000
up in arms. Cause I have a list of points at

00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.960
different times and matches where she blew sets.

00:28:19.319 --> 00:28:21.420
Cause I know people always talk about it, but

00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:23.619
it was like five feet past the ref stand at one

00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:25.039
point. Like, are you kidding me? Or over the

00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:27.839
net or what? Even, even with her hands. You guys,

00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:30.180
that is unacceptable. I don't care what your

00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:33.160
feeling is about how good she is. She's not a

00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:36.619
good setter, period. They had a good week. They

00:28:36.619 --> 00:28:39.579
didn't have the stiffest competition, but they

00:28:39.579 --> 00:28:41.420
came out and they took care of business and they

00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:43.500
found, I think most importantly for me, they

00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:46.480
found some rhythm it looked like in terms of

00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:48.859
playing together, in terms of how they were blocking

00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:53.319
and defending. We'll see if that translates next

00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:56.589
week against those top teams. But I'm expecting

00:28:56.589 --> 00:29:00.710
to see Jordan Thompson, Red Key, Obagu, Poulter.

00:29:00.910 --> 00:29:03.250
Well, I kind of heard that they weren't going

00:29:03.250 --> 00:29:06.529
home. That's what I heard. Oh, okay. Because

00:29:06.529 --> 00:29:10.269
they're, I want to say, in Japan next week. So

00:29:10.269 --> 00:29:12.029
they were in Philippines and then they're in

00:29:12.029 --> 00:29:14.369
Japan. So I heard that they're just staying.

00:29:14.750 --> 00:29:18.329
So if they're staying, which of the outsides

00:29:18.329 --> 00:29:20.589
would you start in a must -win match? So you've

00:29:20.589 --> 00:29:23.630
got Kubik, you've got Eggleston, you've got Skinner,

00:29:23.730 --> 00:29:27.339
and you've got Wank. vonk if we're looking for

00:29:27.339 --> 00:29:32.940
the german german pronunciation that stuff that's

00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:35.759
the thing is because like vonk can be really

00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:40.819
good or just like really bad i feel like there's

00:29:40.819 --> 00:29:43.079
not really an in -between which is terrifying

00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:45.680
to not know what you're gonna get i'm gonna say

00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:49.019
avery skinner and i'm gonna say maddie kewik

00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:52.539
that was my instinct with with the other two

00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:55.490
coming off the bench Good for the U .S. for taking

00:29:55.490 --> 00:29:57.670
care of the opponents that were in front of them.

00:29:57.950 --> 00:30:00.910
The show starts next week. I'm honestly shocked

00:30:00.910 --> 00:30:02.829
that they're in first place, but good for them.

00:30:02.930 --> 00:30:05.329
They figured it out. They could go one and three

00:30:05.329 --> 00:30:07.670
quite easily next. I mean, anybody in that pool

00:30:07.670 --> 00:30:11.490
could. Yeah. Thailand beats Canada 3 -1. You

00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:13.990
guys, what are you doing? And they played all

00:30:13.990 --> 00:30:15.670
their starters. And then you're going to turn

00:30:15.670 --> 00:30:17.569
around and beat Poland? Like, what are you doing?

00:30:17.849 --> 00:30:19.710
Take care of the matches you need to take care

00:30:19.710 --> 00:30:23.000
of, okay? But I think this is the case. We didn't

00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:26.839
watch that one. But looking at who played, they're

00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:31.079
rotating left sides in and out. So my guess would

00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:34.559
be that the left side struggled. It's another

00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:36.660
issue to the U .S. Who's going to play? And that

00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:38.519
could have been passing. It could have been attacking.

00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:41.200
It could have been defensive. There are holes

00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:44.339
pop up in different places with that left side

00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:46.480
core. I did have somebody message me and be like,

00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:49.099
they're not doing the double sub. Kieran Van

00:30:49.099 --> 00:30:52.089
Rijk is playing back row. You guys, she single

00:30:52.089 --> 00:30:54.829
-handedly can turn around games just with her

00:30:54.829 --> 00:30:56.710
serve. And I understand even when they do the

00:30:56.710 --> 00:31:00.329
double sub, she serves. She should always serve.

00:31:00.529 --> 00:31:03.190
She, I want to say in week two, she was top attacker,

00:31:03.309 --> 00:31:07.349
top scorer, top server. Keep her in the back

00:31:07.349 --> 00:31:10.730
row. She can clearly score. Wherever she is.

00:31:10.890 --> 00:31:13.450
So I was happy when that person messaged me and

00:31:13.450 --> 00:31:16.150
was like, no double sub. Maybe we daddy listened

00:31:16.150 --> 00:31:18.789
to our podcast on the way to the bank to get

00:31:18.789 --> 00:31:22.170
his fine payment. He's like, oh man, 1500 Swiss

00:31:22.170 --> 00:31:24.369
francs. That's like a million Canadian dollars.

00:31:24.950 --> 00:31:27.730
So Canada drops that, but they're still in the

00:31:27.730 --> 00:31:31.569
running for the top eight and their pool is not

00:31:31.569 --> 00:31:34.410
the death pool next week. So I'm expecting them

00:31:34.410 --> 00:31:37.440
to pull off and be. Top eight in the playoffs.

00:31:37.779 --> 00:31:41.200
Have they ever made the final eight? I don't

00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:45.680
know. Somebody tell me. I think they missed last

00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:48.619
year. No, they definitely missed last year. Because

00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:52.900
remember, Bree, Kira, and Alexa were not playing.

00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:55.339
I bet you they made at least one under Shannon

00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:57.759
in the run of the other Olympics. Somebody tell

00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:00.200
us. So they'll be in, which is good for them.

00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:03.420
And then the last two things I wanted to cover

00:32:03.420 --> 00:32:05.740
in the VNL segment, we had lots of listeners

00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:08.299
asking for our opinions on Brazil and Japan.

00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:12.039
So we watched a few of their games. I did not

00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:13.500
watch Japan this week. I'm not going to lie to

00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:16.140
you. I did see Brazil, though. Okay, I watched

00:32:16.140 --> 00:32:19.500
a few Japan matches. We'll give the Brazil -Japan

00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:22.700
kind of overview, our thoughts on them. So far,

00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:28.319
Japan dropping two matches this week. Not great.

00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:31.640
Not the best. Especially losing one to Dominican

00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:36.119
guys. Yeah. But give me your thoughts on Brazil.

00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:42.160
Their middles are outstanding. Yes. Wow. Julia

00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:46.980
Kudais is automatic. I was saying offensively.

00:32:46.980 --> 00:32:52.160
Okay. On that slide, unstoppable. Okay. Her arm

00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:56.279
is so fast when she runs that slide. Feed her

00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:58.849
the ball. Every opportunity you get, give her

00:32:58.849 --> 00:33:04.789
the ball. And blocking, she is rushing it. And

00:33:04.789 --> 00:33:08.549
Gianna's no joke either, you guys. She is blocking

00:33:08.549 --> 00:33:13.069
really well. Their middle combo is top -notch.

00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:15.390
They're looking really, really good. The only

00:33:15.390 --> 00:33:17.490
thing I will say is I think they need to score

00:33:17.490 --> 00:33:19.950
or be more of a threat in front of the setter.

00:33:20.109 --> 00:33:22.470
In front of the setter. Okay, that is fair. But

00:33:22.470 --> 00:33:26.160
that's my only little tidbit. And that probably

00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.880
has less to do with them then. I think their

00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:31.740
left sides are looking pretty good. Gabi obviously

00:33:31.740 --> 00:33:36.240
is still not playing. So my big question marks

00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:38.859
with Brazil are, as always, their right side

00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:43.700
and setters. I think that is where you beat them.

00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:47.420
And so when Gabi comes back, I'm assuming Bergman

00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:50.109
is going to move to the right side. But, like,

00:33:50.150 --> 00:33:52.730
is she good enough on the right side to kind

00:33:52.730 --> 00:33:54.750
of make up that deficit that they have there?

00:33:55.509 --> 00:33:59.930
And then I kind of feel like Macris and Roberta

00:33:59.930 --> 00:34:04.529
are still kind of up and down. Like, one of them

00:34:04.529 --> 00:34:07.049
will have a great match, and then one of them

00:34:07.049 --> 00:34:09.849
will struggle, and then the opposite. Like, I

00:34:09.849 --> 00:34:13.130
think the pieces are there. If they can pass,

00:34:13.369 --> 00:34:15.690
which when Gobi comes back to, it should not

00:34:15.690 --> 00:34:19.420
be an issue. Their middles are doing... a great

00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:21.960
job opening things up. But yeah, my question

00:34:21.960 --> 00:34:25.940
is the right side. I agree. I think for me, the

00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:29.099
question is more the setter. Like they have two

00:34:29.099 --> 00:34:30.519
options on the right side, right? You're going

00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:34.360
to have one of Bergman and a Christina playing

00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:36.219
on the, on the right. And then you have Tynara

00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:38.780
coming off the bench. Like you should be able

00:34:38.780 --> 00:34:41.840
to find somebody who's going to be able to be

00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:45.019
serviceable on the right side at any given match.

00:34:45.659 --> 00:34:48.280
Are they going to be top five right sides in

00:34:48.280 --> 00:34:51.320
the world? No, but you should be able to be fine.

00:34:51.659 --> 00:34:55.480
My issue is I don't think McCrease runs a very

00:34:55.480 --> 00:34:58.059
good back row ball. Like her back row sets to

00:34:58.059 --> 00:35:00.500
both the left side and the pipe are behind the

00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:03.840
attack line pretty consistently, which makes

00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:07.960
it hard to score. And I think you need a good

00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:11.380
back row threat. And I don't think she runs a

00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:14.340
good middle in front. So you're missing. that

00:35:14.340 --> 00:35:17.139
good overload to the left side or overload on

00:35:17.139 --> 00:35:20.719
the pipe when she's running an offense. And so

00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:23.360
it becomes, I'm going to give you a hittable

00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:26.320
ball, which she does, but it's hitters versus

00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:29.920
blockers. She's not, I don't see her as giving

00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:32.880
her hitters a good advantage. Like when you watch

00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:36.320
good setters get you a one and a half or a one,

00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:39.420
or I think if they lose, it will be on the setting.

00:35:40.260 --> 00:35:44.000
Good points. I can get behind that. Now, Japan.

00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:48.340
I did watch them in week one. I want to say,

00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:53.639
I think Sato is playing very well. So I'm impressed.

00:35:54.179 --> 00:35:58.920
Japan is standard, right? They're tenacious on

00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:03.179
defense. They cover so well. The way they recycle

00:36:03.179 --> 00:36:06.500
balls and they put their hitters in good positions.

00:36:06.539 --> 00:36:09.619
The speed at which they run. All of that is still

00:36:09.619 --> 00:36:13.289
happening. They need to be able to run the middle.

00:36:13.369 --> 00:36:16.329
We saw that last year, too. And it just hasn't

00:36:16.329 --> 00:36:18.409
changed. I don't care if your middle's good or

00:36:18.409 --> 00:36:21.449
not. Obviously, the Japanese middles are going

00:36:21.449 --> 00:36:24.329
to be undersized against pretty much every country.

00:36:24.530 --> 00:36:27.829
Run them on a 31. Run them on a couple different

00:36:27.829 --> 00:36:31.750
patterns. Take a step and then fade out. Something

00:36:31.750 --> 00:36:34.389
to make the middle blockers on the other team

00:36:34.389 --> 00:36:37.230
at least have to pay attention or run the pipe

00:36:37.230 --> 00:36:40.510
over top really well. Again, I haven't watched

00:36:40.510 --> 00:36:43.030
all their matches, but I'm not seeing an effective

00:36:43.030 --> 00:36:47.110
back row overload from Japan consistently either.

00:36:47.409 --> 00:36:49.730
Well, I mean, I just think also they're kind

00:36:49.730 --> 00:36:51.829
of, and again, this is from week one. I didn't

00:36:51.829 --> 00:36:54.170
watch week two. And they did go 4 -0 week one,

00:36:54.230 --> 00:36:58.730
so I know. But the kind of foundation of what

00:36:58.730 --> 00:37:02.030
they need to do well in order to run the offense

00:37:02.030 --> 00:37:07.150
they want is to serve like crazy. and have really

00:37:07.150 --> 00:37:09.710
good passing and I feel like their serve and

00:37:09.710 --> 00:37:13.409
pass breaks down at like sometimes inopportune

00:37:13.409 --> 00:37:16.369
times like they'll give up some aces or they'll

00:37:16.369 --> 00:37:18.110
the balls will be getting pulled off the net

00:37:18.110 --> 00:37:21.429
or they'll go on some serving error streaks and

00:37:21.429 --> 00:37:24.070
it's just like no those need to be the foundation

00:37:24.070 --> 00:37:28.969
of your team because your block's not huge give

00:37:28.969 --> 00:37:32.010
your floor defense a chance to shine And you

00:37:32.010 --> 00:37:35.130
need to run that fast offense with multiple options

00:37:35.130 --> 00:37:38.329
to create some seams. So like just, I think the

00:37:38.329 --> 00:37:40.849
timing of when the serve and pass breaks down

00:37:40.849 --> 00:37:44.449
is like tough. Japan has very little margin for

00:37:44.449 --> 00:37:47.309
error. Like if two of their outside hitters are

00:37:47.309 --> 00:37:51.610
having not even off nights, but just decent nights,

00:37:51.710 --> 00:37:54.309
they're not going to win. You can have at most

00:37:54.309 --> 00:37:58.360
one player having. decent slash off night otherwise

00:37:58.360 --> 00:38:00.800
it's just too hard for the other hitters to be

00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:03.199
keyed on and and it's too hard like i love their

00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:06.500
hitters i love wada i love ishikawa i love sato

00:38:06.500 --> 00:38:09.619
i i really like them as individual players and

00:38:09.619 --> 00:38:12.440
i think that they can be clutch in key moments

00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:15.480
but i think yeah what you were saying makes sense

00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:19.000
and it's just hard to be that consistent in a

00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:21.500
vnl setting over three weeks all the time so

00:38:21.500 --> 00:38:23.639
they are going to lose some matches where you're

00:38:23.639 --> 00:38:26.949
like probably shouldn't have lost that one So

00:38:26.949 --> 00:38:31.230
that's the wrap -up for week two. We have a whole

00:38:31.230 --> 00:38:33.670
bunch of good matches, relegation, and top teams

00:38:33.670 --> 00:38:35.789
that we'll be looking forward to in week three.

00:38:35.849 --> 00:38:38.690
I'm excited. Yeah, it'll be very good. So keep

00:38:38.690 --> 00:38:40.389
those questions coming. Let us know what you

00:38:40.389 --> 00:38:44.230
thought on the women's side. Okay, it is time

00:38:44.230 --> 00:38:46.570
for listener questions. Let's go. We've got a

00:38:46.570 --> 00:38:50.369
good lineup this week. Question one, is there

00:38:50.369 --> 00:38:53.969
any world where if Justine Wong -Arantes doesn't

00:38:53.969 --> 00:38:57.639
come back? that a Jordan Larson or Kelsey Robinson

00:38:57.639 --> 00:39:01.840
could play as libero for USA and be better than

00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:06.440
Hintz or Rodriguez? 100%. I was going to say

00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:08.940
no. You don't think Jordan would be a better

00:39:08.940 --> 00:39:11.219
libero than those two? Is there a world where

00:39:11.219 --> 00:39:13.880
she comes back? No. Do I think she's going to

00:39:13.880 --> 00:39:16.039
come back? Highly unlikely. I don't think you'll

00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:18.199
find a better out -of -system setter than Jordan

00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:22.579
Larson, personally. Let me clarify. I don't think

00:39:22.579 --> 00:39:25.570
she's coming back to play libero. I don't think

00:39:25.570 --> 00:39:27.590
Kelsey Robinson would come back and play libero

00:39:27.590 --> 00:39:31.329
either. But if Jordan decided she wanted to play

00:39:31.329 --> 00:39:33.550
again, she would be a better libero than those

00:39:33.550 --> 00:39:36.010
two. I don't even think that's close. Her serve

00:39:36.010 --> 00:39:39.230
receive is outstanding. Her out -of -system setting,

00:39:39.429 --> 00:39:42.889
incredible. Her ability to read the game. Court

00:39:42.889 --> 00:39:45.449
presence. Again, I don't think she's not coming

00:39:45.449 --> 00:39:48.010
out of retirement. She's literally played 12

00:39:48.010 --> 00:39:52.289
Olympics. But if she chose to, yes, I think she's

00:39:52.289 --> 00:39:55.289
better than those two. But like part one, is

00:39:55.289 --> 00:39:57.250
there a world where that would happen? No. I

00:39:57.250 --> 00:39:59.230
don't think so. No. I don't think so. But if

00:39:59.230 --> 00:40:04.710
it did happen, would they be better? It's Justine

00:40:04.710 --> 00:40:08.829
Wong -Arantes or bust, I think. I mean, the Libero

00:40:08.829 --> 00:40:12.309
discussion, we get a lot of heat for it because

00:40:12.309 --> 00:40:17.349
people who love Morgan Hens love Morgan Hens.

00:40:17.349 --> 00:40:19.130
Oh, yeah. Totally. People who love Lexi Rodriguez

00:40:19.130 --> 00:40:23.650
love Lexi Rodriguez. And there's no... There's

00:40:23.650 --> 00:40:26.969
no swaying anybody's opinion around it. And I

00:40:26.969 --> 00:40:28.789
don't care. I don't want us. I don't need to

00:40:28.789 --> 00:40:30.909
sway anybody's opinion. I'm just saying like,

00:40:30.909 --> 00:40:33.949
but you can just look at the fact that they're

00:40:33.949 --> 00:40:38.650
playing a split libero this week, which was a

00:40:38.650 --> 00:40:42.329
question before week one. Is there a time? Do

00:40:42.329 --> 00:40:44.730
you think that USA will ever run a two libero

00:40:44.730 --> 00:40:47.829
system? And we were like, yes, they should. But

00:40:47.829 --> 00:40:49.510
the fact that it is really, I mean, they're running

00:40:49.510 --> 00:40:51.889
it. Right. Well, yeah. They are running it, and

00:40:51.889 --> 00:40:54.989
I think it's probably their best option, but

00:40:54.989 --> 00:40:56.630
it just goes to show you that neither of them

00:40:56.630 --> 00:41:00.730
is ready to be on the court full -time. I don't

00:41:00.730 --> 00:41:03.190
know what your take or thoughts on this are,

00:41:03.329 --> 00:41:06.429
but I want one libero on the floor. It adds to

00:41:06.429 --> 00:41:09.469
consistency. It adds to the rhythm of what's

00:41:09.469 --> 00:41:12.409
going on. You have Lexi setting some balls. You

00:41:12.409 --> 00:41:16.409
have Hentz setting some balls. For me, I want

00:41:16.409 --> 00:41:20.000
one libero on the court. Dictating everything.

00:41:20.360 --> 00:41:22.719
I mean, in an ideal world, yes. Right. I would

00:41:22.719 --> 00:41:25.300
prefer one libero to be able to do everything.

00:41:26.119 --> 00:41:28.420
So neither of them are ready. But in the situation

00:41:28.420 --> 00:41:31.179
that they're currently in, I'm not opposed to

00:41:31.179 --> 00:41:33.420
this two libero system. Totally. Okay, question

00:41:33.420 --> 00:41:35.760
two. What are your thoughts on people who dedicate

00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:39.780
a huge chunk of their time each week to a sport

00:41:39.780 --> 00:41:43.219
for decades, but don't make a living from it

00:41:43.219 --> 00:41:47.469
or intend to be a world champion? but they still

00:41:47.469 --> 00:41:50.929
feel like this sport is a way of life for them

00:41:50.929 --> 00:41:54.190
and it's how they express themselves to the world.

00:41:54.389 --> 00:41:57.730
For more context, perhaps people like this didn't

00:41:57.730 --> 00:41:59.570
think there was enough money in that sport for

00:41:59.570 --> 00:42:02.130
them to go pro or they trained just for self

00:42:02.130 --> 00:42:04.349
-improvement and not necessarily to compete.

00:42:04.909 --> 00:42:07.889
I'm interested in hearing your insights from

00:42:07.889 --> 00:42:12.110
a more life purpose perspective than a sports

00:42:12.110 --> 00:42:14.849
psychology perspective. Do you want to go or

00:42:14.849 --> 00:42:16.650
you want me to go? I definitely have thoughts,

00:42:16.710 --> 00:42:18.769
but if you want to start, go for it. I think

00:42:18.769 --> 00:42:21.389
it's great. I think everybody should have goals

00:42:21.389 --> 00:42:23.929
that they are striving towards, whether those

00:42:23.929 --> 00:42:26.429
are professionally, whether those are hobbies,

00:42:26.570 --> 00:42:29.369
whether those are fitness goals. It's no different

00:42:29.369 --> 00:42:32.230
than putting a ton of time into anything, into

00:42:32.230 --> 00:42:35.489
your work, into your family, into being in shape.

00:42:35.769 --> 00:42:39.210
How you choose to spend your time is totally

00:42:39.210 --> 00:42:41.289
up to you. And if you're going to do something,

00:42:41.349 --> 00:42:44.630
why not do it to the fullest and do it? The best

00:42:44.630 --> 00:42:48.250
you can. Yeah, and I mean, I have the same feelings

00:42:48.250 --> 00:42:53.849
as you. Not everybody's goal is to be the best

00:42:53.849 --> 00:42:56.750
in the world at something. It is possible to

00:42:56.750 --> 00:43:01.389
be incredibly passionate about something, to

00:43:01.389 --> 00:43:06.349
have it be a huge part of, I don't want to say

00:43:06.349 --> 00:43:09.550
identity, but maybe a part of your identity.

00:43:09.949 --> 00:43:13.269
Your community. Your community. Your sense of

00:43:13.269 --> 00:43:18.329
purpose, as this person mentioned, without needing

00:43:18.329 --> 00:43:22.230
or wanting it to be your career, your source

00:43:22.230 --> 00:43:25.230
of income, to be the best of the best, whatever.

00:43:25.469 --> 00:43:29.369
And honestly, sometimes that ruins it. Yes, 100%.

00:43:29.369 --> 00:43:32.449
Think of how many times people do something,

00:43:32.550 --> 00:43:34.789
they love it, and then as soon as they start

00:43:34.789 --> 00:43:37.409
making money doing it, it becomes a chore and

00:43:37.409 --> 00:43:41.650
not fun. If your life purpose... is volleyball

00:43:41.650 --> 00:43:44.489
if you have been dedicating hours of your life

00:43:44.489 --> 00:43:48.289
to it every week for decades I applaud you and

00:43:48.289 --> 00:43:52.130
I think volleyball in particular or if it's not

00:43:52.130 --> 00:43:54.909
volleyball if it's anything but volleyball in

00:43:54.909 --> 00:43:58.130
particular like it is a sport that you can play

00:43:58.130 --> 00:44:01.530
your whole life there is a spot for you regardless

00:44:01.530 --> 00:44:06.130
of your level your age that is what I think is

00:44:06.130 --> 00:44:09.139
such a beautiful thing about volleyball Some

00:44:09.139 --> 00:44:14.440
people are passionate about crochet. Yes. I like

00:44:14.440 --> 00:44:16.480
to crochet. So that wasn't throwing shade to

00:44:16.480 --> 00:44:19.760
anybody. FYI. Well, and I've worked with lots

00:44:19.760 --> 00:44:22.739
of people who are not intending to go pro. And

00:44:22.739 --> 00:44:24.420
honestly, they're some of the best people to

00:44:24.420 --> 00:44:26.340
work with because they just, they're coming out.

00:44:26.380 --> 00:44:29.119
They want to get better. They love everything

00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:31.940
about it. The atmosphere is positive. I mean,

00:44:31.960 --> 00:44:34.360
I think. And I think it's super healthy for people

00:44:34.360 --> 00:44:36.840
to have something like that. I'm all for it.

00:44:36.860 --> 00:44:40.039
I know a lot of people who, for lack of a better

00:44:40.039 --> 00:44:43.139
term, are like weekend warriors who pay for coaching.

00:44:44.300 --> 00:44:47.699
And they have no intention of making money playing

00:44:47.699 --> 00:44:50.800
the sport, but they want to improve. I think

00:44:50.800 --> 00:44:54.289
that that is admirable, honestly. Totally. Okay,

00:44:54.329 --> 00:44:56.610
question three. Can you guys comment on the frequency

00:44:56.610 --> 00:45:00.329
of the VNL matches? I saw a couple coaches last

00:45:00.329 --> 00:45:02.750
week complaining about having to play three consecutive

00:45:02.750 --> 00:45:05.510
matches and how that impacted the quality of

00:45:05.510 --> 00:45:08.190
the game. I've also seen interviews with players

00:45:08.190 --> 00:45:10.530
where he brought attention to the demanding schedule

00:45:10.530 --> 00:45:13.489
of VNL and how that impacted the recovery of

00:45:13.489 --> 00:45:16.829
players in national teams that had to go from

00:45:16.829 --> 00:45:21.989
club directly to VNL. I love VNL, but not at

00:45:21.989 --> 00:45:25.849
the cost of players having more injuries. I agree,

00:45:25.929 --> 00:45:30.309
it is a grueling schedule if you are required

00:45:30.309 --> 00:45:34.409
to play every match. If you are on a national

00:45:34.409 --> 00:45:40.449
team that is not very deep, that needs to play

00:45:40.449 --> 00:45:44.590
their top 6, 7, 8 players every single match

00:45:44.590 --> 00:45:48.659
to even have a chance. Of making Final Eight,

00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:52.199
of not being relegated, whatever it may be. Yes.

00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:56.199
Tough. I'm looking at you, Canada. It's tough.

00:45:57.300 --> 00:46:03.760
However, VNL as a tournament is designed to reward

00:46:03.760 --> 00:46:09.659
teams that are deep, who have developed more

00:46:09.659 --> 00:46:14.900
than eight players, because it's not meant for

00:46:14.900 --> 00:46:17.559
people to play every match. And unfortunately

00:46:17.559 --> 00:46:20.059
that is the case for some countries and for some

00:46:20.059 --> 00:46:22.860
teams, but it is, I would say that it is not

00:46:22.860 --> 00:46:27.800
the purpose or how VNL was designed to be played.

00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:30.059
So I have a couple of questions for you, just

00:46:30.059 --> 00:46:32.039
out of curiosity, knowing that you've kind of

00:46:32.039 --> 00:46:34.739
done this one, I will say for those athletes

00:46:34.739 --> 00:46:38.500
who are playing club and champions league and

00:46:38.500 --> 00:46:40.880
then going national team, like that's, that's

00:46:40.880 --> 00:46:43.219
a ton of volleyball in and of itself is very

00:46:43.219 --> 00:46:46.550
hard playing two matches back to back. Is that

00:46:46.550 --> 00:46:52.429
challenging? Is that physically demanding and

00:46:52.429 --> 00:46:56.710
draining? Okay, for context, before people come

00:46:56.710 --> 00:47:01.070
at me, so I played for Canada's indoor team before

00:47:01.070 --> 00:47:03.409
I played for Canada's beach team. So there was

00:47:03.409 --> 00:47:07.510
a period in time where I was doing club, Champions

00:47:07.510 --> 00:47:11.869
League, indoor national team. And then for several

00:47:11.869 --> 00:47:14.789
years, what was it, like six years? I was doing

00:47:14.789 --> 00:47:20.750
club, pro, and then beach world tour and doing

00:47:20.750 --> 00:47:24.230
that on cycle. So yes, I have done this before.

00:47:24.650 --> 00:47:29.150
If you are going five sets and you're getting

00:47:29.150 --> 00:47:33.590
set 90 balls, turning around and playing a full

00:47:33.590 --> 00:47:37.710
match the next day, yes, it is challenging. However,

00:47:37.929 --> 00:47:44.329
the cycle of going year round, My own take on

00:47:44.329 --> 00:47:48.190
it and how I kind of dealt with it was I didn't

00:47:48.190 --> 00:47:52.269
think about it. I really truly believe that your

00:47:52.269 --> 00:47:56.210
mind is incredibly powerful. And if you allow

00:47:56.210 --> 00:48:00.869
yourself to go there, you will be exhausted and

00:48:00.869 --> 00:48:03.469
fatigued. But if you just stay like day to day

00:48:03.469 --> 00:48:07.570
and keep grinding and keep going like one foot

00:48:07.570 --> 00:48:10.130
in front of the other, it is very manageable.

00:48:10.329 --> 00:48:14.639
But you also, That's not to say it's like it's

00:48:14.639 --> 00:48:16.820
all in your head. No, you need to be surrounded

00:48:16.820 --> 00:48:21.320
with good people who understand load management,

00:48:21.460 --> 00:48:27.900
who understand that recovery is part of a yearly

00:48:27.900 --> 00:48:31.800
training plan and not have you jump a hundred

00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:34.760
times a day during practice. Like some days you

00:48:34.760 --> 00:48:37.380
need to stay on the ground. Some days it needs

00:48:37.380 --> 00:48:39.480
to just be a ball control practice, but like

00:48:39.480 --> 00:48:45.340
it is. doable but yeah so i think you can probably

00:48:45.340 --> 00:48:48.940
play back -to -back matches and not see a ton

00:48:48.940 --> 00:48:51.679
of decline but three matches in a row especially

00:48:51.679 --> 00:48:55.300
if they're long hard matches that's tough from

00:48:55.300 --> 00:48:59.739
a maintaining performance standpoint and again

00:48:59.739 --> 00:49:03.000
which is where you need to be subbing players

00:49:03.000 --> 00:49:06.579
in and out that is strategic about how you manage

00:49:06.579 --> 00:49:09.099
your roster exactly now that's why you're not

00:49:09.099 --> 00:49:13.849
seeing The starting six for Italy traveling for

00:49:13.849 --> 00:49:17.190
the first two weeks. They are not even on the

00:49:17.190 --> 00:49:21.750
travel rock. They're not traveling. They need

00:49:21.750 --> 00:49:25.230
them. Gabi is traveling, but she's not playing.

00:49:25.429 --> 00:49:28.710
So it's like those countries have the luxury

00:49:28.710 --> 00:49:32.510
of having a ton of players at their disposal.

00:49:33.030 --> 00:49:37.010
And they're able to do that. The other thing

00:49:37.010 --> 00:49:40.579
I will say is. I don't think it necessarily adds

00:49:40.579 --> 00:49:45.179
to acute injuries. Like volleyball isn't really

00:49:45.179 --> 00:49:49.000
an acute injury sport from fatigue, I would say.

00:49:49.059 --> 00:49:51.179
Like if you're going to roll your ankle, you're

00:49:51.179 --> 00:49:52.920
probably going to roll your ankle from stepping

00:49:52.920 --> 00:49:54.519
on somebody, whether you're fresh or whether

00:49:54.519 --> 00:49:56.519
you're not. You know, if you're going to. No,

00:49:56.559 --> 00:49:58.920
but like a stress fracture. Right. So it's, you're

00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:01.559
managing. Labral issues. You're managing shoulder

00:50:01.559 --> 00:50:03.599
swings and things like that. Not necessarily.

00:50:04.650 --> 00:50:07.030
I don't think we're putting athletes in acute

00:50:07.030 --> 00:50:10.829
harm's way by playing a schedule like this. It's

00:50:10.829 --> 00:50:14.110
more managing the load, like you said, and the

00:50:14.110 --> 00:50:16.429
shoulders and the soreness around those kind

00:50:16.429 --> 00:50:22.050
of things. So yes, it is a thing, but it is manageable.

00:50:23.110 --> 00:50:25.309
And if you're in one of the countries where it's

00:50:25.309 --> 00:50:28.889
not, well, yeah, it really sucks. All right,

00:50:28.949 --> 00:50:32.210
question four. In most sports, one team wears

00:50:32.210 --> 00:50:37.239
white. and the other in colors. How do they decide

00:50:37.239 --> 00:50:39.380
uniform colors per team in volleyball at the

00:50:39.380 --> 00:50:42.039
world competition level? Okay, it's been a while

00:50:42.039 --> 00:50:45.079
since I've played internationally indoor, but

00:50:45.079 --> 00:50:47.239
not so long ago that I was doing it on the beach.

00:50:47.360 --> 00:50:53.539
So I'm pretty sure it's the same. Somebody tell

00:50:53.539 --> 00:50:59.159
me if this is wrong. But from what I know in

00:50:59.159 --> 00:51:01.940
recent years, every team usually has like three,

00:51:02.880 --> 00:51:07.760
colors of uniforms and when you go to like your

00:51:07.760 --> 00:51:11.539
team check -in or whatever your delegate tells

00:51:11.539 --> 00:51:17.800
the officials your preference in order one two

00:51:17.800 --> 00:51:21.300
three so like for example let's say it's usa

00:51:21.300 --> 00:51:25.639
and their colors are red white and blue if they

00:51:25.639 --> 00:51:28.539
like the red jersey they'd be like hey red first

00:51:28.539 --> 00:51:32.369
then blue then white third When you are playing

00:51:32.369 --> 00:51:37.309
against a team, the higher ranked team always

00:51:37.309 --> 00:51:41.429
gets their number one choice. So if two teams

00:51:41.429 --> 00:51:43.909
have red as their number one choice, the higher

00:51:43.909 --> 00:51:46.190
ranked team will get red. And then this next,

00:51:46.269 --> 00:51:48.489
the other team will get their number two choice.

00:51:49.170 --> 00:51:52.190
However, let's say you are ranked number one,

00:51:52.190 --> 00:51:54.809
like you're Italy or something. Always ranked

00:51:54.809 --> 00:51:58.289
higher. And you're like, man, I'm really getting

00:51:58.289 --> 00:52:02.159
sick of wearing this. blue jersey or something

00:52:02.159 --> 00:52:07.159
you can tell them like for our next match we're

00:52:07.159 --> 00:52:09.860
gonna go with our choice number two so like you

00:52:09.860 --> 00:52:12.079
can switch it up if you are the higher ranked

00:52:12.079 --> 00:52:14.440
team but if you're the lower ranked team you're

00:52:14.440 --> 00:52:17.099
kind of at the mercy of like whatever team you're

00:52:17.099 --> 00:52:21.260
playing that is how we did it internationally

00:52:21.260 --> 00:52:23.840
for like olympics and stuff for beach and i'm

00:52:23.840 --> 00:52:26.880
pretty sure it's the same but again correct me

00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:30.460
if i'm wrong okay question five Would it be insane

00:52:30.460 --> 00:52:33.719
to say that Serbia might win VNL this year? Yes.

00:52:33.840 --> 00:52:37.780
Yes. It's not happening. The context for this

00:52:37.780 --> 00:52:40.139
question after the follow -up statement to this

00:52:40.139 --> 00:52:44.940
question was Cajic, Ushulak, and Boscovic are

00:52:44.940 --> 00:52:49.320
probably the top outside trio in VNL. I will

00:52:49.320 --> 00:52:54.940
counter that with Silla and Tropova and Egonu

00:52:54.940 --> 00:52:57.820
might be better. Yes, I'm saying an untested

00:52:57.820 --> 00:53:02.800
Antropova is better. Gabi Bergman, Anna Kristina.

00:53:03.480 --> 00:53:07.219
Yeah. Yes, if Serbia wins VNL, that is crazy.

00:53:07.460 --> 00:53:10.360
It's not. I don't see it happening. Serbia, at

00:53:10.360 --> 00:53:14.059
best, will make the playoffs. Yeah, let's remember.

00:53:14.559 --> 00:53:17.179
Last year, they were just trying to get one win.

00:53:17.340 --> 00:53:19.780
Yeah. And they finally got a bunch when Tiana

00:53:19.780 --> 00:53:23.500
came back in week three. So for them to go from

00:53:23.500 --> 00:53:28.340
the basement to the penthouse, Wow. Those three

00:53:28.340 --> 00:53:33.579
players are playing well. Uzilak, Csajic. Okay,

00:53:33.579 --> 00:53:38.380
the game that I played, Uzilak, Aleksic, Kortadzic,

00:53:38.719 --> 00:53:42.900
Boscovich were not playing. No, but they played

00:53:42.900 --> 00:53:46.059
the game before that. Not Boscovich, but the

00:53:46.059 --> 00:53:50.500
other three. And yes, they played well. But I

00:53:50.500 --> 00:53:53.800
don't think they're not grooving on the same

00:53:53.800 --> 00:53:56.130
level as the top. teams like i think they'll

00:53:56.130 --> 00:53:58.929
make final eight this year and then i don't think

00:53:58.929 --> 00:54:00.570
they'll make it past the quarterfinals like and

00:54:00.570 --> 00:54:03.929
i think that's like you said to go from not winning

00:54:03.929 --> 00:54:07.670
any matches to making the top eight is i think

00:54:07.670 --> 00:54:09.710
it's a good jump in a year whoever submitted

00:54:09.710 --> 00:54:12.070
this question go ahead and do the bet on the

00:54:12.070 --> 00:54:15.610
vnl betting site and i hope you win a ton of

00:54:15.610 --> 00:54:19.090
money honestly yeah i mean i think it's you're

00:54:19.090 --> 00:54:21.769
gonna get great odds and again it's not it's

00:54:21.769 --> 00:54:25.619
not so outlandish because those are good players.

00:54:25.820 --> 00:54:29.840
If all four of them had three career matches

00:54:29.840 --> 00:54:35.179
at the same time, could it happen? Maybe, but

00:54:35.179 --> 00:54:38.219
it's very unlikely. Okay, question six. Why do

00:54:38.219 --> 00:54:40.619
you think Italian coaches are so dominant in

00:54:40.619 --> 00:54:43.539
international volleyball, both in national team

00:54:43.539 --> 00:54:46.320
and at the club level? In the women's game, for

00:54:46.320 --> 00:54:48.659
example, the Turkish league is really strong

00:54:48.659 --> 00:54:52.079
as the Italian league. but we see Italian coaches

00:54:52.079 --> 00:54:55.300
everywhere, including the Turkish national team.

00:54:55.699 --> 00:54:57.960
Similarly in the men's game, like Poland has

00:54:57.960 --> 00:55:00.260
a great league, but you don't see Polish coaches

00:55:00.260 --> 00:55:04.300
everywhere. It's Italians again. This comes down

00:55:04.300 --> 00:55:10.039
to how long the league has been around and how

00:55:10.039 --> 00:55:13.300
many teams and the depth and quality of the league.

00:55:13.519 --> 00:55:18.550
You've had longer to develop. what I would call

00:55:18.550 --> 00:55:21.269
coaching trees. So let's say you have, you know,

00:55:21.269 --> 00:55:25.889
three great coaches in Italy 40 years ago, right?

00:55:25.949 --> 00:55:29.710
When the league started, all those four coaches

00:55:29.710 --> 00:55:32.289
who were probably maybe four of the best eight

00:55:32.289 --> 00:55:35.090
coaches in the world at that time, they have

00:55:35.090 --> 00:55:40.469
all influenced tens of coaches who then go out

00:55:40.469 --> 00:55:44.389
and spread and learn. put their own spin on it,

00:55:44.469 --> 00:55:46.730
and they've got 20 teams, and there's lots of

00:55:46.730 --> 00:55:50.090
opportunity for young people to come in, to learn,

00:55:50.190 --> 00:55:53.710
to do their own thing. There's just so much room

00:55:53.710 --> 00:55:57.130
for experience and for growth and for opportunity

00:55:57.130 --> 00:56:00.730
at the highest level and learning from such elite

00:56:00.730 --> 00:56:03.130
coaches that they're just better than everyone

00:56:03.130 --> 00:56:04.590
else because they've been doing it for longer

00:56:04.590 --> 00:56:06.889
at a higher level. It's like the Brazilians on

00:56:06.889 --> 00:56:11.360
the beach side. Yeah. Everywhere you go. Every

00:56:11.360 --> 00:56:15.300
national team, every anything, there's a Brazilian

00:56:15.300 --> 00:56:17.780
beach volleyball coach. And it's Canadians with

00:56:17.780 --> 00:56:20.559
hockey. Like every country has, or many countries

00:56:20.559 --> 00:56:23.719
have their sport where they've just been so dominant

00:56:23.719 --> 00:56:25.679
that everybody looks to them. And that's the

00:56:25.679 --> 00:56:28.320
case with volleyball. That's a really good question

00:56:28.320 --> 00:56:31.679
though. Yeah. Well, and I will say, I feel like

00:56:31.679 --> 00:56:34.039
I started learning volleyball when you played

00:56:34.039 --> 00:56:36.280
in Italy. Like for real? For real. For real,

00:56:36.280 --> 00:56:38.099
for real. Well, Italians created data volley.

00:56:38.119 --> 00:56:41.440
Yes. And that's where you started learning. Dadavoli

00:56:41.440 --> 00:56:45.019
was with my Italian team. And like you, I even

00:56:45.019 --> 00:56:49.639
take that season, for example, that group of

00:56:49.639 --> 00:56:53.280
coaches. Outstanding. The stats guy eventually

00:56:53.280 --> 00:56:56.780
went to coach club Italia and the junior national

00:56:56.780 --> 00:57:00.699
team for Italy. The stats guy. Mickey. Yes. The

00:57:00.699 --> 00:57:03.000
head coach was Marcello Avondanza. Who's like,

00:57:03.039 --> 00:57:05.480
he was just a Fender Bocci. Now he's, he's been

00:57:05.480 --> 00:57:08.800
all over the place. Then the assistant coach

00:57:08.800 --> 00:57:12.900
became a head coach in A1 Italy. That coaching

00:57:12.900 --> 00:57:17.260
staff itself is an example of it. Okay, question

00:57:17.260 --> 00:57:19.380
seven. Who do you think will be relegated this

00:57:19.380 --> 00:57:21.440
year from VNL men's and women's and how do they

00:57:21.440 --> 00:57:24.019
determine who takes their place? My pick for

00:57:24.019 --> 00:57:30.739
men is Cuba. My pick for women is Bulgaria. I

00:57:30.739 --> 00:57:33.639
agree with Bulgaria. However, I think Bulgaria

00:57:33.639 --> 00:57:37.230
and France play. In the last week, that match

00:57:37.230 --> 00:57:39.809
could decide who gets relegated. So that could

00:57:39.809 --> 00:57:43.730
be potential. Okay. So my, it was between Bulgaria

00:57:43.730 --> 00:57:45.849
and France for me for women, but I think France

00:57:45.849 --> 00:57:51.190
is better overall. But then Cuba, Argentina for

00:57:51.190 --> 00:57:55.690
men, it was like, I was thinking, and both of

00:57:55.690 --> 00:57:57.630
those teams are also in the same place at the

00:57:57.630 --> 00:58:03.079
last week, but I just. It depends who shows up

00:58:03.079 --> 00:58:05.159
for Cuba. I think it's going to be Cuba. Cuba

00:58:05.159 --> 00:58:08.019
was in the final eight last year. Yes. Well,

00:58:08.059 --> 00:58:10.519
that's what I'm saying. They could pull some

00:58:10.519 --> 00:58:12.659
guys out of the woodwork and beat Argentina.

00:58:12.659 --> 00:58:15.260
No, but that's the thing. Cuba can be literally

00:58:15.260 --> 00:58:17.380
the best team in the world or they can just be

00:58:17.380 --> 00:58:20.960
a dumpster fire. I totally agree. I'm just going

00:58:20.960 --> 00:58:24.780
to say Cuba. I'm watching the Bulgaria -France

00:58:24.780 --> 00:58:27.860
match and the Cuba -Argentina match. I think

00:58:27.860 --> 00:58:29.559
those are going to be... Are Cuba and Argentina

00:58:29.559 --> 00:58:31.280
even playing each other? I believe they played

00:58:31.280 --> 00:58:33.639
each other the last week, if I'm not mistaken.

00:58:33.639 --> 00:58:36.260
They're in the same place, but yeah, they do.

00:58:36.659 --> 00:58:38.840
I think for me, those are the teams that are

00:58:38.840 --> 00:58:42.800
kind of on the bubble, and those might be the

00:58:42.800 --> 00:58:46.219
matches to determine who goes down. To answer

00:58:46.219 --> 00:58:50.050
your question, who replaces them? there are various

00:58:50.050 --> 00:58:53.250
international competitions for non -VNL teams

00:58:53.250 --> 00:58:57.429
within their continent. So Europe has like, I

00:58:57.429 --> 00:58:58.809
think it's called like the Golden League and

00:58:58.809 --> 00:59:01.949
the Silver League. And then there's, you know,

00:59:01.949 --> 00:59:04.510
Pan Am Cups and stuff like that. So there are

00:59:04.510 --> 00:59:08.010
opportunities for other teams to alter their

00:59:08.010 --> 00:59:12.610
world ranking. So basically whoever is relegated,

00:59:12.610 --> 00:59:15.849
it's the next team in the ranking. who isn't

00:59:15.849 --> 00:59:19.070
currently playing VNL, gets boosted in. Every

00:59:19.070 --> 00:59:20.989
match you play throughout the summer, even if

00:59:20.989 --> 00:59:23.869
you're not playing VNL, matters because it could

00:59:23.869 --> 00:59:26.389
push you in the next season. All right, question

00:59:26.389 --> 00:59:29.170
eight. I just saw highlights from the U .S. women's

00:59:29.170 --> 00:59:31.210
sweep of Italy. I know Italy was not playing

00:59:31.210 --> 00:59:33.230
their A team, but they did have a couple starters

00:59:33.230 --> 00:59:36.829
on the court. Do you think this win will save

00:59:36.829 --> 00:59:40.789
Eric Sullivan's job? No. I don't think it can

00:59:40.789 --> 00:59:45.150
be put under such a microscope as one match.

00:59:45.630 --> 00:59:50.510
I think it needs to be taken as a whole for the

00:59:50.510 --> 00:59:53.909
summer and then as a body of work over the last

00:59:53.909 --> 00:59:58.269
two seasons. I will say, if anything, they finally

00:59:58.269 --> 01:00:02.750
started playing better. They had a better blocking

01:00:02.750 --> 01:00:05.070
system up against that Italian match. I don't

01:00:05.070 --> 01:00:08.460
care that they beat the young Italians. But they

01:00:08.460 --> 01:00:13.119
looked better and more cohesive. Now, I still

01:00:13.119 --> 01:00:16.159
don't think Kahana Torres is the setter that

01:00:16.159 --> 01:00:18.579
you're going to ride to the Olympics. And the

01:00:18.579 --> 01:00:22.139
fact that she is getting the hitters in rhythm

01:00:22.139 --> 01:00:25.559
and in system, I still think in terms of meddling

01:00:25.559 --> 01:00:28.500
is a problem. But they looked more coherent.

01:00:28.659 --> 01:00:31.539
They got Italy in some passing trouble. They

01:00:31.539 --> 01:00:34.769
blocked well out of system. I thought a couple

01:00:34.769 --> 01:00:37.010
players looked good. So that more than the win

01:00:37.010 --> 01:00:40.469
in itself helps Sullivan's case. They looked

01:00:40.469 --> 01:00:43.730
cohesive. He talked in timeouts too. Yeah. Wow.

01:00:43.889 --> 01:00:46.349
It's not so much about the win, but the product

01:00:46.349 --> 01:00:49.550
looked like it might be coming together. Okay.

01:00:49.590 --> 01:00:52.409
Last question of the week. Would you rather have

01:00:52.409 --> 01:00:55.250
a 6 -5 player on the outside who can touch 10

01:00:55.250 --> 01:00:59.030
-8 or a 5 -11 player on the outside who could

01:00:59.030 --> 01:01:02.980
also touch 10 -8? Does height truly matter if

01:01:02.980 --> 01:01:06.360
the reach is the same? So we've talked about

01:01:06.360 --> 01:01:09.539
this a little bit in the past. For me, height

01:01:09.539 --> 01:01:11.360
is not the thing. It's like, how high do you

01:01:11.360 --> 01:01:14.000
play above the net? And so from an offensive

01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:16.500
perspective, I would consider these two players

01:01:16.500 --> 01:01:19.619
equal. Maybe the 5 '11 player can pass better.

01:01:19.719 --> 01:01:23.440
Who knows? The discrepancy for me and the thing

01:01:23.440 --> 01:01:25.539
that makes it a little tricky, and we've talked

01:01:25.539 --> 01:01:27.619
about this when we've talked about Cameron Thorne

01:01:27.619 --> 01:01:31.329
on the men's side. becomes a defensive blocking

01:01:31.329 --> 01:01:36.369
issue. The time it takes for a 5 '11 big jumper

01:01:36.369 --> 01:01:40.190
to get their hands in the same position as a

01:01:40.190 --> 01:01:44.510
6 '5 person touching the same is a lot longer

01:01:44.510 --> 01:01:47.329
because their hands have that much further to

01:01:47.329 --> 01:01:51.469
travel. Does that make sense? That is the issue

01:01:51.469 --> 01:01:56.820
and the discrepancy that you see. for different

01:01:56.820 --> 01:02:00.260
size players who touch the same is like how fast

01:02:00.260 --> 01:02:03.239
can you get off the ground to make up for that

01:02:03.239 --> 01:02:06.360
difference in timing and if you have multiple

01:02:06.360 --> 01:02:09.239
blocking responsibilities because you're higher

01:02:09.239 --> 01:02:11.500
off the ground longer time to land longer time

01:02:11.500 --> 01:02:15.780
to move less on the outside probably you see

01:02:15.780 --> 01:02:17.280
that more in the middle but you still if you're

01:02:17.280 --> 01:02:18.900
helping with the pipe or the middle and you have

01:02:18.900 --> 01:02:21.460
to get outside like all of those fractions of

01:02:21.460 --> 01:02:26.869
seconds count if the pat So let's say the hitting

01:02:26.869 --> 01:02:29.829
contact is the same. Let's say the passing is

01:02:29.829 --> 01:02:33.550
the same. You take the taller player. I mean,

01:02:33.570 --> 01:02:36.489
I probably would, but let's say they can get

01:02:36.489 --> 01:02:38.750
off the ground really fast and block really well.

01:02:39.090 --> 01:02:43.550
It's not an issue. They can hit fine. I'll take

01:02:43.550 --> 01:02:45.690
the better passer. If it's the 5 '11 person,

01:02:45.849 --> 01:02:47.969
I'm taking them. Yeah, no, I agree with you.

01:02:48.030 --> 01:02:49.550
So that's what I'm saying. Like if all things

01:02:49.550 --> 01:02:52.969
are equal, you take the size, but very rarely

01:02:52.969 --> 01:02:56.309
is that the case. love those questions keep them

01:02:56.309 --> 01:03:00.110
coming sometimes i get the questions like just

01:03:00.110 --> 01:03:02.230
a little bit after we record the questions and

01:03:02.230 --> 01:03:04.610
i'm really sad so if you submitted something

01:03:04.610 --> 01:03:07.969
like late this week well i got you for people

01:03:07.969 --> 01:03:10.789
to know if like if you have a question we generally

01:03:10.789 --> 01:03:13.510
aggregate questions on friday there you go so

01:03:13.510 --> 01:03:15.349
get them in like during the week and then we'll

01:03:15.349 --> 01:03:16.929
try and get to them in the otherwise in that

01:03:16.929 --> 01:03:20.489
pod we'll get to them yeah in the future all

01:03:20.489 --> 01:03:24.119
right looking forward obviously vnl but our highlight

01:03:24.119 --> 01:03:27.519
matches for this upcoming week are friday at

01:03:27.519 --> 01:03:31.380
2 p .m eastern brazil versus italy we'll see

01:03:31.380 --> 01:03:33.760
what squad italy brings but i'm guessing brazil

01:03:33.760 --> 01:03:35.400
is going to have their top squad so that'll be

01:03:35.400 --> 01:03:39.679
a good game sunday at 11 a .m eastern france

01:03:39.679 --> 01:03:42.880
and japan france needs to get off the schneid

01:03:42.880 --> 01:03:45.519
we'll see i think it's gonna be a good game because

01:03:45.519 --> 01:03:47.219
i'm convinced that france is going to make improvements

01:03:48.500 --> 01:03:50.139
Well, I don't think they can be much worse than

01:03:50.139 --> 01:03:51.980
they were last week. So I'm assuming that they're

01:03:51.980 --> 01:03:54.500
going to be better. So yes, I think that is going

01:03:54.500 --> 01:03:57.460
to be a good game. And then also Sunday at 2

01:03:57.460 --> 01:04:01.179
.30 p .m. Eastern, Serbia versus USA. Couple

01:04:01.179 --> 01:04:04.099
good matches, couple solid teams. I'm looking

01:04:04.099 --> 01:04:06.869
forward to another week of men's. That concludes

01:04:06.869 --> 01:04:09.530
this week's episode of Volley Talk. There's always

01:04:09.530 --> 01:04:11.210
something shaking in the volleyball world, and

01:04:11.210 --> 01:04:13.530
we hope you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure

01:04:13.530 --> 01:04:15.570
to follow the show so you don't miss any updates,

01:04:15.750 --> 01:04:18.329
and we'd be so grateful if you'd leave us a five

01:04:18.329 --> 01:04:21.010
-star review. You can find us on Instagram at

01:04:21.010 --> 01:04:24.230
volleytalk underscore podcast. If you have a

01:04:24.230 --> 01:04:25.989
topic you'd like us to discuss, you can reach

01:04:25.989 --> 01:04:29.889
out on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin .com.

01:04:30.309 --> 01:04:32.550
Thanks so much for joining us, and we'll be back

01:04:32.550 --> 01:04:33.329
next week.