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 three, men's VNL in the books. Pool

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play for everyone is over. Final eight has been

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selected. We are rolling in to the men's and

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women's final eight. Before we even start the

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episode, I just need to let you guys know, we

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are not going to be releasing an episode next

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week because we have a prior engagement that

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is taking us out of town. We will not be able

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to record. We are so upset about it. It is what

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it is. So do not come looking for any episode

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next week. We will be back the following week,

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however, and with a giant episode with men's

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and women's final eight breakdown. So just want

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to get ahead of that. Okay. We're really sorry,

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but we are excited to discuss all things men's

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VNL this week. So let's get started. All right.

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We do not have anything to report in the highlights

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and happenings. Love did announce their rosters

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this week. However, we will break them down at

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a later date. Just wanted to throw it out there.

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The rosters have been announced. I got two massive

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comments on YouTube of people who are upset we

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didn't mention the following things. One, Morgan

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Hentz is playing in Love. Why are they upset

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about that? Because we didn't talk about it.

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Why is that a big deal? I don't know. So that

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was mentioned to me. Okay, sorry. And the other

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one is that Zeroberto is coaching at Love. Okay,

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to be fair, we talked about this being potential

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like months ago. Okay, so we definitely did talk

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about this. We said like it was a long time ago.

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We were like, yeah, we heard Zeroberto is probably

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coaching Love LA. Okay, sorry we missed it. It

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has been confirmed. That is a big deal. you're

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not wrong. So that is a thing. Sorry we didn't

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name Morgan Hentz by name. We know she has a

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lot of fans out there. That's all there is to

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say. What can we say? Those are your highlights

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and happenings. Those are the highlights and

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happenings is us apologizing for you for not

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talking about those two specific things. Even

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though we were aware of them, we did know that

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they were happening. Sorry for not mentioning

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them. And yeah, we'll go in depth into the love

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rosters at a later date. Nothing else to report,

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so let's get into men's V &L. Continuing our

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listener -suggested segment last week of V &L

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Dream Team, we did the women last week, so obviously

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we need to do the men this week. As a reminder,

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they are doing the Dream Team by stats this year,

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and the winner of each statistical category wins

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$10 ,000. the dream team post final eight. So

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here we go. Our picks for men's VNL dream team.

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I think I am going to be roasted and ripped apart

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so badly for my picks. We will see. Cause I,

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I have a couple too that may or may not. To be

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fair, Adam had access to his own personal stats

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that he created. I didn't. And then after I made

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my list, I was like, dang, the numbers I looked

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at were like global totals. And then I thought

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about the number of the teams that went five,

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like literally every game. And I was like, that

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definitely skewed the stats. So I'm just getting

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ahead of this to be like, I'm aware. I don't

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want to hear about that particular part of it.

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Okay. Let's start with setting. Who did you pick?

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Fukatsu from Japan. I picked the same thing.

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So for those of you who like, we don't discuss.

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Who we've picked. So we're revealing this in

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real time as well. So we'll see how close they

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are. Okay. My reasoning being Japan went 12 and

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0. Correct. Do you know how hard that is to do?

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Incredibly. And they don't sub. Like those guys

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play all the time. Yeah. Their lineup played

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all three weeks. So that is very hard to do.

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I think about last year. I know somebody out

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there will know the specific number. I am making

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this up off the top of my head. I think they

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finished, what, sixth? Fifth? I know their record

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was eight and four. I don't remember exactly

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where they finished in comparison to the other

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team. To go undefeated, we've talked about this,

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the difference between last season and this season,

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I think setter heavy. No, I totally agree. They

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didn't change any of their hitters. You know,

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the rosters are the same. Quite frankly, not

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only does the record indicate that, but watching

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them, the hitters are in such better rhythm.

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The decision -making is good. Everybody is firing

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on all cylinders. He just makes that team better,

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period. Splinter the rat, baby. Yeah. The sage.

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The wise man. You know, I just, I, yeah. He's

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a phenomenal setter, and he by far had the biggest

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impact on his team that I could see. That was

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an easy choice for me. Yeah. Okay. We agree so

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far. Probably we'll stop there. Let's go to middles.

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All right. I was torn with my own picks. So my

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first one was Semenyuk from Ukraine. That's a

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fair pick. The reason I picked it is because

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he put up pretty good blocking numbers and was

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also among the top serving middles. His efficiency

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is pretty good. He didn't get set a ton, but

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his efficiency is very good. So I would say for

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a middle's skills, he was well -rounded. Okay.

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And my second pick, and this is the one that

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I was unsure about and I'm not even sure I want

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to say it, is Howe from Canada. It hurts me so

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much to pick somebody who's on the relegated

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team. And this is the one that I'm speaking of

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in like going five sets all the time. The number

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of blocks he got was astronomical compared to

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everybody else. And I understand they went five.

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Okay. With everybody. But his blocks per set

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is actually, I believe in the top two for middles

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who played a ton of sets. Okay. I feel better.

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So I actually had him on my list as well. His

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hitting efficiency was really good, and he got

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way more kills than the majority of middles.

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And he served relatively well, too. He's got

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that float serve that doesn't necessarily generate

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a ton of aces, but it definitely puts teams in

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trouble. If Canada hadn't got relegated, you

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wouldn't feel bad putting him on the list because

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his performance was... He was unstoppable. He's

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undersized. He blocked well. The whole VNL, I

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was saying that he was Canada's best player.

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Not that that means much right now, but yeah.

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I've said it the whole VNL. He was the bright

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spot for Canada for me. Agreed. And performance

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-wise, he was at the top. I hummed and hawed

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over that one just because of how they finished,

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but I was like, no, you know what? He earned

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a spot. With his play, I thought. I know people

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are going to be like, how did you not pick a

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Polish middle? How did you not pick? Like, Lemanski

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blocked really well. He put together really good

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blocking numbers. So I could make an argument

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for him as well. Give or take Semenyuk, Lemanski,

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a good server. He blocked well. His hitting numbers

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aren't as high. So let's do some slashes. Lemanski,

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Semenyuk, how for me? Yeah, I was going to go

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with Lemanski. I thought he played well. Like

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you said, he's solid. for that team. He attacks

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well, he blocks well. I actually, watching Poland

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play, they're so disciplined on the block. Like,

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there's no holes when they run triples, when

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the middles close, and you may not see that all

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the time, but it makes it really tough for hitters,

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so I like that pick. Okay, let's go to opposite.

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Who did you pick? I picked Regers. Okay, why?

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This was a similar situation to the Canada, the

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Howe choice. Belgium's not very good. But he

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puts up outrageous numbers. Everybody knows where

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the ball is going. He's their only attacker.

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He kills the ball at a super high rate. He's

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not the most efficient, obviously. And granted,

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he's not the best server and blocker. But just

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from a pure performance standpoint of getting

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kills, which is an opposite's job, I felt like

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I needed to choose him. I mean, everything you

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just said about him is exactly why I didn't pick

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him. Fair enough. The only way he scored was

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attacking. He didn't do anything else. I don't

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disagree with you, but his attacking was just

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so much better than everybody else's from a points

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per set standpoint. Who did you pick? I picked

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Adis Lagumja from Turkey. Fair. Legit near the

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top of the stats, like in the top few. For attacking,

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blocking, and serving. He played very well. The

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only opposite that's up that high in all the

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stats. Like, you can't deny those numbers. Not

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to mention Turkiye's incredible improvement since

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last VNL. Like, he was a huge part of it. So,

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yeah, I had to pick him. I knew you were going

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to pick him because he had more than an attacking

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skill. And you love a well -rounded opposite

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who can do more than one thing. Well, yeah. But

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opposite's job is to score points, attacking,

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blocking, and serving. He did it. I like the

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fact that everybody knew where it was going and

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he still found ways to score. I think he's fun

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to watch. So that's why I picked him. Let's go

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to left sides. Okay. I mean, I think there's

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one shoe in and he's been very good and he's

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consistently at the top of every statistical

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category. Three, two, one. Alex Nikolov. Yeah.

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Okay, yeah. He was the left side version of Lagumja

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for me on the right side. He was the top scorer

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in the whole tournament, top attacker. He's up

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there for aces. His blocking stats aren't great,

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but I mean, he's put together great performances.

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And he plays. He's always available. He plays.

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He goes to championships. He comes to national

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team. He's always there. He's always playing,

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and he's always performing. It's impressive to

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watch him. Yeah, okay. We agree on one of them.

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Who did you pick? Ran Takahashi. I know I said

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last week that I'm not as big a Ran fan as everybody

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else out there, but I could not deny, A, his

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improvement from last year's V &L to this year's,

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and again, He was up there in every statistical

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category except blocking, like, attacking. He

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was up there in aces. His reception was among

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the best in the whole tournament. Like, and his

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team finished first. That's fair. Like, you can't,

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I don't know. I had to give it to him. I found

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the left side decision the hardest. It was like,

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I found middle the hardest. I was going to say,

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you probably never experienced this because you

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were a very good student, but. When you had multiple

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choice tests in university and all the answers

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looked good and you weren't sure which one to

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pick, that's how it felt for me trying to pick

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left sides. No, middles for me was by far the

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toughest, but we do still have one position.

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Who did you pick for libero? I picked the Turkish

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libero. You were heavy on Turkey this week. Okay,

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he was the only libero that was in the top couple

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few for both defense and reception, which I feel

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like is... 80 % of what liberos do, minus setting.

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I really like the libero from Slovenia, Kovacic.

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I always have trouble with the names. Slovenia

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as a team keeps rallies alive, and I thought

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he dug and passed well. He made timely plays.

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It looks like he really holds that passing rotation

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down. I like the way he played, and I thought

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his numbers were pretty good. across the three

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weeks so that was my choice i feel like my picks

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are pretty obscure i mean i had to give a shout

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out to japan because they finished first poland

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like i only had a slash on the middle but they

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didn't play a lot of their players all three

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weeks so that to me is a knock on winning an

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award for dream team even though you know they're

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good didn't have any slovenians they played really

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well yeah italy was all over the map with their

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players did you have an american i didn't have

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an american like what what i don't My shout out

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to the Americans would be Haynes, their right

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side, I thought had a phenomenal tournament.

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DeFalco came too. He played really well. And

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I mean, we all know how we both feel about Christensen,

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but it's so hard. I feel like people are going

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to be like up in arms about these picks. They

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might be, but it's, it's really hard to. I found

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this way easier with the women. A hundred percent.

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There's far more parody and different ways to

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look at players and what they bring to the table

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and what they're good at. There's so much physicality.

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Anybody can have a good week and pad your stats.

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And we didn't get to watch all the games, but

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I mean, I love when people write their MVPs on

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the YouTube and I get to read those. So let's

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hear what you think. Cause those are our picks.

00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:28.000
So week three men's VNL complete. The final eight

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is set. I will say I'm pretty proud of us. We

00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:37.860
nailed the top eight teams. The order? No, not

00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:43.460
so much. So if you want a refresher, our prediction

00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:50.740
was Japan, USA, Slovenia, Poland, Italy, Ukraine,

00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:56.399
Turkey, China. What actually happened was Japan,

00:14:56.779 --> 00:15:02.769
Poland, Slovenia. Italy, USA, Turkey, Ukraine,

00:15:03.309 --> 00:15:08.210
China. So we were pretty close. We kind of flip

00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:11.690
-flopped Poland -USA. I expected USA to beat

00:15:11.690 --> 00:15:15.409
Bulgaria, which didn't happen. That was the one

00:15:15.409 --> 00:15:19.970
match that I thought they would take. And I honestly

00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:22.149
thought that the Poland match would be way closer

00:15:22.149 --> 00:15:26.360
than it was. Boy, was it not. Was it not. Three

00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:29.299
straight. Poland decided to bring the big guns

00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:31.000
and to show up and play well. And they looked

00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.159
real good. Not to mention like half the crowd

00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:35.360
was Polish because Chicago has a massive Polish

00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.080
population. Not that that's an excuse or anything,

00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:41.720
but like I really thought that was like the game

00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:43.720
that I was most excited to watch this week. Yeah.

00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:45.500
It was kind of disappointing. Other than Canada,

00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:47.240
Cuba, because we love a pucker match. You know

00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.620
what I mean? Which we can talk about that later.

00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.529
It did not deliver the way that I expected. No.

00:15:53.610 --> 00:15:58.750
So we flip -flopped USA -Poland, and then the

00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:02.809
rest were decently close. We nailed this way

00:16:02.809 --> 00:16:06.370
better than we got the women's. Which is surprising.

00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.250
Yeah, which is surprising, because I feel like

00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:12.090
both of us are much better versed in the women's

00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:14.289
side of things than men's. Well, and normally

00:16:14.289 --> 00:16:17.210
the women's game stays a little more true. You

00:16:17.210 --> 00:16:22.269
have fewer aberrations to the top teams and results.

00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:25.429
What are your thoughts from week three? Several.

00:16:25.470 --> 00:16:28.809
One, very impressed at how consistent Japan was.

00:16:28.970 --> 00:16:34.029
I think that's one of my biggest takeaways. Honestly,

00:16:34.090 --> 00:16:39.629
they went five a lot, but they found ways to

00:16:39.629 --> 00:16:42.909
win. Always, obviously. They went 12 -0, which

00:16:42.909 --> 00:16:47.269
is, as we're saying, very difficult to do. I'm

00:16:47.269 --> 00:16:49.610
really curious to see how Japan does. Now, I

00:16:49.610 --> 00:16:51.090
know they beat some of the top teams when they

00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:53.629
didn't have their full rosters. We'll see what

00:16:53.629 --> 00:16:56.350
comes with some of those matchups because they

00:16:56.350 --> 00:16:59.450
brought their big guns to weeks one, two, and

00:16:59.450 --> 00:17:02.009
three. So this is something that was thrown out

00:17:02.009 --> 00:17:06.390
there on Instagram was, do you think Japan is

00:17:06.390 --> 00:17:10.230
going to be able to maintain this? Or do you

00:17:10.230 --> 00:17:13.430
think that things will fall apart in the final

00:17:13.430 --> 00:17:15.869
eight? I don't think things will fall apart.

00:17:16.049 --> 00:17:18.089
They will fall apart, but do you think that they're

00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:20.170
going to see this through to the end? I don't

00:17:20.170 --> 00:17:23.609
love their semifinal matchup for them. It's a

00:17:23.609 --> 00:17:25.910
tough one. I think they'll beat China, obviously.

00:17:26.369 --> 00:17:29.150
I think they would have fared better against

00:17:29.150 --> 00:17:32.490
a Turkey or a Ukraine in terms of how fast they

00:17:32.490 --> 00:17:34.730
can play. I mean, they already beat US though,

00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:38.150
if US beats Italy. They did. They definitely

00:17:38.150 --> 00:17:40.789
have a chance to make the final, but I don't

00:17:40.789 --> 00:17:44.150
think that... semi -final is their best matchup.

00:17:44.329 --> 00:17:48.529
My other takeaways from week three and kind of

00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:50.490
the Vietnam as a whole is shocked that both Brazil

00:17:50.490 --> 00:17:53.289
and France did not make the top eight. That's

00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:56.809
tough. Yeah. For me, I kept waiting for France

00:17:56.809 --> 00:17:58.990
to find a rhythm. Like they've had some roster

00:17:58.990 --> 00:18:01.970
turnover since they were at the top and you're

00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:03.349
like, okay, they're going to come or some of

00:18:03.349 --> 00:18:05.349
those guys are going to show up. I'm starting

00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:09.460
to wonder like, is this France now? I feel like

00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:11.940
the rule changes have hindered their left sides

00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:14.700
maybe more than any other team in the world.

00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:17.119
I'm just not sure they're going to get back to

00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.640
that form quickly, missing the pieces they are

00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:23.319
with the style they play. I mean, that's tough.

00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:26.940
You see France and Brazil, two teams, two countries

00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:30.779
that invest heavily in volleyball, men's volleyball

00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:35.220
in particular. And the expectation for those

00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:37.319
two countries has got to be to make the final

00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:41.160
eight. Last year, France made the final eight.

00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:44.859
Did not do great. Yeah, I feel like those two

00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:48.380
countries, the expectation is to make the final

00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:51.900
eight. But then on the reverse of that, we saw

00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:56.519
the ascension of Turkey and Ukraine. Very impressed

00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:59.420
with how both of those two teams played. And

00:18:59.420 --> 00:19:02.160
consistently, like they don't have the deepest

00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:07.369
rosters. Turkey was rough last B &L. They struggled.

00:19:07.430 --> 00:19:09.410
I think they, I don't know the numbers. They

00:19:09.410 --> 00:19:12.509
were maybe won three games or something. Yes.

00:19:12.609 --> 00:19:16.930
To make the jump that they did is wild. Ukraine

00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:21.170
too. Last year was their first VNL and they came

00:19:21.170 --> 00:19:25.650
squeaked into the top seven because China got

00:19:25.650 --> 00:19:29.089
a spot. It's wild. It was really cool to watch

00:19:29.089 --> 00:19:33.430
how much better you can get in a year as a program.

00:19:34.009 --> 00:19:35.690
Honestly, this whole tournament is just about

00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:39.089
consistency. 100%. And I think there are very

00:19:39.089 --> 00:19:42.349
few teams who can do what Poland and Italy did

00:19:42.349 --> 00:19:47.650
in terms of leaving players home and still being

00:19:47.650 --> 00:19:51.230
consistent. I mean, look at Poland. Poland struggled

00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.910
in week one. They did. What, did they win one

00:19:53.910 --> 00:19:56.309
match in week one? They're good enough and deep

00:19:56.309 --> 00:19:59.190
enough to have that experiment in week one and

00:19:59.190 --> 00:20:01.230
still pull it out when they bring their players

00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:03.720
back. Impressed with Turkey and Ukraine for sure.

00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:05.980
I would add Bulgaria to the list of being surprised

00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:10.480
that they didn't make it. And Slovenia just keeps

00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.400
coming and keeps performing. They are the ones

00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:18.079
that are like super sneaky good. Yeah. But when

00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:21.309
you think of like... powerhouse programs, they

00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:24.069
aren't the team that like gets thrown out. You

00:20:24.069 --> 00:20:25.490
know what I mean? No, never. When are people

00:20:25.490 --> 00:20:27.130
like, who are the powerhouses in men's volleyball?

00:20:27.230 --> 00:20:31.490
People are like, Oh, Italy, Poland, Brazil, like,

00:20:31.650 --> 00:20:35.289
but no, Slovenia is like consistently low key

00:20:35.289 --> 00:20:39.630
sneaky. Yeah. I'm really excited for the final

00:20:39.630 --> 00:20:43.230
eight on the men's side. I'm excited for the

00:20:43.230 --> 00:20:45.690
final eight because like our predictions, which

00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:48.769
we'll get to in a minute are going to be so wrong.

00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:51.460
Like you just never know. You don't know what's

00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:54.839
going to happen. I do want to talk about, so

00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:58.740
we had the two teams flip -flop that we like,

00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:01.359
you typically expect to be in the final eight

00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:05.579
versus the ones that were maybe more of a surprise

00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:08.819
or like first timers. There was also a huge battle

00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:12.259
at the bottom. And coming into this week, Cuba

00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:15.220
had zero wins. I picked them to be relegated.

00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:19.160
I was wrong. Our Canadian team got relegated.

00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:22.960
So, yeah, Cuba came in with zero wins. Canada

00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:26.420
had won, but they had amassed a ton of points

00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:28.579
because they went five so many times. Then you

00:21:28.579 --> 00:21:30.640
also had, like, Belgium down there. You had Argentina

00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.460
down there. They were all playing in the same

00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:36.519
location, which was very exciting. Cuba showed

00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:42.380
up, baby. Okay? They took care of it. They were

00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:46.279
like, we are here. to stay for 2027. And then

00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:48.900
Canada, the complete opposite happened. We're

00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:51.819
going to talk about Canada's relegation a little

00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:55.700
later on, but I just wanted to, we're talking

00:21:55.700 --> 00:21:57.779
about the top eight, but like there was a serious

00:21:57.779 --> 00:22:00.099
battle happening at the bottom too. From Canada

00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:04.819
standpoint, blowing two, two set leads in the

00:22:04.819 --> 00:22:07.640
first two matches they played against Japan and

00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.119
Argentina and getting blanked by Cuba and Belgium.

00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:13.440
Just not good. Like you said, we'll get into

00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:16.960
it. But that was shocking. Because they were

00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:21.779
there all VNL. Like there but not there. Yes.

00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:25.019
Like you're not there if you have one win. Seven

00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:27.480
matches that all went to five sets. You could

00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.259
easily envision a world where they're, you know,

00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:33.880
have four or five wins. But it just didn't happen.

00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:37.759
And that's, you have to perform. And to Cuba's

00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.140
credit, they knew what they had to do. And they

00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:44.119
executed. Okay, so moving into the final eight,

00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.039
let's take a look at the matchups, some predictions.

00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:51.039
Will we be right? Probably not, but it's worth

00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.680
a try, you know? So we've got Japan playing China.

00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:59.180
I'm going to take Japan. I think that one's relatively

00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:00.980
straightforward. That's probably the easiest

00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:03.920
prediction of the lot. Watch them be like, we'll

00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:07.579
lose. We've got Poland against Ukraine. I like

00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:11.059
the way Ukraine is playing. But watching Poland

00:23:11.059 --> 00:23:14.019
this week with all of their starters back, they're

00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:17.039
just too good. Yeah. I'm taking Poland as well.

00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:21.140
We've got Slovenia versus Turkey. Turkey is playing

00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:24.660
really well. But Slovenia, they just win. I feel

00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:28.000
like it's bad form to bet against Slovenia. They're

00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.079
just consistent and they wear you down. And I

00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.680
think being in the top eight for the first time,

00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.119
you have to learn how to beat it. Like, I have

00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.250
to imagine that. for teams like Turkey and Ukraine,

00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:42.630
they're thinking about, hey, we want to make

00:23:42.630 --> 00:23:45.789
the top eight. And you hit that goal, and now

00:23:45.789 --> 00:23:48.430
you're playing against a Slovenian team who...

00:23:48.430 --> 00:23:50.250
Like their goal is to win. Their goal is to win.

00:23:50.390 --> 00:23:53.289
I don't see it this year. I think they need a

00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:55.309
little more experience. They need to understand

00:23:55.309 --> 00:23:58.609
what playing in that environment with those pressures

00:23:58.609 --> 00:24:02.369
are. I'm edged to Slovenia, but I think it's

00:24:02.369 --> 00:24:05.930
going to be a close match. And then we've got

00:24:05.930 --> 00:24:10.269
Italy -US. I think this is the toughest one for

00:24:10.269 --> 00:24:14.349
me. I don't know. Mikuleto is out. Do we know

00:24:14.349 --> 00:24:16.549
what their roster is going to be? I mean, you

00:24:16.549 --> 00:24:17.829
have to assume they're going to bring everybody

00:24:17.829 --> 00:24:21.250
they can. This one's tough. I'm going to take

00:24:21.250 --> 00:24:25.690
a flyer and say US. I was going to say the same

00:24:25.690 --> 00:24:30.269
thing. I think I don't love Italy's right side.

00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:34.690
Ryszalischki? No. I love Romanov, though. And

00:24:34.690 --> 00:24:38.890
that's the thing. Have no feel for who Italy's

00:24:38.890 --> 00:24:42.150
going to play. They flip -flopped those two all

00:24:42.150 --> 00:24:46.950
last season, even until the bitter end where

00:24:46.950 --> 00:24:49.049
somebody messed up the lineup. Never forget.

00:24:49.650 --> 00:24:52.890
I don't know, but Italy, they find ways. They're

00:24:52.890 --> 00:24:57.329
young. Their young guys are playing well. If

00:24:57.329 --> 00:25:01.069
you would have asked me two days ago before the

00:25:01.069 --> 00:25:03.549
U .S. played Bulgaria and Poland, I would have

00:25:03.549 --> 00:25:06.289
said... USA for sure. I thought they were playing

00:25:06.289 --> 00:25:09.490
really, really well. But they did not end well.

00:25:10.549 --> 00:25:13.329
Honestly, this is going to be a 50 -50, like

00:25:13.329 --> 00:25:14.930
toss a coin. Well, you have to pick one. I'm

00:25:14.930 --> 00:25:16.930
picking US. I'll pick the US just because I like

00:25:16.930 --> 00:25:20.809
the way they played all VNL. Okay. So based on

00:25:20.809 --> 00:25:23.569
our predictions, we've got Japan versus USA.

00:25:24.109 --> 00:25:27.410
Do you think the US will get beat by Japan twice

00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:32.759
in the same tournament? Yes. Really? Yeah. Think

00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:36.960
that USA's weakest position with the addition

00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:39.460
of the right sides into Falco is in the middle.

00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.980
I think their middles are legit. Well, Gendrick

00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:45.140
is really good. I think the connection between

00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:47.539
Christensen and McHenry has gotten better. I'm

00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:49.059
not talking about from an attacking standpoint.

00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:52.339
I agree with you. I think blocking wise McHenry

00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:57.200
is a bit of a liability. Really? Speed -wise,

00:25:57.339 --> 00:25:59.519
when he gets there, he's very good. I don't think

00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:02.799
he closes particularly quickly yet. I just, I

00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:04.960
think they're going to struggle with the speed.

00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:08.200
You think I'm wrong. McHenry's as fast twitch

00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:10.599
as you get. I know, but I don't love his reads.

00:26:10.700 --> 00:26:13.420
Like, I don't think he gets, he gets used a bunch.

00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:18.039
He's going too high because he just dies. Yeah,

00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.940
I mean, I just, I think that his positioning

00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:24.230
on the block when it's that quick. I think they're

00:26:24.230 --> 00:26:27.529
going to be holes. And I don't know that with

00:26:27.529 --> 00:26:29.630
the speed they're running that they're going

00:26:29.630 --> 00:26:31.430
to be able to control them. He's saying this

00:26:31.430 --> 00:26:33.589
with a half smile on his face because he knows

00:26:33.589 --> 00:26:36.470
that he could be bitterly incorrect. He's like,

00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:39.410
I'm going to keep saying this and I'm sticking

00:26:39.410 --> 00:26:42.470
to my point, but deep down I'm like, dang, I

00:26:42.470 --> 00:26:45.069
might be wrong. I mean, I could definitely eat

00:26:45.069 --> 00:26:48.329
these words, but I think Japan is playing really

00:26:48.329 --> 00:26:50.589
well. I like the offense they're running. I think

00:26:50.589 --> 00:26:54.500
everybody... is feeling it right now, I think

00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:56.640
they could beat the U .S. Even if what you're

00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:58.440
saying about McHenry is true, which I don't agree

00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:01.720
with you, you've got to, if the guy can follow

00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:05.359
a game plan, they will be prepared. It's a gut

00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:06.920
feeling that the middles are going to struggle

00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:10.099
against Japan. I want Japan to see this through.

00:27:10.200 --> 00:27:14.220
I really do. But the U .S. is studying every

00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:17.299
single touch from that match they lost to Japan.

00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:20.339
I bet. And you don't think that Japan is doing

00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:23.170
the same thing? I mean, I got to go with the

00:27:23.170 --> 00:27:25.829
US. I want Japan to do it, but I don't think

00:27:25.829 --> 00:27:27.910
they're going to see this through. So what do

00:27:27.910 --> 00:27:29.589
you think the difference is going to be? Like

00:27:29.589 --> 00:27:32.250
when you look at that matchup? Here's the thing.

00:27:32.529 --> 00:27:34.910
It's just a second ago. You were like, I was

00:27:34.910 --> 00:27:36.190
like, is Japan going to see this? You're like,

00:27:36.329 --> 00:27:38.009
no, I don't think so. I think their semifinal

00:27:38.009 --> 00:27:39.829
matchup is too tough. And now we're here and

00:27:39.829 --> 00:27:41.589
you're like, they're going to win. The Italy

00:27:41.589 --> 00:27:43.869
US game is a pick them. The Japan against those

00:27:43.869 --> 00:27:46.349
teams. I said, I think that's the worst matchup

00:27:46.349 --> 00:27:48.609
for them. Okay. So you're taking Japan. I'll

00:27:48.609 --> 00:27:51.839
take the US. Okay. Okay. And then Poland, Italy.

00:27:51.940 --> 00:27:54.980
And then Poland, Slovenia. Poland. I'm taking

00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:58.160
Poland too. They're just too good right now.

00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:01.059
The final, we both have Poland against. You have

00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:03.920
against Japan. I have against US. I'm taking

00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:05.460
Poland. I think Poland's going to win again.

00:28:05.539 --> 00:28:07.940
I just think they're too good. The thing about

00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:12.039
Poland is they're too deep. If somebody is struggling.

00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.000
And you know we have a serious obsession with

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.460
Semenyuk. That third man, that third left side.

00:28:18.990 --> 00:28:21.789
Coming off the bench, can it get any better?

00:28:22.349 --> 00:28:27.369
No. Not in my mind. And the thing about how Gerbich

00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:31.029
runs that team is he doesn't care. If you're

00:28:31.029 --> 00:28:33.109
not performing, he doesn't hesitate to take you

00:28:33.109 --> 00:28:35.410
off the floor. He doesn't care, and he can because

00:28:35.410 --> 00:28:37.509
he's like, I was literally the best, so I don't

00:28:37.509 --> 00:28:41.529
care what you think. I mean, pretty much. So

00:28:41.529 --> 00:28:44.309
they have the depth, and he's not afraid to make.

00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:47.460
if people aren't performing. I think they're

00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:51.920
the best team right now. All right. We just differ

00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:56.420
in our finalists. We'll see who's right. Probably

00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:58.779
neither of us. Italy's going to win and the U

00:28:58.779 --> 00:29:00.940
.S. isn't going to be an option either way. Ukraine's

00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:02.940
going to win. You know, Turkey is going to win.

00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:05.779
Just mess it all up. Let's see what happens.

00:29:06.220 --> 00:29:08.599
This is the fun part, though. You throw your

00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:10.079
predictions out before anything even happens.

00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:11.480
We love a speculation. We love a prediction.

00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:18.680
We're batting maybe. Negative. Negative. But

00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:21.279
you know what? We tried our best. So let us know

00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:24.240
your thoughts. We got some homers out there.

00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:27.380
Okay. People accuse us of being homers. I think

00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:30.920
that we are anti -homers. I am much more harsh.

00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:33.000
I think a lot of people think we're American.

00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:36.440
Really? Yeah. Okay. Even if we were American,

00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:40.039
anti -homers. Think about it. Think about it.

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:43.099
But no, we are Canadian. But I think we are the

00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:47.240
most. harsh on the u .s and canada true and they

00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:49.319
are also the teams we watch the most so that

00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:54.339
also tracks so we legit have homers out there

00:29:54.339 --> 00:29:56.880
who are going to pick their country to the end

00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:59.480
we might call you out in the comments it's fine

00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:01.819
get ready for it but let us know your thoughts

00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:07.819
anyway okay so as we said we're going to talk

00:30:07.819 --> 00:30:11.559
about canada's relegation so let's do it we got

00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:16.720
So many questions, comments, reach outs, emails,

00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:20.440
like you name it about Canada being relegated.

00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:25.000
We could not stop talking about it from Friday

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.720
night on as we were just floored, embarrassed,

00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:34.059
just like so disappointed. So let's talk about

00:30:34.059 --> 00:30:37.599
this. Where do you want to begin? Let's begin

00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:39.900
with a few stats and then we can go in. Okay.

00:30:40.380 --> 00:30:43.440
And I also had, I've thrown in a couple questions

00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:47.019
that we can kind of like talk about as it pertains

00:30:47.019 --> 00:30:50.079
to them as well. Okay. So before we go any further,

00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:52.460
I think it's important to understand the team

00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:55.799
and maybe what the expectations were. Because

00:30:55.799 --> 00:30:59.940
we saw a couple young players featured in some

00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:03.480
of the weeks, but the reality of it is this team

00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:06.339
is not young and they're not inexperienced. They

00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:09.670
had seven members on the wide roster. who played

00:31:09.670 --> 00:31:12.049
in the Paris Olympics and who were available

00:31:12.049 --> 00:31:16.609
for them to play. So Herther Setter, Hofer, who

00:31:16.609 --> 00:31:19.410
we didn't really see. He was a serving sub when

00:31:19.410 --> 00:31:22.069
he started last year's V &L. Yeah, so I was a

00:31:22.069 --> 00:31:26.069
little confused about that. Katrinsky was also

00:31:26.069 --> 00:31:28.009
at the Olympics. The other right side, Schwartz,

00:31:28.049 --> 00:31:30.509
was also at the Olympics. And Eric Lepke, where

00:31:30.509 --> 00:31:33.990
was he? He was a great left side for them. Mar

00:31:33.990 --> 00:31:37.089
Demianco. didn't play after week one. Like they

00:31:37.089 --> 00:31:39.809
have experienced players who should have been

00:31:39.809 --> 00:31:43.990
able to win matches. So I'm not buying the young

00:31:43.990 --> 00:31:46.849
inexperienced that I've heard from a bunch of

00:31:46.849 --> 00:31:48.589
different people. That's just not, it's not true.

00:31:48.849 --> 00:31:51.230
Yeah, I'm kind of scratching my head on this.

00:31:51.369 --> 00:31:56.150
I'm scratching my head on lineup decisions, on

00:31:56.150 --> 00:32:00.529
substitution decisions. Like what? I kind of,

00:32:00.529 --> 00:32:03.470
we kind of had the shout out answer for this.

00:32:03.529 --> 00:32:05.750
Like somebody help us out a couple of weeks ago

00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:08.569
of like, where did Mar and Demian Yanko go? And

00:32:08.569 --> 00:32:11.250
Lepke, where, where did they go? And somebody

00:32:11.250 --> 00:32:12.930
was like, oh, I think they went to Gord Perrin's

00:32:12.930 --> 00:32:16.069
wedding for three weeks. So I'm just like, why

00:32:16.069 --> 00:32:18.089
did you show up in Ottawa and then just like

00:32:18.089 --> 00:32:20.589
disappear for the rest? Were you injured? I didn't

00:32:20.589 --> 00:32:23.329
see any reports about an injury. Like, like nobody

00:32:23.329 --> 00:32:25.910
had any answers. Where did you go? And there's.

00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:28.839
Curry was injured. Curry was, yes. The libero.

00:32:28.859 --> 00:32:32.380
So that, okay, fair, obviously. No matter how

00:32:32.380 --> 00:32:35.119
you look at this from my perspective, it's wrong.

00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:39.039
If Mar and Demyanko and Lepke didn't want to

00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:41.420
travel outside of Canada for whatever reason,

00:32:41.500 --> 00:32:45.220
if it was their choice to not play weeks two

00:32:45.220 --> 00:32:47.200
and three. Shouldn't be playing week one either.

00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:49.079
For me as a coaching staff, it's like if you're

00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:50.819
not all in, you're not part of the team. That

00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:53.720
to me is a very easy decision. If that wasn't

00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:57.170
the play. And the coaching staff only brought

00:32:57.170 --> 00:32:59.650
them to week one and then wanted to give other

00:32:59.650 --> 00:33:03.049
players an opportunity. Fireable offense. Fireable

00:33:03.049 --> 00:33:06.569
offense. You can't get relegated and not play

00:33:06.569 --> 00:33:09.410
your best players. Like it makes no sense. So

00:33:09.410 --> 00:33:11.970
either way, those lineup decisions specifically

00:33:11.970 --> 00:33:14.349
around those players for me is a massive miss.

00:33:14.609 --> 00:33:16.710
But even week one, I'm like, okay, Hover started

00:33:16.710 --> 00:33:20.109
all VNL last year. Mar coming in. Okay. Yep.

00:33:20.150 --> 00:33:23.529
Fair. You're benched. Got it. Makes sense. But

00:33:23.529 --> 00:33:26.720
what did you do? To not play the next two weeks

00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:29.599
because he wasn't bad last year. No. He did a

00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:32.880
pretty decent job. But are you telling me that

00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:35.880
Vargas and Young are better than him? I'm not

00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:37.119
sure about that. Unless they improved a lot.

00:33:37.380 --> 00:33:38.880
Like, I don't know. I don't know what happened.

00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:41.299
What's the story here? Where did show go after

00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:44.099
week two? Yeah, no week three. I don't know.

00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:47.480
That one for me is less critical than Demyanko

00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:49.779
and more. But I'm just saying, like, you have

00:33:49.779 --> 00:33:54.109
the players on the wide roster. Okay, we can

00:33:54.109 --> 00:33:55.849
use the U .S. women as an example. They have

00:33:55.849 --> 00:33:57.329
some players that people have been like, why

00:33:57.329 --> 00:33:59.609
aren't they bringing these players along? Well,

00:33:59.769 --> 00:34:02.069
you know what? It's fine because they finished

00:34:02.069 --> 00:34:04.450
first in the ranking. You know what I mean? It's

00:34:04.450 --> 00:34:06.990
not the same thing as like Canada. You literally

00:34:06.990 --> 00:34:08.690
got relegated and people are like, well, where

00:34:08.690 --> 00:34:10.329
are these players? Like completely different

00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:13.170
situations. That part to me is mind -blowing.

00:34:13.349 --> 00:34:15.949
Mind -blowing. Before we get into some of the

00:34:15.949 --> 00:34:18.489
other things, here are some of the numbers about

00:34:18.489 --> 00:34:21.409
this V &L performance. They went to five sets

00:34:21.409 --> 00:34:25.269
seven times. That's an absurd number of times.

00:34:25.269 --> 00:34:28.050
How many did they win? None. Exactly. But they

00:34:28.050 --> 00:34:31.670
got reverse swept three times, including twice

00:34:31.670 --> 00:34:35.610
in week three where they needed a win to not

00:34:35.610 --> 00:34:37.530
be relegated. Okay, so we had a lot of questions

00:34:37.530 --> 00:34:40.190
about them going five. Okay, can I give you one

00:34:40.190 --> 00:34:44.230
other stat? Yes. They played 21 sets that were

00:34:44.230 --> 00:34:48.789
decided by two points. They lost 13 of them and

00:34:48.789 --> 00:34:53.260
won eight of them, but obviously never won. Any

00:34:53.260 --> 00:34:58.440
of the ones to close out. There were just some

00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:01.460
wild numbers around that. Somebody was like,

00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:05.039
how is it possible to lose so many five setters?

00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.880
Is there a place in the game where things seem

00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:11.280
to change from a coaching perspective? What needs

00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:13.980
to change? Does Dan Lewis keep his job after

00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:16.980
this? And another one that kind of was similar

00:35:16.980 --> 00:35:19.719
was talking about the Japan -Canada game, how

00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:21.519
they went five as well. And they're like, man,

00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:24.139
Japan goes five with everybody, but they're always

00:35:24.139 --> 00:35:27.019
winning in five. Canada's going five with everybody

00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:32.380
and they're losing in five. So how would you

00:35:32.380 --> 00:35:36.019
approach these situations as a coach and a player?

00:35:36.179 --> 00:35:39.019
So those are the kind of like five set discussions.

00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:42.260
Honestly, you see it happen because like the

00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:44.460
number of reverse sweeps is like, I know it's

00:35:44.460 --> 00:35:46.619
not like a huge number, but you kind of see it.

00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:49.800
It's very obvious to me that Canada's coaching

00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:52.840
staff has, they can put together a solid game

00:35:52.840 --> 00:35:56.079
plan because very often in these matches that

00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:57.960
they've gone five, they've won the first set.

00:35:58.099 --> 00:36:00.579
They've won the first and second set, which that

00:36:00.579 --> 00:36:04.760
tells me you've got a solid game plan and you

00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:07.340
are prepared. The fact that you're losing in

00:36:07.340 --> 00:36:10.119
five all the time tells me that you are incapable

00:36:10.119 --> 00:36:13.579
of identifying what a team is doing to you. And

00:36:13.579 --> 00:36:17.000
you are incapable of making real time adjustments

00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:20.860
that you have to watch film to be able to figure

00:36:20.860 --> 00:36:22.739
out what the heck is going on. And you cannot

00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:25.320
watch a game in real time and figure out what

00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:27.480
is happening. That is what the five set discussion

00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:33.019
tells me for Canada, for Japan, they on paper

00:36:33.019 --> 00:36:37.150
are. They're smaller. They run a different style

00:36:37.150 --> 00:36:40.510
of play. So they kind of take time to work into

00:36:40.510 --> 00:36:43.789
a match to see what a team is doing. And the

00:36:43.789 --> 00:36:45.969
fact that they're able to usually come back and

00:36:45.969 --> 00:36:48.789
win in five tells me that their coaching staff

00:36:48.789 --> 00:36:51.530
and them as players are able to make adjustments

00:36:51.530 --> 00:36:56.389
to maximize their maybe deficiencies that teams

00:36:56.389 --> 00:36:58.710
are trying to exploit early on. I agree with

00:36:58.710 --> 00:37:02.289
everything that you're saying. But. No buts.

00:37:02.289 --> 00:37:06.119
It's a very hard skill. to be able to analyze

00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:09.239
what's happening in real time, compare that to

00:37:09.239 --> 00:37:12.000
the game plan, and then understand your strengths

00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:14.639
and weaknesses and change that. Not everybody

00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:17.519
on a coaching staff can always do that, but you

00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:19.820
need at least one. Not everybody can do that,

00:37:19.900 --> 00:37:22.820
but I think as a complete coaching staff unit,

00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:26.820
everybody as a whole, people need to be contributing

00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:29.679
different things to be able to make it happen.

00:37:29.980 --> 00:37:33.039
Agreed. That was my point. I don't see that.

00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:37.000
You watched week one. Demyanko was unstoppable

00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:39.900
in the middle until the fifth set. And then it

00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:43.559
was slow down, slow down, block. Fifth set's

00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:46.280
over. Teams are collecting information. Like

00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:48.820
you said, they're making adjustments. And Canada's

00:37:48.820 --> 00:37:50.980
not adjusting back. If you listen to Dan Lewis's

00:37:50.980 --> 00:37:52.980
feedback, and it's not, again, these statements

00:37:52.980 --> 00:37:55.500
are not blanket statements. They're very specific

00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:58.139
at the beginning of the matches. And then later

00:37:58.139 --> 00:38:00.440
on when things aren't going well. No, it's like.

00:38:00.730 --> 00:38:03.789
Look for the hands. High off the hands. And the

00:38:03.789 --> 00:38:07.130
feedback gets less specific. But I also think

00:38:07.130 --> 00:38:11.110
part of that is watching Dan get so emotionally

00:38:11.110 --> 00:38:15.230
invested in the match. It's very hard to think

00:38:15.230 --> 00:38:17.949
analytically when you're tugging on the ref's

00:38:17.949 --> 00:38:20.869
leg sleeve to get attention and make a call.

00:38:21.050 --> 00:38:24.869
And you're so anxious about what's going on.

00:38:24.949 --> 00:38:29.070
That doesn't work. That anxiety leeches onto

00:38:29.070 --> 00:38:33.110
the court. I think it's both a mental component

00:38:33.110 --> 00:38:36.789
from the coaching staff and an adjustment component

00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:41.010
from the coaching staff that is hindering those

00:38:41.010 --> 00:38:43.809
fifth set performances. It was so hard to watch.

00:38:44.429 --> 00:38:48.329
It was so hard to watch. And just like almost

00:38:48.329 --> 00:38:52.269
cringy, like tugging on the ref's pants to like

00:38:52.269 --> 00:38:55.309
get a call or beg for a call or like as a coach

00:38:55.309 --> 00:38:57.989
talking through the net to the opposing players.

00:38:58.190 --> 00:39:02.059
What are you doing? What are you doing? Stop

00:39:02.059 --> 00:39:08.320
it. But it's detrimental. Yes. And clearly they

00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:10.199
weren't able to figure out what's actually going

00:39:10.199 --> 00:39:12.460
on because he's too busy begging for calls or

00:39:12.460 --> 00:39:15.000
fighting with players all the time. Those would

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:18.500
be some of the things that I saw from a coaching

00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:21.519
standpoint. Is this a fireball offense? Getting

00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:25.000
relegated as Canada with this roster, in my opinion,

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:27.630
is. But I don't know if they will. He's a homegrown

00:39:27.630 --> 00:39:29.590
coach. I'm not sure who else takes over that

00:39:29.590 --> 00:39:33.050
program. They're in potentially transition with

00:39:33.050 --> 00:39:36.369
a lot of young guys coming up. I don't think

00:39:36.369 --> 00:39:39.650
he'll be fired, but this is a massive blow to

00:39:39.650 --> 00:39:43.030
Canadian volleyball, men's volleyball. Massive,

00:39:43.030 --> 00:39:44.969
because it's hard. I think it's going to be very

00:39:44.969 --> 00:39:46.570
hard to get back in. I don't think they'll be

00:39:46.570 --> 00:39:49.110
back in before the Olympics. You're missing all

00:39:49.110 --> 00:39:51.429
of these quality training and experiences for

00:39:51.429 --> 00:39:55.119
players like Varga, who are going to now... fall

00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:56.539
further and further behind because you don't

00:39:56.539 --> 00:39:58.639
get to play. And just be able to play continental

00:39:58.639 --> 00:40:02.239
stuff. It's not the same. There's massive repercussions

00:40:02.239 --> 00:40:05.619
to this. Well, somebody also was like, why is...

00:40:05.619 --> 00:40:07.800
They were talking about the Japan game, but in

00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:09.519
general, it's like, why is Canada losing when

00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:11.579
they're up two sets to none? Are the players

00:40:11.579 --> 00:40:14.719
getting tired? Is the coaching staff making bad

00:40:14.719 --> 00:40:18.199
substitutions? Well, there's one other trend

00:40:18.199 --> 00:40:20.800
that I've seen with them. They often generate

00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:24.670
leads. and then disappear for stretches and give

00:40:24.670 --> 00:40:27.070
up runs of points. So obviously they're generating

00:40:27.070 --> 00:40:29.650
runs of points if they're building leads, but

00:40:29.650 --> 00:40:32.969
when they give up points, it kind of to me seems

00:40:32.969 --> 00:40:35.969
like you're checked out. There's three or four

00:40:35.969 --> 00:40:39.030
errors in a row or a couple bad decisions in

00:40:39.030 --> 00:40:42.769
a row. It just seems that they're A, streaky

00:40:42.769 --> 00:40:46.789
as a team, but their mistakes compound with each

00:40:46.789 --> 00:40:49.949
other. Sets where they've been winning 13 -8

00:40:49.949 --> 00:40:53.900
end up... 25 -23. And that just can't happen.

00:40:53.980 --> 00:40:56.619
If you can build off that momentum, you don't

00:40:56.619 --> 00:40:58.579
find yourself losing fifth sets because you've

00:40:58.579 --> 00:41:00.820
taken care of business. Let's talk about this

00:41:00.820 --> 00:41:05.239
Cuba match. Basically, if Canada beats Cuba,

00:41:05.340 --> 00:41:09.119
they are in. So Cuba came into the match with

00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:13.480
two wins, but not in very many points. Canada

00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:15.780
came in with one win and just so many points

00:41:15.780 --> 00:41:17.480
because they kept gathering points by losing

00:41:17.480 --> 00:41:21.199
in five. So if Canada wins this match, they are

00:41:21.199 --> 00:41:24.300
pretty much safe because Cuba played Italy the

00:41:24.300 --> 00:41:26.860
next day. They weren't going to win. I mean,

00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:29.920
the percentage chance that Cuba was going to

00:41:29.920 --> 00:41:33.340
beat Italy was very small. It's a must win for

00:41:33.340 --> 00:41:38.760
both teams. And Cuba comes out and wins 3 -0.

00:41:39.480 --> 00:41:42.699
3 -0. Are you kidding me right now? That is what

00:41:42.699 --> 00:41:45.039
you put on the floor when your VNL future is

00:41:45.039 --> 00:41:48.780
on the line. You get blanked. Well, you can look

00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:51.579
at it the other way. Cuba was horrendous. This

00:41:51.579 --> 00:41:56.199
VNL. We do have to. Okay. Yes. Cuba. Give Cuba

00:41:56.199 --> 00:42:01.059
credit. They struggled. Okay. They lost eight

00:42:01.059 --> 00:42:03.800
in a row. They came into week three winless.

00:42:04.019 --> 00:42:06.699
And they knew that they needed to get these wins.

00:42:07.400 --> 00:42:11.280
They won their first three matches. They got

00:42:11.280 --> 00:42:15.320
it done. Okay. Canada comes into VNL week three.

00:42:15.340 --> 00:42:18.239
They're like, we need one win. And they're like,

00:42:18.280 --> 00:42:24.579
no, don't want it. Cuba, back against the wall,

00:42:24.739 --> 00:42:27.659
they showed up when they had to and figured it

00:42:27.659 --> 00:42:30.559
out. Canada was the complete opposite. Can you

00:42:30.559 --> 00:42:33.440
imagine if the situation around the Cuban team

00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:36.719
was normal, how good they would be? Anyway, that's

00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:38.679
neither here nor there. It's like a command performance

00:42:38.679 --> 00:42:42.940
every time. It's like every match you're playing

00:42:42.940 --> 00:42:46.559
to stay in VNL and they'd be like, VNL champions.

00:42:47.389 --> 00:42:50.869
But anyway, the number of balls that I saw their

00:42:50.869 --> 00:42:55.269
left sides hit into the sharp angle, almost every

00:42:55.269 --> 00:42:59.449
single swing. Literally almost every single swing.

00:42:59.570 --> 00:43:01.949
And not only did the block not even get close

00:43:01.949 --> 00:43:04.750
on any of them, neither did the defense. But

00:43:04.750 --> 00:43:07.789
again, I listened to feedback about this later

00:43:07.789 --> 00:43:11.469
in the match, and you heard, or it might have

00:43:11.469 --> 00:43:13.969
been the post -game interview, while they hit...

00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:16.539
over us and then they hit set two it was a set

00:43:16.539 --> 00:43:18.679
two so in between sets two and there's a dan

00:43:18.679 --> 00:43:20.360
lewis said something to the effect of well they're

00:43:20.360 --> 00:43:21.920
hitting over us and then they're hitting around

00:43:21.920 --> 00:43:24.599
us and then they're doing you know this that

00:43:24.599 --> 00:43:26.579
or the other thing kind of like we don't know

00:43:26.579 --> 00:43:28.420
what yeah when they're not hitting over us they're

00:43:28.420 --> 00:43:29.639
hitting around us and when they're not hitting

00:43:29.639 --> 00:43:31.239
around us they're hitting over us it's like what

00:43:31.239 --> 00:43:33.000
it's like no that's that's what they're supposed

00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:34.960
to do they're trying not they're trying to score

00:43:34.960 --> 00:43:38.079
and granted if you're getting hit over there's

00:43:38.079 --> 00:43:40.380
not a whole lot you can do about that maybe a

00:43:40.380 --> 00:43:43.480
sub and a taller player but You have to defend

00:43:43.480 --> 00:43:45.699
the balls around. You have to get slowdowns.

00:43:45.880 --> 00:43:49.719
There are things that you can do. Let's force

00:43:49.719 --> 00:43:52.400
them to hit line. Leave a truckload of line.

00:43:53.019 --> 00:43:56.219
Let's just see what happens here. I do not want

00:43:56.219 --> 00:43:58.300
to see them score into the sharp angle one more

00:43:58.300 --> 00:44:01.119
time, okay? I heard that in between sets two

00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:03.340
and three. I was like, this is over. They don't

00:44:03.340 --> 00:44:06.179
know what to do. Set three, the body language

00:44:06.179 --> 00:44:08.920
on the court. I almost turned it off. I was like,

00:44:08.980 --> 00:44:12.780
you guys are rolling over and dying. The body

00:44:12.780 --> 00:44:15.980
language was terrible. I'm like, this is how

00:44:15.980 --> 00:44:18.119
you're responding to this adversity right now?

00:44:18.260 --> 00:44:22.760
Very disappointed. As a Canadian, too, I'm extra

00:44:22.760 --> 00:44:27.619
disappointed in that outing and how the fight

00:44:27.619 --> 00:44:31.480
just seemed to disappear. There weren't any Canadian

00:44:31.480 --> 00:44:35.139
players who made plays down the stretch when

00:44:35.139 --> 00:44:37.639
they needed to. If you lose seven matches in

00:44:37.639 --> 00:44:42.829
five, you just needed somebody to step up. twice,

00:44:42.829 --> 00:44:47.789
once more. And it just, it didn't happen. There

00:44:47.789 --> 00:44:50.969
needs to be a shift in mentality and approach.

00:44:51.269 --> 00:44:53.750
And, you know, they talk about scoring after

00:44:53.750 --> 00:44:57.389
20. How are you going to fix that? What's, what's

00:44:57.389 --> 00:44:59.670
the plan? Is it set distribution? Is it set location?

00:45:00.230 --> 00:45:04.030
Is it swing choice? Is it not being a great,

00:45:04.070 --> 00:45:06.110
like there's all kinds of things and you should

00:45:06.110 --> 00:45:07.670
have been able to make those adjustments between

00:45:07.670 --> 00:45:10.139
weeks one, two, and three. Who knows how long

00:45:10.139 --> 00:45:12.360
it'll take for us to see Canada back in the VNO.

00:45:12.500 --> 00:45:16.179
We know it won't be in 2027. I wonder how this

00:45:16.179 --> 00:45:19.960
will affect their Olympic prospects. I wonder.

00:45:20.679 --> 00:45:23.380
Because if any year is going to be a year where

00:45:23.380 --> 00:45:26.119
Canada's like feeling great about making the

00:45:26.119 --> 00:45:27.980
Olympics, it's when the U .S. is off the table.

00:45:28.739 --> 00:45:31.260
Can you imagine when it comes to the continental

00:45:31.260 --> 00:45:35.159
qualifier and Canada has to play Cuba? To make

00:45:35.159 --> 00:45:38.469
it. To make it in. Who's going to show up? That

00:45:38.469 --> 00:45:43.289
VNL match was not just about staying in VNL.

00:45:43.889 --> 00:45:48.650
Cuba sent a message. 100%. Who knows what this

00:45:48.650 --> 00:45:52.590
is going to do to volleyball, the men's team.

00:45:52.969 --> 00:45:56.150
All I can say is how the tables have turned in

00:45:56.150 --> 00:45:58.989
volleyball in Canada, everybody. The women were

00:45:58.989 --> 00:46:01.630
getting no love for the longest time, and the

00:46:01.630 --> 00:46:03.849
men were getting all the funding. They were getting

00:46:03.849 --> 00:46:07.440
everything. And now look. Now look what happened.

00:46:07.519 --> 00:46:10.079
Honestly, I'm proud of the women. But, guys,

00:46:10.179 --> 00:46:16.239
it is time for listener questions. Our listeners

00:46:16.239 --> 00:46:21.199
have been showing up, okay, with the questions

00:46:21.199 --> 00:46:25.460
on Instagram, by email, on YouTube. Like, you

00:46:25.460 --> 00:46:28.599
name it. You guys are submitting a ton of questions,

00:46:28.719 --> 00:46:32.219
first of all. And you're very curious. I can't

00:46:32.219 --> 00:46:34.579
even tell you how many we have in reserve. I

00:46:34.579 --> 00:46:37.019
try to select these questions to keep them relevant

00:46:37.019 --> 00:46:40.039
for the most part to what we're talking about.

00:46:40.539 --> 00:46:43.659
But it is very hard to make these selections.

00:46:43.980 --> 00:46:46.400
So anyway, here we go. I picked a whole bunch

00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:51.659
today. Question one. What happened to the U .S.

00:46:51.719 --> 00:46:55.219
middle blocker Butler? She was playing so well

00:46:55.219 --> 00:46:57.320
last year. Not only did she not make it to the

00:46:57.320 --> 00:47:01.619
roster this year, neither. Sarah nor Adam had

00:47:01.619 --> 00:47:05.039
her in mind when picking the LA roster. Can someone

00:47:05.039 --> 00:47:07.519
fill me in? If you're talking about the LA roster

00:47:07.519 --> 00:47:11.420
that we talked about last women's episode, the

00:47:11.420 --> 00:47:16.519
challenge was to only pick one person per college.

00:47:17.619 --> 00:47:21.320
And Breon Butler went to Texas. And as we know,

00:47:21.400 --> 00:47:25.219
there are lots of Texas athletes playing for

00:47:25.219 --> 00:47:29.619
the national team. And we ended up picking. As

00:47:29.619 --> 00:47:31.500
our Texas athlete. So that's what happened there.

00:47:32.579 --> 00:47:39.380
As for part two, I heard a rumor. It is not substantiated,

00:47:39.400 --> 00:47:43.820
so I don't know if it's fact or not. But basically

00:47:43.820 --> 00:47:50.239
I heard that she did not like Eric Sullivan and

00:47:50.239 --> 00:47:53.820
just they did not see eye to eye. And so she

00:47:53.820 --> 00:47:56.480
was not invited back because of that relationship

00:47:56.480 --> 00:48:01.039
dynamic. Again, not confirmed. That is just something

00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:04.079
I heard. And that happens, right? Coaches have

00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:05.760
a style. Coaches have things they're looking

00:48:05.760 --> 00:48:08.659
for. It just doesn't always work. That's the

00:48:08.659 --> 00:48:10.659
way it goes. One other question for you in regards

00:48:10.659 --> 00:48:13.599
to this. Do you think she's better than Okbagu

00:48:13.599 --> 00:48:16.820
or Redke? No. Do you think she's the third middle?

00:48:17.519 --> 00:48:21.619
Better than O 'Neal? Better than Ajid? No. You

00:48:21.619 --> 00:48:25.260
know, she's... She's good, but even without the

00:48:25.260 --> 00:48:28.739
relationship dynamic, I still think she's lower

00:48:28.739 --> 00:48:32.440
in the depth chart. Okay, tied to this question,

00:48:32.579 --> 00:48:35.079
question two, what happened to Maddie Skinner?

00:48:35.320 --> 00:48:40.079
So I have a theory on this. Hit me. Okay, first

00:48:40.079 --> 00:48:42.440
of all, I haven't heard anything about her being

00:48:42.440 --> 00:48:45.719
injured or anything. She is on the VNL wide roster,

00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:49.940
but has not traveled at all during VNL. So maybe

00:48:49.940 --> 00:48:54.550
she's injured. No clue. But my theory is when

00:48:54.550 --> 00:49:00.809
you watch her play, so many of her points come

00:49:00.809 --> 00:49:07.690
from the throws or the like power tips and just

00:49:07.690 --> 00:49:11.789
like kind of manipulating the ball in a way that

00:49:11.789 --> 00:49:15.690
has become illegal in VNL this year. So I'm wondering

00:49:15.690 --> 00:49:20.730
if maybe they were like. Until you can figure

00:49:20.730 --> 00:49:24.170
out how to score effectively, either by attacking

00:49:24.170 --> 00:49:27.070
or tipping traditionally, we can't bring you

00:49:27.070 --> 00:49:30.210
because we can't use you. It's a good theory.

00:49:31.150 --> 00:49:34.210
I agree, and I think with the fast offense, like

00:49:34.210 --> 00:49:37.389
with Jordan Poulter, she does that a lot specifically.

00:49:37.389 --> 00:49:40.489
Think of how many balls, like we saw it at Texas,

00:49:40.530 --> 00:49:44.429
we see it in love, how many balls Maddie Skinner

00:49:44.429 --> 00:49:49.360
scores by jumping and like... power throwing

00:49:49.360 --> 00:49:54.179
the ball down or manhandling the ball, for lack

00:49:54.179 --> 00:49:57.280
of a better term, which just isn't going to fly

00:49:57.280 --> 00:50:00.320
in VNL anymore. Yeah, and I mean, she was already

00:50:00.320 --> 00:50:03.059
on the outside looking in from an opposite perspective

00:50:03.059 --> 00:50:05.860
than you take away arguably her best weapon.

00:50:06.559 --> 00:50:10.519
And yeah, she's got some reinventing of her game

00:50:10.519 --> 00:50:12.880
she needs to do, and it probably hasn't happened

00:50:12.880 --> 00:50:15.960
yet. So that's my theory. I think it's a good

00:50:15.960 --> 00:50:19.130
theory. That's where I'm at. Okay, question three.

00:50:19.289 --> 00:50:21.710
While commentators have no effect on the volleyball

00:50:21.710 --> 00:50:25.570
itself, they do influence the volleyball viewer's

00:50:25.570 --> 00:50:28.050
experience. Can you guys speak to how commentators

00:50:28.050 --> 00:50:31.130
are chosen, selected for events such as VNL?

00:50:31.630 --> 00:50:33.869
And then this person went on to say, there's

00:50:33.869 --> 00:50:36.150
one commentator, Clayton Lucas, that's always

00:50:36.150 --> 00:50:40.230
laughing as his commentary, and I'm not a fan

00:50:40.230 --> 00:50:43.150
of his perspective on the game sometimes. And

00:50:43.150 --> 00:50:46.210
then she said, Sarah mentioned she didn't watch

00:50:46.210 --> 00:50:48.630
USA versus Brazil, but it was either that match

00:50:48.630 --> 00:50:51.449
or the one before we had kept mistaking Jordan

00:50:51.449 --> 00:50:53.849
Thompson for Haley Washington, who isn't even

00:50:53.849 --> 00:50:57.349
on the war roster. I did end up going back and

00:50:57.349 --> 00:50:59.789
watching USA Brazil and I noticed the same thing.

00:50:59.909 --> 00:51:02.329
So it's so funny that you bring this up. That

00:51:02.329 --> 00:51:06.789
is just being unprepared. No, here's okay. This

00:51:06.789 --> 00:51:09.650
is an observation I have made. This is another

00:51:09.650 --> 00:51:14.110
one of like Sarah's theories. But I have noticed

00:51:14.110 --> 00:51:18.210
this a lot with commentators, particularly white

00:51:18.210 --> 00:51:23.150
commentators. The number of times I have seen

00:51:23.150 --> 00:51:26.170
black athletes be confused between each other

00:51:26.170 --> 00:51:28.829
when a white commentator is announcing a game

00:51:28.829 --> 00:51:33.869
is insane. Again, it has nothing to do, I don't

00:51:33.869 --> 00:51:37.030
think it has anything to do with racism or anything

00:51:37.030 --> 00:51:40.820
like that, but I think it is. Somebody who has

00:51:40.820 --> 00:51:42.960
like a sociology degree or something confirmed

00:51:42.960 --> 00:51:47.019
this for me, but I'm pretty sure we view our

00:51:47.019 --> 00:51:52.500
own race more distinctly than others. And so

00:51:52.500 --> 00:51:55.699
I have noticed this across the board in commentating

00:51:55.699 --> 00:51:59.079
and it drives me crazy. So he is not the first.

00:51:59.360 --> 00:52:02.679
He does joke around a lot, which he's funny.

00:52:02.760 --> 00:52:05.739
Like some of the things he does are funny, but

00:52:05.739 --> 00:52:09.190
I'm pretty sure for VNL. if you show interest

00:52:09.190 --> 00:52:12.869
and can like prove that you've done this before,

00:52:12.929 --> 00:52:16.110
I don't know what the procedure is, but because

00:52:16.110 --> 00:52:19.349
the schedule is so grueling and you're traveling

00:52:19.349 --> 00:52:22.170
overseas and you have to be gone for literally

00:52:22.170 --> 00:52:25.590
like six to eight weeks out of your summer, I

00:52:25.590 --> 00:52:28.389
think it's probably very difficult for them to

00:52:28.389 --> 00:52:31.550
find a cast of commentators that are willing

00:52:31.550 --> 00:52:34.590
to do it for the duration of VNL. So I think

00:52:34.590 --> 00:52:37.500
as long as you're, like knowledgeable about the

00:52:37.500 --> 00:52:40.599
game and show interest, I think that they have

00:52:40.599 --> 00:52:43.119
considered a lot of people. Yeah. And I'll say

00:52:43.119 --> 00:52:45.519
this, right? Your best talent goes where there's

00:52:45.519 --> 00:52:48.639
the most money and there's not the most money

00:52:48.639 --> 00:52:51.440
in volleyball. There's not a pool of people who

00:52:51.440 --> 00:52:53.639
have been doing this professionally for a long

00:52:53.639 --> 00:52:58.500
time to draw from. You look at NFL, NBA, like

00:52:58.500 --> 00:53:01.519
there's just more people who are doing it because

00:53:01.519 --> 00:53:04.440
it's worth your time. Not to say that they're

00:53:04.440 --> 00:53:07.960
not doing a good job, but I think that that also

00:53:07.960 --> 00:53:12.039
plays a part in the quality of the broadcast

00:53:12.039 --> 00:53:14.039
as a whole, not just the commentators. And trust

00:53:14.039 --> 00:53:16.619
me, watching VNO, I have certain commentators

00:53:16.619 --> 00:53:19.960
that I like way better than others. Some I do

00:53:19.960 --> 00:53:22.380
not enjoy at all, and there's a couple that I

00:53:22.380 --> 00:53:26.179
really do like. But think about it. These people

00:53:26.179 --> 00:53:29.539
are being asked to give up almost their entire

00:53:29.539 --> 00:53:35.079
summer. to go overseas sit in a gym for all day

00:53:35.079 --> 00:53:39.159
for like five days straight it's not easy and

00:53:39.159 --> 00:53:41.480
talking volleyball for like four matches in a

00:53:41.480 --> 00:53:45.039
row like yeah so i have a lot of respect for

00:53:45.039 --> 00:53:49.159
what they're doing it's hard but yeah it's probably

00:53:49.159 --> 00:53:52.480
the most not the most sought after opportunity

00:53:52.480 --> 00:53:55.730
if you're comparing it to like doing the professional

00:53:55.730 --> 00:53:58.030
leagues or things like that where you're able

00:53:58.030 --> 00:54:00.030
to just travel domestically in the winter or

00:54:00.030 --> 00:54:05.269
something. Okay, question four. While there are

00:54:05.269 --> 00:54:07.469
so many heavy hitters and big swings, it seems

00:54:07.469 --> 00:54:10.429
like blockers tend to leave the line open. Is

00:54:10.429 --> 00:54:13.070
this easier to defend, which is why it's left

00:54:13.070 --> 00:54:15.650
to the defenders? But if it's easier to defend,

00:54:15.889 --> 00:54:19.349
why are there so many kills in this area? Are

00:54:19.349 --> 00:54:21.530
there stats on areas of the court that get the

00:54:21.530 --> 00:54:25.630
most kills? A lot to unpack in this question.

00:54:25.789 --> 00:54:29.050
I'm going to give a couple kind of high -level

00:54:29.050 --> 00:54:31.989
theories of why people do this. First, offenses

00:54:31.989 --> 00:54:35.329
are so fast, it's often very difficult for pin

00:54:35.329 --> 00:54:38.510
blockers to help with the middle and the pipe

00:54:38.510 --> 00:54:42.110
and then get outside and seal the line. There's

00:54:42.110 --> 00:54:44.329
just not enough time. So unless you're willing

00:54:44.329 --> 00:54:47.710
to sacrifice helping in the middle to get out

00:54:47.710 --> 00:54:50.909
to the pin and take away the line, you just can't

00:54:50.909 --> 00:54:54.250
cover it all with a block. For me, the second

00:54:54.250 --> 00:54:57.809
piece is if you're forcing a hitter to hit down

00:54:57.809 --> 00:55:00.809
the line, there's the possibility that they miss

00:55:00.809 --> 00:55:03.570
the court and have an error versus swinging into

00:55:03.570 --> 00:55:04.989
the middle of the court where you're not going

00:55:04.989 --> 00:55:07.289
to miss. You're either going to hit a defender.

00:55:07.889 --> 00:55:10.590
It's not going to be an error. You're forcing

00:55:10.590 --> 00:55:12.789
that player to kind of thread a line, maybe hit

00:55:12.789 --> 00:55:15.329
the antenna, maybe hit out of bounds, and then

00:55:15.329 --> 00:55:18.269
you're hoping that your defender can dig that

00:55:18.269 --> 00:55:20.269
ball. Digging down the line is tough. It's a

00:55:20.269 --> 00:55:22.190
tough skill when there's no block in front of

00:55:22.190 --> 00:55:26.690
you. But it's just, it's usually the higher percentage

00:55:26.690 --> 00:55:28.849
play rather than leaving the middle of the court

00:55:28.849 --> 00:55:32.190
open for a hitter to hit a seam or no block that

00:55:32.190 --> 00:55:34.690
way. There are some very good line hitters. That

00:55:34.690 --> 00:55:39.769
is not an absolute rule, but I think that is

00:55:39.769 --> 00:55:41.889
probably the thought process a lot of the time.

00:55:42.360 --> 00:55:44.619
I've noticed it a lot with right side attackers

00:55:44.619 --> 00:55:46.820
especially in the women's side lately like a

00:55:46.820 --> 00:55:49.460
lot of blocks are leaving the line open for right

00:55:49.460 --> 00:55:51.860
side attackers and my theory on that is because

00:55:51.860 --> 00:55:54.400
the libero is usually digging down the line which

00:55:54.400 --> 00:55:57.000
if you have the option between having them hit

00:55:57.000 --> 00:55:59.840
to your right side in the angle or like your

00:55:59.840 --> 00:56:02.719
libero I think you want to play the percentages

00:56:02.719 --> 00:56:07.099
that your libero will get a better dig but it's

00:56:07.099 --> 00:56:11.159
also I think we're seeing the Outside hitters

00:56:11.159 --> 00:56:13.980
are having a hard time setting a consistent block

00:56:13.980 --> 00:56:16.460
on the outside because we're not seeing the hits

00:56:16.460 --> 00:56:18.920
always come straight down the line. We're seeing

00:56:18.920 --> 00:56:21.940
them come into the line seam at times, which

00:56:21.940 --> 00:56:27.380
is hard to dig for a line defender. If you are

00:56:27.380 --> 00:56:32.380
leaving line, it is a very narrow bridge you're

00:56:32.380 --> 00:56:35.920
walking of like... where to line up because the

00:56:35.920 --> 00:56:37.760
difference between digging straight down the

00:56:37.760 --> 00:56:41.019
line and having a slight angle available is huge.

00:56:42.219 --> 00:56:45.820
Okay. Question five. This is for the women. The

00:56:45.820 --> 00:56:48.019
Italian starters came back for week three and

00:56:48.019 --> 00:56:50.019
they were brought to five sets by both China

00:56:50.019 --> 00:56:52.519
and Canada. They also went five in the world

00:56:52.519 --> 00:56:55.539
championship semifinal against Brazil and in

00:56:55.539 --> 00:56:59.280
the final against Turkey. They have a very simple

00:56:59.280 --> 00:57:01.539
game. They don't vary their attack. They run

00:57:01.539 --> 00:57:03.960
middle in front of the setter. They run the opposite

00:57:03.960 --> 00:57:07.400
and position four. They don't run combos like

00:57:07.400 --> 00:57:11.119
the Piper Slide. Running this system, they looked

00:57:11.119 --> 00:57:13.619
unbeatable for a long time, but I've noticed

00:57:13.619 --> 00:57:15.460
that they've become less effective in recent

00:57:15.460 --> 00:57:18.699
games. Is their type of game now becoming too

00:57:18.699 --> 00:57:20.679
predictable and other teams have started to figure

00:57:20.679 --> 00:57:24.039
it out? Do they need to vary their attack? It

00:57:24.039 --> 00:57:26.559
strikes me that their game effectively relies

00:57:26.559 --> 00:57:29.199
on perfect execution, and when that's lacking,

00:57:29.300 --> 00:57:32.059
they appear vulnerable. I mean, that statement

00:57:32.059 --> 00:57:35.039
stands for a lot of teams. Like, if you don't

00:57:35.039 --> 00:57:37.219
execute, you're vulnerable. That being said,

00:57:37.500 --> 00:57:40.840
they run the middles in front because their opposites

00:57:40.840 --> 00:57:44.260
are so good. Like, you want to create a spread

00:57:44.260 --> 00:57:48.920
and a seam for Entropova and for Aganu. It just

00:57:48.920 --> 00:57:52.000
makes sense that you're going to do that. We

00:57:52.000 --> 00:57:54.340
talked about this in the last podcast. I do think

00:57:54.340 --> 00:57:57.139
they need to add a pipe ball into their offense

00:57:57.139 --> 00:58:01.519
because their left sides are not quite as terminal

00:58:01.519 --> 00:58:06.539
as they have been in the past. And so 100%, I

00:58:06.539 --> 00:58:08.539
think they're going to need to add a little something

00:58:08.539 --> 00:58:12.360
to help the left sides get a little more one

00:58:12.360 --> 00:58:14.940
-on -one, one -and -a -half, see a few less blocks.

00:58:15.280 --> 00:58:17.820
They do what they do because their personnel

00:58:17.820 --> 00:58:20.909
allows them to run. that system effectively.

00:58:21.349 --> 00:58:24.849
And I don't think going to five means that you're

00:58:24.849 --> 00:58:28.349
doing something wrong. You're playing good teams.

00:58:28.409 --> 00:58:31.010
You're going to have battles. It's can you come

00:58:31.010 --> 00:58:33.809
out on top? And they generally do. But I do agree

00:58:33.809 --> 00:58:35.869
with the statement that they don't look as unbeatable

00:58:35.869 --> 00:58:38.789
as they did in the last couple of years. A hundred

00:58:38.789 --> 00:58:40.670
percent. But you have to remember, they also

00:58:40.670 --> 00:58:43.050
played together for the first time in the third

00:58:43.050 --> 00:58:45.900
week. Like all of them had a break in. weeks

00:58:45.900 --> 00:58:47.639
one and two like it takes a little bit of time

00:58:47.639 --> 00:58:49.579
to find your rhythm i think let's wait and see

00:58:49.579 --> 00:58:51.500
how they look at european championships before

00:58:51.500 --> 00:58:56.260
we go late even yeah before we say that italy's

00:58:56.260 --> 00:58:59.000
over i think this is a good question yeah no

00:58:59.000 --> 00:59:03.940
i i agree As a VNL viewer since 2023, I have

00:59:03.940 --> 00:59:06.420
always been curious regarding relegation, specifically

00:59:06.420 --> 00:59:09.760
how only one team is relegated per year. Do you

00:59:09.760 --> 00:59:12.360
guys deem this to be fair or do you think it

00:59:12.360 --> 00:59:14.599
would be more beneficial or exciting for a higher

00:59:14.599 --> 00:59:17.900
turnover each VNL? I think two teams should be

00:59:17.900 --> 00:59:20.039
relegated. I think there's so many teams who

00:59:20.039 --> 00:59:22.559
are on the cusp of being able to come in and

00:59:22.559 --> 00:59:28.079
out. It's a long haul to get back in and with

00:59:28.079 --> 00:59:32.670
only one team coming in and out i think games

00:59:32.670 --> 00:59:36.949
would mean more and you would see a little more

00:59:36.949 --> 00:59:40.170
everybody fights but a little more drama at the

00:59:40.170 --> 00:59:43.750
bottom if you had two teams coming out so i would

00:59:43.750 --> 00:59:46.510
be a huge proponent of a two -team turnover i

00:59:46.510 --> 00:59:48.489
definitely think it would be more exciting whenever

00:59:48.489 --> 00:59:50.369
there's more at stake things are always more

00:59:50.369 --> 00:59:53.630
exciting i just think particularly in the women's

00:59:53.630 --> 00:59:55.750
side once you get past like the top 10 teams

00:59:55.750 --> 01:00:00.639
the level for me kind of drops But I think this

01:00:00.639 --> 01:00:02.780
helps with that. If you have a couple nations

01:00:02.780 --> 01:00:06.579
who are up and coming, this VNL experience is

01:00:06.579 --> 01:00:09.219
so important for young players, for teams who

01:00:09.219 --> 01:00:11.199
haven't done that, to understand what the level

01:00:11.199 --> 01:00:14.639
is, to be able to move two of those cusp teams

01:00:14.639 --> 01:00:17.619
up to get a chance, even for a year, so they

01:00:17.619 --> 01:00:21.059
understand. I think that helps the overall level

01:00:21.059 --> 01:00:23.420
as well. I wonder if money has anything to do

01:00:23.420 --> 01:00:26.380
with it. You often see sometimes the bottom teams

01:00:26.380 --> 01:00:31.699
are the ones who are hosting. hosting their federation

01:00:31.699 --> 01:00:34.639
president is involved in the continental you

01:00:34.639 --> 01:00:37.679
know what i mean there's just like so many politics

01:00:37.679 --> 01:00:41.099
and things going on so i wonder if that's part

01:00:41.099 --> 01:00:45.480
of the reason why they don't do it but i i do

01:00:45.480 --> 01:00:47.920
think it would be way more exciting but it is

01:00:47.920 --> 01:00:51.099
also like such a huge investment to do vnl so

01:00:51.099 --> 01:00:54.039
like once you make it like having the opportunity

01:00:54.039 --> 01:00:58.150
to try to like Figure it out is also useful.

01:00:58.530 --> 01:01:01.110
I don't know. Pros and cons to both, but I would

01:01:01.110 --> 01:01:04.210
be a fan of the two -team relegation. We agree

01:01:04.210 --> 01:01:06.510
that it would be way more exciting. Question

01:01:06.510 --> 01:01:09.530
seven. The serving of the U .S. men's national

01:01:09.530 --> 01:01:12.269
team middles seems to be a real weakness for

01:01:12.269 --> 01:01:15.030
them. With how high Jendrick and McHenry get

01:01:15.030 --> 01:01:18.110
off the ground, why can't they just work on elevating

01:01:18.110 --> 01:01:20.110
as high as possible and hammering hard, aggressive

01:01:20.110 --> 01:01:23.110
flat balls that go down toward the mid -torso

01:01:23.110 --> 01:01:26.050
of the passers? If they serve their normal powder

01:01:26.050 --> 01:01:28.949
puff floats, the other team sides out 90 % of

01:01:28.949 --> 01:01:31.630
the time anyway. You're not wrong. Two things.

01:01:31.730 --> 01:01:34.190
One, I guarantee you they are working on that

01:01:34.190 --> 01:01:35.630
serve. They just haven't figured it out yet.

01:01:35.750 --> 01:01:39.809
It's not consistent. And the other thing to think

01:01:39.809 --> 01:01:43.769
about is who are your green light servers and

01:01:43.769 --> 01:01:47.110
who do you need to just get it in? And so, you

01:01:47.110 --> 01:01:50.010
know, those two, even their most aggressive float

01:01:50.010 --> 01:01:53.690
serve may not cause as much serving trouble as,

01:01:54.429 --> 01:01:57.829
DeFalco or Haynes or Anderson, right? Like you

01:01:57.829 --> 01:02:00.849
have really good servers on team. I think as

01:02:00.849 --> 01:02:04.010
a team, the U S has actually served really, really

01:02:04.010 --> 01:02:07.010
well. This VNL. Are you just thinking of TJ DeFalco

01:02:07.010 --> 01:02:10.250
though? Because he's good for like 27 aces every

01:02:10.250 --> 01:02:14.190
match. No. Do you not think that Haynes served

01:02:14.190 --> 01:02:16.650
pretty well? I think he's serving pretty well.

01:02:16.710 --> 01:02:18.429
The question is pertaining to the middle. Do

01:02:18.429 --> 01:02:20.670
you think like, I agree if you're going to serve

01:02:20.670 --> 01:02:22.070
a free ball over, what are you, what are we doing

01:02:22.070 --> 01:02:26.380
here? Well, I guess my point was in isolation,

01:02:26.500 --> 01:02:29.019
their serves are not very good. Agreed. But you

01:02:29.019 --> 01:02:32.500
have to, there may be a bigger team context as

01:02:32.500 --> 01:02:35.840
to why they have the mandate of make sure you

01:02:35.840 --> 01:02:38.699
get your serve in. Fair. But like, I just wonder,

01:02:38.760 --> 01:02:41.420
they're not like necessarily placing the ball

01:02:41.420 --> 01:02:45.900
in a precise way either. You know, sometimes

01:02:45.900 --> 01:02:48.280
people get the yip serving too. Don't get me

01:02:48.280 --> 01:02:50.559
wrong. I struggle serving. So I'm just gonna.

01:02:51.230 --> 01:02:53.690
get it in, and that's a win for me. I don't know.

01:02:54.269 --> 01:02:56.889
On the surface, their serve is not difficult.

01:02:57.130 --> 01:02:59.030
100 % agree with that. I'm just saying there

01:02:59.030 --> 01:03:01.630
may be other reasons other than they can't do

01:03:01.630 --> 01:03:05.909
it as to where that's coming from. But they are

01:03:05.909 --> 01:03:07.989
generating a ton of points from elsewhere, so

01:03:07.989 --> 01:03:10.150
I do understand what you're saying, and I can

01:03:10.150 --> 01:03:13.369
get behind that. Maybe they could work on developing

01:03:13.369 --> 01:03:16.090
a hybrid serve. But yeah, can you imagine if

01:03:16.090 --> 01:03:17.949
McKendree just like yasses the ball up there

01:03:17.949 --> 01:03:20.250
and it's just like... I will guarantee you that

01:03:20.250 --> 01:03:22.329
he is spending time one -on -one working on those

01:03:22.329 --> 01:03:24.750
things, but it just might not be there yet. Okay,

01:03:24.809 --> 01:03:28.210
question eight. How is the U .S. women's team

01:03:28.210 --> 01:03:30.889
on top of the standings in VNL despite having

01:03:30.889 --> 01:03:33.230
zero players amongst the best in statistical

01:03:33.230 --> 01:03:36.210
categories? I know the U .S. uses a lot of their

01:03:36.210 --> 01:03:38.309
players and rests players, but is there another

01:03:38.309 --> 01:03:41.929
reason for this? Is it because they run a balanced

01:03:41.929 --> 01:03:46.000
offense? So my instinct reading this question

01:03:46.000 --> 01:03:48.579
was thinking of how often they're just like switching

01:03:48.579 --> 01:03:51.860
up their lineup, which it makes it really hard.

01:03:53.079 --> 01:03:55.599
When you think of the teams that are out there

01:03:55.599 --> 01:03:59.460
and how some teams are not deep at all, and they

01:03:59.460 --> 01:04:02.199
need to play the same roster every time, that

01:04:02.199 --> 01:04:06.219
automatically gives those players just a huge

01:04:06.219 --> 01:04:08.980
advantage in the statistical department, which

01:04:08.980 --> 01:04:11.599
this person addressed. Yeah, I mean, I think

01:04:11.599 --> 01:04:13.480
the Belgium right side on the men's side has

01:04:13.480 --> 01:04:16.840
like 224 points in the men's. And they're like

01:04:16.840 --> 01:04:19.659
third last. Yeah, that is definitely part of

01:04:19.659 --> 01:04:21.820
it. But I think the other thing, too, is the

01:04:21.820 --> 01:04:24.739
U .S. doesn't have a star. They don't have a

01:04:24.739 --> 01:04:28.599
Vargas. And so they have to rely on moving the

01:04:28.599 --> 01:04:31.480
ball around, having everybody involved in the

01:04:31.480 --> 01:04:33.400
offense. And quite frankly, that's been their

01:04:33.400 --> 01:04:36.920
identity for a really long time. They've moved

01:04:36.920 --> 01:04:38.360
the ball around. They've run the pipe well. They

01:04:38.360 --> 01:04:44.420
have had top blockers. In the past, they have

01:04:44.420 --> 01:04:47.679
had people at the top. But not a cannon on the

01:04:47.679 --> 01:04:49.840
outside who you're just going to feed balls to.

01:04:50.079 --> 01:04:53.019
I think you see this a lot when you have balanced

01:04:53.019 --> 01:04:57.019
teams. You don't necessarily have a standout

01:04:57.019 --> 01:04:59.860
statistically. You're just not that opportunity.

01:05:00.440 --> 01:05:02.239
I'd be curious what the stats would look like

01:05:02.239 --> 01:05:05.309
if they had stuck with a similar roster. For

01:05:05.309 --> 01:05:07.010
three weeks. I still don't think they would be

01:05:07.010 --> 01:05:09.409
high. Really? No. I don't think they would be

01:05:09.409 --> 01:05:12.170
leading in any of the categories other than efficiency

01:05:12.170 --> 01:05:13.570
categories. I think somebody would be up there

01:05:13.570 --> 01:05:17.429
in blocks. In blocks, maybe. I guess for this

01:05:17.429 --> 01:05:20.650
I'm thinking attacking and killings. And killings.

01:05:21.630 --> 01:05:24.590
For this I'm thinking attack and kills. And I

01:05:24.590 --> 01:05:26.409
don't think that would be the case. Because I

01:05:26.409 --> 01:05:28.869
don't think anybody gets enough sets. Okay, question

01:05:28.869 --> 01:05:30.710
nine. At the international level, I've noticed

01:05:30.710 --> 01:05:32.710
that the captain of a team can change around

01:05:32.710 --> 01:05:35.510
amongst a handful of veteran and up -and -coming

01:05:35.510 --> 01:05:38.250
players. Aside from the coin toss, what does

01:05:38.250 --> 01:05:41.170
a captain do at this level, and is it very consequential

01:05:41.170 --> 01:05:44.530
for a team's performance, stability, etc.? Typically,

01:05:44.530 --> 01:05:48.969
what's supposed to happen is the captain is the

01:05:48.969 --> 01:05:52.489
only person that should be able to talk to the

01:05:52.489 --> 01:05:55.909
referees. Unless you're Canadian. I knew that

01:05:55.909 --> 01:05:58.840
was coming. So that's really, yeah, the coin

01:05:58.840 --> 01:06:01.500
toss. They're the only people that are, they're

01:06:01.500 --> 01:06:03.739
supposed to be the go -between between their

01:06:03.739 --> 01:06:05.300
teammates, between the coaching staff and the

01:06:05.300 --> 01:06:08.519
referees. Aside from that, it's like you're the

01:06:08.519 --> 01:06:10.860
person who has to go do the press conferences

01:06:10.860 --> 01:06:13.980
and do this and that, like off -court stuff.

01:06:14.159 --> 01:06:17.039
But on the court, it's... Your leadership group

01:06:17.039 --> 01:06:19.539
is your leadership group, generally, regardless

01:06:19.539 --> 01:06:22.820
of who is the captain. Yeah, like you said, performance

01:06:22.820 --> 01:06:25.260
-wise, I don't really think it makes much of

01:06:25.260 --> 01:06:28.079
a difference. Okay, last question of the day.

01:06:28.219 --> 01:06:31.599
If you're a young up -and -coming athlete, like

01:06:31.599 --> 01:06:37.139
if you're an Isabel Hawk type talent, okay, from

01:06:37.139 --> 01:06:40.340
a smaller Asian nation like Vietnam, Taiwan,

01:06:40.500 --> 01:06:42.900
Philippines that has traditionally done well

01:06:42.900 --> 01:06:47.340
in Asian continent events, but that's it, would

01:06:47.340 --> 01:06:49.780
you recommend them to try to go through the NCAA

01:06:49.780 --> 01:06:53.230
system? would it give them the training and exposure

01:06:53.230 --> 01:06:55.510
they would need to have a chance of playing at

01:06:55.510 --> 01:06:59.090
a higher professional level? That's a very specific

01:06:59.090 --> 01:07:01.650
question. Well, because, okay, so this all stemmed

01:07:01.650 --> 01:07:05.690
from the fact that the Taiwanese Libero signed

01:07:05.690 --> 01:07:11.630
for MLV NorCal, which they were all excited about

01:07:11.630 --> 01:07:12.989
when they were posting about it, but I'm like,

01:07:13.070 --> 01:07:16.289
who is this player? So that is where this thought

01:07:16.289 --> 01:07:19.489
process kind of came from, is that... These players,

01:07:19.570 --> 01:07:23.110
while A, famous in their own countries, B, they

01:07:23.110 --> 01:07:26.070
do well in the Asian continent events, nobody

01:07:26.070 --> 01:07:28.989
from around the world other than the people who

01:07:28.989 --> 01:07:31.750
play in those continental tournaments know anything

01:07:31.750 --> 01:07:35.969
about them. Do you think playing NCAA or professional

01:07:35.969 --> 01:07:39.809
in North America changes that from a worldview?

01:07:40.969 --> 01:07:43.389
Okay, well, I think a lot of agents and stuff

01:07:43.389 --> 01:07:46.369
now are tied and are keeping a close eye on NCAA

01:07:46.369 --> 01:07:50.329
volleyball. which could then lead to them being

01:07:50.329 --> 01:07:54.030
picked up from an agency perspective. If you

01:07:54.030 --> 01:07:56.949
can come play in one of the top four conferences

01:07:56.949 --> 01:08:00.989
in NCAA, maybe you get a little more visibility.

01:08:01.690 --> 01:08:05.150
I think the better path or the easier path is

01:08:05.150 --> 01:08:08.530
just to go out and get a European agent or to

01:08:08.530 --> 01:08:11.289
try and connect with somebody that way who can

01:08:11.289 --> 01:08:13.170
advocate for you. Because at the end of the day...

01:08:13.679 --> 01:08:17.619
If your goal is to play pro somewhere, it's really

01:08:17.619 --> 01:08:19.699
hard to find a contract on your own or to get

01:08:19.699 --> 01:08:22.220
seen by a team. You need good representation.

01:08:22.680 --> 01:08:27.260
That should be the goal. Yeah, but this question

01:08:27.260 --> 01:08:31.239
can be thought of as going to NCAA with the thought

01:08:31.239 --> 01:08:34.819
of getting representation from NCAA play. It

01:08:34.819 --> 01:08:38.939
never hurts to be in more than one place in terms

01:08:38.939 --> 01:08:42.020
of being seen. Yeah, this is an interesting question

01:08:42.020 --> 01:08:45.149
to me. I don't think playing in the NCAA is a

01:08:45.149 --> 01:08:48.149
surefire way to get where you want to go. But

01:08:48.149 --> 01:08:51.489
you do see, I feel like you see a lot of Asian

01:08:51.489 --> 01:08:54.550
athletes from like some of those smaller countries

01:08:54.550 --> 01:08:57.909
go play in Japan. Like sometimes I see a Japanese

01:08:57.909 --> 01:09:00.050
roster and they have players that I'm like, oh,

01:09:00.130 --> 01:09:02.930
and it's clearly from playing in ABC tournaments.

01:09:03.250 --> 01:09:05.350
You know what I mean? So like, I feel like if

01:09:05.350 --> 01:09:07.970
you're able to make the jump even to a higher

01:09:07.970 --> 01:09:12.229
level Asian league and then use that as a springboard.

01:09:12.289 --> 01:09:15.779
Yeah. Like that could be an opportunity to completely

01:09:15.779 --> 01:09:19.659
agree with that. You, I think there's lots of

01:09:19.659 --> 01:09:23.460
different ways to get noticed and seen. I'm not

01:09:23.460 --> 01:09:25.859
saying NCAA is not a great way, but I, I'm not

01:09:25.859 --> 01:09:28.920
sure that would be my first thought. Thanks to

01:09:28.920 --> 01:09:30.699
everybody who submitted questions. We had a ton

01:09:30.699 --> 01:09:32.460
to go through this week. It was so hard to pick

01:09:32.460 --> 01:09:35.939
only 10, but we appreciate everybody who's paying

01:09:35.939 --> 01:09:39.319
attention and curious about the sport. So looking

01:09:39.319 --> 01:09:42.319
forward, obviously this week is VNL final eight.

01:09:42.600 --> 01:09:45.020
They'll all be good games. There's not that many

01:09:45.020 --> 01:09:46.640
of them to watch, so maybe you can watch most

01:09:46.640 --> 01:09:49.420
of them. Quarterfinals start on Thursday, and

01:09:49.420 --> 01:09:51.300
semis and finals will be Saturday and Sunday.

01:09:51.859 --> 01:09:55.880
And as a reminder, and we're choked about this,

01:09:56.140 --> 01:10:01.939
we are out of town for a prior engagement this

01:10:01.939 --> 01:10:07.199
weekend, so we are not going to be able to release

01:10:07.199 --> 01:10:10.699
a podcast episode. next week so what we're gonna

01:10:10.699 --> 01:10:14.420
do we're gonna catch up on women's final eight

01:10:14.420 --> 01:10:18.479
as soon as we can and we will release a big episode

01:10:18.479 --> 01:10:22.039
covering the men's and the women's final eight

01:10:22.039 --> 01:10:26.460
at the same time in two weeks so we're sorry

01:10:26.460 --> 01:10:30.100
about that we are also not super thrilled with

01:10:30.100 --> 01:10:33.359
that but that is the way life goes so we'll catch

01:10:33.359 --> 01:10:36.600
you back in two weeks That concludes this week's

01:10:36.600 --> 01:10:38.739
episode of Volley Talk. There's always something

01:10:38.739 --> 01:10:40.699
shaking in the volleyball world and we hope you

01:10:40.699 --> 01:10:43.420
enjoyed this little fix. You'd be sure to follow

01:10:43.420 --> 01:10:45.359
the show so you don't miss any updates and we'd

01:10:45.359 --> 01:10:47.479
be so grateful if you would leave us a five -star

01:10:47.479 --> 01:10:50.100
review. You can also find us on Instagram at

01:10:50.100 --> 01:10:52.920
volleytalk underscore podcast. If you have a

01:10:52.920 --> 01:10:54.819
topic you'd like us to discuss, you can reach

01:10:54.819 --> 01:10:58.260
out on Instagram or at info at sarahpavin .com.

01:10:58.600 --> 01:11:00.800
Thanks so much for joining us and we'll be back

01:11:00.800 --> 01:11:03.319
in two weeks. Bye.