WEBVTT - Transitions with Danielle Cuttino 0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:07.240 Hi, I'm Tiffney Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes. Nope, 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:10.600 not a podcast about food. This is a podcast about 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:14.680 volleyball and more to you. A pancake is a fluffy, 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:18.840 syrup drenched breakfast food button volleyball. A pancake is a 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:21.640 high effort move when a player flattens her hand against 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:24.160 the ground to keep the ball in play. And that's 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:27.760 us digging into high efforts that are moving sports forward. 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:30.400 Listen in as I talk with the people making the 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:36.440 biggest impacts on global volleyball and women's sports perspectives, insights, 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:40.000 and behind the scenes stories, all with the side of pancakes. 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:45.360 Today's episode features a dominant outside hitter from Indianapolis, Indiana, 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:51.280 Danielle Katino. But Danielle wasn't always an opposite. She played 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:56.480 outside and middle before moving to AVO. Obviously a versatile player, 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.320 Danielle was named to the Big Ten All Freshman team 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:03.280 while her and was First team All American her senior year. 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.080 Danielle has been part of the US women's national team 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:10.200 since twenty nineteen and it's played professionally in Japan, Italy 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:16.160 and Brazil. Kaydanielle, thanks for coming over and having some pancakes, 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.679 so I have to ask, are you a big pancake fanya? 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:21.720 Okay, good? So what is your go to? 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:26.720 I love blueberry pancakes with butter and I think just syrup. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:28.800 Did you have pancakes growing up as a child, like 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:29.480 with your family? 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:31.880 Yeah, my mom makes the best pancakes. 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:34.520 What is your magic touch? 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.959 I don't know. She just knows how she'll flip it perfectly. 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:40.520 I don't know. I think it's when the bubbles start 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:42.520 to come up. I think they say that. 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:45.160 I have tried that and it is not always the 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:45.800 right thing. 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.480 Yeah, something about the temperature has to be perfect or 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:51.560 it's going to get part. But yeah, I don't know 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.200 if she's perfect, Yeah, she must be. 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.560 Well, now getting into it. Growing up, before you ever 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.560 touched a volleyball, what did you want to be? 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:04.520 Wow, that's I'm like deep. Yeah, I actually wanted to 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:09.080 be a forensic analysis. Yeah. Yeah, I always wanted to 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:11.320 help in a way, and I would always watch the 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:13.639 shows when they catch the guy and I was like, oh, 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.519 how cool that technology, and so yeah, that's what I 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:18.760 wanted to be. Wow, I hadn't thought about that since 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:19.480 I was a kid. 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.880 But yeah, yeah, so you were watching like lawn order. 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:29.680 Yeah yeahs yes, I know, yeah yeah. But like I 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.600 thought it was so cool to have that capability of 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.040 okay with a fingerprint or like, you know, hair or something. 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:37.600 So I thought that was always so cool. 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:39.320 Oh my god, you shouldn't totally still go in. 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:45.000 Like that. 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:52.000 That's like a lifelong profession until you want to retire. Well, then, 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:53.119 how'd you get into volleyball? 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.120 So I started off playing basketball because I was taller, 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.440 I had a big girl's spurt, and no one in 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.800 my family ever had playedolleyball. And I had a coach 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:05.000 who was over my older sister in high school and 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.079 he's Brenda Nor. One day he was like, you were 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:09.040 so tall, Like where have you been And she was like, 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:12.080 we had just moved to that school and she was like, 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.080 have you ever played volleyball? And she was like no. 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.760 And then she came home and told us and he 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:18.079 was like, oh, you have sisters too. I have a 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:19.519 younger sister as well, and he's like, you got to 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:21.480 get them to try out, And so we tried out. 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:23.640 Never playing I was in eighth grade. My younger sister 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:25.200 at the time. We tried out together in the seventh 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:27.880 grade and we got cut. It was so embarrassing. I 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:29.920 was like, I didn't come out here for this, but 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:32.679 I think it was something that piqued my curiosity and 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:34.280 I was like, I still want to try, and so 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:36.400 I tried again the next year and I made the team. 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.560 But yeah, that was like my MJ story. 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.520 So do you have fun memories of playing volleyball with 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:42.080 your sisters? 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:44.040 Yes. To be able to do that with my sisters 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.560 it was super cool. They've always been my biggest supporters, 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:47.880 along with my mom and dad. 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.760 So what made you switch from basketball to volleyball? Was 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.880 it just the curiosity and motivation after being cut? 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:57.600 Yeah, well it was honestly. We did a lot of 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:00.000 running in basketball, and we did it in the off seat, 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:02.200 and volleyball was in the off season. I was like, 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:05.160 if I could just make this shame, I don't have 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.520 the running more suicides Like awesome, No, but honestly, like 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:11.200 I just wanted something else, to do something more, And 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:15.120 I felt like volleyball was more authentic to me because 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.200 it wasn't so physical, and I liked the idea of 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:22.120 still feeling really powerful and strong without having that physical context. 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:23.599 So the more I got to play, the more. I 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:25.440 fell in love with it. It just felt so natural. 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:27.480 So I used to play soccer and it was a 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.320 similar thing, both with the physicality. 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:31.000 Yeah and the running. 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:34.120 Yeah yeah, I can imagine. Actually yeah yeah. 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.440 I feel like a lot of my volleyball teammates that 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:39.560 I've played with, and even the ones i've met through. 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:42.760 You guys love It's like there's something about the running. 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.960 Yeah right, I know there's something. Yeah. I had friends 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.159 that played soccer too, and they'd like, yeah, we ran up, 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.279 like warmed up, run in a mile. I was like, 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.640 good goalie too, because that's kind of what I want 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:55.600 to be. But if she is doing that too, never 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:55.960 mint it. 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.360 So when did you know that you were a great 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:02.159 volleyball player? 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.719 Not just a good volleyball play, but a great volleyball player. 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:07.400 So I started playing my freshman year and I didn't 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.360 like play club or anything. And then there was this 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.240 shift of you should play in the off season, and 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:14.920 I was like, okay, I guess. And then my sophomore 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.400 year I played, and there was something that like clicked 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.520 from my freshman yor sophomore year with my arm swing. 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:22.039 And when I started to play club, I swear I'd 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:24.040 look around like on my cour and I'm like, there 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.240 are so many coaches here. I was just having fun. 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:27.800 So it was just like okay, and then I just 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.479 got so many letters. I'd never even had the idea 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.320 of playing past high school. I was still like kind 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:36.120 of intertwined with basketball, but then it became this thing 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:38.960 of like I was getting recruited more for volleyball than basketball, 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:41.120 so I was like, whoa, this is cool. And so 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.080 just having conversations with coaches and the way they saw 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.560 me potentially, I think that's what really opened my eyes 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.440 to be like, Okay, I can be really good. I 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.760 had the body type. My college coach would always tell 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:53.440 me like, yeah, you cands, and I was like, I 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.520 don't want to hear that big hands, but yeah. I 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:58.520 just think that he made me feel like it was 0:05:58.520 --> 0:05:59.800 something that I could really step into. 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.000 My club president was always like, you can teach a 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:05.400 girl of volleyball, but you can't teach her height. 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.120 You're like, what was the same on me? 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.600 It's so funny, Yeah, but it's sure. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.359 I mean, if you have the physical attributes to be 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.800 able to play, then it'll come more actually to you. 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:19.359 I feel like, so, why did you choose perdue in 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:19.760 the end. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:24.000 So I'm from Indiana and the school in Indiana usually SAYU, 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.320 and so I didn't know a lot about Purdue like 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:27.279 Super up North. 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.040 Hey, guys, I wanted to share a fun fact about 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.479 Purdue volleyball real quick. So the women's indoor team debuted 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.400 in nineteen seventy five with Carol Dewey as head coach. 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.320 Then it became Purdue's first women's revenue sport in nineteen 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.640 seventy nine, and Dewey became a full time coach. Since 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.440 its inception, the Boilermakers women's team has had only four 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.800 head coaches, with Dave Schandell being the current coach. Shandell 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:55.960 took over in two thousand and three and was the 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:59.960 one who recruited and coached Danielle. Now back to the interview, 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:01.720 and I. 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:04.000 Remember I went on a visit and I felt like 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:05.360 my mom had to drag me there. I was like, 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:06.840 I don't want to know. I want to go out 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:09.480 of state. I want to be away. Like then I 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:11.720 went and I was like, WHOA, this is a whole 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.880 different world watching the volleyball game, watching how invested the 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:16.840 fans were and how much they knew of the game. 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.200 I was like, this is so cool, and I felt 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:20.840 like it was something that I really wanted to be 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:22.680 a part of. And I love Dave my coach there 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:24.680 in John and they're like a family, and I felt 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:26.400 like I could relate to that, and Dave and John 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:28.920 are actually family. But with my sister and I, I 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:30.760 was like, this is cool. I just felt like it 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:33.920 was something really special, and like I knew the Big 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:35.800 Ten was one of the best leagues and so I 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:37.000 was like, Okay, I want to be a part of 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:39.760 that as well. So I think just going and experiencing 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.440 the culture there really opened my eyes, Like whoa, this 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.320 isn't just volleyball. It's really like a family that I'm 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:47.120 being at it too. So that was cool for me. 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:50.240 And then your stenior year, your sister played right, Yes, yeah, 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:52.480 what was that like? Having the family dynamic? 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:55.000 It was so cool. My younger sister and I were 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.040 so close in age, and like I felt like we 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:00.600 fought a lot in sincerely ways, like just yeah, like whatever, 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.720 and going to school together, I just felt like our 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.840 relationship really grew and it was really cool to experience 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.520 college with her, and like also volleyball and all the 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.239 things that happened in between. So it was amazing, And 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:15.000 I'm grateful that, in addition to like being a part 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:17.120 of a family that I felt like Purdue was, my 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:19.440 sister could be there and experience that too. So it 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:23.360 was amazing. I'm grateful that Dave and John and Kat 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.640 and all them gave us all a chance and allowed 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:27.560 us to be a part of that family at the Barrel, 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:40.840 and so it was amazing. 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:44.560 Now, also in college, you did a big switch where 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:48.320 you went from middle hitter to outside hitter. Yeah, so 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.920 for all of the people listening to this, can you 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.560 explain what the biggest differences between middle and outside hitter 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:56.880 is before I ask you your next question? 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.520 Yeah, I get like middle set usually on a great 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:03.720 pass and like you don't have to worry about anything. 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.080 You're just going up the balls there and you're hitting 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.559 it and it's amazing and you're just blocking and reacting. 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:12.440 Outside is a lot more technique and I didn't have that. 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.160 It was a lot more outlet kind of situations, which 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:18.680 I was used to just being in that perfect, perfect situation. 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.320 So yeah, that was the biggest difference for me of 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:23.960 just like what other skills do I need to get 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:25.760 good at and it was all of them. I think 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:27.920 it's just being a more rounded player. 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.160 What was that transition, Like, how long did it take 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.080 you to finally feel comfortable as an outside hitter. 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.160 It probably took maybe two years. It was really hard. 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:36.680 It was one of the hardest things I had ever 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:38.440 had to do. I think, you know, when I do 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:40.720 camps or anything and the girls ask like, what advice 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.640 do you have, and I'm like, look, you better get 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:44.240 good at all those skills because you don't know when 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:45.960 you're gonna like, you don't know what's going to happen. 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:47.760 It's just good to have. I felt like it just 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.840 helped me to grow and being uncomfortable and confident in 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.120 who I can be as a player, because without that, 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.360 I was just very much in my like space of like, 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:57.840 I'm good at this and that's all. So it challenged 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:00.520 me and I'm grateful for because I've been much since 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.079 that transition, and you know, volleyball, and I don't think 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:05.200 that if I would have experienced that before that, I 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:07.160 would have been able to get to where I am now. 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:09.679 So one of the other big things to move from 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.880 a middle hitter to an outside hitter is the middle 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:16.200 hitter is always blocking and outside you gotta play defense. 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:21.600 My tall teammates loved playing defense. Did you like playing defense? 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:25.240 Yeah? It was more of like trying to figure out 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:27.720 how to hit the ground. Like I'm a tall girl, 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.480 so I'm like, how do I hit the ground without 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.480 busting my knee? And that was the big But I do. 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:35.120 I really do like to play defense. And that's what 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.840 I liked about middle is I like to go get 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.240 the ball, blocking and to be able to be more 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.200 involved in the play outside of that, it was so fun. 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:44.079 So I actually do like playing defense. 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:45.800 Did you figure out how to die properly? 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:46.120 I did? 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:46.480 Yeah. 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.760 It did take some like bruise tips and knees, but yeah, 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:51.520 there are times I'm like, I'm kind of afraid to 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:53.080 hit the ground right now, I'm not warm. 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:56.679 But yeah, Oh I remember there were tournaments when I 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.800 was playing and I was like, look at this grue 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:02.439 battles exactly. 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:02.760 Yeah. 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.640 Then I proved my word on that court exactly. 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:07.280 That's so funny. 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:09.640 So why didn't you know that you wanted to keep 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:11.199 playing after college? 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:14.400 Yeah? Oh, that's a great question. So I played with 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.040 Annie and we'll probably talk about that, but she was 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:20.400 one of the first people that I knew that had 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:23.439 graduated to go play abroad. So before I didn't even 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:25.960 know what that possibility was because I was just so 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.960 excited to graduate and go to school, like that was 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:30.720 my biggest thing, Like, Oh, I went to college and 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:33.800 you know, so that was amazing. And then Annie went 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:35.640 to go play in Puerto Rico and I was like, oh, 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.040 you can play after and do more. Like it was 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.520 so kind of hush hush. So it was around that 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:42.720 time a bunch of other girls that were in the 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:46.680 Big Ten, like Sarah will Hie and Hannah Tap and 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:48.720 all those girls that were going to go play, and 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:50.199 I was like, well, that sounds kind of fun. I 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.360 want to keep playing, and as long as I can 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:54.319 do something that doesn't really feel like a job, I 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:55.199 want to be a part of that. 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:57.760 Well you majored in pharmacy, correct. 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:02.720 No, no, no, I started pharmacy. Was yeah, I'm communications. 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.360 It still says pharmacy on the US Women's website. 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.120 Oh really, Yeah, that was one of the hardest things 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:10.120 I've ever tried to do. 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.400 I was going to say, because pharmacy is a very 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:14.760 intense thing to do, especially while trying to. 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.640 Play exactly, that was what it was. Yeah, so you 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:18.559 switched to coms. 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:20.800 Did you think that you were going to go into 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:25.439 communications television something like that afterwards? 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.079 Was that kind of your vision? Yeah exactly. It felt 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.240 like something that was really natural for me and super fun. 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.080 Like all the classes that I took, I was like, Wow, 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:35.160 this is so cool, and so I just wanted to 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.440 stand that. And then obviously in sport too, I was like, 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:39.640 if I could do this and stand sport or whatever, 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:40.839 that would be so cool. 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:44.520 So how did you end up finding your first professional team? 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:46.960 At the time, it was so funny, Like when we 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:49.600 were looking for agents, it was like on Facebook, someone's 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:51.760 messaging you and like, hey, you need an agent. I'm like, 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:56.040 this doesn't feel right yea. So there was a guy 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:57.480 that I knew a lot of girls worked with and 0:12:57.520 --> 0:12:59.360 he knew my coach, and so I started working with 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.440 him and he was like, what do you think and 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.320 where are you wanting to go? And before I had 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:05.679 done a big ten trip to Italy, and then I 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.920 had done USA like a youth national thing in Italy too, 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:11.680 so I was like, I'd like to go to Italy. 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:13.880 It was really cool. I always wanted to go play 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:15.880 in Europe. I thought that it would be like a 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.480 really nice experience, and he was Italian, so he got 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:20.840 me a spot in the Italian League A one and 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:22.199 it was really really fun. 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.800 So throughout the years you've been playing professionally overseas, what 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.000 was your favorite thing to do during your downtime? 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:32.560 Probably the first thing, just candidly, nap. I was like 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:34.880 anytime I get taken. I didn't even nap in college, 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.480 but when you hit that, professionals like, if I can 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.000 get three hours or two hours whatever, I'll take too. 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:43.679 I want to find it. But then also exploration. My 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:47.680 first year I had a Canadian teammate and she was 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:50.240 so cool, so nice, and she thinks she helped me 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:51.839 get out of my comfort zone and she's like, let's 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:53.640 go do this, that and the other. So it was 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:55.920 really nice to have someone to go explore with, just 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:57.880 going to see boots and everything. It was really fun. 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:01.320 Is there like one big memory, key adventure that you 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:02.480 remember really well? 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.520 It was my first year we went to Verona, and 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.640 that's supposed to be the city that Romeo and Juliet met. 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.079 I was gonna say, I say, yeah, I always asked. 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:14.880 I'm like is this Are these real people but they're 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:17.120 looking at me. I was like, never mind, but yeah, 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.040 it was so cool. I actually went with my dad too, 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.800 and there's a huge coliseum and it was really easy 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.680 to walk and like navigate. So yeah, just seeing that 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:26.600 kind of like history and being like, oh, I'm here, 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.920 and like being there with my dad and also my 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:31.760 my roommate and my teammate too. At the time, it 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:32.440 was really cool. 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:33.240 That's awesome. 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.680 Now you're overseas four months at a time, and you 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:38.479 are obviously very close. 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:41.320 With your family. How hard was that to be away 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:42.480 from them for so long? 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:46.640 Yeah, it was really difficult, especially just with the time change, 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:50.160 and then also all the new feelings of like I 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.920 feel a little like homesick, and then I also like 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.440 I'm enjoying my time here a lot too, but I 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:58.640 want to experience it with my family. And I remember 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.280 when I had first gotten to Italy, I kept having 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.600 this reoccurring dream of like we'd have an off day 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:07.960 or off days, and then all of my teammates were 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:09.880 like Italians they would go home, but in my dream, 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:11.520 I would like talk to my mom and she was like, 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:12.880 why don't you just come home? And I was like, 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:15.200 why don't I just come home and then I'd wake up. 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:16.880 But I was like I had that dream again, like 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:19.920 because it was a realization of I'm really far even 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:21.800 when I was at school, I could drive down and 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:23.720 see my mom in like an hour, my dad and 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.960 like my sister was with me. But experiencing all these 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.440 things alone and just really trying to make the most 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:30.680 of it, but also feeling a little lonely for sure. 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:32.920 How often were they able to come out and how 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:34.479 did you kind of get over the loneliness. 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:37.240 Yeah, they would come out once a year. Yeah, and 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.440 I would talk to them a lot too. But it 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.000 was something that I realized, this is the transition of 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.240 my life of like, Okay, I'm fasing into I'm not 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:46.560 going to see my family as much, you know. So 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.000 it was that realization of to pursue this dream, there 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:50.720 are sacrifices that I have to make. 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.560 You're an opposite hitter, Now did that happen in the 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:57.040 international teams or when you got to the US women's team. 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.240 I started to play pro before I came into the gym, 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.880 but my first year broad I started to play opposite 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:03.320 So that was really hard. 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:06.200 Yeah, so you go from middle to outside, which is 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:09.800 a transition, and then outside to opposite, which for you 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:12.160 know the people listening who might not know, that's when 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:13.480 the center usually does the vaccine. 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:14.400 Yes, yeah, So. 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.200 What was that transition like, because you've seen them all. 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.400 Yeah, Oh my goodness, it was. It was really hard 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:25.640 because also the internationally, you're playing six rotations. So even 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:28.520 in college, that outside hitter wouldn't play the back row 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.480 if we had a sub and I didn't do that. 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:34.760 So then transitioning from that overseas, the level of play 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.160 is just different, like the rules are different. That that's 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.120 an adjustment in itself. And then like. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.120 I bet you were wondering what the biggest difference between 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.360 US rules and international rules is, and I'm here to 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:50.920 tell you, and that would be substitutions. So for international play, 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.840 you only get six subs per set and you can 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.600 only replace your starters once per set. So that's why 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:00.240 Danielle would have to play all around. You don't use 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:04.399 subs unless you absolutely need to. In the US you 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.840 can have up to twelve subs percent and there are 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.800 no limits on replacing your starters. So when Danielle would 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.639 rotate to the back row defensive specialists would sub in 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:15.040 for her. Then when the DS was about to rotate 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.000 to the front row, Danielle would sub back in. All right, 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:19.679 back to Danielle. 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:22.159 And then what's coming at you? I just remember I 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.439 can't even understand the game. I'm in the back row. 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:26.439 I'm touching balls that are out because I don't have 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:29.480 that court awareness. And then also internationally, the opposite hitter 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:31.800 is like a garbage man. They're taking out all the 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:33.640 bad balls. And I thought I was taken out bad 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:36.159 balls before, but that ball coming over you and you 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.560 having the time it correctly. So that was really hard 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.280 of like we need you to score and also know 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:45.399