Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Tiffney Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes. Nope,
Speaker 1: not a podcast about food. This is a podcast about
Speaker 1: volleyball and more to you. A pancake is a fluffy,
Speaker 1: syrup drenched breakfast food button volleyball. A pancake is a
Speaker 1: high effort move when a player flattens her hand against
Speaker 1: the ground to keep the ball in play. And that's
Speaker 1: us digging into high efforts that are moving sports forward.
Speaker 1: Listen in as I talk with the people making the
Speaker 1: biggest impacts on global volleyball and women's sports perspectives, insights,
Speaker 1: and behind the scenes stories, all with the side of pancakes.
Speaker 1: Today's episode features a dominant outside hitter from Indianapolis, Indiana,
Speaker 1: Danielle Katino. But Danielle wasn't always an opposite. She played
Speaker 1: outside and middle before moving to AVO. Obviously a versatile player,
Speaker 1: Danielle was named to the Big Ten All Freshman team
Speaker 1: while her and was First team All American her senior year.
Speaker 1: Danielle has been part of the US women's national team
Speaker 1: since twenty nineteen and it's played professionally in Japan, Italy
Speaker 1: and Brazil. Kaydanielle, thanks for coming over and having some pancakes,
Speaker 1: so I have to ask, are you a big pancake fanya?
Speaker 2: Okay, good? So what is your go to?
Speaker 3: I love blueberry pancakes with butter and I think just syrup.
Speaker 2: Did you have pancakes growing up as a child, like
Speaker 2: with your family?
Speaker 3: Yeah, my mom makes the best pancakes.
Speaker 2: What is your magic touch?
Speaker 3: I don't know. She just knows how she'll flip it perfectly.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think it's when the bubbles start
Speaker 3: to come up. I think they say that.
Speaker 1: I have tried that and it is not always the
Speaker 1: right thing.
Speaker 3: Yeah, something about the temperature has to be perfect or
Speaker 3: it's going to get part. But yeah, I don't know
Speaker 3: if she's perfect, Yeah, she must be.
Speaker 1: Well, now getting into it. Growing up, before you ever
Speaker 1: touched a volleyball, what did you want to be?
Speaker 3: Wow, that's I'm like deep. Yeah, I actually wanted to
Speaker 3: be a forensic analysis. Yeah. Yeah, I always wanted to
Speaker 3: help in a way, and I would always watch the
Speaker 3: shows when they catch the guy and I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: how cool that technology, and so yeah, that's what I
Speaker 3: wanted to be. Wow, I hadn't thought about that since
Speaker 3: I was a kid.
Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah, so you were watching like lawn order.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeahs yes, I know, yeah yeah. But like I
Speaker 3: thought it was so cool to have that capability of
Speaker 3: okay with a fingerprint or like, you know, hair or something.
Speaker 3: So I thought that was always so cool.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, you shouldn't totally still go in.
Speaker 3: Like that.
Speaker 2: That's like a lifelong profession until you want to retire. Well, then,
Speaker 2: how'd you get into volleyball?
Speaker 3: So I started off playing basketball because I was taller,
Speaker 3: I had a big girl's spurt, and no one in
Speaker 3: my family ever had playedolleyball. And I had a coach
Speaker 3: who was over my older sister in high school and
Speaker 3: he's Brenda Nor. One day he was like, you were
Speaker 3: so tall, Like where have you been And she was like,
Speaker 3: we had just moved to that school and she was like,
Speaker 3: have you ever played volleyball? And she was like no.
Speaker 3: And then she came home and told us and he
Speaker 3: was like, oh, you have sisters too. I have a
Speaker 3: younger sister as well, and he's like, you got to
Speaker 3: get them to try out, And so we tried out.
Speaker 3: Never playing I was in eighth grade. My younger sister
Speaker 3: at the time. We tried out together in the seventh
Speaker 3: grade and we got cut. It was so embarrassing. I
Speaker 3: was like, I didn't come out here for this, but
Speaker 3: I think it was something that piqued my curiosity and
Speaker 3: I was like, I still want to try, and so
Speaker 3: I tried again the next year and I made the team.
Speaker 3: But yeah, that was like my MJ story.
Speaker 1: So do you have fun memories of playing volleyball with
Speaker 1: your sisters?
Speaker 3: Yes. To be able to do that with my sisters
Speaker 3: it was super cool. They've always been my biggest supporters,
Speaker 3: along with my mom and dad.
Speaker 1: So what made you switch from basketball to volleyball? Was
Speaker 1: it just the curiosity and motivation after being cut?
Speaker 3: Yeah, well it was honestly. We did a lot of
Speaker 3: running in basketball, and we did it in the off seat,
Speaker 3: and volleyball was in the off season. I was like,
Speaker 3: if I could just make this shame, I don't have
Speaker 3: the running more suicides Like awesome, No, but honestly, like
Speaker 3: I just wanted something else, to do something more, And
Speaker 3: I felt like volleyball was more authentic to me because
Speaker 3: it wasn't so physical, and I liked the idea of
Speaker 3: still feeling really powerful and strong without having that physical context.
Speaker 3: So the more I got to play, the more. I
Speaker 3: fell in love with it. It just felt so natural.
Speaker 1: So I used to play soccer and it was a
Speaker 1: similar thing, both with the physicality.
Speaker 2: Yeah and the running.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, I can imagine. Actually yeah yeah.
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of my volleyball teammates that
Speaker 1: I've played with, and even the ones i've met through.
Speaker 2: You guys love It's like there's something about the running.
Speaker 3: Yeah right, I know there's something. Yeah. I had friends
Speaker 3: that played soccer too, and they'd like, yeah, we ran up,
Speaker 3: like warmed up, run in a mile. I was like,
Speaker 3: good goalie too, because that's kind of what I want
Speaker 3: to be. But if she is doing that too, never
Speaker 3: mint it.
Speaker 1: So when did you know that you were a great
Speaker 1: volleyball player?
Speaker 2: Not just a good volleyball play, but a great volleyball player.
Speaker 3: So I started playing my freshman year and I didn't
Speaker 3: like play club or anything. And then there was this
Speaker 3: shift of you should play in the off season, and
Speaker 3: I was like, okay, I guess. And then my sophomore
Speaker 3: year I played, and there was something that like clicked
Speaker 3: from my freshman yor sophomore year with my arm swing.
Speaker 3: And when I started to play club, I swear I'd
Speaker 3: look around like on my cour and I'm like, there
Speaker 3: are so many coaches here. I was just having fun.
Speaker 3: So it was just like okay, and then I just
Speaker 3: got so many letters. I'd never even had the idea
Speaker 3: of playing past high school. I was still like kind
Speaker 3: of intertwined with basketball, but then it became this thing
Speaker 3: of like I was getting recruited more for volleyball than basketball,
Speaker 3: so I was like, whoa, this is cool. And so
Speaker 3: just having conversations with coaches and the way they saw
Speaker 3: me potentially, I think that's what really opened my eyes
Speaker 3: to be like, Okay, I can be really good. I
Speaker 3: had the body type. My college coach would always tell
Speaker 3: me like, yeah, you cands, and I was like, I
Speaker 3: don't want to hear that big hands, but yeah. I
Speaker 3: just think that he made me feel like it was
Speaker 3: something that I could really step into.
Speaker 1: My club president was always like, you can teach a
Speaker 1: girl of volleyball, but you can't teach her height.
Speaker 2: You're like, what was the same on me?
Speaker 3: It's so funny, Yeah, but it's sure.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you have the physical attributes to be
Speaker 1: able to play, then it'll come more actually to you.
Speaker 1: I feel like, so, why did you choose perdue in
Speaker 1: the end.
Speaker 3: So I'm from Indiana and the school in Indiana usually SAYU,
Speaker 3: and so I didn't know a lot about Purdue like
Speaker 3: Super up North.
Speaker 1: Hey, guys, I wanted to share a fun fact about
Speaker 1: Purdue volleyball real quick. So the women's indoor team debuted
Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy five with Carol Dewey as head coach.
Speaker 1: Then it became Purdue's first women's revenue sport in nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy nine, and Dewey became a full time coach. Since
Speaker 1: its inception, the Boilermakers women's team has had only four
Speaker 1: head coaches, with Dave Schandell being the current coach. Shandell
Speaker 1: took over in two thousand and three and was the
Speaker 1: one who recruited and coached Danielle. Now back to the interview,
Speaker 1: and I.
Speaker 3: Remember I went on a visit and I felt like
Speaker 3: my mom had to drag me there. I was like,
Speaker 3: I don't want to know. I want to go out
Speaker 3: of state. I want to be away. Like then I
Speaker 3: went and I was like, WHOA, this is a whole
Speaker 3: different world watching the volleyball game, watching how invested the
Speaker 3: fans were and how much they knew of the game.
Speaker 3: I was like, this is so cool, and I felt
Speaker 3: like it was something that I really wanted to be
Speaker 3: a part of. And I love Dave my coach there
Speaker 3: in John and they're like a family, and I felt
Speaker 3: like I could relate to that, and Dave and John
Speaker 3: are actually family. But with my sister and I, I
Speaker 3: was like, this is cool. I just felt like it
Speaker 3: was something really special, and like I knew the Big
Speaker 3: Ten was one of the best leagues and so I
Speaker 3: was like, Okay, I want to be a part of
Speaker 3: that as well. So I think just going and experiencing
Speaker 3: the culture there really opened my eyes, Like whoa, this
Speaker 3: isn't just volleyball. It's really like a family that I'm
Speaker 3: being at it too. So that was cool for me.
Speaker 2: And then your stenior year, your sister played right, Yes, yeah,
Speaker 2: what was that like? Having the family dynamic?
Speaker 3: It was so cool. My younger sister and I were
Speaker 3: so close in age, and like I felt like we
Speaker 3: fought a lot in sincerely ways, like just yeah, like whatever,
Speaker 3: and going to school together, I just felt like our
Speaker 3: relationship really grew and it was really cool to experience
Speaker 3: college with her, and like also volleyball and all the
Speaker 3: things that happened in between. So it was amazing, And
Speaker 3: I'm grateful that, in addition to like being a part
Speaker 3: of a family that I felt like Purdue was, my
Speaker 3: sister could be there and experience that too. So it
Speaker 3: was amazing. I'm grateful that Dave and John and Kat
Speaker 3: and all them gave us all a chance and allowed
Speaker 3: us to be a part of that family at the Barrel,
Speaker 3: and so it was amazing.
Speaker 1: Now, also in college, you did a big switch where
Speaker 1: you went from middle hitter to outside hitter. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: for all of the people listening to this, can you
Speaker 1: explain what the biggest differences between middle and outside hitter
Speaker 1: is before I ask you your next question?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I get like middle set usually on a great
Speaker 3: pass and like you don't have to worry about anything.
Speaker 3: You're just going up the balls there and you're hitting
Speaker 3: it and it's amazing and you're just blocking and reacting.
Speaker 3: Outside is a lot more technique and I didn't have that.
Speaker 3: It was a lot more outlet kind of situations, which
Speaker 3: I was used to just being in that perfect, perfect situation.
Speaker 3: So yeah, that was the biggest difference for me of
Speaker 3: just like what other skills do I need to get
Speaker 3: good at and it was all of them. I think
Speaker 3: it's just being a more rounded player.
Speaker 1: What was that transition, Like, how long did it take
Speaker 1: you to finally feel comfortable as an outside hitter.
Speaker 3: It probably took maybe two years. It was really hard.
Speaker 3: It was one of the hardest things I had ever
Speaker 3: had to do. I think, you know, when I do
Speaker 3: camps or anything and the girls ask like, what advice
Speaker 3: do you have, and I'm like, look, you better get
Speaker 3: good at all those skills because you don't know when
Speaker 3: you're gonna like, you don't know what's going to happen.
Speaker 3: It's just good to have. I felt like it just
Speaker 3: helped me to grow and being uncomfortable and confident in
Speaker 3: who I can be as a player, because without that,
Speaker 3: I was just very much in my like space of like,
Speaker 3: I'm good at this and that's all. So it challenged
Speaker 3: me and I'm grateful for because I've been much since
Speaker 3: that transition, and you know, volleyball, and I don't think
Speaker 3: that if I would have experienced that before that, I
Speaker 3: would have been able to get to where I am now.
Speaker 1: So one of the other big things to move from
Speaker 1: a middle hitter to an outside hitter is the middle
Speaker 1: hitter is always blocking and outside you gotta play defense.
Speaker 1: My tall teammates loved playing defense. Did you like playing defense?
Speaker 3: Yeah? It was more of like trying to figure out
Speaker 3: how to hit the ground. Like I'm a tall girl,
Speaker 3: so I'm like, how do I hit the ground without
Speaker 3: busting my knee? And that was the big But I do.
Speaker 3: I really do like to play defense. And that's what
Speaker 3: I liked about middle is I like to go get
Speaker 3: the ball, blocking and to be able to be more
Speaker 3: involved in the play outside of that, it was so fun.
Speaker 3: So I actually do like playing defense.
Speaker 2: Did you figure out how to die properly?
Speaker 3: I did?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: It did take some like bruise tips and knees, but yeah,
Speaker 3: there are times I'm like, I'm kind of afraid to
Speaker 3: hit the ground right now, I'm not warm.
Speaker 1: But yeah, Oh I remember there were tournaments when I
Speaker 1: was playing and I was like, look at this grue
Speaker 1: battles exactly.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Then I proved my word on that court exactly.
Speaker 3: That's so funny.
Speaker 1: So why didn't you know that you wanted to keep
Speaker 1: playing after college?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Oh, that's a great question. So I played with
Speaker 3: Annie and we'll probably talk about that, but she was
Speaker 3: one of the first people that I knew that had
Speaker 3: graduated to go play abroad. So before I didn't even
Speaker 3: know what that possibility was because I was just so
Speaker 3: excited to graduate and go to school, like that was
Speaker 3: my biggest thing, Like, Oh, I went to college and
Speaker 3: you know, so that was amazing. And then Annie went
Speaker 3: to go play in Puerto Rico and I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: you can play after and do more. Like it was
Speaker 3: so kind of hush hush. So it was around that
Speaker 3: time a bunch of other girls that were in the
Speaker 3: Big Ten, like Sarah will Hie and Hannah Tap and
Speaker 3: all those girls that were going to go play, and
Speaker 3: I was like, well, that sounds kind of fun. I
Speaker 3: want to keep playing, and as long as I can
Speaker 3: do something that doesn't really feel like a job, I
Speaker 3: want to be a part of that.
Speaker 2: Well you majored in pharmacy, correct.
Speaker 3: No, no, no, I started pharmacy. Was yeah, I'm communications.
Speaker 1: It still says pharmacy on the US Women's website.
Speaker 3: Oh really, Yeah, that was one of the hardest things
Speaker 3: I've ever tried to do.
Speaker 1: I was going to say, because pharmacy is a very
Speaker 1: intense thing to do, especially while trying to.
Speaker 3: Play exactly, that was what it was. Yeah, so you
Speaker 3: switched to coms.
Speaker 1: Did you think that you were going to go into
Speaker 1: communications television something like that afterwards?
Speaker 3: Was that kind of your vision? Yeah exactly. It felt
Speaker 3: like something that was really natural for me and super fun.
Speaker 3: Like all the classes that I took, I was like, Wow,
Speaker 3: this is so cool, and so I just wanted to
Speaker 3: stand that. And then obviously in sport too, I was like,
Speaker 3: if I could do this and stand sport or whatever,
Speaker 3: that would be so cool.
Speaker 1: So how did you end up finding your first professional team?
Speaker 3: At the time, it was so funny, Like when we
Speaker 3: were looking for agents, it was like on Facebook, someone's
Speaker 3: messaging you and like, hey, you need an agent. I'm like,
Speaker 3: this doesn't feel right yea. So there was a guy
Speaker 3: that I knew a lot of girls worked with and
Speaker 3: he knew my coach, and so I started working with
Speaker 3: him and he was like, what do you think and
Speaker 3: where are you wanting to go? And before I had
Speaker 3: done a big ten trip to Italy, and then I
Speaker 3: had done USA like a youth national thing in Italy too,
Speaker 3: so I was like, I'd like to go to Italy.
Speaker 3: It was really cool. I always wanted to go play
Speaker 3: in Europe. I thought that it would be like a
Speaker 3: really nice experience, and he was Italian, so he got
Speaker 3: me a spot in the Italian League A one and
Speaker 3: it was really really fun.
Speaker 1: So throughout the years you've been playing professionally overseas, what
Speaker 1: was your favorite thing to do during your downtime?
Speaker 3: Probably the first thing, just candidly, nap. I was like
Speaker 3: anytime I get taken. I didn't even nap in college,
Speaker 3: but when you hit that, professionals like, if I can
Speaker 3: get three hours or two hours whatever, I'll take too.
Speaker 3: I want to find it. But then also exploration. My
Speaker 3: first year I had a Canadian teammate and she was
Speaker 3: so cool, so nice, and she thinks she helped me
Speaker 3: get out of my comfort zone and she's like, let's
Speaker 3: go do this, that and the other. So it was
Speaker 3: really nice to have someone to go explore with, just
Speaker 3: going to see boots and everything. It was really fun.
Speaker 1: Is there like one big memory, key adventure that you
Speaker 1: remember really well?
Speaker 3: It was my first year we went to Verona, and
Speaker 3: that's supposed to be the city that Romeo and Juliet met.
Speaker 3: I was gonna say, I say, yeah, I always asked.
Speaker 3: I'm like is this Are these real people but they're
Speaker 3: looking at me. I was like, never mind, but yeah,
Speaker 3: it was so cool. I actually went with my dad too,
Speaker 3: and there's a huge coliseum and it was really easy
Speaker 3: to walk and like navigate. So yeah, just seeing that
Speaker 3: kind of like history and being like, oh, I'm here,
Speaker 3: and like being there with my dad and also my
Speaker 3: my roommate and my teammate too. At the time, it
Speaker 3: was really cool.
Speaker 2: That's awesome.
Speaker 1: Now you're overseas four months at a time, and you
Speaker 1: are obviously very close.
Speaker 2: With your family. How hard was that to be away
Speaker 2: from them for so long?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was really difficult, especially just with the time change,
Speaker 3: and then also all the new feelings of like I
Speaker 3: feel a little like homesick, and then I also like
Speaker 3: I'm enjoying my time here a lot too, but I
Speaker 3: want to experience it with my family. And I remember
Speaker 3: when I had first gotten to Italy, I kept having
Speaker 3: this reoccurring dream of like we'd have an off day
Speaker 3: or off days, and then all of my teammates were
Speaker 3: like Italians they would go home, but in my dream,
Speaker 3: I would like talk to my mom and she was like,
Speaker 3: why don't you just come home? And I was like,
Speaker 3: why don't I just come home and then I'd wake up.
Speaker 3: But I was like I had that dream again, like
Speaker 3: because it was a realization of I'm really far even
Speaker 3: when I was at school, I could drive down and
Speaker 3: see my mom in like an hour, my dad and
Speaker 3: like my sister was with me. But experiencing all these
Speaker 3: things alone and just really trying to make the most
Speaker 3: of it, but also feeling a little lonely for sure.
Speaker 1: How often were they able to come out and how
Speaker 1: did you kind of get over the loneliness.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they would come out once a year. Yeah, and
Speaker 3: I would talk to them a lot too. But it
Speaker 3: was something that I realized, this is the transition of
Speaker 3: my life of like, Okay, I'm fasing into I'm not
Speaker 3: going to see my family as much, you know. So
Speaker 3: it was that realization of to pursue this dream, there
Speaker 3: are sacrifices that I have to make.
Speaker 1: You're an opposite hitter, Now did that happen in the
Speaker 1: international teams or when you got to the US women's team.
Speaker 3: I started to play pro before I came into the gym,
Speaker 3: but my first year broad I started to play opposite
Speaker 3: So that was really hard.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you go from middle to outside, which is
Speaker 1: a transition, and then outside to opposite, which for you
Speaker 1: know the people listening who might not know, that's when
Speaker 1: the center usually does the vaccine.
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, So.
Speaker 1: What was that transition like, because you've seen them all.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Oh my goodness, it was. It was really hard
Speaker 3: because also the internationally, you're playing six rotations. So even
Speaker 3: in college, that outside hitter wouldn't play the back row
Speaker 3: if we had a sub and I didn't do that.
Speaker 3: So then transitioning from that overseas, the level of play
Speaker 3: is just different, like the rules are different. That that's
Speaker 3: an adjustment in itself. And then like.
Speaker 1: I bet you were wondering what the biggest difference between
Speaker 1: US rules and international rules is, and I'm here to
Speaker 1: tell you, and that would be substitutions. So for international play,
Speaker 1: you only get six subs per set and you can
Speaker 1: only replace your starters once per set. So that's why
Speaker 1: Danielle would have to play all around. You don't use
Speaker 1: subs unless you absolutely need to. In the US you
Speaker 1: can have up to twelve subs percent and there are
Speaker 1: no limits on replacing your starters. So when Danielle would
Speaker 1: rotate to the back row defensive specialists would sub in
Speaker 1: for her. Then when the DS was about to rotate
Speaker 1: to the front row, Danielle would sub back in. All right,
Speaker 1: back to Danielle.
Speaker 3: And then what's coming at you? I just remember I
Speaker 3: can't even understand the game. I'm in the back row.
Speaker 3: I'm touching balls that are out because I don't have
Speaker 3: that court awareness. And then also internationally, the opposite hitter
Speaker 3: is like a garbage man. They're taking out all the
Speaker 3: bad balls. And I thought I was taken out bad
Speaker 3: balls before, but that ball coming over you and you
Speaker 3: having the time it correctly. So that was really hard
Speaker 3: of like we need you to score and also know
Speaker 3: everything else like I'm trying. So it was a learning
Speaker 3: her for sure.
Speaker 1: When did you realize you could do this, that this
Speaker 1: was gonna be your position and you were content with it?
Speaker 3: Oh, it took a while. I'm not gonna lie it
Speaker 3: was maybe after my third year. It was hard. There
Speaker 3: were definitely doubts that I still had of like can
Speaker 3: I do this, or did I make the right decision
Speaker 3: making this transition? Or how long? Like how long is
Speaker 3: this going to take? I want to figure it out now,
Speaker 3: But there's something about that I don't know the process
Speaker 3: that makes it all more sweet when you do pick
Speaker 3: up a skill or figure something out that I was like, Okay,
Speaker 3: the weight was worth it, and I learned a lot.
Speaker 3: I grew a lot on this journey.
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of people have doubt when
Speaker 1: they're trying something new, and a lot of people give up.
Speaker 1: So do you have any advice for people to keep
Speaker 1: going to keep trying.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say, we're never going to be perfect.
Speaker 3: And I think that once I took that off of
Speaker 3: my shoulders of striving for that perfection, I just felt
Speaker 3: more relaxed because I had this pressure of like it
Speaker 3: needs to look like this and nothing is ever overnight
Speaker 3: and depending on something that you think is worth it.
Speaker 3: I think that if you are willing to put in
Speaker 3: that work in that time, and even if you get
Speaker 3: one percent better each day, it's worth it and you
Speaker 3: will see results. But it's all about just persistence and
Speaker 3: like coming in each and every day. The way you
Speaker 3: talk to yourself and approach each rep, I think is
Speaker 3: really important. I think that there were a lot of
Speaker 3: times before that I was just kind of maybe going
Speaker 3: through the motions of just like Okay, I'm here, and
Speaker 3: when I really switch my mindset of every rep matters,
Speaker 3: and if I can just get a little better each
Speaker 3: and every day, I know that it'll pay off.
Speaker 1: So I want to ask you some things about you
Speaker 1: as a person off the course, as opposed to a
Speaker 1: volleyball player. You have a lot of amazing tattoos. Do
Speaker 1: they have stories or is it kind of you just
Speaker 1: love the bodyard.
Speaker 3: Yes, it started off. I really like tattoos and I
Speaker 3: want to get them, and so this first one is
Speaker 3: my mom and dad's birthday, and yeah, that was my
Speaker 3: first tattoo, and I got ripped off. Now that I've
Speaker 3: got tattoos, like how much did I pick up? And
Speaker 3: then I just like the Hennah, I think it's really cool.
Speaker 3: This one I got it as finally found. I got
Speaker 3: baptized last year and so that one meant a lot
Speaker 3: to me. Yeah, but yeah, these are the coordinates of Purdue.
Speaker 3: I just enjoyed my time there. But they all vary.
Speaker 3: Some mean a lot, and some are just kind of
Speaker 3: like I like the way that looked, and so I
Speaker 3: want it. But yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2: The perdue ones on your bicy so you can produce
Speaker 2: this way?
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, I know it's somewhere up northwestern Midwest. So
Speaker 3: you said you.
Speaker 2: Just got baptized in September.
Speaker 1: How important this fits you both as a person and
Speaker 1: as a volleyball player.
Speaker 3: Huge. It played a big part in my time. I
Speaker 3: played in Brazil two years ago or three years ago,
Speaker 3: and it was a difficult time for me being away
Speaker 3: and I had kind of felt like I'm not really
Speaker 3: enjoying this anymore, and I felt stressed, I felt anxiety,
Speaker 3: and so I was just like, something needs to change
Speaker 3: or I don't think I can continue to play. But
Speaker 3: I knew in my heart that I wanted to, but
Speaker 3: something had to give. And that was when I felt
Speaker 3: like the Lord was calling me to him. So in
Speaker 3: that moment is when I just went to him and
Speaker 3: I cried out, when I was like, something needs to change,
Speaker 3: and I feel a pole. And so I think through
Speaker 3: my relationship with him and developing that I've experienced so
Speaker 3: much freedom in like volleyball, but also just as a
Speaker 3: human being. It's been amazing just walking with so much
Speaker 3: joy and love and peace. And I finally feel now
Speaker 3: that I'm doing this with a purpose and not just
Speaker 3: trying to do what I think what people want me
Speaker 3: to do. Or what I think I want to do,
Speaker 3: but just knowing that I'm doing something that I know
Speaker 3: that matters, and walking into spaces with volleyball being that
Speaker 3: avenue and trying to make a change.
Speaker 1: So is there something that you've done now that you
Speaker 1: wouldn't have done previously.
Speaker 3: I think that I just allow myself to need help.
Speaker 3: The athlete world, we're so hyper independent, especially you know,
Speaker 3: being abroad. I think that that was something that I've
Speaker 3: really learned of, Like I don't really want to ask
Speaker 3: for help for anything, and I think that the dependency
Speaker 3: that I've had just in my relationship with God has
Speaker 3: allowed me to just relax and experience so much freedom.
Speaker 3: And so even in my conversations, in my friendships and
Speaker 3: relationships with people, I'm not afraid to be vulnerable. And
Speaker 3: I think that started with that. It's been really nice
Speaker 3: to just like let go and truly kill you. Yeah,
Speaker 3: exactly authentic and yeah, yeah that's awesome.
Speaker 1: Well, speaking of like relationships, I was talking to Lauren
Speaker 1: about how you girls just seem to have so much fun.
Speaker 1: You know, if you look at any of your photos
Speaker 1: on Instagram or any social media, it's like you guys
Speaker 1: have a.
Speaker 2: Lot of fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And the one thing I noticed though, is you guys
Speaker 1: have a decent amount of themed parties.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So for the themed parties, who comes up with the ideas?
Speaker 3: Wow? Yeah, we started that I think last summer, okay,
Speaker 3: and it was Kelsey's birthday and she was like, I
Speaker 3: want a disco theme and I was like, okay, I
Speaker 3: have actually never done it. We can't We're never home
Speaker 3: for Halloween or anything. But anyway, I was like, okay,
Speaker 3: like I want to dress up, and so it started
Speaker 3: with that, and then there was a cowboy theme, and
Speaker 3: then there was I can't even remember the other one.
Speaker 3: But like even for my birthday, I was like, let's
Speaker 3: do early like two thousands same. I want to do
Speaker 3: something fun. But I think it's just having a lot
Speaker 3: of fun. I feel like we're just big kids and
Speaker 3: like we just want to like dress up and just
Speaker 3: laugh and dance and hang out.
Speaker 2: I feel like the older I get, the more I wanted.
Speaker 3: To be a party. Yeah.
Speaker 4: I don't know what it is about getting older, but
Speaker 4: I feel like you just want to experience all these things. Yeah,
Speaker 4: like and yeah, you want to be young, you want
Speaker 4: to feel a young and the themes kind of reminds
Speaker 4: you Halloween. Yeah, we had a nineties two thousands party
Speaker 4: over the summer, had a band come and just play
Speaker 4: only that music.
Speaker 2: And it's like so fun. So next time you guys
Speaker 2: have a theme party, let me know.
Speaker 3: I let you know.
Speaker 2: I love planning.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love themes so funny, I know you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, I'll let you know too.
Speaker 3: Our next one.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, now you're going to be playing in
Speaker 1: the States, you gonna be playing in Atlanta.
Speaker 3: So what does this mean to you?
Speaker 1: Being able to play here, knowing that you're going to
Speaker 1: be in the same country as your family, And it's amazing.
Speaker 3: And I think when the opportunity first presented itself, I
Speaker 3: was like rubbing my eyes. I was like, are you
Speaker 3: guys serious? But yeah, my mom says we have family
Speaker 3: in Atlanta. I was like, we do before, but I'm
Speaker 3: excited to beat them. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So you've never been to Atlanta.
Speaker 3: No, I've been once for like a tournament, but I
Speaker 3: didn't remember anything. Honestly, what are.
Speaker 2: You most excited to experience in Atlanta?
Speaker 3: I'm excited for the warm weather because I was up
Speaker 3: in Indie super cold, and the food. I heard the
Speaker 3: food's good down there. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I've heard that too.
Speaker 1: I was only down in Atlanta once and I didn't
Speaker 1: really get to experience any of the foods, so I'm
Speaker 1: missed out. Yeah, for you as a volleyball player and
Speaker 1: with your career that you've experience so far, what.
Speaker 3: Do you hope will be your legacy? Oh, great question.
Speaker 3: I just am looking forward to bringing energy into like
Speaker 3: the sport into Atlanta. I want to be i don't know,
Speaker 3: kind of remembered as someone who really looked like they
Speaker 3: enjoyed playing as much as they really did. Because volleyball
Speaker 3: is an exciting sport and I'm excited that we're bringing
Speaker 3: it here professionally in the US, and I think this
Speaker 3: will be the first glimpset people see of actual, like intense,
Speaker 3: real high level volleyball and to just be able to
Speaker 3: like set that standard of like this is fun, this
Speaker 3: is fun to watch, this is fun to be a
Speaker 3: part of, And I just kind of want it to
Speaker 3: be that like something that people want to be a
Speaker 3: part of in our communities and everything.
Speaker 1: So yeah, well, what advice do you have for girls
Speaker 1: coming up in the sport that might want to continue playing?
Speaker 3: The Sky's the limit? Really now before I feel like
Speaker 3: a lot of girls who played in high school or college,
Speaker 3: it's a really hard ask to be able to like Okay,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go overseas and like see what this is about.
Speaker 3: You don't know a lot about the overseas journey, and
Speaker 3: maybe you wouldn't like it. It's a lot to take in. Culturally,
Speaker 3: it's shocking. You sacrifice a lot with your family and
Speaker 3: just a lot of opportunities that you don't get to
Speaker 3: have while staying at home. This opens up a door
Speaker 3: of you can really do anything. You'll see it in
Speaker 3: front of you, like this professional volleyball and you can
Speaker 3: be a part of it as someone who got cut
Speaker 3: in eighth grade and kept trying and is now at
Speaker 3: this point of like being a part of something really cool. Like,
Speaker 3: don't let anything deter you. You can do anything.
Speaker 1: And based on your journey, you know, especially with how
Speaker 1: you felt when you got to Brazil and everything, what
Speaker 1: would you tell girls who might feel burnt out?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it comes with it. You're doing something
Speaker 3: that you've been doing for so long. But what I've
Speaker 3: learned too is that remember your why kind of like
Speaker 3: why are you doing this? And I think when I
Speaker 3: got rooted in that, because even at the times that
Speaker 3: I did feel burnt out or tired, it just kind
Speaker 3: of like I knew inside I still wanted to play.
Speaker 3: I still love playing volleyball. I still had more to give,
Speaker 3: and I understood that when I was playing. Once I
Speaker 3: started competing, I was like, I love this and I'm
Speaker 3: finding really hard for every point, and so just understand, like,
Speaker 3: do I still have that fire within me a competition?
Speaker 3: And why am I doing this? Do I want to?
Speaker 3: Because most of the time we do, and maybe there's
Speaker 3: there's a face that you just kind of have to
Speaker 3: pass through, and just once you get through it, it's like, Okay,
Speaker 3: what did I learn during that?
Speaker 2: Where do you hope to see volleyball in five ten years?
Speaker 3: It's really exciting now where it's been, and so I
Speaker 3: don't know. I just hope that it's one of the
Speaker 3: most talked about sports in the US because I think
Speaker 3: it has a capability of being really fun and exciting for.
Speaker 2: People to find.
Speaker 3: I know that it is fry for sure, yeah, and
Speaker 3: just something that really people want to be a part of.
Speaker 3: And I've noticed that just like rewinding back to my
Speaker 3: first college game and when I went to a Purdue.
Speaker 3: I was like, I had no idea that this is
Speaker 3: what it was. And I think that it's something that
Speaker 3: just not a lot of people know, and now that
Speaker 3: we're bringing it here and kind of see, it'll be
Speaker 3: something that everyone is just like, how do I get
Speaker 3: in there? How do I, you know, be a part
Speaker 3: of that?
Speaker 1: So were you on the sidelines of the Nebraska record?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: What was that?
Speaker 3: Like? That was crazy? I remember I got chills. It's
Speaker 3: not easy to give me chills because I don't know,
Speaker 3: but being there and saying it, I was like, this
Speaker 3: is insane.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about how insane this match was. Back in
Speaker 1: September twenty twenty three, Nebraska held a women's indoor volleyball
Speaker 1: match outdoors at Memorial Stadium, where the football team plays.
Speaker 1: Over ninety two thousand fans ninety two thousand and three
Speaker 1: to be exact, showed up to support women's volleyball and
Speaker 1: help break the world record for attendance at a women's
Speaker 1: sporting event. The previous record was set at just over
Speaker 1: ninety one thousand, six hundred fans at a Champions League
Speaker 1: match between FC Barcelona and Volfsburg. And what was dubbed
Speaker 1: Volleyball Day in Nebraska. The Cornhuskers defeated Omaha in three
Speaker 1: straight matches in Danielle had a front row seat. Now
Speaker 1: back to Danielle to tell us more about the experience.
Speaker 3: And it was something as someone who knows how cool
Speaker 3: volleyball is and loves it, didn't think was capable. And
Speaker 3: I was like, there's a need, there's a one, like
Speaker 3: people are wanting this and I didn't even know to
Speaker 3: that extent. I think that was kind of like a
Speaker 3: seat that was planted before I even decided to stay
Speaker 3: home that I was like, oh, this is here. So
Speaker 3: it was so cool when you were playing.
Speaker 1: Did you think that a college volleyball game could ever
Speaker 1: filled ninety thousand seats?
Speaker 3: No, I didn't even know the football football could do that.
Speaker 3: So it was yeah, it was awesome. It was really cool.
Speaker 3: And to be a part of that too, I was
Speaker 3: like wow when we were like singing the anthem and
Speaker 3: the plane, Yeah, it was wow. It was awesome. And
Speaker 3: I think Karchad told us this. It was like four
Speaker 3: of us that went and I think they broke the
Speaker 3: record by maybe four. I think that's what he said.
Speaker 3: So yeah, he was like it was you, guys. I
Speaker 3: was like, thanks cards for making us feel so special.
Speaker 3: He really does all the time. I was like, wow,
Speaker 3: I'm happy that'll be part of that. Oh I love that.
Speaker 3: So yeah.
Speaker 2: Well, Danielle, it was a pleasure chatting with you. I
Speaker 2: would like to cheers and thank you again, sir, coming
Speaker 2: on and having some.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Serving Pancakes is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership
Speaker 1: with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us
Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
Speaker 1: your podcasts. Production by League One Volleyball, I'm your host
Speaker 1: Tiffany Oshinski. Anya Olivarez is our senior producer. Our executive
Speaker 1: producers are Carrie Stet, Tamara Dike, and Lindsay Hoffman. Our
Speaker 1: marketing lead is Jawara Parker. Sound mixing by Max Lorenzen.
Speaker 1: Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior
Speaker 1: Special thanks to Daniel Catino. Stay tuned for our next
Speaker 1: episode of Serving Pancakes. We're I'll be interviewing the University
Speaker 1: of Minnesota's first ever ABCA Player of the Year, Sarah
Speaker 1: Wilheite Parsons. Thanks for listening.