Speaker 1: As a volleyball player, I trust Adidas to meet my
Speaker 1: own court needs, but they also offer the ultimate in
Speaker 1: everyday's style. From trendy platform sneakers, vibrant track pants, and cozy,
Speaker 1: chic flea sweatshirts from their Zny collection, Adidas has everything
Speaker 1: I need to feel comfortable, stylish, and confident. Explore all
Speaker 1: that Adidas has to offer at Adidas dot Com or
Speaker 1: through the Adidas App and receive fifteen percent off your
Speaker 1: first order when you sign up for Addi Club, getting
Speaker 1: access to fantastic perks, including free shipping. Unlock your style
Speaker 1: with Adidas Today. Hi, I'm Tiffany Oshinsky, and this is
Speaker 1: serving pancakes with League one Volleyball. The inaugural Love season
Speaker 1: is just around the corner, so we're talking with some
Speaker 1: of the amazing people in the league to introduce you
Speaker 1: to the players on the court and coaches and others
Speaker 1: involved off the court. Today's episode features Love Austin opposite
Speaker 1: hitter Kat Bell. Growing up in Mesquite, Texas, Cat stayed
Speaker 1: in the lone Star state for college and took her
Speaker 1: challenge to the University of Texas, where she played an
Speaker 1: integral role in leading the Longhorns to an NCAA title
Speaker 1: in twenty twelve, plus two other NCAA semi final appearances.
Speaker 1: She's played in six countries during her nine year professional career,
Speaker 1: including Puerto Rico, South Korea, Turkya, China, the Philippines, and
Speaker 1: the US. In South Korea, she was named v League
Speaker 1: MVP and Best Blocker. While in the Philippines, she was
Speaker 1: the Super Leagua Best outside spiker and twice won the
Speaker 1: Super LEGA Championship. And now she's heading back to her
Speaker 1: college home in Austin to play for League one. Kat
Speaker 1: Welcome to Serving Pancakes.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: I was so excited to have you here. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to Austin. What's it like being back?
Speaker 3: I mean, it's honestly a dream come true. It's like
Speaker 3: a full circle moment right now for me, Like just
Speaker 3: being back here in Austin. I just can't believe I'm
Speaker 3: back in the city. But being able to play the
Speaker 3: sport I'm still like adoring right now and being back
Speaker 3: here is it's amazing.
Speaker 2: I'm enjoying being back out.
Speaker 1: Before we actually started recording this interview, you were telling
Speaker 1: me about your apartment that you are creating. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you're listening to this on the pot like on
Speaker 1: Apple podcasts at iHeartRadio app then you don't see it,
Speaker 1: but if you're on YouTube, you can see this gorgeous apartment.
Speaker 1: So tell me about this place real quick. I want
Speaker 1: to know.
Speaker 3: So it's my first time coming back home and like
Speaker 3: being able to just be here and enjoy my space.
Speaker 2: So normally abroad, you know you're in an airbnb.
Speaker 3: In our apartment, it's already furnished, not kind of quite
Speaker 3: my taste, but like it's what you have kind of
Speaker 3: have to go through. So coming back, I was like,
Speaker 3: you know what, I really want to plant some roots
Speaker 3: and just start from the top and being something that's mine.
Speaker 3: You know, some girls were running out apartments like Airbnbs
Speaker 3: and stuff, but that's still somebody else's space. So I
Speaker 3: wanted to create my own space, my own kind of vibe.
Speaker 3: And it's giving like cute, classy, like modern, very very
Speaker 3: low key. So my lighting and apartment is awesome as well.
Speaker 3: I have a lot of ton big open windows, and
Speaker 3: I'm just enjoying like building on the furniture and just
Speaker 3: figuring out.
Speaker 2: Like my own kind of vibe.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I love it. That's such a fun side
Speaker 1: project to be working on all your bag the base.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I didn't know that it was such just a
Speaker 3: stress believer almost like I just enjoyed coming home and
Speaker 3: just turn my music on, kind of setting a candle
Speaker 3: on and just building my little block sumbles. Feels like
Speaker 3: the girls are calling me Bob the builders. So it's great.
Speaker 3: But it's still coming together right now.
Speaker 1: So I love it. Has this been your favorite part
Speaker 1: about being back?
Speaker 3: Probably, I really enjoyed being home, honestly, Like I just
Speaker 3: you know, the biggest part of that was coming back
Speaker 3: and just the social part of it.
Speaker 2: It's a lot.
Speaker 3: You know, Normally you're by yourself abroad and like you know,
Speaker 3: you don't know the language, so you don't have to
Speaker 3: worry about, you know, just building that kind of like bond.
Speaker 2: With certain girls. You're just there to do a job.
Speaker 3: But here, you know, having that connection is important, so
Speaker 3: I have to go to practice and socialize.
Speaker 2: And get to know people and stuff.
Speaker 3: So being able to come back home and be in
Speaker 3: my own space just to kind of like you know,
Speaker 3: unwand and relax is probably my best part.
Speaker 2: I'll take a part for sure.
Speaker 1: You talked about the social aspect of playing overseas, But
Speaker 1: when it comes to the actual game, what's the difference
Speaker 1: between playing overseas and playing here now at League one.
Speaker 3: I think overseas, you're there to do a job and
Speaker 3: you know you're gonna do it the best possibly you can,
Speaker 3: but you know every night you're gonna be on that floor.
Speaker 3: I think come back to League one, we have some
Speaker 3: great athletes in the gym, and like, I feel like
Speaker 3: I have to come to practice every day and compete
Speaker 3: every day. You know, before it's like, yeah, can go
Speaker 3: to practice and kind of get my reps in. I
Speaker 3: don't have to go so hard, but you know, go
Speaker 3: into the season, you know it's a challenge because you
Speaker 3: want to see the court and you want to play,
Speaker 3: and it's competitive gym right now too, So going in
Speaker 3: and competing every day is honestly the hardest part.
Speaker 2: But I'm enjoying it.
Speaker 3: It's kind of a new tick I haven't had to
Speaker 3: do in a while, so it's it's fun.
Speaker 2: I enjoy it a lot.
Speaker 1: And your team love Austin has a bunch of Texas
Speaker 1: alum on that roster. Did you know, I mean, I
Speaker 1: know that you didn't play with a lot and there's
Speaker 1: a lot of younger women on the team, but did
Speaker 1: you know them before? Is there sort of like since
Speaker 1: you are all like Texas alums, there's some sort of
Speaker 1: love language between you guys that want to know one
Speaker 1: hundred percent, and we kind of be like, kind of
Speaker 1: we try to be discreet about it, honestly, just because,
Speaker 1: like you know, it's just a.
Speaker 2: It's a Texas girl thing, you know.
Speaker 3: Julian and I was fortunate enough to meet her and
Speaker 3: watch her as I was coming into ut and she's amazing.
Speaker 3: And obviously I got to play two years with Chiyaka
Speaker 3: and she's one of my close friends.
Speaker 2: Molly as well.
Speaker 3: I've been playing with Bali now a full year, you know,
Speaker 3: playing with PDF and then the AU and now we're together,
Speaker 3: so that's been great. And then being able to you know,
Speaker 3: watch Asia develop her game and logan as well as
Speaker 3: I was traveling and still kicking up with Texas Volleyball
Speaker 3: and now all of us being together is crazy, And
Speaker 3: of course it's always amazing.
Speaker 2: I live, she's amazing, So yeah, really it's fun. It's
Speaker 2: a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: Now, have you been watching the NCAA tournament at all?
Speaker 3: Not so much until not the season at all, honestly,
Speaker 3: but until you know, the tournament started. I was watching
Speaker 3: and then like I was heavily watching obviously this past
Speaker 3: weekend when Texas lost and.
Speaker 2: It was just it sucked. It was it was it
Speaker 2: was hard. You know, it's hard.
Speaker 3: It's hard as I'm like to watch, especially too, because
Speaker 3: like you've been in that position so many times and
Speaker 3: you always like, you know, I wish I could just
Speaker 3: like get back in my jersey and get out.
Speaker 2: There and help them figure out and that kind of thing.
Speaker 3: So but it's been great to see them, see what
Speaker 3: Jerry's been doing with his program the past ten years,
Speaker 3: so whatever he's been doing forever long he's been doing
Speaker 3: it for and seeing the game developed through Texas Volleyball,
Speaker 3: it's been great.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, three beats are hard to do, so
Speaker 1: it's it's I mean, going back to back is pretty impressive.
Speaker 1: It would have been awesome if they got the three,
Speaker 1: but you know, it happens.
Speaker 2: It happened. Yeah, State was just the reign of its own.
Speaker 3: You know, they did like back to back to back,
Speaker 3: a few championships back to back.
Speaker 2: End.
Speaker 3: I think it should be a documentary in that to
Speaker 3: be honest, like just to see like the grit in
Speaker 3: that gym and have some players come back and talk
Speaker 3: about how like, you know, how hard it was to
Speaker 3: get there and that through that program.
Speaker 1: So now I know you're there's a few international players
Speaker 1: on the Love Austin team. US college ball is very
Speaker 1: different than the type of ball that they play in
Speaker 1: Europe and that you don't really know it, did you
Speaker 1: ladies kind of introduce them to this wild wild west
Speaker 1: of college especially.
Speaker 2: I think Anna was watching us.
Speaker 3: Alli was watching the other day when Texas was playing
Speaker 3: and just to see us like all kind of heaped
Speaker 3: in front of the TV.
Speaker 2: She's kind of like, what is going on? You know?
Speaker 3: So I think her coming and she kind of it's
Speaker 3: it's around, you know, it's kind of in our face
Speaker 3: a little bit. And of course we're kind of telling
Speaker 3: about certain teams that kind of stuff too.
Speaker 2: But I think they love it. They think it's just
Speaker 2: a thing.
Speaker 3: Also to her ingesting the American type of style playing
Speaker 3: volleyball here, you know, knowing her in Italy, I'm sure
Speaker 3: like they have a certain like kind of routine that
Speaker 3: no foreigners is kind of ball into, you know, like
Speaker 3: there's days they're like, you'll listening to like, for example,
Speaker 3: I was in Korea listening to Korean music like every
Speaker 3: single day, you know, because like he's like, is there
Speaker 3: one time we can play like one English song that
Speaker 3: I can like, you know, and then now her and
Speaker 3: her coming here, it's like all.
Speaker 2: English music every single day, and I'm curious. She's like,
Speaker 2: can we change it? We're like, no, you have to.
Speaker 2: You have to go through. So you have to watch
Speaker 2: the college bullet ball. It's amazing. So yeah, I think
Speaker 2: they're all used to it right now.
Speaker 1: Well, with text us out, who are you rooting for?
Speaker 3: My really good good friend Aaron Fairs is a cardinal,
Speaker 3: so I guess I'm kind of supporting here. But I'm
Speaker 3: really impressed by Pittsburgh, By pitt I'm really impressed by them,
Speaker 3: So I'm becoming to go with that. They're the number
Speaker 3: one one team. I'm gonna stick with the Linux. I'm
Speaker 3: gonna go pit for sure.
Speaker 1: All Right, I've got pitt in Penn State in the finals,
Speaker 1: the PA Finals, but I have pitt edging out Penn State.
Speaker 2: I think I think Pitt's kind of go all the
Speaker 2: way through.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's talk about you and your volleyball career,
Speaker 1: because you have quite the resume. So let's go back
Speaker 1: to the beginning. When did you first fall in love
Speaker 1: with the sport.
Speaker 3: I think I was about I was in seventh grade.
Speaker 3: I actually even know what volleyball was. I was a
Speaker 3: big basketball player. I've been playing basketball since I was
Speaker 3: in the fourth grade. And I was doing dancing, and
Speaker 3: so I was going to my seventh grade year and
Speaker 3: one of my friends was like.
Speaker 2: Hey, do you want to try for the volleyball team?
Speaker 2: And I was like, what the heck is volleyball? She
Speaker 2: was like, oh, you.
Speaker 3: Know, it's the white ball that you go like this
Speaker 3: over the next and I was like, oh, when's the trial.
Speaker 2: She goes after school and I was like, I don't
Speaker 2: have any clothes. She goes, okay.
Speaker 3: Our other friend, who was in eighth grade had tried
Speaker 3: out that morning, and she was like, we can just
Speaker 3: wear big Erica's clothes. And I was like, oh, okay,
Speaker 3: but not thinking about it. So my friend is wearing
Speaker 3: the shorts, I'm wearing the sweaty T shirt. And you
Speaker 3: had to have some type of gear and we only
Speaker 3: have one pair of nee pad. So I was wearing
Speaker 3: my school parents, one knee pat and the sweaty shirt
Speaker 3: going to volleyball rild and I made the CEA team,
Speaker 3: which was okay, but you know.
Speaker 2: But that's how I started.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. When did you know that you were actually
Speaker 1: good at it?
Speaker 2: When I made the A team two weeks later? Two
Speaker 2: weeks later, two weeks later. Yeah, I mean I just
Speaker 2: kind of like I obsessed about it. I was. I
Speaker 2: love skating a lot. I just want to fix. Thing
Speaker 2: I like do over the weekend was to go skating
Speaker 2: with my friends.
Speaker 3: And once I found this new kind of like hobby,
Speaker 3: like I was obsessed with it, Like that's all I
Speaker 3: wanted to do. Like I would take like newspaper and
Speaker 3: I would wad it up with tape and make it
Speaker 3: like kind of a ball, and I would just kind
Speaker 3: of practice it on my platform against the wall when
Speaker 3: when I was at home, and like I just became
Speaker 3: obsessed and like my friends were I was on the
Speaker 3: worst team, A sea team, and all my really good
Speaker 3: friends were on the A team, and I was like, shoot,
Speaker 3: like I really want to like get.
Speaker 2: Up there with them.
Speaker 3: So I would stay after practice and like get extra
Speaker 3: reps because all it is really in the seventh grade
Speaker 3: is like serving and like trying to keep the ball
Speaker 3: off the ground. So that was my main thing, was
Speaker 3: just like serving the ball, trying to get the ball
Speaker 3: over the next I was a string bang at the time,
Speaker 3: not now, but I was a stream just trying to
Speaker 3: get the ball within that. And then when I made
Speaker 3: the A team, they end up moving my best friend
Speaker 3: actually down to the B team, so I took her spot.
Speaker 2: So that was the whole thing.
Speaker 3: But her mom even told me, she was like, what
Speaker 3: aren't you play a little bit worse so you and
Speaker 3: canus can be together on the B team?
Speaker 2: And I was like, I don't know the girls that
Speaker 2: are good like No.
Speaker 3: So I made the eighteen and seventh grade and from
Speaker 3: there I was just obsessed.
Speaker 2: I was obsessed.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. When you became obsessed with the sport, did
Speaker 1: you start also watching older girls play, like in college
Speaker 1: and stuff.
Speaker 3: No, So my first experience watching someone play volleyball at
Speaker 3: a high level, and that's when I knew, like I think,
Speaker 3: I wanted to go to college. I wanted to be
Speaker 3: as good as she was was Courtney Manning. She was
Speaker 3: the metal block at SMU. She puit in me Squie
Speaker 3: high school and Courtney. If you're watching this, major shout out.
Speaker 3: She was just someone of wasly that looked like me
Speaker 3: and was just kind of taking the sport by the storm.
Speaker 3: She was six foot two three and just had an
Speaker 3: arm of a can. And I'm like, I'm talking about
Speaker 3: this girl. We were in middle school to go watch
Speaker 3: the high school games. She would hit a ball and
Speaker 3: it bounced on the ground and like go up like
Speaker 3: eighteen d in the air, like it was insane. I
Speaker 3: was like, I want to be like her. So like
Speaker 3: in middle school I was watching her games.
Speaker 2: And then once I got to high school, I made
Speaker 2: the JV team. I was on JV my first I
Speaker 2: was on Davy like the first like two weeks and.
Speaker 3: They knew me to varsity. But again I was just
Speaker 3: like you know, working a lot. I was always just
Speaker 3: like doing something in the sand, like just watching her.
Speaker 3: And then like from there I had an opportunity. There
Speaker 3: was a girl named Calie. I don't know her last
Speaker 3: name was, but she's in California. She's a big time
Speaker 3: on one girl, and you know, vollyball and Cali is
Speaker 3: a big thing. So she just came to our school
Speaker 3: for that semester and like she was just that big
Speaker 3: and Jeff as amazing as Courtney was. But she was
Speaker 3: in my gym every day too, so like she definitely
Speaker 3: helped me develop my game throughout high school. And like
Speaker 3: being on varsity, I knew there was an opportunity to say, like,
Speaker 3: you know, I wouldn't probably see the floor, but I
Speaker 3: knew that, like playing with them, I was going to
Speaker 3: get better at it. And then things happen. A girl
Speaker 3: got her, I had to do this. Start I mid
Speaker 3: a blocker and play, and like Kellie would work so
Speaker 3: many days with me after practice and just like I
Speaker 3: was also scared of the ball for some reason, I
Speaker 3: don't know why.
Speaker 2: So she would like put me on the ground.
Speaker 3: I'd have my hands above in my face and she
Speaker 3: would just hit balls into my hands on my face
Speaker 3: and like tell me like not to move my hand
Speaker 3: because I.
Speaker 2: Was scared of it.
Speaker 3: So it was just I had so many amazing people
Speaker 3: in my life as a teenager, and maybe I wasn't
Speaker 3: watching on TV.
Speaker 2: They were like literally in the gym with me every day,
Speaker 2: so it was amazing. It helped me a lot.
Speaker 1: Actually, well, so Mosquite is not that far from the
Speaker 1: University of Texas and Austin. So was that kind of
Speaker 1: the impetus for why you wanted to commit there or
Speaker 1: were there other plans before?
Speaker 2: Oh? Well I did not.
Speaker 3: So I had friends that were big OU fans, and
Speaker 3: so like I was like, Okay, I'm going to go
Speaker 3: to college. I want to go to OU, you know.
Speaker 3: And at that time, I wasn't really playing volleyball. I
Speaker 3: just like, I just want to go to go to
Speaker 3: school there, you know, if I was a head opportunity
Speaker 3: to go to college. And then as I got better
Speaker 3: in the sport, I was like, oh, like wait a minute,
Speaker 3: like I'm really good at this, and like I got
Speaker 3: to see like the perks of being really good at
Speaker 3: the sport and how like, you know, I'll never forget.
Speaker 2: I got my first letter from.
Speaker 3: It was from a like I think Wichita something state
Speaker 3: or something like that, and I was like, I'm going,
Speaker 3: like I'm the first I'm the first college graduate in
Speaker 3: my family. So I was like it was a big
Speaker 3: deal when you go to school. So I was like
Speaker 3: I'm going. Like my coach was like hang on, like
Speaker 3: you know, I was like I think I was a
Speaker 3: sophomore and she's like, this is gonna start happening.
Speaker 2: You know, the better you get, you know, the more
Speaker 2: college office you'll get, like just just wait.
Speaker 3: And I'm like, well, this is one right like they
Speaker 3: have a schulship for me, Like this is free school
Speaker 3: right here, Like I need to get there. She's like
Speaker 3: just wait, just wait, just wait. And so as I
Speaker 3: got better, also comes the ego as well too, you
Speaker 3: know what I'm saying. So like I was after really I.
Speaker 2: Went to a OU visit.
Speaker 3: I knowew, I don't want to go to school in Texas, like,
Speaker 3: but I was really a ride in this OU train.
Speaker 3: And you know when you go on your visits and stuff,
Speaker 3: you know, you're treated like royalty.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: I went to my OWEU visit and there was like
Speaker 3: twelve girls in the visit, like it was maybe not twelve,
Speaker 3: but it was like more than five on the same
Speaker 3: visit as me. And I'm like, I don't I wanted
Speaker 3: to feel, you know, kind of special and stuff. I
Speaker 3: don't feel like that, you know. Wherever it was a
Speaker 3: budget or what, I don't know what it was. And
Speaker 3: I was like, you know, I'm gonna go to Florida.
Speaker 3: I want to go to Florida, Like the colors are great,
Speaker 3: like it's Florida, Like, why not go to Florida?
Speaker 2: And I did. I went to a Florida camp.
Speaker 3: I did a little visit when I was there, and
Speaker 3: I loved Florida was great, and I think my mind
Speaker 3: was pretty set on Florida.
Speaker 2: And then I hadn't gone to Texas.
Speaker 3: Jared came to all my games and my high school
Speaker 3: small like mosquit is a very small city outside of Dallas, like,
Speaker 3: and Jered came to all my tournaments. He came to
Speaker 3: he came to watch him play in Mosquite. He would
Speaker 3: sit in the stands like you could. He would be
Speaker 3: him on one side, like the UCLA coach on the
Speaker 3: other side. I wouldn't give him the time or day,
Speaker 3: like I would not even speak to him. And so
Speaker 3: my he was really adamant about, like, you know, just
Speaker 3: trying to just get me down for a visit. And
Speaker 3: he told my high school coach, he was like, just
Speaker 3: get her down here, Like if you guys, just get
Speaker 3: her down here. So my high school coach told my
Speaker 3: mom was like, let's we really, I really think cashould
Speaker 3: go down to Austin just to see And so she
Speaker 3: packed my bag and they had me staying in the dorms,
Speaker 3: and I watched, like a lot of.
Speaker 2: Scary movies tell the story. I was telling the story.
Speaker 3: So she packed my bag and I terally was that
Speaker 3: I was gonna like stay in the dorm with one
Speaker 3: of the girls. And I was like in the movie,
Speaker 3: he's like, that's all the stuff happens in the dorm room.
Speaker 3: So I packed a knife. I was, I packed a knike.
Speaker 3: I never protected myself, you know, So I packed a knife.
Speaker 3: And the girl I was saying with was Rachel Adams.
Speaker 2: I love Rachel. Me and her are still good friends.
Speaker 3: I don't know if she knows or not, but I
Speaker 3: packed a knife in my bag just in case something
Speaker 3: was gonna happen.
Speaker 2: No, I don't know it was whatever I saw on TV.
Speaker 2: But I went down to the I went down. I
Speaker 2: remember driving down.
Speaker 3: To Austin and just like I wasn't talking in the car,
Speaker 3: I was really I was pissed. I was like, there's
Speaker 3: no I don't know why they forced me to.
Speaker 1: Come down here, Like, don't piss me off because of
Speaker 1: the knife and mine.
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, Everybody like I'm not the one like you know,
Speaker 3: So the whole drive down like I'm just I'm mad.
Speaker 2: So we get to campus and I'm like, okay, like,
Speaker 2: I guess.
Speaker 3: I have never been often before, so I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: this is like and it's like the fall, so the
Speaker 3: weather's nice and like you know, it's the capitalist. I
Speaker 3: was like, oh, like this is cool, Like this is cool.
Speaker 3: I guess whatever. And so again I've seen Jared from Afar,
Speaker 3: but never like face to face. And so I go
Speaker 3: into the facility where they do film at and Gregory
Speaker 3: and there's like this is when I'm getting This is
Speaker 3: when I find.
Speaker 2: Out who Deathney Hooker is.
Speaker 3: And Julianne Fall said and like I've never seen so
Speaker 3: many black women on the roster.
Speaker 2: That was my first thing because I was.
Speaker 3: Always the only black female playing in my school when
Speaker 3: I was growing up. So like I walked into the
Speaker 3: film room, you see all of their like pictures on
Speaker 3: the wall.
Speaker 2: And I was just I was just so taken by it,
Speaker 2: and I was like WHOA. And then like Jared walks in.
Speaker 3: He has these big blue eyes and he's just such
Speaker 3: an amazing father figure and I right away got that
Speaker 3: feeling from him. He walks in and I was kind
Speaker 3: of like, you know, he's very nice and Slimmer walk
Speaker 3: Boyle was assistant around that time, and Brian was still there,
Speaker 3: but Eric had came in yet. But they were, you know,
Speaker 3: meeting the staff of the first time was all nice,
Speaker 3: and then the girls come in and I will never
Speaker 3: forget the feeling that I had just seeing I can
Speaker 3: always tear up just seeing such like a panel of
Speaker 3: girls who were tall and like, you know, not a
Speaker 3: change of their height and their complexion and like just
Speaker 3: so many different just so much diversity. Jared was painted amazing,
Speaker 3: and he had so much diverse on his team, you know,
Speaker 3: hit Sarah Palmer.
Speaker 2: Who was Hawaiian.
Speaker 3: You had so many black women on his team, and
Speaker 3: I was like, dang, like wow, like this is like
Speaker 3: I want to be a part of this, you know,
Speaker 3: and they're all just amazing people, and like I got
Speaker 3: to meet them and you know, Washington practice and like
Speaker 3: they're just I mean, these girls are good. Like I
Speaker 3: watched him practice and like just seeing him go aswere
Speaker 3: they were going. And I think it could be intimidating
Speaker 3: for some girls, you know, like to go into that
Speaker 3: gym and be like Okay, well if I come on
Speaker 3: this team, you know, it comes kind of comes down to.
Speaker 2: Where I want to go.
Speaker 3: Do I want to go somewhere I know I'm gonna play,
Speaker 3: or do I want to go somewhere where Like there's
Speaker 3: a chance I'm to set the bench, but I'm going
Speaker 3: to develop, you know, and my mindset how it was,
Speaker 3: I was like, there's no freaking way that, Like if
Speaker 3: I come here, I'm sitting the bench. And like the competition,
Speaker 3: I was playing it outs at the time, and like
Speaker 3: Destiny and Julian for graduating, but he still had like
Speaker 3: two or three seniors coming in, sophomores coming in. Hallett
Speaker 3: come in and was also coming in, and I was like,
Speaker 3: I don't know, I don't care what I got to do,
Speaker 3: but I'm about to come in here and I'm.
Speaker 2: Gonna just go crazy.
Speaker 3: And so I just immediately just being in the atmosphere,
Speaker 3: in the environment, and again I was going to visit
Speaker 3: by myself.
Speaker 2: I personally got to know the girls from personal.
Speaker 3: They were arguing at the table at lunch in front
Speaker 3: of me, you know, so I was like, oh, like
Speaker 3: this is.
Speaker 2: Tea Like y'all, y'all real real, Okay, they're not fronting vacant.
Speaker 2: It's not a show, you know.
Speaker 3: It was it was real and that was the most
Speaker 3: That was just that's what shoot out to me the most.
Speaker 3: And so after leaving the visit, I found out, you know,
Speaker 3: I didn't want to leave. I was under so much
Speaker 3: dress because like I was a number two recruit in
Speaker 3: the country, and I had so many like college coaches
Speaker 3: and emails and like told me, like I had this
Speaker 3: huge finder and like I would cry some nights because
Speaker 3: when you talk to players and you're asking him, you know,
Speaker 3: what are you looking for?
Speaker 2: What's the feeling? They're like, you just get a feeling.
Speaker 3: I'm like, I'm not getting this feeling, and like this
Speaker 3: is a very important choice, you know, for myself, and
Speaker 3: the choice is only mine, you know. And the feeling
Speaker 3: for me was I felt away from home, but close enough,
Speaker 3: do you know what I'm saying. I didn't know that
Speaker 3: Austin would give me that much of space between Dallas,
Speaker 3: and just like it was a place I felt like
Speaker 3: I belonged, you know what I'm saying. I wanted to
Speaker 3: be somewhere where the gym was amazingly high talented, being
Speaker 3: around girls who were more developed than I was. To
Speaker 3: win the game faster I was able to do that
Speaker 3: or play with the girls at a higher level. I
Speaker 3: was able to develop faster. So I went home and
Speaker 3: I was like, that was it.
Speaker 2: That was it, that was it. And then I went
Speaker 2: back for another visit and I didn't know how to commit.
Speaker 2: I'm like, what do you do? Like you just like
Speaker 2: call on the phone. Do you tell him? But what's
Speaker 2: the process? You know? So they might be down again.
Speaker 3: I was sitting on the bench and I'll never forget.
Speaker 3: They were playing Kansas State, and I'm like, I gotta
Speaker 3: tell him, and I don't know why decide to tell
Speaker 3: him right then and there, but like I'm like, here's
Speaker 3: my eyes.
Speaker 2: I'm like, i gotta tell him.
Speaker 3: And so Jared's come like pac him back and forth
Speaker 3: what he does, and I'm sitting there.
Speaker 2: I'm just like I was like coach Elliott and he
Speaker 2: was like, yeah, I said I want to come here.
Speaker 2: He was like what. I was like, I'm like, I'm
Speaker 2: doing this the wrong way.
Speaker 3: Like I was like, I want to go to school here.
Speaker 3: He's like, do you want to play for me? I
Speaker 3: was like yeah, I was like I want to play
Speaker 3: for you. I want to go to school. And he
Speaker 3: was like that's great news.
Speaker 2: So it's like he'said, okay, let me. He's like, okay.
Speaker 3: He ended up going to Salema and he goes, hey, Salema,
Speaker 3: like I got something to tell you. He goes man Cat,
Speaker 3: he played a joker and slap me. He's like, man
Speaker 3: cat just told me she wants to go to Florida.
Speaker 3: And I remember othern forget Sleiman looks down on me
Speaker 3: down the bench and I can see her.
Speaker 2: She's like, get off the bench. She's like, watches it. Man.
Speaker 2: He's like, now, I'm just kidding the girls.
Speaker 3: He not the girls for the game, and like they
Speaker 3: came over to me and everyone huging, congratulating me. I
Speaker 3: got to watch them when and like when I said,
Speaker 3: I want it was the best decision of my entire life.
Speaker 3: Like I know, Texas was the one place that I
Speaker 3: needed to be and I know that, like me, going
Speaker 3: there has just developed me so much, becoming the woman
Speaker 3: that I am today.
Speaker 2: So it was definitely the right decision. So yeah, I.
Speaker 1: Mean the whole story was like a path of maturity
Speaker 1: and like growing up and learning who you are. Oh well,
Speaker 1: it never is right. I feel like it's not easy
Speaker 1: to grow up and learn all the kind of that
Speaker 1: kind of stuff. But I was like seventeen, eighteen year
Speaker 1: old or were you sixteen? Were you sophomore when I
Speaker 1: was seventeen?
Speaker 2: I was seventeen.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I feel like, yeah, you're still learning so
Speaker 1: much about yourself. So to be able to like put
Speaker 1: all that emotion and like understanding into that visit and
Speaker 1: like realize that this this is what I want and
Speaker 1: what I need and these are the people I want
Speaker 1: to be around. I'el like, that's so machure of you,
Speaker 1: and like, obviously it worked out. I mean, you ended
Speaker 1: up winning a title in twenty twelve as a sophomore.
Speaker 2: What was that like?
Speaker 3: So my freshman year, I tore my a CEO MPM
Speaker 3: and this damn near complete blew my knee out. And
Speaker 3: my biggest thing was like I'd worked so hard and
Speaker 3: I was like I want to see those shiny blue courts.
Speaker 2: Once I come out to Texas, I had to watch
Speaker 2: more and I was like, I have to get to
Speaker 2: those blue courts.
Speaker 3: Going into my freshman year, like I think I was
Speaker 3: picked myself.
Speaker 2: I was competing for Freshman of the.
Speaker 3: Year and like I was went from the outside and
Speaker 3: we had a tough conversation with you. It wasn't tough,
Speaker 3: but like I'm a team player, Like whatever you need
Speaker 3: me to do, I'm going to do it or whatever
Speaker 3: you need. And we had a lot of blocking issues
Speaker 3: in the middle for the M two, So Jarry was like, hey,
Speaker 3: like I got to ask.
Speaker 2: You to do something. I'm like what He's like, I
Speaker 2: need you to play middle for me.
Speaker 3: And I'm like freak like dang, like I'm just not
Speaker 3: getting my rhythm, like I'm going crazy out here. But
Speaker 3: I'm like cool, like whatever it's going to take for
Speaker 3: us to get to where we need to be. And
Speaker 3: I'm hitting two balls in the middle, likes flying high,
Speaker 3: hitting two balls from Hannah Allison, like racking up killed points,
Speaker 3: not doing a lot. But I also was say like
Speaker 3: I'm a mature enough now, woman enough now to know that,
Speaker 3: like what I was doing on the court was not
Speaker 3: reflection the person I was off the court, you know.
Speaker 3: And I think God has a really has an amazing
Speaker 3: way of showing you that like just as easy as
Speaker 3: can give it to you, is the easiest way I
Speaker 3: can take it from you. And November, towards the end
Speaker 3: of October, I think we're playing at Kansas, I'm doing
Speaker 3: what I normally. Do you know I'm hitting those two balls.
Speaker 3: I'm going crazy, going crazy. I'll never forget. The ball
Speaker 3: was set to me and it was set and more
Speaker 3: to my left. So I jumped in the air, flew
Speaker 3: in the air, hit the two ball, got the point,
Speaker 3: came down done, and I immediately grabbed my leg And
Speaker 3: as soon as it happened, I knew what had happened.
Speaker 2: I already knew.
Speaker 3: And I'm like, Dan comes over and she's like just
Speaker 3: telling me to calm down. End up carrying out the court,
Speaker 3: and I already knew what I had done, you know.
Speaker 3: And Dean looked at me and she was like, well,
Speaker 3: get a choice, Like righting in there, Dan's like you
Speaker 3: have a choice.
Speaker 2: It's like either you're going to come back and be
Speaker 2: stronger orre you gonna let this thing defeat you. It's
Speaker 2: up to you. I don't know.
Speaker 3: Thing I can do is bring it to the well.
Speaker 3: Can't make you drink. So I was like no, like
Speaker 3: I'm going to come back. And it ended up being
Speaker 3: like I think, going the fastest recovery that text has
Speaker 3: ever had. This is like the November I was back
Speaker 3: playing by. I was running by March and cutting I
Speaker 3: was back playing by April May, and I was full
Speaker 3: blown ready to go before season even went on.
Speaker 2: So like I was not also pushing it. I mean,
Speaker 2: my training was.
Speaker 3: It was intense. Like I pushed myself a lot. Even
Speaker 3: when I was in the training facility with d N,
Speaker 3: I was doing my own stuff.
Speaker 2: There were sometimes there was.
Speaker 3: Days that she had to call me and be like Kat,
Speaker 3: like you can't be on the football field flipping tires,
Speaker 3: Like that's not going to help your recovery.
Speaker 2: But I'm like I need to get back, you know.
Speaker 2: So that motivation.
Speaker 3: Definitely pushed me to be whatever my team needed to
Speaker 3: be going in twenty twelve, which was a starting middle blocker.
Speaker 2: And going through that trial and then coming.
Speaker 3: Back from that and then playing and having an amazing
Speaker 3: season twenty twelve, and then like I'll never forget this.
Speaker 3: We're playing Michigan and it's the practice before, no practice before,
Speaker 3: that's championship, That's what it was.
Speaker 2: And I go up just to do a blocking move,
Speaker 2: come down, and I feel like my whole back collapse
Speaker 2: on me.
Speaker 3: I don't know if people know this or not, but
Speaker 3: the night before the day before the NFT Championship game,
Speaker 3: I had a bolding disc. My whole back collapse on me,
Speaker 3: like it was it was out, it was on a nerve.
Speaker 3: I had a shooting pain, like I probably shouldn't play,
Speaker 3: but obviously, like it's like, ain't no way.
Speaker 2: I've come all this way and.
Speaker 3: I'm not finna get this, get get this money, like
Speaker 3: I'm not about to get this ring.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm not gonna do it. So the doctor came in.
Speaker 3: They're okay, we can give you like a pain relief shot,
Speaker 3: but it's docked. I mean, it won't last as long,
Speaker 3: but it can kind of help you through things. So
Speaker 3: we're kind of trying to time it where I could
Speaker 3: be on the floor. I got a shot right before
Speaker 3: going onto the court, and I played.
Speaker 2: Well, played well, play well by the time the second
Speaker 2: where we went three zero that game, thank god, thank god.
Speaker 3: But by the time the halftime mark came in, the
Speaker 3: medicine was wearing off, and so I'm back like quidling
Speaker 3: down again, like I could barely walk. And there I'm
Speaker 3: like what are we gonna do? And I'm like, can
Speaker 3: I have another shot? And we were like you sure,
Speaker 3: I'm like, give me, give me one more, just give
Speaker 3: another shot. So I had another shot in my back.
Speaker 3: We won, everyone goes out that night to celebrate. I'm
Speaker 3: like in the hotel bed ridden. Like flying back was
Speaker 3: the craziest pain I've ever been in. I had to
Speaker 3: get an epidural on my back, like I was out
Speaker 3: a month again. Trainers at Texas are amazing, Donnie may
Speaker 3: if he's amazing. They got me back going and come
Speaker 3: back from an injury. And then when NAT Championship was
Speaker 3: the best thing ever.
Speaker 1: Ever despite the desk Yeah, where I mean, your whole
Speaker 1: journeys so far from what you've told me, You've had
Speaker 1: all this insane like determination. Where does the determination come from?
Speaker 2: I think, Regina? My mom.
Speaker 3: My mom is such a boss. Like so I was
Speaker 3: raised in a single parent home. I still really reallyships
Speaker 3: with my dad, But my mom has just.
Speaker 2: Raised me to be who I am.
Speaker 3: You know, she worked, you know, two jobs sometimes to
Speaker 3: take care of all of us, and like she really
Speaker 3: just did what she had to do to make sure
Speaker 3: that we had what we needed, you know, And I've
Speaker 3: always wanted to take care of her. And like I'm
Speaker 3: proud to say that, Like, you know, I want to
Speaker 3: went pro. I was like, quit your job, like you're
Speaker 3: done like I can do it. I can do it.
Speaker 3: So I've been taking care of my mom now since
Speaker 3: I've gone pro, and I can't imagine how she even
Speaker 3: did it.
Speaker 2: I don't know how she did it, you.
Speaker 3: Know, And to see her work the long hour she
Speaker 3: working and still be a mom, be a parent, provide
Speaker 3: for us and like so she always preached just about
Speaker 3: staying preyed up and taking care of yourself and you know,
Speaker 3: don't let you know circumstances put you down, like just
Speaker 3: prevail through yourself.
Speaker 2: It's definitely stems.
Speaker 1: From her, for sure, super mom right there.
Speaker 2: For sure, Girl, that's my dog.
Speaker 1: So when it came to playing professionally, did you know
Speaker 1: about professional volleyball when you were in college or how
Speaker 1: did that come about? Where you decided that you were
Speaker 1: eventually going to go play abroad?
Speaker 3: Kind of sort of, But I wasn't mave sure like
Speaker 3: about like, you know, my opportunities because I again, I
Speaker 3: had been at Texas for four years. I played outside
Speaker 3: my freshman year, but then move to the middle, then
Speaker 3: moved play a middle blocker my sophomore and junior year,
Speaker 3: and then my senior year, Jared moved me to the
Speaker 3: opposite side. So I kind of bounced around a little bit,
Speaker 3: so I wasn't sure, like you know, about film, like
Speaker 3: how that would look or what the process even was.
Speaker 3: And like at the time, Jared's close friend is Tim Kelly,
Speaker 3: who was running an agency at the time. The majority
Speaker 3: of the girls that came through Texas always like went
Speaker 3: through him to play pro, and I didn't really think
Speaker 3: about it, honestly, Like I didn't really think about going
Speaker 3: pro until you know, Haley left and she went to Korea,
Speaker 3: and like I heard about her experience and it wasn't
Speaker 3: the best experience. But again, like you know what they
Speaker 3: giving you, you get making what I'm about to go.
Speaker 2: Get that money like that I can be in an igloo.
Speaker 2: Don't worry about it. I can go get that money,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: So, And that's why I tell some girls too. It
Speaker 3: depends on how you want to kind of like send
Speaker 3: your careers, like do you want to go make money
Speaker 3: or do you want to go travel or like you
Speaker 3: want to go playing zeph Cup. I've always seen my
Speaker 3: career around making money because I'm provided for my family,
Speaker 3: Like I take care of my family, So that was
Speaker 3: the main thing.
Speaker 2: It's like, Okay, I have to make money.
Speaker 3: I take care of myself and take care of my
Speaker 3: body and make better choices, whether it's working out or
Speaker 3: eating because I have to make money. Like when Hailey
Speaker 3: went pro in Korea and she showed her experience and
Speaker 3: like how hard it was, but like what she was making.
Speaker 3: I was like, well, you know, I love volleyball, but
Speaker 3: like if this can make me some money, let's keep
Speaker 3: doing it, you know.
Speaker 2: So I got a.
Speaker 3: Wind to the Korean tryout and they had the Korean
Speaker 3: try in Anaheim, and that's when Emily Hartong was also on
Speaker 3: the team that you're Leslie Secra. There's a few girls
Speaker 3: that I met that are playing and we're on the
Speaker 3: same tryout, and like, you know, I had to play.
Speaker 2: All these positions, like I can set, I can pass,
Speaker 2: I can play defense, I can play middle.
Speaker 3: And also like I made other girls look good and
Speaker 3: that's been you know it? So who was the draft
Speaker 3: was just like playing volleyball with my friends, you know,
Speaker 3: And I knew what team I was gonna be on
Speaker 3: before the draft even happened, and like that's a draft,
Speaker 3: you can't tell through the balls being picked. I just
Speaker 3: knew the team I was going to be on. It
Speaker 3: just happened to be Haley's team, and because you show me,
Speaker 3: She's like, well, how do you know.
Speaker 2: Gonna be the team?
Speaker 3: They can be picked the draft pickers for like the
Speaker 3: fourth time, and like you not get picked by the
Speaker 3: I'm like, it's.
Speaker 2: All the draft is a draft. I just knew. I
Speaker 2: don't know how I knew. I just knew that I
Speaker 2: was gonna be on that team that way.
Speaker 3: So when that opportunity came to me about playing in
Speaker 3: Korea and going pro and I talk to Jared, I
Speaker 3: was like, hey, I need some film for this trial,
Speaker 3: and there goes like okay, they helped me get some film,
Speaker 3: and like it was all over the place, but I
Speaker 3: sent in and the best thing was like if I
Speaker 3: can get to a tryout, I don't need film, you know.
Speaker 3: So going in to the Korean draft, went to the trial,
Speaker 3: and from there the rest was history.
Speaker 2: So that's awesome.
Speaker 1: Now, out of all the countries that you've played in,
Speaker 1: what's kind of been your favorite, both to play and
Speaker 1: just to be in?
Speaker 3: Korea is my favorite and Turkey. I really enjoyed Turkey
Speaker 3: a lot. I pick up the language pretty easily as
Speaker 3: well too. I think any girls that play there it's
Speaker 3: just you developed the language very quickly. The food is amazing,
Speaker 3: but I also love Korean food. But I just love Korea.
Speaker 2: And also just like it's just an accid that I am.
Speaker 3: Like, Korea is hard, It is tough, and it is
Speaker 3: a grind, and anyone that has played there, and it's
Speaker 3: played there multiple years can tell you that, Like my
Speaker 3: body's not the same I'm playing there, like it's done
Speaker 3: some damage. But like you know, it's you come out
Speaker 3: like a phoenix, you know what I'm saying, Like, no,
Speaker 3: I was chasing this.
Speaker 2: I don't know what I feel like. I was just
Speaker 2: chasing this dreams, you know with Korea.
Speaker 3: You know, my first year of Korea, it was, you know,
Speaker 3: going to something like that and being twenty one, never
Speaker 3: been really abroad like that before. And like my mom
Speaker 3: went with me because that was amazing heard of them
Speaker 3: with me. But like it's a hard job. I mean
Speaker 3: practice is I'm talking about. I would go to practice
Speaker 3: twenty nine pay like nine am. I wouldn't be done
Speaker 3: until like nine o'clock at night, Like it was a
Speaker 3: like a twelve hour thing. Like I would my mom
Speaker 3: had to force me to eat, that's how tired I
Speaker 3: was I think. I was like, right now, I'm one
Speaker 3: hundred and come about one hundred and eighty five eighty
Speaker 3: seven pounds probably like I'll say, we'll say like nineteen
Speaker 3: percent eighteen percent body fat something around there. In Korea,
Speaker 3: I was one seventy five and I was nine percent
Speaker 3: body fat like I was. It was giving starvation like
Speaker 3: it was bad, but it's because like my body was
Speaker 3: burning so much and I was trying to consume.
Speaker 2: But again, like the food there's already naturally healthy as well.
Speaker 2: So it was a lot.
Speaker 3: But when I won the Korean Cup two years ago,
Speaker 3: the team was in the fourth when I got there,
Speaker 3: I left and left Turkey and the team was like
Speaker 3: in fifth place, and so I was like, there was
Speaker 3: one girl was the national team, wasn't the gym anymore.
Speaker 2: She kind of completely just giving up on the team.
Speaker 2: And I got a chance to talk to her.
Speaker 3: She came out to practice and I was like, if
Speaker 3: you can trust me, we can get we can get
Speaker 3: out of this hole. And we did and it took
Speaker 3: everything we were down. Kim Young is one of the
Speaker 3: best house sides in the world. She's Korean and she
Speaker 3: was that's like her first it was her first season
Speaker 3: playing back in Korea, and so like everybody was just
Speaker 3: like crazy about her. On top of she was on
Speaker 3: the team, She's on the team that I was on
Speaker 3: the year before, and so it was this whole kind
Speaker 3: of like storyline. They're kind of building up and Pink
Speaker 3: Spiders they had beat us every time we played them.
Speaker 3: Once I got there, they beat us every gain every match.
Speaker 3: Every match, I was getting blocked left and right, like,
Speaker 3: and my coach was like, you know, when you play
Speaker 3: against Kink Spiders, you don't play that well. I was like,
Speaker 3: I don't know, it's just God telling me not to
Speaker 3: play good. Ask it, but when it counts, it's gonna
Speaker 3: cut turning on. He was just like, cut, you know,
Speaker 3: think I'm crazy. I'm like, no, Like I just I
Speaker 3: manifest every I believe it, you know. So we get
Speaker 3: to the finals and we're playing Pink Spiders again. They
Speaker 3: wiped us off across the floor every time they played us,
Speaker 3: and it's five sets, five game series.
Speaker 2: They were playing five max and five sets every other day.
Speaker 3: So the we're down two zero in the set and
Speaker 3: then in the series, so they just need one more
Speaker 3: game and that's it. We win the third third match
Speaker 3: and I'm crying. So now I'm like, we ain't no
Speaker 3: way I came all this way. There's no way I
Speaker 3: came all this way. We won the fourth game, So
Speaker 3: now I was going to the fifth series. Day five
Speaker 3: of playing. We go, we go up two sets, they
Speaker 3: win the third set, they win the fourth set, I mean,
Speaker 3: going to fifth set, and I'm like, I'm.
Speaker 2: Not I haven't cracked a smile.
Speaker 3: Every ball that hits my hand at least my hand
Speaker 3: is a point, like I'm not cheering.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I'm not gonna look at the score
Speaker 2: and the scoreboard at this point.
Speaker 3: And next thing you know, we win the fifth set
Speaker 3: literally fifteen thirteen like it was, I mean every I.
Speaker 2: Wanted it so bad. I knew in my mind. I
Speaker 2: was like, if I want this, it's going I'm gonna
Speaker 2: have to get everything that happen.
Speaker 3: I get everything, and I end up being it was
Speaker 3: the first thing they ever had a four and MVP
Speaker 3: before normally did the girls get it.
Speaker 2: So I was the first scoring MVP and it was.
Speaker 2: It was a whole thing. I in a Korea amazing la.
Speaker 3: I was like, when you come back, I'm like, probably not.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like a mic drop right there.
Speaker 2: But you can't do it better than that, you know.
Speaker 1: So what made you ultimately decide to come to the
Speaker 1: US and then now play for League One.
Speaker 3: Just being back at home, honestly, like coming back to
Speaker 3: Austin is a full circle moment. I've been thinking of
Speaker 3: retirement already as it is, and to be able to
Speaker 3: retire back in the States would be amazing. I've had
Speaker 3: so much love overseas, but like being away for nine
Speaker 3: months at a time, it just became too It's just
Speaker 3: it's a.
Speaker 2: Grind and some manage who want to do anymore?
Speaker 3: And like, fortunately I have the opportunity to play like
Speaker 3: in short seasons like I was in the Philippines this summer,
Speaker 3: and then that was amazing.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: I spent my whole summer playing volleyball and making money
Speaker 3: and like traveling and being in a warm climate, which
Speaker 3: was great. But just doing that long term eight month
Speaker 3: season and broad is just something you just didn't want
Speaker 3: to do anymore again, going back to always one wanting
Speaker 3: to be around and compete with the best, So that
Speaker 3: definitely was something that when you want to come back,
Speaker 3: and then when I often have a team, I was
Speaker 3: like oh for sure.
Speaker 2: Like I want to be a part of that too.
Speaker 3: So now, like you know, have theses and nephews that
Speaker 3: are older now and that can watch me on TV
Speaker 3: and watch me play and come to the games and
Speaker 3: watching play, So that's really important to me.
Speaker 1: So, yeah, who were some of the players that you
Speaker 1: were excited to both play with and play against?
Speaker 2: I would say Haley Washington.
Speaker 3: She is amazing, Like I've watched her since she was
Speaker 3: also in college as well.
Speaker 2: I love her attitude.
Speaker 3: I love how she's like just this amazing beast on
Speaker 3: the court and.
Speaker 2: She's very entertaining, and so am I too, you know.
Speaker 3: So we even talked a little bit on insigin that
Speaker 3: like this one game we can kind of trick for
Speaker 3: a little bit, don't do too much, don't do too
Speaker 3: much pretending for fake, and go away real quick.
Speaker 2: So but no, she I loved her energy in the
Speaker 2: court as well. Kelsey Robinson.
Speaker 3: I was able to watch her at Tennessee and when
Speaker 3: she went to Nebraska and when she did there for
Speaker 3: that program, and obviously watched her game to the national
Speaker 3: team as well.
Speaker 2: So when I saw those names kind of come in
Speaker 2: was amazing.
Speaker 3: And then I think Maddie came in towards the end,
Speaker 3: which I was already signed, but then Mattie Kingan is
Speaker 3: like one of my best friends. So Maddie being in
Speaker 3: Houston was like even amazing. So I was able to
Speaker 3: like literally talk to Chiyaka about coming. So I talked
Speaker 3: to her into comments and once she was coming, I
Speaker 3: was like, Yeah.
Speaker 2: This is gonna be amazing experience.
Speaker 3: So I think the people, for sure, people definitely made
Speaker 3: it the experience for me, are making it the experience
Speaker 3: for me.
Speaker 1: All right, well, let's talk about you as a person,
Speaker 1: because you are so fun and fascinating and your personality
Speaker 1: is great, So let's talk just hobbies, passions. What do
Speaker 1: you like to do for fun?
Speaker 2: I really just like growth is a big thing for me.
Speaker 3: I think I love anything that can make me develop
Speaker 3: my just becoming a I have a vision of myself
Speaker 3: as this woman and anything I can do to get
Speaker 3: me there, that's my biggest thing is like, Okay, what
Speaker 3: can I do to get to her faster? You know,
Speaker 3: I like to cook. I really do enjoy cooking. It's
Speaker 3: one of my favorite things to do. Yeah, and just
Speaker 3: my new thing right now is building things. So going
Speaker 3: to like home goods and find different things to put
Speaker 3: into my apartment and different chemises and that kind.
Speaker 2: Of stuff too. So yeah, just chilling, developing. I like
Speaker 2: to go to church those kind of things.
Speaker 1: For the last question, I just want to, you know
Speaker 1: it bring it back to love. Ended on a love note.
Speaker 1: What are you hoping to showcase in this inaugural season
Speaker 1: for love? Both as a player yourself, but also like
Speaker 1: when it comes to women's volleyball in general.
Speaker 3: I mean, the sport is growing, and you know, I
Speaker 3: just want to showcase the attraction for the sport. You know,
Speaker 3: hopefully we can get enough people like to really believe
Speaker 3: in us and watch us and you know, show that
Speaker 3: like you know, volleyball is an amazing fun game is
Speaker 3: like everywhere else, you know, and I really hope that
Speaker 3: the girls really dive into that aspect of it, Like
Speaker 3: it's entertainment. People want to come and be entertained, and
Speaker 3: volleyball is already entering support. But like you know, having
Speaker 3: amazing cheers on the sideline or cheers in the court,
Speaker 3: and like you know, a little smack talking between the
Speaker 3: that a little bit can like also drive it up.
Speaker 2: I think that's one thing that did really well for
Speaker 2: women's basketball.
Speaker 3: So just a showcase, like the sport is fun and
Speaker 3: it's growing, developing, and like to show that, you know,
Speaker 3: young girls that do look like me, that you guys
Speaker 3: have an option to play after college and there's something
Speaker 3: you can do professionally at home. So it's you know,
Speaker 3: I just wanted to keep going and just a showcase
Speaker 3: to the sport and just that it's an amazing thing
Speaker 3: for us to have here in the States.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I love it. Well, Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: Cap for coming on. Serving Pancakes. It's a pleasure, Thank you,
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. Serving Pancakes is an iHeart
Speaker 1: women's sports production in partner with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Speaker 1: You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by League One Volleyball,
Speaker 1: I'm your host Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Olivarez is our senior producer.
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Carrie Stett, Tamaradike, and Lindsay Hoffman.
Speaker 1: Our marketing lead is Juwara Parker. Sound editing and mixing
Speaker 1: by Daniel Gonzalez. Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W.
Speaker 2: Mast Junior.
Speaker 1: Special thanks to kat Bell, Stay tuned for another episode
Speaker 1: of Serving Pancakes. Thanks for listening.