Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Tiffany Oshinski and this is Serving Pancakes with
Speaker 1: League One Volleyball. Over the past few episodes, we've been
Speaker 1: following Team USA's quest for gold at the Paris Olympics
Speaker 1: while also talking with talented people in and around volleyball
Speaker 1: and women's sports. After an amazing win by the US
Speaker 1: over Brazil to secure their spot in the gold medal match,
Speaker 1: we have Coastal Carolina's all time kills record holder, outside
Speaker 1: hitter and League One player, Leah Hardiman. Leah is a
Speaker 1: four time conference champion and four time Player of the
Speaker 1: Year for the Chanta Clears. She's played professionally in Greece
Speaker 1: and Italy and won the Italian Syria Due this past season,
Speaker 1: and now Lea will be bringing her talents back to
Speaker 1: the States, joining love Austin. Leah, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for joining me on Serving Pancakes.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. I'm actually really really excited.
Speaker 3: I mean, I could have my own little pancakes here too,
Speaker 3: but I'm really happy. I'm very excited. The game was very,
Speaker 3: very really intense. I'm really excited to talk about that
Speaker 3: and to have a conversation with you today.
Speaker 1: Yes, I'm so excited to talk about you, about everything.
Speaker 1: You have such an amazing background, and we're gonna get
Speaker 1: into that in just a second. But before we truly
Speaker 1: get started and dive into this game, because like I said,
Speaker 1: there's a lot that we want to talk about, let's
Speaker 1: just quickly hear from twenty sixteen bronze medalist Courtney Thompson,
Speaker 1: who is on the ground in Paris and witnessed this
Speaker 1: great win by Team USA over Brazil.
Speaker 4: What's up, guys, Corny Thompson here was serving pancakes with
Speaker 4: League one volleyball. Holy cow, that was insane. I'm still
Speaker 4: in the arena here in Paris where you has say, just.
Speaker 2: Beat Brazil in five let's go.
Speaker 4: Headed to the gold medal match. I don't even know
Speaker 4: where to start. That was just an amazing team win.
Speaker 4: Brazil is emotional, They're really good. They got some of
Speaker 4: the best players in the world, especially Gabby Carol in
Speaker 4: the middle. Tayis for a long time, and we served
Speaker 4: him tough and we weathered their storm when they got high.
Speaker 4: We just kept making the next play, the next play,
Speaker 4: which was incredible. I thought Kat and Avery passed so amazing.
Speaker 2: They hit amazing.
Speaker 4: Jordan had them in rhythm and and Drew's took tough
Speaker 4: swings as she does. And then Haley and chiaka man.
Speaker 4: They didn't get as many sets, but when they did,
Speaker 4: which is just so important, they capitalized and they blocked well.
Speaker 4: Put a ton of pressure on these guys. They both
Speaker 4: had some serving runs and the best our offensive looked
Speaker 4: tonight and last night, So credit to Jordan. Also, amazing
Speaker 4: job by Lauren Carlini and JT coming off the bench.
Speaker 4: They were plus in every single set, which is incredible
Speaker 4: and not easy. So God dang, thats good volleyball, just
Speaker 4: such good volleyball all the way around. And we took
Speaker 4: a few more tough swings than they did, and these
Speaker 4: guys know how to win it. So we can't wait
Speaker 4: for the finals. So pumped for these guys. Amazing great
Speaker 4: team win as we do.
Speaker 2: Let's go USA, all.
Speaker 1: Right, definitely a great team win. This match was so insane,
Speaker 1: the US winning in five and ten sets twenty five
Speaker 1: to twenty three, eighteen, twenty five, twenty five, fifteen, twenty three,
Speaker 1: twenty five, and then fifteen eleven. So let's talk top
Speaker 1: level first, lea, before we break down the match a bit,
Speaker 1: what were your initial reactions to this match.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I was really excited first off, because USA and Brazil.
Speaker 3: I love Gabbia, She's my favorite player, and so I
Speaker 3: was just ready to see, you know, how she was
Speaker 3: gonna set up against set her team up against USA.
Speaker 2: Obviously we have.
Speaker 3: All of you know, the superstars on our team, and
Speaker 3: to see who was gonna start. I was really curious
Speaker 3: to see who's gonna start and who's going to finish
Speaker 3: the match, because as of right now for the Olympics,
Speaker 3: there's been maybe one or two players will start. We
Speaker 3: have so many stubs and everything. So I was really
Speaker 3: curious about that. And from the looks like our team
Speaker 3: obviously held it down, So that was real. That was
Speaker 3: my first initial initial ideas for the for the game.
Speaker 1: H Yeah. And Brazil and the US have like a
Speaker 1: lot of long history, long history, yes, long history of
Speaker 1: US beat Brazil in Tokyo, and Brazil beat the US
Speaker 1: back in the London Olympics for gold, and here we
Speaker 1: are playing in the semi finals. And I know that
Speaker 1: Karch and Brazil's head coach today Roberto have a you know,
Speaker 1: a long relationship, and so I learned that two days
Speaker 1: before the opening ceremonies in Paris. Carch actually asked Brazil
Speaker 1: to play them in kind of like a warm up
Speaker 1: game almost, but he asked them to bring the starters,
Speaker 1: have the starters start play, you know, no holds bar,
Speaker 1: just go out. And Brazil ended up beating the US
Speaker 1: in this little fun exhibition game, I guess, in four sets.
Speaker 1: So I'm curious, do you think that having that preview
Speaker 1: quote quote preview maybe helped the US this match?
Speaker 2: Oh? For sure.
Speaker 3: I feel like if they were bringing all of their
Speaker 3: stops and trying to basically beat USA, and obviously they
Speaker 3: USA used that game to scout them and to figure
Speaker 3: out what were their best shots and what were their weaknesses. Obviously,
Speaker 3: everyone in the friendly match you're going to play or practice,
Speaker 3: you're going to play completely different. You're going to amp
Speaker 3: it up when you play for you know, a gold medal.
Speaker 3: We're obviously going into the gold finals. But for sure,
Speaker 3: I think that that might have been Brazil in the
Speaker 3: butt a little bit playing against them, even if they
Speaker 3: won that game. When you lose, you learn, so you
Speaker 3: learn exactly what you need to do to beat them.
Speaker 1: That's a really good point.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: It's a fun fact that I actually just learned. Is
Speaker 1: that the Miracle on Ice team back in nineteen eighty
Speaker 1: when they, you know, they beat Russian that insane games,
Speaker 1: a miracle on ice game, right, Yeah, But twelve days
Speaker 1: before that game, they had an exhibition game with Russia
Speaker 1: where Russia destroyed them something like ten to three, and
Speaker 1: then obviously they went on to beat them in the
Speaker 1: semi final match, and I was kind of thinking, I
Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, it's almost like serendipitous or
Speaker 1: it's like history repeating itself, except with the US and
Speaker 1: Brazil where they played each other before the game, right
Speaker 1: before the one that actually mattered. They may have lost,
Speaker 1: but now they come out the victors in the end.
Speaker 3: Exactly. Yes, I think. I think maybe Haley Washington made
Speaker 3: like they made a clip saying like when they had
Speaker 3: lost against I can't remember who it was, they lost
Speaker 3: and five, but she said she didn't say lose, you
Speaker 3: just so like you either you win or you learn.
Speaker 3: And that's exactly what they did with that friendly match
Speaker 3: or whatever match they had before. They learned exactly what
Speaker 3: need to learn from them from Brazil and then took it.
Speaker 3: And I hope they do the same thing for obviously
Speaker 3: in the finals.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's actually a really great motto and something I
Speaker 1: feel like players should carry away.
Speaker 2: Yes, for sure.
Speaker 1: So getting into the match in the first set, you know,
Speaker 1: they started with their power lineup. They had Avery Skinner
Speaker 1: and Catin Plummer as her outside hitters, and started off
Speaker 1: very strong. Ended up being in a nail bier with
Speaker 1: the US pulling off the win twenty five to twenty three.
Speaker 1: But one of the things that was crazy watching was
Speaker 1: Gabby your girl. I know, she didn't she didn't have
Speaker 1: a kill until it was twenty two all. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: what does that say. I mean, we've seen the US
Speaker 1: team be amazing at the net blocking, but talk about
Speaker 1: just their blocking in general. What have you seen from
Speaker 1: this team?
Speaker 2: I mean, it's a break wall. Obviously it's going straight.
Speaker 3: But I can only say, is that going back to again, like,
Speaker 3: they probably scouted Gabby like down because she is their
Speaker 3: top player, and so I'm pretty sure their goal was
Speaker 3: automatically to stop her, you know, to get her out
Speaker 3: of the way and then focus on the other one
Speaker 3: all their players, and I think that's what they did
Speaker 3: in the first set. They were able to you Maybe
Speaker 3: I'm not saying get into Gabriella's head. I don't know
Speaker 3: if that's what happened, but they probably shut her down
Speaker 3: very very soon, and then we're able to focus on
Speaker 3: other people. So that's I'm assuming that's how they they
Speaker 3: got you know, she was able to make them points.
Speaker 1: And then in the second head Brazil comes out strong
Speaker 1: end up winning that game twenty five to eighteen. But
Speaker 1: in the third set, then the US flipped the switch right,
Speaker 1: winning twenty five to fifteen. So from your experience, how
Speaker 1: do you go from this tight match twenty five to
Speaker 1: twenty three that you win to all of a sudden
Speaker 1: having this game where you guys are kind of getting
Speaker 1: crushed to turning that around and then coming back and yeah,
Speaker 1: crushing your opponent. How does what goes through your mind?
Speaker 3: For me, it would be obviously, you're you win that
Speaker 3: first one, and you, like, by human nature, you either
Speaker 3: keep your foot on the gas pedal or you kind
Speaker 3: of try and do the same things you did to win.
Speaker 3: And then that team obviously knows what you did the
Speaker 3: first sets, and then they're able to you know, capitalize
Speaker 3: and win. But then and that third set, I feel
Speaker 3: like they decided to remember, like who they are, You know,
Speaker 3: like I am a great player. I am able to
Speaker 3: crank the line and block and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: So they, I think from my perception or from my
Speaker 3: just looking at the game. And the second set, Brazil
Speaker 3: came up with the very fiery attitude, fire like I
Speaker 3: need to show you who I am.
Speaker 2: And then the USA was like no, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 2: you even know who I am.
Speaker 3: Put some respect on my name, and so I think
Speaker 3: that's the mentality that like, it was kind of like
Speaker 3: you need to know who I am battle and that
Speaker 3: was really I really enjoyed the third set a lot
Speaker 3: because of the some players that don't necessarily cheer after
Speaker 3: every point or they're very very focused, like Catain Plumber
Speaker 3: started to scream and that's not something that you normally
Speaker 3: see from her, and Duran Thompson with like the very
Speaker 3: aggressive faith as she blocks or attack. So it was
Speaker 3: really cool to see each player, each team try and
Speaker 3: put their their stump on it. And that was I think,
Speaker 3: you know, the turn of the points. They decided to
Speaker 3: show everybody like this is who I am, why I
Speaker 3: deserve to be here type of thing.
Speaker 1: They totally rattled Brazil because there were so many miscues
Speaker 1: by them that I was shocked by. I mean, there
Speaker 1: was that one for what the point was, but I
Speaker 1: remember that Taisa got set and her and her set
Speaker 1: are just completely misread and what they were going to do,
Speaker 1: and the set went over her and just dropped. And
Speaker 1: I'm like, I feel like you don't see that at
Speaker 1: the Olympics too off, especially in the semifinal match with Brazil.
Speaker 3: No, I agree, I agree too, but I mean, at
Speaker 3: the end of the day, we all have to remember
Speaker 3: that was just human.
Speaker 2: Like they're human.
Speaker 3: Obviously I'm nine Olympian Asia, but like everyone's you're human,
Speaker 3: and sometimes a misconnect or you get so over excited
Speaker 3: or you just miscommunicate about Oh I said this. The
Speaker 3: gym is really really loud, and so there's so many
Speaker 3: things I can go into the misconnection. But right after that,
Speaker 3: obviously they would get a point or she would get
Speaker 3: a block or make it up. So there's not so
Speaker 3: many of those moments, but when they do happen, everyone's.
Speaker 2: Like, wait, wait, what what happened?
Speaker 1: Exactly?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 1: Brazil, obviously, when's the fourth set? Tie it up? We
Speaker 1: have to go to a fifth set. I don't know
Speaker 1: about you, but whenever I play I kind of have
Speaker 1: this horrible superstition that I always try to get out
Speaker 1: of my mind that whoever scores the first point is
Speaker 1: kind of going to be the one who wins. That
Speaker 1: deciding game doesn't always happen, and I'm glad it doesn't
Speaker 1: always happen, because this one and Avery Skinner's she started
Speaker 1: at served yeah, and she served it into the next yeah,
Speaker 1: So Brazil gets the first point. In my mind, I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh no, But what was going through your mind when
Speaker 1: that happened.
Speaker 3: I mean, honestly, I didn't think anything anything of it
Speaker 3: is just probably that's good, yeah, a very very.
Speaker 2: Important game, and so maybe it was a situation.
Speaker 3: She obviously right after that made a good good play,
Speaker 3: especially for even not in their or not in the
Speaker 3: fifth set, but she hit a ball flying out I
Speaker 3: think in the fourth and then right after that she
Speaker 3: had a dying pass, and then it was like a
Speaker 3: connecting to a setter. I think it set the middle,
Speaker 3: which is really good for her that she's able to
Speaker 3: make one mistake and then immediately be the next. But
Speaker 3: when it comes to the points for fifteen, I feel
Speaker 3: like you really have to be like a goldfish and
Speaker 3: have like erased the memory of whatever just happened, because
Speaker 3: it's only you only have a few points to get going,
Speaker 3: and as soon as one person gets four points in
Speaker 3: a row, that's the momentum that.
Speaker 2: Takes off. So I'm really happy that they did not
Speaker 2: think like.
Speaker 3: You did for that, yes, And I was just like, Okay,
Speaker 3: one mistake, Okay, let's forget about it and let's go
Speaker 3: onto the next And so I think that's what they
Speaker 3: were really focusing on for sure on that fifth step.
Speaker 1: Can we take a minute to give some love to
Speaker 1: Lauren Carlini here, because yeah, you know, in the fifth set,
Speaker 1: the double sid, there were so many moments where she
Speaker 1: just had truly epic defense.
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, and like just sitting Like I'm like, that's
Speaker 3: when you come off the bench and you come in
Speaker 3: and be very very important and very crucial. Even if
Speaker 3: you're not setting, you're just you know, as a sitter,
Speaker 3: you still have to play defense, you still have to
Speaker 3: do so many things. And that's what I tell like
Speaker 3: my young athlete, that's like, yes, you have this one position,
Speaker 3: but even be well rounded because you don't know when
Speaker 3: that's going to come into play. And she was like
Speaker 3: a libero at this point, she was just doing the
Speaker 3: whole time, so that was really cool for her to
Speaker 3: come in and just make crucial points.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, speaking of being able to play multiple positions, I mean,
Speaker 1: Justine Wangarantes was not on the court at this time,
Speaker 1: so Catherine Plumber had to come in a bunch of
Speaker 1: times to be the center I mean as an outside
Speaker 1: hit her. Yeah, can you imagine what's going through her mind?
Speaker 3: Like, I don't know what's going on through her mind.
Speaker 3: But for me, I'm like, all right, just push and post, push, pushing,
Speaker 3: pose and go cover because it's easy to do it,
Speaker 3: Like in practice, it's easy to.
Speaker 2: Do it, you know, when you're not thinking about it.
Speaker 3: But for some reason I can say for me when
Speaker 3: it's like all right, I need to really focus on
Speaker 3: it's very very important. Obviously, yes it's gonna work, but
Speaker 3: all the thoughts going before, it's like, all right, focus
Speaker 3: ten fingers pushing post. But that was it's I mean,
Speaker 3: they're they're Olympians for a reason. They can do literally everything.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. And then at the end they bring
Speaker 1: in the governor Jordan Marson or her consistence serve defense
Speaker 1: at veteran presence. So how important is it for a
Speaker 1: hitter to know that you have someone like that in
Speaker 1: your back row for such critical moments.
Speaker 2: I think it's so important.
Speaker 3: I think the reason the success of the U I
Speaker 3: say it's because their bench is literally stacked. It is
Speaker 3: a whole another team like waiting, and so even in
Speaker 3: this match and the previous ones, maybe they would have
Speaker 3: like one or two moments that they were not one
Speaker 3: hundred percent, they were able to go off and knowing
Speaker 3: that their sub is bet is just as good or
Speaker 3: better or that for that moment is very very It's
Speaker 3: good they keep the pressure at a minimum. And so
Speaker 3: I think that you know, having her being able to
Speaker 3: come and come into the game and have a consistent,
Speaker 3: strong serve and not having to take the pressure every
Speaker 3: to serve that ball's it's very great. It's very important
Speaker 3: for the team, and it's cool that Jordan is able
Speaker 3: to come in and do that for the team. It's very,
Speaker 3: very great for sure.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you know this, but the
Speaker 1: announcer said this early on in the game. But I
Speaker 1: guess Catherine Plummer was dealing with the flu or she
Speaker 1: had flu like symptoms, so this is this is like
Speaker 1: her flu game in a way, because I mean, as
Speaker 1: an outside hitter, can you imagine going up and playing
Speaker 1: this intense level game having the flu?
Speaker 2: I feel like I think every athlete I wouldn't say
Speaker 2: the flu. I've never had the flu, but I have.
Speaker 3: There's many right, there's many games that I have talked
Speaker 3: to so many players and like their best game has
Speaker 3: been when they are have been sick or like something
Speaker 3: has happened, like you know, maybe the menstrual cycle or
Speaker 3: I don't know, some kind of stick are food placing,
Speaker 3: and they still go and play a fever and they're
Speaker 3: just like, you know what, I'm trying to get all
Speaker 3: these points so I can go home, and then they
Speaker 3: end up racking like thirty points or passing all the balls.
Speaker 3: So I'm not saying that it's something I would do.
Speaker 2: I mean I have done it.
Speaker 3: I don't know about the flu. The flu might be
Speaker 3: the top of mine. Might be a little bit too much,
Speaker 3: like kudos to Caking for doing that.
Speaker 2: But yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: Now the US will play Italy for gold on Sunday.
Speaker 1: You played in Italy. You know how these players are.
Speaker 1: We've watched Team Italy play this tournament. So what type
Speaker 1: of game plan do you think that the US is
Speaker 1: going to bring against this team.
Speaker 2: I think it's a little unique because a bunch of
Speaker 2: the U and.
Speaker 3: I say girls have played in Italy, so they've already
Speaker 3: played against some of these girls. So it will definitely be,
Speaker 3: you know, the powerhouse. Obviously, Paula will do what she's
Speaker 3: gonna do and Sylvia's going to do what she's going
Speaker 3: to do. So I think it's going to be down
Speaker 3: to the very like hitting, hitting the sides of the
Speaker 3: arms and hitting through the blocks, very tactical in order
Speaker 3: to win because they're they're both powerhouse teams, and so
Speaker 3: it's going to come down to the scout and down
Speaker 3: to the bench, you know, quality to come in for
Speaker 3: both teams. I really have no Obviously I will love
Speaker 3: USA to win, but I have no prediction.
Speaker 2: I'm just hoping for a good game because I love
Speaker 2: I love watching the new game.
Speaker 3: So we'll see how that how that goes rooting for
Speaker 3: USA obviously, but yeah, technical, technical skill I think is
Speaker 3: what it's going to be.
Speaker 2: Just making it through the block and all that kind
Speaker 2: of stuff and getting the balls up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I could definitely see that those both both teams.
Speaker 1: Their block is insane. And I feel like, yeah, the
Speaker 1: the tools, this light touches, and really watching gaming points
Speaker 1: for both of these teams, because yeah, otherwise you're going
Speaker 1: up against the wall.
Speaker 3: So it's the wall versus the wall, like on both teams,
Speaker 3: and so I'm really really curious on how both teams
Speaker 3: will deal with that because they're very stacked on in Italy.
Speaker 3: When I was playing there, most of our defense was
Speaker 3: learning how to block and learning how to seal and
Speaker 3: close and read, so they have perfected the blocking for sure, Nelia.
Speaker 1: You'll be playing with current US Olympic team member Chiaco's
Speaker 1: bagu as well as twenty sixteen bronze medalist Carli Lloyd
Speaker 1: and Austin. So how cool is it to see someone
Speaker 1: like Chiaka out there knowing that you're going to be
Speaker 1: on the same team as her.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm still in shock.
Speaker 3: Like me and my mom are watching the games, and
Speaker 3: obviously she knows, like, these are gonna be my teammates.
Speaker 3: So she's like when she blocks the ball and she
Speaker 3: hits or whatever, she's like, we've been watching these girls play.
Speaker 2: For a long time now, actually we'll be watching you
Speaker 2: play with them, and so it's it's so so cool.
Speaker 2: It's definitely like a circle, a full circle moment for me.
Speaker 2: I'm excited.
Speaker 3: I'm excited to practice next to them, I'm excited to
Speaker 3: get better with them, compete with them.
Speaker 2: It's just I say, it's a real moment for sure.
Speaker 1: Now, nine of the play on Team USA are going
Speaker 1: to be playing in league and volleyball the coming years.
Speaker 1: So you act, you act it's gonna be on your team,
Speaker 1: but you have eight other girls.
Speaker 2: Who are going to be on the other side, on
Speaker 2: the other side.
Speaker 1: So do you kind of find yourself watching these Olympic games?
Speaker 1: Are you watching them more as a fan or is
Speaker 1: there a lot of scouting?
Speaker 2: For sure? We're scouting for sure.
Speaker 3: We're like, Okay, she keeps doing this, all right, I mean,
Speaker 3: let me put this down at this girl is able
Speaker 3: to do this.
Speaker 2: This girl's able to do that. Obviously. Yes, they're still.
Speaker 3: Still fangirling for sure when I'm playing against them, and
Speaker 3: maybe the first couple of points will be still fangirl
Speaker 3: But I'm definitely playing, you know, to compete against them.
Speaker 3: So when I watch them, yes, I'm gonna watch them
Speaker 3: when they make their points and how they how they
Speaker 3: make points or how points are being made against them,
Speaker 3: So it's it's always that, and it's not just because
Speaker 3: I'm playing against them, But for sure, every time I
Speaker 3: watch volleyball, it's more so but scouting and learning how
Speaker 3: to get better. My mom always asking like, why are
Speaker 3: you not cheering? Why are you like, because I'm learning,
Speaker 3: I'm taking I'm learning right now. So yeah, it's definitely
Speaker 3: scouting right now for sure.
Speaker 1: When did you start playing volleyball?
Speaker 2: I started playing when I was ten, ten years old?
Speaker 1: Yes, how did you get into it? What was the
Speaker 1: impetus for wanting to play?
Speaker 3: So it was actually like at the elementary school that
Speaker 3: I was at, it was these two couches. They knew
Speaker 3: that I wanted to play a sport, and so I
Speaker 3: just went to practice one day. I had a friend
Speaker 3: she was already in this in the practice, I decided
Speaker 3: to go with her. Kind of liked playing a sport.
Speaker 3: I was already a cheerleader and so I was always
Speaker 3: cheering for basketball. So at that time I was trying
Speaker 3: to do basketball and cheerleading, I mean basketball and volleyball.
Speaker 3: And then when the basketball they tried to start like
Speaker 3: hitting me and going making a contact sport.
Speaker 2: I was like, okay, no, no, no.
Speaker 3: Then I went into volleyball, maybe like one or two
Speaker 3: years I realized I really like this, and I started
Speaker 3: to play club when I turned like eleven, and soon
Speaker 3: after that it like took off. I had a great
Speaker 3: coaches that took me another wing, and like it took
Speaker 3: off from there.
Speaker 1: And you played for Atlanta Boom that was your club team, correct, Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: How important was that club for you in continuing to
Speaker 1: play the sport?
Speaker 2: It was. It's so important, it's so important to today.
Speaker 3: It was a predominantly black volleyball club, which is at
Speaker 3: that time and even still now, like there was a
Speaker 3: big representation of black athletes in the sport, and so
Speaker 3: for this club to be trying to grab all of
Speaker 3: us and bringing awareness to the sport in our community
Speaker 3: was very, very important. It wasn't just volleyball. It's also
Speaker 3: like making sure we were confident, making sure that we
Speaker 3: were loud, and you know, as black women were always
Speaker 3: told to be a certain way at a certain way.
Speaker 2: You need to be quiet, do this, be too strong, you.
Speaker 3: Can't do that, And they were like, no, you're strong,
Speaker 3: you're beautiful, you can play a sport.
Speaker 2: You can be as aggressive as you want.
Speaker 3: To be, and we had a lot of girls to
Speaker 3: look up to, and then we also were able to
Speaker 3: you know, girls that were under us, we were able
Speaker 3: to bring them.
Speaker 2: Under our wing.
Speaker 3: So it was very very important for me to stay
Speaker 3: in this club and I love it to this day.
Speaker 3: It's no longer a club anymore, but I'm still connected to,
Speaker 3: you know, the founder and then like the founder's daughter,
Speaker 3: she's like literally my sister.
Speaker 2: She's like one of the coaches.
Speaker 3: So it was a big part of you know, who
Speaker 3: I am as a vailable player now and contributed to
Speaker 3: the represent nation for black athletes for sure.
Speaker 1: No, I feel like one of the cool things about
Speaker 1: the Olympics is that, you know, you can see how
Speaker 1: diversified athletes are, right, you can see all these strong,
Speaker 1: powerful women, and they're all different shapes, different sizes. We're
Speaker 1: not just all one size fits all type of human.
Speaker 2: Beings exactly exactly.
Speaker 1: But going back to volleyball, you know, it was a
Speaker 1: fairly white sport. So why was that and how have
Speaker 1: you seen it evolved?
Speaker 2: I'm not sure exactly why it was that situation.
Speaker 3: Maybe due to the accessibility, like able to get to
Speaker 3: a gym or able.
Speaker 2: To find a school or whatever I would say.
Speaker 3: During private school, that was how I was able to
Speaker 3: get into volleyball, so I didn't see it so much
Speaker 3: in public schools and in the Atlanta or Georgia area
Speaker 3: most at that time, most of the black children were
Speaker 3: going to public schools, So maybe that's how it kind
Speaker 3: of made it into that way.
Speaker 2: But since then, like since.
Speaker 3: I've been young, now there's so many athletes that like
Speaker 3: when I go into the A five gym or go
Speaker 3: to Tsunami gym, it's like split in half. Like literally,
Speaker 3: I'm like never in the million years that I think
Speaker 3: it would be so many black athletes. And then obviously, yes,
Speaker 3: white girls are the very white ladies. They're very in
Speaker 3: the gym, and they're doing exciting things and they're also amazing. However,
Speaker 3: it's just I'm happy that those girls still have a
Speaker 3: representation on the Olympic team, on the international teams.
Speaker 2: To see and say.
Speaker 3: That I can go somewhere the volleyball, it's really cool
Speaker 3: for them to see and for me to see.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, Well, because I was gonna say, because
Speaker 1: you got like Chiaka, you got Haley Washington, you got
Speaker 1: Jordan Thompson out there, we're just dominating right now on
Speaker 1: the Olympic stage, on this international stage, right and I
Speaker 1: feel like having those girls to look up to, you know,
Speaker 1: it's a whole other ballgame when you get to see
Speaker 1: that representation.
Speaker 3: Right, And I'm very happy that now it's not just
Speaker 3: going to be on TV. It would be like in
Speaker 3: person you're able to see those girls that you looked
Speaker 3: at TV for international ball or just on the Olympics.
Speaker 3: So some people don't watch international ball, they only see
Speaker 3: professional volleyball when it comes on the Olympics. And so
Speaker 3: now it will be in person. You're able to meet
Speaker 3: these people, You'll be able to possibly do like the
Speaker 3: camps that Love haves and the clubs and all that
Speaker 3: kind of things. So it's very It's it's a big
Speaker 3: thing that Love is doing to bring the athletes, big
Speaker 3: time athletes to the US and to play in person.
Speaker 3: Like I don't think anyone really understands how big it
Speaker 3: is until it happens for sure.
Speaker 1: And what have you been doing personally to kind of
Speaker 1: help bring you know, to be a role model for
Speaker 1: these girls.
Speaker 3: So right now I am I do have like I
Speaker 3: do clinics and camps you know, either through my through
Speaker 3: Costola through my alum or I'll do my private lessons
Speaker 3: on my own. Right now, I'm working with my elementary
Speaker 3: school like where I started. That is like I had
Speaker 3: my first day today and that was like literally so
Speaker 3: cute because the gym is the exact same. Like you know,
Speaker 3: you go into a gym or elementary school, You're like,
Speaker 3: was it really that shortened here? But but yes, it's
Speaker 3: just like they appeal like the program had stopped a
Speaker 3: while ago and so it's only been three years where
Speaker 3: they're able to like start up the program again. And
Speaker 3: so I'm just like there with them every every other
Speaker 3: week once a week, like just gonna come in and
Speaker 3: do like their drills during their practices. Obviously go to
Speaker 3: their games, but I'm just so so excited. Today it
Speaker 3: was just like you know, meeting them and we did
Speaker 3: like a vision board. Obviously the coaches are they take control.
Speaker 3: I'm just there to help, but it was I that
Speaker 3: was I'm really coming down from this from my call
Speaker 3: because I just did that before this, but I was
Speaker 3: just like that was just really really cool to you know,
Speaker 3: be back where it all started and also just to
Speaker 3: be an inspiration to them and to help them grow
Speaker 3: obviously through skills, but my main goal is to like
Speaker 3: make sure that they are confident and able to understand
Speaker 3: that like being an athlete comes with, you know, advocating
Speaker 3: for yourself and being strong and believing in yourself and
Speaker 3: you take the outside.
Speaker 2: You know, to the regular world.
Speaker 3: So I'm really really happy that I, you know, decided
Speaker 3: to volunteer with them, and I'm excited to see how
Speaker 3: that goes.
Speaker 2: For sure, It's like it's it's gonna be a it's
Speaker 2: gonna be a blast.
Speaker 1: I feel like that mindset is something that us as
Speaker 1: adults can really hone in on and we can see
Speaker 1: that did you struggle with that at all when you
Speaker 1: were younger? And like it's first starting to play.
Speaker 3: Yes, I still today it's I have to remind myself,
Speaker 3: you know, I'm that girl, or I'm doing this, or
Speaker 3: I'm confident, or remind myself of things that I've done
Speaker 3: in the past to get myself here. So yes, I
Speaker 3: think every girl has that inklink when they were younger,
Speaker 3: for sure, to deal with confidence and to deal with
Speaker 3: you know, self confidence and self esteem issues, or being
Speaker 3: a black girl, being a certain color with your hair,
Speaker 3: and there's just so many things that I obviously struggled
Speaker 3: through because of society. But I think sports definitely helped
Speaker 3: me because it showed me what I'm good at, and
Speaker 3: then it also brought out other things like leadership and
Speaker 3: mentorship and you know, being a friendly person or being
Speaker 3: a boss. Like I used to be called bossy all
Speaker 3: the time, and I was like, no, I just I'm
Speaker 3: assertive and I like to having a certain way. So
Speaker 3: I definitely want to make sure that when I did
Speaker 3: have that problem when I was younger, I think sports
Speaker 3: was the alleyway to confidence for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah you were bossy. You were just a boss girl.
Speaker 2: That's exactly bossy.
Speaker 1: Okay, how do you think that this idea of you know,
Speaker 1: diversifying the sport, just diversifying a representation and role models, Like,
Speaker 1: what do you think still needs to happen to continue
Speaker 1: to progress to progress?
Speaker 2: That is a good question. I feel like.
Speaker 3: For sure, like women's sports in general needs to be broadcasted,
Speaker 3: and it's getting better obviously just getting broadcasted more and more.
Speaker 3: There I have to think about this question for sure,
Speaker 3: so I'm not entirely sure.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what would I know?
Speaker 3: It obviously can get better and I'm trying to think
Speaker 3: of what exactly could happen to make it better because
Speaker 3: we're doing our part. We're trying to be out there
Speaker 3: in person and too, you know, be hands on with
Speaker 3: the girls like bringing maybe mentorship could work, But I
Speaker 3: think overall, volleyball broadcasting or female sports broadcasting is.
Speaker 2: A little bit, a little bit part of it. That
Speaker 2: is a definitely question.
Speaker 3: I gotta I need to know about it because I
Speaker 3: need to be a part of it to to awareness.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you are already part of this, right,
Speaker 1: You are bringing awareness, You're helping the younger generation, right,
Speaker 1: But yeah, I definitely think that you know, making people
Speaker 1: aware that this is a thing and that girls, no
Speaker 1: matter who you are, can participate.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 1: And actually, I think that's one of the really cool
Speaker 1: things about the way that Love has structured their schedule
Speaker 1: is you know, you're kind of making stops in these cities. Right,
Speaker 1: It's like an exhibition weekend, so you get to see
Speaker 1: all these girls from all over compete and play each other.
Speaker 1: So you know, even though you're playing for Austin, you
Speaker 1: guys get to go to Atlanta all right for the weekend.
Speaker 1: So I mean, are you are you bringing all the
Speaker 1: elementary girls, your family, like.
Speaker 2: Your whole crew.
Speaker 3: So everyone's always asking their like playing Atlanta outside guys,
Speaker 3: But you don't understand.
Speaker 2: I get to come home and you guys get to
Speaker 2: pack out the gym. Like I need to have bad heads.
Speaker 3: I need to have my elementary girls, my private last girls,
Speaker 3: good Bill crew.
Speaker 2: I have everyone.
Speaker 3: It's going to be pulling up, have a whole section.
Speaker 3: I'm going to just tape out Lea's area. But I'm
Speaker 3: so so happy, especially because I've had like a couple
Speaker 3: of years ago, i was working out. I was doing
Speaker 3: camps with a Decatur rec area because I grew up
Speaker 3: in a Decatur area. I'm always trying to do camps
Speaker 3: or clinics in the area that I actually grew up
Speaker 3: because I did not have the opportunity to get volleyball,
Speaker 3: and so I'm trying to always put it in the
Speaker 3: areas that I knew just didn't have volleyball as a
Speaker 3: prevalent sport. And so I'm going to be reaching out
Speaker 3: to those girls like, hey, like I'm back in town,
Speaker 3: like I'm going to actually be playing. I was like
Speaker 3: for you guys to come see if you can't come
Speaker 3: to the game, like I would maybe come see you
Speaker 3: before or after just to continue the like you said,
Speaker 3: the awareness and the prevalence of the sport and so
Speaker 3: that they understand and see firsthand like they can do
Speaker 3: this and or there is representation because the first the
Speaker 3: first step is being able to see your goal. And
Speaker 3: if it's a person, then that's you know, that's even better.
Speaker 1: What's your goal for this upcoming season?
Speaker 2: Hey, hey, hey, get the real questions right.
Speaker 3: In all honesty, I I know who I'm playing with,
Speaker 3: and i know who I know where I'm stacking on
Speaker 3: the team, and I'm trying to get better.
Speaker 2: Obviously as a player, obviously I want to play, Obviously
Speaker 2: I want to be a starter.
Speaker 3: But the main goal coming out of it is to
Speaker 3: enhance my sports by three times for sure after this
Speaker 3: season and the.
Speaker 2: Following next season.
Speaker 3: Obviously ill loft my team to win and win the championship,
Speaker 3: but for me personally, it is to increase my skills
Speaker 3: literally by three times by the end of that season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm so excited to watch you when you play
Speaker 1: in this league. It's going to be amazing. I'm excited
Speaker 1: to watch everybody. I'm excited to watch Chiaka and everybody
Speaker 1: else play for every World on Sunday morning. Yes, sure,
Speaker 1: let's go. Yeah, Eliah, it was a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 1: I can't wait, like I said, to watch you play,
Speaker 1: And thank you so much for being on Serving Pancakes.
Speaker 3: Of course, thank you so much for having me and
Speaker 3: this was really really sweet. I loved it and we
Speaker 3: will be chearing for Gold on Sunday.
Speaker 1: By the way, if you're new to volleyball, make sure
Speaker 1: you check out Kayles Stapleton, who played volleyball at San
Speaker 1: Diego and professionally overseas for three years, and Devin Newberry,
Speaker 1: who played beach volleyball for UCLA. They'll be posting volleyball
Speaker 1: one on one on our social channels at love That's
Speaker 1: at l OVB to help you understand the rules, positions,
Speaker 1: and everything in between, so make sure to follow so
Speaker 1: you don't miss. Serving Pancakes is an iHeart women's sports
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by League One Volleyball.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tiffany Oshinsky, Amya Alvarez is our senior producer.
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Carrie Stett, Tamaradikey, and Lindsay Hoffman.
Speaker 1: Our marketing leave is Jawara Parker. Sound editing and mixing
Speaker 1: by Cody Nelson. Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W.
Speaker 1: Mask Junior. Stay tuned for our next episode where we
Speaker 1: break down the gold medal match between Team USA and Italy.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.