Speaker 1: Boom boom boom boom boom chick boom boom boo boom.
Speaker 2: It's Semn cakes. And yeah, but we'll be flipping. It's
Speaker 2: Maddie and Cat and we be chipping. Lauren Carlini the
Speaker 2: cut blessed it up and yeah.
Speaker 3: I don't know. That's all I got.
Speaker 4: Hey, y'all, Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2: Mar Carlini, Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, we were all gonna
Speaker 2: you guys can see we have the Lauren Carlini stepping
Speaker 2: into the chat. Let's give it around of applause.
Speaker 4: There you god.
Speaker 3: Honestly fun. The fact about Lauren Carlini.
Speaker 2: She beat me my senior year, junior year in the
Speaker 2: fire in the semi finals to the championship game.
Speaker 4: Baby girl, what's roe of that offensity? Killed this?
Speaker 5: It's actually we still talk about you to this day.
Speaker 5: The roar you did through the net at our little
Speaker 5: baby freshman who gets two sets an entire match.
Speaker 3: I'm tired of this.
Speaker 4: Oh so it wasn't just me.
Speaker 3: I know I did not remember that.
Speaker 5: Poor little girl, second set of the entire season, gets blocked,
Speaker 5: roars in her.
Speaker 6: Face, just left her soul, left her body.
Speaker 4: I love this, Yeah, I love this so much.
Speaker 3: You guys, I didn't know any better.
Speaker 2: Jared like was having us act like rabbit dogs and
Speaker 2: it was okay. So I just thought it was okay.
Speaker 2: You know, I get these stories like all the time,
Speaker 2: but I've changed.
Speaker 3: I'm greas changed, you know.
Speaker 2: I'm so nice and Maddie now say how nice I am.
Speaker 1: You've definitely grown up a lot since the time that
Speaker 1: you roared at the nut at me.
Speaker 4: So I'm so proud of you. Anyway. Introducer, guests, good show.
Speaker 3: We have six foot one Lauren Carleni from.
Speaker 4: A Lauren, Illinois.
Speaker 6: It's true.
Speaker 2: She was twenty twelve get Ready Player of the Year.
Speaker 2: That's such an amazing war to get as a high
Speaker 2: school player. Twenty fourteen Big Ten Player of the Year.
Speaker 2: That's also big time USA national team member.
Speaker 3: In the fielding, you know what I'm saying. You've got
Speaker 3: a medal, Olympic silver medalist, that.
Speaker 6: Is yeah somewhere around here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's crazy. Everyone can't say they've done that.
Speaker 2: So you know, put overseas, you know, Championship League title holder,
Speaker 2: six domestic Cup medals?
Speaker 3: Are you packing a pockets? Is happy?
Speaker 4: Who knew? Who knew?
Speaker 3: Where?
Speaker 4: Yeah? Where's all that jewelry.
Speaker 6: I'll in a box somewhere at my dad's house. Probably.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Tony, Lauren, Oh you know Tony, we love hey, Tony.
Speaker 6: You know he's going to be listening to this.
Speaker 1: Tony is your number one fan in my mind, and like,
Speaker 1: I'm Tony's number one fan?
Speaker 3: What makes what makes Tony so epic? I want to
Speaker 3: give me something. I need to know who Tony is.
Speaker 1: He Tony is her father, and he just shows up
Speaker 1: to everything. He's just like obsessed with volleyball. I don't
Speaker 1: like how much does he know.
Speaker 4: I'm not sure, but like not a not a ton
Speaker 4: but he tries. Okay, he tries and I love that.
Speaker 1: And he's just the sweetest, sweetest man in the whole world.
Speaker 4: I think.
Speaker 2: Give you like tips on volleyball and things to do,
Speaker 2: like when you're playing, you know.
Speaker 6: He puts his two cents in and.
Speaker 4: You give him right back.
Speaker 5: Oh, the right side of the court was having a
Speaker 5: tough time. What does that even mean? You know, like
Speaker 5: he tries, he tries.
Speaker 4: But you're like, I'm on the right side. Dad.
Speaker 3: Yeah, actually that was me.
Speaker 5: That was me, but no, just biggest fan, legendary stash
Speaker 5: and uh yeah, ultimate dead well.
Speaker 2: Now Tony gets to watch you in the stands. So
Speaker 2: how's it coming to come into League one volleyball?
Speaker 6: It's been great.
Speaker 5: I mean when I signed, he was so happy, Like
Speaker 5: I he was like, you're kidding me. I don't have
Speaker 5: to take an international flight to get to see you
Speaker 5: play volleyball.
Speaker 6: That was the best part.
Speaker 5: He's like, thank god, I don't have to sit on
Speaker 5: a plane for eleven hours.
Speaker 6: Like, so, no, it's been awesome.
Speaker 5: And he's at every single game, every single home game,
Speaker 5: and always.
Speaker 6: Watches doesn't matter the time.
Speaker 5: Even though I was in Turkey, he would wake up
Speaker 5: two am, set his alarm, be up watching like this.
Speaker 4: Ride or Die.
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about you're a founding athlete and
Speaker 1: like what has it been like to see this league
Speaker 1: come to fruition? Like being there from the beginning, it's
Speaker 1: been cool.
Speaker 5: It's been cool because there's been a group of us
Speaker 5: kind of on it from the start. And being being
Speaker 5: the only founding athlete Madison, it was hard at first.
Speaker 6: And last year I had Annie with me and.
Speaker 5: That helped a lot because while she wasn't a founding athlete,
Speaker 5: she's a really experienced player.
Speaker 6: Obviously, we all we all know, Annie and.
Speaker 5: Just very involved in decision making and helping kind of
Speaker 5: move things along in the right direction.
Speaker 6: And so it's been fun to see it come to fruition.
Speaker 5: And of course, like any startup, there's growing pains and
Speaker 5: there's things that we're learning. But I think the adaptability
Speaker 5: of like this league and our team has been so strong,
Speaker 5: and I think that's what's going to continue propelling us
Speaker 5: into future seasons and just really really looking forward to
Speaker 5: what it could be. I always make fun. It's like
Speaker 5: just always.
Speaker 6: Lay in the groundwork for the next ones up, and.
Speaker 4: It's for the next generation. I started out.
Speaker 5: Wisconsin, you know, and you know hadn't been to a
Speaker 5: tournament in how many years? And then you know, sorry
Speaker 5: Cat ended up going to the national champion shipped that year,
Speaker 5: and then building to what Wisconsin is now and then
Speaker 5: doing the same thing for love, like laying the groundwork,
Speaker 5: laying the foundation.
Speaker 6: Definitely positive and negatives to all of it.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like the correlation from having to do
Speaker 1: that at Wisconsin and then feeling like, Okay, I've done
Speaker 1: this before, I kind of know which way I need
Speaker 1: to take this.
Speaker 4: Doing that with the Madison team as well.
Speaker 6: So much right.
Speaker 5: A lot of it's just about building a culture and
Speaker 5: building something that's going to be sustainable in the long run.
Speaker 5: And so yes, like we have our league, we have
Speaker 5: all of our kind of things in place, but.
Speaker 6: What is Madison specifically going to be? Like what is
Speaker 6: our culture going to.
Speaker 5: Be like in Madison? And what team are we trying
Speaker 5: to build, you know, year after year. So totally there's
Speaker 5: a lot that goes into it.
Speaker 6: And the good thing is that I've kind of.
Speaker 5: Gone through it before in college. Now I just get
Speaker 5: to do it at the pro level. And as you
Speaker 5: guys know, like college is different, Like there's just different perks.
Speaker 5: They got tons of money to be able to play
Speaker 5: with and kind of it's very luxurious, and here it's
Speaker 5: like the grind. The grind is real from day to day,
Speaker 5: but the fact that we get to do it at home,
Speaker 5: like that part, it's all worth.
Speaker 6: It at the end of the day.
Speaker 2: That's like the basically spot for me too. I'm like
Speaker 2: we get to come home. Everyone's like, well, how did
Speaker 2: they sell you to come home to the league win
Speaker 2: blood ball? I'm like that right there, the home.
Speaker 1: Right, yeah, and you feel like being at Wisconsin, like
Speaker 1: your assistant coaching at Wisconsin.
Speaker 4: Correct, do you.
Speaker 1: Feel like seeing how that's going and like the things
Speaker 1: that they have and where the money is going blah
Speaker 1: blah blah, you're able to be like, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: what we need in Madison.
Speaker 5: Yeah. It's just it's wild to see the college landscape
Speaker 5: right now that you know, kids are getting paid and
Speaker 5: that's beyond their scholarship, that's beyond nil. And now they
Speaker 5: have sponsorships and there's just so much that goes into it.
Speaker 5: And to be honest, the worlds are getting closer and
Speaker 5: closer together. Like essentially college athletics is now professional. At
Speaker 5: the end of the day, you can transfer wherever you want.
Speaker 5: I don't know how it was and your guys conferences,
Speaker 5: but like Big Ten when I was in school, if
Speaker 5: you transferred to another Big ten school, you had to
Speaker 5: sit out a year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: I think if you transferred in general, it was like
Speaker 2: a you problem. It's like what did you do?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Like there's a couple of.
Speaker 5: People I think that we all know that transferred to
Speaker 5: like two or three schools and everyone was.
Speaker 4: Like, exactly, if you transfer one, if you tresferred to
Speaker 4: they're like problem child, difficult.
Speaker 5: But now that's just the reality of college athletics, and
Speaker 5: so just learning it's going to actually set them up
Speaker 5: for success when they go and play pro, whether it's
Speaker 5: here in the States or overseas, because they're pretty much
Speaker 5: living it right now. Is a little bit more luxurious
Speaker 5: than what we're seeing right now, certainly, but.
Speaker 3: I don't think it's handicapped.
Speaker 2: If girls, some girls choose to go overseas from going
Speaker 2: from college.
Speaker 6: That part's going to be tough.
Speaker 5: And I tell them to like the girls who decided
Speaker 5: to go overseas this year, it's and last year as well.
Speaker 6: It's like, hey, this is going to be this is
Speaker 6: if you want to growth experience.
Speaker 4: Yes, this is if you want to go you need
Speaker 4: some do.
Speaker 5: It's if you want an eye opener, If you want
Speaker 5: to be comfortable, if you want to be here making
Speaker 5: a pretty good amount of money still but still be
Speaker 5: able to be around your friends and family, absolutely great choice.
Speaker 5: If you want to get outside your comfort zone, you
Speaker 5: can go ahead and you can take that plane.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, But Tony CARLINI talk to him first points.
Speaker 4: In Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts on State Street broads on spotted
Speaker 1: cow beer.
Speaker 6: We love a spotted cow. We love a spotted cow.
Speaker 5: And speaking of Tony, every time it comes up here,
Speaker 5: he's got to stop at the Woodman's gotta grab it
Speaker 5: because you can't buy it outside of Wisconsin. Fun fact,
Speaker 5: it's only the Wisconsin borders.
Speaker 4: Is it just a what? It's just a beer? It's
Speaker 4: what can you explain to the people.
Speaker 5: No, it's beer, spotty Cow, I am It's Nu Glarius
Speaker 5: Brewing Company, which is what it was. They have a
Speaker 5: couple different types of beers and whatnot, but Spotty Cow
Speaker 5: is the most famous. You can't buy it or get
Speaker 5: it anywhere else outside of Wisconsin.
Speaker 6: So people literally it's like when you go to the Madison.
Speaker 5: Airport, you can go pick up your case before you
Speaker 5: go onto the plane.
Speaker 6: Literally.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and brought's on State Street. I have some hazy
Speaker 5: memories of Bros Place.
Speaker 2: Isn't then for omea things? We were there doing another
Speaker 2: season and we went.
Speaker 6: Yeah, but no, it's a good time. It's a good time.
Speaker 5: It's a sports bar by day.
Speaker 6: Who knows at night?
Speaker 4: Yeah, a little divy at night.
Speaker 5: But we love a good bra. I love the brons
Speaker 5: at the terrace too. You just go sit out by
Speaker 5: the lake. You put your little spicy mustard and your
Speaker 5: onions on there.
Speaker 3: It brought like a Wisconsin thing.
Speaker 6: Is that like it's like a dummy thick hot dog?
Speaker 4: Yeah, dummy, we.
Speaker 3: Have them here.
Speaker 2: But I wasn't sure that was just like a Wisconsin
Speaker 2: kind of thing that people just that's what you guys eat.
Speaker 5: Yeah, And then of course like people on a who's
Speaker 5: on our team, like the German, she's like a brought worst.
Speaker 6: Yes, of course we made it. And I was like,
Speaker 6: that's true. We like adopted it really heavily.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you spruced it up. Yeah, you're in. I'm gonna
Speaker 4: just pivot and go back to the Love here.
Speaker 1: But like, you're in a unique position to be working
Speaker 1: with Love at such a high level and working at
Speaker 1: Wisconsin and seeing the club impact. What's it like to
Speaker 1: have a front row seat in each stage of life
Speaker 1: as an aspiring volleyball player going through this.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's it is really interesting because once season is
Speaker 5: done here, then I immediately get on the recruiting train
Speaker 5: for Wisconsin and then we're at club tournaments.
Speaker 6: And it was funny. I was talking to some people
Speaker 6: the other day about.
Speaker 5: Like club fees and just how ridiculous it is now like,
Speaker 5: I mean, drop in twenty grand a year on club yep.
Speaker 4: Inflation is crazy, y'all. Also, I think.
Speaker 1: When I played club it was like a one lump
Speaker 1: sum as far as I know, I wasn't paying it.
Speaker 4: But and like flights are included everything.
Speaker 1: Now I feel like you the girls aren't, Like flights
Speaker 1: aren't even included in that and you get your own
Speaker 1: accommodation everything.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yep.
Speaker 5: Also I heard like the flights right for all the
Speaker 5: club people, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 3: So what are they paying for exactly no flights, No, No, to.
Speaker 4: Be on the team.
Speaker 6: It's to be on the team.
Speaker 5: It's literally for like training, and then you have to
Speaker 5: buy your jersey, so then that gets added in and
Speaker 5: then separately, yeah facts, and then it has to be
Speaker 5: any travel fees. So then on top of that, in
Speaker 5: total it ends up being around twenty twenty five depending
Speaker 5: on where you're at and what team you're on. But
Speaker 5: with travel, with hotel rooms, with club fees and.
Speaker 6: That, it's it's insane.
Speaker 5: So people are investing in this sport and investing in clubs,
Speaker 5: and it's massive.
Speaker 6: I mean, the club scene.
Speaker 5: Is like it's the biggest sport in the States, right,
Speaker 5: now for youth develop So it's again just a unique
Speaker 5: perspective because the college landscape is changing.
Speaker 6: There's so many transfers, there's.
Speaker 5: So the recruiting rules are going to probably start changing
Speaker 5: as a result, and it's just this evolution and change
Speaker 5: that we constantly are moving through. And it's fun to
Speaker 5: see the club girls at our games of course, like
Speaker 5: kind of making it full.
Speaker 6: Circle here.
Speaker 5: Because the club girls are going up to the Wisconsin
Speaker 5: girls in the stands and getting their autographs and they're
Speaker 5: getting their pictures, and then they're coming up to us
Speaker 5: after the match after we finish with love and getting
Speaker 5: our photos and autographs, and it's just really cool because
Speaker 5: we're making everyone in an united front. Everyone is at
Speaker 5: our games, everyone is wanting to go watch Wisconsin. And
Speaker 5: as a result, we're heavily involved in the club scene
Speaker 5: here as well, going and signing off, We're going to
Speaker 5: walk around when we're at Triple Crown in Kansas City
Speaker 5: just go see some more local clubs as well. And
Speaker 5: so it's really it's been awesome, and I know the
Speaker 5: parents and the girls are really thankful for it, and
Speaker 5: they stick us with their little clothes pins and stuff
Speaker 5: like that. Get the little bracelets and the connection is awesome.
Speaker 2: Someone like you wear like so many hats, Like how
Speaker 2: are you finding time like for yourself from going from
Speaker 2: the court and I'm obviously having to invest in who
Speaker 2: you are as like your captain and I'm being like
Speaker 2: a leader on your team to like going off and
Speaker 2: flipping that switch to being a coach and not being
Speaker 2: like hey, like you know, I feel like it's hard
Speaker 2: to tell someone to do what you do when you
Speaker 2: just know how to do it, you know, So what's
Speaker 2: that transition, Like what's that safety net for yourself? You know?
Speaker 3: Doing all these things?
Speaker 6: For sure?
Speaker 5: There's so many things that I'm still learning, like right
Speaker 5: now as a player.
Speaker 6: And it's cool because I get to go.
Speaker 5: To a gym where the girls are wanting and willing
Speaker 5: and open to learning, and I can teach them what
Speaker 5: I'm still learning right now. Cool, and I feel like
Speaker 5: that's a really unique, i don't know, just perspective to have.
Speaker 5: And also like in a way like there's clout there
Speaker 5: because they're like, oh, this girl's still doing it, she's
Speaker 5: still playing like she knows what she's talking about.
Speaker 6: I'm gonna listen, And so that.
Speaker 5: That makes me feel good because it's like I have
Speaker 5: some credibility here.
Speaker 3: You always have credibility, relevant, legendary.
Speaker 5: But no, it's it's fun to be able to work
Speaker 5: with people like Charlie especially and just again the dynamic
Speaker 5: of like Matt for Bringer being my coach and then
Speaker 5: me being Charlie Ferbringer's coach. She is incredible to work
Speaker 5: with my opinion, best setter in the country. Like just
Speaker 5: her growth, yeah, she her growth the last two seasons
Speaker 5: has been I mean incredible to see not only just
Speaker 5: as a player, Yes, she's a great setter, but her
Speaker 5: leadership and how she's chosen to go about things in
Speaker 5: a more professional manner. Just really proud of her, and
Speaker 5: it's been Yeah, I didn't know if I was gonna
Speaker 5: joy coaching, but working with people like her, working with
Speaker 5: players on Wisconsin who want to be where I am
Speaker 5: one day, it's bringing me a lot of joy and happiness.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I got the chills.
Speaker 2: I feel like, I know car talks this way about
Speaker 2: me too, I'm like, talk this way about me, I'd
Speaker 2: like want to fucking like vomit, Like that is insane,
Speaker 2: what's crazy?
Speaker 1: I would run through all for Lauren Carleny No Annie Drew.
Speaker 2: She messaged me this past week about like she saw
Speaker 2: she'd have a chance to watch him obviouste and she
Speaker 2: was like, she messaed me randomly, was like, by the way,
Speaker 2: it was so good to see you playing. I was like,
Speaker 2: oh my god, I'm okay, calm down, down, take imagine
Speaker 2: being a college kid and like Lauren CARLINI talking about
Speaker 2: like this is insane, I would cry for sure.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And also because like the perfect image of like you're saying,
Speaker 1: like her professionalism is that I'm like, those are all
Speaker 1: the things you are. She has like the person right
Speaker 1: in front of her, the perfect role model. So that's
Speaker 1: so cool for her.
Speaker 5: So good, you know, It's like it's cool because they
Speaker 5: come to almost all of our matches that love too.
Speaker 5: So just knowing that I'm still making an impact by
Speaker 5: simply playing and doing the thing I love, like that
Speaker 5: is that's really cool. That's a really unique thing that
Speaker 5: I get to do.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so cool, total shift from being abroad.
Speaker 5: I was just thinking about random teammates that we've had
Speaker 5: over the years that are overseas right now and how
Speaker 5: it's just crazy out of sight, out of mind truly
Speaker 5: when you're.
Speaker 1: Overseas yeah, yeah, yeah, it's like it's it's lonesome. You're
Speaker 1: like cut off, but you're like not cut off from
Speaker 1: the world, but you kind of are. So then like
Speaker 1: Lauren and I got to play two seasons together and
Speaker 1: it was like truly a saving grace, Like those are
Speaker 1: some of the last seasons abroad I had because I
Speaker 1: had a friend there, and it's like really makes a difference.
Speaker 5: It does.
Speaker 4: And what I say I would run through a wall
Speaker 4: for you, it's.
Speaker 1: Because you would run through a full net and like
Speaker 1: slice your whole eye open like that one time you
Speaker 1: did for our team. So like that's true, you guys,
Speaker 1: the things happened to you when we've played together.
Speaker 4: Lauren okay, so okay, yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: One game we were playing and somebody like digs the ball.
Speaker 1: It goes outside of the antenna like towards right front,
Speaker 1: and Lauren carly and is like full pursuit mode, and
Speaker 1: so she goes under the net to go get it,
Speaker 1: and then is walking back. I think, like, you didn't.
Speaker 1: I don't think you got it. I don't know I
Speaker 1: did effort. The effort was one thousand percent.
Speaker 5: There.
Speaker 4: She turns around and.
Speaker 1: Like her whole face is cut open and there's like
Speaker 1: blood here her face.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah here.
Speaker 1: I was like, Lauren's like what, Like why didn't we
Speaker 1: like because I don't know. And I was like, Lauren,
Speaker 1: your face is bleeding and like she had hit her
Speaker 1: head here on the bottom of the antenna, like on
Speaker 1: the plastic part, knocked both your contacts out.
Speaker 6: It's true.
Speaker 5: I hit so freaking hard it popped both my contacts
Speaker 5: out of my eyes.
Speaker 1: But then she walked over to the bench and she like,
Speaker 1: blood coming out of your face and you were like,
Speaker 1: put some tape on it, put me back in, and
Speaker 1: I was.
Speaker 6: Like, I was pissed. They were taking so long.
Speaker 4: I was like, oh, lush got that dog?
Speaker 5: Yeah, like whoa. I would go to war with Laura
Speaker 5: Carly and the other times. Do you remember when somebody
Speaker 5: served the ball at your head and old girl.
Speaker 6: Yeah, okay.
Speaker 4: So we're at serving pass in the morning.
Speaker 1: People are just warming up, like getting warm, and they
Speaker 1: I think it was the youngest girl on our team
Speaker 1: decides to absolutely unload on her serve and Laura is
Speaker 1: setting balls on her side of the net, on the
Speaker 1: same side of the girls serving on and she just
Speaker 1: boo and like Lauren's looking towards left front like she's
Speaker 1: gonna set a go, obviously not thinking she would get
Speaker 1: hit right on the side of the head.
Speaker 4: Blam, ear drum burst.
Speaker 5: Yep, actually se yeah, no, I literally had a hole
Speaker 5: in my ear drum when I saw you.
Speaker 1: This girl hit the absolute serve harder.
Speaker 6: It was a float. It was a heavy float. Man.
Speaker 4: I was like, why are you nice? It's nine am.
Speaker 6: Also, I'm not jumping. I was on the ground. This
Speaker 6: was a terrible miss.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5: I hit the deck quick and hard, I thought, I
Speaker 5: mean for sure I was concussed.
Speaker 1: Also like yeah, but yeah, ear ringing concussion.
Speaker 5: Like like so bad vertigo Anyways, Yeah, weird stuff happened
Speaker 5: always against Gales that I always.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but we did have a good time in Turkey.
Speaker 1: So okay, where all did you played in Turkey?
Speaker 4: Italy? You won Champions League.
Speaker 1: Champions League is like top of the top overseas for
Speaker 1: anyone who doesn't know.
Speaker 4: And playing in Russia as well, right.
Speaker 6: I did one year in Moscow. It was honestly great.
Speaker 6: Everyone always asks, we're going.
Speaker 3: To play in Russia? Moscow is the place you want.
Speaker 5: To be, yeah, because then you can have like Okay,
Speaker 5: for me, it was great. I had like a group
Speaker 5: of probably eight foreigners who we hung out all the time.
Speaker 6: It was it was lucky. It was truly lucky.
Speaker 5: It was like me, Eric Soji, who's Canadian, his wife
Speaker 5: at the time, and then a couple guys on Eric
Speaker 5: Soggi's team. This is crazy, So okay, what we were saying, like,
Speaker 5: Moscow is where it's at.
Speaker 6: If you're playing.
Speaker 5: There, it's so easy to get downtown, no problem, everything's
Speaker 5: super clean, super safe. I know, wild to say in
Speaker 5: twenty six, but here we are. Eric had the craziest thing.
Speaker 5: He lived in Moscow, but then for his home games
Speaker 5: they had to fly to basically the North Pole and
Speaker 5: then drive another two hours into the North Pole.
Speaker 6: That was his home.
Speaker 5: Means, yeah, you've better get in a say it, a
Speaker 5: bag of cash for that, because.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yep.
Speaker 5: But no, I actually really enjoyed Russia. I didn't know
Speaker 5: what was going on in the volleyball court. I'm going
Speaker 5: to be completely honest, really, I had no idea. I
Speaker 5: was just out there set and ball seaballa, that's right, Hi,
Speaker 5: high ball every time. But the people that I had
Speaker 5: around me, like the foreigners, it was great. And then
Speaker 5: it was COVID season and then I had to flee
Speaker 5: the country and survived and got all my money.
Speaker 4: So that's up.
Speaker 3: So you can leave and you don't get you don't
Speaker 3: get what you go. That's that's right, lesson right there.
Speaker 4: Amen, yep, hey, amen, you.
Speaker 6: Don't have to worry about here in the States.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Do you think, well, both of you guys, you both
Speaker 3: can answer it.
Speaker 2: Do you think that you know, if we had that
Speaker 2: opportunity to stay here and play at home, when we
Speaker 2: have the opportunity to go overseas, we would have stayed.
Speaker 1: Would you have stayed if my options right now were
Speaker 1: play for Love Houston or go to Azerbaijan, which.
Speaker 3: Like Houston, you're twenty one or twenty one.
Speaker 1: I'm twenty one, Yeah, I probably would have made the
Speaker 1: decision to stay here. But like again, looking back on it,
Speaker 1: I'm so glad that I did go and I had
Speaker 1: those opportunities, but like to say that I would do
Speaker 1: it now, like knowing the like there's fear when you're like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I have to go out of the country to a
Speaker 1: place that I have literally never heard of to go play.
Speaker 1: That freaks me out. But if it was like Italy
Speaker 1: or something like that. I'd be like, Okay, I can
Speaker 1: dip my toes in there. But I think where I
Speaker 1: went first probably not.
Speaker 5: I honestly, I probably would have stayed in Madison too,
Speaker 5: Like I mean, I love it here. I am back right,
Speaker 5: and so I think it would have been really hard
Speaker 5: for me to go overseas. And again, Maddie, kind of
Speaker 5: like you said, maybe if it was like in Italy
Speaker 5: or a Turkey, it could, I would think about it,
Speaker 5: but I would probably.
Speaker 2: Stay if I had well, let's think about if we
Speaker 2: had like nil, if we had an il on top
Speaker 2: of the way here. And I think also depends on
Speaker 2: what you want to get out of it, you know
Speaker 2: what I'm saying. I think, like you know, if I
Speaker 2: was someone like you and like an older player was
Speaker 2: telling me, hey, maybe should go over season some experience
Speaker 2: if you want to be Olympian and blah blah blah blah,
Speaker 2: and if I knew like to be you.
Speaker 3: That's what it's going to guarantee me.
Speaker 2: I'm going you know what I mean, because that's where
Speaker 2: like my passion is about it.
Speaker 3: But yeah, we're gonna cut you this check.
Speaker 2: A few balls and a few balls you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Like, hey, you know what I'm saying. So
Speaker 2: I think that would yeah, definitely would have just stayed
Speaker 2: here for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it totally on circumstances and what you're
Speaker 1: looking to get out of it.
Speaker 6: M m.
Speaker 1: But again, super grateful for the time I had, and
Speaker 1: I think it's.
Speaker 4: All made us who we are now.
Speaker 2: Look at us now, look at us.
Speaker 4: And I get friends with both of you from playing.
Speaker 3: Exactly even though we met each other kind of.
Speaker 4: Before, even though you screamed at me that long time.
Speaker 6: Yeah, oh my god, it's hilarious.
Speaker 1: That's old speaking of foreigners and overseas life.
Speaker 4: Gong is absolutely killing it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, your opposite, what the Can we talk about her
Speaker 1: for a second because she's an animal, like a passing opposite?
Speaker 4: What the?
Speaker 5: And then I think it was a week Yeah, I
Speaker 5: think it was a week ago or two weeks ago.
Speaker 6: She got the defensive player of the week.
Speaker 5: So freaking funny, Annie, I posted on my story, of course,
Speaker 5: and then Annie responded, your last last year's opposite could
Speaker 5: have ever And I said, that's true, it was.
Speaker 4: Dang. At least she can put a little fun at herself.
Speaker 5: It's yeah, we love Annie but the defense is not
Speaker 5: one of her strong suits.
Speaker 6: That's not one of the pair of the big bucks.
Speaker 3: You don't her for that, America.
Speaker 2: I feel like it's catching up to really good volleyball,
Speaker 2: because I mean, I've also like read a few things
Speaker 2: like in comments that people are like, oh my god,
Speaker 2: like the gong she's surprisingly good. I'm like, you guys
Speaker 2: don't know anything outside of this right players out there
Speaker 2: are killing it.
Speaker 3: Of course, she's amazing, like it's insane. She's great.
Speaker 5: She is, and she's trying really hard at learning English,
Speaker 5: and she's it's so cute. She has her translator with
Speaker 5: her all the time and stuff. And then we have
Speaker 5: this thing, quick little story we do our like four
Speaker 5: h's so hometown hero, heartbreak and hope. It's just kind
Speaker 5: of a thing to like get to know each other
Speaker 5: and a fun little PowerPoint thing.
Speaker 6: She did hers.
Speaker 5: It was a couple of weeks ago now, and she
Speaker 5: said she was so nervous. She spent that like two
Speaker 5: days prior practicing and she wrote down everything in English
Speaker 5: so that she could like go and recite it.
Speaker 6: And she got through.
Speaker 5: She did incredible, And yeah, I just she's great on
Speaker 5: the court. But then also her willingness to be uncomfortable
Speaker 5: and learn new things and like really be ingrained into
Speaker 5: our culture and our language is it's really admirable because I.
Speaker 6: Mean, you know, you go overseas and.
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's some places you're like, all right, I'll try,
Speaker 5: like Italy, if you don't try to try, like understand
Speaker 5: Italian by uho choo, never speak to you again in Turkey,
Speaker 5: like I mean we didn't. I'm maddie, you were pretty good,
Speaker 5: but like me, I was like, eh, it's much everyone spoken,
Speaker 5: so and they just treat you differently if that you're
Speaker 5: not really trying much.
Speaker 6: And so I appreciate Gong for trying to know.
Speaker 3: She's really happy.
Speaker 2: So I had an oportunity to play against her when
Speaker 2: I was in China like two three years ago, and
Speaker 2: then we're the same All Star team, and so when
Speaker 2: we played, you know stuff, so I got to like
Speaker 2: talk to her, and you know, I was.
Speaker 4: Popping out popular.
Speaker 2: And so when I saw her in medicine when we
Speaker 2: were there, you know a few weeks ago, and we
Speaker 2: saw her that she was like oh and I was
Speaker 2: talking to her and like that was probably the most
Speaker 2: actually heard her speak English, you know, and honestly, Lauren,
Speaker 2: she she really is enjoying. And I think also just
Speaker 2: like USA is so different from like China obviously so
Speaker 2: and they have these like you know, social norms and
Speaker 2: social boundaries they have within themselves within the country. But
Speaker 2: I feel like for her to be here, she feels
Speaker 2: like she can definitely like be and do what she wants.
Speaker 2: And she's so intrigue about everything, you know, it's super genuine.
Speaker 3: She's so happy, and I have a.
Speaker 5: Feeling she's like the jokester on her team that you know,
Speaker 5: And because we're starting to see her personality come out
Speaker 5: more and more, she gets comfortable and so I'm like, oh,
Speaker 5: we're going to the dark and they're over here, like
Speaker 5: I don't have TikTok, but they made her do a
Speaker 5: TikTok the other day where it was.
Speaker 6: Oh my god, I and what is it the money one?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and then she was like kind of the
Speaker 1: butt of the joke at the end.
Speaker 5: Yes, And she was like really sad at first, and
Speaker 5: then she saw the whole trend and she's like, Okay,
Speaker 5: it's okay.
Speaker 6: Oh oh yeah, she's awesome.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and she's playing amazing, like truly can do it. All.
Speaker 6: She literally jack of all trades.
Speaker 5: I mean I know where she is gonna be on
Speaker 5: defense attacking wise, Like are you kidding me?
Speaker 6: How is she facing this way?
Speaker 5: And then somehow it goes line this way, like she
Speaker 5: breaks her like shoulder and her elbow and her wrists
Speaker 5: outside of her body on her.
Speaker 1: She was really pissing me off this weekend, so she
Speaker 1: could just not do that again when we play.
Speaker 3: Yeah, are you think of me like kind of Chinese
Speaker 3: or anything?
Speaker 4: From her?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 5: I literally keep asking her what her name is, and
Speaker 5: like I try and pronounce it no because it's hard.
Speaker 5: It's like, so I've I've learned. I'm just gonna call
Speaker 5: her you you you is like the easiest way to
Speaker 5: say it. But ourge our other setter has been really
Speaker 5: good about that. She's actually doing Chinese dueling go or Mandarin.
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
Speaker 4: There's what I remember.
Speaker 1: Wait, Kat, you know some Chinese words from playing in China?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Maybe you know. Oh.
Speaker 1: I only know how to say the word hairtye because
Speaker 1: I would always ask for one when I was at practice.
Speaker 4: So if you ever wanted to ask her for a
Speaker 4: hair tie, it's tosher. That's really good. Thank you.
Speaker 1: I hope that's right, and I'm not saying anything so stupid.
Speaker 1: Maybe they told me the wrong word and it just.
Speaker 3: Means actually, like.
Speaker 4: Would be one of my teammates so well.
Speaker 3: I played there.
Speaker 2: I played there like even before my first year in China.
Speaker 2: They would like want to say the bad words, and
Speaker 2: if someone was make them mad, they'd be like cat,
Speaker 2: they'd say their name. They'd be like, for example, they'd
Speaker 2: be like someone's name. It's just I can't. I feel
Speaker 2: like if I say a name, they're gonna like, oh
Speaker 2: the girls on that team someone's name.
Speaker 3: They'd be like, I'd be.
Speaker 5: Like, oh, I I do know that word.
Speaker 6: I do know that one.
Speaker 3: Yeah mm hmm.
Speaker 4: What games you guys have coming up this week?
Speaker 6: Salt Lake on Thursday, Atlanta on Saturday. It's so funny.
Speaker 6: We play salt Lake three times before we play Atlanta once.
Speaker 4: Anyways, Yeah, we we were similar, are you home? Are
Speaker 4: you away home?
Speaker 6: We're finally home. It's time to be home.
Speaker 4: That's really nice, really really nice. Cat. Who do you
Speaker 4: have next? You guys play on Wednesday?
Speaker 2: We played tomorrow, We have Atlanta tomorrow and then we're
Speaker 2: going to the h.
Speaker 3: Town stand down. You feel me versus Love Houston, going
Speaker 3: to see my home girl. We're coming with the bits
Speaker 3: to this week. We're coming with the outfits.
Speaker 2: We're coming.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're going western right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's get the Texas like Showdown theme.
Speaker 3: But Atlanta fir the first game.
Speaker 4: But Atlanta correig all right? And then what do we
Speaker 4: have going on in the league?
Speaker 1: Our team is kind of like building some momentum whatever.
Speaker 4: Good, it's looking good.
Speaker 1: I don't know if things are clicking. I don't want
Speaker 1: to talk about it. I don't want to chink it.
Speaker 4: So except Jordan is popping her ship.
Speaker 3: Jordan, Jordan.
Speaker 1: Jordan has a hundred kills, first one in the league.
Speaker 1: Go my girls, score them points.
Speaker 5: I was trying to defend and see her anything. I
Speaker 5: could not read anything she was doing. The other day,
Speaker 5: I said, oh my god, you are hitting on real angles.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Game, yeah, Atlanta game she was. That was probably the
Speaker 2: best match up Forore. I think I've seen this season. Okay,
Speaker 2: well we'll say I haven't watched a lot of them.
Speaker 2: That probably was probably the first one I've watched. But
Speaker 2: she I called my mom and I was like, you know,
Speaker 2: when it's like the games my mom watches more black
Speaker 2: bla than idea. So I was like, the games that
Speaker 2: you're watching, like, when it's a good game, is it
Speaker 2: like this? Mom's like yeah, like there's games that are
Speaker 2: like actually really good. I was like, Okay, maybe I
Speaker 2: should watch more matches. But JT was popping off at
Speaker 2: the rest. Okay, it's no shade to the rife, but
Speaker 2: there were some really questionable things going on.
Speaker 6: And there was her hand. It was not she did not.
Speaker 4: Oh no, they grabbed.
Speaker 6: She didn't touch the ball.
Speaker 4: But it shouldn't have been.
Speaker 1: It shouldn't have been whatever the call was, it shouldn't
Speaker 1: have been a replay. It should have like you give
Speaker 1: the point was what we decided.
Speaker 4: Regardless.
Speaker 2: Are we sure we shouldn't touch it? I thought I
Speaker 2: saw her hand coming and okay.
Speaker 4: She wouldn't do that.
Speaker 6: She wouldn't lie.
Speaker 1: I stand with my teammate Jordan, you didn't touch that.
Speaker 4: Also, what what's up with salt Lake? How are we
Speaker 4: going to stop them? Ladies?
Speaker 2: I know we thought that, you know, with Serena, you know,
Speaker 2: taking her time out right now, her, we could be
Speaker 2: able to slow them down.
Speaker 3: But it's they they're doing it. They're doing it.
Speaker 5: And then Sophie is blocking everything.
Speaker 1: I know, Sophie. We just going for the thumb. Sorry, Sophie,
Speaker 1: and I got that.
Speaker 5: And then Tory's over here. I'm like, Tori, if you
Speaker 5: soft block one more ball, I'm gonna jump a cliff.
Speaker 1: Tory is steady Eddie Tory Dixon. Literally, Yeah, Toy plays
Speaker 1: the defense in the whole league other than Manami, Toy
Speaker 1: be scooping balls.
Speaker 3: May now me be outside.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Monami's in the parking lot digging my.
Speaker 6: Oh my god, it's unreal.
Speaker 3: But the ball leave it alone.
Speaker 4: Yeah, let me give me my take the point for free.
Speaker 1: She's like, no, Yeah, it's gonna dim it to make
Speaker 1: you even more angry.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 5: And Ronnie's popping off too, like her arm swing is
Speaker 5: so just it's just different enough where it throws you off.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And then you have Alexa who just can do everything.
Speaker 2: She's blocking in systemount of system, passing well, playing defense.
Speaker 3: I'm like, yeah, I think of each.
Speaker 4: Team pieces they have.
Speaker 3: The parody is run Steep.
Speaker 4: It's pretty good. Any other tea, any other hot cossp.
Speaker 1: Tea is Austin trying to take the top spot for
Speaker 1: best social media.
Speaker 4: M I don't think it's really a competition for us.
Speaker 2: I think we're just trying to find out like our flow,
Speaker 2: like our niche kind of thing.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 2: We're getting a lot of like the comments about me
Speaker 2: being on there, so I'm the funny one and I'm
Speaker 2: just kidding.
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 2: I think they just want us to be more like
Speaker 2: we actually like have like media days like in our
Speaker 2: calendar that we have to all stay after just the film.
Speaker 4: I'm out there. So okay, so everyone's doing that.
Speaker 3: Houston, I would say.
Speaker 2: I would say, Houston, you guys are pretty pretty good.
Speaker 5: And just got all your like daily things. I feel like,
Speaker 5: like the question of the day or rank.
Speaker 4: This or okay, am I you hear that? Girl? Good job?
Speaker 2: Oh wait, isn't your birthday coming up? You have a
Speaker 2: birthday coming up, don't you?
Speaker 6: End of the month. It's birthday month twenty five, twenty five,
Speaker 6: Matty Kingdom.
Speaker 4: That's right, nice waite.
Speaker 3: Are you like on the cusp of a Pisces.
Speaker 5: Or Okay, so I'm apparently a Pisces, but identify more
Speaker 5: as an Aquarius.
Speaker 4: Okay, I'm a Piscy.
Speaker 5: So that's I was kind of wondering that I am
Speaker 5: not emotional at all, so I do not identify as
Speaker 5: a pisces.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, are you very emotional but not sensitive? So
Speaker 2: that's the least she doesn't cry.
Speaker 4: I know.
Speaker 2: Everyone's great. We just talked about that today. They're like, Kat, like,
Speaker 2: it's you never cry. I'm like, it's hard for me to,
Speaker 2: Like I am a big impact, so I take all
Speaker 2: those emotions like physically, but it's hard for me to
Speaker 2: like cry unless like I'm like super frustrated, like.
Speaker 3: I will, I will hold it in. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, if I get disrespected, I think we'll cry
Speaker 2: and goes out the door.
Speaker 3: Crying is gone.
Speaker 2: But it's yeah, that's that high emotional you know, I'm
Speaker 2: very other person is going to be crying. Yeah, But
Speaker 2: like for me, I'm like I say it like this,
Speaker 2: like whatever I'm feeling feeling, I allow myself to feel
Speaker 2: those emotions. Like if I wake up one day morning
Speaker 2: and I'm just like like I don't feel good today,
Speaker 2: I'm just like this, That's how I am. But I
Speaker 2: try to make sure that what I'm going through doesn't
Speaker 2: affect people around me, you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 2: I that my thing is this. I can be working hard,
Speaker 2: spritting around, killing balls, and maybe I'm not as loud
Speaker 2: as I was the day before. But that shouldn't be
Speaker 2: a problem as long as I'm going hard on that
Speaker 2: kind of stuff too.
Speaker 3: You know, I think people get too cup.
Speaker 2: I'm like, cat, you're quiet today, don't worry about all that.
Speaker 5: Here.
Speaker 3: I'm present, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: But if i'm like super happy, I'm on ten, like
Speaker 2: for sure shocking.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Oh my gosh. Well, ladies, Okay, I think it's
Speaker 1: time for us to wrap it up.
Speaker 4: But Lauren Curly need thank you so so much.
Speaker 3: I really enjoyed this one. This was great. Lauren, You're cool.
Speaker 6: Every week you quit a cat.
Speaker 3: No, seriously, I.
Speaker 2: Probably shouldn't say this either, but it's probably my favorite
Speaker 2: one so far.
Speaker 3: So I say that I.
Speaker 4: Can say, yes, you can't. It's it's your birthday month,
Speaker 4: it's Black History month. We are celebrating money.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 4: Yeah, this is awesome.
Speaker 3: This was great.
Speaker 2: I can't wait to listen to this again, or watch
Speaker 2: and watch this. This is gonna be I'm really excited
Speaker 2: about this.
Speaker 3: But you're literally a.
Speaker 1: Wealth of knowledge and like a volleyball legend, and you
Speaker 1: and I.
Speaker 5: You are listen, I'm gonna float up like a balloon
Speaker 5: if you don't stop complimenting me.
Speaker 1: Okay, this has been Serving Pancakes. I'm Mattie Rachel and
Speaker 1: I'm Cat Bell and I'm Lauren Carlyy and we will
Speaker 1: catch you on the flip side.
Speaker 2: Serving Pancakes is an iHeart women's sports production and partnership
Speaker 2: with Deep Blue Sports Entertainment. You can find us on
Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 2: Production by the League one Volleyball, we're your host, Cat
Speaker 2: Bell and Mattie Rachell.
Speaker 3: See you on the flip side.