Speaker 1: Yeah, that's on the track. Yeah, what's up, what's up?
Speaker 1: What's up? What's up?
Speaker 2: Welcome to certain thing pancakes. Baby, we're on doing the
Speaker 2: damn thing today. It's your girl Can and Maddie King.
Speaker 2: You know what's up?
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that okay that.
Speaker 2: Today we have got tell the people welcome to certain pancakes, everybody.
Speaker 2: Today we have the most incredible guests. Lexi Rodrigae, you.
Speaker 1: Better clear Baryl from Love and Rasca. Where to start?
Speaker 2: Lexi, you are in a four time All American in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one ABC A Freshman Year, Big Tail, Big twelve,
Speaker 2: Sorry Big.
Speaker 1: Ten levererro what you said? Twelve? I know because I'm
Speaker 1: old say.
Speaker 2: We're all American at Nebraska twenty and twenty one EIGHTYCA
Speaker 2: Freshman of the Year twenty twenty four, Big Taylor Burrough
Speaker 2: of the Year. You got all the accolades. Girl, you
Speaker 2: are the ope. I'm getting up to everything right now.
Speaker 2: But thank you and welcome to serving pancakes.
Speaker 3: Yes, thanks for having me. I'm excited to get to
Speaker 3: chat with you. Guys.
Speaker 4: You have truly remind me like in my mind, you're
Speaker 4: kind of like the Taylor Swift of volleyball.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 5: I like that about the followers. I'm like, how do
Speaker 5: I I should have gone to Nebraska?
Speaker 1: Damn?
Speaker 5: All right, We're gonna hit you with some just quick
Speaker 5: questions first. Okay, okay, loosen it up, all right? What
Speaker 5: do people always get wrong about you from social media?
Speaker 3: Oh? Okay, this is a loose en up one.
Speaker 1: Person, go straight to it.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 6: I think some people think that I'm maybe a little
Speaker 6: bit more serious than I am, and I feel like
Speaker 6: I'm very much just like go with the flow of
Speaker 6: kind of goofy, fun like whatever type of person and player.
Speaker 3: Honestly, Like, I feel like some people just get I
Speaker 3: give off the vibe of.
Speaker 6: Like, oh, I'm so like serious, and which I am.
Speaker 6: I can be serious, but like I definitely just like
Speaker 6: to have fun.
Speaker 2: That kind of goes into my next question too, like,
Speaker 2: you know, we know Lexi or guess is the athlete?
Speaker 1: Like who you are?
Speaker 2: They're sports mal American, all the great things you've done,
Speaker 2: but like this is our first time actually getting to
Speaker 2: know you, get to talk to you, like who is Lexi?
Speaker 2: Like you know who what's like? Who's Lexi without volleyball?
Speaker 2: Not that jersey on her back.
Speaker 3: I love to stay active. I love to do things.
Speaker 6: I love to meet new people and build connections and
Speaker 6: do little whatever. Like I am always on the go
Speaker 6: type of person, Like I don't like to just like
Speaker 6: stay inside and do nothing, like I wanna if you
Speaker 6: want to go get coffee, I'll go get coffee. Let's
Speaker 6: go play pick a ball or do something. And I
Speaker 6: feel like that's kind of how he's always been a
Speaker 6: big family oriented person.
Speaker 2: And daw the video of you guys dancing, you was
Speaker 2: getting down. I was like, oh god, I went to
Speaker 2: practice talking about it and I was like, I had
Speaker 2: no idea.
Speaker 1: Maybe girl glast seasoning like you were killing it. You
Speaker 1: were killing it. Oh my gosh, thank you.
Speaker 6: I don't know if you guys know Alexi's heart, but
Speaker 6: she was my She was my inspo because she was
Speaker 6: really getting into it and I was like.
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, I can loosen.
Speaker 1: Up a little bit. But it was fun.
Speaker 6: But like stuff like that, like I love like doing
Speaker 6: stuff outside of vallad ball that's just random and fun.
Speaker 1: I do a lot of random, fun stuff. I love.
Speaker 5: I'll see anything, yeah for whatever, I'm saying yes, because
Speaker 5: I like the experience too. So there's only a good
Speaker 5: story that will come.
Speaker 3: Out of Yes, I agree.
Speaker 1: That's kind of how we met too.
Speaker 2: It was like she's always wanted to be down and
Speaker 2: do something, and I'm like, yeah, might as well.
Speaker 1: I do not nothing else. Dommes exactly sit on the couch,
Speaker 1: be on TikTok whatever.
Speaker 3: I know, I do my fair show that trust me.
Speaker 5: Okay, who's the hardest hitter you've ever had to dig?
Speaker 3: Ooh?
Speaker 1: Like one of those ones.
Speaker 2: Just like my chest hurts, my arms are on the
Speaker 2: floor actually and I'm intesched on my body.
Speaker 5: The ball went through me, not that we.
Speaker 3: M my eyes.
Speaker 6: I would say there's a few thinking back more of
Speaker 6: my college days because I trust me. I know there's
Speaker 6: a lot of people in this league that are scary,
Speaker 6: but I would say in my college days it was
Speaker 6: I was like, yeah, but I would say in my
Speaker 6: college days, Devin Robinson, I don't know if you guys
Speaker 6: know her. She went to Wisconsin and then also Jess muziic.
Speaker 6: I feel like whether yeah, whether it was Michigan.
Speaker 3: Or Penn State, like always like I was like, all right,
Speaker 3: we're playing Jess. I had to bring my game.
Speaker 2: Well, obviously everyone went to other big question, especially me,
Speaker 2: like I'm sure you had so many colleges after you
Speaker 2: you know why Nebraska?
Speaker 6: Oh well, actually, interesting fact, I guess they were my
Speaker 6: only offer.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, so I was I was pretty young.
Speaker 6: I was fourteen when like I started getting recruited and
Speaker 6: then I don't even know how, I somehow got invited
Speaker 6: to a summer camp there, and the plan was kind
Speaker 6: of to just go to be like, oh, we went
Speaker 6: to a Nebraska camp, and like even my mom was like,
Speaker 6: probably let's look at more realistic options for like after
Speaker 6: this camp, you know, like no, no shade to her, Like.
Speaker 3: We were just we were trying to be realistic.
Speaker 6: And then I went to this camp and they ended
Speaker 6: up offering me like at the end of the like
Speaker 6: four days, and so it was kind of just like
Speaker 6: after being there, like I was like, the facilities are amazing.
Speaker 6: I at the time, Caleb Banworth was the assistant coach there,
Speaker 6: so I was like the staff like I really wanted.
Speaker 6: I never ended up getting to be coached by her,
Speaker 6: but I was like I wanted to be coached by her.
Speaker 6: And after I mean, when you're on the visit, they
Speaker 6: share all their history and everything, and I.
Speaker 3: Just literally fell in love.
Speaker 6: So then I was like I said yes on the
Speaker 6: spot right there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I like literally because it was like kind of
Speaker 3: I don't even know, like what, I don't even know
Speaker 3: what the rules are technically, but.
Speaker 1: Rules the rules.
Speaker 3: We followed all the rules obviously, but I remember like
Speaker 3: telling my mom. I was like, Mom, I'm pretty sure
Speaker 3: they offered me.
Speaker 6: She was like, you're what, like, you're pretty what do
Speaker 6: you mean You're pretty sure? And then we ended up
Speaker 6: because like I couldn't even like remember, like I completely
Speaker 6: was like just so taken back. And then we like
Speaker 6: had a meeting, talked about everything, and then we're actually
Speaker 6: like left and I got to the like elevator and
Speaker 6: I was like I want to say yes.
Speaker 2: Mom.
Speaker 6: She's like, why do you Why don't you tell them?
Speaker 6: I was like, well, I don't know, like am I
Speaker 6: am I allowed to? You're just gonna like let me
Speaker 6: and find me. I was fourteen years old, like I
Speaker 6: didn't get but yeah, so then it just, yeah, it
Speaker 6: just happened, and luckily it was a good decision.
Speaker 1: Yea come true.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: Can we start though, from a little before that, like
Speaker 4: what was your volleyball experience growing up and tell us
Speaker 4: where you're from and everything about you and start at birth,
Speaker 4: when did you start playing?
Speaker 5: And where are you from?
Speaker 3: Okay, I'm from Sterling, Illinois, so it's kind of a
Speaker 3: smaller town, only like fourteen thousand people. And then I started.
Speaker 6: Playing when I was I think seven. I had an
Speaker 6: older sister, she was four years older than me, and
Speaker 6: it was pretty much like she was always at practices,
Speaker 6: so then I was always at her practices and just
Speaker 6: kind of ended up classic yeah, classic playing peppering against
Speaker 6: the wall. And then I was like, mom, can I play?
Speaker 6: And there wasn't really like any teams at our club
Speaker 6: that was like that young, so like I had to
Speaker 6: wait a little while, and then eventually my sister and
Speaker 6: I ended up going to Sports Performance. I don't know
Speaker 6: if you guys know that club in like the suburbs area.
Speaker 6: So then we ended up my sister and I and
Speaker 6: then our family of course would have to drive us
Speaker 6: like an hour and a half to go to practices.
Speaker 3: And dedication, come back and yeah, do all that stuff.
Speaker 2: And then Nebraska all this times literally and yeah, like
Speaker 2: oh like I'm that bitch, like I'm the ship.
Speaker 1: Moment we were like you know what, like I'm actually
Speaker 1: pretty good at this. When was that like moment for you?
Speaker 1: I would say, hmm f Sauna, you can be real.
Speaker 3: I already I don't know because I I always was
Speaker 3: like a big dreamer, Like I was like, oh, I
Speaker 3: want to do all like all this stuff, but like
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 6: My mom would try and keep me humble of like, Okay,
Speaker 6: let's look at what's actually possible.
Speaker 1: Not that it wasn't.
Speaker 3: Possible, but yeah, you gotta you need someone to keep
Speaker 3: you home. O.
Speaker 1: Gosh, you're so normal. She's such a normal, like humble spirit.
Speaker 1: Like we was delusional. What do you mean I'm go anywhere?
Speaker 1: I'm better at her? Yeah?
Speaker 6: That was that was not me, Like I did not
Speaker 6: really think that like that would really be possible.
Speaker 3: My sister, she was older than me. Obviously we were
Speaker 3: both going to this club, but we were like we
Speaker 3: don't even know. She'll get to like get a scholarship
Speaker 3: to go to college. Like that was like a big deal,
Speaker 3: just like getting a scholarship for her. And so I
Speaker 3: think like once she kind of did that and committed
Speaker 3: and like all that stuff, then I think that's when
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, okay, like I think I think
Speaker 3: I can do this too. So she was like seventeen,
Speaker 3: sixteen seventeen, so I was, yeah, like thirteen.
Speaker 5: And she kind of paid the way for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5: How do you feel like it was when you got
Speaker 5: to the Rasca. Was that a shock for you?
Speaker 3: Like when I first got to college.
Speaker 5: Because now you're like, I'm a little verable. I didn't
Speaker 5: even know I was gonna like get a scholarship, and
Speaker 5: now I'm.
Speaker 2: I ain't supposed to be here are some of those
Speaker 2: big dogs?
Speaker 5: Well, like what how was that?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 6: I was very very like very scary, Like I was
Speaker 6: so I'm gonna be so honest.
Speaker 5: I was so.
Speaker 6: Scared and like it was during the like COVID year,
Speaker 6: so like Lauren Stiffrance and Lexis Son who were supposed
Speaker 6: to be like not like oh you were supposed to
Speaker 6: be gone, but like I was like, oh, I'll never
Speaker 6: get to like play with them like people I kind
Speaker 6: of like admired, and then they were going to be
Speaker 6: there for my freshman year. So I was like crapping myself,
Speaker 6: like I was like, oh my God, like I have
Speaker 6: I have to I get to play with Laurence Stifferance
Speaker 6: like so yeah, I was definitely like.
Speaker 3: A very like I don't know what I'm doing here
Speaker 3: type of vibe for that first year, and.
Speaker 6: Even like when they were like, Okay, you're gonna be
Speaker 6: this starting Liberro, like the whole year it was just
Speaker 6: like a are you guys sure?
Speaker 2: Like I don't.
Speaker 6: I'd not like I believed in myself, but it's just
Speaker 6: like I don't know. You get to that stage you're like,
Speaker 6: I don't know if I can do it at this.
Speaker 5: Level, then yeah, do you feel like do you feel
Speaker 5: like that?
Speaker 4: When do you feel like you grew into that where
Speaker 4: you're like, Okay, now I'm not Nebraska. I've finally built
Speaker 4: this belief in myself and you've proved yourself like Postress
Speaker 4: for near obviously, but like, how do you feel like
Speaker 4: you got to that point of being able to believe
Speaker 4: in yourself and maybe not feeling the like kind of
Speaker 4: imposter syndrome, which like I feel like we've all felt.
Speaker 5: I felt that even when I.
Speaker 4: Went overseas, because you're like, yeah, these people are way
Speaker 4: better than me.
Speaker 6: Yes, I would say I didn't like completely like believe
Speaker 6: that I belonged there or felt that I belonged there
Speaker 6: at whatever you want to call it until like my
Speaker 6: junior year, but I feel like it was mostly credit
Speaker 6: to like the coaches I had, and specifically like all
Speaker 6: the assistants that I worked with. You just know when
Speaker 6: you have a coach who you can like feel they
Speaker 6: believe in you. And to me it was like Tyler
Speaker 6: Hildebrand and then Jalen Reyes, who is there my entire
Speaker 6: four years.
Speaker 3: And obviously, like you you get awards and stuff and
Speaker 3: like but to me, like that almost like would make
Speaker 3: it worse because then I would be like, I don't
Speaker 3: I don't know why I'm like getting this like stuff
Speaker 3: like that. So it wasn't until like later.
Speaker 2: That's interesting too, I feel like special, like this generation
Speaker 2: for volleyball, and this is not on paper, it's going
Speaker 2: off with my brain, but like I feel like a
Speaker 2: lot of players around you, guys like I guess generation
Speaker 2: of Airplane have struggled with that like kind of mental
Speaker 2: aspect bars like am I good enough for almost second
Speaker 2: guests in yourself? And like that's been a big struggle.
Speaker 2: I think that's kind of where this whole wave of
Speaker 2: like mental health has kind of set.
Speaker 1: Into for volleyball. I would say, because for us it.
Speaker 2: Was like I mean I'm humble too, but you know
Speaker 2: that was never a thought for me, you know what
Speaker 2: i mean, Like I never one of one, you know,
Speaker 2: like you're too mad at you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: Like we like you know you can it's not even
Speaker 2: about alcoholades you can look around and be like, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm killing you, Like yeah, you ain't even get dead dead.
Speaker 1: The tournament's dead dead. You know what I'm saying. It
Speaker 1: was never like a thought.
Speaker 2: I think that's one thing that's about being my pro
Speaker 2: life too and as an adult, Like the biggest thing
Speaker 2: I like I would try to give back, especially to
Speaker 2: you you girls are coming up, is like I want
Speaker 2: to be able to like find my own way of
Speaker 2: teaching you guys that like has had that confidence and
Speaker 2: have your your hold your head high because like volleyball
Speaker 2: is just like such a small part of your life,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, And you're able to take
Speaker 2: all these things you've learned now and take them into
Speaker 2: your real life, like when you're gonna be a wife,
Speaker 2: when you're going to be a parent, you know what
Speaker 2: I'm saying. So like you are and I just hope
Speaker 2: you continue doing that. And I'm assuming even now with
Speaker 2: all those accolades and all those awards that like.
Speaker 1: You pop in your like you're doing right now you.
Speaker 3: Know, yeah, oh I appreciate that. Yeah, I definitely yeah, I.
Speaker 1: Don't know, yes, like you need to Yeah, but.
Speaker 5: It is so real, Like Cat, I feel in college
Speaker 5: like I was very similar to you.
Speaker 4: I didn't care about anyone else. I was like I'm
Speaker 4: gonna play, not gonna play. And then going abroad was
Speaker 4: when it started to feel that a lot, because I
Speaker 4: was like everybody is now my caliber and I have
Speaker 4: to match up or like I'm gonna be fired. Yeah,
Speaker 4: and that was super stressful for me, so very similar.
Speaker 4: I was like do I belong here? And then the
Speaker 4: accolades come, but you're like, well I don't think I
Speaker 4: deserve that, but thank you anyway. And now I have
Speaker 4: to find a way to like I'm fighting my own brain,
Speaker 4: but I am still performing well, so like how.
Speaker 5: Do I It makes sense? But it's so hard.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And that's a lot of personal growth too, especially
Speaker 2: just in that part of our lives being overseas, because
Speaker 2: you're forced to do It's like if I don't change
Speaker 2: my mindset about myself or like what I'm thinking, this
Speaker 2: is going to cost me my job. You know, this
Speaker 2: is like my lifestyle and my living, like you know,
Speaker 2: whether you're first get that first check and being fresh
Speaker 2: rookies overseas. What I'm saying, so like we had to
Speaker 2: like be in those vim and change that mindset fast,
Speaker 2: you know, So kudos to you, and like you're so
Speaker 2: young and you still have so many great things ahead
Speaker 2: of you.
Speaker 1: Like and it's gonna be hard.
Speaker 2: Doesn't say it's gonna get easier, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: you STI gonna have those challenges, but like keep remembering
Speaker 2: this experience and being like, hey, you know what, I
Speaker 2: got through this mountain.
Speaker 1: Here comes the next one. I'm getting over this one too,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Seriously, Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: Really, we'll support Yeah, we'll support you. After that, I'm
Speaker 1: ticking on your.
Speaker 4: Do you feel like do you feel like now playing
Speaker 4: pro so we'll transition to that. I do feel like
Speaker 4: a similar vibe of like, I don't know if you
Speaker 4: want to talk about this, but like what was your
Speaker 4: mindset kind of going now shifting into playing professionally?
Speaker 5: Because yeah, for sure.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I would say me as a person now like
Speaker 6: has more of that like work life balance, whatever whatever
Speaker 6: you want to call it. Of like I can go,
Speaker 6: I'm not obviously amazing at it, but like more being
Speaker 6: able to separate the volleyball part from my life part
Speaker 6: and I just have like things outside of it and
Speaker 6: ways to kind of get through the.
Speaker 3: Rough patches or whatever. But I would say it's.
Speaker 6: Still fairly similar to like when I first got to college.
Speaker 6: Now it's like, okay, now I'm first going into like
Speaker 6: professional volleyball, Like I always knew it was going to
Speaker 6: be harder and faster and more competitive, and everyone's kind
Speaker 6: of at this caliber, and yeah, like I'm it's definitely
Speaker 6: been a challenge, but I've also been honestly just trying
Speaker 6: to like learn a lot because I feel like there's
Speaker 6: no better time than like when you're fresh into it
Speaker 6: then to be like okay, like hit me with whatever,
Speaker 6: like obviously like okay, I'm exposed if like this is
Speaker 6: a weakness, like okay, like let's get better at it.
Speaker 6: So I definitely have a more healthier relationship with like
Speaker 6: this challenge than I did when I first got to college.
Speaker 5: All I hate seeing and do you like what was
Speaker 5: your process with love?
Speaker 1: How did you know?
Speaker 5: Did you want to play pro or did you know
Speaker 5: that you wanted to play pro at all?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I would say I always knew, like since I
Speaker 6: got to Nebraska in college that I wanted to play pro.
Speaker 3: I kind of always mentally prepared that I would have
Speaker 3: to like go overseas somewhere, didn't really nowhere, like obviously,
Speaker 3: I know, everyone kind of starts in different places. And
Speaker 3: then I would say once I heard about love like my.
Speaker 6: Sophomore junior year, so I think it was my sophomore year.
Speaker 6: Then I was like, okay, like I I hope this
Speaker 6: is like I hope this is a thing, like once
Speaker 6: I'm like out of college. And then it kind of
Speaker 6: just like lined up perfectly, and they had an opportunity
Speaker 6: for me to stay in Nebraska, and I was like,
Speaker 6: I'm not going to.
Speaker 4: Pass that up.
Speaker 3: Like this is has become a new home for me.
Speaker 3: So it was kind of perfect.
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's like he was like, you come to Omaha,
Speaker 1: You're like, yeah, I'm playing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so what do you feel like The biggest adjustment
Speaker 4: was then going from collegiate to progre it's last year,
Speaker 4: Oh boy.
Speaker 6: I would just say, honestly, like just the speed, Like
Speaker 6: every I feel like every time you go to like
Speaker 6: from this to this or this to this, like just
Speaker 6: when it gets faster and people are more physical and
Speaker 6: have been playing for years and years overseas in the
Speaker 6: top leagues. And then I was coming off playing in
Speaker 6: college in the Big ten, and I was like, okay,
Speaker 6: like this is different.
Speaker 3: It's hard, but it was good. I liked it, and like,
Speaker 3: looking back, I am.
Speaker 6: Pretty grateful that I kind of just got to like
Speaker 6: sit back and kind of learn from Justine and just
Speaker 6: watch and be able to get in the gym like
Speaker 6: on off days and be able to like work on
Speaker 6: things and not really have that pressure right away of
Speaker 6: like yeah, okay, you need to perform and you need
Speaker 6: to whatever. Like it was actually a really good like
Speaker 6: transition into pro volleyble.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you had so many greats around you. They're just
Speaker 5: kind of like lead the way. So that's really cool.
Speaker 2: But obviously you had an opportunity to go out there
Speaker 2: versus Salt Lake, So how is that your name to
Speaker 2: go win?
Speaker 1: What's the thought in your head?
Speaker 6: I was definitely really nervous, it was, yeah, because it
Speaker 6: was just like lots of learning curves in the first
Speaker 6: like couple of months, So I was like, okay, here
Speaker 6: we go, like time.
Speaker 3: To do the damn thing. And I was like if
Speaker 3: coach wants me out here, like there's there's a reason
Speaker 3: I'm out here. So just it was fun.
Speaker 6: I was.
Speaker 3: I mean, for a while it was just like a
Speaker 3: serving sub and I was like, okay, like I'm gonna
Speaker 3: I'm gonna serve my heart away, like I'm gonna do it,
Speaker 3: and so.
Speaker 1: Get back there. But I got to do.
Speaker 3: I was kind of just grateful to be able to
Speaker 3: do it and to be able to be a part
Speaker 3: of like the first year and everything. So overall it
Speaker 3: was great experience.
Speaker 5: Did you get an ace in that my name?
Speaker 1: Okay?
Speaker 3: Okay, okay in the in the fifth set? My first
Speaker 3: pro ace?
Speaker 1: Okay it mattered, yes, okay.
Speaker 4: And also you've been doing USA Volleyball for for a while, right,
Speaker 4: but this year was your first year kind of with
Speaker 4: the top team.
Speaker 6: I guess, yeah, like I've done like the youth, yeah,
Speaker 6: youth national team stuff like that, but then yeah, got
Speaker 6: thrown into the big pond this year.
Speaker 1: Summer.
Speaker 5: You went to VNL a couple of weeks. Yeah, where
Speaker 5: what what legs were you on?
Speaker 6: I went to the second and third week and then
Speaker 6: I went to finals.
Speaker 1: Okay, nice going abroad with me before.
Speaker 6: I've been abroad but from like the you twenty one
Speaker 6: stuff like that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, what are your thoughts? How was it?
Speaker 3: It was good.
Speaker 6: I feel like I again, like coming from love. I
Speaker 6: didn't really play that much, so I was like, Okay,
Speaker 6: this is my first time like being back in like
Speaker 6: the bro jersey like whatever.
Speaker 3: So I was kind of going into it with just
Speaker 3: like Okay, we.
Speaker 6: Gotta learn, we gotta get the like, get the rust out,
Speaker 6: give yourself grace type of thing.
Speaker 3: And I feel like it like went pretty well.
Speaker 1: Like I was.
Speaker 6: Obviously able to travel and get to play in some
Speaker 6: matches against like some pretty good teams, some of the
Speaker 6: best teams, and so it was good. And then I
Speaker 6: really enjoyed getting to play with like Poulter and Skinner
Speaker 6: and Dana and everyone just like who has a lot
Speaker 6: of experience, like just getting to like learn and kind
Speaker 6: of see like that level of play.
Speaker 3: So it was really good. I met a lot of
Speaker 3: cool people, so that was fun.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you meet all the best people in that gym.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, truly a lot of my best girls are
Speaker 4: from there.
Speaker 2: So friendship is much the best work because I'm not
Speaker 2: in there, so then we do all the best the
Speaker 2: words Be and Maddie are best friends.
Speaker 1: We're best friends.
Speaker 3: Have you guys ever played on the same protein before?
Speaker 1: No, I mean.
Speaker 5: Really yet, but no, we played together, like in the
Speaker 5: same city in twenty twenty What year, Maza we.
Speaker 1: Talked about this twenty to twenty two.
Speaker 5: We were both in Istanbul.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I had beef in college and then so
Speaker 4: like I had a really terrible.
Speaker 1: Beef with the not big beef but then with one
Speaker 1: sided what it was.
Speaker 4: Once inside cited beef. Years later, we're both playing in Istanbul.
Speaker 4: We got invited out for like a dinner of all
Speaker 4: the Americans, and only the two of us showed up,
Speaker 4: and I was like this girl, like I have to
Speaker 4: I have to say I did it.
Speaker 5: And then like we squashed it and then just became
Speaker 5: friends from there. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so cute. It was even really a beef.
Speaker 1: But wasn't that the squash Watch.
Speaker 5: Yeah, watch episode one of this the whole beef is explained.
Speaker 4: Oh okay, do you have aspirations of like LA Olympics
Speaker 4: or like, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 5: Are you after national team this summer? Are you like,
Speaker 5: I want to be in this gym. It's like something
Speaker 5: really low where you like, I'm just gonna see how goes.
Speaker 6: Uh, obviously I have goals to play in an Olympics.
Speaker 6: I don't like, would it be really cool to play
Speaker 6: in LA twenty eight, Yes, but obviously I know, like
Speaker 6: it's times joindling down like it's in a.
Speaker 3: Few years, like if my name is not called.
Speaker 6: Like I will just keep playing and keep striving for
Speaker 6: the next one. But I just want to like keep
Speaker 6: getting better and as long as like I'm enjoying it
Speaker 6: and loving like the process, like I don't, I don't
Speaker 6: see why not, but yeah, hopefully hopefully I get invited back.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean all you can ask for.
Speaker 1: Look at us, like we've been playing.
Speaker 5: For way too long now, but we still need to think.
Speaker 1: It's all right. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2: I'm also like admiring you for you to be your
Speaker 2: age and you seem just such a high level thinker too,
Speaker 2: just about your you know your personality and who you
Speaker 2: are as a person, and just like the way you
Speaker 2: think of things, even like you said thinking about the LA,
Speaker 2: it's like you're focusing on the things you can control,
Speaker 2: which is like you're joint left of the game and
Speaker 2: being part of that and it looks like that like
Speaker 2: that's who you are as a person and you enjoy
Speaker 2: playing it, Like you know, what is about the volleyball
Speaker 2: that makes you so happy as the people is being
Speaker 2: able to just call this space something that that's yours
Speaker 2: that you're really good at.
Speaker 1: Like what brings you so much happiness playing?
Speaker 6: I would say it's definitely the people, like people and experiences,
Speaker 6: I guess, but like not like oh I got to
Speaker 6: go to this place more like I don't know, you
Speaker 6: just get to do cool things together with like teams,
Speaker 6: And I'm sure we've all been a part of teams
Speaker 6: where it's like, oh, we lost every single game, but
Speaker 6: like the experience and the memories I have with that
Speaker 6: team or like stuff you carry with And I don't
Speaker 6: know if for me, like yes, I love winning and
Speaker 6: I'm competitive and I want to accomplish my goals, but
Speaker 6: if I didn't enjoy it like I want, I want
Speaker 6: to want to like keep going, and like why I
Speaker 6: enjoy it is because of like the people I meet
Speaker 6: and the friendships I make and just you know, all
Speaker 6: that fun stuff that you really get to like enjoy.
Speaker 4: Exactly, great answer, three tweeks.
Speaker 1: Fucking it's truly.
Speaker 5: It's the people for me as well, So that's it's huge. Okay.
Speaker 5: And then you wrote a book recently?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 6: I recently came out with a book. It's called The
Speaker 6: Big Little Dream, super cute. It's a children's book, so
Speaker 6: it's kind of like a short story just about a
Speaker 6: little girl who wants to be in sports but is
Speaker 6: a little undersized and doesn't really think that she belongs.
Speaker 6: And then she like stumbles across volleyball and ends up
Speaker 6: seeing it on TV and seeing it on a big
Speaker 6: stage and just believes that she can do it. So
Speaker 6: it's a cute, little, cute little story and.
Speaker 1: Yeah about you, kind of about me.
Speaker 6: I have to give credit where credit is do. My
Speaker 6: co author, Kelsey is basically the brains in the writer
Speaker 6: behind it all. Like I helped kind of draft it
Speaker 6: a little bit and help kind of the storyline, but
Speaker 6: she is kind of the power power woman behind it all.
Speaker 1: But it's.
Speaker 3: Inspired by me and by my kind of story. But
Speaker 3: it's not like about me.
Speaker 1: I'm just kidding, I'm joking.
Speaker 5: I'm just helped.
Speaker 3: I helped.
Speaker 1: I'm kidding. That's awesome.
Speaker 3: Kind of yeah, but it's cool.
Speaker 1: Where can we find this? I want to I want
Speaker 1: to read it.
Speaker 3: Uh, there's a link. I can send it to you.
Speaker 4: Wait, if you had to choose one person when they
Speaker 4: adapt it to TV and film, who do you think
Speaker 4: will play you in the movie?
Speaker 3: Play me? Oh gosh, okay, this is turning into a movie.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. I don't know because I'm I kind
Speaker 3: of I mean, have you guys thought.
Speaker 6: About this, like who would play you in a movie?
Speaker 3: Because I was kind of I don't know because I'm
Speaker 3: like Hispanic and I'm just trying. I'm trying to like
Speaker 3: think of Hispanic.
Speaker 1: Oh that's sleeping Holes is a good one too, That is.
Speaker 3: Seleiner.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3: I'm not picky. If someone wants to play me, they
Speaker 3: can do it.
Speaker 5: Okay, we're taking requests. And then you also have an app?
Speaker 5: Why do you have so much stuff going on?
Speaker 1: I'm behind in life.
Speaker 5: Making, Like all I do is one.
Speaker 1: I'm in the kitchen all the time.
Speaker 5: I do need hobbies.
Speaker 3: So croucheng is one of on my list of to
Speaker 3: dos to lards. But yes I did.
Speaker 6: I also did just release an app called She's Sports.
Speaker 6: I'm a co founder of it, so again have to
Speaker 6: give credit to my other co founder, but he just
Speaker 6: had this really cool idea when I was in college
Speaker 6: of kind of creating something for the younger generation and
Speaker 6: the upcoming women in sports, and then also providing an
Speaker 6: opportunity for like nil for women athletes in college, just
Speaker 6: because obviously, as we know, like a lot of the
Speaker 6: men's players get like all of this money and then
Speaker 6: like the women don't get any money. So we were
Speaker 6: just like, Okay, this is a cool opportunity to kind
Speaker 6: of bring the two together and give a platform that's
Speaker 6: empowering to young girls and give them like real vulnerable,
Speaker 6: like honest answers about like being a student athlete or
Speaker 6: just an athlete in general, and then also giving these
Speaker 6: female athletes kind of a place where they can do
Speaker 6: that and also giving them some money.
Speaker 2: So what does it actually do is kind of like
Speaker 2: a parody for just like giving advice to young athletes,
Speaker 2: or it's something like cameo where you can like ask
Speaker 2: a certain athlete maybe a question about mental health or
Speaker 2: struggles and they can respond back.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's kind of a mix between like that, like
Speaker 6: the cameo style of like they have a place where
Speaker 6: they can ask any athlete or ask to all athletes,
Speaker 6: like any question. There's mental fitness, lifestyle, training, nutrition, all
Speaker 6: that stuff. And then yeah, it's also a place where
Speaker 6: you can just like the athletes can upload their own
Speaker 6: content so they can kind of do whatever they want
Speaker 6: with it, show more behind the scenes things, like more
Speaker 6: of like a positive content platform because like obviously we
Speaker 6: can all go to TikTok or Instagram and find the
Speaker 6: dances and the trends and everything like that, and this
Speaker 6: is supposed to be more like raw and helpful for
Speaker 6: younger athletes.
Speaker 1: That's awesome.
Speaker 5: Oh, I love that you're doing all these things really
Speaker 5: like inspiring the youth you're using your platform.
Speaker 3: Thanks, thank you guys, just.
Speaker 1: Amazing.
Speaker 4: Well I think that may be all that we have
Speaker 4: for you, but thank you so much for chatting with us.
Speaker 5: This has been as up.
Speaker 2: It's awesome to get to know you, especially from personal lover.
Speaker 2: Now I'm not gonna say hi to you. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 2: she's so nice, so sweet, Like.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely a hug when we play against them, But
Speaker 4: if I don't know anyone else, I typically don't do that.
Speaker 1: Yourself. Welcome and girl.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 6: And it's nice to read you guys too officially and
Speaker 6: I didn't know you guys were best.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is my ace boon cooon.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but one apologize culture you guys.
Speaker 1: Sorry, yeah, Bay, what are the kids? What are you
Speaker 1: younger people saying now? Like my ride or die? No
Speaker 1: rider dies? Definitely it really I think that multi generational.
Speaker 4: Okay, where can we find the book? If we are
Speaker 4: just a listener or a person watching this, you.
Speaker 3: Can find the book at the Big Little dream dot com.
Speaker 5: There we go.
Speaker 3: It's so cute, little you, I know, little me.
Speaker 1: Oh you know, I know you about the things you
Speaker 1: were at Red Bow when you play right.
Speaker 3: Something like that. And it used to be I'm not
Speaker 3: a bow but like a scurrng.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's cute. That was really cute.
Speaker 5: And this book's not based on you, allegedly allegedly.
Speaker 1: Okay, you guys, thanks for watching Serving Pancakes. I'm Pat Bell,
Speaker 1: I'm not a kingden.
Speaker 5: Get you on the flip side.
Speaker 2: God. Serving Pancakes is an iheartwomen's sports production and partnership
Speaker 2: with Deep Blue Sports entertain 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 hosts, Kat
Speaker 2: Beell and Mattie Rachelle, Anya Alvarez and Noah Snyder are
Speaker 2: executive producers. Sound editing and mixing by Tiffany Oshinsky. Stay
Speaker 2: tuned as we serve you up more behind the scenes
Speaker 2: in volleyball every week. Thanks for listening.