Speaker 1: Boom, check it, boom, check it, boom.
Speaker 2: It's severing pancakes on the way. Boom, it's Hat and
Speaker 2: Maddie and yeah we're here to stay. Bo I'm going
Speaker 2: to give you all the volleyball news coming and strong what.
Speaker 1: You want to do?
Speaker 3: Oh that's good.
Speaker 1: That's a better one. We're getting better at it.
Speaker 3: Were getting That one was actually really good.
Speaker 4: Welcome to serving pancakes. Boom, mic drop. That was the
Speaker 4: best rap I've ever heard in my whole life. We
Speaker 4: had today on the pod.
Speaker 5: Amber e g Day. Make sure I'm.
Speaker 4: Saying that right, Hey, guys, yeah it perfectly Yes, Okay,
Speaker 4: Amber from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Speaker 5: Happy Marty Gross sister.
Speaker 3: Happy Marty Gross season. Have y'all been Marty Gras No,
Speaker 3: Sadly it's crazy. You guys would love it. It's wait
Speaker 3: bucket list. We're going with Amber. Yeah, it's a crazy scene,
Speaker 3: but I think y'all can handle it. It's actually it's
Speaker 3: actually really fun. But it's always during volleyball season during college,
Speaker 3: so I never got to go, but I got exposed
Speaker 3: to when I was younger, and it's so crazy, guys,
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 4: What's like your Marti Gras celebration.
Speaker 5: What do you do specifically?
Speaker 3: So basically, it's obviously in New Orleans and my family
Speaker 3: goes and there's like big parade floats, like like huge,
Speaker 3: they're huge, and they all like have like masks on,
Speaker 3: and there's obviously like a lot of history behind it,
Speaker 3: but it's just like a huge celebration. They close down
Speaker 3: the roads, hundreds of people, people like tossing beads everywhere, and.
Speaker 5: You you because I know, we know how you get.
Speaker 3: You'll know the tradition. No, I'm kidding, but I love it.
Speaker 3: And my goal is to be on a parade flow
Speaker 3: one day and okay.
Speaker 2: Be mady, okay shout out to love. Love should send
Speaker 2: a parade float to body.
Speaker 5: Love Marty Gras Parade. That'd be crazylo.
Speaker 1: That'd be crazy.
Speaker 3: It's gotta happen, and it's so amazing. You guys would
Speaker 3: love it, you really would.
Speaker 5: I'll go.
Speaker 2: You're taking us, Yeah, I'll take you coming. I invited myself.
Speaker 3: I'm going to party bus from Texas.
Speaker 1: Hey, that'd be a long would you.
Speaker 3: Fun?
Speaker 1: It'd be fun.
Speaker 5: I don't think I would make it there alive.
Speaker 4: Honestly, for two time All American from the University of Hawaii,
Speaker 4: twenty twenty five, National team member twenty twenty two, twenty
Speaker 4: twenty three ABCA All American twenty twenty two women's Collegiate
Speaker 4: national team, and you made your national team debut at
Speaker 4: the Pan American Cup in twenty twenty four you won
Speaker 4: a silver medal. And then you've played in Love, you
Speaker 4: played in Italy. Can you just talk a little bit
Speaker 4: about like your volleyball journey and like.
Speaker 5: How did you get to Hawaii initially and get to
Speaker 5: where you are?
Speaker 3: Wow? Thanks for that intros. Okay, So basically I would say, Okay,
Speaker 3: I started when I was ten, Obviously, I think a
Speaker 3: lot of people start in fifth grade or whatever. And
Speaker 3: I went to this small club, but like I loved it.
Speaker 3: Like you know, people like a lot of people go
Speaker 3: to big clubs or they move around, like to get
Speaker 3: eyes or whatever for college. But I stayed true to
Speaker 3: this club. To this day, I'm still happy with my decision.
Speaker 3: I'm so loyal. I stayed true to the club. And
Speaker 3: I think I was a junior in high school and
Speaker 3: I watched this video of like Hawaii volleyball playing I
Speaker 3: don't even know what team it was, but it was
Speaker 3: a volleyball rally, literally the longest rally I've ever seen,
Speaker 3: and I don't even know Hawai won the point, but guys,
Speaker 3: they like threw themselves on the ground like they were
Speaker 3: so hard working. I really was like, I want to
Speaker 3: go there, and so I reached out probably to every
Speaker 3: This is embarrassing to admit, but I really reached out
Speaker 3: to the probably like every d one school. I'm not even kidding,
Speaker 3: y'all could literally like name it. And I applied that.
Speaker 1: Not even as you should, as you should just say you.
Speaker 3: Every single one. And I emailed everybody twice, I kid,
Speaker 3: you know. And so Hawaii was the one that answered me.
Speaker 3: And they always made fun of me because they said
Speaker 3: that they had to walk to like tim bucktoo to
Speaker 3: watch me on but far court, like the far far court.
Speaker 3: So they walked all the way there and they watched me,
Speaker 3: and I was so nervous, and they actually offered me,
Speaker 3: like I think it was my first tournament of my
Speaker 3: junior year, so sixteen sixteen going to seventeen. Yeah, so
Speaker 3: I was so excited and I said yes because it
Speaker 3: was low key my only big school offer, but also
Speaker 3: I had such a good feeling about Hawaii.
Speaker 1: So well, how was it being in Hawaii?
Speaker 2: I think you think Hawaii, think a vacation experience island line.
Speaker 3: People really say like like it's really like the movies,
Speaker 3: Like it was probably the best, like to this day,
Speaker 3: like one of the best five years of my life.
Speaker 3: Like people obviously outside of the volleyball the coach is
Speaker 3: so beautiful, like people like you guys have been to Hawaii,
Speaker 3: like y'all know, and culture. Everyone is so welcoming. The food,
Speaker 3: the food child was so good. And I don't know,
Speaker 3: like going to the beach between classes, like the outside
Speaker 3: life was great.
Speaker 4: Did you ever feel like you got island fever or
Speaker 4: you know?
Speaker 3: And everyone always asked me that too, if I got
Speaker 3: island fever? But I think because I made like lifelong
Speaker 3: friends there, I never got I live fever and we traveled.
Speaker 4: Is that you should know that From playing in port,
Speaker 4: it's like you feel like you're stuck and like, yeah, you.
Speaker 3: Can't go anywhere. Yeah, and it's not exciting anymore, but
Speaker 3: it was. It was always an adventure. Maybe in Hawaii.
Speaker 3: I loved it.
Speaker 5: Oh my gosh, you know, it's so funny.
Speaker 4: I went to Hawaii every year for preseason really because
Speaker 4: our coaches, well, Dave Soji and Dave Rubire, like we're beesties.
Speaker 4: They would always plan so that we could go, they
Speaker 4: could hang out, and then we could play. So I
Speaker 4: always went there and it was like everyone's favorite favorite trip.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I've only been to Hawaii once and it was with Texas.
Speaker 2: We went, and it was we were there for maybe
Speaker 2: like five days, and it was probably.
Speaker 1: The best time in my life.
Speaker 3: Oh, Like, isn't the arena so great y'all? Like, I
Speaker 3: don't know if you'll remember, like years insane.
Speaker 4: The thing I remember most that will be here forever
Speaker 4: is because they sell garlic fries in stand Sheriff and
Speaker 4: I just remember playing and it's smelling like garlic in there,
Speaker 4: but like in a good way.
Speaker 3: In a good way though, Like it's so funny they
Speaker 3: sell garlic fries like in the arena. Ooh, and that
Speaker 3: was good too, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4: And then so post collegiately, then immediately did you did
Speaker 4: you graduate and then go do a half season in Italy?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I graduated, and then I was waiting a long time,
Speaker 3: like for an opportunity, you know. I did get drafted
Speaker 3: by the Omaha Supernovas. But and I'm so grateful for
Speaker 3: them for drafting me. But like I wanted to go
Speaker 3: to Italy just a little taste of it. I wanted
Speaker 3: to just like.
Speaker 1: Try it good for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean thanks, guys, I really and not like
Speaker 3: got like you know, so many different opinions about that,
Speaker 3: but I don't know. I really decided to follow my
Speaker 3: own heart with that and just like, oh, I want
Speaker 3: to like try something different. It was really hard, but
Speaker 3: it was so much fun. And I think I came
Speaker 3: either mid January or beginning of February. Like it was
Speaker 3: such a long process because I didn't think I was
Speaker 3: going to get an opportunity, but I ended up getting one.
Speaker 3: My agent texted me and I ended up going and
Speaker 3: it was so much fun. Yeah. Yeah, I was in
Speaker 3: Rome and my first practice, first practice, guys, was horrible,
Speaker 3: Like it really bad. I was like that though, especially
Speaker 3: I think my agent was like especially as a medal,
Speaker 3: Like he just told me, like, just prepare, it's not
Speaker 3: going to begin. So I went there and I didn't
Speaker 3: let the girls see, but I shed some tears in
Speaker 3: the car after practice. Bro, it was crazy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't what I'm seeing.
Speaker 3: Don't let them see though, but it was. My teammates
Speaker 3: were so amazing, but it was. It's just so hard
Speaker 3: transitioning from college to pro volleyble. Everyone knows that, but
Speaker 3: I feel like, especially as a middle, like your eyes
Speaker 3: are like cross side when you first practice, like and
Speaker 3: on a different level because the pace is different, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean. So I don't know. Yeah, but
Speaker 3: it was so much fun. I loved it. Right after Rome,
Speaker 3: I did the summer with the Pan Am national team
Speaker 3: group and that was like my little integration into that summer,
Speaker 3: which was really fun, and my integration into like knowing
Speaker 3: some of the girls that I'm close with now, you know.
Speaker 3: And so after that was when I moved Sack you
Speaker 3: send to do love and it was so amazing. I
Speaker 3: don't know if you remember our first practice, Maddie, but
Speaker 3: do you know, I don't remember.
Speaker 5: I don't know. But how did it go for you?
Speaker 3: I don't, I don't. It's really no, it's really hard
Speaker 3: for me to remember. That's why I'm asking you. It's
Speaker 3: hard for me to remember. But I just remember. I
Speaker 3: think we our team started off pretty strong, and I
Speaker 3: think I just remember thinking that we have a super
Speaker 3: competitive team, and I really enjoyed that, and yeah, after
Speaker 3: that was yeah until now I think.
Speaker 4: Yeah, right or no, well then you because because then
Speaker 4: after that you did national team again, right, and then
Speaker 4: you did Italy again.
Speaker 1: Yes, you just ran it back.
Speaker 3: Yes, guys, I think last year was one of my
Speaker 3: favorite years, honestly because after the Love season season one,
Speaker 3: I got invited to do the senior women's national team
Speaker 3: and like do some vmls and stuff like that, and
Speaker 3: I was just so grateful honestly to be there. Guys.
Speaker 3: It was so much fun. Like I got to learn.
Speaker 3: I feel like I got better, like mentally and physically,
Speaker 3: so I really enjoyed that and the social aspect of it,
Speaker 3: getting to know a lot of people and players, and
Speaker 3: and I got to travel in different countries, which I
Speaker 3: was so happy about. And then after that I was
Speaker 3: feeling a little, you know, ambitious again, and I did
Speaker 3: a little excursion in Italy and I went to Navara
Speaker 3: and that was so much fun, guys, like so much fun.
Speaker 3: It was only about I think it was seven weeks,
Speaker 3: but it was so amazing.
Speaker 2: And absolutely killing it. You were all over my Explorer page.
Speaker 2: I didn't even know you were in Italy, so I
Speaker 2: saw you like literally all over the place.
Speaker 1: That was like what every day?
Speaker 5: Like, Amberg stop playing? So well?
Speaker 1: Are you coming back?
Speaker 3: Yeah? When I tell you, they were literally texting me.
Speaker 3: I think it was Yourdan first she was like are
Speaker 3: you still coming back? I'm like, who told you all?
Speaker 3: Wasn't coming back? Like I'm trying to live my life
Speaker 3: right now in Italy. It was so much fun. But
Speaker 3: I was for sure coming back obviously, but I didn't
Speaker 3: tell nobody I was going basically, and so like, yeah,
Speaker 3: I didn't that. That's why I think I didn't tell
Speaker 3: anybody I was going, because I was. I was so nervous.
Speaker 3: I was like, Okay, let me just go there and
Speaker 3: then see how it's going, and then then I'll start
Speaker 3: posting about it.
Speaker 5: And so they started posting about you, which was a.
Speaker 3: Good choice to me. Yeah, I know they started posting burns.
Speaker 2: Was the reaction to hold the difference to yourself because
Speaker 2: you like, for a reason, like you want to make
Speaker 2: sure you're gonna go there and do well before you
Speaker 2: have people.
Speaker 1: Like following you and that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2: Or you were like, let me just get my feet
Speaker 2: wet really quick, and then I'm gonna let people.
Speaker 3: Know exactly I think it's the second one. Like I
Speaker 3: really just wanted to get my fee web feet under
Speaker 3: like before I started, like you know, telling everybody about it.
Speaker 3: And I think that was a good choice because I
Speaker 3: was for me personally, I'm going to know this in
Speaker 3: my circle. But I can get overwhelmed pretty easily. So
Speaker 3: like if I'm telling everybody, I'm going toandling and then
Speaker 3: I'm dealing with the travel, dealing with like the healthy
Speaker 3: systems running and everything like that, I'm already overwhelmed. So
Speaker 3: I really wanted to stick with what my goal was.
Speaker 3: And my goal was to just learn a difference all
Speaker 3: of volleyball, learn how to block different players, how to
Speaker 3: hit against different players, and really just be a better
Speaker 3: volleyball player, you know. And so that was really my goal.
Speaker 3: I wasn't really going to tell anyone honestly, like the
Speaker 3: whole time.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, you, I love it.
Speaker 4: Do you feel like people a obviously gonna bust you.
Speaker 4: I feel like, now that's really helped you coming back here.
Speaker 4: Like all of the experience that you have in Italy,
Speaker 4: what do you what would you say, is like the
Speaker 4: biggest piece that you've taken away from like your two
Speaker 4: kind of short stints in Italy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So honestly, that's a that's a really good question
Speaker 3: because there's so much stuff that I learned, and I
Speaker 3: think in Italy a lot of the coaches, for me personally,
Speaker 3: I feel like, don't talk as much like our coach
Speaker 3: and Navara he was very he was very kind of
Speaker 3: letting the players figure out what they need to do,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. And so for me growing up,
Speaker 3: anytime I did something, I would like look over to
Speaker 3: the coach and be like, oh, like did I do
Speaker 3: that right? Now? Did I do this right? You know?
Speaker 3: And so I feel like in Italy and on the
Speaker 3: team specifically I was on, he really wanted us to
Speaker 3: kind of problem solve on our own. And I think
Speaker 3: that helps me better with with my mindset, with figuring
Speaker 3: out things. Just playing wise, and then just playing against
Speaker 3: different type of players I think can really help you too.
Speaker 3: It's not to say like if I go somewhere else,
Speaker 3: like I'm gonna block the players the same. I feel
Speaker 3: like knowing different players and how they hit the rhythm
Speaker 3: and their approach, I think it can help you a lot.
Speaker 3: And so I think for me that's what I valued
Speaker 3: a lot for some reason, I don't know. And it
Speaker 3: was over there and we were playing in the arena
Speaker 3: and there's so many people, like it really is a
Speaker 3: lot of pressure, and yeah, and I learned to really
Speaker 3: enjoy that. Like I liked it. It felt like I
Speaker 3: was literally I don't even know, it felt so good.
Speaker 3: So I liked it.
Speaker 2: What was like someone like, you know, that's all I
Speaker 2: have permission to take in especial when comes, like you said,
Speaker 2: trying to block different players, learn new system definitely probably
Speaker 2: different than the American style kind of system, and then
Speaker 2: going into a massive gym environment and you know, learning
Speaker 2: how to take that environment and enjoy it and be
Speaker 2: able to really focus in, you know, keen on what
Speaker 2: you're doing on the court. What were some of the
Speaker 2: practices that you did for yourself to make sure make
Speaker 2: sure you're.
Speaker 1: Ready to go every day?
Speaker 3: So I would journal a lot. Are you talking about
Speaker 3: mentally or like physically mentally?
Speaker 1: Mentally? Mentally physicis yea.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So I would journal a lot. And I remember,
Speaker 3: like I said, before my first practice going into Rome,
Speaker 3: I think I was just like I just want to,
Speaker 3: you know, like do good. I hope I do so
Speaker 3: good or whatever, like it was so broad my goal basically,
Speaker 3: and I feel like when I was going to Novara
Speaker 3: it was way different, Like my goal was like, Okay,
Speaker 3: just be patient each drill, make a goal like if
Speaker 3: we're doing cross court pepper, make sure you're moving your
Speaker 3: feet quick or if you're blocking, make sure you're just
Speaker 3: watching the ball and not be too frantic, you know.
Speaker 3: So I kind of section each drill and had a
Speaker 3: goal for each drill basically, and I think that just
Speaker 3: made my life easier, honestly. So just looking back at
Speaker 3: both the situations I was in, I really valued my
Speaker 3: second one because of my mindset.
Speaker 1: I feel like, what's been.
Speaker 2: The biggest transition from season one to season two for you?
Speaker 3: I don't know, Okay, if I'm being so honest, I think,
Speaker 3: honest give us if I'm being so honest, because and
Speaker 3: Maggie can probably back me up with this one too.
Speaker 3: But I think for us it was an adjustment because
Speaker 3: essentially we have the same team essentially. Yeah, and everyone
Speaker 3: in the league, all the teams essentially, I think, have
Speaker 3: different people and I think like going into season two,
Speaker 3: I think a lot of the teams did a great
Speaker 3: job of seeing that we're essentially the same team and
Speaker 3: scouting us because as obviously they've seen us before, you know,
Speaker 3: And so I think that was a big adjustment for us,
Speaker 3: knowing that we know what we can do well, but
Speaker 3: we just got to do it better, you know. So
Speaker 3: I think that was a wake up call for a
Speaker 3: few games, and we just had it bounced back, like
Speaker 3: we know, everyone knows how it is to lose a
Speaker 3: couple of games in our own losing streak, it felt
Speaker 3: very morbid, but we bounced fun. So it's not fun.
Speaker 3: It was really tough, and I honestly think that's a
Speaker 3: big reason.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I agree with everything that you it is.
Speaker 4: It was definitely a challenge because people know us so
Speaker 4: well and they know like our arsenal and what we
Speaker 4: can do when we're on and we had to learn
Speaker 4: everybody else.
Speaker 1: But you guys are also in the same way.
Speaker 2: You're kind of being able to use your bench a
Speaker 2: little bit more too, you know, you have the depth
Speaker 2: of that you guys every now and then that's different,
Speaker 2: you know, ye last year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so it's.
Speaker 4: An adjustment different, different, a little bit different style for sure,
Speaker 4: but but yeah, like I agree with Amber, and then
Speaker 4: just kind of figuring other things out as we go
Speaker 4: to has been different than last year?
Speaker 2: Is there? I guess for both of y'all, is there
Speaker 2: like a certain like a certain amount of like pressure
Speaker 2: of stress to know that, Okay, yeah, we're all the
Speaker 2: same team and we have this camaraderie like we should
Speaker 2: be able to, like, you know, with stand whatever that's
Speaker 2: kind of coming towards us and kind of soff shaky.
Speaker 2: How which were you guys to say we're trying to
Speaker 2: like maintain and get out of that, like you know,
Speaker 2: downward spiral.
Speaker 3: Yeah, honestly, honestly, honestly, wasn't spiral. No, honestly, I that
Speaker 3: was I think part of the frustration for me was,
Speaker 3: oh my gosh, like okay, like we're like we have
Speaker 3: these peaces where this seem like but the result wasn't happening,
Speaker 3: you know. And I do think as athletes, and I
Speaker 3: do have to remind myself of this a lot, like
Speaker 3: as athletes, I really do think we compare like what
Speaker 3: you or the team was last year versus this year,
Speaker 3: Like every year is different. You know, you really can't
Speaker 3: compare anything from last year because every year is different.
Speaker 3: So we're all the same good players, but you just
Speaker 3: have to recognize that and not compare, because there's really
Speaker 3: no point to compare. Oh we this happened last year. Okay,
Speaker 3: well it's not last year anymore, you know. So I
Speaker 3: think I think our coach really just gave us a
Speaker 3: talk and she was like, Okay, we're just gonna have
Speaker 3: to do this better, you know, like point blank period,
Speaker 3: Like it's really not rocket science. You just have to
Speaker 3: play better. So I think we started to. I don't know,
Speaker 3: I don't know what's looked, honestly, but we got it back.
Speaker 5: We did well, you figured something out, figured out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, it just had to take a little time,
Speaker 3: I think, and I think it was needed, like those
Speaker 3: first few games.
Speaker 5: I think, so, yeah, now we're rolling cat you see.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Yes, one is a win. A win is
Speaker 1: a win.
Speaker 5: You were there someday.
Speaker 2: I's all, what's crazy and we're going to keep it
Speaker 2: one hundred percent on this. My mom is a huge
Speaker 2: Houston fan. She loves Mica, she loves JT, she loves
Speaker 2: Maddie and even yeah, she's yeah, it's so crazy because
Speaker 2: I get in the car with Maddie after the game,
Speaker 2: and you know, I come to Houston. I just say
Speaker 2: the night and just you know, to spend time with
Speaker 2: her kind of hang out and stuff. And I get
Speaker 2: on the phone. I called my mom just like hey,
Speaker 2: like I'm with Maddie everything. I call my mom and
Speaker 2: I was like hey. The first thing she says, she goes,
Speaker 2: we're Maddie at and I was like right here. So
Speaker 2: I put her on speaker phone and she was like, Maddie,
Speaker 2: y'all whoop they asked.
Speaker 1: I was like, girl crazy, JT is this and that?
Speaker 1: Blah blah blah blah. And I was like, they were
Speaker 1: just chatting.
Speaker 2: They were just and they were just chatting.
Speaker 1: Up again, and she was just she was really happy
Speaker 1: about it.
Speaker 2: But so far, like what's been your favorite, Like, you know,
Speaker 2: what's your favorite thing about playing for Love?
Speaker 3: Ooh Okay, Honestly, I think the fans, the turnout has
Speaker 3: been so good and like even though we have we
Speaker 3: have a new arena this year, we obviously play in
Speaker 3: both of them, and the first game, I obviously knew
Speaker 3: fans were gonna come, but I think the turnout was
Speaker 3: like so amazing, and then even our last few home games,
Speaker 3: people have been coming, and the support is like obviously
Speaker 3: it's always been there, but it's just like a new,
Speaker 3: a new fresh like support that they're doing. Like everyone
Speaker 3: is more personalized, Like people are like saying everyone's names
Speaker 3: and knowing their stories in the crowd. I just genuinely
Speaker 3: have really enjoyed these past home games because and it
Speaker 3: makes me even though I'm always excited to talk to
Speaker 3: people and girls that you know, know volleyball and play volleyball,
Speaker 3: but everyone like really like knows your story and they're like, oh,
Speaker 3: where's Lauren, like talking about Baylor, like they like know
Speaker 3: everything about the player, and it makes it so enjoyable
Speaker 3: to talk to them. So I've really enjoyed I think
Speaker 3: the in person experience and in fan experience this year.
Speaker 5: Yeah, the fans this year have been doing their things.
Speaker 1: Yaas looks good, it looks nice.
Speaker 3: Yeah. One of the fans asked me to flex or something,
Speaker 3: and everybody that knows me really knows, y'all, y'all don't
Speaker 3: know this, but I used to hate the flex, like
Speaker 3: I hated when people ask me that, but like something
Speaker 3: about it, I was just like, Okay, let me just
Speaker 3: do it. I loved it. Like the fans are just
Speaker 3: so cute and they just mean well, it's not like
Speaker 3: they're I don't know. They just mean, well, it's so cy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and there's so many people like when we're playing,
Speaker 4: especially at our game this last weekend, it felt like
Speaker 4: like I could really feel the crowd and I love
Speaker 4: that feeling.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I know.
Speaker 2: My nephew he came to the scrimmage early on this
Speaker 2: season that we were there. And so my sister came
Speaker 2: to the game this past weekend and my nephew she
Speaker 2: told her like she was coming. She told him that
Speaker 2: she was coming to the game and he was like, oh,
Speaker 2: he was like, you know, she caught herself trying to
Speaker 2: get cute and and he was like, at fan's going
Speaker 2: to be there, and she said like when she sit
Speaker 2: in the.
Speaker 1: Video, he was like dang.
Speaker 2: But again, difference between scrimmage and the real match, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So man rocking for sure, we really do.
Speaker 4: It's so cool to see what's your favorite thing non
Speaker 4: volleyball related about being with love and in Houston.
Speaker 3: In a Houston, the nightlife is great, guys. I really
Speaker 3: enjoy I just enjoy like the social settings. Maddie. You
Speaker 3: already know. Maddie's so good at finding like holes in
Speaker 3: the walls or just finding like events that are being held,
Speaker 3: like I don't know how you find it, but somehow
Speaker 3: you find like some pottery making class or you find
Speaker 3: like this wine bar. I don't know. I think our
Speaker 3: team is really good at that, and you're really good
Speaker 3: at that, Maddie. And for me, I'm never good at
Speaker 3: like like finding stuff or coming across things how people do.
Speaker 3: And I just love saying yes and things like that.
Speaker 3: So I love the social aspect of Houston. And honestly
Speaker 3: it's a pet friendly friendly place. Cat I don't know
Speaker 3: if you have a dog or a cat. No, Maddie
Speaker 3: has a cat, but he so pet friendly. No one
Speaker 3: would think that everyone on my team, Maddie, you don't
Speaker 3: have to lie. Everyone on my team shouldn't have gotten
Speaker 3: a dog.
Speaker 4: But season made im getting a dog, and we were
Speaker 4: like we travel this weekend.
Speaker 3: No I had to get it. I didn't listen to
Speaker 3: nobody except Jess MRSK was the only one that was like, Okay,
Speaker 3: you should for sure get one, and.
Speaker 5: Boom, she also got one.
Speaker 3: Right this year, she got a dog. Now like it's
Speaker 3: a trend. It's a trend.
Speaker 2: So these like dogs, I deferately love all these like
Speaker 2: emotional support animals.
Speaker 1: What is what's going on?
Speaker 3: Why can't it be? Why can't we be both?
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, tell us give us a name and breed
Speaker 4: and a little intro.
Speaker 3: His name is Saying and he was named after Yeah,
Speaker 3: he was named after the New Orleans Saints US. I'm
Speaker 3: obviously from Louisiana and my mom and me are very spiritual,
Speaker 3: so my mom was like, Saint Thick, the name saints
Speaker 3: in the Bible and so right, and so I really
Speaker 3: think it was a perfect name. And he really is
Speaker 3: a Saying. He's a goater retriever and he's just perfect. Guys,
Speaker 3: He's he's amazing. I got him as a foster at first,
Speaker 3: which I think, Cat, you were there too one time lunch.
Speaker 3: You got to hold a saint a little when he
Speaker 3: was little, but he was yep, and I knew as
Speaker 3: soon as I picked him up I was going to
Speaker 3: keep them, so it didn't matter what I said.
Speaker 4: I feel like you kind of have golden retriever energy
Speaker 4: as well, so it's like a.
Speaker 3: Person thank you. And that's a compliment because I really
Speaker 3: think I'm my dog.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 4: Okay, Cat's giving Pug.
Speaker 2: Pitbull and Pug no do Oliver, Do do Oliver, And
Speaker 2: speaking of bulls, what is your favorite thing about having
Speaker 2: Maddie as a teammate.
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh, My favorite thing, honestly is I was
Speaker 3: telling my friend this the other day that because Mattie,
Speaker 3: your video has really come across a lot of people,
Speaker 3: like on the social medium.
Speaker 7: And yeah, they's famous, right, so she's And so I
Speaker 7: was telling my friend that you are obviously super funny
Speaker 7: in your videos, but like in person, you're so quick witted.
Speaker 6: Like she's like, I'm witted, I'm witted, but you're not,
Speaker 6: Like I'm not like quick, like you're quick like with
Speaker 6: it and so right and it's just so funny, Like
Speaker 6: I don't know, And for me, I need a teammate
Speaker 6: like that.
Speaker 3: You're serious and competitive, but you're also you know how
Speaker 3: to play and play.
Speaker 1: So she has balanced.
Speaker 3: You have balance, and that's my favorite thing in a
Speaker 3: person I get.
Speaker 5: Say the same about you.
Speaker 1: Oh no, it's not about me, No.
Speaker 4: It is because now next is what's coming up next
Speaker 4: is me returning the favor. And I also agree, so
Speaker 4: retweet with what you said, because you're like, inadvertently so funny.
Speaker 5: I think sometimes you don't mean to be but.
Speaker 4: Like I realize all it's so you're so humble, and
Speaker 4: it's just like you and your personality, and she's just
Speaker 4: a wonderful teammate and we are so much.
Speaker 1: Better because you're Maddie.
Speaker 3: Sorry, okay, I'm not even trying to bring in age
Speaker 3: or anything, but like you playing volleyball but not but listen, listen,
Speaker 3: this isn't even about age. It's about experience. Maddie's been
Speaker 3: playing volleyball, she said, like I think eight years, ten years,
Speaker 3: I don't remember, but I remember obviously in college. The
Speaker 3: fact that you are so like energetic is like what
Speaker 3: I aspire to be because I'm always wondering, like when
Speaker 3: I'm playing volleyball a few years from now that I'm
Speaker 3: gonna be kind of like, oh, like I don't feel
Speaker 3: like doing this no more, or like coming to practice
Speaker 3: dragging my feet. You come and skip in, so I
Speaker 3: really enjoy that.
Speaker 4: I think that, like from playing so long, I truly
Speaker 4: believe that how you show up every day is kind
Speaker 4: of like what makes the gym a certain way, and
Speaker 4: that's why I do that. I think like some days
Speaker 4: I don't feel it, but like you know that I
Speaker 4: yell a lot and I like to scream and whatever.
Speaker 4: It's more to like kind of help raise the level
Speaker 4: of the gym because I think it's just more fun
Speaker 4: to play volleyball like that. And so I really I
Speaker 4: hate to like be serious more for me because I
Speaker 4: think I play better when I'm having fun, but also
Speaker 4: for other people. I just want to like lighten the
Speaker 4: mood and be like, Okay, it's it's our job. But
Speaker 4: at the end of the day, it's also like we
Speaker 4: get to play for work, and it's so what a blessing?
Speaker 3: Honestly, yeah, this is honestly I hate to flip the
Speaker 3: question on y'all, but you guys have such fun, big personalities.
Speaker 3: Do you guys ever feel that since y'all have this personality,
Speaker 3: that you can't not show up like on on like
Speaker 3: a good level every day, like with your personality, because
Speaker 3: sometimes I feel like when I'm quiet just because I'm tired,
Speaker 3: like someone might be like, oh, what's wrong, then it's like, okay,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. Like, so it's so annoying actually,
Speaker 3: you know, And honestly, listening to Maddie just now, I'm like, Okay,
Speaker 3: maybe I should just be better, just like, you know,
Speaker 3: even the days that I don't feel like because it's
Speaker 3: not like it's not like I'm coming to practice and
Speaker 3: dragging my feet. There's days that like I'm just really
Speaker 3: intensual about like and about like what I'm doing, and
Speaker 3: I'm just like I'm really focused keen on me, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean, And it's like doesn't and I try.
Speaker 2: I'm not going to say it takes away from the
Speaker 2: team just because like I'm not yelling and screaming. I
Speaker 2: think we also have such already a big presence of that.
Speaker 2: For me, it almost almost seems sometimes overwhelming when you
Speaker 2: have like so many people yelling and screaming and hollering
Speaker 2: and you know the type of stuff. So it's like,
Speaker 2: you know, so I'm very almost like personal too, just
Speaker 2: like I'm if you next me, a that was a
Speaker 2: that swing was crazy, you know.
Speaker 1: What i mean.
Speaker 2: Like I'm still talking, but I'm just not like, yeah,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. So, yeah, I hear guys,
Speaker 2: he I hear guys watch it.
Speaker 4: But yeah, I think for me, it's more of just
Speaker 4: like a personality trait. I think it's really like for me,
Speaker 4: it's baseline to like be like that, and if I
Speaker 4: dip it's not like a super far dip from that.
Speaker 4: But I think that I like to show up like
Speaker 4: consistently like that because I think if I if I
Speaker 4: showed up like that like one or two days out
Speaker 4: of the week and then I was down the rest
Speaker 4: of the week, like people would be like what is
Speaker 4: going Like this is too high and too low?
Speaker 5: Then so I'm gonna stay high.
Speaker 4: And try to like raise that level for people who
Speaker 4: need it, and.
Speaker 1: I try to maintain like right here.
Speaker 2: You know, I've been really good about being right here.
Speaker 2: There's no days I'm just there's no like a high shift,
Speaker 2: but I'm either like right here or I'm right here.
Speaker 1: It's never like right here and right here.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's good to just find your find
Speaker 4: your kind of even keel and you can kind of
Speaker 4: fluck way around that.
Speaker 5: But like knowing where that is is different for everybody.
Speaker 3: All Right, I agree? I like that.
Speaker 2: So getting back into some more volleyball, let's talk about
Speaker 2: these standings.
Speaker 1: Yeah, ye don't ya, don't climb you all way up to.
Speaker 8: Today when I say climb today, one of my friends
Speaker 8: texted me the greenshot of that and I literally sent
Speaker 8: her back, it's the climb by Miley Cyrus and I was, but.
Speaker 3: Back to the standings, I really feel like knocking on
Speaker 3: what obviously like. I really feel like we're in a
Speaker 3: good flow state, even if God forbid we lose, I
Speaker 3: feel like we're in such a better mindset and place
Speaker 3: to feel like we're flowing, like on the same boat,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. So I was, I'm not
Speaker 3: gonna lie though. I was happy to see that number two.
Speaker 3: I really will.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was nice.
Speaker 3: I'm sorry I was.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: Now we're now we're all looking low key kind of stressed.
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, it's fine. We sill. We even halfway through.
Speaker 3: We are.
Speaker 4: It's gonna to make sure if you keep going to five,
Speaker 4: you're not gonna have any players left.
Speaker 1: Sorry, I don't. We just pretty deep. Don't worry.
Speaker 2: So we'll make a stubby if we if we need to. No,
Speaker 2: but you know, I will say shout out to our rookie.
Speaker 2: She probably got her little debut last weekend. She put
Speaker 2: Arizona State. Bailey came in. You know, I think Eric
Speaker 2: was trying to run a test on her because she
Speaker 2: she never practices playing left back and serving and running too,
Speaker 2: you know, play defense and he literally called her in,
Speaker 2: and to do that, I think it's more of like
Speaker 2: to see like her mentally. She was prepared to go
Speaker 2: in and do something that's out of her realm obviously,
Speaker 2: and she did amazing.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I want to shout her out real quick.
Speaker 3: No, she deserves to shout out for sure. She's that's
Speaker 3: crazy coming in especially. I really do think coming in
Speaker 3: to serve is one of the hardest things because that
Speaker 3: shoulder and cold, so yeah, oh for sure cold. She
Speaker 3: did her cold. Come up.
Speaker 1: This week we have the Love Classic.
Speaker 2: I know you guys get there kind of late, but
Speaker 2: what are you guys expecting for Live Classic?
Speaker 1: Are you guys excited?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm excited because I have my college coaches are
Speaker 3: actually coming to watch, which low key I'm nervous about
Speaker 3: because I don't know why. But I'm just super excited,
Speaker 3: but also nervers for them.
Speaker 5: I'm always again the.
Speaker 3: Recruit of me again, so I'm getting flashed back. I'm
Speaker 3: getting from it, no for real, but I'm super excited
Speaker 3: for them to come. And last year the Classic was
Speaker 3: really but I know it's a little different this year,
Speaker 3: so I'm excited. That is just one game we got
Speaker 3: to focus on.
Speaker 5: So, yeah, yeah, that is really nice.
Speaker 1: But I love classic last year, did.
Speaker 3: You Yeah, I'm so happy we wont that, bro was
Speaker 3: but yeah, that's when we had the super points.
Speaker 4: No super point this year though, right, oh yeah, there's
Speaker 4: no there's they got. They did away with the super point.
Speaker 3: Did y'all see me as a super point got in
Speaker 3: the finals?
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, we didn't know. We didn't need to.
Speaker 5: Uh no, they didn't have it in the finals.
Speaker 1: I think we did. I think we did. I think
Speaker 1: we did. It's hard.
Speaker 2: I'm so quick to y'all been y'all, y'all been shooting us.
Speaker 3: I'm trying to get.
Speaker 5: Remember last year.
Speaker 3: I think we used this last weekend and the.
Speaker 1: Can't imagine or we.
Speaker 5: Had a bet for our games this season.
Speaker 4: We had a bet that if we beat Austin that
Speaker 4: she would owe me like a really nice dinner and
Speaker 4: then obviously the other way around to so now so
Speaker 4: now you don't ask Taco.
Speaker 5: Bill Carbone.
Speaker 3: Tomahawk. She ordered the most expensive stuff too, Bro, that's crazy,
Speaker 3: she said that. I said, you're going to You're gonna
Speaker 3: one of the most impensive.
Speaker 4: Said that's crazy because last time I went with cat.
Speaker 5: She ordered the flaming tomahawk. They rolled it out, they
Speaker 5: wheeled it out. It's hanging.
Speaker 4: A piece of me is hanging from the rack viewer.
Speaker 4: They lit it on fire in the whole rest.
Speaker 3: It was God, that's what you get. I that was crazy,
Speaker 3: and there's here the whole thing.
Speaker 1: Ate it, we ate it. I share it. I shared,
Speaker 1: and it was good.
Speaker 3: That's nice to share.
Speaker 5: I had one piece, she shared.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you gotta taste of it.
Speaker 2: But I'm going to see you all this weekend, and
Speaker 2: the love Plastic are looking.
Speaker 4: Forward to seeing me again. Of course, this has really
Speaker 4: been a treat. I've seen Kat like what a couple
Speaker 4: of times in the last two weeks.
Speaker 1: We have to do a segment or something like that.
Speaker 1: Since we're together.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah about Salt Lake, y'all went to five with
Speaker 3: them last time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we did five.
Speaker 3: It was close, it was closed.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that we did and I got to.
Speaker 2: Play and I got to play.
Speaker 3: I was actually gonna I texted run after, but I
Speaker 3: was actually gonna text you and be like you ate
Speaker 3: you did really well, thank you. I actually thank you.
Speaker 1: That's what I do.
Speaker 3: What I did. There was one line shot you swung
Speaker 3: really hard.
Speaker 4: I was like, okay, period, no period in front of Manami.
Speaker 4: I was like, oh really, I think that was straight down.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, any Annie Drew's actually like randomly reached out
Speaker 2: to me.
Speaker 1: I didn't even know.
Speaker 2: I don't know if she follows me or not, but
Speaker 2: she reached out to mess me and she was like
Speaker 2: I want she know. She's like I watched you and
Speaker 2: she was like you killed and I was like, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: she's herself.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm like hell yeah. But yeah. So this has
Speaker 1: been great.
Speaker 2: We love you so much and we are so thankful
Speaker 2: that you're able to join us on this podcast.
Speaker 3: It's going to do so well.
Speaker 4: You're so funny, guys, this is amazing, really cool.
Speaker 5: Do you want to keep going?
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's do a sleepover on FaceTime, y'all. That's like
Speaker 3: I gotta go. I know she got to. Thanks guys
Speaker 3: so much for having me on your pod. I think
Speaker 3: it's gonna literally keep blowing up. Like I'm so excited
Speaker 3: to even be on. When you asked me, I was
Speaker 3: so happy because I need to be on this. I
Speaker 3: need to and have me on again. I'm I'm down
Speaker 3: to do a little segment or something.
Speaker 5: Do you want to just be a co host. There'll
Speaker 5: be three of us.
Speaker 3: Listen. The guests will not talk if I'm on you.
Speaker 4: New episodes of Serving Pancakes come out every Wednesday everywhere
Speaker 4: you get your podcasts and also on YouTube. This has
Speaker 4: been Serving Pancakes. I'm Maddie rachel I'm Cat Bell, and
Speaker 4: I'm em Y Gen and we will catch you on
Speaker 4: the flip of the flip side.
Speaker 5: Boom clock it.
Speaker 2: Cute.
Speaker 3: Thanks burg y'all are so cute.
Speaker 9: Serving Pancakes is an iheartwomen's sports production and partnership with
Speaker 9: Deep Blue Sports Entertainment. You can find us on the
Speaker 9: iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 9: Production by the League one Volleyball, we're your hosts, Kat
Speaker 9: Beell and Mattie Rachelle.
Speaker 3: See you on the flip side.