Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Tifney Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes. Nope,
Speaker 1: not a podcast about food. This is a podcast about
Speaker 1: volleyball and more to you. A pancake is a fluffy,
Speaker 1: syrup drenched breakfast food button volleyball. A pancake is a
Speaker 1: high effort move when a player flattens her hand against
Speaker 1: the ground to keep the ball in play. And that's
Speaker 1: us digging into high efforts that are moving sports forward.
Speaker 1: Listen in as I talk with the people making the
Speaker 1: biggest impacts on global volleyball and women's sports perspectives, insights,
Speaker 1: and behind the scenes stories, all with the side of pancakes.
Speaker 1: Today's episode features the best liberro in the world, an
Speaker 1: honor she earned after helping Team USA take home their
Speaker 1: first gold medal in Tokyo in the last Olympics, Justine
Speaker 1: Wong Orantis. Justine is a two time All American from
Speaker 1: the University of Nebraska, where she helped the corn Huskers
Speaker 1: win an NCAA national title in twenty fifteen, and as
Speaker 1: a liberro, she knows a lot about pancakes, the volleyball kind.
Speaker 1: This summer, she's part of the team defending the gold
Speaker 1: medal at the Paris Olympics, and then returning home to
Speaker 1: play professionally in the US for the first time in
Speaker 1: her career as part of love Omaha Volleyball.
Speaker 2: Dustine.
Speaker 1: Welcome to serving pancakes, have a seed, thank you.
Speaker 3: Welcome to breakfast at Tiffany's. And I'm just it's amazing. Well, welcome,
Speaker 3: joy some pancakes. How do you like your pancakes?
Speaker 4: Ooh, I'm a simple girl, a just like syrup and
Speaker 4: maybe a little bit of chocolate chips.
Speaker 3: Did you see pancakes growing up at all?
Speaker 4: I did.
Speaker 2: Actually, my mom always made chocolate chip pancakes, so that's
Speaker 2: like a childhood memory for sure.
Speaker 3: Oh, I love that. How many did she make?
Speaker 1: Because I have two kids and they get mad if
Speaker 1: I only give them like two, so I have to
Speaker 1: make a stack of them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she always made a stack, and then my brother
Speaker 2: and I would always just eat what was left. And yeah,
Speaker 2: she did a really good job of just making it
Speaker 2: in bulk and then we would just eat you as
Speaker 2: a family, a lot of pancakes.
Speaker 3: It's a good old family traditional breakfast.
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: So going back to growing up, I want to start
Speaker 1: at the very beginning, which is, what did you want
Speaker 1: to be when you grow up.
Speaker 4: So first I wanted to be a teacher.
Speaker 2: I think with my mom being in that education field,
Speaker 2: I always saw her as going to school, and I
Speaker 2: think for me, relating to kids was like always something
Speaker 2: that I was pretty natural at. Whether that was like
Speaker 2: you know, taking care of kids. All my mom's friends,
Speaker 2: they were all like I was the oldest, and so
Speaker 2: all the younger kids they were like can you baby say,
Speaker 2: and as I would love to, and so that always
Speaker 2: came pretty natural.
Speaker 4: And then I kind of tied that into sport.
Speaker 2: And so it was always like a camp or a
Speaker 2: clinic and helping with all the young ones. That was
Speaker 2: always super fun for me and really connecting so both
Speaker 2: like you know, with sport and then off the core
Speaker 2: love kids. And I think so growing up I was
Speaker 2: like being a teacher, that seems pretty natural to go
Speaker 2: into that direction.
Speaker 1: And what was your go to babysitting games, sport, the
Speaker 1: thing that made the kids want you as they're beating.
Speaker 2: Say, I think just being outside, Like I was always
Speaker 2: wanting to play tag with them, you know, if they
Speaker 2: wanted to play volleyball, I would love to show them
Speaker 2: playing you know, basketball, just being active and being outside
Speaker 2: I think that was what I was good as, just
Speaker 2: like you know, some people are like, Okay, they can
Speaker 2: just kind of chill watch TV, but like I love
Speaker 2: to be outside, and so it was fun because whenever
Speaker 2: my mom and like their parents were playing volleyball, whether
Speaker 2: it was outside or the other court, and we were
Speaker 2: always just playing with the with the ball or playing
Speaker 2: soccer or whatever it was the parents.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just wanted to go to bed at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, exactly, all real quick.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so how did you get into volleyball?
Speaker 2: Both of my parents played, so they both played at
Speaker 2: the collegiate level in some capacity, and so for me
Speaker 2: to watch up and grow up with them, I feel
Speaker 2: like I was always.
Speaker 4: Surrounded by it, and they did a really nice job.
Speaker 2: Of kind of laying it out there for us to compete,
Speaker 2: both my brother and I.
Speaker 4: But it was never like, oh, you.
Speaker 2: Should play this, or it would be nice if you
Speaker 2: would play this. It just was very natural and I
Speaker 2: grew up around it, and so I grew to love
Speaker 2: at such a young age, and I think that's what
Speaker 2: was the most special, because I could have a connection
Speaker 2: to the sport but to my parents too because they
Speaker 2: were always supporting me at the tournament, at practices, and
Speaker 2: they knew the game really well, so I could always
Speaker 2: bounce ideas off of them and see where their head
Speaker 2: was at when I was growing up and playing, and
Speaker 2: it was just fun to.
Speaker 4: Have that support throughout my childhood up until now.
Speaker 1: So going back even farther, I want to see, if
Speaker 1: you know the true romance of your parents. They both
Speaker 1: played in college. So how did they meet? Did they
Speaker 1: meet in college playing each other?
Speaker 2: They played in a league California is like pretty notorious,
Speaker 2: where like all these like rec leagues happening, And it's
Speaker 2: really cool because they played a lot with their friends too,
Speaker 2: and so that goes back to like all of the
Speaker 2: babysitting duties.
Speaker 4: That I had.
Speaker 2: And so they met at a volleyball league in Tustin
Speaker 2: and so super local and yeah, and they met and
Speaker 2: then you know, the rest is history.
Speaker 4: Had me and my brother and it's just very fun.
Speaker 2: Because all of us have played volleyball at some point
Speaker 2: in our lives, and I think that's like really cool
Speaker 2: that we have that time to connect with each other
Speaker 2: and just be able to support and like show up
Speaker 2: for one another too.
Speaker 1: Did they know about the club scene and stuff when
Speaker 1: they were growing up.
Speaker 3: Did they were they aware of time.
Speaker 4: Commitment that, yeah, right, not right. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So my dad actually coached for Mazuna Long Beach Current
Speaker 2: Love Club, and so it was nice to have that
Speaker 2: kind of connection to the club because I really didn't know,
Speaker 2: like being in southern California, there's so many clubs that
Speaker 2: you can choose from, and so having that you know,
Speaker 2: connection right off the bat was very helpful. And so
Speaker 2: Joy and Matt Feerbringer, who were the directors of the club,
Speaker 2: still are and they were like, yeah, bring her on by.
Speaker 2: And so I started at a very young age. I
Speaker 2: started at eight years old and going into club and
Speaker 2: there was a twelve and under group and I actually
Speaker 2: played twelve and under for four years. I was so young,
Speaker 2: so I was just playing for you know, up until
Speaker 2: I turned twelve. And it was very fun because I
Speaker 2: think one year actually my dad got to coach me.
Speaker 2: And it was always you know, like that weird feeling
Speaker 2: of like not wanting to be favored, but also like
Speaker 2: having that you know, soft spot for your daughter. And
Speaker 2: it was really cool because you got to meet a
Speaker 2: lot of people and like just club is just such
Speaker 2: a unique kind of community because you're with each other
Speaker 2: for like eight months out of the year, and you're
Speaker 2: traveling to all these tournaments and practicing basically every other day,
Speaker 2: and so to have both my parents be there for
Speaker 2: a good chunk of it was really fun. And also
Speaker 2: to just know a lot of people from it and
Speaker 2: grow up with them, Like I think I had a
Speaker 2: few girls that we stayed from like basically twelve until eighteens,
Speaker 2: and that's pretty unique to have, and so it was
Speaker 2: very fun, and a lot of them I still keep
Speaker 2: in touch with, which is nice.
Speaker 3: You also play beach, though, I did. So did you
Speaker 3: start indoor? Did you start beach?
Speaker 2: I start indoor first, and then that following summer I
Speaker 2: started beach. It was kind of like one season, you know,
Speaker 2: indoor and then going into the summer was beach.
Speaker 4: So it was basically all year round volleyball, which I loved.
Speaker 2: I love being in the gym or being on the beach,
Speaker 2: and so I feel like it was also a great
Speaker 2: change up. You know, being indoor and then playing on
Speaker 2: the beach is such a different atmosphere and it's honestly
Speaker 2: such a different game, and so for me, it just
Speaker 2: taught me a lot of well roundedness, kind of seeing
Speaker 2: a lot of different parts of the game and kind
Speaker 2: of bettering each skill. So I really enjoyed my time
Speaker 2: and like doing both sports because I think it was
Speaker 2: super important for my overall ability to see the game
Speaker 2: and to read the game.
Speaker 1: Hey guys, time for your first fun fact of the episode.
Speaker 1: And it's not volleyball specific.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: Although beach and indoor volleyball are somewhat similar, as Justine said,
Speaker 1: there are different skills involved and it is a different sport.
Speaker 1: In fact, playing multiple sports as a kid is actually
Speaker 1: really important. It can prevent injuries due to overuse, less
Speaker 1: emotional burnout. Kids get exposed to different kids and roles,
Speaker 1: and it allows them to see what they like and
Speaker 1: don't like, so that later down the road they can
Speaker 1: eventually specialize. And who knows, maybe kids not burning out
Speaker 1: could lead them to become an Olympic champion just like Justine.
Speaker 1: But now let's get back to volleyball.
Speaker 3: So I started club when I was twelve. I wait,
Speaker 3: teen and everything too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but I remember when I was fourteen, I said
Speaker 1: to myself, fall I'm a really good indoor player, so
Speaker 1: I can play beach, And I went I was in
Speaker 1: California for a trip, and I went out and tried
Speaker 1: to play, and I was dying, absolutely dying. I can't
Speaker 1: handle the cminus. So you learn a lot from playing
Speaker 1: beach versus indoor, But did you find one to be
Speaker 1: particularly harder one?
Speaker 3: Do that you enjoy it more?
Speaker 4: I would say the.
Speaker 2: Hardest part of beach volleyball is just there's two people
Speaker 2: out there, so there's no really hiding.
Speaker 4: Both of you guys have to do all the skills.
Speaker 2: You have to pass that hit, and I think that
Speaker 2: just teaches a lot of people about reading the game
Speaker 2: and also how to be good at each skill. And
Speaker 2: so I think for me, getting exposed to beach volleyball
Speaker 2: at such a young age actually taught me a lot
Speaker 2: and also about you know, stamina and being like I
Speaker 2: felt like every time I transitioned from beach to indoor,
Speaker 2: I felt faster, I was jumping higher, just because the
Speaker 2: sand just creates a lot of difficulty to move. And
Speaker 2: so it was honestly really good cross training.
Speaker 1: Did you find yourself teaching the younger kids how to
Speaker 1: play or were you involved in any of that since you.
Speaker 2: Did enjoy being with Yeah, So at Mazuno we had
Speaker 2: this one team. It was called Beach Babes, and they
Speaker 2: were like, I think they could be they could start
Speaker 2: as young as they wanted, and they went up to
Speaker 2: ten and so each team had to do one tournament
Speaker 2: of Beach Babes of like helping out coaching, just kind
Speaker 2: of being their mentoring. And it was so cute because
Speaker 2: they're playing with those light balls and they're usually playing
Speaker 2: like from.
Speaker 4: The tenth line to like half core.
Speaker 2: It was such a great way to like connect with
Speaker 2: the younger athletes and show them a thing or two,
Speaker 2: but also grow the game because when you starting at
Speaker 2: that young of an age, it's so fun to be
Speaker 2: able to see the older girls like and also see
Speaker 2: that they care.
Speaker 4: About you and want to support you.
Speaker 2: And I think that's one thing that Maszuna Long Beach
Speaker 2: did a great job of is just creating a family environment.
Speaker 2: And you felt that from you know, twelve and unders
Speaker 2: to eighteen and unders.
Speaker 3: That's like California's so good at volleyball.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so let me ask you when you got to
Speaker 1: club and high school, what position were you?
Speaker 4: I was a setter?
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, so were you running a five one or
Speaker 3: a six to two?
Speaker 2: I ran a five to one actually up until my
Speaker 2: senior year.
Speaker 1: Real quick before, since you know there are people who
Speaker 1: are listening to this who don't know volleyball, can you
Speaker 1: explain what a five one is versus six to two?
Speaker 2: Yeah, five to one is when the setter just comes
Speaker 2: from the back row, setting from the back row all
Speaker 2: the way through the front row, and then six to
Speaker 2: two is just when the setter is setting from the
Speaker 2: back row and then typically an opposite that's coming in
Speaker 2: and then they do like a double sub and they're
Speaker 2: able to only set from the back row, So you're
Speaker 2: always having three attackers.
Speaker 1: Played five line. So I'm sure I know you're five
Speaker 1: to six. Yeah, short people, you know some love right here.
Speaker 1: When you were in the front row, did you struggle
Speaker 1: at all or were you working hard?
Speaker 3: Did the beach yes, say and get you to jump
Speaker 3: high and help with blocking and.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: I feel like, honestly, that was one thing that I
Speaker 2: had to really overcome, is you know, the height and
Speaker 2: the disadvantage that I had, and so I feel like,
Speaker 2: honestly that was one thing that Beach helped me with,
Speaker 2: was just the vertical and just trying to at least
Speaker 2: put some sort of hands above the block but we
Speaker 2: did a really good job of My coach JP called around.
Speaker 2: He made sure that no matter what position you were,
Speaker 2: you were doing all the skills. So if you were
Speaker 2: a metal blocker, you were involved in defense, passing, and
Speaker 2: so I feel like that, Like, honestly, we had a
Speaker 2: really good ball control team, and so it was kind
Speaker 2: of filling gaps where was needed on that team from
Speaker 2: like sixteens because my sixteen seventeen eighteens year was the
Speaker 2: same team, and so we kind of knew each other
Speaker 2: and we did a really good job of, you know,
Speaker 2: training everything. And I think that's so important as a
Speaker 2: young athlete is not to put yourself in a box
Speaker 2: and specialize in one position. I think, of course, when
Speaker 2: you're getting to recruitment time and you're starting to look
Speaker 2: for colleges, yes, you can have a specific position that
Speaker 2: you want to go for, but when you're ten, eleven, twelve, like,
Speaker 2: play all the positions, yeah, enjoy and try to do
Speaker 2: everything you can because I think that's what's going to
Speaker 2: make you a really good volleyball player down the road.
Speaker 4: And recruiting was a little.
Speaker 3: Tough for you, right, yeah, I mean I had the
Speaker 3: same thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So what's your story with recruiting, Yeah, that Nebraska.
Speaker 2: So I was mainly looking at a lot of local
Speaker 2: schools in California as a setter. As a back row setter,
Speaker 2: you know, maybe a DS super quick.
Speaker 1: DS means defensive specialist and does what the name says,
Speaker 1: specializes in defense. So this position only plays back row
Speaker 1: and teams must use a substitution to go in and
Speaker 1: out of the game. A libero, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: is free to replace a back row player whenever, as
Speaker 1: long as it's in between plays. Libero's became a position
Speaker 1: internationally back in nineteen ninety eight and was introduced in
Speaker 1: college in two thousand and two to help with ball
Speaker 1: control and make the game more exciting. You'll know who
Speaker 1: the libero is because they always wear a different color jersey.
Speaker 1: All right, Back to Justine.
Speaker 2: What's funny is that going into my junior year of club,
Speaker 2: we were at nationals and my coach it was never
Speaker 2: a conversation. He just was like, we need you to
Speaker 2: go to play libero because we need some passing. And
Speaker 2: so I was like freaking out because first of all,
Speaker 2: I didn't bring my other jersey because normally at every
Speaker 2: club tournament they're like brainbow jerseys just in case I
Speaker 2: was the one that did not, and so I ended
Speaker 2: up having to borrow a libero jersey from a different team.
Speaker 4: You know, it worked out.
Speaker 2: I was playing libero for that tournament and Nebraska was
Speaker 2: you know, kind of roaming the courts and they saw
Speaker 2: me play. And then after that that tournament we ended
Speaker 2: up talking and setting up an official visit because after
Speaker 2: that junior season was into my senior year, so I
Speaker 2: was pretty late in.
Speaker 4: The recruitment you know period.
Speaker 2: I was a senior when I committed to Nebraska and
Speaker 2: with like no libero experience at all, and so that
Speaker 2: was honestly such a like kind of mental block because
Speaker 2: for me, I'm like thinking I need to chase and
Speaker 2: like catch up with every other libero in the Big
Speaker 2: Ten that's been playing for however many years. But I
Speaker 2: really do credit that to beach volleyball, because I think
Speaker 2: without beach like, I wouldn't have had all the skills
Speaker 2: in the court awareness that beach volleyball gives. I was
Speaker 2: at a good starting point, but of course I wanted
Speaker 2: to do more and have more.
Speaker 4: Experience in that position.
Speaker 2: So yeah, that was a fun time though, Like I'm
Speaker 2: so happy for my experience and how club all ended
Speaker 2: up in just that whole story. But it was just
Speaker 2: so funny how my coach was like randomly, Like it
Speaker 2: was never a conversation of like, hey, we're thinking of
Speaker 2: playing you Libero.
Speaker 4: It was just like, hey, you're going in there.
Speaker 3: Get that jersey right, right.
Speaker 4: And for those who.
Speaker 1: Don't know what a libero is, libero, where's a different
Speaker 1: colored jersey.
Speaker 3: It's called Libero. It's Italian, yes, free, So that's why
Speaker 3: they go in and out without any subs.
Speaker 1: So when I played in high school, I was actually
Speaker 1: an outside hitter. Okay, at five three and a quarter,
Speaker 1: I always had that quarter in there, right, you have
Speaker 1: to go extra right, But when it came to club,
Speaker 1: all of my teammates were five ten or taller.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I was put as Libero.
Speaker 1: And I just remember at first hating it because I'm like,
Speaker 1: you just want people to hit balls at me basics.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm the person that they're just aiming for. But
Speaker 3: I loved it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, when you transition from Cetter to Lobero, did you
Speaker 1: love it like in college or were you.
Speaker 3: Kind of nervous because Colin is a different life.
Speaker 2: Yeah, For me, I was excited to play because I
Speaker 2: did love defensive aspect, like I felt like I was
Speaker 2: as a setter. I love to play defense, like that
Speaker 2: was the one thing I was like, I love playing
Speaker 2: and I took pride and playing defense, and so that
Speaker 2: part I was like pretty confident in.
Speaker 4: I think it was more the serve reception part and not.
Speaker 2: Having as many repetitions as maybe other liberos had. And
Speaker 2: so that was the struggle for me, is like how
Speaker 2: do I take up space in the serve receive portion
Speaker 2: of it? And that's a really tough space to be
Speaker 2: in because you know that's the first contact and honestly,
Speaker 2: you're setting it up for all of the offense to
Speaker 2: be successful. And so my first couple of years at Nebraska,
Speaker 2: I think that was the biggest struggle for me to
Speaker 2: kind of overcome, is like how can I be good
Speaker 2: at SERVI receiving but also be able to like take
Speaker 2: up more space because as a libero, you know they're
Speaker 2: not serving you as much, but how do you relieve
Speaker 2: some of your hitters and other attackers to do what
Speaker 2: they're doing best? And I think that was the major
Speaker 2: change for me, is like how can I give an
Speaker 2: other way that you know, as a setter, you're touching
Speaker 2: every other contact, You're very involved in the play, and
Speaker 2: you're leading the charge, leading the offense, and Walberrow is
Speaker 2: kind of like a different way. I've had to learn
Speaker 2: how to lead in a different way. And I think
Speaker 2: mainly in that way, I was using my voice and
Speaker 2: just directing traffic and seeing how I can be big
Speaker 2: for other people. And so I've learned that over my career,
Speaker 2: and I was definitely a transition, but over the years,
Speaker 2: you know, trial and error, and just with different teammates too.
Speaker 2: You learn about different teammates and how you can give
Speaker 2: to them and how you can add in any way,
Speaker 2: well paid off, you are the.
Speaker 1: Old I mean, I had Nebraska, so I think you
Speaker 1: figured it out pretty well.
Speaker 4: So when you were in.
Speaker 1: College, did you have any idea that you wanted to
Speaker 1: keep playing and go pro or play on the US
Speaker 1: women's national team?
Speaker 3: Is that the dream?
Speaker 2: As I got older into my career, I was getting
Speaker 2: more confident. I think for me, confidence was like a
Speaker 2: big issue at Nebraska. And the more and more I
Speaker 2: saw myself getting more confident, I was like, well, I
Speaker 2: fel like I have more to give and so after,
Speaker 2: you know, my senior year, that's when Kurch had reached
Speaker 2: out and invited me to the national team gym, and
Speaker 2: I was all for it. I mean, I was honored
Speaker 2: to even like be able to like be seen in
Speaker 2: that you know kind of radar, and so for me,
Speaker 2: I was like, yeah.
Speaker 4: One hundred percent, I'm ready.
Speaker 2: And also that was a huge transition too, from the
Speaker 2: college game to the international game. But you know, with
Speaker 2: the help of like so many coaches and teammates, I
Speaker 2: think it's been you know, a lot of learning and
Speaker 2: growing and it's it's been really fun.
Speaker 1: What was the transition, Like, what's the big difference between
Speaker 1: college and international I.
Speaker 4: Think the speed of the game.
Speaker 2: Like I think you see in the college game there
Speaker 2: are a lot of offenses that.
Speaker 4: Are really speeding up.
Speaker 2: But from Nebraska to my first year in the national
Speaker 2: team gym, the speed of which we were setting the
Speaker 2: ball was fast, and so I was like, wow, my
Speaker 2: my wheels are turning. I'm just like trying to get
Speaker 2: my bearings down. And I think it was also a
Speaker 2: lot of turnover withel in the gym. A lot of
Speaker 2: people were retiring or also taking time off for the
Speaker 2: first part of the summer, and so there were a
Speaker 2: lot of opportunities for starting spots, and so I think
Speaker 2: with that in a new quad, I think that just
Speaker 2: you know, kind of added a little bit of pressure
Speaker 2: because there's a lot of newbies that are wanting to
Speaker 2: take some starting spots. And so it was really fun
Speaker 2: to like get to know a lot of girls that
Speaker 2: you've played against in the college game and then now
Speaker 2: to be able to be teammates and just learn with
Speaker 2: one another and see the different types of play that
Speaker 2: are we're all, you know, invited to the national team
Speaker 2: gym and then kind.
Speaker 4: Of like putting all the puzzle pieces together.
Speaker 1: I kind of had that little bit with club because
Speaker 1: my club was based in Philadelphia, and I guys an
Speaker 1: hour north of Philly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so they combined a lot of girls from all over.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And I just remember playing one girl from a different
Speaker 1: high school and we used to call her the Robot
Speaker 1: because she was so mechanical and everything. She would crush
Speaker 1: us like, yeah, kills, she could find the whole every
Speaker 1: single time.
Speaker 3: And then she ended up on my team and I
Speaker 3: was like, you're the brood.
Speaker 1: Yeah, did you ever find it like when you're playing
Speaker 1: these girls, you had nicknames for them or anything like
Speaker 1: that where you're like, oh my god, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: now i'm teammate.
Speaker 3: Did you know that I used to know you as.
Speaker 2: This not necessarily nicknames, but it's just like you see,
Speaker 2: especially like if you're playing in the same conference, you
Speaker 2: play them like at least twice a year, and so
Speaker 2: it's so funny to be able to like scout them
Speaker 2: and then now you're you're sitting on the same side
Speaker 2: and playing with one another.
Speaker 4: I think it's almost like a sigh of relief.
Speaker 5: Because you're like, okay, you might yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 3: So you were on the US women's team.
Speaker 1: You joined in twenty eighteen, correct, twenty seventeen seventeen, So
Speaker 1: how did the transition go from when you joined the
Speaker 1: US women's team to sign you were going to be
Speaker 1: going to the Olympics and do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was honestly a very long process because you know,
Speaker 2: with COVID and just the postponement of the Olympics. For me,
Speaker 2: it was a very big blasing in disguise because I
Speaker 2: feel like I could have been ready if it were
Speaker 2: to happen in twenty twenty, but I think with the
Speaker 2: extra year like it allowed me to really like get
Speaker 2: my goals in alignment and just also like put in
Speaker 2: the work. And I think we did a lot of
Speaker 2: self reflection as individuals, but then also as a team,
Speaker 2: like we were working a lot about our team culture
Speaker 2: and the dynamics and just how we can be better
Speaker 2: going into the Olympics and with such a like short season.
Speaker 4: What was very.
Speaker 2: Unique is that we played in a bubble with VNL
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty one, and so I felt like that
Speaker 2: allowed us to be super super close with one another,
Speaker 2: and it was so cool because it was obviously a
Speaker 2: very hard time with you know, the Olympic roster coming
Speaker 2: out and then we were still in the bubble and
Speaker 2: there were cuts being made, but I think the way
Speaker 2: that people handled it with such grace and with such professionalism,
Speaker 2: like everyone embraced their roles and just whatever was given
Speaker 2: to the team, like they gave to the team with
Speaker 2: one hundred percent. And I think going into the games,
Speaker 2: we were so close knit and tight knit to each
Speaker 2: other that it felt like nothing could stop us, Like
Speaker 2: I really truly believed, because we had put in so
Speaker 2: much work off the court, like with Zoom meetings and
Speaker 2: with our sports side and just with each other. We
Speaker 2: learned how to communicate with each other and just what
Speaker 2: could we give to one another, And I think that
Speaker 2: helped us a lot on the court.
Speaker 1: So during that COVID year, when you guys weren't together, yeah,
Speaker 1: were you practicing at home and training at home solo.
Speaker 3: Or were you able to do anything with your team.
Speaker 2: So at first, like the first like I would say,
Speaker 2: in May, it was still shut down, so a lot
Speaker 2: of us were still at our homes and we were
Speaker 2: doing workouts like wherever we could do them, honestly, whether
Speaker 2: it was outside in a garage. I remember Jordan Thompson
Speaker 2: was she was in Minnesota at the time, and it
Speaker 2: was snowing, and so she was like in like her
Speaker 2: parka like still getting her workouts in case. We were
Speaker 2: doing zoom workouts, and so it was so funny, and
Speaker 2: I think that was like a huge like testament as.
Speaker 4: To like how much we wanted it.
Speaker 2: We were still putting in the work because there was
Speaker 2: still a possibility of the Olympics maybe happening, and also
Speaker 2: we were kind of getting you know, waiting to see
Speaker 2: if Kartch would say if the ASC was going to
Speaker 2: be open.
Speaker 4: Our training facility, and so I think it was.
Speaker 2: Around June first that we got the green light to
Speaker 2: come train, and so it was optional for some people
Speaker 2: to either stay at home or come into Anaheim and train.
Speaker 2: And so I think we had like a small group
Speaker 2: of like eight just training and trying to get some
Speaker 2: work done. And then everyone went into their pro seasons
Speaker 2: pretty early since we had no national team, and then
Speaker 2: it was just you know, one one year of work
Speaker 2: and then we got the call to come back and
Speaker 2: everything was as normal as it could be with COVID
Speaker 2: still happening, but with the Olympics being that in that year.
Speaker 1: I want to get to your pros in just a second,
Speaker 1: but I have to ask what went through your mind
Speaker 1: when you found out that you are the la OL
Speaker 1: for US women's national team.
Speaker 4: Very emotional.
Speaker 2: I will say, my journey has not been easy, like whatsoever.
Speaker 2: I've I've been cut from teams, I've made teams, I've
Speaker 2: been the starter, I've been a non starter. And so
Speaker 2: for me to like say that I made the Olympics,
Speaker 2: like I immediately started crying. I was so emotional, and I
Speaker 2: think it was just it was just emotional because like
Speaker 2: I figured it out, it was a lot of self reflection.
Speaker 2: Of course, it helped with my family and my teammates
Speaker 2: and coaches, like everyone's been there for me, and I
Speaker 2: feel like everyone's given me resources to get there. It
Speaker 2: was just how can I figure it out? And so honestly,
Speaker 2: it was such a relief and it was just like
Speaker 2: so rewarding to hear that. And it was crazy because
Speaker 2: we were in the bubble and so we couldn't like
Speaker 2: immediately go like tell a teammate or anything because still
Speaker 2: people were finding out if they.
Speaker 4: Had made it or not.
Speaker 2: So I called my mom and then I called my fiance,
Speaker 2: and I was trying to be like extra quiet about
Speaker 2: it because we like, it was just a weird time
Speaker 2: and it was it was different than it ever had been.
Speaker 2: Is very unique, but it was Yeah, a lot of
Speaker 2: emotions for sure.
Speaker 3: Well I was like holding back emotions a little bit.
Speaker 4: Yeah anything, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Exciting though You're like, I mean, you were the best
Speaker 1: lorero in the United States.
Speaker 3: That's basically what contact, which is amazing.
Speaker 1: So when you got to Tokyo and twenty twenty, no fans, right,
Speaker 1: and so Pears is going to be full of spectators, right,
Speaker 1: So what was it like playing with no fans.
Speaker 3: So what do you think it will be like to
Speaker 3: play in Paris with fans.
Speaker 4: I think it's going to be very different.
Speaker 2: I think honestly, having no fans was like one less distraction,
Speaker 2: especially a lot of us were like newcomers to the Olympics.
Speaker 2: I mean, there are a lot of venues that we've
Speaker 2: played in, a lot of different countries that we've played
Speaker 2: in that have a lot of fans, Like you know,
Speaker 2: when we go to Brazil, they're always showing up for
Speaker 2: their for their team, And.
Speaker 1: I want to quickly point out how popular volleyball is
Speaker 1: in Brazil. Soccer is the country's largest sport, but volleyball
Speaker 1: is second, with a quarter of Brazil's population calling themselves
Speaker 1: a fan. Their men's and women's team have dominated the
Speaker 1: sport worldwide for years decades, even having won a total
Speaker 1: of five gold medals between the two teams eleven Olympic
Speaker 1: medals overall. The women recently earned silver in the Tokyo Games,
Speaker 1: losing to Team USA in the finals. Now back to
Speaker 1: just scene.
Speaker 2: Same in Japan, same and honestly Arlington last year at
Speaker 2: Vienna was a huge turnout, So I think we've definitely
Speaker 2: had experiences where we've played in full crowds. It's just
Speaker 2: you know, when it's the Olympics, it's the biggest stage possible,
Speaker 2: so that obviously adds a layer of pressure. So I
Speaker 2: think what will be good about is just front loading
Speaker 2: that and really trying to be good for each other.
Speaker 2: A lot of eye contact, a lot of hand contact,
Speaker 2: I think typically is really good for us, and just
Speaker 2: knowing that there are people that will be there and
Speaker 2: so how can we help those that have maybe not
Speaker 2: been there?
Speaker 3: What do you do on those little flights, Like what
Speaker 3: do you read? Do you watch tape? You're like picking
Speaker 3: up the TV and on the back of the chairs.
Speaker 2: Honestly, I'm really good about sleeping on the flight, So
Speaker 2: as much as as much sleep as I can get,
Speaker 2: I'll sleep.
Speaker 4: And then a lot of us watch movies and.
Speaker 2: A lot of us we have a lot of readers
Speaker 2: on the team, so either a book or their kindle
Speaker 2: they'll bring.
Speaker 4: You read it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, which like your go to genre?
Speaker 4: I love a good romance book? Oh yeah? Really?
Speaker 3: Yeah? What is it about a roman? I'm not into
Speaker 3: romance books. I don't know what it is. But what
Speaker 3: do you love about them?
Speaker 4: I don't know, just like the fantasy of it all.
Speaker 4: Maybe love.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've read like a thriller here I'm there.
Speaker 2: I have to be careful of when I'm reading that
Speaker 2: because I'm like late.
Speaker 4: At night, like, no, thank you?
Speaker 3: Is your romantic?
Speaker 4: He can be? He can be.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, what's the most romantic thing he's done.
Speaker 2: So unfortunately we're never together for Valentine's Day because I'm
Speaker 2: always overseas, And so last year when I was in France,
Speaker 2: he had all of us actually stayed in the same
Speaker 2: like complex. So one of my teammates that I was
Speaker 2: pretty close to, he reached out to her and so
Speaker 2: he had it arranged with like flowers, champagne, chocolates, and
Speaker 2: so she came into she was like, go upstairs real quick,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna set something up, and so she put it
Speaker 2: on the table for me and she was like, this
Speaker 2: is for me Andrew.
Speaker 4: So that was really sweet.
Speaker 2: He's pretty good about that, like reaching out to a
Speaker 2: teammate if it's like a big you know, holiday or
Speaker 2: like anniversary or something.
Speaker 1: Well, next year you're going to be part of love
Speaker 1: and you're gonna be here in the state, so you
Speaker 1: get to celebrate.
Speaker 5: Yeah, he better fly to Nebraska, that's a lot easier exactly. Germany, Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 5: for sure, So real quick going to your pro league,
Speaker 5: What was it like playing internationally?
Speaker 3: Yeah, versus internationally with a yeah team.
Speaker 2: It's pretty different, I think just the lifestyle and also
Speaker 2: the language barrier, for sure, is it sometimes you know,
Speaker 2: in Germany for example, every like actually I would say
Speaker 2: in France too, everyone speaks English. It's just how you
Speaker 2: go into a practice or how maybe systems are differently,
Speaker 2: and so I think that's been the biggest differentiator with
Speaker 2: like being you know, home with Americans and then also
Speaker 2: being overseas with just a lot of international players. It's
Speaker 2: just how we approach things. And I think that's been
Speaker 2: kind of tough to overcome at some points in some
Speaker 2: seasons because you're not going to you know, have the
Speaker 2: same outlook as maybe a Serbian or Hungarian and so.
Speaker 2: And that's fine, but it's just how can can we
Speaker 2: collaborate and you know, get on a common ground. But
Speaker 2: it's very fun because you meet so many different people
Speaker 2: that maybe you wouldn't have met in like, you know,
Speaker 2: normal jobs and so, and it's so fun to be
Speaker 2: able to establish those relationships and also like you know,
Speaker 2: down the road they're like, hey, like can I come
Speaker 2: visit you at California or vice versa, like can I
Speaker 2: come visit you in Hungary? And so I think that's
Speaker 2: always fun to make those real relationships and also keep
Speaker 2: them for sure.
Speaker 1: And then I feel like all the different cultures and
Speaker 1: all the different food that they can make and experience.
Speaker 4: Yes, that's so fun. Yeah, we had that one time.
Speaker 2: We actually had a Thanksgiving this past year and we
Speaker 2: had some girls like bring stuff like from their own
Speaker 2: culture and that was super fun, super fun because they're
Speaker 2: like what is Thanksgiving?
Speaker 4: Like we've never heard of it or like basically we
Speaker 4: just make a bunch of food and eat.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So some people came over and found the rock and
Speaker 3: became friends.
Speaker 5: Yeah yeah, yeah, exactly what did they make there?
Speaker 4: Was our setup made musaka. It's basically like a lasagna.
Speaker 2: But with a lot of different like Mediterranean vegetables.
Speaker 4: It was super yummy.
Speaker 3: So coming back.
Speaker 1: To love being here in the States, Yeah, what are
Speaker 1: you looking forward to the most now that you're going
Speaker 1: to be playing professionally.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think getting more opportunities to play in front
Speaker 2: of friends and family, and with that, I think also
Speaker 2: like spreading the word about professional volley I think at
Speaker 2: least when I was younger, like I didn't know where
Speaker 2: to go for pro volleyball, like what that might even
Speaker 2: look like. And so I think spreading that awareness to
Speaker 2: the young athletes and knowing that, you know, if they
Speaker 2: do want to do this in the later years, it's
Speaker 2: there for them, and just connecting, you know, the pro
Speaker 2: to the youth is going to be I think for me,
Speaker 2: I'm really excited about that part.
Speaker 1: And your former club team is a love team. All yeah,
Speaker 1: it's like all full circle, right, I.
Speaker 4: Know, I know, I'm really excited to go back to Omaha.
Speaker 1: Speaking of Nebraska real quick, because Nebraska just had that
Speaker 1: record setting.
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, world record setting apparents.
Speaker 3: You know, most people had attendance at a women's spring.
Speaker 1: Did do you ever imagine at some point that that
Speaker 1: could have happened when you were playing?
Speaker 4: No, Oh my gosh, I'm like no.
Speaker 2: But also I'm not surprised that Nebraska was able to
Speaker 2: pull that off because the state of Nebraska is so
Speaker 2: so invested in.
Speaker 4: Volleyball, but also like the sports in.
Speaker 2: General, and I think when I was there, you could
Speaker 2: feel that as an athlete, you could really feel that support,
Speaker 2: and I think they're like all for everything that's about
Speaker 2: to come. And so I think that's the most special
Speaker 2: part is including them, you know, with love and being
Speaker 2: able to play in front of them and just see
Speaker 2: what we can do for the sport.
Speaker 1: So, speaking about you personally, what do you hope that
Speaker 1: your legacy as a volleyball player will be.
Speaker 2: I would love to just hopefully like inspire the young athletes,
Speaker 2: like I said, because I think coming from a club
Speaker 2: Mazu in a long beach and having that family environment,
Speaker 2: like I want that for the young athletes. I want
Speaker 2: them to be like, oh, you know, love, Omaha athlete
Speaker 2: came to my practice and was able to mentor me,
Speaker 2: and so I think for me that's the biggest thing
Speaker 2: is just being able to pass it down to the
Speaker 2: younger athletes for sure.
Speaker 3: And what do you hope volleyball will be in five
Speaker 3: ten years?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I hope we have a love team
Speaker 2: in every state and you know we're able to do
Speaker 2: this long term and who knows, Like I'm down to
Speaker 2: play it for.
Speaker 4: As long as I can. Now if we have volleyball.
Speaker 2: In America, like I can see people prolonging their career.
Speaker 2: And also I think it's really cool that like even
Speaker 2: Europeans and other countries are able to come because I
Speaker 2: think when they hear about America and volleyball in the
Speaker 2: same sentence, they're like, so for it.
Speaker 1: What advice do you have for girls who are coming up?
Speaker 3: But also since your parents were so involved, yes, for
Speaker 3: what advice.
Speaker 1: Do you have for parents who are dealing with kids
Speaker 1: or who have kids who want to pursue this.
Speaker 2: I would just say for the parents, as long as
Speaker 2: they want it, keep on encouraging them to do it,
Speaker 2: because I think for me, like I've always had that
Speaker 2: and I've always felt supported and even if it wasn't vulleyable,
Speaker 2: like they were going to support me no matter what.
Speaker 2: And so I think that's always a good feeling to have,
Speaker 2: especially when you're younger and as a young athlete. I
Speaker 2: would just say, like I would encourage them to keep
Speaker 2: playing every.
Speaker 4: Position in volleyball, also play all the sports that you can.
Speaker 2: I think you know a lot of young kids, they
Speaker 2: just like really get put in a box, and I
Speaker 2: think down the road that's only going to limit them.
Speaker 4: And I feel like.
Speaker 2: As we grow and grow, the sport, and we're trying to,
Speaker 2: you know, bring the international game here to America. There's
Speaker 2: going to be just less substitutions, for example, and I
Speaker 2: think the game is going to evolve.
Speaker 4: And so as long as you.
Speaker 2: Can really be well rounded and see yourself, you know,
Speaker 2: doing multiple positions for as long as you can, I
Speaker 2: think that's only going to enhance your career and make
Speaker 2: you a better volleyball player.
Speaker 1: Well just see, thank you so much for joining me
Speaker 1: for pink Thanks for having me. Serving Pancakes is an
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by
Speaker 1: League One Volleyball. I'm your host Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Oliverarez
Speaker 1: is our senior producer. Our executive producers are Carrie Stett,
Speaker 1: Tamara Daiki, and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing lead is Jawara Parker.
Speaker 1: Sound mixing by Max Lorenzen. Our theme music is Pancakes
Speaker 1: by Eric W. Mast Junior special thanks to Justine Wangurantes.
Speaker 1: We'll be back next week with Jordan Larson, a three
Speaker 1: time Olympic medalist, who has dominated the sport for decades
Speaker 1: as a powerful outside hitter, and who will be back
Speaker 1: this summer in Paris. Stay tuned for what we serve
Speaker 1: up next.