Lauren Carlini and the Evolution of an Icon

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Boom boom boom boom boom chick boom boom boo boom.

00:00:05
Speaker 2: It's Semn cakes. And yeah, but we'll be flipping. It's Maddie and Cat and we be chipping. Lauren Carlini the cut blessed it up and yeah.

00:00:15
Speaker 3: I don't know. That's all I got.

00:00:32
Speaker 4: Hey, y'all, Yeah, okay.

00:00:35
Speaker 2: Mar Carlini, Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, we were all gonna you guys can see we have the Lauren Carlini stepping into the chat. Let's give it around of applause.

00:00:49
Speaker 4: There you god.

00:00:55
Speaker 3: Honestly fun. The fact about Lauren Carlini.

00:00:57
Speaker 2: She beat me my senior year, junior year in the fire in the semi finals to the championship game.

00:01:03
Speaker 4: Baby girl, what's roe of that offensity? Killed this?

00:01:06
Speaker 5: It's actually we still talk about you to this day. The roar you did through the net at our little baby freshman who gets two sets an entire match.

00:01:16
Speaker 3: I'm tired of this.

00:01:17
Speaker 4: Oh so it wasn't just me.

00:01:21
Speaker 3: I know I did not remember that.

00:01:24
Speaker 5: Poor little girl, second set of the entire season, gets blocked, roars in her.

00:01:30
Speaker 6: Face, just left her soul, left her body.

00:01:36
Speaker 4: I love this, Yeah, I love this so much.

00:01:45
Speaker 3: You guys, I didn't know any better.

00:01:47
Speaker 2: Jared like was having us act like rabbit dogs and it was okay. So I just thought it was okay. You know, I get these stories like all the time, but I've changed.

00:01:55
Speaker 3: I'm greas changed, you know.

00:01:59
Speaker 2: I'm so nice and Maddie now say how nice I am.

00:02:01
Speaker 1: You've definitely grown up a lot since the time that you roared at the nut at me.

00:02:06
Speaker 4: So I'm so proud of you. Anyway. Introducer, guests, good show.

00:02:11
Speaker 3: We have six foot one Lauren Carleni from.

00:02:13
Speaker 4: A Lauren, Illinois.

00:02:15
Speaker 6: It's true.

00:02:18
Speaker 2: She was twenty twelve get Ready Player of the Year. That's such an amazing war to get as a high school player. Twenty fourteen Big Ten Player of the Year. That's also big time USA national team member.

00:02:29
Speaker 3: In the fielding, you know what I'm saying. You've got a medal, Olympic silver medalist, that.

00:02:33
Speaker 6: Is yeah somewhere around here.

00:02:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's crazy. Everyone can't say they've done that.

00:02:38
Speaker 2: So you know, put overseas, you know, Championship League title holder, six domestic Cup medals?

00:02:43
Speaker 3: Are you packing a pockets? Is happy?

00:02:45
Speaker 4: Who knew? Who knew?

00:02:46
Speaker 3: Where?

00:02:47
Speaker 4: Yeah? Where's all that jewelry.

00:02:51
Speaker 6: I'll in a box somewhere at my dad's house. Probably.

00:02:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, Tony, Lauren, Oh you know Tony, we love hey, Tony.

00:03:00
Speaker 6: You know he's going to be listening to this.

00:03:02
Speaker 1: Tony is your number one fan in my mind, and like, I'm Tony's number one fan?

00:03:07
Speaker 3: What makes what makes Tony so epic? I want to give me something. I need to know who Tony is.

00:03:12
Speaker 1: He Tony is her father, and he just shows up to everything. He's just like obsessed with volleyball. I don't like how much does he know.

00:03:19
Speaker 4: I'm not sure, but like not a not a ton but he tries. Okay, he tries and I love that.

00:03:24
Speaker 1: And he's just the sweetest, sweetest man in the whole world.

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Speaker 4: I think.

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Speaker 2: Give you like tips on volleyball and things to do, like when you're playing, you know.

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Speaker 6: He puts his two cents in and.

00:03:38
Speaker 4: You give him right back.

00:03:40
Speaker 5: Oh, the right side of the court was having a tough time. What does that even mean? You know, like he tries, he tries.

00:03:46
Speaker 4: But you're like, I'm on the right side. Dad.

00:03:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, actually that was me.

00:03:53
Speaker 5: That was me, but no, just biggest fan, legendary stash and uh yeah, ultimate dead well.

00:04:01
Speaker 2: Now Tony gets to watch you in the stands. So how's it coming to come into League one volleyball?

00:04:08
Speaker 6: It's been great.

00:04:08
Speaker 5: I mean when I signed, he was so happy, Like I he was like, you're kidding me. I don't have to take an international flight to get to see you play volleyball.

00:04:20
Speaker 6: That was the best part.

00:04:20
Speaker 5: He's like, thank god, I don't have to sit on a plane for eleven hours.

00:04:25
Speaker 6: Like, so, no, it's been awesome.

00:04:33
Speaker 5: And he's at every single game, every single home game, and always.

00:04:37
Speaker 6: Watches doesn't matter the time.

00:04:38
Speaker 5: Even though I was in Turkey, he would wake up two am, set his alarm, be up watching like this.

00:04:43
Speaker 4: Ride or Die.

00:04:44
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about you're a founding athlete and like what has it been like to see this league come to fruition? Like being there from the beginning, it's been cool.

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Speaker 5: It's been cool because there's been a group of us kind of on it from the start. And being being the only founding athlete Madison, it was hard at first.

00:05:01
Speaker 6: And last year I had Annie with me and.

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Speaker 5: That helped a lot because while she wasn't a founding athlete, she's a really experienced player.

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Speaker 6: Obviously, we all we all know, Annie and.

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Speaker 5: Just very involved in decision making and helping kind of move things along in the right direction.

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Speaker 6: And so it's been fun to see it come to fruition.

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Speaker 5: And of course, like any startup, there's growing pains and there's things that we're learning. But I think the adaptability of like this league and our team has been so strong, and I think that's what's going to continue propelling us into future seasons and just really really looking forward to what it could be. I always make fun. It's like just always.

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Speaker 6: Lay in the groundwork for the next ones up, and.

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Speaker 4: It's for the next generation. I started out.

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Speaker 5: Wisconsin, you know, and you know hadn't been to a tournament in how many years? And then you know, sorry Cat ended up going to the national champion shipped that year, and then building to what Wisconsin is now and then doing the same thing for love, like laying the groundwork, laying the foundation.

00:06:08
Speaker 6: Definitely positive and negatives to all of it.

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Speaker 1: Do you feel like the correlation from having to do that at Wisconsin and then feeling like, Okay, I've done this before, I kind of know which way I need to take this.

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Speaker 4: Doing that with the Madison team as well.

00:06:21
Speaker 6: So much right.

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Speaker 5: A lot of it's just about building a culture and building something that's going to be sustainable in the long run. And so yes, like we have our league, we have all of our kind of things in place, but.

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Speaker 6: What is Madison specifically going to be? Like what is our culture going to.

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Speaker 5: Be like in Madison? And what team are we trying to build, you know, year after year. So totally there's a lot that goes into it.

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Speaker 6: And the good thing is that I've kind of.

00:06:47
Speaker 5: Gone through it before in college. Now I just get to do it at the pro level. And as you guys know, like college is different, Like there's just different perks. They got tons of money to be able to play with and kind of it's very luxurious, and here it's like the grind. The grind is real from day to day, but the fact that we get to do it at home, like that part, it's all worth.

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Speaker 6: It at the end of the day.

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Speaker 2: That's like the basically spot for me too. I'm like we get to come home. Everyone's like, well, how did they sell you to come home to the league win blood ball? I'm like that right there, the home.

00:07:19
Speaker 1: Right, yeah, and you feel like being at Wisconsin, like your assistant coaching at Wisconsin.

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Speaker 4: Correct, do you.

00:07:25
Speaker 1: Feel like seeing how that's going and like the things that they have and where the money is going blah blah blah, you're able to be like, Okay, this is what we need in Madison.

00:07:34
Speaker 5: Yeah. It's just it's wild to see the college landscape right now that you know, kids are getting paid and that's beyond their scholarship, that's beyond nil. And now they have sponsorships and there's just so much that goes into it. And to be honest, the worlds are getting closer and closer together. Like essentially college athletics is now professional. At the end of the day, you can transfer wherever you want. I don't know how it was and your guys conferences, but like Big Ten when I was in school, if you transferred to another Big ten school, you had to sit out a year.

00:08:06
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:08:07
Speaker 2: I think if you transferred in general, it was like a you problem. It's like what did you do?

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Speaker 5: Yeah?

00:08:13
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:08:13
Speaker 4: Like there's a couple of.

00:08:14
Speaker 5: People I think that we all know that transferred to like two or three schools and everyone was.

00:08:17
Speaker 4: Like, exactly, if you transfer one, if you tresferred to they're like problem child, difficult.

00:08:27
Speaker 5: But now that's just the reality of college athletics, and so just learning it's going to actually set them up for success when they go and play pro, whether it's here in the States or overseas, because they're pretty much living it right now. Is a little bit more luxurious than what we're seeing right now, certainly, but.

00:08:47
Speaker 3: I don't think it's handicapped.

00:08:48
Speaker 2: If girls, some girls choose to go overseas from going from college.

00:08:53
Speaker 6: That part's going to be tough.

00:08:54
Speaker 5: And I tell them to like the girls who decided to go overseas this year, it's and last year as well.

00:09:00
Speaker 6: It's like, hey, this is going to be this is if you want to growth experience.

00:09:04
Speaker 4: Yes, this is if you want to go you need some do.

00:09:15
Speaker 5: It's if you want an eye opener, If you want to be comfortable, if you want to be here making a pretty good amount of money still but still be able to be around your friends and family, absolutely great choice. If you want to get outside your comfort zone, you can go ahead and you can take that plane.

00:09:29
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, But Tony CARLINI talk to him first points.

00:09:42
Speaker 4: In Wisconsin.

00:09:42
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts on State Street broads on spotted cow beer.

00:09:49
Speaker 6: We love a spotted cow. We love a spotted cow.

00:09:52
Speaker 5: And speaking of Tony, every time it comes up here, he's got to stop at the Woodman's gotta grab it because you can't buy it outside of Wisconsin. Fun fact, it's only the Wisconsin borders.

00:10:02
Speaker 4: Is it just a what? It's just a beer? It's what can you explain to the people.

00:10:06
Speaker 5: No, it's beer, spotty Cow, I am It's Nu Glarius Brewing Company, which is what it was. They have a couple different types of beers and whatnot, but Spotty Cow is the most famous. You can't buy it or get it anywhere else outside of Wisconsin.

00:10:20
Speaker 6: So people literally it's like when you go to the Madison.

00:10:23
Speaker 5: Airport, you can go pick up your case before you go onto the plane.

00:10:29
Speaker 6: Literally.

00:10:30
Speaker 5: Yeah, and brought's on State Street. I have some hazy memories of Bros Place.

00:10:37
Speaker 2: Isn't then for omea things? We were there doing another season and we went.

00:10:42
Speaker 6: Yeah, but no, it's a good time. It's a good time.

00:10:44
Speaker 5: It's a sports bar by day.

00:10:48
Speaker 6: Who knows at night?

00:10:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, a little divy at night.

00:10:51
Speaker 5: But we love a good bra. I love the brons at the terrace too. You just go sit out by the lake. You put your little spicy mustard and your onions on there.

00:10:58
Speaker 3: It brought like a Wisconsin thing.

00:11:00
Speaker 6: Is that like it's like a dummy thick hot dog?

00:11:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, dummy, we.

00:11:07
Speaker 3: Have them here.

00:11:08
Speaker 2: But I wasn't sure that was just like a Wisconsin kind of thing that people just that's what you guys eat.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, And then of course like people on a who's on our team, like the German, she's like a brought worst.

00:11:18
Speaker 6: Yes, of course we made it. And I was like, that's true. We like adopted it really heavily.

00:11:23
Speaker 4: Yeah, you spruced it up. Yeah, you're in. I'm gonna just pivot and go back to the Love here.

00:11:29
Speaker 1: But like, you're in a unique position to be working with Love at such a high level and working at Wisconsin and seeing the club impact. What's it like to have a front row seat in each stage of life as an aspiring volleyball player going through this.

00:11:43
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's it is really interesting because once season is done here, then I immediately get on the recruiting train for Wisconsin and then we're at club tournaments.

00:11:52
Speaker 6: And it was funny. I was talking to some people the other day about.

00:11:56
Speaker 5: Like club fees and just how ridiculous it is now like, I mean, drop in twenty grand a year on club yep.

00:12:04
Speaker 4: Inflation is crazy, y'all. Also, I think.

00:12:09
Speaker 1: When I played club it was like a one lump sum as far as I know, I wasn't paying it.

00:12:14
Speaker 4: But and like flights are included everything.

00:12:17
Speaker 1: Now I feel like you the girls aren't, Like flights aren't even included in that and you get your own accommodation everything.

00:12:23
Speaker 6: Yeah, yep.

00:12:24
Speaker 5: Also I heard like the flights right for all the club people, you know, Yeah.

00:12:29
Speaker 3: So what are they paying for exactly no flights, No, No, to.

00:12:32
Speaker 4: Be on the team.

00:12:33
Speaker 6: It's to be on the team.

00:12:34
Speaker 5: It's literally for like training, and then you have to buy your jersey, so then that gets added in and then separately, yeah facts, and then it has to be any travel fees. So then on top of that, in total it ends up being around twenty twenty five depending on where you're at and what team you're on. But with travel, with hotel rooms, with club fees and.

00:12:57
Speaker 6: That, it's it's insane.

00:12:59
Speaker 5: So people are investing in this sport and investing in clubs, and it's massive.

00:13:05
Speaker 6: I mean, the club scene.

00:13:06
Speaker 5: Is like it's the biggest sport in the States, right, now for youth develop So it's again just a unique perspective because the college landscape is changing.

00:13:15
Speaker 6: There's so many transfers, there's.

00:13:17
Speaker 5: So the recruiting rules are going to probably start changing as a result, and it's just this evolution and change that we constantly are moving through. And it's fun to see the club girls at our games of course, like kind of making it full.

00:13:31
Speaker 6: Circle here.

00:13:33
Speaker 5: Because the club girls are going up to the Wisconsin girls in the stands and getting their autographs and they're getting their pictures, and then they're coming up to us after the match after we finish with love and getting our photos and autographs, and it's just really cool because we're making everyone in an united front. Everyone is at our games, everyone is wanting to go watch Wisconsin. And as a result, we're heavily involved in the club scene here as well, going and signing off, We're going to walk around when we're at Triple Crown in Kansas City just go see some more local clubs as well. And so it's really it's been awesome, and I know the parents and the girls are really thankful for it, and they stick us with their little clothes pins and stuff like that. Get the little bracelets and the connection is awesome.

00:14:18
Speaker 2: Someone like you wear like so many hats, Like how are you finding time like for yourself from going from the court and I'm obviously having to invest in who you are as like your captain and I'm being like a leader on your team to like going off and flipping that switch to being a coach and not being like hey, like you know, I feel like it's hard to tell someone to do what you do when you just know how to do it, you know, So what's that transition, Like what's that safety net for yourself? You know?

00:14:40
Speaker 3: Doing all these things?

00:14:41
Speaker 6: For sure?

00:14:42
Speaker 5: There's so many things that I'm still learning, like right now as a player.

00:14:46
Speaker 6: And it's cool because I get to go.

00:14:47
Speaker 5: To a gym where the girls are wanting and willing and open to learning, and I can teach them what I'm still learning right now. Cool, and I feel like that's a really unique, i don't know, just perspective to have. And also like in a way like there's clout there because they're like, oh, this girl's still doing it, she's still playing like she knows what she's talking about.

00:15:05
Speaker 6: I'm gonna listen, And so that.

00:15:07
Speaker 5: That makes me feel good because it's like I have some credibility here.

00:15:11
Speaker 3: You always have credibility, relevant, legendary.

00:15:20
Speaker 5: But no, it's it's fun to be able to work with people like Charlie especially and just again the dynamic of like Matt for Bringer being my coach and then me being Charlie Ferbringer's coach. She is incredible to work with my opinion, best setter in the country. Like just her growth, yeah, she her growth the last two seasons has been I mean incredible to see not only just as a player, Yes, she's a great setter, but her leadership and how she's chosen to go about things in a more professional manner. Just really proud of her, and it's been Yeah, I didn't know if I was gonna joy coaching, but working with people like her, working with players on Wisconsin who want to be where I am one day, it's bringing me a lot of joy and happiness.

00:16:09
Speaker 3: Honestly, I got the chills.

00:16:11
Speaker 2: I feel like, I know car talks this way about me too, I'm like, talk this way about me, I'd like want to fucking like vomit, Like that is insane, what's crazy?

00:16:20
Speaker 1: I would run through all for Lauren Carleny No Annie Drew.

00:16:24
Speaker 2: She messaged me this past week about like she saw she'd have a chance to watch him obviouste and she was like, she messaed me randomly, was like, by the way, it was so good to see you playing. I was like, oh my god, I'm okay, calm down, down, take imagine being a college kid and like Lauren CARLINI talking about like this is insane, I would cry for sure.

00:16:42
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:16:42
Speaker 1: And also because like the perfect image of like you're saying, like her professionalism is that I'm like, those are all the things you are. She has like the person right in front of her, the perfect role model. So that's so cool for her.

00:16:53
Speaker 5: So good, you know, It's like it's cool because they come to almost all of our matches that love too. So just knowing that I'm still making an impact by simply playing and doing the thing I love, like that is that's really cool. That's a really unique thing that I get to do.

00:17:08
Speaker 4: Yeah, so cool, total shift from being abroad.

00:17:11
Speaker 5: I was just thinking about random teammates that we've had over the years that are overseas right now and how it's just crazy out of sight, out of mind truly when you're.

00:17:20
Speaker 1: Overseas yeah, yeah, yeah, it's like it's it's lonesome. You're like cut off, but you're like not cut off from the world, but you kind of are. So then like Lauren and I got to play two seasons together and it was like truly a saving grace, Like those are some of the last seasons abroad I had because I had a friend there, and it's like really makes a difference.

00:17:38
Speaker 5: It does.

00:17:39
Speaker 4: And what I say I would run through a wall for you, it's.

00:17:42
Speaker 1: Because you would run through a full net and like slice your whole eye open like that one time you did for our team. So like that's true, you guys, the things happened to you when we've played together.

00:17:55
Speaker 4: Lauren okay, so okay, yeah, oh my god.

00:17:58
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:17:59
Speaker 4: One game we were playing and somebody like digs the ball.

00:18:01
Speaker 1: It goes outside of the antenna like towards right front, and Lauren carly and is like full pursuit mode, and so she goes under the net to go get it, and then is walking back. I think, like, you didn't. I don't think you got it. I don't know I did effort. The effort was one thousand percent.

00:18:16
Speaker 5: There.

00:18:17
Speaker 4: She turns around and.

00:18:19
Speaker 1: Like her whole face is cut open and there's like blood here her face.

00:18:22
Speaker 4: Oh yeah here.

00:18:24
Speaker 1: I was like, Lauren's like what, Like why didn't we like because I don't know. And I was like, Lauren, your face is bleeding and like she had hit her head here on the bottom of the antenna, like on the plastic part, knocked both your contacts out.

00:18:41
Speaker 6: It's true.

00:18:41
Speaker 5: I hit so freaking hard it popped both my contacts out of my eyes.

00:18:45
Speaker 1: But then she walked over to the bench and she like, blood coming out of your face and you were like, put some tape on it, put me back in, and I was.

00:18:51
Speaker 6: Like, I was pissed. They were taking so long.

00:18:54
Speaker 4: I was like, oh, lush got that dog?

00:18:59
Speaker 5: Yeah, like whoa. I would go to war with Laura Carly and the other times. Do you remember when somebody served the ball at your head and old girl.

00:19:09
Speaker 6: Yeah, okay.

00:19:12
Speaker 4: So we're at serving pass in the morning.

00:19:14
Speaker 1: People are just warming up, like getting warm, and they I think it was the youngest girl on our team decides to absolutely unload on her serve and Laura is setting balls on her side of the net, on the same side of the girls serving on and she just boo and like Lauren's looking towards left front like she's gonna set a go, obviously not thinking she would get hit right on the side of the head.

00:19:36
Speaker 4: Blam, ear drum burst.

00:19:38
Speaker 5: Yep, actually se yeah, no, I literally had a hole in my ear drum when I saw you.

00:19:45
Speaker 1: This girl hit the absolute serve harder.

00:19:52
Speaker 6: It was a float. It was a heavy float. Man.

00:19:55
Speaker 4: I was like, why are you nice? It's nine am.

00:19:59
Speaker 6: Also, I'm not jumping. I was on the ground. This was a terrible miss.

00:20:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was.

00:20:08
Speaker 5: I hit the deck quick and hard, I thought, I mean for sure I was concussed.

00:20:11
Speaker 1: Also like yeah, but yeah, ear ringing concussion.

00:20:15
Speaker 5: Like like so bad vertigo Anyways, Yeah, weird stuff happened always against Gales that I always.

00:20:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, but we did have a good time in Turkey. So okay, where all did you played in Turkey?

00:20:24
Speaker 4: Italy? You won Champions League.

00:20:26
Speaker 1: Champions League is like top of the top overseas for anyone who doesn't know.

00:20:29
Speaker 4: And playing in Russia as well, right.

00:20:31
Speaker 6: I did one year in Moscow. It was honestly great. Everyone always asks, we're going.

00:20:37
Speaker 3: To play in Russia? Moscow is the place you want.

00:20:39
Speaker 5: To be, yeah, because then you can have like Okay, for me, it was great. I had like a group of probably eight foreigners who we hung out all the time.

00:20:47
Speaker 6: It was it was lucky. It was truly lucky.

00:20:49
Speaker 5: It was like me, Eric Soji, who's Canadian, his wife at the time, and then a couple guys on Eric Soggi's team. This is crazy, So okay, what we were saying, like, Moscow is where it's at.

00:21:03
Speaker 6: If you're playing.

00:21:04
Speaker 5: There, it's so easy to get downtown, no problem, everything's super clean, super safe. I know, wild to say in twenty six, but here we are. Eric had the craziest thing. He lived in Moscow, but then for his home games they had to fly to basically the North Pole and then drive another two hours into the North Pole.

00:21:24
Speaker 6: That was his home.

00:21:25
Speaker 5: Means, yeah, you've better get in a say it, a bag of cash for that, because.

00:21:34
Speaker 6: Yeah, yep.

00:21:35
Speaker 5: But no, I actually really enjoyed Russia. I didn't know what was going on in the volleyball court. I'm going to be completely honest, really, I had no idea. I was just out there set and ball seaballa, that's right, Hi, high ball every time. But the people that I had around me, like the foreigners, it was great. And then it was COVID season and then I had to flee the country and survived and got all my money.

00:21:57
Speaker 4: So that's up.

00:22:01
Speaker 3: So you can leave and you don't get you don't get what you go. That's that's right, lesson right there.

00:22:05
Speaker 4: Amen, yep, hey, amen, you.

00:22:08
Speaker 6: Don't have to worry about here in the States.

00:22:10
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:22:11
Speaker 3: Do you think, well, both of you guys, you both can answer it.

00:22:13
Speaker 2: Do you think that you know, if we had that opportunity to stay here and play at home, when we have the opportunity to go overseas, we would have stayed.

00:22:20
Speaker 1: Would you have stayed if my options right now were play for Love Houston or go to Azerbaijan, which.

00:22:27
Speaker 3: Like Houston, you're twenty one or twenty one.

00:22:30
Speaker 1: I'm twenty one, Yeah, I probably would have made the decision to stay here. But like again, looking back on it, I'm so glad that I did go and I had those opportunities, but like to say that I would do it now, like knowing the like there's fear when you're like, Okay, I have to go out of the country to a place that I have literally never heard of to go play. That freaks me out. But if it was like Italy or something like that. I'd be like, Okay, I can dip my toes in there. But I think where I went first probably not.

00:23:00
Speaker 5: I honestly, I probably would have stayed in Madison too, Like I mean, I love it here. I am back right, and so I think it would have been really hard for me to go overseas. And again, Maddie, kind of like you said, maybe if it was like in Italy or a Turkey, it could, I would think about it, but I would probably.

00:23:19
Speaker 2: Stay if I had well, let's think about if we had like nil, if we had an il on top of the way here. And I think also depends on what you want to get out of it, you know what I'm saying. I think, like you know, if I was someone like you and like an older player was telling me, hey, maybe should go over season some experience if you want to be Olympian and blah blah blah blah, and if I knew like to be you.

00:23:40
Speaker 3: That's what it's going to guarantee me.

00:23:42
Speaker 2: I'm going you know what I mean, because that's where like my passion is about it.

00:23:45
Speaker 3: But yeah, we're gonna cut you this check.

00:23:48
Speaker 2: A few balls and a few balls you know what I mean, Like, hey, you know what I'm saying. So I think that would yeah, definitely would have just stayed here for sure.

00:23:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it totally on circumstances and what you're looking to get out of it.

00:24:03
Speaker 6: M m.

00:24:04
Speaker 1: But again, super grateful for the time I had, and I think it's.

00:24:09
Speaker 4: All made us who we are now.

00:24:11
Speaker 2: Look at us now, look at us.

00:24:14
Speaker 4: And I get friends with both of you from playing.

00:24:18
Speaker 3: Exactly even though we met each other kind of.

00:24:19
Speaker 4: Before, even though you screamed at me that long time.

00:24:22
Speaker 6: Yeah, oh my god, it's hilarious.

00:24:30
Speaker 1: That's old speaking of foreigners and overseas life.

00:24:35
Speaker 4: Gong is absolutely killing it.

00:24:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, your opposite, what the Can we talk about her for a second because she's an animal, like a passing opposite?

00:24:45
Speaker 4: What the?

00:24:47
Speaker 5: And then I think it was a week Yeah, I think it was a week ago or two weeks ago.

00:24:51
Speaker 6: She got the defensive player of the week.

00:24:53
Speaker 5: So freaking funny, Annie, I posted on my story, of course, and then Annie responded, your last last year's opposite could have ever And I said, that's true, it was.

00:25:05
Speaker 4: Dang. At least she can put a little fun at herself.

00:25:07
Speaker 5: It's yeah, we love Annie but the defense is not one of her strong suits.

00:25:14
Speaker 6: That's not one of the pair of the big bucks.

00:25:16
Speaker 3: You don't her for that, America.

00:25:19
Speaker 2: I feel like it's catching up to really good volleyball, because I mean, I've also like read a few things like in comments that people are like, oh my god, like the gong she's surprisingly good. I'm like, you guys don't know anything outside of this right players out there are killing it.

00:25:33
Speaker 3: Of course, she's amazing, like it's insane. She's great.

00:25:37
Speaker 5: She is, and she's trying really hard at learning English, and she's it's so cute. She has her translator with her all the time and stuff. And then we have this thing, quick little story we do our like four h's so hometown hero, heartbreak and hope. It's just kind of a thing to like get to know each other and a fun little PowerPoint thing.

00:25:57
Speaker 6: She did hers.

00:25:58
Speaker 5: It was a couple of weeks ago now, and she said she was so nervous. She spent that like two days prior practicing and she wrote down everything in English so that she could like go and recite it.

00:26:08
Speaker 6: And she got through.

00:26:09
Speaker 5: She did incredible, And yeah, I just she's great on the court. But then also her willingness to be uncomfortable and learn new things and like really be ingrained into our culture and our language is it's really admirable because I.

00:26:23
Speaker 6: Mean, you know, you go overseas and.

00:26:25
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's some places you're like, all right, I'll try, like Italy, if you don't try to try, like understand Italian by uho choo, never speak to you again in Turkey, like I mean we didn't. I'm maddie, you were pretty good, but like me, I was like, eh, it's much everyone spoken, so and they just treat you differently if that you're not really trying much.

00:26:51
Speaker 6: And so I appreciate Gong for trying to know.

00:26:54
Speaker 3: She's really happy.

00:26:55
Speaker 2: So I had an oportunity to play against her when I was in China like two three years ago, and then we're the same All Star team, and so when we played, you know stuff, so I got to like talk to her, and you know, I was.

00:27:05
Speaker 4: Popping out popular.

00:27:11
Speaker 2: And so when I saw her in medicine when we were there, you know a few weeks ago, and we saw her that she was like oh and I was talking to her and like that was probably the most actually heard her speak English, you know, and honestly, Lauren, she she really is enjoying. And I think also just like USA is so different from like China obviously so and they have these like you know, social norms and social boundaries they have within themselves within the country. But I feel like for her to be here, she feels like she can definitely like be and do what she wants. And she's so intrigue about everything, you know, it's super genuine.

00:27:41
Speaker 3: She's so happy, and I have a.

00:27:43
Speaker 5: Feeling she's like the jokester on her team that you know, And because we're starting to see her personality come out more and more, she gets comfortable and so I'm like, oh, we're going to the dark and they're over here, like I don't have TikTok, but they made her do a TikTok the other day where it was.

00:27:59
Speaker 6: Oh my god, I and what is it the money one?

00:28:03
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and then she was like kind of the butt of the joke at the end.

00:28:07
Speaker 5: Yes, And she was like really sad at first, and then she saw the whole trend and she's like, Okay, it's okay.

00:28:13
Speaker 6: Oh oh yeah, she's awesome.

00:28:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, and she's playing amazing, like truly can do it. All.

00:28:22
Speaker 6: She literally jack of all trades.

00:28:24
Speaker 5: I mean I know where she is gonna be on defense attacking wise, Like are you kidding me?

00:28:29
Speaker 6: How is she facing this way?

00:28:30
Speaker 5: And then somehow it goes line this way, like she breaks her like shoulder and her elbow and her wrists outside of her body on her.

00:28:36
Speaker 1: She was really pissing me off this weekend, so she could just not do that again when we play.

00:28:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, are you think of me like kind of Chinese or anything?

00:28:46
Speaker 4: From her?

00:28:48
Speaker 2: No?

00:28:48
Speaker 5: I literally keep asking her what her name is, and like I try and pronounce it no because it's hard. It's like, so I've I've learned. I'm just gonna call her you you you is like the easiest way to say it. But ourge our other setter has been really good about that. She's actually doing Chinese dueling go or Mandarin.

00:29:07
Speaker 3: That's awesome.

00:29:08
Speaker 4: There's what I remember.

00:29:09
Speaker 1: Wait, Kat, you know some Chinese words from playing in China?

00:29:12
Speaker 4: Right?

00:29:13
Speaker 5: Yeah?

00:29:13
Speaker 4: Maybe you know. Oh.

00:29:15
Speaker 1: I only know how to say the word hairtye because I would always ask for one when I was at practice.

00:29:19
Speaker 4: So if you ever wanted to ask her for a hair tie, it's tosher. That's really good. Thank you.

00:29:26
Speaker 1: I hope that's right, and I'm not saying anything so stupid. Maybe they told me the wrong word and it just.

00:29:31
Speaker 3: Means actually, like.

00:29:36
Speaker 4: Would be one of my teammates so well.

00:29:38
Speaker 3: I played there.

00:29:39
Speaker 2: I played there like even before my first year in China. They would like want to say the bad words, and if someone was make them mad, they'd be like cat, they'd say their name. They'd be like, for example, they'd be like someone's name. It's just I can't. I feel like if I say a name, they're gonna like, oh the girls on that team someone's name.

00:29:55
Speaker 3: They'd be like, I'd be.

00:29:57
Speaker 5: Like, oh, I I do know that word.

00:30:01
Speaker 6: I do know that one.

00:30:03
Speaker 3: Yeah mm hmm.

00:30:10
Speaker 4: What games you guys have coming up this week?

00:30:13
Speaker 6: Salt Lake on Thursday, Atlanta on Saturday. It's so funny. We play salt Lake three times before we play Atlanta once.

00:30:19
Speaker 4: Anyways, Yeah, we we were similar, are you home? Are you away home?

00:30:24
Speaker 6: We're finally home. It's time to be home.

00:30:28
Speaker 4: That's really nice, really really nice. Cat. Who do you have next? You guys play on Wednesday?

00:30:32
Speaker 2: We played tomorrow, We have Atlanta tomorrow and then we're going to the h.

00:30:39
Speaker 3: Town stand down. You feel me versus Love Houston, going to see my home girl. We're coming with the bits to this week. We're coming with the outfits.

00:30:48
Speaker 2: We're coming.

00:30:49
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're going western right.

00:30:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's get the Texas like Showdown theme.

00:30:54
Speaker 3: But Atlanta fir the first game.

00:30:57
Speaker 4: But Atlanta correig all right? And then what do we have going on in the league?

00:31:02
Speaker 1: Our team is kind of like building some momentum whatever.

00:31:06
Speaker 4: Good, it's looking good.

00:31:07
Speaker 1: I don't know if things are clicking. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to chink it.

00:31:11
Speaker 4: So except Jordan is popping her ship.

00:31:13
Speaker 3: Jordan, Jordan.

00:31:16
Speaker 1: Jordan has a hundred kills, first one in the league. Go my girls, score them points.

00:31:21
Speaker 5: I was trying to defend and see her anything. I could not read anything she was doing. The other day, I said, oh my god, you are hitting on real angles.

00:31:30
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:31:32
Speaker 2: Game, yeah, Atlanta game she was. That was probably the best match up Forore. I think I've seen this season. Okay, well we'll say I haven't watched a lot of them. That probably was probably the first one I've watched. But she I called my mom and I was like, you know, when it's like the games my mom watches more black bla than idea. So I was like, the games that you're watching, like, when it's a good game, is it like this? Mom's like yeah, like there's games that are like actually really good. I was like, Okay, maybe I should watch more matches. But JT was popping off at the rest. Okay, it's no shade to the rife, but there were some really questionable things going on.

00:32:07
Speaker 6: And there was her hand. It was not she did not.

00:32:11
Speaker 4: Oh no, they grabbed.

00:32:12
Speaker 6: She didn't touch the ball.

00:32:13
Speaker 4: But it shouldn't have been.

00:32:15
Speaker 1: It shouldn't have been whatever the call was, it shouldn't have been a replay. It should have like you give the point was what we decided.

00:32:24
Speaker 4: Regardless.

00:32:25
Speaker 2: Are we sure we shouldn't touch it? I thought I saw her hand coming and okay.

00:32:29
Speaker 4: She wouldn't do that.

00:32:31
Speaker 6: She wouldn't lie.

00:32:32
Speaker 1: I stand with my teammate Jordan, you didn't touch that.

00:32:39
Speaker 4: Also, what what's up with salt Lake? How are we going to stop them? Ladies?

00:32:45
Speaker 2: I know we thought that, you know, with Serena, you know, taking her time out right now, her, we could be able to slow them down.

00:32:50
Speaker 3: But it's they they're doing it. They're doing it.

00:32:53
Speaker 5: And then Sophie is blocking everything.

00:32:58
Speaker 1: I know, Sophie. We just going for the thumb. Sorry, Sophie, and I got that.

00:33:06
Speaker 5: And then Tory's over here. I'm like, Tori, if you soft block one more ball, I'm gonna jump a cliff.

00:33:11
Speaker 1: Tory is steady Eddie Tory Dixon. Literally, Yeah, Toy plays the defense in the whole league other than Manami, Toy be scooping balls.

00:33:21
Speaker 3: May now me be outside.

00:33:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, Monami's in the parking lot digging my.

00:33:27
Speaker 6: Oh my god, it's unreal.

00:33:29
Speaker 3: But the ball leave it alone.

00:33:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, let me give me my take the point for free.

00:33:36
Speaker 1: She's like, no, Yeah, it's gonna dim it to make you even more angry.

00:33:39
Speaker 4: No.

00:33:39
Speaker 5: And Ronnie's popping off too, like her arm swing is so just it's just different enough where it throws you off.

00:33:48
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:33:48
Speaker 3: And then you have Alexa who just can do everything.

00:33:50
Speaker 2: She's blocking in systemount of system, passing well, playing defense.

00:33:55
Speaker 3: I'm like, yeah, I think of each.

00:33:56
Speaker 4: Team pieces they have.

00:33:58
Speaker 3: The parody is run Steep.

00:34:00
Speaker 4: It's pretty good. Any other tea, any other hot cossp.

00:34:02
Speaker 1: Tea is Austin trying to take the top spot for best social media.

00:34:10
Speaker 4: M I don't think it's really a competition for us.

00:34:13
Speaker 2: I think we're just trying to find out like our flow, like our niche kind of thing.

00:34:17
Speaker 5: You know.

00:34:18
Speaker 2: We're getting a lot of like the comments about me being on there, so I'm the funny one and I'm just kidding.

00:34:24
Speaker 6: No.

00:34:24
Speaker 2: I think they just want us to be more like we actually like have like media days like in our calendar that we have to all stay after just the film.

00:34:31
Speaker 4: I'm out there. So okay, so everyone's doing that.

00:34:34
Speaker 3: Houston, I would say.

00:34:35
Speaker 2: I would say, Houston, you guys are pretty pretty good.

00:34:39
Speaker 5: And just got all your like daily things. I feel like, like the question of the day or rank.

00:34:45
Speaker 4: This or okay, am I you hear that? Girl? Good job?

00:34:50
Speaker 2: Oh wait, isn't your birthday coming up? You have a birthday coming up, don't you?

00:34:53
Speaker 6: End of the month. It's birthday month twenty five, twenty five, Matty Kingdom.

00:34:58
Speaker 4: That's right, nice waite.

00:35:00
Speaker 3: Are you like on the cusp of a Pisces.

00:35:02
Speaker 5: Or Okay, so I'm apparently a Pisces, but identify more as an Aquarius.

00:35:08
Speaker 4: Okay, I'm a Piscy.

00:35:09
Speaker 5: So that's I was kind of wondering that I am not emotional at all, so I do not identify as a pisces.

00:35:15
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, are you very emotional but not sensitive? So that's the least she doesn't cry.

00:35:22
Speaker 4: I know.

00:35:22
Speaker 2: Everyone's great. We just talked about that today. They're like, Kat, like, it's you never cry. I'm like, it's hard for me to, Like I am a big impact, so I take all those emotions like physically, but it's hard for me to like cry unless like I'm like super frustrated, like.

00:35:35
Speaker 3: I will, I will hold it in. Yeah.

00:35:37
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, if I get disrespected, I think we'll cry and goes out the door.

00:35:41
Speaker 3: Crying is gone.

00:35:42
Speaker 2: But it's yeah, that's that high emotional you know, I'm very other person is going to be crying. Yeah, But like for me, I'm like I say it like this, like whatever I'm feeling feeling, I allow myself to feel those emotions. Like if I wake up one day morning and I'm just like like I don't feel good today, I'm just like this, That's how I am. But I try to make sure that what I'm going through doesn't affect people around me, you know what I mean, Like I that my thing is this. I can be working hard, spritting around, killing balls, and maybe I'm not as loud as I was the day before. But that shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm going hard on that kind of stuff too.

00:36:15
Speaker 3: You know, I think people get too cup.

00:36:17
Speaker 2: I'm like, cat, you're quiet today, don't worry about all that.

00:36:21
Speaker 5: Here.

00:36:21
Speaker 3: I'm present, you know what I'm saying.

00:36:23
Speaker 2: But if i'm like super happy, I'm on ten, like for sure shocking.

00:36:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, Oh my gosh. Well, ladies, Okay, I think it's time for us to wrap it up.

00:36:43
Speaker 4: But Lauren Curly need thank you so so much.

00:36:46
Speaker 3: I really enjoyed this one. This was great. Lauren, You're cool.

00:36:50
Speaker 6: Every week you quit a cat.

00:36:51
Speaker 3: No, seriously, I.

00:36:52
Speaker 2: Probably shouldn't say this either, but it's probably my favorite one so far.

00:36:54
Speaker 3: So I say that I.

00:36:57
Speaker 4: Can say, yes, you can't. It's it's your birthday month, it's Black History month. We are celebrating money.

00:37:07
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for coming on.

00:37:08
Speaker 4: Yeah, this is awesome.

00:37:10
Speaker 3: This was great.

00:37:11
Speaker 2: I can't wait to listen to this again, or watch and watch this. This is gonna be I'm really excited about this.

00:37:15
Speaker 3: But you're literally a.

00:37:16
Speaker 1: Wealth of knowledge and like a volleyball legend, and you and I.

00:37:20
Speaker 5: You are listen, I'm gonna float up like a balloon if you don't stop complimenting me.

00:37:25
Speaker 1: Okay, this has been Serving Pancakes. I'm Mattie Rachel and I'm Cat Bell and I'm Lauren Carlyy and we will catch you on the flip side.

00:37:38
Speaker 2: Serving Pancakes is an iHeart women's sports production and partnership with Deep Blue Sports Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Production by the League one Volleyball, we're your host, Cat Bell and Mattie Rachell.

00:37:52
Speaker 3: See you on the flip side.