Khat Bell’s Unrelenting Determination

00:00:00
Speaker 1: As a volleyball player, I trust Adidas to meet my own court needs, but they also offer the ultimate in everyday's style. From trendy platform sneakers, vibrant track pants, and cozy, chic flea sweatshirts from their Zny collection, Adidas has everything I need to feel comfortable, stylish, and confident. Explore all that Adidas has to offer at Adidas dot Com or through the Adidas App and receive fifteen percent off your first order when you sign up for Addi Club, getting access to fantastic perks, including free shipping. Unlock your style with Adidas Today. Hi, I'm Tiffany Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes with League one Volleyball. The inaugural Love season is just around the corner, so we're talking with some of the amazing people in the league to introduce you to the players on the court and coaches and others involved off the court. Today's episode features Love Austin opposite hitter Kat Bell. Growing up in Mesquite, Texas, Cat stayed in the lone Star state for college and took her challenge to the University of Texas, where she played an integral role in leading the Longhorns to an NCAA title in twenty twelve, plus two other NCAA semi final appearances. She's played in six countries during her nine year professional career, including Puerto Rico, South Korea, Turkya, China, the Philippines, and the US. In South Korea, she was named v League MVP and Best Blocker. While in the Philippines, she was the Super Leagua Best outside spiker and twice won the Super LEGA Championship. And now she's heading back to her college home in Austin to play for League one. Kat Welcome to Serving Pancakes.

00:01:41
Speaker 2: Thank you.

00:01:42
Speaker 1: I was so excited to have you here. Welcome back to Austin. What's it like being back?

00:01:47
Speaker 3: I mean, it's honestly a dream come true. It's like a full circle moment right now for me, Like just being back here in Austin. I just can't believe I'm back in the city. But being able to play the sport I'm still like adoring right now and being back here is it's amazing.

00:01:58
Speaker 2: I'm enjoying being back out.

00:02:00
Speaker 1: Before we actually started recording this interview, you were telling me about your apartment that you are creating. I mean, if you're listening to this on the pot like on Apple podcasts at iHeartRadio app then you don't see it, but if you're on YouTube, you can see this gorgeous apartment. So tell me about this place real quick. I want to know.

00:02:17
Speaker 3: So it's my first time coming back home and like being able to just be here and enjoy my space.

00:02:21
Speaker 2: So normally abroad, you know you're in an airbnb.

00:02:24
Speaker 3: In our apartment, it's already furnished, not kind of quite my taste, but like it's what you have kind of have to go through. So coming back, I was like, you know what, I really want to plant some roots and just start from the top and being something that's mine. You know, some girls were running out apartments like Airbnbs and stuff, but that's still somebody else's space. So I wanted to create my own space, my own kind of vibe. And it's giving like cute, classy, like modern, very very low key. So my lighting and apartment is awesome as well. I have a lot of ton big open windows, and I'm just enjoying like building on the furniture and just figuring out.

00:02:51
Speaker 2: Like my own kind of vibe.

00:02:52
Speaker 1: So yeah, I love it. That's such a fun side project to be working on all your bag the base.

00:02:58
Speaker 3: Honestly, I didn't know that it was such just a stress believer almost like I just enjoyed coming home and just turn my music on, kind of setting a candle on and just building my little block sumbles. Feels like the girls are calling me Bob the builders. So it's great. But it's still coming together right now.

00:03:12
Speaker 1: So I love it. Has this been your favorite part about being back?

00:03:16
Speaker 3: Probably, I really enjoyed being home, honestly, Like I just you know, the biggest part of that was coming back and just the social part of it.

00:03:24
Speaker 2: It's a lot.

00:03:25
Speaker 3: You know, Normally you're by yourself abroad and like you know, you don't know the language, so you don't have to worry about, you know, just building that kind of like bond.

00:03:33
Speaker 2: With certain girls. You're just there to do a job.

00:03:35
Speaker 3: But here, you know, having that connection is important, so I have to go to practice and socialize.

00:03:39
Speaker 2: And get to know people and stuff.

00:03:40
Speaker 3: So being able to come back home and be in my own space just to kind of like you know, unwand and relax is probably my best part.

00:03:46
Speaker 2: I'll take a part for sure.

00:03:48
Speaker 1: You talked about the social aspect of playing overseas, But when it comes to the actual game, what's the difference between playing overseas and playing here now at League one.

00:03:57
Speaker 3: I think overseas, you're there to do a job and you know you're gonna do it the best possibly you can, but you know every night you're gonna be on that floor. I think come back to League one, we have some great athletes in the gym, and like, I feel like I have to come to practice every day and compete every day. You know, before it's like, yeah, can go to practice and kind of get my reps in. I don't have to go so hard, but you know, go into the season, you know it's a challenge because you want to see the court and you want to play, and it's competitive gym right now too, So going in and competing every day is honestly the hardest part.

00:04:21
Speaker 2: But I'm enjoying it.

00:04:22
Speaker 3: It's kind of a new tick I haven't had to do in a while, so it's it's fun.

00:04:25
Speaker 2: I enjoy it a lot.

00:04:27
Speaker 1: And your team love Austin has a bunch of Texas alum on that roster. Did you know, I mean, I know that you didn't play with a lot and there's a lot of younger women on the team, but did you know them before? Is there sort of like since you are all like Texas alums, there's some sort of love language between you guys that want to know one hundred percent, and we kind of be like, kind of we try to be discreet about it, honestly, just because, like you know, it's just a.

00:04:51
Speaker 2: It's a Texas girl thing, you know.

00:04:53
Speaker 3: Julian and I was fortunate enough to meet her and watch her as I was coming into ut and she's amazing. And obviously I got to play two years with Chiyaka and she's one of my close friends.

00:05:01
Speaker 2: Molly as well.

00:05:02
Speaker 3: I've been playing with Bali now a full year, you know, playing with PDF and then the AU and now we're together, so that's been great. And then being able to you know, watch Asia develop her game and logan as well as I was traveling and still kicking up with Texas Volleyball and now all of us being together is crazy, And of course it's always amazing.

00:05:19
Speaker 2: I live, she's amazing, So yeah, really it's fun. It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun.

00:05:23
Speaker 1: Now, have you been watching the NCAA tournament at all?

00:05:26
Speaker 3: Not so much until not the season at all, honestly, but until you know, the tournament started. I was watching and then like I was heavily watching obviously this past weekend when Texas lost and.

00:05:37
Speaker 2: It was just it sucked. It was it was it was hard. You know, it's hard.

00:05:40
Speaker 3: It's hard as I'm like to watch, especially too, because like you've been in that position so many times and you always like, you know, I wish I could just like get back in my jersey and get out.

00:05:48
Speaker 2: There and help them figure out and that kind of thing.

00:05:50
Speaker 3: So but it's been great to see them, see what Jerry's been doing with his program the past ten years, so whatever he's been doing forever long he's been doing it for and seeing the game developed through Texas Volleyball, it's been great.

00:06:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, three beats are hard to do, so it's it's I mean, going back to back is pretty impressive. It would have been awesome if they got the three, but you know, it happens.

00:06:09
Speaker 2: It happened. Yeah, State was just the reign of its own.

00:06:12
Speaker 3: You know, they did like back to back to back, a few championships back to back.

00:06:15
Speaker 2: End.

00:06:16
Speaker 3: I think it should be a documentary in that to be honest, like just to see like the grit in that gym and have some players come back and talk about how like, you know, how hard it was to get there and that through that program.

00:06:24
Speaker 1: So now I know you're there's a few international players on the Love Austin team. US college ball is very different than the type of ball that they play in Europe and that you don't really know it, did you ladies kind of introduce them to this wild wild west of college especially.

00:06:43
Speaker 2: I think Anna was watching us.

00:06:45
Speaker 3: Alli was watching the other day when Texas was playing and just to see us like all kind of heaped in front of the TV.

00:06:50
Speaker 2: She's kind of like, what is going on? You know?

00:06:52
Speaker 3: So I think her coming and she kind of it's it's around, you know, it's kind of in our face a little bit. And of course we're kind of telling about certain teams that kind of stuff too.

00:06:58
Speaker 2: But I think they love it. They think it's just a thing.

00:07:01
Speaker 3: Also to her ingesting the American type of style playing volleyball here, you know, knowing her in Italy, I'm sure like they have a certain like kind of routine that no foreigners is kind of ball into, you know, like there's days they're like, you'll listening to like, for example, I was in Korea listening to Korean music like every single day, you know, because like he's like, is there one time we can play like one English song that I can like, you know, and then now her and her coming here, it's like all.

00:07:24
Speaker 2: English music every single day, and I'm curious. She's like, can we change it? We're like, no, you have to. You have to go through. So you have to watch the college bullet ball. It's amazing. So yeah, I think they're all used to it right now.

00:07:35
Speaker 1: Well, with text us out, who are you rooting for?

00:07:38
Speaker 3: My really good good friend Aaron Fairs is a cardinal, so I guess I'm kind of supporting here. But I'm really impressed by Pittsburgh, By pitt I'm really impressed by them, So I'm becoming to go with that. They're the number one one team. I'm gonna stick with the Linux. I'm gonna go pit for sure.

00:07:50
Speaker 1: All Right, I've got pitt in Penn State in the finals, the PA Finals, but I have pitt edging out Penn State.

00:07:58
Speaker 2: I think I think Pitt's kind of go all the way through.

00:08:13
Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's talk about you and your volleyball career, because you have quite the resume. So let's go back to the beginning. When did you first fall in love with the sport.

00:08:23
Speaker 3: I think I was about I was in seventh grade. I actually even know what volleyball was. I was a big basketball player. I've been playing basketball since I was in the fourth grade. And I was doing dancing, and so I was going to my seventh grade year and one of my friends was like.

00:08:36
Speaker 2: Hey, do you want to try for the volleyball team? And I was like, what the heck is volleyball? She was like, oh, you.

00:08:41
Speaker 3: Know, it's the white ball that you go like this over the next and I was like, oh, when's the trial.

00:08:46
Speaker 2: She goes after school and I was like, I don't have any clothes. She goes, okay.

00:08:49
Speaker 3: Our other friend, who was in eighth grade had tried out that morning, and she was like, we can just wear big Erica's clothes. And I was like, oh, okay, but not thinking about it. So my friend is wearing the shorts, I'm wearing the sweaty T shirt. And you had to have some type of gear and we only have one pair of nee pad. So I was wearing my school parents, one knee pat and the sweaty shirt going to volleyball rild and I made the CEA team, which was okay, but you know.

00:09:13
Speaker 2: But that's how I started.

00:09:16
Speaker 1: That's amazing. When did you know that you were actually good at it?

00:09:20
Speaker 2: When I made the A team two weeks later? Two weeks later, two weeks later. Yeah, I mean I just kind of like I obsessed about it. I was. I love skating a lot. I just want to fix. Thing I like do over the weekend was to go skating with my friends.

00:09:32
Speaker 3: And once I found this new kind of like hobby, like I was obsessed with it, Like that's all I wanted to do. Like I would take like newspaper and I would wad it up with tape and make it like kind of a ball, and I would just kind of practice it on my platform against the wall when when I was at home, and like I just became obsessed and like my friends were I was on the worst team, A sea team, and all my really good friends were on the A team, and I was like, shoot, like I really want to like get.

00:09:55
Speaker 2: Up there with them.

00:09:55
Speaker 3: So I would stay after practice and like get extra reps because all it is really in the seventh grade is like serving and like trying to keep the ball off the ground. So that was my main thing, was just like serving the ball, trying to get the ball over the next I was a string bang at the time, not now, but I was a stream just trying to get the ball within that. And then when I made the A team, they end up moving my best friend actually down to the B team, so I took her spot.

00:10:14
Speaker 2: So that was the whole thing.

00:10:15
Speaker 3: But her mom even told me, she was like, what aren't you play a little bit worse so you and canus can be together on the B team?

00:10:20
Speaker 2: And I was like, I don't know the girls that are good like No.

00:10:25
Speaker 3: So I made the eighteen and seventh grade and from there I was just obsessed.

00:10:28
Speaker 2: I was obsessed.

00:10:30
Speaker 1: That's amazing. When you became obsessed with the sport, did you start also watching older girls play, like in college and stuff.

00:10:38
Speaker 3: No, So my first experience watching someone play volleyball at a high level, and that's when I knew, like I think, I wanted to go to college. I wanted to be as good as she was was Courtney Manning. She was the metal block at SMU. She puit in me Squie high school and Courtney. If you're watching this, major shout out. She was just someone of wasly that looked like me and was just kind of taking the sport by the storm. She was six foot two three and just had an arm of a can. And I'm like, I'm talking about this girl. We were in middle school to go watch the high school games. She would hit a ball and it bounced on the ground and like go up like eighteen d in the air, like it was insane. I was like, I want to be like her. So like in middle school I was watching her games.

00:11:13
Speaker 2: And then once I got to high school, I made the JV team. I was on JV my first I was on Davy like the first like two weeks and.

00:11:23
Speaker 3: They knew me to varsity. But again I was just like you know, working a lot. I was always just like doing something in the sand, like just watching her. And then like from there I had an opportunity. There was a girl named Calie. I don't know her last name was, but she's in California. She's a big time on one girl, and you know, vollyball and Cali is a big thing. So she just came to our school for that semester and like she was just that big and Jeff as amazing as Courtney was. But she was in my gym every day too, so like she definitely helped me develop my game throughout high school. And like being on varsity, I knew there was an opportunity to say, like, you know, I wouldn't probably see the floor, but I knew that, like playing with them, I was going to get better at it. And then things happen. A girl got her, I had to do this. Start I mid a blocker and play, and like Kellie would work so many days with me after practice and just like I was also scared of the ball for some reason, I don't know why.

00:12:07
Speaker 2: So she would like put me on the ground.

00:12:08
Speaker 3: I'd have my hands above in my face and she would just hit balls into my hands on my face and like tell me like not to move my hand because I.

00:12:13
Speaker 2: Was scared of it.

00:12:14
Speaker 3: So it was just I had so many amazing people in my life as a teenager, and maybe I wasn't watching on TV.

00:12:20
Speaker 2: They were like literally in the gym with me every day, so it was amazing. It helped me a lot.

00:12:23
Speaker 1: Actually, well, so Mosquite is not that far from the University of Texas and Austin. So was that kind of the impetus for why you wanted to commit there or were there other plans before?

00:12:33
Speaker 2: Oh? Well I did not.

00:12:34
Speaker 3: So I had friends that were big OU fans, and so like I was like, Okay, I'm going to go to college. I want to go to OU, you know. And at that time, I wasn't really playing volleyball. I just like, I just want to go to go to school there, you know, if I was a head opportunity to go to college. And then as I got better in the sport, I was like, oh, like wait a minute, like I'm really good at this, and like I got to see like the perks of being really good at the sport and how like, you know, I'll never forget.

00:12:57
Speaker 2: I got my first letter from.

00:13:01
Speaker 3: It was from a like I think Wichita something state or something like that, and I was like, I'm going, like I'm the first I'm the first college graduate in my family. So I was like it was a big deal when you go to school. So I was like I'm going. Like my coach was like hang on, like you know, I was like I think I was a sophomore and she's like, this is gonna start happening.

00:13:17
Speaker 2: You know, the better you get, you know, the more college office you'll get, like just just wait.

00:13:20
Speaker 3: And I'm like, well, this is one right like they have a schulship for me, Like this is free school right here, Like I need to get there. She's like just wait, just wait, just wait. And so as I got better, also comes the ego as well too, you know what I'm saying. So like I was after really I.

00:13:34
Speaker 2: Went to a OU visit.

00:13:35
Speaker 3: I knowew, I don't want to go to school in Texas, like, but I was really a ride in this OU train. And you know when you go on your visits and stuff, you know, you're treated like royalty.

00:13:42
Speaker 2: You know.

00:13:43
Speaker 3: I went to my OWEU visit and there was like twelve girls in the visit, like it was maybe not twelve, but it was like more than five on the same visit as me. And I'm like, I don't I wanted to feel, you know, kind of special and stuff. I don't feel like that, you know. Wherever it was a budget or what, I don't know what it was. And I was like, you know, I'm gonna go to Florida. I want to go to Florida, Like the colors are great, like it's Florida, Like, why not go to Florida?

00:14:03
Speaker 2: And I did. I went to a Florida camp.

00:14:05
Speaker 3: I did a little visit when I was there, and I loved Florida was great, and I think my mind was pretty set on Florida.

00:14:10
Speaker 2: And then I hadn't gone to Texas.

00:14:12
Speaker 3: Jared came to all my games and my high school small like mosquit is a very small city outside of Dallas, like, and Jered came to all my tournaments. He came to he came to watch him play in Mosquite. He would sit in the stands like you could. He would be him on one side, like the UCLA coach on the other side. I wouldn't give him the time or day, like I would not even speak to him. And so my he was really adamant about, like, you know, just trying to just get me down for a visit. And he told my high school coach, he was like, just get her down here, Like if you guys, just get her down here. So my high school coach told my mom was like, let's we really, I really think cashould go down to Austin just to see And so she packed my bag and they had me staying in the dorms, and I watched, like a lot of.

00:14:49
Speaker 2: Scary movies tell the story. I was telling the story.

00:14:54
Speaker 3: So she packed my bag and I terally was that I was gonna like stay in the dorm with one of the girls. And I was like in the movie, he's like, that's all the stuff happens in the dorm room. So I packed a knife. I was, I packed a knike. I never protected myself, you know, So I packed a knife. And the girl I was saying with was Rachel Adams.

00:15:14
Speaker 2: I love Rachel. Me and her are still good friends.

00:15:16
Speaker 3: I don't know if she knows or not, but I packed a knife in my bag just in case something was gonna happen.

00:15:20
Speaker 2: No, I don't know it was whatever I saw on TV. But I went down to the I went down. I remember driving down.

00:15:26
Speaker 3: To Austin and just like I wasn't talking in the car, I was really I was pissed. I was like, there's no I don't know why they forced me to.

00:15:32
Speaker 1: Come down here, Like, don't piss me off because of the knife and mine.

00:15:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, Everybody like I'm not the one like you know, So the whole drive down like I'm just I'm mad.

00:15:42
Speaker 2: So we get to campus and I'm like, okay, like, I guess.

00:15:44
Speaker 3: I have never been often before, so I was like, oh, this is like and it's like the fall, so the weather's nice and like you know, it's the capitalist. I was like, oh, like this is cool, Like this is cool. I guess whatever. And so again I've seen Jared from Afar, but never like face to face. And so I go into the facility where they do film at and Gregory and there's like this is when I'm getting This is when I find.

00:16:04
Speaker 2: Out who Deathney Hooker is.

00:16:06
Speaker 3: And Julianne Fall said and like I've never seen so many black women on the roster.

00:16:10
Speaker 2: That was my first thing because I was.

00:16:11
Speaker 3: Always the only black female playing in my school when I was growing up. So like I walked into the film room, you see all of their like pictures on the wall.

00:16:19
Speaker 2: And I was just I was just so taken by it, and I was like WHOA. And then like Jared walks in.

00:16:23
Speaker 3: He has these big blue eyes and he's just such an amazing father figure and I right away got that feeling from him. He walks in and I was kind of like, you know, he's very nice and Slimmer walk Boyle was assistant around that time, and Brian was still there, but Eric had came in yet. But they were, you know, meeting the staff of the first time was all nice, and then the girls come in and I will never forget the feeling that I had just seeing I can always tear up just seeing such like a panel of girls who were tall and like, you know, not a change of their height and their complexion and like just so many different just so much diversity. Jared was painted amazing, and he had so much diverse on his team, you know, hit Sarah Palmer.

00:17:03
Speaker 2: Who was Hawaiian.

00:17:05
Speaker 3: You had so many black women on his team, and I was like, dang, like wow, like this is like I want to be a part of this, you know, and they're all just amazing people, and like I got to meet them and you know, Washington practice and like they're just I mean, these girls are good. Like I watched him practice and like just seeing him go aswere they were going. And I think it could be intimidating for some girls, you know, like to go into that gym and be like Okay, well if I come on this team, you know, it comes kind of comes down to.

00:17:26
Speaker 2: Where I want to go.

00:17:27
Speaker 3: Do I want to go somewhere I know I'm gonna play, or do I want to go somewhere where Like there's a chance I'm to set the bench, but I'm going to develop, you know, and my mindset how it was, I was like, there's no freaking way that, Like if I come here, I'm sitting the bench. And like the competition, I was playing it outs at the time, and like Destiny and Julian for graduating, but he still had like two or three seniors coming in, sophomores coming in. Hallett come in and was also coming in, and I was like, I don't know, I don't care what I got to do, but I'm about to come in here and I'm.

00:17:54
Speaker 2: Gonna just go crazy.

00:17:55
Speaker 3: And so I just immediately just being in the atmosphere, in the environment, and again I was going to visit by myself.

00:18:00
Speaker 2: I personally got to know the girls from personal.

00:18:02
Speaker 3: They were arguing at the table at lunch in front of me, you know, so I was like, oh, like this is.

00:18:06
Speaker 2: Tea Like y'all, y'all real real, Okay, they're not fronting vacant. It's not a show, you know.

00:18:11
Speaker 3: It was it was real and that was the most That was just that's what shoot out to me the most. And so after leaving the visit, I found out, you know, I didn't want to leave. I was under so much dress because like I was a number two recruit in the country, and I had so many like college coaches and emails and like told me, like I had this huge finder and like I would cry some nights because when you talk to players and you're asking him, you know, what are you looking for?

00:18:32
Speaker 2: What's the feeling? They're like, you just get a feeling.

00:18:33
Speaker 3: I'm like, I'm not getting this feeling, and like this is a very important choice, you know, for myself, and the choice is only mine, you know. And the feeling for me was I felt away from home, but close enough, do you know what I'm saying. I didn't know that Austin would give me that much of space between Dallas, and just like it was a place I felt like I belonged, you know what I'm saying. I wanted to be somewhere where the gym was amazingly high talented, being around girls who were more developed than I was. To win the game faster I was able to do that or play with the girls at a higher level. I was able to develop faster. So I went home and I was like, that was it.

00:19:07
Speaker 2: That was it, that was it. And then I went back for another visit and I didn't know how to commit. I'm like, what do you do? Like you just like call on the phone. Do you tell him? But what's the process? You know? So they might be down again.

00:19:19
Speaker 3: I was sitting on the bench and I'll never forget. They were playing Kansas State, and I'm like, I gotta tell him, and I don't know why decide to tell him right then and there, but like I'm like, here's my eyes.

00:19:27
Speaker 2: I'm like, i gotta tell him.

00:19:28
Speaker 3: And so Jared's come like pac him back and forth what he does, and I'm sitting there.

00:19:31
Speaker 2: I'm just like I was like coach Elliott and he was like, yeah, I said I want to come here. He was like what. I was like, I'm like, I'm doing this the wrong way.

00:19:44
Speaker 3: Like I was like, I want to go to school here. He's like, do you want to play for me? I was like yeah, I was like I want to play for you. I want to go to school. And he was like that's great news.

00:19:51
Speaker 2: So it's like he'said, okay, let me. He's like, okay.

00:19:52
Speaker 3: He ended up going to Salema and he goes, hey, Salema, like I got something to tell you. He goes man Cat, he played a joker and slap me. He's like, man cat just told me she wants to go to Florida. And I remember othern forget Sleiman looks down on me down the bench and I can see her.

00:20:04
Speaker 2: She's like, get off the bench. She's like, watches it. Man. He's like, now, I'm just kidding the girls.

00:20:10
Speaker 3: He not the girls for the game, and like they came over to me and everyone huging, congratulating me. I got to watch them when and like when I said, I want it was the best decision of my entire life. Like I know, Texas was the one place that I needed to be and I know that, like me, going there has just developed me so much, becoming the woman that I am today.

00:20:28
Speaker 2: So it was definitely the right decision. So yeah, I.

00:20:30
Speaker 1: Mean the whole story was like a path of maturity and like growing up and learning who you are. Oh well, it never is right. I feel like it's not easy to grow up and learn all the kind of that kind of stuff. But I was like seventeen, eighteen year old or were you sixteen? Were you sophomore when I was seventeen?

00:20:49
Speaker 2: I was seventeen.

00:20:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I feel like, yeah, you're still learning so much about yourself. So to be able to like put all that emotion and like understanding into that visit and like realize that this this is what I want and what I need and these are the people I want to be around. I'el like, that's so machure of you, and like, obviously it worked out. I mean, you ended up winning a title in twenty twelve as a sophomore.

00:21:10
Speaker 2: What was that like?

00:21:12
Speaker 3: So my freshman year, I tore my a CEO MPM and this damn near complete blew my knee out. And my biggest thing was like I'd worked so hard and I was like I want to see those shiny blue courts.

00:21:22
Speaker 2: Once I come out to Texas, I had to watch more and I was like, I have to get to those blue courts.

00:21:27
Speaker 3: Going into my freshman year, like I think I was picked myself.

00:21:30
Speaker 2: I was competing for Freshman of the.

00:21:31
Speaker 3: Year and like I was went from the outside and we had a tough conversation with you. It wasn't tough, but like I'm a team player, Like whatever you need me to do, I'm going to do it or whatever you need. And we had a lot of blocking issues in the middle for the M two, So Jarry was like, hey, like I got to ask.

00:21:46
Speaker 2: You to do something. I'm like what He's like, I need you to play middle for me.

00:21:50
Speaker 3: And I'm like freak like dang, like I'm just not getting my rhythm, like I'm going crazy out here. But I'm like cool, like whatever it's going to take for us to get to where we need to be. And I'm hitting two balls in the middle, likes flying high, hitting two balls from Hannah Allison, like racking up killed points, not doing a lot. But I also was say like I'm a mature enough now, woman enough now to know that, like what I was doing on the court was not reflection the person I was off the court, you know. And I think God has a really has an amazing way of showing you that like just as easy as can give it to you, is the easiest way I can take it from you. And November, towards the end of October, I think we're playing at Kansas, I'm doing what I normally. Do you know I'm hitting those two balls. I'm going crazy, going crazy. I'll never forget. The ball was set to me and it was set and more to my left. So I jumped in the air, flew in the air, hit the two ball, got the point, came down done, and I immediately grabbed my leg And as soon as it happened, I knew what had happened.

00:22:44
Speaker 2: I already knew.

00:22:44
Speaker 3: And I'm like, Dan comes over and she's like just telling me to calm down. End up carrying out the court, and I already knew what I had done, you know. And Dean looked at me and she was like, well, get a choice, Like righting in there, Dan's like you have a choice.

00:22:57
Speaker 2: It's like either you're going to come back and be stronger orre you gonna let this thing defeat you. It's up to you. I don't know.

00:23:02
Speaker 3: Thing I can do is bring it to the well. Can't make you drink. So I was like no, like I'm going to come back. And it ended up being like I think, going the fastest recovery that text has ever had. This is like the November I was back playing by. I was running by March and cutting I was back playing by April May, and I was full blown ready to go before season even went on.

00:23:20
Speaker 2: So like I was not also pushing it. I mean, my training was.

00:23:24
Speaker 3: It was intense. Like I pushed myself a lot. Even when I was in the training facility with d N, I was doing my own stuff.

00:23:29
Speaker 2: There were sometimes there was.

00:23:30
Speaker 3: Days that she had to call me and be like Kat, like you can't be on the football field flipping tires, Like that's not going to help your recovery.

00:23:36
Speaker 2: But I'm like I need to get back, you know. So that motivation.

00:23:39
Speaker 3: Definitely pushed me to be whatever my team needed to be going in twenty twelve, which was a starting middle blocker.

00:23:45
Speaker 2: And going through that trial and then coming.

00:23:50
Speaker 3: Back from that and then playing and having an amazing season twenty twelve, and then like I'll never forget this. We're playing Michigan and it's the practice before, no practice before, that's championship, That's what it was.

00:23:59
Speaker 2: And I go up just to do a blocking move, come down, and I feel like my whole back collapse on me.

00:24:03
Speaker 3: I don't know if people know this or not, but the night before the day before the NFT Championship game, I had a bolding disc. My whole back collapse on me, like it was it was out, it was on a nerve. I had a shooting pain, like I probably shouldn't play, but obviously, like it's like, ain't no way.

00:24:20
Speaker 2: I've come all this way and.

00:24:21
Speaker 3: I'm not finna get this, get get this money, like I'm not about to get this ring.

00:24:25
Speaker 2: I'm I'm not gonna do it. So the doctor came in.

00:24:27
Speaker 3: They're okay, we can give you like a pain relief shot, but it's docked. I mean, it won't last as long, but it can kind of help you through things. So we're kind of trying to time it where I could be on the floor. I got a shot right before going onto the court, and I played.

00:24:40
Speaker 2: Well, played well, play well by the time the second where we went three zero that game, thank god, thank god.

00:24:45
Speaker 3: But by the time the halftime mark came in, the medicine was wearing off, and so I'm back like quidling down again, like I could barely walk. And there I'm like what are we gonna do? And I'm like, can I have another shot? And we were like you sure, I'm like, give me, give me one more, just give another shot. So I had another shot in my back. We won, everyone goes out that night to celebrate. I'm like in the hotel bed ridden. Like flying back was the craziest pain I've ever been in. I had to get an epidural on my back, like I was out a month again. Trainers at Texas are amazing, Donnie may if he's amazing. They got me back going and come back from an injury. And then when NAT Championship was the best thing ever.

00:25:19
Speaker 1: Ever despite the desk Yeah, where I mean, your whole journeys so far from what you've told me, You've had all this insane like determination. Where does the determination come from?

00:25:32
Speaker 2: I think, Regina? My mom.

00:25:34
Speaker 3: My mom is such a boss. Like so I was raised in a single parent home. I still really reallyships with my dad, But my mom has just.

00:25:43
Speaker 2: Raised me to be who I am.

00:25:44
Speaker 3: You know, she worked, you know, two jobs sometimes to take care of all of us, and like she really just did what she had to do to make sure that we had what we needed, you know, And I've always wanted to take care of her. And like I'm proud to say that, Like, you know, I want to went pro. I was like, quit your job, like you're done like I can do it. I can do it. So I've been taking care of my mom now since I've gone pro, and I can't imagine how she even did it.

00:26:04
Speaker 2: I don't know how she did it, you.

00:26:05
Speaker 3: Know, And to see her work the long hour she working and still be a mom, be a parent, provide for us and like so she always preached just about staying preyed up and taking care of yourself and you know, don't let you know circumstances put you down, like just prevail through yourself.

00:26:19
Speaker 2: It's definitely stems.

00:26:20
Speaker 1: From her, for sure, super mom right there.

00:26:22
Speaker 2: For sure, Girl, that's my dog.

00:26:39
Speaker 1: So when it came to playing professionally, did you know about professional volleyball when you were in college or how did that come about? Where you decided that you were eventually going to go play abroad?

00:26:49
Speaker 3: Kind of sort of, But I wasn't mave sure like about like, you know, my opportunities because I again, I had been at Texas for four years. I played outside my freshman year, but then move to the middle, then moved play a middle blocker my sophomore and junior year, and then my senior year, Jared moved me to the opposite side. So I kind of bounced around a little bit, so I wasn't sure, like you know, about film, like how that would look or what the process even was. And like at the time, Jared's close friend is Tim Kelly, who was running an agency at the time. The majority of the girls that came through Texas always like went through him to play pro, and I didn't really think about it, honestly, Like I didn't really think about going pro until you know, Haley left and she went to Korea, and like I heard about her experience and it wasn't the best experience. But again, like you know what they giving you, you get making what I'm about to go.

00:27:33
Speaker 2: Get that money like that I can be in an igloo. Don't worry about it. I can go get that money, you know.

00:27:39
Speaker 3: So, And that's why I tell some girls too. It depends on how you want to kind of like send your careers, like do you want to go make money or do you want to go travel or like you want to go playing zeph Cup. I've always seen my career around making money because I'm provided for my family, Like I take care of my family, So that was the main thing.

00:27:53
Speaker 2: It's like, Okay, I have to make money.

00:27:56
Speaker 3: I take care of myself and take care of my body and make better choices, whether it's working out or eating because I have to make money. Like when Hailey went pro in Korea and she showed her experience and like how hard it was, but like what she was making. I was like, well, you know, I love volleyball, but like if this can make me some money, let's keep doing it, you know.

00:28:11
Speaker 2: So I got a.

00:28:12
Speaker 3: Wind to the Korean tryout and they had the Korean try in Anaheim, and that's when Emily Hartong was also on the team that you're Leslie Secra. There's a few girls that I met that are playing and we're on the same tryout, and like, you know, I had to play.

00:28:24
Speaker 2: All these positions, like I can set, I can pass, I can play defense, I can play middle.

00:28:28
Speaker 3: And also like I made other girls look good and that's been you know it? So who was the draft was just like playing volleyball with my friends, you know, And I knew what team I was gonna be on before the draft even happened, and like that's a draft, you can't tell through the balls being picked. I just knew the team I was going to be on. It just happened to be Haley's team, and because you show me, She's like, well, how do you know.

00:28:46
Speaker 2: Gonna be the team?

00:28:47
Speaker 3: They can be picked the draft pickers for like the fourth time, and like you not get picked by the I'm like, it's.

00:28:51
Speaker 2: All the draft is a draft. I just knew. I don't know how I knew. I just knew that I was gonna be on that team that way.

00:28:56
Speaker 3: So when that opportunity came to me about playing in Korea and going pro and I talk to Jared, I was like, hey, I need some film for this trial, and there goes like okay, they helped me get some film, and like it was all over the place, but I sent in and the best thing was like if I can get to a tryout, I don't need film, you know. So going in to the Korean draft, went to the trial, and from there the rest was history.

00:29:15
Speaker 2: So that's awesome.

00:29:16
Speaker 1: Now, out of all the countries that you've played in, what's kind of been your favorite, both to play and just to be in?

00:29:24
Speaker 3: Korea is my favorite and Turkey. I really enjoyed Turkey a lot. I pick up the language pretty easily as well too. I think any girls that play there it's just you developed the language very quickly. The food is amazing, but I also love Korean food. But I just love Korea.

00:29:36
Speaker 2: And also just like it's just an accid that I am.

00:29:38
Speaker 3: Like, Korea is hard, It is tough, and it is a grind, and anyone that has played there, and it's played there multiple years can tell you that, Like my body's not the same I'm playing there, like it's done some damage. But like you know, it's you come out like a phoenix, you know what I'm saying, Like, no, I was chasing this.

00:29:53
Speaker 2: I don't know what I feel like. I was just chasing this dreams, you know with Korea.

00:29:56
Speaker 3: You know, my first year of Korea, it was, you know, going to something like that and being twenty one, never been really abroad like that before. And like my mom went with me because that was amazing heard of them with me. But like it's a hard job. I mean practice is I'm talking about. I would go to practice twenty nine pay like nine am. I wouldn't be done until like nine o'clock at night, Like it was a like a twelve hour thing. Like I would my mom had to force me to eat, that's how tired I was I think. I was like, right now, I'm one hundred and come about one hundred and eighty five eighty seven pounds probably like I'll say, we'll say like nineteen percent eighteen percent body fat something around there. In Korea, I was one seventy five and I was nine percent body fat like I was. It was giving starvation like it was bad, but it's because like my body was burning so much and I was trying to consume.

00:30:45
Speaker 2: But again, like the food there's already naturally healthy as well. So it was a lot.

00:30:48
Speaker 3: But when I won the Korean Cup two years ago, the team was in the fourth when I got there, I left and left Turkey and the team was like in fifth place, and so I was like, there was one girl was the national team, wasn't the gym anymore.

00:31:01
Speaker 2: She kind of completely just giving up on the team. And I got a chance to talk to her.

00:31:04
Speaker 3: She came out to practice and I was like, if you can trust me, we can get we can get out of this hole. And we did and it took everything we were down. Kim Young is one of the best house sides in the world. She's Korean and she was that's like her first it was her first season playing back in Korea, and so like everybody was just like crazy about her. On top of she was on the team, She's on the team that I was on the year before, and so it was this whole kind of like storyline. They're kind of building up and Pink Spiders they had beat us every time we played them. Once I got there, they beat us every gain every match. Every match, I was getting blocked left and right, like, and my coach was like, you know, when you play against Kink Spiders, you don't play that well. I was like, I don't know, it's just God telling me not to play good. Ask it, but when it counts, it's gonna cut turning on. He was just like, cut, you know, think I'm crazy. I'm like, no, Like I just I manifest every I believe it, you know. So we get to the finals and we're playing Pink Spiders again. They wiped us off across the floor every time they played us, and it's five sets, five game series.

00:31:57
Speaker 2: They were playing five max and five sets every other day.

00:31:59
Speaker 3: So the we're down two zero in the set and then in the series, so they just need one more game and that's it. We win the third third match and I'm crying. So now I'm like, we ain't no way I came all this way. There's no way I came all this way. We won the fourth game, So now I was going to the fifth series. Day five of playing. We go, we go up two sets, they win the third set, they win the fourth set, I mean, going to fifth set, and I'm like, I'm.

00:32:23
Speaker 2: Not I haven't cracked a smile.

00:32:26
Speaker 3: Every ball that hits my hand at least my hand is a point, like I'm not cheering.

00:32:29
Speaker 2: I don't know. I'm not gonna look at the score and the scoreboard at this point.

00:32:32
Speaker 3: And next thing you know, we win the fifth set literally fifteen thirteen like it was, I mean every I.

00:32:38
Speaker 2: Wanted it so bad. I knew in my mind. I was like, if I want this, it's going I'm gonna have to get everything that happen.

00:32:43
Speaker 3: I get everything, and I end up being it was the first thing they ever had a four and MVP before normally did the girls get it.

00:32:48
Speaker 2: So I was the first scoring MVP and it was. It was a whole thing. I in a Korea amazing la.

00:32:52
Speaker 3: I was like, when you come back, I'm like, probably not.

00:32:56
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like a mic drop right there.

00:32:58
Speaker 2: But you can't do it better than that, you know.

00:33:00
Speaker 1: So what made you ultimately decide to come to the US and then now play for League One.

00:33:05
Speaker 3: Just being back at home, honestly, like coming back to Austin is a full circle moment. I've been thinking of retirement already as it is, and to be able to retire back in the States would be amazing. I've had so much love overseas, but like being away for nine months at a time, it just became too It's just it's a.

00:33:21
Speaker 2: Grind and some manage who want to do anymore?

00:33:23
Speaker 3: And like, fortunately I have the opportunity to play like in short seasons like I was in the Philippines this summer, and then that was amazing.

00:33:28
Speaker 2: You know.

00:33:28
Speaker 3: I spent my whole summer playing volleyball and making money and like traveling and being in a warm climate, which was great. But just doing that long term eight month season and broad is just something you just didn't want to do anymore again, going back to always one wanting to be around and compete with the best, So that definitely was something that when you want to come back, and then when I often have a team, I was like oh for sure.

00:33:47
Speaker 2: Like I want to be a part of that too.

00:33:49
Speaker 3: So now, like you know, have theses and nephews that are older now and that can watch me on TV and watch me play and come to the games and watching play, So that's really important to me.

00:33:55
Speaker 1: So, yeah, who were some of the players that you were excited to both play with and play against?

00:34:01
Speaker 2: I would say Haley Washington.

00:34:04
Speaker 3: She is amazing, Like I've watched her since she was also in college as well.

00:34:09
Speaker 2: I love her attitude.

00:34:10
Speaker 3: I love how she's like just this amazing beast on the court and.

00:34:14
Speaker 2: She's very entertaining, and so am I too, you know.

00:34:16
Speaker 3: So we even talked a little bit on insigin that like this one game we can kind of trick for a little bit, don't do too much, don't do too much pretending for fake, and go away real quick.

00:34:25
Speaker 2: So but no, she I loved her energy in the court as well. Kelsey Robinson.

00:34:30
Speaker 3: I was able to watch her at Tennessee and when she went to Nebraska and when she did there for that program, and obviously watched her game to the national team as well.

00:34:36
Speaker 2: So when I saw those names kind of come in was amazing.

00:34:39
Speaker 3: And then I think Maddie came in towards the end, which I was already signed, but then Mattie Kingan is like one of my best friends. So Maddie being in Houston was like even amazing. So I was able to like literally talk to Chiyaka about coming. So I talked to her into comments and once she was coming, I was like, Yeah.

00:34:53
Speaker 2: This is gonna be amazing experience.

00:34:54
Speaker 3: So I think the people, for sure, people definitely made it the experience for me, are making it the experience for me.

00:34:58
Speaker 1: All right, well, let's talk about you as a person, because you are so fun and fascinating and your personality is great, So let's talk just hobbies, passions. What do you like to do for fun?

00:35:12
Speaker 2: I really just like growth is a big thing for me.

00:35:15
Speaker 3: I think I love anything that can make me develop my just becoming a I have a vision of myself as this woman and anything I can do to get me there, that's my biggest thing is like, Okay, what can I do to get to her faster? You know, I like to cook. I really do enjoy cooking. It's one of my favorite things to do. Yeah, and just my new thing right now is building things. So going to like home goods and find different things to put into my apartment and different chemises and that kind.

00:35:39
Speaker 2: Of stuff too. So yeah, just chilling, developing. I like to go to church those kind of things.

00:35:44
Speaker 1: For the last question, I just want to, you know it bring it back to love. Ended on a love note. What are you hoping to showcase in this inaugural season for love? Both as a player yourself, but also like when it comes to women's volleyball in general.

00:36:00
Speaker 3: I mean, the sport is growing, and you know, I just want to showcase the attraction for the sport. You know, hopefully we can get enough people like to really believe in us and watch us and you know, show that like you know, volleyball is an amazing fun game is like everywhere else, you know, and I really hope that the girls really dive into that aspect of it, Like it's entertainment. People want to come and be entertained, and volleyball is already entering support. But like you know, having amazing cheers on the sideline or cheers in the court, and like you know, a little smack talking between the that a little bit can like also drive it up.

00:36:27
Speaker 2: I think that's one thing that did really well for women's basketball.

00:36:29
Speaker 3: So just a showcase, like the sport is fun and it's growing, developing, and like to show that, you know, young girls that do look like me, that you guys have an option to play after college and there's something you can do professionally at home. So it's you know, I just wanted to keep going and just a showcase to the sport and just that it's an amazing thing for us to have here in the States.

00:36:48
Speaker 1: So yeah, I love it. Well, Thank you so much, Cap for coming on. Serving Pancakes. It's a pleasure, Thank you, Thank you for having me. Serving Pancakes is an iHeart women's sports production in partner with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by League One Volleyball, I'm your host Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Olivarez is our senior producer. Our executive producers are Carrie Stett, Tamaradike, and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing lead is Juwara Parker. Sound editing and mixing by Daniel Gonzalez. Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W.

00:37:28
Speaker 2: Mast Junior.

00:37:30
Speaker 1: Special thanks to kat Bell, Stay tuned for another episode of Serving Pancakes. Thanks for listening.