Italy Wins 2025 Women's World Championship, Completes Olympic, VNL & Worlds Trifecta

Hi, volleyball fans, and welcome back to Volley
Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers
who want to dig deep into what is going on in
NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host,
Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball
world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and
longtime pro, both indoor and on the beach. And
I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international
volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat
guy. Before we get started, we just wanted to
thank everybody for the well wishes and the congratulations
and welcoming our new baby. It really means a
lot. So thank you to everybody who took time
to write us and share their support for what
we're doing. That being said, if you hear squeaks,
grunts, anything that sounds like an old man
in the background of this episode, it is her.
She's sitting down here because it's just the
three of us. It's just the three of us. So if
you do hear any squeaks or weird noises, it is
our baby who wants to participate. I was talking
to her at 3 o 'clock in the morning last night,
and the two of us were just hanging out watching
some world championships, and she thinks that
Nebraska is going to win the Natty. So that was
her opinion as we were up at 3 in the morning.
Yeah, she's so advanced. She was able to go from,
I'm watching world championships, but I'm going
to think about NCAA, and I'm a Cornhusker fan.
So that's what she told Adam. There we go. So
that being said, women's world championships
have wrapped up, and I have got to say the medal
matches were absolutely unreal. Some of the best
volleyball I think I've ever seen. ever seen
period wow outstanding stuff so today our focus
is going to be predominantly on that competition
but of course there are a few things we need
to touch on on the ncaa side of things including
a shocking update about one of our favorite players
i'm sure you know exactly what i'm talking about
we do have a lot to cover today so let's get
started All right. Our biggest highlights and
happenings of the week comes from Penn State.
Izzy Stark has announced that she's stepping
away for the rest of the season to take care
of her mental health. One of the matches this
weekend, she had posted that, yeah, she's stepping
away from the team. Wow. Not much other detail
around it other than, you know, appreciate the
privacy for me and my family. You know, obviously
we don't know what's going on and we wish her
all the best. Sport is secondary to family, to
well -being, but looking at it from a sport perspective
and from a Penn State perspective. Can you imagine
being Penn State? No, can you imagine being Kennedy
Martin right now? I honestly thought that. This
girl's probably like, I left a pretty good situation
to come here, play with the reigning national
champions, arguably. one of the best, if not
one of the best setters in the country, and you're
leaving? And on top of that, they're not playing
very well. Izzy Stark was the glue of that team
and supposed to drive them to be great again.
And I don't know where they're going to land
without her, quite frankly. I will say the Volley
Talk community showed up when this news broke,
okay? The number of messages that we received
from all of you letting us know this news, Thank
you so much. You know that we love it. I also
had somebody do some digging. So she removed
all things about Penn State Volleyball, Penn
State from her bio, deleted the majority of her
posts about Penn State from her feed. They are
gone. And then this person also did some extra
digging to be like, she has unfollowed. a ton
of her teammates and they have been mutually
unfollowed. So it seems like something serious
has happened. I don't know if it's like an in
-team thing. I don't know if it's like an off
-court thing, like personal, like family, but
it seems strange. that all traces of Penn State
have almost been removed from her social media.
I'm no social media expert, but I think if I'm
not going to want to play, like there's people
who are going to be really unhappy about that.
Possibly if this is not a team thing, just removing
yourself from that is I don't want to see anything.
I don't want to see any tags. I don't want to
see. No, I can understand from Izzy's perspective,
like not wanting to see stuff. If you're removing,
you can like mute people. It's a huge blow. to
what the team was going to try and do this year.
I think it severely hinders their chances of
being good. Again, we don't know what she's dealing
with, but I feel like the statement, whenever
something strange is going on, the statement,
I'm stepping away for my mental health, that
is the statement you can make so people just
don't ask questions. It's just like the safe
thing to say these days because it's just so
forefront in society that it's taboo to question.
That's the vibe I'm getting here. Again, I don't
know what's going on, but it's just the foolproof
way to make sure that people try not to find
anything out. She's made her decision. She's
not going to be there. I think the other thing,
and I was thinking about this, is college sport
isn't really college sport anymore. These kids
are young. I think about you receiving death
threats when you were playing. I think about
all of the negative messages you would get, and
you're not even huge on social media. I think
about my collegiate career being 19, 20 years
old and the pressures of it being full scholarships,
like professional sport at that point. I can
see how things in this day and age would become
overwhelming. It's not just going to college
to play sport anymore. You know, again, hope
she's okay. Yeah, I hope she's okay. I hope she...
sorts through what she's going through and that
everything is fine. But that was the biggest
shock. No, at left field. If anybody has news,
let us know because Penn State needs her. Potentially
USA Volleyball needs her too. She's very good.
That is the big news of the week. We had some
big ranking changes this week. Obviously, by
the time this episode is released, the changes
will have happened again. The new rankings will
have come out. But the biggest movers from this
past week, Texas moved up to number two from
number five. Kentucky went up to four from seven.
And Arizona State went up to seven from 13. And
all earned. I agree. All earned, for sure. I
agree with all of those things. We also saw Penn
State drop from two to five and Pitt drop from
three to nine, which also deserved. 100%. I will
also say that I got a few messages about us hating
on Texas, which I didn't think was the case last
episode. I don't think we did. I like that people
just like make stuff up, though. A lot of people
just like decide what we've said. And then I
think about it. I'm like, no, we didn't say that.
But like people have decided we did. Texas, Texas
is going to be good. But the statement stands
if they're going to be very good. Stafford. Also
needs to be very good. And just an FYI, nobody
cares if Stafford scores 25 points against Rice.
True. Okay. I also got that comment. I do not
care. You need to be good. I care about what
she does against Nebraska. Teams, yes. Okay.
Anybody can go out and career against. No disrespect
to Rice, but. But kind of. And I'm pretty sure
we said if they want to win a national championship.
Which means they're in the conversation. Yes.
Their young players need to gain experience.
That is what we said. So no Texas hate. We think
they're going to be quite good, actually. We're
feeling a type of way. We're sleep deprived.
We got a squeaker over here in the background.
Continuing on with the NCAA storylines and Penn
State, they are struggling. Okay, they lost to
TCU in five. Izzy Stark was playing. And then
they lost in three to Kentucky. Kentucky looks
good. They're going to keep plummeting. Kentucky
looks good. I'm liking them this season a lot.
Me too. UCLA is looking quite bad. Okay, they
came into preseason Big Ten ranked number four.
Whoever did the preseason rankings were, I don't
know what they were doing. I don't know what
they were on, but it's not even close. UCLA will
be lucky if they're like top half of the Big
Ten. They're not going to be ranked. With the
way that they're playing, because they squeaked
by Long Beach State in five. I'm sorry. No, you
should not have the ranking you have and like
squeak by Long Beach State. Then you lose to
Pepperdine. And then you lose to TCU twice. And
we watch them. Yeah, they don't look good. No.
There doesn't seem to be any purpose to what
they're doing. You can't see them working on
things and trying to find a team identity. It's
just blah. PK wasn't playing either. PK wasn't
playing. She would make a difference, I think.
You can't tell what kind of offense they're trying
to run. They're disorganized. I wasn't loving
the set. I didn't love the setting. She didn't
get square. She was facing the side of the court.
You can watch Texas and go, man, those players
are going to be good. This is what they need
to improve on. Here we go. You watch UCLA, and
it's just disjointed. We also saw Texas beat
Stanford in five, and USC took down Creighton
in straight sets. I'm looking forward to watching
that Texas -Stanford match at some point at three
in the morning this week. Because that was one
on my list, but we didn't get around to watching
it because of World Champs. So those are the
big storylines that I pulled this week from the
NCAA. Kentucky's looking really good. Nebraska
is finding ways to win, even when the games are
tight. We've got some solid play here, but those
were the pieces that kind of stood out this week.
All right, let's move on to the meat of the episode
here in World Championships. We got to spend
some time here because it was just so good. I'm
telling you, if you didn't watch the semis and
the finals and the bronze medal games and the
gold. Just everything. It's the volleyball in
the last four matches was unparalleled. You want
to see what the best volleyball in the world
looks like and where you need to be? Watch those
matches. It was unbelievable. This was some of
the best volleyball I've seen. Period. In recent
memory. Yeah. So we're going to break down the
semis, bronze and gold. Wow. Okay. Semi -final
one, we had Turkey versus Japan. What were your
big takeaways from that match? I was honestly
a little disappointed in Japan. I didn't think
that they applied the service pressure they needed
to. I didn't think they were aggressive enough.
And I thought that Karakurt showed up. She definitely
started the game trying to bang angle, like sharp
angle consistently, and Japan dialed it in. You
could tell that Santorelli told her to stop hitting
angle because then from that point forward, it
was like, okay, I'm only going to hit line and
like throw in some tips. It was very clear that
she was told what to do, but she was playing
well. So her attitude was very good. I will say
that. the semifinals forward was the best I had
seen Turkey play all summer. They also played
well against the US. I thought their quarters
semis and finals were good. I thought that while
Karriker played well in the quarters, Vargas
stepped up in the semis against Japan. She was
just hitting the ball so hard. She was scoring
at will. She went 26 for 40, hitting 550 on the
night. Like they set her the ball and she could
just score. It was... awesome to watch. But I
will say, and we can continue to talk about this,
but I think the MVP for Turkiye of Worlds was
Erdem. I'm not sure I would say that she was
the MVP. I think Vargas was for sure the MVP,
but I think that she was the biggest difference
maker. And we saw the difference when Erdem was
on the court in Worlds versus the dumpster fire
of VNO. Well, and that's why I say that she's
the MVP for that team. Because she may not have
the numbers, but she was a steadying force. And
she brought all the pieces together. And she
played really well. She runs off of one foot
so incredibly well. She's almost unstoppable.
They needed that piece from the middle. Because
Karakurt is up and down. You don't really know
what you're going to get. Gunnish, while I think
she's amazing, is a better blocker than an offensive
threat, I think. And young, still. And so they
needed another consistent piece. And so bringing
Airdam in and having her in the front row when
Vargas is in the back row balanced things so
well, I thought. She was the missing piece for
that team. And it also helps Karakurt score because
the middles have to pay attention to her, which
opens things up a little bit more for Karakurt.
For her angle swing that she loves. Exactly.
So I'll say it again. This was the best that
I had seen Turquoise play all summer. It was
good to, like, witness that in such a big moment.
I'm not going to lie. When Japan came out and
won 25 -16, I was like, oh, come on, Turkey.
You've got to find something. That was embarrassing.
I was definitely worried, A, about Turkey, but
B, about my prediction at that point. And, you
know, in fairness, WADA played really well, 19
of 38, hitting 368. Ishikawa was decent that
night, 17 -41, hit 219. They're just, Turquoise
was firing on all cylinders. Everybody was playing
pretty well. Japan just can't match up. I thought
Ishikawa, like the fourth, the first three sets
were blowouts. Anyway, you cut it. Yeah. The
fourth set, 27 -25, that is where I thought Ishikawa
was unconscious. She's cold. She got put in some...
Questionable situations out of system, and she
was finding ways to score on numerous match points
for Turquoise. Her numbers maybe weren't outstanding
in the semi, but in the fourth set down the stretch,
she was amazing. And Japan was running their
middle so much more. The scores in the first
three sets don't really indicate how well. Both
teams played because there were long rallies.
There were extensions. It was back and forth.
But the fourth set was great. Japan showed their
hand right off the bat. They're like, we're going
to tip. And you're not going to dig any of them,
which is exactly what happened. They were just
tipping, maneuvering the defense around the way
they wanted. And Turkey was not digging a tip
to save their life. It was actually insane. Of
course, they figured it out. They adjusted. But
that first set was painful. Well, I kept waiting
for Japan to make another adjustment after that,
but it didn't really happen. After the tipping
stopped working, they weren't able to open the
court up again and push them deep. Well, because
Turkey is blocking. It was very good. Entertaining
match. You know, interesting seeing Japan come
out with such a specific game plan. To see Turquoise
not implode after getting waxed the first set
and come back and show a little grit and kind
of find some consistency. Big step for them,
I think. Semi -final number two, Italy versus
Brazil. I am just going to say this match was
my all -time favorite to watch. Go watch it if
you didn't. It was unbelievable, everybody. I
have a couple broad stroke. statements after
watching this match that we can dive into so
two things one you saw a chink in the italian
armor there was a real possibility of them losing
this match and they seemed human two the brazilian
middles outplayed the italian middles flat out
they did an amazing job especially on the block
so kudos to them because there's been some discussions
about that there's been some back and forth about
our penchant for the italian middles third gabby's
the best player in the world holy she she put
that team on her back oh my goodness it's heartbreaking
she was unbelievable in all facets of the game
she played amazing the brazilian middles played
really well and they just didn't have enough
pieces to kind of step up around her and they
made some bad errors at bad times i fell for
her because she left it All out there. She, skill
for skill, you will not find another player who
is as well -rounded and as good at every skill
as Gubby. I think the thing for me that really
stood out is that normally when we watch Gubby
play, we're seeing a lot of power tips, finesse
moves, sets over some different manipulation
tools to move the ball around. But she was like
sheer. in this match. She was just going for
it. And it's almost like she had the mindset,
if I'm going down and if this team is going down,
I'm going down swinging. No regrets. I'm just
going for it. And she was taking rips at the
ball. You didn't really see her tipping much.
No finesse, fancy moves. I was really impressed
to see her just be like, no, I'm going for it.
The other thing for Brazil was they chased Iganu
from the game early. They executed. so well you
chased a ganu out of the game you did what you
needed to do i thought the italian middles were
better at the beginning and then the brazilian
middles came on and dominated the match the blocking
the brazilian blocking was very good fantastic
but again and we've talked about this but it
just it speaks to the experience and the depth
That Italy has. Aganu gets chased from the game.
Antropova comes in. Oro sprains her ankle. Their
other setter comes in and does a good job. They
have their left sides rotating in and out. Nervini
was in. Like, nobody. Ali Cheh -DiGrati got injured
in the final of VNL. Little Nervini came in.
Giovannini also played a role. Well, I didn't
think even before Oro got hurt, like she wasn't
setting well for me. The balls were trailing
off the net. The hitters weren't in great positions.
Like Brazil was doing everything they could to
keep them out of system and gain the advantage.
And Italy is just so calm. They don't get rattled
when they lose. They stay aggressive. They stick
with their systems. Winning is a habit. And Italy
has... that in their culture they just know how
to handle all those situations and even even
though they haven't played a five setter i don't
think all summer i think i think against brazil
in vnl early on they did they have played five
setters for sure but like so i'm listening to
the announcer played this bad i don't think maybe
it was maybe they hadn't played a five setter
in worlds but like even they come down to the
wire they don't feel the pressure they they understand
the assignment the moment doesn't get too big
for them i thought that was just incredibly impressive
just watching them function as a team when moments
were tight like 30 28 15 13 i think the difference
if you look at it though was that brazil made
27 unforced errors and italy made 19 and a couple
of brazil's unforced errors were at bad times
You're talking about Italy showing their depth.
For me, that wasn't the story. It's the second
point you brought up of Italy remained calm and
they didn't, the moment didn't become too big
for them. They never seemed panicked or worried
or out of their depth. You need to learn how
to be a winner. Winning is a skill that you need
to learn. And Italy has done that. And so they
just stayed the course. They trusted the process.
They took it one point at a time. And honestly,
this game, this was the worst that I have seen
Italy play all summer. They did not look good.
I didn't think Oro was setting. as well as I
have seen, as we have seen her come to expect
from her. Like you said, the middles weren't
firing. Both right sides were not nearly as good
as we're used to. That they were able to just
maintain that confidence. Well, if you look at
the stats for the match, you would say Brazil
won. They out -blocked them 22 -15. If you look
at the top four hitters for Italy, Antropova
hit 169, Silla hit 224, Iganu hit 114, Nervini
hit 040. And then if you look at Brazil, Gabi
had 63 swings, swung over 300. Rosa Maria, who's
sometimes been a wild card, hit over 300. They
set their middle 23 times. Brazil did everything
right, and they still couldn't squeak it out
at the end. Italy made plays down the stretch
when it mattered. Even though none of the Italian
players were playing their best, they still have
all those options available. Brazil was so dependent
on Gabi to be their offensive weapon. They just
needed one more piece. Down the stretch, they
had to keep feeding Gabi every single ball. And
it's like... Yeah, she is that good. Give her
the ball. But if you had, and like Rosa Maria's
numbers, as you said, weren't bad. They were
actually quite good. She's not that piece that
you can depend on. Do you know what I mean? And
I think if Ana Cristina was not injured, Brazil
would have won that match hands down. I agree.
It's tough when you know Brazil needs to score.
The ball is going to Gabi. And you can put a
solid block on it and you can play defense around
it. For Italy, it's like, well, they still could
run Silla and they still could go to the right
side. And so you can't get set up quite as well.
It makes a difference down the stretch when you
know what's coming. Well, and the thing is, is
like you saw, Roberta knew that she needed to
get Gabi the ball. But we haven't seen a situation
where Gabi has been relied upon so, so heavily
all summer. So there were a couple transition
plays where Roberta tried to find Gabi like in
the back row on the pipe. And it wasn't the right
set. Well, no, Gabi just wasn't ready for it
because she hasn't had to be used on repeat so
much. But you did see that same thing happen
in the bronze, which we can talk about later,
and Gabi was ready. And it was a completely different
story of how effective she was. She was very
effective in the semi, but she was prepared to
be used like that in that game. And so I think,
I mean, Gabi did amazing. I think in a couple
instances, had she been prepared to get, like,
the weird transition pipe set, would it have
been a different story? I don't know. I mean,
they lost by two points. Yeah, we're talking
about, yeah. Yeah, and you, like, you just see
at 13 -13, Bergman doesn't overpass. Those things
just, ugh. And Huberto missed a serve. Missed
a serve at 11 -11. Yeah. So it's, like, those
little execution pieces down the stretch is the
difference between winning and losing, and Italy
doesn't make those mistakes. But that match was...
Match of the century, match of the summer. Oh
my gosh, you guys. I can't. We're talking about
it. We can't do it justice. Go check it out.
All right, the bronze medal saw Japan versus
Brazil. Brazil took home bronze, winning in five,
which, wow, didn't expect that to go five sets
after seeing the first two. What a strange and
entertaining... It was very weird. So Brazil
comes out on fire. And if you didn't get to see
it, watch Gabi's post game after they lost to
Italy. It's inspiring. Oh my gosh, yes. How did
we not even mention that? Oh, I'm obsessed. So
they lose this heartbreaker. And there's nothing
worse as an athlete than having to do an interview
after losing a match like that. You want to tell
everyone to just... Nothing worse. Yeah. She
comes out with so much class. She takes responsibility.
for the loss which is ludicrous because she was
so good and just says hey we need to bring home
this bronze medal to our country in brazil it
was and she was like i needed to do more for
our team i'm like oh my gosh like i matter so
much respect for that but as a viewer it was
like no you literally put the team on your back
you did everything you possibly could have but
like the just speaks volumes as to the type of
leader and teammate she is and just come no responsibility
or shade thrown on anybody she's like my team
played so well i needed to be better so she does
that after a heartbreaking loss and then she
comes out and she is the same player in the bronze
medal match and i can't tell you how hard it
is to do that yeah to show up in that match with
the same level of intensity and execution after
going five sets and losing a heartbreaker because
whoever won that match was probably going to
win worlds and they both knew it that was the
gold medal match yeah and brazil comes out and
rolls japan like it's not even fun to watch 25
12 25 17 you're like man like japan's just outclassed
at this point yeah Surprise. To Japan's credit,
and we shouldn't have been surprised because
this is their MO, they do not give up and they
do not let you off the hook. And they fight back
and they win the next two sets, 25 -19, 29 -27,
and then lose in the fifth set, 18 -16. And the
crazy thing for me is that Wada and Ishikawa
didn't even play very well. It was Yoshino, baby.
Yoshino went 29 for 56 and hit 350. She was unbelievable.
It was really highlighted to me in the fourth
set. The fourth set, as Adam said, was 29 -27.
It literally was just like a slugfest between
Gabi and Yoshino. Those two players were the
only ones being set, and they were just like,
kill. Kill right back. Kill. Kill right back.
And it was just, it's so interesting because
you usually see that between like right sides.
To see it between two, you know, smaller statured
left sides. I loved it. Okay. These girls were
skying and just unloading on balls like ice in
their veins. It was outstanding. Yeah, it was
really fun to watch. So it was cool to see. She
doesn't get enough credit, I don't think, in
general. And she pushed really well. Again, Gabi
was unbelievable. 33 of 63, hitting 460. Bergman
actually played really well. Hit 345. The middles
were engaged. 17 sets, 10 kills. They blocked
well. They blocked so well. Japan actually made
a ton of team errors, which is a little uncharacteristic
for them. Again, mostly in the first two sets.
It kind of skewed the stats. But it turned out
to be a really close game after the first two
sets. And it was heartbreaking that there had
to be a loser. Yeah, that's true. Because it
was just so hard fought. And you could just see
how much each side wanted that win. And yeah,
it was a good match as well. The end of the fifth
set, though, too. Like, you just are watching.
And it's like, who's going to crack? You know
what I mean? When the teams are playing at a
high level and it's just the side -out game,
this is going to end at some point and somebody
is going to crack. And you're just heartbroken
when it happens. The last thing I wanted to say
about this game, which I thought was interesting,
was Brazil did to Japan at the end in terms of
executing in those big moments that Italy did
to them. in the semis and so it's always interesting
to see you know how did how do you learn from
your experiences how do you learn from your heartbreak
as a team as an individual player and to see
them execute and to stay aggressive and to make
the plays that they didn't necessarily make in
the semis and again we're talking about two or
three plays down the stretch it was it was cool
to see them respond in a positive way in that
regard I need to say it again I need to give
the Brazilian blocking credit wow Gianna Julia
got B blocked really well. It was outstanding.
And Japan kept running the middle again. I am
usually very critical and have a lot to say,
but these matches were such a high level that
I... You're talking about tiny fractional touches,
misses by... The level was just incredible. All
right, the final saw Italy versus Turkey. Shocker.
Another five setter. Closer than I thought it
was going to be, to be honest. Agreed. After
seeing Italy in the semi, I was like, okay, that
is the worst I've seen them play all summer.
Like, it's not going to happen again. I think
it happened again. I don't think Italy played
well in the semis or the final. Agreed. Turkey
continued where they left off, I thought, in
the semi. They were very good. Vargas in particular.
Outstanding. This girl. Could not be stopped.
Okay. And Erdem again. Erdem was, she went 15
for 21 and hit 619. That's insane. And she blocked
well. And their middles had 36 sets and got 20
kills. Again, you kind of, you look at the numbers
and you think Turkey should have won. Vargas
was better than Iganu. Oh, yeah. I thought their
middles, again, were better than Italy's middles.
Serrafar offensively in these matches was not
good. I think Danese did better offensively than
Farr did. Well, in this match, the middles combined
for Italy got 23 sets and only had six kills
between the two of them. It wasn't great. I didn't
think Oro was great either. No. The thing that
sets Italy apart, and we talked about them not
playing well in either match, is their individual
defensive IQ, I think. And the way that they
are able to move around the court. as a unit
based on what each individual team member is
reading and reacting to the way that they are
able to see that and fill in the gaps around
world class do you know what they remind me of
do you know those flocks of birds that are just
always the starlings the starlings where they
you know one goes and they all of starlings if
you're into birds it's poetry on the court the
situation changes and yes there's a game plan
and yes they're prepared but they understand
how to make adjustments when things break down.
It's not just I'm following the rules. It's we're
playing within a system and then my experience
allows me to make decisions on my own. It's really
impressive to watch. Case in point, Oro defending
down the line in the back row. She's down the
line, but the way that she's able to read down
the line, see, you know... If a ball is getting
tight, a player's tip, how they want to use the
block and then slide under like that. But then
having six back, identify her movement and kind
of shade over in case the ball is stroked down
the line is incredible. Scylla playing in six.
She's playing deep. They're reading. As a six
back defender, you typically do shift into the
seam. But the way that she was able to shift
and pick up balls down the line that were completely
read by her. Because she's reading, right? Block
is closed. Block is not closed. Set is here.
Hitter's doing this. I'm going to shift a little
more. My priority shift in play. The amount of
processing that happens for them as the rally's
going on. Again, like you said, the impressive
thing, it's on an individual level, and then
it's also within the team system. They've played
together so long that they are able to maneuver
around the court as a unit. I would encourage
you if you're a huge volleyball fan or a coach
to not watch the ball. They'll do this view of
the back of the court where you can see everybody
moving. Don't watch the ball. Watch the players
on the court and how they adjust in those situations.
It's unbelievable. So I think that that is a
huge difference. What we spoke before about,
you know, winning is a skill. They have that,
blah, blah, blah. But I think, you know, their
first ball side out wasn't great. Their attackers
were having some issues. You know, Oro wasn't
at her best from a location perspective, but
they keep the ball alive with their block defense
and what we just talked about. And secondly,
they are always able to get a swing on the ball
in transition because every single player on
the court, middles, left sides, the libero, obviously,
they set. so well out of system so they just
keep coming at you and so i think that while
they weren't great that is kind of what set them
apart you say that and there was a couple situations
in late in the matches and sets where turkey
would get a dig and then the set would be tight
you know not from a setter not from a libero
you know sets tight sets off the net they have
to volley the ball over you watch denise a set
she could be a setter Her location is on point.
Bump set, hand set. And not only that, as a team,
they understand who to set in what rallies, in
what situations, so you get the best attack.
Teams need to mimic that. And the thing is, they
were patient. Melissa Vargas was scoring almost
at will. If you see the beginning of the match,
Italy was leaving a little bit of line, because
obviously, if you're Italy, you want to funnel
the attacks to Monica De Gennaro. The best libero
there is. The best libero in the world. Okay.
Dejanaro was not having success digging down
the line against Vargas. She was just scoring
at will down the line. She hits a heavy ball.
They stuck with it. A lot of coaches, and even
I was thinking at one point, like, okay, let's
shut down the line. Like, they should just make
her go somewhere else. But they stuck with it.
They stayed patient. And when it mattered. She
got those digs, which I think is also a skill,
is being able to be okay giving up points to
a certain extent and trusting that you will get
there when it matters. I just want to say Vargas
had two of the most dirty serves I've ever seen
in this match. She was lined up in one, and it
looked like she was going to rip the ball back
across the 6 -1 seam, and she just dropped her
thumb and hit the five sideline. It was nasty.
She was so good. There were many things I loved
about her. She, as a right -handed right side,
some of those out -of -system sets that she has
to hit are very difficult. Not the best. Okay,
the ball's crossing your body, you're losing
sight of the court, you're losing sight of the
defensive system, whatever. She was getting sent
balls to the ceiling all over the place, but
her... Feet to ball and the way that she was
able to still be aggressive and make great swings,
even if they missed by a little bit, great swings.
I was like, this is what I mean when I say a
right side needs to be able to hit out of system.
Go watch this final and watch Melissa Vargas
hit these out of system balls. That is what a
right side needs to be able to do. Outstanding.
Well, I watched Gabi play in the semi against
Italy, and I thought Gabi is the best player
in the world. And then I watched Vargas play
Italy in the final. And I was like, man, if Vargas
could pass, she'd be the best player in the world.
Like if she was doing all of the other skills
because of the way she attacked the ball was
just incredible. Italy fended off two of the
best individual performances I think I've seen
in a long time. It was wild. And then the thing
I was so impressed with Italy. So Turkey, Italy
ended up out blocking Turkey 14 to 10. But to
end the fifth set. I believe that Italy got four
or five blocks in a row. And this is game planning.
They knew exactly where the ball was going to
go. They read the flow of the game. Ball goes
here, two blockers, solid. Oh, they're going
to run the middle. They knew where the last five
balls were going to go, and they shut it down,
game over, where the best were prepared, done.
But that is like the beauty and the poetry of
sport for me. particularly volleyball, is we
talk about adjustments all the time, but it's
also about compiling information during the play
and not necessarily exploiting that information
you're gathering right away, but using it when
it matters. As we talked about with Moki Dagenaro
digging down the line or not early on, that Italy
was compiling information and data then. They
were seeing the flow and hitting angles and what
was available throughout the match. And at the
end of sets, and we saw it at the end of set
five, five blocks in a row, that's not a coincidence.
It doesn't happen by accident. That doesn't happen
by accident. This is what is happening. And I
understand Turkey was setting Vargas a lot. But
they blocked the left side. They blocked the
middle. You could just see they knew exactly
what was going to happen in the last five plays
of the match. And they were ready for it. What
a weekend of volleyball. So huge congrats to
Italy. World champions. They have completed the
trifecta. VNL champs, Olympic champs, world champs.
They have now won 36 matches in a row. And they're
the first women's team to simultaneously hold
Olympic and world championship titles since Cuba
did it in 2002. They're good. Dynasty, baby.
Okay, I love it. I think it's incredible. That
is so hard to do. They have all three titles
to their name at the same time. I love to see
it. There are people who cheer for the underdog.
I am not that. I always want the better team
to win. The excellence is impressive. The consistent
excellence is impressive. So shockingly, they
got the dream team out before we recorded. So
here we go. I'm glad I listened to the feedback.
They totally listened to us, and that's why they
posted it. World Championship best setter and
MVP was Alessia Oro. Best opposite, Melissa Vargas.
The best outsides were Ishikawa and Gabi. Best
middles, Danese and Erdem. And the best libero,
Dagenaro. Any thoughts? I think I would put one
of the Brazilian middles in for Danese. I was
thinking one of the Brazilian middles should
definitely be there. Erdem. Absolutely. I think
just the impact she had on the team and how well
she played down the stretch. The Italian middles,
Deneze and Farr, are both consistent and they're
good, but I didn't think they were great. I feel
like in this, they needed to give another one
to Italy because they won. Fine. Give whoever
you want. I think the Brazilian middles were
better than the Italian middles. So I'm not sure
which one I would give it to because I thought
they were both good. They were both very good.
But that's the one, I think that's a gimme because
they won. I think they gave it to Denise 100%.
Yeah, because they won. I don't have issues with
any of the other picks. No. I don't think the
outsides for any team stood out except Gubby.
And yeah, Ishikawa. I mean, you could make an
argument for Yoshino from the bronze, but Ishikawa
was consistently better. Again, I don't think
Alessia Oro set particularly well. But I don't
know who you would, I don't know anyone else
who did better than her. Yeah, exactly. So yeah,
I think my only question mark would be Denise,
but I think we can deduce why she was included.
Sure. So before we get to listener questions,
which is always our favorite segment of the show,
national team, international competition is over
for the year. We spent a lot of time talking
about the US team, where they started. You know,
where they've come, how they finished. They obviously
didn't make the semifinals, so we didn't talk
about them. But I would be curious, and I know
our listeners would as well, as to what are your
general overall thoughts of the summer for them?
I think, you know, when we look at the beginning
of V &L to now, they've definitely improved.
I think the players that they wanted to get experience,
mission accomplished. You know, should some of
the veteran athletes decide to come back, that's
amazing. If not, they're not heading into the
run into LA with just complete newbies anymore.
They do have that experience. I think, you know,
Retki Agbagu, having Agbagu in the roster made
a huge difference. It's like the details for
me. It's the out -of -system setting from everybody.
It's the decision -making from the service line
at times. the block and defensive schemes at
times. And is that completely on the players?
100 % not. So I'm not sure what the path forward
is. Do I think the players they have are going
to get them a medal? Like if the roster that
was playing all summer went to the Olympics,
do I think they'll win a medal? No. I just don't
think that that's the answer, but I did. see
improvement the right side for me is still a
huge question mark you're not getting the production
that you need from a right side from Maddie Skinner
or Samity or anybody that we saw play for them
this summer the left sides you still kind of
iffy on the passing front I like Avery Skinner
particularly her connection with Poulter is better
than everybody else's the way she runs the pipe
is outstanding but it's like the detail pieces
for me I feel like I'm left with more question
marks now than I was at the beginning of the
summer. And granted, they definitely got better.
They improved as a team 100%. I thought Samedi
was better than Skinner down the stretch. But
Samedi's not an international caliber right side.
You know, we talked about this with Brazil. If
you're looking at a U .S. right side right now,
they're sitting at like 10 in the world. You
can rattle off a whole list of countries, including
some backups, who are better than they have right
now. The Czech right side is better. You know
what I mean? Teams that aren't even in the conversation,
their right sides are better. I don't think that
went the way they expected. I think they wanted
Maddie Skitter to come in and get some experience
and do really well, and that didn't happen. You
saw Poulter get pulled in that match. While she
is connecting well with Skinner, she's not connecting
well. with her other hitters. And so is she the
answer at setting? Do they have to work that
out as a team? You would think that piece would
have gotten better over the course of the summer.
We were like, she is the piece that needs to
be there because she is like... So I think that
was a little, not frustrating, it was a little
surprising because I thought they would gel better
that way. And then I thought Reki and Obagu did
a better job than I thought they would this summer.
I thought the middle was a strength for them.
I thought Reki, was consistently probably their
best player. She's a very good blocker. I liked
what she did. Ogbagu blocked really well. I think
there's still room for improvement for Recchi
to attack better. They need to work on that.
I thought Franklin did better than I expected
her to do. She wasn't as much of a passing liability,
so I think that was a positive for them. I have
two other questions. One is, who's going to be
your star? Who's going to be your go -to player
when you need points? Well, it's Avery Skinner
right now. Yeah, but she's not that player. When
you look at the other teams who you're competing
with, I don't see that on their roster right
now. And they're going to need to find that piece
if they want to compete. And then the other one
is, what are you doing at the liberal position?
You know, Hentz played better than Rodriguez.
If Juan Garantes comes back and she's in good
form, the job is hers, in my opinion. I think
Hentz did fine, but again, I don't think long
term. she's stacking up with the other good liberals.
At some point, you need to find a position where
you're better than most other teams if you want
to medal. And I'm just not sure where that's
going to come from. I think that's a fair way
to put it. You're not better than anybody in
any position. And probably not top three. While
they did get better and they made steps forward,
which is all you can ask for in a season, I think
there are still a lot of question marks if your
goal is a medal in LA. All right. World Championships.
Very fun to watch. Lots and lots of matches.
I know they started slow. The first little while
starts slow. But man, did it really make up for
those slow matches in the last weekend. So good.
Dang. Go watch them. I know we said that like
double digit times, but I'll say it once more.
Go back and watch them if you didn't watch them.
And again, congrats to Italy on completing the
Trifecta World Champions for 2025. It is time
for listener questions. Question one, what do
you think of Brazil's libero Marcelli? Yeah,
I think she was fine. You know, I didn't necessarily
notice her in a bad way, which is always good
for the libero position. She made some digs.
I like her attitude on the court. I like her
fire. I think that she can do a better job taking
more court. This was her first summer on the
national team. Yeah, and so... Again, I thought
she was fine. I wasn't watching going, that's
a play you should have made. Oh, you missed that
one. I think as she settles in, I'd like to see
her and Gabi pass a little more court and maybe
push Bergman or the other left side out a little
bit more. But again, first time there and doing
it, you're not doing that. So I think there's
room for improvement there. A little bit better
control on some of her digs. But overall, I thought
she wasn't a liability. Let's put it that way.
Yeah, I thought she was. I thought she was pretty
good. And I say this in the best way possible.
She was a little thug on the court. Okay? And
I love that attitude from a libero. I love her
attitude. She's got that fire and that sass that
you need from a libero. I think she did make
some really good plays. And especially considering
that this was her first summer with a national
team, I think her future... is bright and like
she played in huge moments and did a good job
i thought i wouldn't have been able to tell it
was her first summer with the national team and
that's probably the biggest compliment you can
give somebody Question two, why does the women's
game utilize the slide while the men don't? Is
it the angles a hitter can make from the back
row versus from a slide? Is it the physicality
of male hitters or blockers? This person said,
I think a well -run slide is one of the most
beautiful plays in volleyball and I enjoy seeing
it run. Do you think the women are going to move
away from it and begin to look more like the
men's game in the future or is it a true marker
of the women's game? Originally, women didn't
run. as dynamic a back row ball as the men did
so if you were watching the right sides for the
men hit they're landing in the front row so you
couldn't it became difficult to run a slide and
have that right side come in and hit at the pins.
The reason you're running the slide is to try
and open up and make the blockers make a decision
when you have a front row setter. On the men's
side, you generally have a pipe and a right side
option, so the blockers have to stay. You're
not getting in the way. Plus, if you run in front
of the setter and run the back row ball over
top, that's a very attractive play, especially
in the men's game. So there's not really a strategic
advantage to running a slide. in terms of opening
up the court on the men's side because you have
those other options around the court. Yeah, I
think that's part of it. And now we're seeing
women run back row more. So you are seeing, and
case in point, Italy doesn't really run slides
at all because they've got Egonu or Antropova
hitting back row on that side. Same with Turkiye.
You don't see Erdem running the slide to the
pin. You see her running it pretty close behind
the setter because Vargas is there. So as the
women are hitting back row more, you are seeing
a bit of that evolution in using the slide. The
other thing for me is that the slide is usually
a very low to the net fast set. And I think because
of the physicality of the male block historically.
I mean, women are obviously much more physical
now, but I think the men would just clamp it
if it's like so low and fast. You know what I
mean? I just think that it just plays into the
block and what they want to do. And I think you
still see some women who jump better off one
foot than two feet. And so, you know, you look,
you see some middles who don't hit, some female
middles who don't hit very well in front of the
setter because they just don't get off the ground.
as well. And when you have that momentum and
you're jumping off one foot and drifting, it
allows them to be a little more offensive. So
I think there's a couple of reasons there, but
like you said, when you have the physical back
row pieces and you're not using it to manipulate
the block, you don't need it as much. Great question.
Question three, how did Italy manage to do what
they've done? Is it because of Velasco, their
coach or a player that made a difference? Or
are there any other things that should be credited
for their domination right now? I honestly think
this group of athletes went through it together
for a very long time. They stuck it out. Some
of these players have been playing on the national
team together since 2015. And they were not successful.
But they kept coming back. They kept building
that trust, that team dynamic. And there's something
to be said for sticking with a group for so long.
This group of Italian athletes that you were
seeing have the success right now. They started
out as young national team players together,
losing, not having a ton of success, and they
grew together. I think Velasco obviously has
had an impact. We can't deny that he's done some
good things, but I think it's just the fact that
this group has stuck it out together for so long.
And I think the other piece to it is how good
their pro league is. Like they're from such a
young age, they're in a competitive environment.
And it's so cool, right? They all get to go compete
for their respective clubs. So you see... your
friends but you're competing against them and
you want to beat them and then you get to come
together in the national team and try and do
something great together with the best athletes
but the competitive atmosphere all year long
playing in that growing up in that being like
you played with the nazi when she was what 16
and she was playing on one of the best and still
right so they're around the best players in the
world from a young age they're learning how to
win they're learning how to compete they're in
the system that italy just does volleyball better
than everybody else. Well, I think I saw that
Oro's been with the national team since 2015.
The little one hit her wall. She was in her car
seat. So she is now, for those of you watching
on YouTube, she is now sitting in my lap as we
finish these last few questions. So if you notice
the position change, that's why. All right, question
four. Why do you think Iganu is preferred over
Entropova other than... the experience she has.
Will Antropova ever get a chance to start, do
you think? And which one is more physical? It's
a great question. For me, it has several different
parts to the answer. So one is Agana's ability
to elevate with very little approach is unbelievable.
So she has a little bit more range than Antropova,
I believe. I also think that her ceiling when
she is firing on all cylinders and she cares,
is incredibly high. You saw one match where she
came out and she was ready to go and ready to
prove that she was the best, and she was unbelievably
good. The angle she can hit, her vision on the
court. Honestly, I think she's better than Andropova.
I also think that Antropova does a good job of
coming off the bench. So you have a good one
-two punch. You start Iganu, you see what you
get, and you know that Antropova is going to
be relatively consistent coming off and good
in the double sub. So while she is okay with
that roll, you use her there. We'll see. And
nobody wants to be the person who doesn't start
Iganu. Because if that doesn't go well, your
head's on the chopping block, okay? And I personally
think that Iganu is more physical, just her jumping
ability, the contact point that she's hitting
the ball. So a huge thank you to everybody who
submitted questions. We tried to keep them a
little bit on the world championship side because
that was our focus for the week. So thank you
again for everybody who sent them in. We've got
a huge list, so keep them coming and we will
get to them for sure. Looking forward to this
week, men's world championships are starting
this Friday. As we spoke about on the women's
side, the first little while is a little slow.
So the matches that we think are worth watching
this week are on Saturday at 5 .30 a .m. Eastern,
we've got Germany versus Bulgaria. And then Sunday
at 9 a .m. Eastern, we have Brazil versus China.
I think those two matches are definitely worth
taking a peek at. On the NCAA side, we have a
couple of very interesting matchups this week.
On Wednesday at 7 p .m. Eastern, Pitt is playing
Penn State. Both teams kind of took a dip in
the first couple weeks, so I'm very curious to
see what this matchup is going to look like.
On Thursday at 6 p .m. Eastern, Kentucky's playing
Louisville. Definitely check that one out. I
think both teams are playing at a very high level
right now. Sunday at 1 p .m. Eastern, we got
Florida versus Wisconsin. And Sunday at 6 p .m.
Eastern, Kansas versus Creighton. So those are
our picks of what might be worth watching. We've
been wrong in the past, but in theory, that is
what we're thinking you should check out and
what we'll be watching for sure. That concludes
this week's episode of Volley Talk. There's always
something shaking in the volleyball world and
we hope you enjoyed this little fix. Be sure
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