The Warrior Mindset with Daly Santana

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Tiffany Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes with League One Volleyball. With the inaugural Love Season just around the corner. Over the next few weeks, we'll be following some of the biggest women's college volleyball games featuring schools that our players attended. Today's episode features Love Madison outside hitter Dolly Santana. But before we get to Dolly, let's do a quick recap of Sunday's Texas Florida game, because we had both a great comeback and a pancake. Number seven Texas swept Number eighteen Florida twenty five, twenty three, twenty five, eighteen, twenty five, fourteen. In the first set, with Florida leading twenty one to fourteen, the Longhorns went on an eleven to three run to take the w After that comeback, Texas never looked back, even when they were tied at ten in the third set. The Longhorns tallied thirteen stuffed blocks, including a career high ten blocks by middle Mariyana Singletary. Meanwhile, the offense was on fire, hitting three thirty three in the match to the Gators one forty six hitting percentage. The offense was led by outside hitter Madison Skinner with twelve kills, in opposite Devin Cohahawaii with eight. This was Texas's sixth straight win and fourth sweep in that time. And lastly, because this is serving pancakes, we will be instituting a pancake counter where we count how many pancakes happened during the matches we cover, and this time around I only counted one pancake by setter Ellis Swindle early in the second set. And on Saturday night, Dolly's alma mater, the twelfth ranked Minnesota Gophers lost to number twenty one USC in four sets twenty three, twenty five, twenty five, twenty two, eleven, twenty five, eighteen, twenty five. The Trojans out hit, out blocked, and out dug Minnesota, but Gopher's opposite Lydia Groat finished with sixteen kills and outside hitter Julia Hansen had nine with eight digs. Now, in honor of Hispanic Heritage month, we have one of Puerto Rico's most decorated players ever, Dolly Santana. Dolly is an outside hitter from Corazal, Puerto Rico. She's been part of the port ric national team since twenty eleven and competed in the twenty sixteenth Summer Olympics. She played for the University of Minnesota and is an all around badass and soon she'll be playing back in the States with Love Madison. Today we're talking about her journey to come play in the US and more. Dollie, Welcome to serving Pancakes. Thank you so much for being.

00:02:19
Speaker 2: Here, Thank you for having me.

00:02:22
Speaker 1: So first, I want to start, where are you located right now? Where are we recording this interview from?

00:02:27
Speaker 2: I am in Minneapolis right now.

00:02:29
Speaker 3: I came to just be around, you know, the vogeball environment and see the Gophers play and just kind of be here as I get ready to head to Madison, so, you know, just a little time for myself and getting ready mentally and physically to do my job well hopefully.

00:02:46
Speaker 1: So we're recording this episode in September, and you're just at the Minnesota Wisconsin game that Minnesota actually upset Wisconsin in five sets, which super exciting. What was it like being back, Wow, it was really great.

00:03:01
Speaker 3: It was really great seeing some familiar faces and like seeing the team.

00:03:05
Speaker 2: I don't currently know any.

00:03:06
Speaker 3: Of these girls, I saw them when they were really little because some of them are sisters of my former teammates, so it was really surreal to see them competing and like being part of the team that I was once part of. And so it's always great to see the border battle. I kind of have to get used to the feeling of like, oh, I'm on the other side to get there, but for now, it was great to watch the game and to see a good, you know, good volleyball in a great volleyball environment.

00:03:38
Speaker 1: And one of your soon to be teammates on Love Madison, Lauren Carlini is now an assistant coach at Wisconsin. So did you get to talk to her.

00:03:45
Speaker 3: Yes, we talked in the morning before the team had practice and we taught. We talked a little bit before the game as well, and it was just really nice to catch up. We had played together before in Turkey, so it was, you know, really great to see her again after that, and I'm just really excited.

00:04:01
Speaker 2: To have her as a teammate again.

00:04:02
Speaker 3: I think she's, you know, super competitive and she's always bringing out the best out of her teammates, so I'm really really excited to be with her again.

00:04:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun lorn if we had her on the show a few months ago. And she's just such a fun person, amazing personality, and great volleyball player. So I'm I'm actually a little jealous that you get to play with her.

00:04:26
Speaker 2: She's amazing. She's amazing, the full package for sure.

00:04:32
Speaker 1: Well, so you know, we wanted to have you on because it is Hispanic Heritage Month. It's an important time to celebrate the Hispanic culture. I'm half Mexican, so this is an exciting thing for me to talk about too. But I wanted to talk about you growing up in Puerto Rico, So talk about you know how you got into volleyball.

00:04:49
Speaker 3: Well, I think I've shared this story for and it's about me trying every sport and volleyball being such an important for for Puerto Rico and the only one that I really wanted to go back to.

00:05:05
Speaker 2: And that I felt like I couldn't live without.

00:05:08
Speaker 3: So that to me was like a clear indication that this was really for me and I wanted to keep doing it.

00:05:15
Speaker 2: My mom was also a volleyball athlete.

00:05:18
Speaker 3: Until write about college and fun fact, actually, my whole family is comes from like music, Their own musicians, and like they were like, you know, you can pick between this or that, you know, sports or music, And I was like sports all the way. So we'll see after sports, how you know, maybe I can do a little music thing. But we'll see.

00:05:40
Speaker 2: We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

00:05:43
Speaker 1: I have to go on this quick tangent because now I'm fascinated. Do you play instruments? Do you sing? Like, what's what's your musical gift?

00:05:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely singing. I think that with my dad listening to him practice. My dad plays the trumpet and he's been a musician for over fifty years now, and my mom was also a singer and they were part of like the medannge salsa, like all those things in the Puerto Rican and Latino communities culture. And so I developed a skill for it listening to my parents practice their music for so many years, and I grew up with it. Although back then I used to think that it was a little bit annoying when I was trying to pick a nap and I could just hear the trump in the back, But now I can really tell that that really helped me develop a skill for music as well.

00:06:34
Speaker 2: So we'll see in the future.

00:06:36
Speaker 1: With you playing, I mean you've played overseas, you've played, you know, in the in the US. Do you bring that Puerto Rican music with you as like your pump up music or is it kind of like a little bit yeah.

00:06:49
Speaker 3: I mean we got right now in the past couple of years with Bad Bunny being like a really huge star, you know, like of course we got to bring some of that. But when it comes to my dad's music as well, there's always like usually around Christmas, I get really like nostyle chic a little bit, like I want to listen to my family. I want to listen to similar music. It's like that's really the time that i want to be close to home, and so I'm always looking for.

00:07:17
Speaker 2: My dad on like Spotify or my mom.

00:07:19
Speaker 3: They actually have songs in there, so like I just played them and it makes me feel like I'm back home.

00:07:24
Speaker 1: What are their names on there so we can give them some love.

00:07:28
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.

00:07:29
Speaker 3: My mom used to be on this group called LA's Take as Gan and you can find those on Spotify. And then my dad used to be in a lot of groups, but you can find him as Alias Santana Eastward gesta, which is there's a lot of music to listen.

00:07:44
Speaker 1: To them amazing. I'm definitely gonna check that out for sure. So, with your family being so musical, you wanting to go into sports. You said that they were very supportive about it, but were there any challenges when it came to playing volleyball with your family being so musical.

00:08:00
Speaker 3: Yeah, totally, because I wasn't very good at any sports.

00:08:04
Speaker 2: I think I was one of those kids that was a.

00:08:06
Speaker 3: Little bit, like not a little bit a lot off balance, Like I couldn't really find my like it was really about that, like my balance, and so I was really clumsy for a long time, and like that didn't really help me with the sports.

00:08:24
Speaker 2: And so that was like that for about four years or so. So my parents were like, oh, you know, maybe it's not for you, but I didn't want to stop.

00:08:33
Speaker 3: So they just kept, you know, bringing me to practice and eventually got better. And I'm glad it did because now I have this, you know, incredible experience and like such a long career already and I'm excited to even be part of you know, LBB and seeing it come to life in the US is really something that none of us thought could come within like our careers right and like in our prime time. So I'm just really honored to be a part of it.

00:09:02
Speaker 1: I was so excited to have you a part of it, especially with your career and starting where you did. I mean, going back to when you first started. Do you remember the first time you touched a volleyball? What it was like for you, Like, did you have any idea what you were doing?

00:09:15
Speaker 3: Not?

00:09:15
Speaker 2: Really.

00:09:16
Speaker 3: My only plan was hit the ball as hard as I could, and I missed a lot and that was that. But I just kept trying and I just really wanted to keep going. I remember this one specific time. It was like back then we used to have courts that were outside, and we didn't. They were cement courts, kind of like the outboul basketball courts in like different living communities.

00:09:42
Speaker 2: No ceiling, no nothing like it just opened air.

00:09:47
Speaker 1: Yeah.

00:09:48
Speaker 2: I remember.

00:09:49
Speaker 3: It was a time that it was raining, so practice was canceled and my mom was like, we're not going anywhere, and I just started crying.

00:09:55
Speaker 2: And I remember that, but I'm like, please take me. She's like, where am I going to take you? Because it's canceled, it's raining, you know, It's all like to me, it was I just wanted to be playing volleyball all the time.

00:10:07
Speaker 3: So I'm excited and happy that it had the outcome that it did.

00:10:14
Speaker 1: What is volleyball like in Puerto Rico?

00:10:16
Speaker 3: I think it was and it still is, one of, if not the main sport for.

00:10:23
Speaker 2: Girls and women.

00:10:25
Speaker 3: And you know, there used to be this huge tournaments, weekend tournaments on these courts right where people from young kids to all the way grandparents would go and watch. And actually my grandparents, my grandparents were always going to watch these tournaments and always going to the high school tournaments, and even as a professional, they were like always.

00:10:51
Speaker 2: The first making the lines.

00:10:53
Speaker 3: And so it's really a sport that is like deeply rooted in our community and in our culture.

00:11:01
Speaker 2: So it still is like that.

00:11:04
Speaker 3: And for me to carry that over and kind of represent my country in that way in this stage, it's really really cool and really important to me as well.

00:11:18
Speaker 1: Now, Puerto Rico has had a professional volleyball league since nineteen sixty eight. Correct me with my pronunciation. It's called Liga de Voo, right, that's perfect, yeah, or the LVSF, I saw, which is a little easier to say.

00:11:37
Speaker 2: That's great.

00:11:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well a lot of love players have played professionally in that league. So what has been the public reaction to that league, especially since it's been around for so long. Are there a lot of sponsors, Are there a lot of fans.

00:11:51
Speaker 3: Well, there's definitely a lot of fans. It sometimes can get a little spicy go they're really into the sport. They're really passionate about the sport itself. So you know when you have teams like, for example, we also have a border battle between my team used to be Kodosalent the other team at the.

00:12:17
Speaker 2: Other side of the border.

00:12:19
Speaker 3: It's called nadan Haito, and those are like some of the most passionate, crazy games you'll ever see on the island, and people come.

00:12:29
Speaker 2: You know, the games are at seven apm.

00:12:30
Speaker 3: People are there from like three pm just like waiting to be let in and like get a good spot, and like they want to yell and they want to scream, and they want to share how.

00:12:41
Speaker 2: They feel about the sport, and so you have to.

00:12:43
Speaker 3: It's definitely a place where you learn how to be mentally tough because you have a lot of the fans who you know, want to really support you, but you also have the other fans from the other team who want to make sure that you know.

00:12:59
Speaker 2: They're there.

00:13:02
Speaker 1: For sure.

00:13:03
Speaker 3: That's the West way I can describe it. But it's definitely a very like cool, fun lead to play at, and I hope it could keep growing in the future. I definitely think that it needs more support and sponsors and care and I think that's going to get there eventually, and I hope that we can make it a leade that people and players want to be a part of in the future.

00:13:29
Speaker 1: Now, you've also been able to play in other Hispanic countries like Mexico, So how is the sport received there? Is it different or similar to Puerto Rico.

00:13:38
Speaker 3: I would say is similar, but it's definitely I think a little bit more spread out when it comes to like different sports, Like for us, it's like really all about volleyball, and I definitely feel like in different countries it's all about different kinds of sports and the support is kind of like very consistent when it comes to all which is.

00:14:00
Speaker 2: Something I think also Puerto Rico could do better at.

00:14:04
Speaker 3: I think we have a lot of talent and a lot of great athletes from different sports that.

00:14:11
Speaker 2: Need to be celebrated and supported.

00:14:14
Speaker 3: And I'm you know, I think that in the future it should, you know, we should try to be better at that.

00:14:21
Speaker 2: Mm hmm, if that makes sense, I don't know.

00:14:23
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, Now did you dream of playing volleyball professionally? Like, did you want to go to college and play? What was kind of the path when you first started playing?

00:14:36
Speaker 2: To be quite honest, I wasn't thinking too far ahead.

00:14:40
Speaker 3: I think to be a player from Puerto Rico and to make it to the United States for college back then used to be a little bit rare. So for me, it was, uh, one season at a time, taking one season at a time. My focus is to get better, to improve my skills, to grow up really and then let's see where this takes me. And close to my eleventh grade I believe tenth grade or eleventh grade, I had met with a recruiter for Minnesota and that's when I first started thinking, Okay, maybe I can go to college for this sport. That's kind of cool. And to have the opportunity to leave the island and to go to the US and do it like not that many athletes before me had done that was very like much an honor for me.

00:15:39
Speaker 2: So then that happened, and then after college.

00:15:42
Speaker 3: I was like, wow, like now it's you know, the door is wide open, Like we'll see how far we can go with this, and here we are.

00:15:52
Speaker 1: Did anybody mentor you when it came to trying to play in the US in college?

00:15:58
Speaker 3: Definitely the coaches that I was working with and the person that recruited me, and also I got a lot of support from my parents and my family and coaches in the island.

00:16:08
Speaker 2: But I would say there's such a difference with.

00:16:12
Speaker 3: The programs when it comes to university programs within the island or in the US that I needed a little bit more guidance, and that's where the coaches came in. I had at the time Laura Bush who recruited me, and Hugh McCutchen was coming in for the University of Minnesota in twenty twelve, and the whole coaching staff at that time. They really made sure that I had a place where I was comfortable, that I could be myself and I could just focus on becoming a better volleyball player.

00:16:55
Speaker 1: I mean, you were a stud in Puerto Rico in the national team when you were sixteen years old, Like that's amazing, So you have known at some point You're like, you know what this is, this is the place where I should be, right, Yeah.

00:17:10
Speaker 3: It was yeah, honestly looking at it backwards, looking at it now, I'm like, well, I really should have thought about it a little bit more. It was really happening so fast for me. I think within the time I was sixteen, I was in the national team. I had also played with my first pro team in the Island before going to college, and then I was going to college, and then it was also going so fast that I was just like, Okay, I guess this is where I'm going.

00:17:42
Speaker 2: You know, I just didn't give it much thought.

00:17:44
Speaker 3: I wasn't like trying to understand, Okay, like do I want to go somewhere else?

00:17:49
Speaker 2: Do I want to do? No, it was like, oh, perfectly lined up.

00:17:53
Speaker 3: So I was like yes, and like I love everything that's happening right now, and I just.

00:17:58
Speaker 1: Went with it, just curious because everything did kind of happen so fast.

00:18:02
Speaker 3: You know.

00:18:02
Speaker 1: I've talked to a bunch of other players, and they've talked about burnout because it is something that happens. I burned out when I was a junior in high school too, for a period of time. Not to take a break. But did you ever experience that because of everything that was going.

00:18:15
Speaker 3: On, Yeah, I think a little bit, especially because of travel, Like we would travel with the professional team in the Island.

00:18:25
Speaker 2: We had to go sometimes two three hours away come back.

00:18:28
Speaker 3: I had high school the next day in the morning. I used to live really far from the city. It would take me about an hour to get to school every morning, so it was like I had to leave five six am out the door, but I was coming back at like mid ninety one am. So it was a little bit crazy when it came to that. And then when the summer is when students would usually rest, that was part of the national team and then traveling all summer, so it was a little bit too much. But I do think that I paid the price a little bit later my career.

00:19:00
Speaker 2: I think I would say six to eight years after, I was like, wow, I really have never.

00:19:10
Speaker 3: Stopped for a second and like taking a break. And I was feeling really burned out.

00:19:15
Speaker 2: And so.

00:19:19
Speaker 3: After the Olympics and after you know, a couple of years with the with the national team, I say a couple of years, it really was like ten years, ten years, I decided, you know, it's it's better for my health. Uh And with the advice of like the doctors I was working with that I take the summers to rest and covered it is important. I think we have sometimes a culture in Puerto Rico where we don't understand that clearly and the importance of rest and recovery both mentally and physically, and that leads to a lot of athletes burned out. And so I had to make that decision in order to be my best self moving forward. And I am, you know, okay with that because I am feeling my best and I am just becoming a better athlete and a better person.

00:20:16
Speaker 1: It's interesting that you say that, you know, your culture just has this like motion to keep going and just push through and stuff like that. Were there any positives from growing up in Puerto Rico and your culture that helped you as a player.

00:20:30
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:20:30
Speaker 4: I think in that moment that felt like a lot of support and a lot of like you can accomplish anything you want, You can go as far as you want, and like you just have to keep going and keep working and keep pushing.

00:20:46
Speaker 2: And so I think when you're.

00:20:50
Speaker 3: A kid in that environment that really helps and really positive because it helps you develop the mindset of a warrior, almost of a fighter, and so that's what it was for me.

00:21:04
Speaker 2: I think eventually and at some point that changes a little bit.

00:21:07
Speaker 3: The dynamic with the sport that we have with the sport changes a little bit as we grow up.

00:21:13
Speaker 2: And that's okay too.

00:21:14
Speaker 3: So I think it was necessary for me to go through that, and it has helped me get to where I am today, and I'm excited to see how I can balance that mindset with like a new more balanced mindset.

00:21:28
Speaker 1: For sure, you were a warrior, a fighter, and then you became a Gopher in Minnesota. So going back to college. When you did come to the US, what was it like to go from Puerto Rico to Minnesota. Was it a big culture shock for you?

00:21:44
Speaker 3: Yes, very much, especially on the sport because in Puerto Rico, growing up, you have a strong arm. That's really all you need. Like you, that's like the best thing you can have, like a strong arm. You're quick, you're powerful. When I came to I was like, Wow, you need a lot more. I need to be a more complete player.

00:22:05
Speaker 2: So I kind of have.

00:22:06
Speaker 3: I kind of had to change my mindset of like I need to become more and that could be sometimes hard.

00:22:15
Speaker 2: When you're a kid, you think what I have is enough, and then you have to become more.

00:22:22
Speaker 3: And I think that's where the coaching staff at the time did an incredible job. I mean, this program is incredible and in sharing and helping and like nurturing that mindset, mindset of becoming a better player and developing new skills and being okay with that process of change.

00:22:43
Speaker 1: Do you have any funny stories or moments from being sort of that fish out of water and coming to Minnesota?

00:22:52
Speaker 3: So many I'm like trying to think of one.

00:22:58
Speaker 2: I think one of the.

00:23:01
Speaker 3: Cute moments when I first got to college, I couldn't speak English too well and I couldn't say the word turtle, and so.

00:23:11
Speaker 2: That was, I don't know what, an entire year because I could have say turtle.

00:23:17
Speaker 3: So every time my teammates are are athletic trainer who is actually still here and asked me the same question a week ago, she was like, say turtle, So yeah.

00:23:32
Speaker 2: I looked at her and I said, I graduated from that already, turtle, So yeah. I think it was just a lot of.

00:23:39
Speaker 3: Moments where I couldn't pronunciate a lot of things, and so they became fun memories.

00:23:44
Speaker 1: So how did you handle that the language barrier.

00:23:49
Speaker 3: I had a lot of tutoring. I think also the University of Minnesota has great, great tutors, and I couldnt make advisors.

00:23:58
Speaker 2: That really helped.

00:24:02
Speaker 3: With the whole stress of trying to figure out college and a new language at the same time. And so I had a lot of tutors before and after practice, And.

00:24:12
Speaker 5: I think in general, my biggest issue was letting go of the fear of speaking out because I didn't know how to say something.

00:24:25
Speaker 3: I was just trying, and I think that's something I still applied today. I have learned other languages after college, and so I've kind of.

00:24:34
Speaker 2: Done the same thing. Just try it out.

00:24:36
Speaker 3: You know, somebody will correct you or will make fun of you, and then it'll be a funny memory.

00:24:42
Speaker 1: You give me inspiration to finally learn Spanish for real after you know, five years in school learning and then not using it. So you said that there was a difference. You know, in Puerto Rico you just needed a strong arm and you were, you know, an amazing player. In the US, you need to be more all around player. Like, was there anything in your culture or from growing up that sort of influenced your style of play that you were able to bring to the States.

00:25:13
Speaker 3: Mm hmmm. I think, uh, it's it was less about skill and more about character.

00:25:24
Speaker 2: And mindset. When I mentioned that warrior.

00:25:28
Speaker 3: Mindset that I needed to have while growing up, that's what helped me also get through college.

00:25:36
Speaker 2: That was important to me that I developed a character.

00:25:42
Speaker 3: In my younger years that helped me get through the challenges of being you know, in the Big Ten, in a school that was highly competitive, with teammates that were highly competitive, and you know, a coaching staff that expected a lot of toes and improvements from their athletes. And so I think the character that I showed up with just got better after getting to college. So I'm grateful, very grateful for them.

00:26:11
Speaker 1: I love that.

00:26:12
Speaker 3: Now.

00:26:12
Speaker 1: Your former youth National League teammate Dally and Liz Rosado, she joined the Gophers in twenty fourteen. So when that happened, how, if at all, did that change your experience in Minnesota?

00:26:25
Speaker 2: That was great. I mean I had not.

00:26:30
Speaker 3: Spoken Spanish until she got there. There's not there wasn't a lot of Spanish speaking people at that time in Minnesota, and so it was really nice to have her We've known each other for since wow, since we were like six or seven, so we've been in each other's.

00:26:51
Speaker 2: Lives for a long time.

00:26:53
Speaker 3: We're really great friends, and so it was really nice to share.

00:26:59
Speaker 2: College with her and also you know, the volleyball go for a program with her.

00:27:03
Speaker 1: Did you guys share your culture with your teammates now that you sort of had like a partner in crime, music, movies, whatever it might be.

00:27:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, and also food, yeah, oh yeah, so it was it was really fun to see my teammates also meet another Puerto Rican. I think we're all like the same but also a little bit different and also we look differently, and I think that was something that like another funny story that like when goalie Leus came over and they were expecting another Puerto Rican to look like me, but she looks completely different, and like that's the story of like Puerto Ricans in general become in every size and color and that's it. That's our culture. So it was really fun to see and to share that with them.

00:27:54
Speaker 1: Amazing. Now you got to play in the Olympics in twenty sixteen, and your team was the first and only team Puerto Rico has sent to the summer game. So what did that mean to you?

00:28:06
Speaker 2: That was so so real.

00:28:11
Speaker 3: I think I'm still trying to figure out what that meant to me because it was such a big deal for our country, for the team. It was something that we didn't know if it could be possible, and you know that we ended up having the chance to go to that.

00:28:30
Speaker 2: Tournament qualifying tournament at.

00:28:33
Speaker 3: Home in front of our people, and it was just really fun to live that experience and to be able to represent Puerto Rico at such a big stage and be the first ones to do it. It's like, wow, how do you how do you do that? How do you bring your culture and your vuluable to the Olympics. You have nobody to compare to or to look up to. You kind of have to do it. Were the first to do it. So for us, it was about doing our best, being ourselves and enjoying every.

00:29:09
Speaker 2: Day and I think that we did that well.

00:29:12
Speaker 1: Any memorable moments, whether it was you know, you with your team outside of the court or on the court, anything anything fun.

00:29:20
Speaker 2: I think I was.

00:29:22
Speaker 3: We were coming out of the lunch villa that they had for the athletes and I was walking out next to Sarah Williams and I remember exchanging like maybe three words, and that was so much fun because she spoke back to me and I was like.

00:29:39
Speaker 2: Oh, oh my god. And then that was it. That was that was the moment of the Olympics.

00:29:46
Speaker 3: And I just remember seeing her, seeing all these other amazing athletes that you know, we look up to, and sharing the space with.

00:29:58
Speaker 2: Them, and the Olympics and the experience with them. It was really cool.

00:30:02
Speaker 1: Yeah. I feel like, even though I've never been to the Olympics as an athlete, never will be, I still feel like being able to see all these the world's greatest athletes all in one location has got to be one of the coolest things. And as an athlete, who gets to walk next to Serena Williams, even if it's mentioning three words to her, it's got to be something that's going to stick with you forever. I know.

00:30:22
Speaker 2: Right, we laughed together for two seconds.

00:30:26
Speaker 1: But it was worth it. Right, Was your family in Brazil for the Olympics or were they watching at home in Puerto Rico.

00:30:34
Speaker 2: We're watching at home. Yeah, they were watching at home.

00:30:37
Speaker 3: And it's just I think they would probably be better at explaining what it meant to have our team at the Olympics than any of us. I think we're still cadiving shock and like in all of the whole experience, I'm just overall really honored to have been a part of that team, and I hope it's not the last time that quarterco goes.

00:31:02
Speaker 2: To the Olympics.

00:31:17
Speaker 1: In your experience playing overseason in the US, what have you observed when it comes to Hispanics in the sport.

00:31:24
Speaker 2: Well, I think that you can spot them anywhere.

00:31:28
Speaker 3: You'll know right away you want to see them. But in general, I think that collectively we bring so much talent and value to all these different leagues in the world. We make people curious about our countries and like they want to know more, They want to know more players from our countries. And I think that's something really important and our responsibility that each of us carry every time we go play in the other countries. We're not only representing ourselves, we're representing all the people before and all the people after. And I think that sometimes, actually all the time, we should remember that we have and we carry that responsibility.

00:32:14
Speaker 1: Now. I saw in a study from twenty twenty one that out of all the volleyball players women volleyball players. Only seven percent of them are Hispanic. Why do you think that number is so small?

00:32:29
Speaker 2: I'm not sure, because there's a lot of US.

00:32:33
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a whole league in Puerto Rico. I don't understand how I know.

00:32:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I think that I'm not sure why it happens. I think that there's definitely a lot of talent everywhere. I think it might have to do with how recruiting or scouting has been done in the past.

00:33:01
Speaker 2: That has not really changed.

00:33:03
Speaker 3: As the years have gone by, and as volleyball has changed, and I'm hoping that in the future it gets better because there's definitely so much more talent to explore and to bring and to share for, you know, into all these other leagues.

00:33:20
Speaker 1: What do you think could help to increase the visibility, uh and love of this sport amongst the amongst the Hispanic community.

00:33:30
Speaker 3: I think that a lot of the tournaments that are held like internationally are usually in the same spots, in the same countries and in the same cities.

00:33:39
Speaker 2: I think that if they were.

00:33:41
Speaker 3: To bring them back out to different international countries, like in Latin America, that would increase Obviously, the exposure that these athletes get, because I remember when I was just joining the national team and we used to travel a lot every summer to Mexico. We had tournaments in the island, in Puerto Rico, we went to Queba, Dominican Republic, we went to you know, all these different countries, and I feel like in the recent years it's really been the same places, mainly in Asia, and so maybe they brought brought it back.

00:34:25
Speaker 2: And you know, back into the Latino countries.

00:34:27
Speaker 1: That would help for sure. Now, outside of volleyball, what are you passionate about?

00:34:35
Speaker 3: So many things, so many things. Definitely music is one of them. I think I've had this on and off relationship with music mainly because I yelled a lot when I'm playing volleyball, so I can't really dedicate that much time to music when when I'm in season. But I'm hoping, hoping that changes after and you know, we now get to have an off season and off season.

00:35:04
Speaker 2: I think that's something a little.

00:35:06
Speaker 3: Bit rare in the volleyball field seasons are usually you know, eight ninety ten months long, and I'm excited to see us, you know, share that double life of like volleyball and then non volleyball. So we'll see what kind of structure that takes.

00:35:26
Speaker 1: You open up a coffee shop before. Can you talk about that a little bit? In your coffee and why coffee?

00:35:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, so my family and I would say just supporter. Again, culture in general is very coffee orientated. We love coffee every morning, every afternoon, three times, four times a day. It doesn't matter. So for me it was important. I used to live in New York with my husband and we decided that we wanted to bring Puerto Rican coffee to New York. We wanted to bring Porican products to New York, desserts and things that weren't as locally known because even in Puerto Rico there's things that we only do during Christmas time, during summertime, and like, we wanted to bring everything at once to the US and that was really fun. And we don't currently have the coffee shop right now as in the store itself, but we are planning on still having our business and kind of focusing more on wholesale so that we can share the love even further.

00:36:39
Speaker 1: You can bring it to Madison, Yeah.

00:36:41
Speaker 2: Right, I'm thinking about it.

00:36:45
Speaker 1: So let's talk about you going to Madison. So, as you said, you know, it's on the on the other side of the border when it comes to the Minnesota Wisconsin rivalry. But how excited are you to be able to finally, you know, come back to the States and play here and experience what is this new league, in this new startup.

00:37:04
Speaker 3: Yeah, for me, it's a great honor to be a part of this league.

00:37:10
Speaker 2: I mean, it's.

00:37:12
Speaker 3: Been talked about long enough, it's been worked on a long time. So for us to be the athletes I get to compete on the first season, it's really a big deal. I'm still trying to figure out what that means to me, as you know, the first and only Puerto Rican to be part of the league. I also think that's really an important responsibility. And I hope that I can honor the legacy of the players that came before me, and that I can represent my country well by adding and contributing to that legacy. And then personally, I hope that I can also to be my legacy and become a better player and help the league be a successful league.

00:38:06
Speaker 1: What do your family think.

00:38:08
Speaker 3: They're so excited, they're already planning the trips there. You know, we have the group chat going like flights, hotels, this that we're coming. So I'm like, yeah, you better hurry because the tickets are telling on already.

00:38:24
Speaker 1: I want to hear your dad playing the trumpets from the stands and he said you get an ace or a kill or something.

00:38:33
Speaker 2: He brought it everywhere.

00:38:34
Speaker 3: I think he's played the trumpet in every country that I've played.

00:38:39
Speaker 1: Really, he's brought it everywhere.

00:38:41
Speaker 2: There's videos of him out there.

00:38:44
Speaker 3: I think the most recent one was in Korea, South Korea, and he was playing it.

00:38:49
Speaker 2: They gave him a microphone and everything.

00:38:51
Speaker 3: So I.

00:38:53
Speaker 1: Love that so much. I cannot wait to watch and to hear this.

00:38:58
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, they made it a event.

00:39:00
Speaker 3: They asked us if he could play in the break between sets and he said they then it was a whole event and he went great and he added to the list of places play.

00:39:18
Speaker 1: That is so amazing. Better tell Lauren Carly you need to get ready.

00:39:23
Speaker 2: Yeah he's coming.

00:39:26
Speaker 1: Well, Dolly, thank you so much. I'm so excited to watch you play this season. And thank you again for being on Serving Pancakes.

00:39:34
Speaker 2: Thank you very much.

00:39:37
Speaker 1: Serving Pancakes is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership 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 Alvarez is our senior producer. Our executive producers are Carrie Stett, Tamara Dyke, and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing lead is Jawora Parker. Sound mixing by Daniel Gonzalez. Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior Special thanks to Dolly Santana. Stay tuned for another episode of Serving Pancakes. Thanks for listening.