GMP: Hey, welcome to the Major League Minute podcast. I'm Doc. I'm here with GMP. Today we're talking all things MLV as you're drinking your hot tea right in front of God and everybody on episode 21 of the Major League Minute podcast. Thanks for joining us. Great intro, Doc. You're welcome. Should we start with the volley update? Tons of fun. As always. ⁓ Unfortunately, we begged and pleaded for subscribers, not subscribers, but people to join us in our fantasy league. the needle move whatsoever this week? I don't think it. I don't think it moved at all. We're still at 45. Unfortunately, but I mean, we're coming to the final. five away though, guys. If you're out there, just recruit one person. That's it. That's it. That's all we need. So please join us on the Major League Minute Fantasy League on the Volley app. Yes. Tons of fun. Also follow us on Instagram and TikTok and then subscribe to our YouTube channel at the Major League Minute podcast. But along the lines of the volley update, you're still climbing the ladder. I am. That needle moved yet again. And now I'm the right direction for both of us this week, Yeah, so overall season leaderboard, I'm third. And this last round, I ended up finishing fourth, which is not bad. And I'm at 17th. you. I'm moving up. Well. You are at 17th on the season and then ninth last round. So. Well, we're 21 episodes in, and I'm finally figuring out how to actually play the nuances of the fantasy league, so. OK, but that's on you, Doc. Because there are info icons literally in every single area of the app and you can just click them and they will explain I didn't even know there was an info icon or what that even meant. I've been Technologically challenged technologic what generation are you? you a boomer? ⁓ no idea but I mean you're sitting up there with the big dogs, right? I mean you're with Jit what is it Tallahassee turtles Tallahassee turtles They're still, I think they're back to like first even actually. There was a, there was a swap and I they're maybe back to first place on this season, but this last round, volley best got first place and volley go place. Very ⁓ good for them. I mean, when you say you're third, you're still behind Tallahassee turtles, but you're within striking distance. mean, 4,324 is Tallahassee Turtles, JV Vykes in second with 4,263. And then you got you with 4,231. ⁓ OK. And then mother-in-law with? She slid down a little bit. Rough week for the mother-in-law. ⁓ slid down. OK, we won't mention that. It's that way. But good for volley best and volley go, moving up the leaderboard. And still that teams looking five. I wish there was a, it's kind of fun not knowing who these people are, but I also kind of wish I did know. Well, you got corrected last time. What do mean? Was it a he, she, we talked, whoever, I don't remember. ⁓ they say Jay Vikes was a guy. Was a male, yes. Did I call them a female in the? We did not. We just didn't know. We just didn't know. And he clarified that Jay Vikes is a male. OK. So thanks for doing So Volly Best and Volly Go. You guys local, male or female, what's going on here? It seems like they're related by the name of the name. But you know how about a name? Volley Best, Volley Go. We need Volley Worst to join in to the fantasy league before this thing's over. Or Volley Stop. Volley Stop. Yeah, Volley Best, Volley Go, Volley Stop. Whichever. in the major league fantasy league this week are? Third place? Yeah, so third place, think, is another new name that we haven't seen in the top five before. Right. And that is a middle blocker from San Diego, Maren Grote. She's actually playing really well right now. She is. She scored 84.8 fantasy points. And then second place, a very familiar name, is Carly Snyder, 88.3. And then first place, I believe this is her first time. You say that every week about every person. That's not true. Never seen them before. she's been in the top three. I don't remember a time she's finished first. Do you? I do not. That is an Omaha supernova, Sarah Wilhite Parsons. She scored 89.8. Did you have her? This last week, I think I did have her, actually. OK. Yeah. How about of these three? I don't know. I'm sorry, I didn't write it down. don't know. OK. I don't know. with Sarah, OK, let me back up. I did. Yeah. Which one? Sarah Wilhite Parsons, you're welcome. I had Groat. Nice. And I still finished above you. Yeah, good for you. But what's interesting, OK, so looking back, I feel like the matches this week were good in the sense of, things happen that we weren't anticipating, really. So it was like exciting or like in as far as you're talking about spit it out. What I'm trying to say is that Sarah Wilhite Parsons scored first in the fantasy points with only 89.8. That's very interesting, because we've like on the high end, we've seen like Iko Jones scored like 115 once. So it's like a big like this is like, okay, were the matches bad this week? Like not a lot of people scored. Yeah, because it doesn't matter if you had one match two. We already figured that out. Right, it does not matter on the match, but I'm just curious if there's like a correlation. Like if the was down overall. Like if the scoring was down this week, does that ⁓ ⁓ know, ⁓ translate to the matches were not very exciting? Or clean, or I don't know. there was some There's a four setter. There's a five setter. Yeah, I guess I don't. Maybe it means it was a more team-oriented week. ⁓ Where does that make sense? ⁓ points were spread out within team. Maybe that's what that really means. I'm thinking on the spot here. But way, you're moving up. I'm moving up with you ⁓ to a deluxe apartment on this. All right, guys, just five more. We want to get to 50. We only have a couple of weeks left. Recruit. Yeah. You said it's going to the fantasy league is going to go probably all the way through the final four into the championship. mean, OK, four to six weeks We're looking at six weeks. You said a couple. A couple. It's not that. is a lot different than six. OK, what do you want me to say? A few weeks left? Yes. Let's talk about you've had a revelation this week. We've been referring to. Thunder and Lightning, and Mimi as both rookies. Mimi is definitely a rookie, but as you did your research, did somebody correct you on this or how did you come to conclusion? Someone corrected us out there that Sophia Maldonado Diaz is not a rookie and it immediately sent me into panic mode. And so when I researched it, I have discovered a lot more, which... I don't exactly even know how to get into it. But when I went into this research, I discovered that the MLV website very inconsistent as as the individual team rosters. And so when I approached our staff about, hey, does the individual franchise take care of this or ⁓ does league manage this? the response I got was the franchise. So there is so much grace. Obviously, I'm in the position where I need grace because I was misspeaking this entire time about Sophia. But I'm ⁓ because I'm like, let's be efficient. Let's be correct. Let's be pure our demonstration, our appearance, because that only benefits the league. And so I'm like, okay, franchises, get this together. Because I've come to find out there's actually a lot of misrepresentation on these team rosters. Not that it's done intentionally. Maybe it's just overlooked or Yeah, for sure. I don't think it's intentional at all. think. think it's the opposite. It's unintentional, actually. But with so yeah, there's just a lot of errors like I wrote down like, for Kylie, Murr, for example, on the Dallas Pulse, she had nothing listed as she's like a four year pro and she has nothing listed by her name. Right. But that would be consistent with everybody on the Dallas Pulse lineup then. No, ⁓ no. Like with Nati it says 11 year pro. For Mimi it says nothing. It says nothing. so format that I believe it's supposed to follow is it has their height and then it has a separation and it shows either how many years pro then if they haven't, if they're a rookie, it just says their collegiate career. ⁓ some, a lot of the times we see a lot of girls play nowadays at two or three or four different colleges. It's not just one. So for Mimi, would say Oregon comma Wisconsin. But like ⁓ ⁓ even Even Omaha, for example, it's a little bit confusing because I saw this morning for Brooke Moser, who is a rookie, it says one year pro. placed next to Nora Siss, to Brock, who it says one year pro. And she's not a one year pro. not. She was on the Orlando Valkyries last year. So I'm just like, OK, they're little details and everyone deserves grace because there is like a bazillion to do. I understand that. even found errors on love's What are you looking for that for? No, I don't actively seek out. It just stumbles in my For example, they made a grave error when on TV ⁓ they were highlighting Larson and it said University of Texas. I'm like, was that That's low blow. Or another player they were highlighting and she was from Columbia and they misspelled it instead of C-O-L-O they put C-O-L-U. And so it's just like it happens. Everybody deserves grace and it's like we're not perfect. We're not all AI. So what's your point? So my point is, is that I apologize that this whole time we've been claiming Sophia as a rookie. I am sorry for that and not doing like thorough research, but when I looked online, it didn't have, you know, how many years pro. So I assumed that she was a rookie. She also doesn't have social media to my knowledge. When I looked at she, I could not find a personal page for her. So that even made it more difficult to confirm. But regardless, even on social media, you can find posts from random people. She's Mexican. So there was some Mexican accounts that I just had to translate a few a little bit. ⁓ yeah, come to find out that she has played. She has one season under her belt already. So this is her sophomore was overseas? Yes. Yes. I think the bottom line with that as we bring it to a close is that if you're going to have uniformity within that website, I think the league has to manage it across the board because that's, as you look at the different rosters and the way they identify and describe the players, it's different from franchise to franchise. So if you're have uniformity throughout the whole, I think it needs to be managed by the league. I agree with you that they can do the overall management. I don't see a problem in the franchises managing it, but the league maybe needs to check in with and be like, hey, just making sure you saw this. It needs to be like this, something like that. You might mess around and get you a job next year. ⁓ gosh. ⁓ pretty good at that kind of stuff. anyway, a lot of grace. I'm not saying they're doing a bad job or anything. I just think that there's so much more that we need to focus on and prioritize. But I will say that I hope that the rosters, like specifically the rosters ⁓ is inconsistent as far as like their bios or whatever. Why is that a big deal to you? Because you feel like it doesn't accurately represent the player or their history? well there's that. is that it's not accurately us, because if I go in and I'm like, I wanna know who the rookies are, which is exactly what I did, it confusion and frustration because I technically didn't get, I had to do even further investigating because this was inconsistent. But I also think it matters to me because I love the MLV so much. Obviously I them to succeed forever more and I have, created a lot of relationships that I value. And so I want them to succeed. I think just chiseling up things like that can really make a big difference in our like professionalism. Yeah. ⁓ excellence factor. Those are little things that can. I mean, even just let's rewind 60 minutes ago when I was like, doc, I really need help with this outline. I need it to look a certain way. It's like just, I just feel like it just helps with professionalism. Whoa, not calling you unprofessional, but. I'm saying that's not my strength and my gift. I know. I can put that data down there, but we need an administrative, same principle. Same principle. It's administrative nuance that somebody that's not administrative won't even notice it. But somebody that is, it bothers them. It sticks out like a sore thumb. So I got sent an Instagram video today from a friend who I haven't seen in person since probably 2015. I played with her professionally in 2014. She sent me a video today. Haven't spoken to her for a while. She sent me a video today because she remembers this about me. But it was basically to summarize, it was, if you can't stand noises, that people make with their mouths, like especially when they're chewing. It's actually a sign that you have some type of creative genius in you. can't like, I'd have to play the whole video for you guys to understand, but she remembered that about me. Okay, why are you telling our audience this story? Because I'm telling you because visually, like the outline and the website, those things really. I need it to be like- They speak to you? Right here, deep down. I You got to do the two-handed spread push here. I need them to look symmetrical and be like Well, then that's up to you, because I'm going to get it on there, and you can do whatever you want with it so that it flows in your conscious being. you just beat me to it this week, so Do we need to talk about all these rookies? And why did you put them on here? Yes, I put them on here. You want to be clear? You did your research, and now you found out every rookie on every team? Are you sure about that? Don't ask me if I'm sure. Now I have doubt. But I think I'm sure, yes. So I actually am glad that I did this. So shout out to the person who corrected us. I know it was a guy, his profile picture was funny. And what did he say? Was it respectful, or was it? It was very blunt, but respectful. mean, was just, hey, Sophia is not a rookie. Like, it was basically just that. So I was like, oh. So anyway, I'm gonna run through this list. So starting with Atlanta, we have Avery Carlson, Ava Martin, and now their newest addition, Maggie Mendelson. with Columbus, which this one I think is ⁓ eye-opening because it's Akasha Anderson and Audrey Pak. ⁓ they are actually playing now. So that's where it's like, oh, OK, we need to start paying attention to them. OK, is that not realize that they were rookies. And the reason why is because it didn't say they were a rookie. But they tell us every week that Akasha Anderson's a rookie from Purdue, right? Oh, I guess. Maybe I haven't been paying attention. But my point exactly with Audrey Park, it says one year pro. And it's like, that's misleading a little bit. Because are you saying one year pro because this is their first year? Or are you saying one year pro because they already have a year under their belt? Got it. So that's why I'm like, I just wish there was a little more clarity or like uniformity uniformity across the league. so then Dallas ⁓ Mimi Collier and Tristan Savage. Then with Grand Rapids, it's Candela Alonso Corcelas, and she coming Spain. I believe. there's Hattie Bray, which I don't know if we've really seen her And then Shelton. Sometimes we'll see her. She is a rookie. I remember her from college. Yeah, I remember. I'm pretty sure Alexis is the one, way weeks back where I was like, her profile picture scared me. Like, she looks like a very, like, intimidating person. And then moving on, think would be next, and that's Brooke Moser, Kiara Reinhart. But again, like with Brooke, it says ⁓ year pro. So it's just, that's where I'm like, ⁓ Okay, so then moving on, Orlando is Bree Kelly and Colby Neal. So both of them are middle blockers. And then, oops, I think I skipped in Indie Ignite. We have Kara Cressy and Emma Halter and Taylor Lanfare. And then lastly with San Diego, it's Allison Jacobs who we recently just saw then Hayden Kubik. Okay, you said all that to say, why did you tell us? Why did you go through the rookies? Why did you feel like you needed to share that with us? Because you came to the conclusion that we talked about the rookie of the week every week. Yeah, I think it was just like, I needed to do my due diligence better because we were about to change our rookie of the week to Mimi or Sophia. And it's like, OK, wow, if we messed up that bad, we got to start from the beginning. So been a while since we've ⁓ about the draft. And even on the MLB website, they took down the draft. ⁓ it was not as easy to go back. You had to physically go into every single ⁓ And then again, I had to do some additional research if it was confusing. I had to go to social media to find out. to confirm otherwise. So why did I do it? For informational purposes only. OK. I do want to talk about one of the players, one of the rookies you just mentioned. I want to talk about Brooke Moser's serve. She had the most dominant jump serve that I've seen in a long time. OK. And now she's floating. Yeah. Don't ask me. I don't know. I'm not she gets an opportunity to serve. It's not her dominant jump serve. It's a float All right, I'll leave that one alone as you mentioned her I think we can just leave a dot dot dot after that I what does that mean dot dot dot? Well, we'll just let that one sit and soak into the ears of our audience. Okay, I Don't really know. I mean, I'm sure I could say a few things but at the end of the day I'm not in the gym. So maybe her float service shoulder. We don't know Maybe it's not you go. It could be a lot of different things. I didn't want to forget about it, but I did want to bring it up. thought maybe you had some understanding perspective on that. Mm-mm. OK. Let's move right along. There's been a lot of transactions as we're getting to the back third of the season. A lot of injuries. that time of year again. This is when, in year one, Supernovas made a move. They brought in Samadie on the opposite, and it changed the whole trajectory of the rest of the season. Mm-hmm. We talk about a lot of transactions that are happening right now. There's probably more transactions that are happening right now as we're on this podcast because they've been going one right after the other. I wouldn't be surprised if we're here next week and there's a few more others. As we get down into the home stretch now, teams are starting to position themselves for the home stretch. Do you feel like most of these are from injury-related replacements, ⁓ contracts, or do you feel like these are players are going to get some of these teams, whether it's in the top four or in the top two or? ultimately to the championship? ⁓ think, yeah, everyone ⁓ you're not going make a signee. You're not going to bring someone on right now if they're not going to help the team. I think, yes, everyone's bringing on these new players ⁓ is seeing these new make an immediate impact. I would be shocked if someone hired someone and we don't see them play this week. You would be shocked if somebody just hired somebody you don't see them playing on the court this week, OK? Yep. So if we take ⁓ Grand Rapids Rise, they hired Danielle Harbin, who has a longtime career. She's spent most of her time in Germany, but she's played twice in Italy. I think she has nine years under her belt. She's an opposite. That is someone who's going to come in and probably Immediate impact so she's gonna take somebody spot or did somebody for Grand Rapids get injured in the in the on the right side one from Grand Rapids got injured Elizabeth inna, okay, and then they have Alexis Shelton, okay, so to my knowledge ⁓ one has been waived either so they must had some leftover funds as far as like the salary cap to ⁓ for Danielle and they're looking for somebody to come in and make an immediate impact. This is mean it's do or die right now Okay. The next these next few weeks are the most important of the season, especially this year because three, four, five, six, seven. I know about I don't remember if seven is close. No, it's Columbus is the only one that's out of the running. pretty much. Yeah, so they're all neck and neck right now. It's not like in years past where it's like, maybe at this point, we can afford to lose three matches or so like, no, no one can afford to lose right now. So ⁓ Rapids, I actually think that will be a great hire for them. What are you basing that on? Do you know her? ⁓ you basing it on her length of her career? Are you basing that on the league, the quality or the level of league in Italy and Germany that Or have you seen her play? I haven't seen her play, no. But I am basing it off the fact that she's coming from Italy right now. OK. From the A1, which is their top league. OK, so she's going to be legit. I've seen where she's played in Germany. I also played in Germany. I think that's also great talent pool there. And so I one I think will be a great hire, but I am curious to see because Elizabeth and I think is finally starting to get a little bit back to where she was but I guess we'll see To me it looks like maybe they're putting all their chips on the table. It's like now or never Absolutely, that's what that's exactly in the mindset I guess ⁓ see that Grand Rapids also picked up Jenna Rosenthal who's a middle blocker She started with Omaha, right? She started with Omaha this year And that makes me think that Leah Myers did get injured. So technically you asked me if these were injury pickups and I said no originally, but this one I'd take it back. maybe, some maybe not. Yeah, because then if we want to go into the injury route, the next team I would think of is Indy Ignite. They picked up two middle blockers from Italy. Now they're American, but they're coming from the Italian league. Right. So have Emma Clothier. Is that how you say it? then Jalen Keane. I put, coming Italy, but who knows. What do you mean by but who knows? Because back to the MLV website, they ⁓ in transactions that ⁓ Emma Clothier was signed the Fury. But. Saw her on the Indie Ignite roster So I was like what so I opened up two tabs to compare to make sure I saw it right And so the error is on the transaction side. She did not get picked up by Columbus fury She did in fact get picked up by Indie Ignite. Okay, so that's why I was like lol But who knows but I went to I further investigated in socials and so saw that she is with the Indie Ignite came to the conclusion so And both of them are middles, they both need middles. Because as we know, Blake Muller got injured. Lydia is going to be back. Hopefully, she's back. So by the time they get down the stretch, they're going to have five middles? One, No. They would have Lydia, Kara, and then these two. Who would? ⁓ and then the Italian, the actual Italian. Yeah, the tall. ⁓ hard say her name. Yeah. So there'll be five middles down the. Man, they're. That's a lot. They're stacking their middle for sure, unless maybe they're not expecting Lydia to To come back. Oh, that would be so sad. I guess we'll find out this weekend. But back to your point, if you think GMP should be nominated for the. No, stop what you're about to say. Give us a thumbs up to manage the MLV website and make sure it's up just means you'll be babysitting more. Do you want to sign up for more babysitting? Wouldn't be bad, but I mean. Obviously it's impacting you right here because we've been talking for 27 minutes all about this and it's been hurting here, but Let's talk about the Columbus Fury. They have some signees as well. Yep. So Brianna Ford She's an opposite. She played at the University of Texas of Arlington. Okay I'm not familiar with her, but I know that she's coming from Germany And then They signed Ryan White, who is a libero from Kansas. I don't know if you remember watching her this fall. Do you? Yeah, I do, actually. And I think she was just finishing up school. So kind of like Maggie Mendelson, think she was at Kansas finishing up school right now and then Why a libero? I don't know, actually, because I think. Is this Hippo? Hippo is, I'm actually thinking she's doing really good right now. maybe they need a, like a. Passing sub. Maybe they need someone to be able to come in for maybe like Akasha or someone in the back row to help with defense and passing. I don't know. That would be the only thing that I could think of. I think as you keep up with the changes and the transactions on the MLB website, I think you should give an explanation with their history and everything as well why we're bringing them to the team. Coach isn't going to reveal that. Dallas Poles picked up Carter Booth. I remember her from Wisconsin, right? Yep, so out of all these, I guess I did know Ryan White from Kansas, the libero, but Carter Booth is the only other person that I recognize. And one makes sense. Yes, and Janet Rosenthal. But this one, yeah, that one makes sense. Direct fulfillment for their middle blocker position since Lane Van Buskirk was injured. Man, that was so sad. That was a crazy game, which I'm sure we'll get into. Yeah, so she's coming from Italy as well. It's like all these players are coming from Italy, it seems like. But will be a great addition for them. And Italy is a high level league? Absolutely, yeah. One of the best. So she's going to be a direct impact player as soon as she lands here. Absolutely. Whenever that is. It would be absolutely shocking if she did not play this week. I mean, I don't even think they have any other options. Because Caitlin. obviously is injured. And else? We got Savage. And Tristan has to be injured because the game we'll get into, they had to do this crazy lineup. Oh, that's right. And Kelsey Payne, an opposite, who probably has never played middle blocker in her life, had to fill in the middle blocker position. And then they still won. They Crazy. We can get into she played good. So yeah, so Caitlin and Tristan have to be injured. There's no other explanation why they didn't get thrown in there. Then lastly, another transaction that we'll talk about is the Atlanta Vi picked up Jennifer Moss or she's an outside for the Vibe. Yep. I think as we've, this makes sense just because I feel like Atlanta has, well, first of all, Taylor Smith got injured. I don't know if it's a season ending injury. ⁓ she was on the other side of the van best. Van Buskirk collision at the net. So I'm not sure if hers is season ending. At least it didn't say on the transactions. But even if she wasn't injured, I feel like they've kind of been moving in and out of outsides. Like not really sure which one is going to stick. And so this one, I don't know. I think this hire makes sense to them. Coming from Italy, Jennifer Mosser, do you know her? No, I don't. seen her? No. I don't. The assumption is she's an impact player and is going to make a difference soon as she gets here. She played at different colleges I saw. So I think her ⁓ one she finished at was Kansas. OK. Out of the eight teams in the MOV, five of them made a transaction or a hire this week. Do you see anything on the horizon for the Supernovas? Is they going to roll with who they got through the rest of the season? When I think of the Supernovas, even though there's a new coach this year, I think like, Historically, we do stick with our lineup. I know in year one we hired Samadie, but that was because of an injury. So last year we had no injuries, no need to hire. This year we have no injuries, maybe no need to hire. guess find out. Just dance with the one that brought you, huh? Yep. That's awesome. Week 12 recap. Let's get into it. Tuesday, interesting week because of the All-Star game. ⁓ Interesting week Tuesday Orlando played Columbus. We both pick Columbus you talked about some ugly miss serves you talked about we were right Why do you remember that Orlando has been? Sto rug Alleyne remember we were tired. I was like Orlando's been I'm not feeling good about Orlando Orlando I think something's going on and then when we were like Orlando versus Columbus we both looked at each other like we're Columbus no, we're picking Columbus. Yeah, and so I was like selfishly, I was just excited that they won because we predicted that. you hear this? Orlando has been swept four out of the last five matches. I did not realize that. That's what they said. And I think I looked at I double checked and I think it's accurate. Four out of the last five matches, Orlando's been swept. What is that telling you? That they're still in the hunt. Yeah, somehow. Yeah. good for Omaha. Right. Since they're sitting third. that's I just think something is ⁓ going whether it's, it could be like an internal poison where it's like girls, the team is like, just not. They're the reigning champions, aren't they? And that be another theory of the pressure. there it could be as simple as they just can't click even though they all love each other. mean there's so many different definitely the injury bugs. Still lingers. Still no animatics. I think Amber Crombie has a big part to do with it. I think they relied on her so much. And I know that she's been out for like, geez, it feels like couple months since early February. Could be. I bet it's been at least almost two full months that she's been out. But I think that they relied on her so much. and maybe she was a leader in their team and her absence from the core is really affecting them. I don't have any insight, so I don't know. We'll see if they can get it together down the stretch. for now, being swept out four out of the last five is. Well, and then I'm really curious, why were they not a team that made a transaction this week? I mean, maybe we'll see it happen this week. I Maybe they see the light at the end of the tunnel. Almost everybody's back now, right? Britney's back, shampoo's back, Looper's back, Hanna Maddox? No, she's not back. Still not back. I don't know. I don't know, Doc. Tough I'm just not feeling good about it. OK, tough match. They hit 146. They were out blocked 11 to 5. Yeesh. And the lone bright spot for the Valkyries was Natalie Foster with two aces. She led them with 11 points. She's doing good. Kaz was subbed out. Looper was shut down. Yeah. Abercrombie didn't do a whole lot of, I don't know. We'll have to stay tuned and see how they're able to. close out the rest of season. On the other side, Columbus, Megan Lush was out. But still, they started out sloppy. But Raina Ledwood, 15 points, she shot 419. Kind of back to her old self. It was good to see. I feel like you're exactly right. They started off sloppy. But then ⁓ it's like they all like, you know that Spider-Man meme where there's like four Spider-Mans and they're all pointing at each other? It was like a moment of like, they all looked at each other and they were like, we got this. And it just like, don't know. One, two, three, eight. ⁓ of them. Okay. So it like, I don't know, I just feel like they maybe started the match thinking, ⁓ how are we gonna do this? Because of, you know, the lineup with Megan, like who I believe is their captain and their leader. And then it was like, I think we can actually roll with this. think we can do it. Guys, we're doing it. Oh, we're going to finish this. So I think that they really elevated their game right after maybe the first eight, 16 points. I was really happy to see that. Yeah, they kind of all came together as a team. Together, each achieves more. Well, so then another interesting thing about that match and Megan being out was Coach Angel had to do a new lineup. guess he didn't have to technically but he did so Abby Walker did you notice she played opposite that net match? Abby Skywalker? Yeah. Okay. So she ⁓ play. start. She didn't start? used as an opposite. Yeah. So they used a double sub. Okay. And they would ⁓ it was very interesting. Can you explain to us the value the purpose of a dub sub is what they call it right? Yeah. When And why do coaches choose to use that? A dub sub, what is it? When do you do it and why? The sole intention of a dub sub is to have three hitters in the front row at all times. OK. So when you run a 5-1, that means your setter is front row for three rotations. And she is technically not an attacker because her job at the end of the day is the second touch. Now, of course, we can see a setter be aggressive like Cameron Turner and attack on the second touch and score, but consistently and overall, that's never, that's rare. Or I guess it's very, it's not used all the time. so the whole intention of a six, two ⁓ to always have three hitters in the front row. So you have a four, You have four options to set with your offense. So the purpose of a dub sub is to get you from a 5-1 to a 6-2? Well, no. The purpose of the dub sub is to have three attackers in the front row at all times. OK, I understand that. then you went from ⁓ a 2-6-2. That's what a dub sub is. You have two setters. So a 5-1 is one setter. a 6-2 is two setters. with a 6-2, you have six hitters. And with a 5-1, you have five hitters. OK. Sounds good. Do you get it? I don't know. Do you get it? I don't know. you get? I think I get the three hitters in the front row, Because when you run a 6-2, then you have two opposites. So you have two opposites, two outsides, and two middles. So you have six hitters. But with a 5-1, you only have one opposite. So then you have five hitters. OK. Did that? I get it. Was that more That simplifies it, OK. So the purpose of a dub sub is to. have three attackers in the front row at all times. all times. Because I'm going to get into a little bit later. And I think it's the next match where they went to, Indy went to a two libero system. OK, that's different. OK, that's something totally different. That's not an offensive strategy. That's a defensive strategy? Yeah. Got it. Yeah. But anyway, we both picked Columbus. They beat Orlando. They swept them. Orlando's been swept forward the last five matches. trending in the wrong direction. match, Indy ⁓ Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids beat Indy in four. What do you make of that? So have the seventh place team in Grand Rapids knocking off the first place team. think it has to do a lot of this has to do with the injury. And they don't have their middles now. The injuries? Well, this specific game, the injury with Blake getting injured. Yeah, that was the week before. That was the week before? Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I am thinking of the week before. But nevertheless, didn't play. She's out for the season. Lydia didn't play. So they had Cara and the Italian. I'm following now. I don't know why I was in last week's mindset. Up to point, Coach Bertolacci has been able to push all the right buttons in terms of getting the right personnel in the right places to find a way to win matches. Unfortunately, this time, she was pushing all the buttons. But wasn't translating into a roster the court that actually translated into a win. Yeah, it was interesting because it was the first time, think, this whole season, even though Indy has lost before, ⁓ I for this loss, it was the first time we've seen them struggle. Their losses before, at least, were like battles. Just couldn't get anything going. just didn't finish, but this specific match, was like, We've never seen this before. And that's when they did the two libero system. Yes. Can you please explain why would you do that? A two libero system is only ⁓ when you have two liberos, but one is clearly a more consistent serve receiver. they are a better passer typically, and the other one is typically better at defense. That's really only reason why you have a two libero system. She was trying everything. She was pushing all the buttons to even see if this could give them a spark. ⁓ And didn't. And like you said, in the past, it has worked for Indy. They've always clicked. ⁓ We've talked about how they can use their entire bench in any combination, and it still works. Maybe this was the one and done. Maybe this was the one match where, okay, that was icky, we got it out of us and now we're gonna ball out from here. Or be the one match thing, but it could be the other way. It could be they're not the same team without Blake and Lydia in the middle. That could be it too. Could be that. I highly doubt it. figured like I highly doubt it because you have Mia and I just think that even like Elena, Scott, I just feel like they're And Azani and Cameron Turner. I just... Or sorry, not Cameron Turner, Cameron Hanna. I just am like, they're too ⁓ they're too competitive to let something like this phase them. I think ⁓ gonna put my money on the fact that this was maybe just their one and only icky match and they're gonna be fine from here. Especially that they're new hires. Like, I think that they'll be fine. Grand Rapids was led by Snyder, 18 points, and then Enno with 16 points. So a great match by those two. And they found a way to beat Indy. Yep. That was exciting. Who'd we pick on that one? You conveniently left that off. You conveniently left it off by erasing it. OK. Yeah. We both picked Indy, didn't we? I think we did. Yeah. We have to go look at the receipts on that one. But moving to the next match, which is Omaha. We talked about this one being Every year, every season, this is a trap match for Omaha to travel to San Diego and play the mojo at their place. And it was again. dominating the first set, the Supernovas dominated set one and then it was downhill from there. Did you watch the match? I did. ⁓ What's interpretation of what happened? I don't know. want to make it as simple as we always lose in San Diego. ⁓ has been. mean, we ⁓ ⁓ record. We have a losing record at San Diego. I know what it is about that. Like, and I can make all the excuses of like the match started at nine p.m. on their bodies like that's we. Yes, we're professionals and they have to do what it takes to prepare themselves. But at the end of the day, nine p.m. is really ⁓ late. to play. I can't even, mean, Orlando would have it worse when they come to San Diego, but it's just like, I don't know. We, we always, we just always come up short at San Diego and I cannot pinpoint why. I don't understand, but it seemed like you, like you said, we started off super hot in the first set and just from there, like slowly the momentum got sucked out of us and we couldn't score. my goodness, I feel like we could not score. And was just it was just not fun to watch. To me, it seemed like the outside for the Mojo, Tabron was a maker from set one to set two, three and four. Yeah, because she led. Yeah, did she start? She did not start. That's right. made the difference with 18 points. And ⁓ I applaud because I feel like she started the season and then she maybe did. She hit a rough patch. Didn't she bust her hand or something with her? Still has something on her She still has a cast-ish. Right, on her left hand. But she's coming back, and I feel like she's really making a difference for I do too. She's super athletic. So I went to last week's notes, and picked San Diego to win, and I picked Omaha. ⁓ OK. So you were correct. Check the receipts was wrong. And then we also picked Indy to win that last match. anyway. I mean, you've played, you've coached, you've done it all, knowing that San Diego is gonna be a tough place to go and get a win. How do you, is it a physical, mental, is it a mindset? Is it a jet lag? Is it the beach effect? No, I think like truly if I was on this team and I've... been on, if I was a part of this team for three years, like someone like Brooke Nunneviller, would truly, would have a conversation with the team of like, yo, ⁓ we to get our mind right. ⁓ This a business trip. And I that, I'm not saying that they think it's a vacation. I'm not saying that, but I'm like- You're not saying that, but the social media posts saying that. Really? Yeah. As you see everybody on the beach. Are you serious? Check it out. Because there was the All-Star Break right after that. Yeah, so, but if it were me, I hate losing. I would have a conversation of like, hey, we all need to check in here and take this seriously and we're not coming, we're not going home with a L. ⁓ Like, I would go even a step further and be like, when we start to feel that, that... Feeling on the court of like things aren't going our way. We need to look each other in the eyes We need to have a code word We need whatever it's gonna take for us to flip it around or even like a specific task of like We're gonna start serving hard zone one. Just everyone focus on that like something just simplify it because it's been three years now and we always lose their Go to San Diego and die It's so annoying but on the bright side Sarah Wilhite Parsons, 18 points. Lon Dots still playing well. Yeah. Lonnie's doing good. Yeah, good for her. I think Sarah had 18 points, is awesome. Great that she led. But if I remember correctly, I don't think she had a very high efficiency. Probably not great. Nothing was really going right after set one. Brooke was subbed out twice. They tried Reagan Cooper. subbing her in for Reagan Cooper, subbing in for Brooke, and then that didn't work. Then put Brooke back in and then took Brooke back out and put Norah in. And they were just trying everything on the outside to no avail. Yep. ⁓ was. ⁓ you fact checking something, or can we go to Thursday's match? ⁓ was trying to pull up to just fact check my statement about Sarah's hitting efficiency. And we didn't Groad again. She also had another great game She's been playing really good out of the middle for I remember telling you in the very opening episode that Marin Groad is someone that's on my radar ⁓ remember her ending last season so strongly And I feel like she's a very underrated player I'll even speak ⁓ my of her. I underate her just because I think she doesn't look very strong. ⁓ She frail a little bit. Not really emotional. Yeah, but she don't underestimate her. She's doing great. She hit 588, scoring 13 points out of the middle. And I also like when they bring in Sand Bothy. How do you say it? Sand Bothy. I think she's an emotional leader for them when she's on the court in the middle. If you ever met her immediately, you could tell she is very passionate. word. Very passionate. Well, good. You have her in. Marley on the same team. There's a lot of passion and zeal there and it's working out for them right now. Again, they're one of the teams fighting for the four spot, I feel, for the top four. Yeah, they neck and neck with about three or four other teams in there. But did you have your deets on the wow. Totally misrepresented her. I think I'm thinking of someone else. But she hit 333. Good. Scored 18 points. Yeah, she did awesome. And that's why she was Fantasy League. Top three, number one, right? She was number one. But kills are the least. She might have did some other stuff though. She might have. She had two blocks. that's. stuffed. What was it? That's like 24 points right there. think. Two blocks. I think one block is 12 points, I say? OK. Maybe it's only nine. OK. Either way. Good for her. think it's 12. Yeah, good for her. Let's talk about this last match of this week. before we get into the All-Star match. And this was a tough one to watch. Did you watch it live? It was Atlanta at Dallas. This is the match that Van Buskirk and Smith. Taylor Smith. Yes. Taylor Smith collided under the net. It looked like they just went knee to knee for like a contusion or a bump. They both went out of the match. They both hit the floor, both grabbed their knees. They both went out of the match. And then Van Buskirk came back in the match. And then in the non- Wait, she came back in the back in the match, at the service line, did her jump serve type of thing, on the way down, went down, and then never came back up. And then she went into the locker room and never came back out. Correct. OK, admittedly, I did not watch this game because Nebraska was playing Iowa in March Madness. So I did not get to watch this live. You had to bring it up. I just had to explain myself. But yeah. RIP scurs, but then, so I only watched the highlight reel and I didn't, obviously they're not gonna put that on the highlight reel. So I didn't know that she went back in the match. Came back in at the service line, did her kind of a jump serve. Yeah. Landed, went down and then. But Taylor Smith did not. She stayed out. did not come back in the match. Man, that's so crazy. I, that just like. ⁓ man, I can't imagine what Lane's feeling. you just made right there, that thing right there is what Nati did on the camera when she seen what had happened. She the gulp she watching Van Buskirk on the ground there. That makes me feel for Lane even more because I'm sure she's suffering from like blame on herself. it were me, I would have been like, why didn't I stay out? But at the same time, you're a competitive athlete and you're probably like, no, I'm fine. I'm nothing's wrong. So defense, the initial contact that she had with Taylor Smith just looked like a knee to knee. Yeah. I think it was a slide attack that Van Buskirk did and they just went knee to knee. looked like a contusion type of bruise type of thing. hopefully it's nothing serious. I didn't see anything in terms of a... Nothing was said about Taylor Smith. ending? No. Lane she's out for the season? Lane is done. That's why they brought in Carter Booth. But yeah, Lane's done. So that's a big loss for Dallas, because Lane has been, actually, I feel like she's really taken off the last few weeks. Very exceptional numbers, and definitely a fun player to watch. When Dallas ended up still winning this match. In five. which is crazy again, let us remind you, because Kelsey Payne was playing middle blocker. Because Savage was out too. She wasn't injured, but I think she just didn't suit up that match or something. She had to have been injured. There's no other reason that she wasn't playing. You sure about that? It had to have been an injury or a sickness. mean, injury, sickness to me is the same thing. anyway, I admired Coach Wisner. because she was bawling when they won. Was that what that was about? It was definitely about that whole team just, they suffered this great loss and a great teammate and leader, and they somehow rallied and got it figured out and together, and they did it for each other, and they ended up winning a match that at that point probably had no business winning. But I mean, we also had me. and he scored like 32 points that match. 32 points on 27 kills. Unbelievable. I think she hit 375 too. So it really was like this huge powerful like I was wondering why she was, the coach was so emotional. Oh yeah, definitely. That's, I am 100 % certain even though I haven't asked her directly, I am 100 % certain that's why she was crying. Okay. Of like the sense of. pride that she probably felt for each of her players. I have not met her, but I really admire her because I think that she treats the players like friends and she believes in them and she just does a great job leading them, not only like in the physical of like strategy and stuff, but also the mental and emotional side. I mean, I think a prime example of or a demonstration of that is her whole relationship with Nati. Look how Nati is playing the best she's ever played. she's putting that trust in Nati, and Nati is putting that trust in her. Like, it's just. So it goes back to Terry Pettit's original post. Yeah. That trust factor between the coach and the players. And I think with her tears, that solidifies its realness. I don't think it's just a- Validates? Yes. Yes. So I was. I was happy to see that. Obviously, it's emotional and it's like a sad reason why. But it ⁓ just like comforting to see that and support. I mean, it's not very often in five-set match you see Leah Edmond hit negative and Iko hit 100. Yeah. But the Pulse also blocked ⁓ them to 7. Shout out to the Pulse. Man, but when they're not scoring. Right. that was really their chance to take over. you wrote here how Phoebe had 14 points, hit 526, that's amazing. job, Pheebs. Yes, I looked up, next we'll talk about the All-Star match. Thoroughly from my point of view. I looked up the numbers in terms of, we talked about the viewership. It's not out yet. So as of yesterday, last night it wasn't out yet. doubt that they'll release that information this But anyway, you picked team Mesquite, I picked team Lanier. Yeah, I must have typed it because I was calling her Laureen. So I see that I typed it. What do know, a typo? No, I can't believe I did it. See, that's why I'm time out. There's grace for everything. So I'm not judging. I'm not throwing shade. It happens to us all. But here's the check in. I'm tapping in. I need to start being better. I hope that they start being better too. I also was very much impressed with the All-Star match. I thought it was a great representation of the MLV this year. And I say that only because I went into it anticipating not a good match only because of the safety concern. People don't want to get injured. Nobody has time for that. Nobody from what I've seen was concerned or playing scared. And that's the thing. They all went after it. And I thought the play was really good. It wasn't like a 25 to 12 dominance. It was evenly matched. It was fun. There was smack talk, smack moves, like all the things. So looked Brooke hit the best she's hit all year. ⁓ There was a swing where I like ⁓ audibly heard it through the TV. And I was like, that's like the hardest ball I've ever seen Brooke swing. Yeah. Brooke Nunneviller. ⁓ So I was for that. I hope that- Morgan Hens dig off the foot? Foot dig? Yes, yes. And I'm like, that is so classic Morgan. Like just finding a way to get it up, even though she didn't attend it, still found a way to be up. the players that ⁓ I ⁓ impressed were mainly on Team Mesquite, who I picked to win. ⁓ Let remind you. ⁓ Although it could have been a coin toss, but- excuse me, was Charity Looper actually played very well. She looked ultra athletic. For as bad as her team has been lately and just even her individual performance, I was happy to see that she showed up and showed out. She did well. Maren Grow, another ⁓ great And then Abby Skywalker. A late entry. ⁓ Right. was a substitute. ⁓ And ended up, in my opinion, maybe one of the best. She had a great game with hitting and blocking. She did. So I was really impressed. And then on team, how do you say it? Lanier. Lanier. Yeah. On her team, we had PBR. She was phenomenal. She was good. I thought she did really good. And then Natalie Foster. what Natalie Foster does. great performance. Yep. The only thing I want to say about the All-Star match too is Did you guys did you watch the interviews the player interviews afterwards they interviewed like everybody yeah, yeah like 10 to 12 players Did you watch them? I did is that one? I'm getting things mixed up but the player came to the microphone and did the interview then went back and okay They did player they did player interviews during the match and then I think anyone who they didn't talk to during the match they did after okay, and I loved hearing the foreign players voices It just like you. Maldonado Diaz? Sofia, Theodore Pucic. Pucic, however you say it. Who is another one? Did they do shampoo? I didn't see her actually. There was another one I'm drawing a blank, but it was so fun just to like. The international flavor of the league was represented. Yeah. And just to hear their voices, it just humanized them. ⁓ And just thought that was. I loved listening to them and hearing their accents. did too. They articulated so well. They represented the MLV so well. It was just refreshing be able to experience that. Yeah, I loved to represent on such a national stage on the CBS. Yeah. Overall, win, win, win. can't wait. ⁓ try to get the numbers for them this week to see how Yeah, we'll keep an eye out. But it really was a win, win, win. I agree. Let's get to the Rookie of the Week as we close this episode out. All right. My rookie of the week is Akasha Anderson from Columbus Fury. What are you basing that on? Well, they upset Orlando. And did great job. She had great numbers. I'll just go with mine. OK. Mimi, ⁓ no doubter. I mean, I don't know how you could even overlook that. dominated that match with 32 for our player of the week, our hip, chose Mimi with 32 points hitting 375. OK, and I chose Snyder for the hip. OK. For the lip? Out of nowhere. I actually chose Maggie Mendelsohn because she had her pro debut, came in. She didn't start. She came in, and she did great. She did look good. Yeah, she hit like 500. What was that like five kills? I don't remember. great job. Two blocks maybe. Again, I didn't write it down. But I just thought that is really, that's not an easy thing to do. She's also been in school the last four months. So like. Seamless transition for her. Yeah. She might even just got herself a contract. She's like a stellar athlete. That's what happens when you come to Nebraska. She just, girl knows ball. Volleyball and basketball. I know. That's why I said ball. My lip to Tebron. Yeah. Difference maker as the. Mojo knocked off the supernovas. This was a fun week to pick these categories because I feel like there was a lot of clear cut. Well, I thought there was a lot of options for these different options. I think as we get into the the latter stage of the season, there's going to be even more options. We're to see some of these players come from overseas and make immediate impacts and hopefully find themselves on our leaderboard here. But the match of the week for me was the All-Star match hands down. thoroughly enjoyed it. actually going with the fury sweeping the Valks because I just thought man we've talked about it time and time again how the Columbus fury is always right there and then they just can't get over the hump and seal the deal and so I was really excited to see that they got this win and I just feel like you know the other matches although they were like exciting in the sense of ⁓ things I just thought they were sad also. The problem with the Fury is it too little too late for them to jump up and grab that four spot. I do think it is too little too late. I could, at this point, we can probably even know that for sure with the number. Mathematically? Yeah, mathematically. haven't done the math, but I'm sure it's safe to say it's too little too late. No change in the league standings this week? Is that right? No change. But what I was going to say real quick about Columbus is now their mission is to just mess everyone else up. Intentionally, Because sure, they might not have a chance to the final four, but they could really screw things up for other teams. And they're going to smack talk their way from what we've heard, the smack talk in this team in the MLB, they're going to smack talk their way through the last three weeks of the season. it. And see who they can knock off and keep out of that third and fourth spot. Yeah, that's I like that. I like that. OK. Let's go to week 13 preview Thursday. Omaha plays Atlanta on the Roku at 6 PM. GMP picks. man, I'm really nervous. Why? I don't know. I'll go first. I'm going with Atlanta. That's I'm kind of like, I'm kind of hesitant because I don't know who's. ⁓ I would a better pick of once I see this week what happens with Omaha. Huh? I don't know how Omaha is going to respond to their San Diego loss. ⁓ So that's why I'm like, ⁓ would. OK, I'm to go with Omaha. OK. I'm going to go with my girls. You're going to go with Atlanta. San Diego versus Columbus. Is Columbus going to play the spoiler? I think I'm going to go Columbus. Me too. OK, let's do it. Let's do it. I think they're going to embrace that role as the spoiler. They also have new players, and San Diego doesn't. So just like strategy-wise, they're going to have to scout new players. So I'm going Columbus. Same. Dallas at Grand Rapids. I'm still rocking Dallas. I think I'm going Dallas too. Even with the new hires, think Dallas is. I think Dallas, I'll just stick with that. this next one on Saturday, we had Indy versus Omaha, 3 PM. So this is the rematch of the largest pro volleyball attendance record. This is the redo, right? We're running it back. Running it back. Although, we're not going for a record again, but running it back with the match. ⁓ you put Indy. Yeah, I'm going Indy. I don't. I go Omaha. I don't think they find their mojo in this match. Is this their first match back, Indy's first match back since? No, they'll this week. ⁓ Yes, I don't think they got it figured out by now. I go Omaha. think? No. OK. Yep. Omaha. ⁓ All right. I'm sorry, girls. I think Indy ⁓ is going to. I think middle blockers alone make a huge difference. But anyway. We'll continue. same thing, ⁓ day, Saturday, we have Orlando versus Atlanta. To me, bigger question is who's going to win, but will it be the fifth out of the six match that Orlando gets swept? So you're with Atlanta? Yes. am I. In a sweep? Yes. ⁓ No. Keep the rolling. I'm going to give them ⁓ a little bit of hope and say at least four. ⁓ It's hard for me to believe they're still in fighting for that fourth and final spot. I know. After That makes me feel really lucky as Omaha. Because if their fourth were third and they've lost four out of the last five, that's a very nice cushion we had. Grand Rapids at Columbus, seventh and eighth place team going at it. Columbus playing the spoiler for Grand Rapids. I go Columbus. I was typing that first. I think they embrace this role. they're here to just have fun now. Their only goal now is just to mess things up for other teams. That's our next guest. Which Somebody from Columbus. Ask him anything. ⁓ Sure. see if I can get Megan on or Reyna. That'd I'll have to ask Lydia who the biggest smack talker is, and then we'll get that person. him. That sounds like a good. Dallas at San Diego, the last match of the week on Sunday at 7 PM on Roku. Dallas for me. I'm also going Dallas. I think San Diego at home is always a danger. in a threat, but I just think Dallas is a, they're just on a roll. So here we go. Thanks for joining us on the Major League Minute podcast. there anything else you wanted to mention before we tap out? We're over our time, but barely. We're doing good. No, I think I'm good. It was a good week. I'm excited for another one ahead. Yep. Hopefully I can find out the numbers on the, All-Star match and we can figure out if it beat that 500,000 threshold, which I'm pretty sure it did. But thanks again for joining us on the Major League Minute podcast. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, Major League Minute, follow us on Instagram and TikTok. And we will see you next time. Have a good night. Wait, did anyone notice my trophy last week? Nobody said a word. No one said anything about ⁓ muscle, girl? Nobody said a word. Duh. ⁓ next week.