speaker-0: describe like doing your best as controlling the controllables and for me I like to break it down like that's your effort, your attitude, your focus and being a great teammate. So if I execute and all those things there's really not much more I can ask for from myself.

speaker-1: Hello, hello. Welcome to Set Six, the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. However you made your way here, however you're listening, however you're watching, thank you for doing so. We are unbelievably excited to get this off the ground. ⁓ First, formal introductions. I'm Severin Lavinstein. I'm the digital content producer at MLV, and I'm gonna your host for this podcast. And this has been something that we've been looking to get off the ground here for a little bit, and we just can't wait to really get going here. and bring you set six. We call it set six because we want this to be an extension of what you're seeing on the court. you found another podcast and you think, great, well, one more to add to my library, what can you offer? Well, I can tell you that it's going to be an extension of what you see. When you wanna talk and when you wanna interact and when you wanna learn more from what you've seen Thursday through Sunday, in some cases Wednesday, you know, for those games and you want more. That's what we're going to be. We're going to be your more and we're so happy that you found your way here. I once heard someone call them podcast catchers to describe all the different ways Apple podcast, Spotify, YouTube. So whatever podcast catcher you're using, whatever, which one is your favorite. Thank you for tuning in. We're going to be all access here too. That's one of the great things about what we can do here. What I can bring you hopefully is some behind the scenes, behind the curtain and getting to talk to ⁓ owners, executives, players, especially. And some of the great people that make this league what it is and for a lot of that us that's wanting to know more about the athletes some of these amazing people that we get to talk to that I'm fortunate enough to get to talk to a lot and I want to share that with you. I think that's the whole ⁓ One of the things that makes this league so amazing is the people that are in it and we're gonna tell their stories We're gonna get you to know more about them I mean there this podcast is gonna be more than just reading the news to you which will do a little bit of that that I'm that's coming up in a little bit so I'm gonna eat my words there, but This is also going to be a podcast for you to learn more about your favorite players. You just watched them have an amazing match. You want to learn more about them. You can find their interview and their discussion here on set six. And so we're really looking forward to that. At the same time, we want this to be your podcast. We want this to be for you. So if you have questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, especially as we get going here, please email me. That's at severin at mlvb.com. S-E-V. R I N I know it's a pain on my Starbucks order, but it's if you get those names down exactly how you say it or it's it sounds exactly how I say it. So it's easier than you think. ⁓ But you know, we'll be we'll be happy to take those. I'm super excited. I got a bunch of different ⁓ podcast equipment to mess around here, including this handy dandy little mic arm. I'm gonna try not to play with during this this episode and all the episodes to come. ⁓ And yeah, I mean, it's crazy how some of this is all come together. I'm actually but my computer is on my suitcase right now. I still need to work on getting a desk ⁓ on top of the suitcase is then two cardboard boxes to be eye level with you. So trust me, some of this is going to look hopefully as professional as possible. And in other ways, I will look to improve to get a real desk to make it as professional as possible for you. ⁓ So, you know, without any further blabbing, let's get into some of those headlines that I said I wouldn't give you too many of, but I think it's important to set the context for the weeks that we are bringing you this show. At the time of recording this week, are on let's see yesterday would have been the 20th. So starting the week with the 20th, I'm recording you here on a Tuesday. But it's a big week in terms of playoff seeding playoff implications for so long, we've been wanting to figure out who are those final teams going to be just a couple weeks ago, we finally figured out who the second team was going to be with the Dallas Pulse joining the Indie Ignite. And now we're starting to get a sense I'm going to tease that because before I go too far, I gotta tell you about where I was just at, which was the Indian Dallas game in Indianapolis, or excuse me, in Fishers, Indiana. It was just a matchup of two teams, one that is great at home and one is great on the road. And the team that was great at home comes out on top. And I think it was so fascinating because the previous week we were at Dallas and you don't need me to tell you, they are a machine and they take care of business. It seems like against every single team, but India. And you wonder why that is. And it was so fascinating. I was fortunate enough to talk to Coach Bertolacci and a couple of the athletes leading into the match and they would never say this they were certainly very respectful but they were confident and I think there is almost an air about them if they know how to handle Dallas and it was you know it I asked them specifically how are you stop Sophia how do you stop Mimi and they certainly acknowledge they are amazing players and they are but they they had a few tricks up their sleeves in order to to do it and they they held those two amazing players to some pretty respectable stat lines and Meanwhile, the middles were unbelievable. Kara Cressy, Lydia Martin stepped up with some massive performances. And on the other side for Dallas, I thought it was great. The previous week we were in Frisco and getting to chat with those athletes about, look, now that we've qualified, I was sort of like, well, what do you do next if you're Dallas? And they said, look, now that we've qualified, we're not taking our foot off the gas here. We need all of these matches to be our best selves going to the postseason. Natalia Valentine Anderson told me that like, need to play our best volleyball and right now we haven't even done that yet and we need to use these final couple matches to really ⁓ hone our skills, hone our craft as you know, it's going to be at least one home match for Dallas in that semi-final stage. I think this seeding is going to have it so they'll be opposite ends of the bracket which is just, I mean maybe we'll find one more matchup should they advance and could finally be that redemption for Dallas but I'm just one once more on the atmosphere at both both arenas. The Dallas fans are so passionate. It was great to see Jason kid there as well. And then, you know, those fans are so loud to it was was incredible. So Dallas fans hats off to you that that was an amazing presence in the arena. And then Indy they sold out that match. And then that would preceding it was the the spring match between Indiana and Purdue. We were fortunate enough to cover that one as well. Just an amazing atmosphere. And I think it was a great example of what this league has to offer you and everybody so into it and between those two fan bases, so passionate. And I think that's even that extends outside of ⁓ Indian Dallas. Having the pleasure of going to Omaha this week, you don't need me to tell you about how great that fan base is. And all across the board, I think our markets have just ⁓ really knowledgeable volleyball fans, which is something that we know you are as well and why we want to bring you the most top level show. So one more bit of news is just that, as I said, I'm gonna be heading to Omaha pretty soon. That's why I'm recording to you here on Tuesday night while I have some free time before I gotta get back to packing and take this suitcase down and fill it again. But Omaha's about to clinch and I'll read you the scenario. So basically what's going to happen and you, ⁓ knowledgeable fan who can probably see into the future and is listening to this after this has probably already happened, ⁓ know which one of these scenarios took place, but I will read them for you anyway. The clinching scenarios for Omaha courtesy of their PR staff is Omaha beats Columbus in three or four this weekend. So I believe that matches on Friday or Grand Rapids and Orlando both losing three or four. Grand Rapids is taking on Atlanta this week and Orlando is taking on Indy this week. So Omaha we have that official clinching scenario. I'm looking to talk to some of the athletes coach Robson and get their thoughts on clinching and going to get to get that playoff spot. Certainly well deserved them in fighting for it. He's coach Robson has them back to 500, which we know was a big deal with once he took over his interim. So Thomas Robson has done a great job and he's got Omaha in a clinching scenario. San Diego is also pretty close to clinching 13 11 and 11 right now in the three spot as I talked to you. ⁓ So it's not official Grand Rapids, I believe is two matches behind. I'm looking at the stats and I believe that is correct where they are again. Any stats that I give you, unfortunately, in podcast format might get outdated pretty quickly. So don't yell at me too much. Although I understand things need to be right for you every time. So I understand the burden that I bear there. ⁓ So yeah, we've got some great matches down the stretch. And like I said, just talking to these athletes, think it's great that they know that what's at stake and you're not going to go to see a match where people are going to take their foot off the gas. And it's also just great seeing the athletes interact with all the fans afterwards too. That's just on a side note. It's amazing and yeah, we want to bring you more of those athletes. So without further ado, the first guest of set six, we had to get a good one for you. We're talking to Morgan Hentz and we're so excited to talk to Morgan. I've got to know her a little bit over the last couple of years and Morgan's just the best. is a star for Grand Rapids. She's a star for this league. By the time we talked to her, actually a couple of weeks ago. So Grand Rapids was firmly in the playoff hunt now two games back. So it still applies some of this stuff you'll hear us say that you're still in the playoff hunt and how you focus. But Morgan's going to talk about a bunch of things with us. She's going to talk about her focus, a lot of the mental side of being one of the most elite players in the US, never mind in this league. And ⁓ also Morgan is going to share just a lot of life advice too. One of the things that we're hoping to bring you, like I said, is a little bit of outside of just who the athlete and more to who they are as a person. And Morgan certainly gave us that and we're super, super grateful. So without any further ado, without any further blotting from yours truly, let's get you to our conversation with Morgan Hentz. Morgan, thanks so much for joining us here on the first episode of Set Six, the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. It's a lot of pressure, Morgan, to be the first ever guest, but I think you're up to the challenge. Thanks for joining us.

speaker-0: Yeah, thanks for having me and happy to be here.

speaker-1: Morgan, you're going into another match week as we know, but what is this kind of whole, what is a match week like for you? I think you're traveling out tomorrow. It's to be some big matches this week for you guys, but ⁓ Grand Rapids in a travel week, are you kind of easy in the first couple of days and then into more of the serious kind hardcore practices towards the end?

speaker-0: Yeah, I feel like as we gear up for a game, we're really thinking about preparing for the opponent that we're going to face. So, you know, we played on Sunday, we had Monday off, and so today was our first day back in the gym and we're getting after it pretty good. You know, we want to compete in sixes ⁓ and we're working on some things as a team to get better at, but our goal as a group is just to get that 1 % better every single day. ⁓ So yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, every team is pretty fantastic in this league. You gotta play hard and bring your A game if you wanna have a chance at winning.

speaker-1: Yeah, we're looking at that playoff push down the stretch, you know, very, very keenly. We've got our eyes on it for sure. And these matches are going to be huge, you know, going forward as we get ever closer to championship weekend. How do you all in Grand Rapids stay so focused, not keeping an eye on the standings too much and just being that 1 % better every time?

speaker-0: Yeah, I think you can only take it one game at a time. ⁓ If you look too far ahead, things start to feel a bit overwhelming. mean, we're trying to dig ourselves out of a hole a little bit. So we just really one game at a time. We got to give it our all. And, know, at the end of the day, that's all we can do. But that's our mindset right now. Just giving it all we have. We face some adversity with some injuries, you know, so everyone's done a great job of really stepping up in in new roles and just competing really hard.

speaker-1: Morgan, when I've watched you play in the past, I think you strike such a great balance between being a vocal leader and then knowing, you know, maybe this is the point where I just show it on the court and I let someone else kind of take over that vocal leadership role. As you head down this stretch with all these important matches, keeping everybody focused, is, that enter in your mind at all of like, okay, right now, this is when I need to be a little bit more vocal and get everybody going. Or, you know, at this point, this is when, you know, I know my setters got this or, you know, someone else is going to, you know, maybe, maybe it's coaching in the, in the huddles, getting everybody rally together.

speaker-0: Yeah, I think at the libero position, have to be a great communicator. I mean, you're a bit in charge and keeping people in check and getting the defensive system lined up. And then for me, just, I want our team to feel like, I don't know, like we can just go let it rip. We can go be aggressive and be confident and courageous in every aspect of the game. Whether that's blocking, attacking, serving. So that's something I'm talking a lot about. But I think what's most important is that you have good feel for the game and you just play authentic to who you are. So for me, I feel like I'm my most authentic self when I'm being vocal and I'm communicating with the team and I'm trying to problem solve and figure out ways for us to win.

speaker-1: Well, Morgan, we want to hear on this podcast here on set six, we want to give our fans more of an in-depth view of everybody that we're bringing on. And especially, you know, we have so many amazing athletes in this league. We want to make sure everybody knows them as people too, because that's just as important. So with that, Morgan, we're going to dive into some of your personal life. And we're going to ask first off, I mean, you have two younger sisters, a younger brother and family is very important to you. You said in the past, how closely do you communicate with everybody during a season?

speaker-0: Yeah, I mean, I check in with my family at least, you know, minimum three times a week, calling mom and my dad. They've been my biggest supporters throughout the entirety of my career. And my siblings, I love them with all my heart and they're all doing wonderful things in their own life. So I want to make sure that I'm keeping up with them and supporting them and whatever they may be doing. ⁓ You know, the distance is always hard, but FaceTime has been, you know, just wonderful getting to see my family's faces. ⁓ I'm from like Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati, Ohio area. It's really nice that we, there's a couple of teams that are about two in these two hours from home and Columbus is two hours from. So I often get to see my family ⁓ in those situations or whenever we're competing against those teams. But yeah, during the season, things could get wild and busy, but just texting you there, FaceTiming, it always makes me feel better.

speaker-1: Be honest, were you always close with your siblings? mean, for me and my brother, I was like, you're not cool until you're 13. Until I can talk to you where we have some of the same music taste, some of the same movies, until then, that's only when he became cool. Were you always really close with your siblings?

speaker-0: Definitely not. My sister, to me, Abby, we used to have like butt heads. We could not be more opposite at times. But now like since we've gotten older, we're a lot closer and we actually have found way more things in common. Like we both majored in psychology in college and that's something that we really bond over. And then my brother, Louie, he's autistic, but he's like a big, big old teddy bear. And where we connect is we love to swim out in our pool together. Um, and he's got his favorite movies like finding Nemo and jungle book. And I always sit and watch those with him. And then my youngest sister, her name is Joel. Uh, she's actually going to college, uh, this fall for soccer. Uh, she's a goalie. I always say we always have that defensive mindset must run in the family. Um, but I'm really excited to be able to watch her this fall, compete in some of the games and support her because she's always been a really great supporter of me. She actually just came to our match against Columbus and helped cheer me on. So I'm excited to do that for her.

speaker-1: That's so awesome. Did you try to push her towards Stanford at all or did you kind of stay out of the whole decision process?

speaker-0: No, I just wanted to stay out of the way. was like, you just find what fits for you. And for everyone, it's always different. I I definitely love my trees, go card. she's got to find a place that fits best for her.

speaker-1: It sounds like, you know, growing up in the area that you did that it was just such a great experience. And I'm curious if you can expand on that. What was growing up like for you outside of volleyball, hanging out with your siblings at the pool, you know, what things that you did growing up? Obviously, I know I'm sure club travel and volleyball was a huge part of it, but maybe away from that.

speaker-0: Yeah, I really love the community that I had growing up. I have so many tight knit friends back at home still. I feel like it's a type of community where when you're in a time of need, your neighbor is going to come over and help you out whatever you ask for. But we played outside a lot as kids. We always we had a trampoline in the backyard and we were just kind of constantly on that. Or we always had water balloon fights. I feel like summers are some of my strongest memories as a kid because you're just running around outside. And in winter time, we had a huge hill in our backyard and we go sled riding. And I had a golden retriever when I was younger and she just chased us down the hill. ⁓ And we have, my family now has two golden retrievers. I have one, his name's Ollie. He's with me here in Grand Rapids. And then my family has another golden at home and her name's Charlie. And it's, it's been, I don't know, like a blast of new, fresh life having, like young kids running around. always. tell my mom, like, you're gonna have a grand for baby right now. ⁓

speaker-1: I know, my mom's the same way. She's like, well, maybe you need like a cat at some point. like, yeah, trust me. Like I travel too much even for a cat too, but believe me, we're going to talk about Ollie. We are not letting you escape without telling us all about Ollie. But, you're so right. I feel like it's something about the water balloon fights that really stick in the mind. Something crazy like that. Always getting the water super, super cold. Yeah, that was always the best. ⁓ Northern Kentucky. I have never been, but it sounds amazing. What do you love about it? I mean, what is it about? that area specifically, I mean, you're very well traveled in areas are so different. What is it about your your neighborhood where you grew up that just really resonates with you to this day?

speaker-0: Yeah, I always feel like it's the people that make the place special. And I just feel like we have so many friends in the community and it's fun to get together. It's also really nice. My entire extended family on my mom's side and my dad's side has stayed within the Northern Kentucky area. So every Christmas, every holiday, I get to see pretty much all of my family, which I love. ⁓ And also, ⁓ you get all four seasons in the area. The fall is really beautiful. See the leaves change colors and the summer it can get hot, but it's also like, there's tons of greenery. Like we get a decent amount of rain. So it's the bluegrass state. And so you always see, ⁓ like really green grass and, and, and then I will actually, we get great sunsets, which is kind of shocking. I don't think most people would think that about the state of Kentucky, but I love the sunsets, especially when we get in the fall and summer, you know, winter's always hard, like anywhere that you go. ⁓ but yeah, it's the people, like, ⁓ the schools I went to, I've always had great friends and I've stayed in touch with a lot of those friends, especially those that I've played volleyball with when I played club volleyball. And I started around the age of 12 and I stayed with the same group of like six or seven girls all the way until I was 18 years old. So it's, it's really cool that we've been able to stay in touch this long.

speaker-1: if you're gonna design a one day itinerary for someone to do all the right things, see all the right places, eat all the right food, that's probably the most important. If you could do that, what would it be?

speaker-0: that's, this is a really great question. Okay. think, ⁓ I would start off the morning, ⁓ going to reality Tuesdays. It's a really cute coffee shop, like, ⁓ kind of near my high school and in high school we used to go all the time. ⁓ I'd go for a walk in Davu park. It's on the Kentucky side, but it has a really beautiful view of the Cincinnati, ⁓ skyline. Speaking of skyline, I would go get lunch at a skyline, ⁓ skyline chili. They're really famous for the three ways, which is. spaghetti, chili, cheese on top, or you would get a Coney, which is a hot dog with chili and cheese. ⁓ Some people love it. Some people hate it. I didn't love it as a kid, but all my friends would go so much that I learned to love it. ⁓ And then for a dessert, I'd go to Grater's ice cream. that's one of the black raspberry chocolate chip is probably their most famous flavor. actually found it in a Meijer grocery store here and I have it in my freezer. ⁓ But yeah, and then catching sunset somewhere cool. ⁓ yeah, yeah. But, ⁓ I also love all Cincinnati sports, like going to a red game at Bengals games. Fans are, you know, we haven't had the most success in the Cincinnati area in a while, but people stay true and loyal. And I think that's really fun about the fandom in the area.

speaker-1: That is a complete itinerary. did very well for having to come up with that on the fly. And also we've learned here on set six, Morgan Hentz, fan of Skyline Chili. So you heard it here first. Again, I've never had it. I've heard mixed reviews. I will take your positive review as meaning you need to try it. So I will, for sure.

speaker-0: Yeah, it's definitely worth a try.

speaker-1: All right, Morgan, let's talk about Ali. I mean, he is a star of any picture, any video. I was watching one of the documentary pieces that you were in and he was part of it and he was an ⁓ absolute star. What are your favorite activities to do with Ali? Tell us a story of how you got him, his unique personality quirks. Let's start with those areas.

speaker-0: Yeah, I got him two summers ago. I love Goldens because I grew up with them. I just think they're really good natured dogs and they just love to be around humans, but also other dogs. Yeah. And he's been like my little travel companion. I'm taking him when I was playing in athletes, I'm limited out of Phoenix. My mom drove with me and Ollie all the way out there from Kentucky, which is about a 26 hour drive. And we did the drive back. He's been with me in Atlanta. When I was in Omaha, came with me there and now he's here with me in Grand Rapids. We love to go on long walks outside. He likes the cold weather, which is not the best for me, but I've learned to really bundle up at L'Aerwell so we can stay outside for long periods of time. But one of my favorite things, he loves to swim. So in the summers when I'm at home, we go in the pool all the time and he likes to be held like a little baby in the pool, which is so random. It's kind of nice. just sit there and he got a little cuddle buddy in the pool. But yeah, he's a big sweetheart and yeah, he's my travel companion.

speaker-1: He sounds really chill, like just being able to travel 26 hours at a time, know, just lazing around in the pool. mean, what better travel companion is there? I mean, that's perfect. I mean, for you, being a dog mom and an athlete, I'm sure that's a lot of, you know, a lot of ⁓ responsibility that you have to juggle around. mean, have you managed it pretty well, all things considered?

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. I mean, not, I'm sure there's a lot more responsibility with being an actual mom. So the dog is an easier step. But yeah, it's great. I use the service Rover like to find sitters. You could go drop them off at a house and they'll stay for a weekend. So that's typically what I do for travel trips. And it's nice. My family's been super helpful. Like if I can't take them on a long trip, they'll always willing to take him because our other golden loves him and they just wrestle play all the time.

speaker-1: when you found out that he really likes the cold was that he was just pawing at the door when it was snowing out he really wanted to go out and just stay there forever

speaker-0: Yeah, well, whenever it snowed at home, we have a deck and he just ghosted out on the deck and it just be snowing on him and he just loved it. and anytime I crack a window open, he's over by the window sticking his head out, just likes a cool breeze.

speaker-1: We'll have to see if we can get him to some matches in the future, because even if he needs a little pair of earmuffs, mean, he'd be the star of the show there for sure. Yeah, my request for you is we need more Ali on social media. Need to see more of him out in his element.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's clearly the star of the show.

speaker-1: Morgan, I know that from talking in the past you like to read any favorite books that you have that you've read recently, any current book that you're reading that you would recommend to people.

speaker-0: Yeah, I just ⁓ finished Brimstone by, it's like a series, a romantic ⁓ series, but ⁓ I really like Taylor Jenkins Reid. I like a lot of her novels and I just started Atmosphere and that's kind of about astronauts following one woman specifically. ⁓ But yeah, I'm usually into any genre that has a happy theme.

speaker-1: happy themes for sure. We set it into astronaut or that was kind of astronaut themed. You've been watching any of the Artemis 2 stuff.

speaker-0: Yeah, I've been more listening to the news about it, but it sounds like it's been a great success so far. So that's been so cool in just hearing some of the astronauts' statements about, you know, looking back on Earth and it sounds like ⁓ they've had a lot of gratitude and that they get to call this place home. So let's make sure we're respecting it and just, you know, staying together as a human race, which is really neat to hear.

speaker-1: Yeah, I don't know if it was like all planned marketing, but I saw Project Hail Mary recently, like right before the launch. I was just like, I forgot how much I love the space stuff. I mean, it was a while since Interstellar came out and all that. Clearly, as you can tell, I'm probably more of a movie person than a reader. Sadly, I'm trying to work on that. But yeah, I'm going to have to take your recommendations and read some more happy books that can get me there. Because I feel like I don't know how you feel this way with at least with TV shows or movies. Like once I start, even if I don't like it, I got to finish it. Is that That way for you with a book, even if you're like a couple chapters in, you're like, I'm not really feeling this. Do you finish it?

speaker-0: Yeah, I usually try to finish it. There's only been a couple where I'm like, okay, I really can't get through this. Like, this is really boring. But I'm with you, like a movie or TV show. I wanna know how it ends.

speaker-1: Yeah, exactly. You don't know it's that's that's really cool. Well, okay, so the bookworms out there have some good recommendations now and now for an ideal off day Morgan, I know you don't get a lot of them, but ⁓ you gave us a great travel itinerary for when you're at home. But let's just say, you know, you're out during the season, you have an off day, what is the Morgan hence ideal off day?

speaker-0: Yeah, ⁓ I love to sleep in. ⁓ I'm either making a big brunch ⁓ in my kitchen or I'm going with a teammate or a friend out to brunch. I think that's always a blast. Then I'm going on a big walk with Ollie. I try to find ⁓ some type of trail in the area to let him off leash and roam around because it's really good stimulation for him to smell all kinds of things. And yeah, in the afternoon. Either going out to eat, getting a big dinner, food. Food is really important in my life. Or making a good dinner. I really love Trader Joe's, so probably making a Trader Joe's run at some point. ⁓ And then watching a good movie or TV show. And if I can't find something new to watch, I go back to my favorites. I love The Office, I love New Girl, I like Parks and Rec. ⁓ And I love Grace and Frankie, that's on Netflix. But yeah, just some sort of sitcom and that makes me feel good and bubbly inside.

speaker-1: New Girl was my freshman year college show. So that was, that has a special place in my heart. then Trader Joe's also has a special place in my heart because the only way I can afford to stay out here in California is by shopping at Trader Joe's. I love it. So that's perfect. ⁓ No, that's fantastic. That's an ideal off day, especially, mean, nobody hates brunch. Even if the people who say they hate brunch, nobody hates brunch. That's fantastic. So I co-sign on your ideal off day. think that's anybody's ideal off day.

speaker-0: Yeah, you can't go wrong with brunch. I could probably breakfast food for every meal.

speaker-1: That's a major fact. Morgan, to shift gears, you've worked closely with, I believe it's New Perceptions, a nonprofit organization promoting the welfare of children and adults with intellectual and mental disabilities, providing opportunities for education, growth, and employment. ⁓ It sounds like such a great organization. What drew you to them and what about their cause really resonated with you?

speaker-0: Yeah, so in the state of Kentucky, if you have a developmental disability or you're neurodivergent, you can stay in the public school system until you're 21. So my brother, once he turned age 21, my family was like, what do we do next? And we were looking for places in our area for him to be able to, you know, go be around like-minded people and for him to develop a routine and new perceptions was a great option for Louie. ⁓ and I just really fell in love with the work that they do. think they just provide great opportunities for people to be themselves and to feel like they can grow. And I just love that. And I've been able to work with them and we've done a couple of volleyball camps for them and, ⁓ also try to raise money. The great thing or how I got connected with them originally was through athletes unlimited, which, ⁓ they allow you to compete for a cause and whatever your win bonuses, they match that and donate it. to the cause. So I always love to compete for new perceptions because I can see firsthand the amazing work that they do and how they help the Northern Kentucky community and all the neurodivergent individuals there.

speaker-1: Probably a little bit of a straightforward question, but just for people who maybe want to try to find some of these organizations in their own communities, is that just a quick Google? Is there a way that you would recommend people can go out and find the cause or an organization that resonates with them and have that kind of connection that you seem to have with new perceptions?

speaker-0: Yeah, I think for everyone, there's always unique service opportunities in our area or whatever area of the country that you live in. And you just have to do the research and whatever passion or cause that you really are invested in, just going out and making the effort. I always think that it's going to be way more time consuming than it actually is. And at the end of the day, I feel like I learned more than what I'm actually giving and helping others. So it was really neat the other day here in Grand Rapids, we got to do like some sitting volleyball ⁓ with the community. And I thought that was just amazing. And I've never felt so good after attending event. And I'm like, why do I not do this more often with in whatever area that I'm in? So it's just a great reminder that, you know, people are born with differences, but those differences should never keep us apart and should never put us down from trying new things or helping others grow. achieve whatever they want to achieve in life.

speaker-1: That's fantastic. We certainly will look forward to seeing any other collabs that you do with them in the future as well. That's amazing. ⁓ Morgan, to shift back to volleyball a little bit, last year you were the starting libero for the national team with Justine Away. How did that experience and the summers that you've spent in California ⁓ prior to last year as well, how does that help you when you come back?

speaker-0: whenever I've gotten the chance to compete in the USA gym, it's always an honor because you're competing with the best players in the country. So I just feel like facing that competition on a daily basis, like just helps you elevate your own play. And I'm always grateful just to try to keep learning. Like I said, get one percent better every day, have that growth mindset. And when you're competing with a lot of really strong individuals, you know, at the libero position, I feel like I learned from... my fellow liberos, also like getting to face some really amazing attackers and develop on defense and develop and serve receive. You're just elevating your game by playing with, you know, really talented individuals.

speaker-1: It's a personal question I've just been curious about like at your level, know, top of your game. How much coaching is there at these different levels, whether it's in Grand Rapids, whether it's on the national team, like how much is it really just like quick reminders of things you already know or, or really X and O strategy or even just zoom out and like, you know, Hey, let's, let's be a little bit of a, you know, team therapist in a way to keep everybody all, all in, you know, in line, like. When you're so at the top of your game, how much coaching is there really at these different levels?

speaker-0: Yeah, I think there's like, ⁓ like the older you get, like quick reminders are super helpful. Like in server-seed, they're like, ⁓ finished with their shoulders forward. you're like, ⁓ yeah, I'm not really doing that right now. ⁓ but I feel like from a co-team perspective, there's a lot more tactical strategy happening. Like how are we going to defend this team? What system are we running? It's a lot about getting people on the same page and making sure that the system flows and people are connecting. And then maybe like when you're a little bit younger, it's more about the fundamentals and really developing that. But I feel like at the professional level, it's more about the strategy and like tactfulness like in a match.

speaker-1: Are you someone who likes watching a film, or do you prefer to kind of be in that, in that on-court setting and get the reminder then and there?

speaker-0: Yeah, I like the immediate feedback. think it's helpful to like try to fix it in that moment, but it's also really good to go back and film and watch ⁓ because sometimes you're like, ⁓ I thought I was in this spot on the court, but I'm actually like over here. So it's a great reminder. And I think I try not to do too much film because it, you know, I don't feel like it helps. I don't want to overthink at the end of the day. Like I think volleyball is so much about just being confident in what you're doing and, you know, staying aggressive and I never want to get hesitant on the course, especially in my position. So not overthinking, trusting your reading abilities and just going out there and letting it rip. But it is a really helpful tool to like go back and check in every once in a while.

speaker-1: With the amount of ground that you can cover out there on the court, you can be forgiven for being slightly off-center from where you thought you were. So that makes a lot of sense. ⁓ Morgan, do your best and forget the rest. What does that mean? Where did that start?

speaker-0: Yeah, that's just a phrase that I've constantly tell myself because at that, ⁓ and it actually, one of my, ⁓ teachers said it in grade school and I was like, Ooh, I really liked that. ⁓ and I just, if she was talking about preparing for a test, she's like, do your best to forget the rest. And I was like, cool. Yeah, I guess you can't really like do anything more than your best. And I always describe like doing your best as controlling the controllables. And for me, I like to break it down. Like that's your effort, your attitude. your focus and being a great teammate. So if I execute and all of those things, there's really not much more I can ask for from myself. Of course I could be upset about like my performance, but I'll always go back to, did you try your best and all of those things? And if you didn't, then you can kick yourself in the butt and say, I need to do better next time. But if you truly did, sorry, you probably hear my dog. But yeah, sorry. I lost my train of thought there.

speaker-1: We welcome an Oli appearance if he makes his way around towards you. We would absolutely welcome that.

speaker-0: Come here, come here, you're just staring at me.

speaker-1: ⁓ We still have some time, so it's okay. He can be shy for now. But no, that's... There he is. ⁓ Morgan, just the next couple of questions. ⁓

speaker-0: He's under the table.

speaker-1: There he is, there we go. That's the star of the episode.

speaker-0: There we go. He wants the food I have up here. Look. Hi, Ollie. hi. Say hey.

speaker-1: Adorable. ⁓ with Ollie there with you, the next couple questions are just a little kind of about that mental part of it and with what you're talking about with do your best, forget the rest. Is the mental part of the game and learning to kind of just let things go, mean that's such a great application for anybody in life. Is that something that you got better with as you progressed in your career where you got kind of into remembering those little tips and tricks that can help you get into the right mental state after a match?

speaker-0: Yeah, honestly, it's something I still work on at age 27. I feel like it's something you just try to get better at like every year and you have tools and ⁓ like guidance recommendations. I, you like that? Sorry. Constantly I'm working with like a sports psych to like talk through these things. Cause I don't want to put that weight on my family. ⁓ But yeah, I think. I've learned that things are always changing. It's never going to stay the same and you have to be flexible. And every time I think I've got it figured out in terms of like the mental game, something happens. I'm like, okay, back to the drawing board. We got to try again. So it just, yeah, it's ever evolving. And I just think you're working on your physical craft as much as you are working on your mental craft.

speaker-1: Well, I mean, it's one of the reasons why I ask is because the next question I have for you is I was watching a video piece that you were in where you said at one point, it's important to make sure different buckets of your life feel fulfilled. And I think you were talking about it in reference to how you stay balanced to being at your peak athletically. But frankly, I think that's great advice to anyone out there. And if someone is having a hard time making sure all those buckets are fulfilled equally, do you have any advice for how they would get it back to being at that equilibrium?

speaker-0: Yeah, think, you know, volleyball is something that we do or I do. It's not who I am. And that's something I have to remind myself of frequently, but being able to take that step back and get some perspective. ⁓ the best way I get that perspective is talking to my family or picking up a book, finding a new show, going out on a walk and just knowing that I've got other parts of my life that I really care about. Like I've always been really interested in occupational therapy. ⁓ so. I want to make sure that I'm taking the right steps right now. Like why I've got time to be prepared to go back to school one day to maybe pursue that. So just making sure that I'm not only seeing myself as a volleyball player and that goes, like you said, whatever your job is, whatever you're doing, whatever you have a passion for. It's a passion, but it's not your entire identity. So when I can take a step back and get that perspective, that's when I feel a lot better.

speaker-1: I truly think that is amazing life advice, much less a great advice for volleyball athletes. So thank you for that. Morgan, the final couple of questions, we could talk to you forever, but we'll make sure that we get you out of here without taking up the rest of your afternoon. let's zoom out and have a little fun with these last two. What random topic could you give a TED Talk on right now with no prep time?

speaker-0: ⁓ my gosh, a random topic, the Ted talk. Sorry.

speaker-1: This is a tough one. No, can be anything. We've heard space. We've heard amazing, the right ice cream orders. We've heard life advice. We've heard occupational therapy. mean, there's so many different parts of the Morgan-Hentz experience where you can be an expert in. So there's no pressure on this question.

speaker-0: I would say probably on golden retrievers right now because it only takes up a lot of time of my day. I always joke around and say that, you know, if volleyball comes to an end and I'm not sure what to do, I want to have a golden retriever dog farm and I'm gonna call it my golden farm and sell cheese curds on it because when I was in Madison, Wisconsin, I really loved cheese curds and I'm just gonna you get a cup of cheese curds and you get to go pet some golden. So I could give a TED talk on that.

speaker-1: That's do that, please. No, it's so funny. When I moved out here, I met two friends from Wisconsin and they were they were talking about cheese curds. I was like, I don't get what you guys are talking about. And they found this bar for the Packer games to watch for during football season that has cheese curds. I was like, this is new experience for me. Mind blowing. I get it. I get it. 100%. So that that is a fantastic business idea. I think you should absolutely pursue that.

speaker-0: Thank you, I think it's been awesome one day.

speaker-1: We've already kind of gotten a glimpse at this answer, but I have to ask that's the question anyway. If you weren't a volleyball player, what would you be?

speaker-0: Yeah, that's, I really love occupational therapy. ⁓ I watched my brother ⁓ go to occupational therapy sessions growing up and I really thought that one-on-one work ⁓ was just really inspirational and I really admired ⁓ just the occupational therapists that I observed. But I've also really learned lately that I love dogs ⁓ and I've seen a bunch of funny ⁓ Instagram videos of... someone purchasing a bus and they do like a dog daycare where they go and pick up like a dog somewhere. And I'm like, oh, that could be fun too. Maybe that's a side gig, but you know, I changed my mind pretty frequently and I'm still figuring out what I love and what I want to do post volleyball. Um, but I think I'm going to keep exploring my options, but those are two things that I really, I think I could see myself doing one day.

speaker-1: Well, Morgan, as always, it's a privilege to chat with you. Thank you for giving us a window into who you are outside of volleyball, who you are off the court, because we know you're a pretty darn good player on the court, and we're looking forward to watching you throughout the rest of this season. And yeah, thank you so much for being our inaugural guest on set six, the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. We appreciate it.

speaker-0: Yeah, thank you for having me.

speaker-1: Once again, a huge thank you to Morgan ⁓ besides from the books that she's reading or her amazing walks with with Ollie or her perfect travel itinerary. Something that stuck out to me is just hearing again, like I said at the top, the mental aspect of the game when you have such high level athletes, I think it goes for any sport, particularly for volleyball where and in this league, you have to transition so quickly. You're right onto the next road trip, the next match. with a lot of implications for playoffs and the future where every match is crucial. And so having your mental side down is obviously so important. And everybody has their own journey to get there, right? What works for the center on your team might not necessarily work for the libero or the first sub off the bench and vice versa. It might not work for the assistant coaches. We know that they have to get as mentally dialed into the game as they possibly can. So I think Morgan talking about One of my favorites was do your best, forget the rest and you know that coming in grade school. ⁓ That's such a great thing to hear. Something that you can take in just everyday life really resonates with you. And like you said, if you're not having that conversation with yourself and knowing, all right, if I'm not, need to kick myself in the butt, but if I am, then that's good enough for me and I know that. ⁓ I think that, like I said, that's just something that's so great in life. That's something I want to apply to my own life as well. ⁓ Like I said, Morgan is also just, I think, I think so it's so cool. Morgan, think of as someone where if you ran into her at the grocery store, right, and she was in front of you in line, would you know that that's someone who is the best of the best in this sport in this league? I think it's so fun to learn about how down to earth these athletes are. And I think that phrase is overused. But that's kind of what I mean when I say down to earth. I think that they're just such amazing people. Morgan is no exception to that. And we thank her once again for joining us. I'm going to transition to a segment I'm just going to call, am I up to? Or what are you up to? And again, it's hopefully not going to center too much around me, but as it relates to what's going on with this league. And like I mentioned at the beginning, it's going to be travel to Omaha, and then we're going to hit San Diego before we round out the season with a super exciting week in Frisco. And it will be a full week for us. I know it'll only probably be weekend for you. ⁓ And Dallas slash Frisco is going be one of, you know, it's just going to be an amazing venue. We were actually there. ⁓ a of days ago, a couple of weeks ago to scout it out, of work through some things for championship and a huge shout out to the team behind the team. We have a small but mighty team at MLV and it's truly amazing and inspiring with what they do to get everything done and ready for you all and create the most amazing experience. So if you have not completely finalized your travel to Frisco for the championship, I would encourage you to do so, but we're going to check in on some of these teams as we get down to the stretch. looking forward to going to Omaha. I'd only ever actually been to Omaha one time before. It was for the, ⁓ the sellout that they had, which was, was, that was an incredible atmosphere. And Nebraska had some great ⁓ food options. It was, was amazing. know that, I know you Nebraska fans get a lot of flack for being a flyover state. I never was one who would say that I actually have a map in my other room where I get to put all little pins in places I've been. And I was like, I can't believe working in volleyball, I've never been to Nebraska. So it was so neat to be able to go to Omaha and try out some of the amazing food. I love being able to get a feel for the different cities everywhere we go. We had the shrimp at the St. Elmo style shrimp when we were in ⁓ Indiana. Again, that was my first time in Indiana. That was cool. I hope I don't get any hate for saying this. It felt like an extension of Ohio. And I mean that in the best possible way of I was curious if it was going to have its own feel to it ⁓ and going, going. to fishers from the airport. was like, oh, this is really neat. There's a lot of stuff that I feel like I see when I've been in Columbus in the past. So that was very neat, very fortunate and a huge thank you to their PR staff, especially huge shout out to them for how amazing they make everything so seamless and smooth. And every team in this league does that. But our day started early when we were there for the spring match and the double header got to do local TV, a TV hit at 6 a.m., which just a little about me. I'm not a morning person at all, as you can see from the bags under my eyes here for if you're watching, if you're you're watching this podcast, but it was well worth it. It was really great. ⁓ Big thank you to her non from channel eight for having me there. And it was neat because I got my start in local news. And we were trading some some more stories from just how crazy those days can be. ⁓ But it was a lot of fun. And it was really great to I to talk about the league and how what amazing, what an amazing match that was going to be an amazing day. So that was a lot of fun to travel and looking forward to being in a little bit of my backyard. based in California and getting to go to San Diego anytime I can have an excuse to go to San Diego is that that's the best excuse. So I'm certainly looking forward to do that on April 30th to close out the regular season and chat with them as we expect them to make the playoffs as well coming up here. ⁓ what I'm watching on the planes right now is Maul Shadowlord. I don't know if any of Star Wars fans out there, I like it a lot. I mean, I was one of those kids who, when the original Clone Wars ⁓ series was coming out, I watched all of that. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, so I apologize in advance. I sort of jumped the ship with the new trilogy a little bit, I'm sorry to say, but you know, I'll check in here and there. I haven't caught everything. I am more of a Marvel nerd. So I've been watching Daredevil a lot too, Born Again, and just super... just excited to see that they're taking this in more comic ways. I think we're leading into a pretty neat comic ⁓ run for maybe if he shows up in the Spider-Man movie, but I won't bore you with a lot of my ⁓ geek and nerd fandom, but I will say they're two entertaining shows if you're looking for something to watch on the planes. ⁓ And that's why I'm getting a lot of early flights, so I'm catching up on my sleep more than I am watching shows right now, but... That's really kind of what I'm doing when I'm having some free time. ⁓ I'm concerned because we're coming up on having a lot of free time here in the off season, but never fear because this podcast will be there for you. And that's another thing that we're hoping to do is keep some of this content, some of this ability to chat with our athletes throughout the off season so that you have something to look forward to, something to stay in touch with as we head into that phase of the MLB calendar. Yeah, I'll be interested to see what the whole process is from behind the scenes for an off season. And we know we'll be looking to bring you some great content throughout that time as well. As we wrap up here, I want to say a huge thank you to the team behind the team. As I said before, they do a lot for event setup. They also do a lot to help bring you this podcast. So I want to thank them very much. They know who they are and ⁓ I'll see them on meetings or and they'll see me, unfortunately, vice versa, probably more than they would like to. But ⁓ We're I just can't thank them enough for everything that they have done to get this podcast to you. And our next show is already recorded and in the works. It's with Kaylee Cox of the Dallas Pulse. And we are it was an amazing conversation to sit down with her. I've never I'd never met Kaylee before. But when we chatted with her, she's just a fantastic person full of energy. And we got to know a lot about her first season with Columbus and then her first season in the in Major League volleyball coming out of college and then we talked to her about her club days and then obviously her season this year with Dallas being just such an integral part of what they do. stick stay tuned next week for our conversation on episode two with Kaylee Cox and once more finally just a big thank you for tuning into this podcast. ⁓ We are so excited to bring you consistent episodes. We're looking to record on a weekly basis. So I forgot to mention that up top, we will hopefully be there for you weekly. Things change our travel schedules and life gets in the way, but this is a podcast for you and you deserve a weekly podcast. So we will look to do that for you. But thank you for tuning into episode one of set six. Once again, I'm Severin Lavinstein. Thank you for tuning in and we'll see you next time.