Latest / Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast / Episode 023 | From DC to NorCal: A Big Week for MLV Expansion
Transcript
- Mike Moline: All over the computer. This week, the Set Six Podcast has exclusive interviews for you from the DC Flight brand launch. We're talking to team president Kate Greenberg, star player Ramont Alassan, and head coach Dietrich Collins Parker. Plus, Jen Rosenthal is back with me. We've got some big news to hit on first at the top of the episode that includes some announcements for the MLV Los Angeles roster. So lock in. This is the Set Six Podcast. What's going on? How are we doing, everybody? Another week and another episode of the Set Six Podcast. This is the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. I'm your host, Severin Lavenstein, and with me is my co-host Jenna Rosenthal, our Set Six correspondent, with us once again to break down all the news, action, and analysis. Before we go any further, please like, comment, share, subscribe. We're on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and all the amazing ways that you can get your podcasts. This is episode 23 with the DC Flight brand reveal. Before you listen to episode 23, please go listen to episode 22 with Tori Dilfer-Stringer, one of the newest members of no longer MLV NorCal, the NORCAL Rumble. And the format for this ⁓ episode, which is the same as that episode. So once you listen to that one, go listen to this one, where we are gonna talk the news. We are gonna have our interviews and reactions from on the ground in DC for that brand reveal. Then we're gonna have some fun. And then we're gonna close the show. So with that, Jenna, how are we doing today? I am doing just fine, Severin. How are you from your little side quest in San Jose? I'm a little sleep deprived, but ⁓ I enjoyed being there. It was a lot of fun. ⁓ really liked San Jose in in a little bit more of a a cooler climate than the last time I was there, which is really nice. And it was really great to ⁓ to see that entire ⁓ revealed day, which was ⁓ certainly living up to the name of spanning all over NorCal, but we will we'll talk about that a little bit later. But yes, but Jenna, we we've got a lot to get to. So let's jump right into ⁓ the news, which of course, as on as a teaser to something that you'll hear in just a little bit, we had some really great news of finally the roster announcement officially from ⁓ the ⁓ MLV Los Angeles team, which we are really excited to see. So we'll get to that on the the back side of the news because we want to save the the most exciting maybe for last there. But ⁓ without any further ado launching into it, the volleyball world cup. We found some more locations, Jenna, that are gonna be announced for that, including the home of the Omaha supernovas. CHI Health Center in Omaha is going to be a host for pool play. ⁓ in addition to as well in Orlando, the Kia Center, very, very close ⁓ for Orlando in that general area. And then we knew about Honda Center already, ⁓ which will be relatively close to our team in LA. So ⁓ three different locations in the home of homes of our MLV teams, and ⁓ we'll have probably some involvement there. And ⁓ a quote host cities and venues. We're selected based on passionate fan bases, strong government and local partner support to ensure exceptional experience in markets that can attract new fans and accelerate volleyball's growth across North America. That was from ⁓ one of the press releases on those announcements. So that's number one, and then we'll skip right on to our next one, next bit of news here: the PM Cup results, which many of you have probably known for a little while here as we're recording on Wednesday, September 23rd. But all way back on the eighteenth, USA won with a three nothing sweep of Dominican Republic. It's the eighth gold medal for the US and apparently the first since ⁓ twenty nineteen when ⁓ one Jenna Rosenthal was part of that experience. I was gonna say, I know we won Pan Cup when I went down, it like you said, in twenty nineteen, but I didn't realize we hadn't done it again since. So way to go, ladies, way to represent and hold it down in Mexico. And ⁓ one Norsega tournament ends and another one begins and is actually currently in ⁓ it's it's playing days play losing my my ability to speak on that one. It's currently in in motion, in progress. There we go. That's it. ⁓ it is ⁓ the Norseco Final Six, which ⁓ one big highlight was ⁓ twenty twenty six MLV Libero of the year, Elena Scott added to the team USA roster, joining Toyociano Banjo and Natalie Foster. We'll leave it there because la as we said, that tournament is still going. So any news that we give you about ⁓ matches is honestly gonna be outdated by the time you hear this, but that'll roll on, I believe, through the end of this weekend. So ⁓ more MLV representation throughout that tournament. As we mentioned, there was already plenty of MLV representation in the Pan Am Cup. ⁓ so yes, great to have that ⁓ and great to see Elena added to the US roster there. I know Elena's fans have been begging for their girl and wondering where she's been at all at. this summer. So I'm so excited that she gets a chance to show her skills on on Team USA and with that elite group of athletes. She's been training her butt off in Anaheim. We know that. And so now it's now it's time to finally set her free. So stay tuned. Jenna, we're going to turn it back over to you here for the news that we teased that we were just so excited to see, which was the the whole mass rollout of the MLVLA roster, which honestly came out right after we recorded our last episode, which was so funny. Because we were teasing different things, including Bella Noble, ⁓ and then that her being a name that you might recognize. And sure enough, I think literally an hour after we finished recording the episode, there she is with a nice graphic going to MLV LA. But why don't you walk us through this? Because we had, you know, again, two episodes ago, talked about who was still available that we would see for LA and DC. And now we know, and frankly, you know, can make some inferences on who will be on DC as as well based on the LA official announcement. ⁓ but before before I go any further, why don't you take us through it? Well, like you said, Severin, I was really planning on being all coy and fun and asking how many of you actually figured out Bella Noble from our little hints, but you know, clearly that game was up ⁓ almost instantaneously. But like you said, Severin, they just dropped the entire roster on us. Maybe we thought or maybe they thought we were calling them out or something. ⁓ either way, we got news for our people here. But one of the things I've actually found most interesting about ⁓ the LA roster was a lot of it's being constructed with pieces and names that are familiar from MLV. We have at least four. We have five by my count currently we have five former San Diego Mojo players joining the LA roster, making the trip of all of what, two hours to join their new team in Southern California. So hopefully that won't be too much of a s shift for them. And we did get a few more names for Washington DC, which is really exciting. ⁓ I know Ramont Alessan and Brennell Jones particularly have deep ties to the East Coast region. So that's really important for them to continue to represent close to home. But I'm honestly more interested in seeing how these rosters come together and the pieces that they're adding and how they all might integrate and fit together into a new piece. But I know I'll be watching our girl Tristan. In LA. That's that's who's got my vote, as well as Toyosi Anabanjo, who's been doing such great things for Team USA this summer. I think that's gonna be a really awesome one-two punch in the middle. And frankly, as an opposing middle, I think that combination will be particularly lethal. Tristan with her incredible length and physical advantage, whereas Toyosi beats you with sheer determination and just an intense speed that sometimes taller players just You can't do it. It's a physical limit it not limitation. It's just a difference, right? Your stat their stat sheets, not stat sheets in a volleyball sense, their ⁓ character sheets here are very, very different. And I wanna see how those skills stack up. So they'll certainly play each other a lot during practice, but as an opposing player, you gotta adapt to two completely different playstyles. So that's a lot of fun. And in case anyone thinks I'm biased towards middle blockers, I gotta keep giving my girl Cam Turner's her flowers. ⁓ setter out of Grand Rapids Rise. She battled her way to the starting lineup two years in a row and now she will be getting a fresh start and a fresh look in Los Angeles. And I'm just constantly in awe of that girl. Her impeccable floor defense, her sheer physicality as a slightly undersized setter to go from getting block touches on your big outside hitter to absolutely digging your face off in row one. Bring it on. There's nothing this girl can't do. So That's my first skim of this list, being very excited. I honestly think you and I can do a whole episode on some of these teams. I know we've deep dived on some of the other ones and roster constructions more specifically, but I could go on for twenty, thirty minutes about how these pieces fit together and how they fit in their roles last year. Hell, I even see Hannah Maddox there. ⁓ I've been waiting to see that girl all season three. I know she was dealing with some industry injury struggles. So hopefully she got some of that taken care of and we can see her back doing her thing for LA. With with these roster announcements, LA has jumped to the front of some of some of the teams that get me really excited. So I'll put my money on it. Wanna go to a game? Yeah, I I'll be ⁓ first I wanna go to the brand announcement. I'm waiting for that one. It's the last one. So but yes, ⁓ after that absolutely going to a match. And ⁓ Jen I mean, just one more I'm just so excited that Maya Tabron and ⁓ Grace Loberg are still gonna be on the same team and and I I think that was such as as I've said before, I'm not gonna r completely resay it, but such a unique attack, I felt like from ⁓ San Diego last year that I'm really glad is going to be able continue through the the lens and offensive vision of Alicia Childress. And I I'm I'm just ⁓ fascinated how that will work again with a new setter, I would assume with Bellanoble, and just to be able to see they earned that. And I and I love their ability to show that it doesn't have to be just one person. Like like I said, that's that's your your main ⁓ offensive output there. And so to have them sticking together again with Alicia, I'm just over the moon to be able to see. Plus, as we mentioned, the presence in the middle already is gonna be, I think, top notch. And and it's full circle for us because we mentioned how excited we were to see all of them when we first saw the names on the list, and then to finally have it out in the open, ⁓ LA fans are in for a treat in year one. So do you think it's appropriate to call it a little bit of the continuation of the mojo with Coach Childress and her five San Diego Mojo players, or is this going to be something completely different? You know, I I feel like you're the expert who could tell me. I don't I would stop short because I feel like the setter is going to be so important. I would not presume to think that Marley Montserrat was not a huge factor in the way that everything looked. Not necessarily, you know, I I I think. Maya and and Grace will still score at the same clip. I think Maren will still look great. I I just I I stop short because I really think that Marley had such a a a handprint on that. That's not the right phrasing, but you know, had such an imprint on the offense that I I I still am curious how it will look. Yeah, Marley's energy really that has a it really changes the complexion of a team. And that's a very good point. I think that was that had a lot to do with it. And ⁓ yeah. She's not easily replaced. Jenna, going through the the rest of the list, we got some of of I think what we call the the foundational pieces of DC. Anything that jumped out at you there. No, this DC team's fantastic. We've spoken at length about Ramat Al Hassan and her amazing influence both on and off the court. I think she's gonna keep shaping this team and this complexion and this flavor as we go forward. And I wanna hear I wanna see some more names to before I form my complete opinion. We'll ⁓ it was it was a lot of fun to be over there. We'll talk a little bit more about that for the DC reveal. ⁓ great to talk to Jalen Hodge as well. ⁓ and and great to see everybody talking to the, you know, city council member and ⁓ to be able to ⁓ be there for for the whole opening announcement. It was just a little teaser of the roster. ⁓ but obviously Ramot too, with the the whole hometown hero aspect of things, ⁓ and just being as great as she is, both off the court personality wise, but also on the court as well. ⁓ we know is gonna be such a huge piece for DC. So I I think that was a a very ⁓ great person to have leading the charge ⁓ and to be able to kind of have as as one of the figureheads of the team in their first iterations to be able to show everybody and and honestly to they talked about going to ⁓ different clubs as well and differ and kind of doing some of that in the first week of them all being together. And I think that, you know, no no better person to look up to so for for some young ⁓ club athletes as well. Sounds great. And then one more I just want to make mention because Orlando jumped in here with a signing. ⁓ Adriana Maria Bertaea, I believe, if I'm saying that correctly. ⁓ from ⁓ C.S. Vole Alba Blase. Hopefully that's correct as well. Romanian's quite good, Severin. I don't think it is. I think plenty of people will be able to jump in and say no. But ⁓ I just wanted to make mention too of Orlando sneaking in with one more signing as well before we start talking about draft and even more maybe potential additions to the roster. ⁓ Orlando with another addition. Yeah, that's gonna be a great piece. ⁓ she's really made a name for herself, ⁓ playing in a lot of different teams, Romania Romania, contributing all along the way there. and this marks her first significant departure from Eastern Europe. And I think we're really excited to welcome her to the States and show her what an amazing platform American sports are. Plus I want to see that heavy arm. Maybe I'm just stereotyping Romanians, but throw the ball high and hit it hard is generally what I assume. We might be we might have in store, but we'll see. For more of the complete signings from last week or rather announcements, I should say please go check out the transaction wire. Go check out the team pages. Awesome graphics from everybody and ⁓ with a little bit more detail as well on their background. So head over there. ⁓ Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. I think they're posting on Facebook still. I don't check Facebook. I'm mostly on Instagram, but I know that certain sections of our audience are are very Facebook inclined and more power to you. We go to the brand reveals now. Let's start with NorCal before we go into DC to lead into our interviews. Jenna, you write flowers. Flowers everywhere. And that certainly was a big part of the day. I happen to really like the flower arrangements too. I thought they were really that was a really neat ⁓ part of it. That was really good. Did you bring one? Did you bring some flowers back? I actually have. So dude, I could talk forever about that. They are NorCal is fantastic at. the ⁓ swag boxes. I mean this it's on my my personal story right now. ⁓ maybe will be gone by the time that this airs, but y you you get just the coolest swag box from them and one of them is poppy seeds. So you can in in a way, yes, I did get flowers too. And I I caught ⁓ there was a flower making class that Allie Czech was doing with ⁓ some local ⁓ youth that w that had come into ⁓ one of the art centers there and ⁓ you know her her little ⁓ Bouquet had like googly eyes on it and a smiley face and then was all kind of very delicately arranged. So ⁓ it was really cool. I I was a big ⁓ big fan of that part of things as well. That duffel bag, man. That duffel bag was sick. Duffel bag is it was awesome. It was a it was a nice extra piece to be on the on the carry-on, but I've gotta add to my background here. They had so many cool things, like like ⁓ it was a real piece of wood that was engraved with their start date. ⁓ a whole bunch of great stuff in there. But it's less about the swag and more about the genuine connection with the community, which I continue to think is such a great part of the way they've set things up in NorCal ⁓ with the Rumble. There's a really great explainer on their page of all of the different factors that went into their ⁓ brand design, their logo design, how, for example, the ⁓ outline is in the same shape as the highway signs when you're going up to ⁓ Northern California. Which I think I love little details like that. I think that's so cool. Or how the ⁓ Heather was explaining to me how the the flower is supposed to look a little bit like kind of a a ⁓ s spiking volleyball, I think was the way that she put it. ⁓ and that was really neat too and and ⁓ I thought and and th they mentioned that the color scheme specifically was trying to find a little bit of a gap in the colorways that we had among our teams, which was a question that we answered a couple of weeks ago where we were saying You what we'd like to see a little bit more of. I think orange was one of the things that we said too in a little bit of green before we got ⁓ the Minnesota Forge. But it was so funny 'cause I'd seen the mock-ups of the the brand, but it was only in black and white. I think we you we we were both on the same meetings there. But to see it in the colors, it's one of the first times where I've was really like, ⁓ I'm you know, I didn't I didn't necessarily see the vision at the beginning and then I saw it on the on the jackets and on the low on the Sighted that ⁓ flower truck and was like, ⁓ this is this looks really cool. Dude, the jackets are so fire. I sign me up, just get a jacket. Go to training camp, print jacket. No. I I totally agree with you. And I'm so excited about the breath of fresh air in color schemes, especially moving into, you know, the future with women's sports and sports as a whole. Love change up, love me some green and orange. I'm here for it. Sign me up. I also like pumpkin, so who am I to say? One of the things that I I've mentioned too is Like I said, to see the the city involvement, I think has always been great. But that was something that DC and NorCal I really felt and that's not to say that any of the other announcements haven't had this, but it was just something that ended up being very apparent, like meeting with council members in in city council official areas. That was two there were those were two there was a a Venn diagram of the of the two announcements, that would be where NorCal and D C overlapped. Two very different ways of releasing the brand. I which I loved. I think it's always I've been saying to each team, like everybody's got their own identity and it really is their own identity. ⁓ but you can just see the passion in San Jose. I know I remember Caris Carrie Walsh Jennings told me in one interview, we want to be where we're wanted. And you feel that in San Jose. You felt that in I we attended a city council meeting where they proclaimed ⁓ September twenty second, ⁓ NorCal Rumble Day. You can feel that the city wants them there. And that's such a cool it's not indescribable 'cause we just described it, but it's a it's such a unique feeling. Which I think is great. And it was the same thing in DC, you know, walking through the the chambers. And DC has a very like DC doesn't feel like San Jose. DC is like you're in the heart of where decisions get made and really important papers get signed. And, you know, you walk through there and you've got people wearing the DC purple and you've got, you know, city officials all welcoming MLV into a, you know, very into our nation's capital. It's just it was so cool. The juxta juxtaposition and similarities between the two now. Honestly, yes. And having that municipal support really is about a community deciding what they want to value. And it's so encouraging when that support comes from that governmental level. ⁓ to complete complete our ⁓ East Coast, West Coast Trifecta, ⁓ you ⁓ people may recall the city of Columbus also made a sizable commitment to keeping the Fury in Columbus and choosing to be a women's sports city and choosing to value that. in their community. So by definition, it's happening all across the nation. East Coast, West Coast, Midwest. Well that'd open up the can of worms if Ohio's considered the Midwest or not. ⁓ jury's still out. But ⁓ point being continued support from people in high places are what's needed to continue to elevate this sport. But momentum is changing. Tide the tide is rising. I'm so excited. And we are almost complete with our full twelve team slate. And LA LA's still to come. Absolutely a great point on Columbus. Do not want to leave them out whatsoever. I mean, that is such a tremendous city. And then, you know, even just seeing the way that they ⁓ support, you know, like not eye just just not even like the the specific like I've met people, for example, where I'm going with this, I've met people in Columbus who are such big fans of teams like in Cincinnati and Cleveland just because they don't have the pro team to represent that sport in Columbus and like some of the the most rabid fans that I know are in that city. Never mind for the teams that are are actually there. So and we know the Fury have such an amazing fan base, so absolutely do not want to forget them as well. But with ⁓ with DC too, it was such a I I think a a huge point of that was just The we love the purple, we had said that, but also the the launch there were so many flight puns, which is great. ⁓ the team president Kate Greenberg was a a big fan of using the flight puns. It was perfect because from Reagan Airport you had the planes taking off in the middle of us. She was addressing everybody. And ⁓ you know, the area unique and it was great. And I and I I really liked the mock-up that they showed us of the anthem. I thought that looked really cool. It looks incredibly intimate. It looks like a unique spot. It it I you know, honestly, I I I saw the mock up, which I hope that they'll share in more of a kind of a complete way. And I think it's on their page after the announcement as well of of the the ⁓ the the mock up image is is on there on their Instagram. But and then the surrounding area too, I really think there's nothing like that morph area really that we have in this league right now. So ⁓ like I said, DC had its own feel too, and that was such a I mean, that was such a a great kind of like I I think their feel was sort of th th they were also community based in their own way, talking a lot about how there is such a an untapped potential in with the community and and how there's already such a big presence of women's sports and women's volleyball that it's it's there to be cultivated, I guess, if that's the right word. Well, I I would a hundred percent agree with that. And that's so great that you were able to go and get that on the ground knowledge because sometimes sitting back here in my case, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not all of that always comes through in the press releases and the photos, no matter how wonderfully done and produced they are. I I know for one, ⁓ internal conversations were talking about the anthem about how it's a really intimate experience and how fans are going to be on top of the court. And I wasn't quite sure what that meant. I thought it was maybe a really tight space or something, but seeing that mock-up, like you said, and Dude, you're in the action. It's not in the way or anything. You're just there. Heads up, dude. You're gonna get hit by a shanked ball. And I think that's absolutely awesome. And disclaimer to all the new fans, in volleyball, if a ball goes into the stands, you generally don't keep that. You gotta give that one back. So it's not exactly like baseball, just for future reference. I know this is this may not land, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I know you and I are both fans of the movie Night's Tale, and I think the way that I would describe the way that the mock up looked to me is like a jousting arena where you know everybody's kind of like up and and they're like secondary levels and you're and I I'm a big fan of the way I you see this in music venues, you see this in I think even in they were just saying this about the Bills new stadium, that some things are getting built more up than out. Now I think there are r there is room for outward stadiums. I one of my favorites is ⁓ the Rose Bowl is built very flat and out. But I think up is is always keeping you very close to the action. And so to land the plane here, it it l it almost reminded me of that kind of jousting arena setup where everybody's close to the action. You can get hit by a ball, but it's it's all still your your you've got a nice setup to see all of it in a in a close proximity, which I think could be really, really neat. ⁓ But I I've blabbed long enough about what it was like for me to be there. Why don't we actually take you a little bit closer in and talk to the people who were actually there and were actually a part of it? ⁓ that would be representatives of the DC flight, the newly named DC flight that officially ⁓ made a lift off, made takeoff, whatever flight pun that you want to use. I'll leave it to Kate Greenberg for telling us more of those. She is one of the people that we talked to, the president of the team, also Ramont Alassan, one of the stars that we mentioned, and the head coach. Teacher Collins Parker, those are the voices that you'll hear in the upcoming interviews with the announcement of the DC flight. Chase just first the the emotions and the feelings today. I mean We use a lot of flight puns, so we have lifted off our brand and it really does come with that feeling of ascension. You know when a plane takes off, you feel it in your belly and you feel your whole body lifting and rising. That's what it feels like today to be able to launch DC Flight. I love that. Your explanation of the logo was fantastic. Could you just give us another little breakdown of it? You know that the color is amazing, the logo is amazing, and the reveal today was amazing as well. Every part of our name and our logo was done with real intention. We wanted to be authentic, first and foremost, to the sport of volleyball. It's an aerial sport, it's a dynamic sport. So that's reflected in our name, DC Flight, but it's also reflected in the arc that wraps around our word mark. Notice there's no volleyball in the logo, but the spirit of the arc of the ball, the trajectory of our athletes, and the trajectory of flight is all represented in that arc. But we also wanted to show the strength and gravity of the mechanical part of flight. So you see that in our word mark, which has some sort of raised lettering, and it really represents sort of the machinery, the power behind flight. So when we bring that all together, we have DC flight. So the logo not only represents the sport and the city, but our name is rooted in where we play. It's rooted in our sport, and DC is the home of the history of air and space travel with two air and space museums. We heard some of the planes going by too while you were talking. It was perfect. It matched it exactly. The airport is right over there. It was amazing. Literally. ⁓ And see a little bit more of this a little bit later on. But could you speak a little bit to the support that you've gotten from the city and city officials, and just, you know, it really feels like this is going to be such a great part of the DC overall community. Could you tell us a little bit more about this? DC is known as the sports capital. This is a town that loves its teams. But it's also a top five market for women's sports specifically. So the opportunity to introduce another women's professional. Team into already a great sports town and a town that loves women's sports, but the most popular and fastest growing women's sport has been a wonderful opportunity to engage and educate our partners across the city. And support has been overwhelming. All of our stakeholders are thrilled that we will be taking flight here in January of 2027, and they are behind us all the way to make sure that the community is supporting us, showing up at Mass. And helping to continue to grow the sport of volleyball. And to that point, it's an experienced ownership and leadership group as well in the sports world, right? And is there anything specific that maybe jumps out from that experience? I know a couple soccer teams involved as well, but like anything that you've that that the ownership group has has learned from those ventures that are going to be brought to the DC. Having an ownership group and a leadership team that is from this area, that operates other teams in this area means that we are steeped in in community and that's how you build a fan base. We can launch a professional sports team, we can give it a great name and a logo, but we have to know the people who live and work here, how to reach them, how to connect with them, and how to get them to follow along with what we're doing. So having that local ownership and leadership team but also experienced in sport allows us to elevate our business at the highest level but also connect deep roots in the community. For you, but you've also to be very proud to introduce some members of the team. I know we're to see a few more a little later on down the road. We've been so excited to see all of the members of the team, but ⁓ tell us a little bit about the roster that's being constructed, and of course, led by Coach Collins Barker. We have been holding back our roster for a long time, and that was on purpose. We wanted each of our incredible athletes to be immediately connected to the DC Flight brand. We wanted the young girls who play here, the sports fans who are gonna follow our team to connect. To them with the team. So we needed to launch the team first. And so in the next couple days, we will be announcing each one of our players one at a time so that our fans and our community can really get to know each one of them, who they are, what their experience looks like. But Coach Collins Parker, first of all, is the best coach in the league, I'm gonna say that. We are thrilled to have Coach Collins Parker leading our team. Everything that we do with our business and our volleyball operations is done with intention. Roster was built with great intention, not only looking at the best available athletes, but how they will work together as a team. All of that's already been contemplated before they even step on the court together. So we're excited to announce our players. We can't wait for January 2027, but even let's say we fast forwarded to May or April. ⁓ What do you want some of the talking heads like me or the media to be saying about the DC flight, even though we're on day maybe one or two now? So when we're kind of towards the end of the season in your first inaugural season? My expectation is that as we get to the end of our inaugural season, it will be evident that we've not only lifted off, but we're still ascending. There's still a lot of airspace for us to take up. And that's what we're really most excited about. The opportunity to start strong, but Continue to scale a sustainable and successful women's professional volleyball team in DC is the ultimate ambition. So after that inaugural season, we want it to be evident there's still a lot of airspace for us to close. I'm gonna be doing my best to keep the funds going when I talk to you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Yeah, we can send you a list. Last one for you, Kate. It's just this area specifically where we are seems so unique and so unlike any other place where, you know, whether we're talking volleyball. Or anywhere else that sports has played. Tell me about this area and why it's so special. It was very important to our organization to achieve two things when we looked at where we were going to play. The first was to ensure that we were playing inside the district. We are DC sports team and we will draw from across what we call the DMV, the district, Maryland and Virginia. But we're DC's sports team and we wanted to have a home court in DC. But there's a lot of sports teams here. We wanted to launch with impact. And really stand out. So the opportunity to lay our home court at a concert venue offers an unprecedented sports and entertainment experience. It's not something that's been done here in DC before. It's not something that's really been done anywhere for volleyball for an entire professional season. On top of that, the Anthem is at a wonderful part of the city in a neighborhood called District Hall. It's a great entertainment district, so all of our fans can come enjoy a match, but there are wonderful shops and restaurants. Restaurants right on the waterfront here to make a whole day or evening out of it. Enjoy some volleyball, but have a great time with your family and friends. So everything about our home court is dynamic, exciting, and we think really gives us a true home court advantage. Okay, congratulations and thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Yeah, you're welcome. Well first just tell me about what are the emotions today. You know, this is finally official, you can finally tell people you're playing. Just tell me about the emotions. Yeah. ⁓ I think my first primary emotion is definitely excitement. ⁓ One of the big things has been, one, we've been holding on to this information for a really, really long time. And then two, never, if you had asked me two years ago, would I be able to play at home, the answer would have been no, no way. Like that's never gonna happen. And so just really, really excited about the opportunity and to play with all these new people in this city that seems really, really excited for us to be here. Yeah, I think one, having grown up here playing sports, it's it's what started my career and then two, watching all the girls here and having one been able to also coach in this community, you know, coaching at Flint Hill, coaching it with Metro and just having those opportunities to be like, okay, like look at the next level and giving them like that view like close to home of like, okay, you can do this too. That's just real it means a lot to me. Yeah, I thought it was really cool. I mean I think being in DC, I know like there's lots there's airports, we have air and space, you know, we've got all that stuff going for us. And then also the purple. I personally came from a high school that the color was purple, so go holy cross. so I'm used to it and I really love it. It's it's it's awesome. I know we we've gotten to meet a few of the the Yeah on the board, but maybe give us a little hint of how you all are gonna play. How we're gonna play. I think that this team's gonna be a lot of fun. I think that we've got a little bit of experience and we've also got some young people, so I think it's gonna be a good mix of that calm, we've been here before and a lot of that spunky energy. Yeah, I mean I think my biggest concern was okay, how's this gonna happen? What's you know, where are we gonna be? Like we're saying D C but I know the way the d the city is set up, so that was a huge part and then at the end of the day I just knew that I owed it to myself to wait and see what D C had to offer. I mean, can't pass up being at home. Yeah, it's definitely one, the expansion teams just the number of them that there is, it's just showing and proving that Professional volleyball is here to stay and I think that's been the biggest and most important thing for the for all of us that are playing. The opportunity to play at home is huge and knowing that it's continuing to grow, that we have a lot more security in it, is awesome. And it just gives us a certain amount of comfort, but then also of course expanding onto the east coast. The west coast is huge with volleyball. Now we're bringing it over to the east and we're slowly working our way up north and that again just is a testament to what the sport's doing and how it's growing. There's a couple more for you, but you're in MLV. How are you gonna bring that to establishing this new culture here. Yeah, definitely wanna be that sounding board if someone needs help, if they're struggling, whatever that is, like I wanna be a voice to offer whatever advice it is, but also just it's leaning by example. It's like we've been here before, we know what to do. It's like small things like, ⁓ we're traveling to let's use Grand Rapids for example. Okay, it's I know where we're going, what we're doing, you know like it's it's having that the small tidbits, the small touch points that might not seem huge but can really help settle a team and settle stressful moments. Tell me about this area. This is not necessarily your typical sports arena area, but you can walk out the waters right there. You know, I heard someone say you can take the water taxi maybe over this way. You it's kind of a unique area. Absolutely unique area and I think from of being from the area, knowing what this used to look like about 10-15 years ago to what it's been, it's one really cool to see just the growth of the area, but also knowing that yeah, there are so many restaurants around for fans before matches, after matches. There's so much to do, so much to see and the environment that's gonna be like post-game and pre-game and what that's gonna look like. I think fans are really gonna enjoy it. I think we're also gonna really enjoy it as players. I just can't wait for you guys to come in and experience what we're gonna be experiencing. I think you're gonna enjoy it just as much as we're gonna enjoy playing for you guys. Coach, this is just so amazing to be here and it's finally official, right? What are some of the emotions that you're feeling from today? Just like pinch me, kinda, just that it's actually happening and I've been here to see the anthem, but to see all the purple and Just to get the word out, you know, it's like we've been working on this and ⁓ Kate and what she does is phenomenal and to have the girls here and see the excitement in them, it's like it's it's real, it's time, it's coming. So do you remember what some of those first conversations were like when you first heard that this might be able to be an opportunity in MLV to bring a team here and how you sort of figured out, okay, this could be something that I could be involved in and be your next opportunity? Yeah, I do. Actually, I mean, thanks to Logan, honestly, Tom, she she's the first. person that called just like have you thought about DC and I was like no but wow and I just I I really love the diversity of the city and I thought you know with how our sport is just becoming more and more diverse what a great way to come to this place so it was a no-brainer and an easy yes for me. Tell me more about that. I the city seems so unique and and it's obviously the furthest northeast that we've expanded to yeah but you know this has such a cool feel to it and it's it's gonna be different from anywhere else. Right, can you me more about the area? I'm a Californian, so me too. Learning the area, but I mean what we know about DC, right? It it it's a combination of everything. And we were talking in the car with the players, and with Danishka being from Serbia, that there's so many different communities in DC that make up what DC is. And again, I I've always known about the diversity, and as an African American, our representation here and our representation in the sport, it just made sense. game in a different way in somewhat you know and and then we're in a place like this is so unique. I think the experience to playing in the anthem is gonna be just different than we've ever seen. So anytime you get a chance to charge a new direction and bring something new to the sport is just helping grow the game and that's that's what we're all about. We love the sport of volleyball and it's it's the best female sport in my opinion. The best sport for female athletes you know to show how high we jump, how agile we are, the athletes that we are, it just continues to get out there. The word's getting spread that hey you need to see this and hey, by the way, let's see it in a place that's unique and different. So I saw that the mock-ups of the court look amazing. The fans are gonna be right there as well. You know, I'm imagining that's gonna be something that's gonna be really important is to interface with the fans and get to kind of you know interact with them to really create that genuine connection. Is that something that you foresee being a big part of the start of the DC flight? Absolutely, and I think you know, even with the design and feeling right part of the game, that helped that's how the love goes, right? You when you can sit next to the court and see how hard the girls really hit, you know, or feel it, it it really brings a different feeling. than in an arena where you're you know at the top and you know wish you had a magnifying glass to see the players like you get to feel a part of it and then that does carry over to the outside just the people that showed up today and the people that we're meeting that are so happy to have it here. Yesterday we were at a club practice and those kids it's like there's so many kids playing volleyball right here and they get to you know see these girls as idols and I couldn't want anything more for my athletes than to feel the love and give that love back. A huge thank you to Ramont Alassan, Kate Greenberg, and Dietrich Collins Parker. All the foundational pieces at each level, it feels like, of the DC flight. Once again, ⁓ can't thank them enough for allowing us to be there. Super excited for the the team that we've really had. You know, I know DC is not necessarily considered the Northeast, especially from someone who grew up there. I don't consider it part of the Northeast, but that's pretty far north and east for our team or our league to expand. And I think it's great that we have now. more representation moving up towards that part of the country. I agree with the sentiment from everybody that there really seems like there's untapped potential there. ⁓ I I I can't wait for, you know, whether it's activations and convention centers with the the kids, whether it's going all the way to, you know, different clubs, whether it's engaging with the community that's immediately out right outside their door in that great space. I can't wait to see more examples of that. And I I think that ⁓ Kate Greenberg and that team will do an amazing job of that. I think with the support of the the city, they'll do an amazing job with that. And ⁓ looking forward to it. Yeah, me too, man. I need more. Simple as that. It is simple as that. Jenna, one thing that is maybe not simple is our fun topic for the day. And it's ⁓ it was something that I don't know, I got kind of inspired by just sort of listening to some of the interviews. I w I was trying to prep for ⁓ a couple that were were putting in the can here. And I was going back through whether it was our rapid fire questions or it was listening to other podcasts fun questions. And I sort of came up with some of these where I figured, you know, we've got ⁓ an expert, a former former player. Why don't we why don't we put Jen on the hot seat, so to speak, and ask her some some questions. Do you think you're ready for that? All right, all right. They're not rapid fire. You can you you can take some time for these, and I think you'll have some good answers. But I'm not gonna tell you in advance, even though I know you know them in advance, but I'm gonna let our audience hear them and then we'll just go right through it. So if you're ready, I very uniquely and big brain moved called these Jenna random questions. So that's the name of your genius is astounding. I it really is. It frightens me sometimes. Jenna, your first random question is who is the player that you were most starstruck to meet or play against? Ooh. Okay. See, that's fun. So I think back to when I got called up to Team USA and I was just so beyond cheese out of my mind because I didn't think that was what happened to, you know, mid-major y Marquette girls like me. So honestly, I think I geeked out about pretty much anyone that was in Anaheim in 2019. Let's be perfectly honest. ⁓ my God, like Kim Hill just absolutely stuffed my ass on that slide. That was so cool. And then she did it again. And I was like, God, she's so good at volleyball. And then it happened the third time and I started getting concerned. I'm like, okay, you need to not get absolutely roofed every time. But it's Kim Hill. That's so cool, man. Like, that was awesome. ⁓ I think everyone in my age demo also geeked out about Matt Anderson ⁓ for a time. Very handsome gentleman, as we can all very much observe from the external perspective. And again, in the National Team Training Center in Anaheim, people are just People are just there. And I was so honored actually to be to be a part of that, to be chosen and to be considered. So I had to really work on tamping down some of that starstruckness and be cool, man. Be cool. Act like you've been here before. Don't don't make it weird. But just being really proud of myself that I got to play and compete in the same environments as those athletes was absolutely fantastic. ⁓ remember Tori Dixon came and picked me up in her G Wagon to go to practice from From the apartments, and I was just like, ⁓ my god, that's so cool. Because ⁓ so Tori Dixon had played at Minnesota and she's only a little bit older than myself. So I had been watching a lot of her tape all through college in search of emulating players like her. And so I always kind of had her as my north star for a long time, and then we were in the same gym together. Like, ⁓ my god, that's so cool. And then again, you had to lock in to make sure she didn't completely eat you alive on the court. Totally nice person off the court though. ⁓ but like I said, the same energy was with Champions League when I was playing in Germany, some of the big international stars from that time, Boskowitz was cool. ⁓ Goncharova from Russia and Kirakela from Italy. from what little exposure I had had to international volleyball prior to that point, those names really stuck out to me and they ended up in our Champions League pool with ⁓ Stuckart. So what were those specific interactions like? Like, do you remember meeting them after the match? Was it just purely limited to the the high five line afterwards or is it like legit conversations after done stretching or things like that? Unfortunately, I wish I had some fun stories like that, but it was a high five line, some small talk while everyone's waiting to shuffle out of the gym. ⁓ a lot of the times, especially on those road trips, ⁓ it was also during COVID, so we didn't get a ton of interaction. We sort of got shuffled back to the hotel and on our way within our team bubble. Maybe had I been a little older, a little bit braver, a little more willing to forge my own path in foreign countries, ⁓ Turkey, Poland, Russia, for example. Maybe then that could have been a little bit better. But I know at least in Russia, we were not permitted outside of the hotel without an escort. And ⁓ I was very keen to follow that rule. One of the the the answers here might actually be one of those international matches, but the next question for you, Jenna, in our series of Jenna Random Questions is what was your favorite match that you ever played if you had to pick one? Honestly, again, I immediately I It's funny, I think I mentioned this before. The f the further you go in volleyball, the less the matches themselves start to stick out. It becomes the wealth of experiences you had in practice and training with your teammates. And again, I think it comes back to the theme that I was just so amazed to find myself where I found myself in my career. ⁓ I didn't think I'd be playing professional internationally in any stretch of the imagination, nor did I think I'd be playing on four continents throughout that. experience. So I think one of the coolest places we ever played was Woj Poland and Woj Poland and the fans there are absolutely insane. They sold out an arena, packed the house, they did not sit for one point and they did not stop singing what I imagine are Polish football chants. And honestly, I don't speak Polish and I was a little focused on other things at the times, but I genuinely do not think they repeated a single song throughout an entire five set match night. They were constantly going and singing the drums and the and the ⁓ I don't know, those those weird horn things that are very characteristic of European volleyball matches or European sports matches as a whole. And I remember thinking we are a long, long way from Not Kansas, but Wisconsin. ⁓ what am I doing in the middle of Poland, surrounded by thousands of screaming fans? Screaming for the other team, not me, but it was just such a fundamentally rare experience that I was glad I was able to take a moment to reflect on that in the moment. I don't want to contradict your story, but I just felt like this might add to it. You actually probably weren't as far away from Wisconsin as you think. And the way that I say that is because To totally back up what you're saying, when I covered VNL Chicago, the the Poland fans are in the entire arena. I mean, my my credentials over here somewhere from it, but it's insane. It's like you've been transported to to Poland. And I just wanted to add that, like, you know, it it's it's otherworldly there where you're just like, it's incredible. And and on one hand, you're like, ⁓ man, like it's it's too bad that you know, we can't fill this, you know, all with fans cheering for Team USA just with you know different areas that we go to and and you you or just from the whole home match standpoint. On the other hand, you're like, this is what volleyball is supposed to be. And you see how amazing those fans are traveling for their team, showing up for their team. They're into it, like you said, whether you're playing in Chicago or whether you're playing in in ⁓ in Europe. So it's it just wanted to back that up of like, you know, I've seen it on the international stage but also in you in the US as well. Completely. Completely. Actually, I think I was at one of those Hoffman Estates VL stops, but I think that was probably slightly before your tenure. I think I was still in college at that point. But Brazil fans too were were there as well. And you know, they they also travel ⁓ very, very well. ⁓ well that's why I'm excited for that's why I'm excited for this World Cup and these locations. ⁓ granted, Omaha, Nebraska isn't always everyone's cup of tea for a tourist destination, but continuing to platform these games in really accessible American cities, I think continues to underscore North American volleyball is a destination, just like the press release said. Omaha, it's well documented. I'm not joining Jenna and taking that shot. I know you have a lot to offer. You just need people to see it. I'm with you. You know I'm with you. I did a training camp there. I was there. Morgan Hence and I had a great time. We ate a lot of ramen and went to a lot of movies. Omaha, I'm with you. Next question, Jenna. If you get one do over, I'm giving you one do over. I'm I'm the the magic genie who is affording you one volleyball do over for your career. What are you using it for? Okay, I'm gonna give you the total cop out. And that long pause was a deep pause of reflection as I rollodexed fifteen years of my volleyball career. I really don't know if I would change anything because I think things turn out exactly the way they were supposed to. I think there were a lot of decisions I made, particularly surrounding volleyball. And I made the best decision with the information I had at the time. And that that's the way things are supposed to be. And I think they turned out for the better even Even if it might have seemed like it was something you should do again. But no, I think things turned out the way they were supposed to. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ I I don't think I would change anything because it wouldn't have been, you know, the you know, maybe if I had gone to a different club, then I could have gotten recruited to a different school, or maybe I would have transferred from Marquette and went to Wisconsin. maybe, you know, maybe I would have signed a different contract, not in Finland, but in Italy A two, and maybe I could have climbed the ladder further, but that would have had ramifications on my life. And I really like where I'm sitting at now. I like the chair I'm sitting in, and I it's some of those decisions. If we're getting really heavy with advice to the younger athletes, maybe you don't have to take it quite so seriously along the way. That was our next question. Don't skip ahead. Hold on. Okay. I was about to compliment you and say that that was a very grown up answer, but now I'm gonna flip it and not compliment you and say it's almost as grow grown up and old as saying Rolodex, which no one has in the year twenty six. Did I say Rolodex? In the big twenty six. I'm just making it. Why do I say that? It's the right curve I'm sorry. And I'm I just saw what was I watching? I was watching a movie where someone was using a r a Rolodex and I was like, I wonder how many people know what this is. Because I used to have one. Really? Yeah. Wow. So the thing is I was watching Better Call Saul for the first go around and they had a Rolodex. 'Cause like conceptually I know what a Rolodex is, but seeing it on TV, I'm like, ⁓ it's a little flippy thing with the cards. Because I know it's something you flip through and it's archival, but it is. But that was just a a joke to poke fun at you before we move to the next one, which was going to be before you were about to spoil it, what advice what is the best advice you've ever received? And then please turn that into the advice that you would give to the next generation. Best advice, I suppose ⁓ God, best advice. Yeah, no, it's really it's don't take it too seriously. I think there's so much advice out there about how you need to grind and you have to sacrifice and you have to be willing to go and do what other people do not. And that is entirely correct. However, with the caveat, if that messaging finds someone who's already not gonna say tightly wound, but I like to think I was, you know, a pretty high achieving. kind of, you know, especially as a teenager and as a kid, I al I already had that incredibly strong drive to work hard, right? Like that was in place. I didn't need to beat myself with a stick further. I was doing the work and I needed to have a lot more confidence in the work I was doing. I needed to believe in the work that I had already done and the quality of that work instead of desperately racing to do more, do more, do more. If I just go to another practice, if I just take another rep, if I just hit another cart of balls, I I put my faith into how much I was doing and I didn't put enough faith into the quality of what I was doing. Because what I was doing was great quality. And so in that sense, I could have maybe relaxed and enjoyed the journey a little bit more. ⁓ it's like ⁓ it's like the bouquet of wildflowers you saw all in NorCal. Like if you love these flowers so much and you start holding the bouquet so tightly, you're gonna snap the stems and ruin the bouquet and kill the flowers. You have to Really cool analogy. I love Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause like 'cause like I loved volleyball so much and this is so important to me. And maybe I held on a little tightly and broke some stems along the way. So well that's where we've talked to players before. You know, it it's been a theme on this podcast of finding your identity outside of the sport as well, which frankly sometimes helps you find your identity even more in the sport. So that's that's great. And I so I'm assuming that some of some of that might have or or may even if a majority of that came to you naturally that Maybe there might have been some advice along the way that sort of helped put you in the right mindset? See, that's the thing too about advice. To a certain extent, I fundamentally do not believe that you can give advice to another person. I can tell you, Severin, all of these things and what you should do and what the good way to do things is. And maybe your parents have your coaches, friends, mentors, people you look up to. But it's kind of like grooves in a path. Like you can only prepare the path. You can wear the grooves in. So maybe if someone beats it over your head time and time again with the same advice, that's a deeper worn groove and it's easier to sort of jump into that track. So by continuing to give advice, you are making someone more receptive to taking that advice. But ultimately d the decision has to be with them. You have to have that light bulb moment in yourself to be like, this makes sense. Not to say the advice didn't help, right? Because it wore the grooves in that path, but that fundamental light bulb moment still needs to come from you. I hear you. The execution is ultimately up to you. Yeah. Or the true final understanding of that device. Like I would come to these conclusions myself and then, or for example, I wish I had a good example. I'd be like, ⁓ my God, mom, I just figured out. Like I shouldn't keep doing that. And she's ha it I've been telling you to do that for years. Like, what do you mean you just had this revelation? Like, but no, she planted the foundation and she laid the She planted the seeds for me to finally come to the realization myself, even though that myself was a whole sum of the mentors and authority figures I looked up to. Getting real philosophical here on the Set Six podcast. Well, it's a good juxtaposition that ⁓ my final question is probably the least philosophical and least ⁓ introspective question that there may be, but ⁓ inspired by the ⁓ most famous or most starstruck player that you met, just in general, who is the most famous person? That you've ever met. This is ripped right from another podcast I was listening to, but I was just curious what your answer was. Well, that's funny. ⁓ I think we can put this into a vote. But first off, the one that immediately comes to mind and I treasure deeply, deeply in my heart. ⁓ so in the 90s, there was this little band called Nirvana, right? And there's this guy, you know, you might have heard of him. They're a little, they're a little indie. They might be a little tough. I don't know if you've heard of Nirvana. There's this guy that played the drums in Nirvana, you know, and he had a little band himself. ⁓ no, I got to meet Dave Grohl of the Food Fighters twice. And ⁓ he definitely knew my name or someone supplied him my name before each time that I met him. And that was just the absolutely the most fundamentally cool thing I think I've ever done in my entire, entire, entire life. ⁓ not to spin off on too far of a tangent, but ⁓ senior year of college, I was still wrestling with the decision to go pro. ⁓ I was enrolled in a dual bachelor's and masters program in the environmental engineering program. I had walked on to the track team at Marquette and I was still training with volleyball all in this spring semester leading into my fifth season. And frankly, ⁓ I burned out a little bit, or anyone would crash out on graduate coursework and two varsity sports. And I said, you know what? I'm gonna cut class and I'm gonna go to the Food Fighters concert in Madison, Wisconsin. So I take myself there. And I I managed to get front row. I was there early enough in waiting. And I remember ⁓ Dave Grohl comes out on stage and he says, Actually, maybe this is the best advice I ever got, even though it's not really advice. ⁓ he comes out and he's just so grateful that he's able to play this guitar for all of his, you know, tens of thousands of screaming fans. He's like, I'm so grateful that I can play this guitar for you and feed my family. And the Foo Fighters proceed to give an absolutely incredible show. And then I realized I'm like, Who am I to be turning down this incredible opportunity to play volleyball for a living, to pursue volleyball? And I mean, I didn't have a family to feed, but the ability to, you know, do what I love on this stage. Sports is kinda like rock and roll, a little bit. I think it's actually a little bit more interesting than rock and roll because at least our outcome is different every single night. But long story short, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, I love you man, and that was absolutely super cool. Please, let's hang again. I would love that. And the other debate is my mom took me to meet George W. Bush when he was campaigning when I was like a kid. So that photo definitely exists. So George Bush, leader of the free world for a moment, or Dave Grohl, the Who Fighters? I know who I think is cooler. Interesting question of who is more famous. That is actually a great question. Yeah. I don't know what my answer would be there. But that's that's those are some heavy hitters. So that's pretty good. I think that was ⁓ that was a pretty successful first Jenna's random questions. What do you think? Well, I like it. I'll keep yapping about myself all you want, Severin. So keep writing the questions and ⁓ hope our friends don't get sick of it. We'll come up with more eventually. And I loved how you you tied in the the famous person one to volleyball as well. It was great. See, we're not always completely non volleyball with the with the fun segment at the end. But ⁓ either way, I enjoyed that final fun segment. I hope you did as well, too, because I think it was a great way to end another episode of the set six podcast. We are, of course, the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. Please like, comment, share, and subscribe. And you will hope you will continue to listen and ⁓ share your share your the podcast with your friends on whatever podcast platform is your podcast platform of choice. ⁓ please remember to go check out the MLV training essentials, which are live now on the shop. You can catch us on these episodes and our next one, which I'm having complete brain fart on what the next one will be, but I know I've planned it out. But it's the draft, Severus, come on, what do you forget? That's right, of course. We're actually gonna be in location in the studio together to yap about the draft and well, the draft lottery. Don't get too excited, people. It's the draft lottery. But that's what we got coming next. I totally forgot we could even talk about that. See, so many things are just pinging around in my completely empty, cavernous space of head that should probably have a brain in there somewhere. But either way, that that is what's coming next week. We will talk about the draft lottery. We will have even more of an idea of what's coming up for the MLV draft and where your favorite team will be selecting, or at least where they'll be selecting after the lottery. I mean, who knows if they'll stay in that spot. But that is all stuff we can get into next episode. For now, that is gonna do it for us. Remember, these episodes drop every Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern. And I cannot forget to say thank you to producer Mike, to Amy, to Jenna for making this podcast happen. It does not happen without them, and it does not happen without you. Once more, everybody, thank you for listening to the Set 6 podcast. I am Severin Lavenstein. That is Jenna Rosenthal, and we'll see you next time.