Latest / Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast / Episode 027 | Emily Londot Takes Flight

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Episode 027 | Emily Londot Takes Flight · Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast

• Mike Moline: In this episode, we're chatting with the newest member of the DC Flight. She's the pride of Ohio State. It's Emily Londot. Plus, Jenna Rosenthal is with me to break down MLV in the news. So lock in. This is the Set Six Podcast. What's going on? Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Set 6 Podcast. This is the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. I'm your host, Severin Lavinsteen, alongside the one and only Jenna Rosenthal. We're so happy you're here, everybody. Of course, you can find us on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and all of the great ways that you get your podcast, but you already know that because you've listened to our extensive library where we are now on episode 26, which means go listen to episode 25 before this. Where Jenna held down the fort on her own and delivered us into an amazing interview with Natalie Foster, the serve queen of Orlando. That's a great interview. You want to go check that one out before this one. And this one, kind of a fun scenario, Jenna, because we interviewed Emily Lawn Dot a couple weeks ago. You and I, that actually, she had come up in conversation when we were talking about even the episode prior to Natalie's, that would be 24 if my math is correct. About Different potential moves and scenarios. And then lo and behold, after we talk to Emily Lawndot, she gets traded to DC. So big shocker, that's the kind of focal point of this episode here. And so we'll talk to Emily. She's gonna actually chime in with a little bit of a precursor as well to this episode to tell us a little bit more about just her reaction to getting traded. But just to tie up some loose ends and housekeeping, before we get to that, our format is going to be as kind of you come to expect, the news. We'll chat with Emily, and then we'll get out of here. So with that, Jenna. Hi, welcome to episode twenty-six. Hi, Sefran. So good to see you again. Welcome back. Thank you. A little bit of a different background for me here. I'm I'm coming to you all from my brother's apartment in Boston as I wrap up. What was a little bit of a New England fall excursion for me, which has been fun. and then, you know, we'll be back in my home studio for next week and and we'll be looking kind of similar. But I I gotta say, he's got a pretty good setup here. I had the professional mic ready to go. So You know, no no shade. We got the nice like brick exterior behind me here inside, which I've never seen before. So, you know, you didn't come here for the interior decorating opinions, but still I'm not I'm not that mad about it. I was actually like helped a little kind of he was moving across town from different towns in Boston. So I I like the little setup here. It's not bad. I mean Boston in the fall, that's really revolutionary there, buddy. You're really breaking new ground, but I'm so glad to hear it. And I'm more happy yeah about how freaking right we were. About Emily Laundot. I would like to think that you made the more more involved sports analysis there. I simply called it how I see it, that I saw three great opposites in Omaha. You're the one that correctly pegged the DC flight as Emily Laundot's new home for the for season four here kicking off soon. There's there's no right or wrong. I think we we Batman and Robin that whole thing of like you you say the exact scenario and then I say where I think it might, you know, make s some sense, but I think it's funny too, because I I went back and listened to it because I was like, I feel like we really kinda had that one pretty much nailed and then I listened back to it and I like, wow, we were really couching what we sort of figured there as well, which we have to do sometimes. But I think it I honestly genuinely and we'll we'll talk a little bit more about the specifics at the end of our news here coming up, but I genuinely think Jenna that that was a scenario where we kind of if you know us and you know the way that we talk, you sort of have to connect the tea leaves because we're not gonna say I think Emily Londot should go to DC. But then you go back and listen to it and you're like, okay, so they were just talking about her, and then they were talking about teams where it makes sense. So you gotta kind of, you know, we we we lay the groundwork and then you gotta you gotta do do the coloring in if it's the outline of the of the drawing, you know? Exactly. Everybody thinks it's fun when Taylor Taylor Swift leaves Easter eggs. So you gotta give us a little bit of grace in that regard as your official podcast of Major League Volleyball. We're not coming to you with the most outrageous Declarations of certainty here. Well, I I've already made my my math mistakes for this episode. Hopefully the last ones that I'll make, but it's actually we were on episode 27, and then the previous episode with Natalie Foster, episode 26, which our our keen viewers already know because they've clicked on this episode and have for the last two minutes or so have been screaming at us to get it right. But that is effectively what it is. Already episode 27. It's hey, it's just hard to believe. And that's really where we're at on that one. But let let's stick to, you know, keeping the produ the the predictions of the future and less on trying to keep track of the math. Let's move on to to talking about the news. Let's start with what was a really cool inclusion in a piece by Bloomberg, which was including Leah Edmond in really what was an overview of pioneers in women's sports, listed as a volleyball pioneer alongside women's sports icons like Brianna Stewart, Livy Dunn, Nancy Kerrigan, Doris Burke and more, obviously highlighting that she's the league's first signee, the inaugural league MVP, and the first player in league history to reach a thousand career kills. A couple of nice quotes in there as well, but Jenna, to me it's one of those things where it's so great to see MLV and specifically this league and one our star player, one of our star players connecting to the outside sports world a and overall world of women at women's athletics in general. No, I totally agree. Just being a part of these broad strokes conversations as the culture around women's sports continues to change is really important. And yeah, our having our season one MVP, our first signee, included in this really incredible cadre, I think it speaks volumes for the place that volleyball can occupy in the future of both women's sports and sports as a whole. And hey, Bloomberg article is nothing to sniff at. So congratulations to Leah. That's fantastic. yeah, no, I I I think these are cool I I refer to them as like mile markers. When when you look at holistically what what we want this league to be and then you see little things like that, it it is a a l a small little mile marker of how far you've come and you can look back and then also how far you want to keep going with continuing to to see players like Leah recognize along with these greats in women's sports and and I love to kind of have these little little place points and hopefully they continue to grow in the future. No, certainly. And maybe one day we'll be reviewing a Bloomberg article in our own right. And that's one of the future calls that I would love to put my money on. Jenna, let's talk about two number retirements that we saw this week, which is really cool. Marianna Hayden of the Vegas Thrill, first player in UN UNLV program history to have her number, that'd be number seven, retired. And then Maddie Isringhausen of the Atlanta Vibe, her number twenty was retired at Tennessee Tech. She's the first player in their program history to have their number retired. So two two cool honors for two athletes in our league. Yeah, no, that's a great plus up and it's so interesting too. I can't wait to see what Hayden does for the thrill this season. she's new to our league this year, but Maddie Isringhausen has done a really great job in more of that role player spot for the vibe over the last two seasons now. And I think it's always really good and important to remember that even if she is a role player on a professional team. She's her number's just been retired. She's the greatest player volleyball player at Tennessee Tech history. And I think that's that's such an important thing to remember that I mean, you spin it slightly negatively. It's a big fish in a small pond, and then you become a a fish in a you know, in an ocean. And seeing that level continue to increase is just a testament to the professional level that volleyball hasn't necessarily had to have. And enormous congrats to both Maddie and Marianna. It it's really neat when we get a chance to talk about the the mid-major and and the outside of the the typical D1 names that we would can you know talk about in terms of institutions. And then when you get opportunities like this to be reminded that you may not be so familiar with these programs, but the the athletes that we have that have made it to ma major league volleyball that have taken the next step are some of the best who have ever gone through those programs. And just because they maybe aren't playing for a pit or a Florida or wherever, they were amazing stars in their own right at their institutions. And then to have something like to be the first player to ever have their number retired, that's a huge deal. And that that opens the door for whether that's someone that they may talk to in their hometown, whether that's someone that they may talk to through an alumni network years from now who, you know, saw them play one time and was like, I you know, I wanted to go to that school because I maybe you had a different path than mine for myself. It it it paves a new path, I think. And I I just I love to see things like this for the athletes that didn't go to the the traditional to school that you see in the top ten every year. And I think it's I think it's great to be able to write that history and write that legacy. No, I agree. And it's even more impress is impressive the way they've managed to punch their ticket. As if trailblazing at their own program wasn't enough. They've continued to make their mark and their their stock continues to rise as they make their name in the pro leagues. So An incredible accomplishment, and I'm so proud. I'm so proud that they play for our teams and in our league. It's awesome. Jenna, I think it's a good segue too in a really nice article that you highlighted for us this week, which I'd love you to kind of take the lead on here. But it was an NAIA article about sort of professional opportunities in volleyball that can present themselves even outside of the court. And so I don't want to say too much more because I really loved your perspective on this, if you could share it. Yeah, no, definitely. This this article really first caught my eye. NAI to pro pipeline, I believe was the headline. And, you know, that gave me a bit of a pause and a look because, you know, we've yet to see that NAI type star punch her ticket through the ranks and rise above. So I wondered what what this entire what they could have written in a whole article about was. And as I read further, it really illustrated how many opportunities are being made available by having our professional teams operating in communities with strong NAIA volleyball programs. Now these opportunities aren't necessarily on the court. However, these athletes at these NAI NAIA programs have a deep love and a deep, passionate understanding of the volleyball game. And then they're able to take their academic coursework and take it to the next level. this article I believe discusses in in Omaha, the one of the director of volleyball operations is a member of the St. Mary's volleyball team and she continues to use her, you know, what she's learned from her own time in volleyball to continue to facilitate the supernova's operations. And I just think the more volleyball natives that we have working in this industry, the better. It can only really level it's gonna take a lot to raise this product and continue to develop Major League volleyball into the thing we know it can be. And having more volleyball natives on the business side of things is only going to help that. And I thought that was a really great article that discussed the crossover in a lot of our markets with local NAI program. Local NAIA programs. Goodness, that one's tough. Your point is something that really was highlighted by a couple of quotes from Mike Gollick, head coach of the Rise, in that in that article talking about how There are so many opportunities for people beyond the court who know the sport. And I think he I'm gonna paraphrase, but he talks about how the involvement really helps sometimes bridge the gap and and skip steps that sometimes needed to communicate the right messages or or to just, you know, have that right awareness and understanding of the game. And I I like you mentioned with a a couple people in the NAIA space, current athletes who work for the Omaha supernovas, we know interim head coach last year, Thomas Robson, was in the NAIA space before as well. And so I think it's a gr a great highlight and I I think it was a great quote as well by by Coach Golek talking about just having that c knowledge of the sport and and that can be taught at any level. And you know, NAIA is no exception to that when we talk about looking a little bit sometimes outside of those traditional D1 pathways that we're so accustomed to seeing. There are many other pathways and especially into our league as well. I think is a really great thing to highlight and always do that when we can. Yeah. So I'd encourage anyone, it's a very fascinating read. Check it out on NAIA dot org and specifically the teams discussed Omaha, Nebraska with with support from Bellevue and College of Saint Mary. And we've got Cornerstone and Aquinas in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Marion University in Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana, and Paul Quinn for helping out with the Dallas Pulse. So Check it out, and there's a lot of great, there's always more volleyball than you realize, I think. Jenna, let's move on to our final bit of the news, which is going to segue us nicely into our main interview topic and interview guest, that being Emily Londot. And so the official trade this week that that came across our phones on Sunday, which was funny because you were my first text, and I was just like, my god, it happened, which was so cool. but Emily Londot and the eighth pick to DC, the fourth pick to Omaha. This is a great trade. I think it's it's more draft capital for Omaha, who is exactly one of those teams where we said maybe one piece away. And again, bringing in a bunch of you you've got key new pieces for them at Setter, at Libero, at head coach to mix in with obviously Merritt Beeson, with Drunioc, who we talked about being expected to be an integral part of that team. To me, that is a team that you you pick from the college ranks and you pick very carefully who you want at that fourth pick. and again, I think their other one in the in the first round as well or the second round. I stupidly don't have the draft board in front of me right now. But I think that makes so much sense for Omaha. And then DC, yes, absolutely. Get a player like Emily, who we saw time and time again, who you'll hear, and I loved her her talk about this with me with of yeah, it's hard to be cold on the bench. Or to start the season in a little bit of a different role and then go into the the, you know, play more. And then when Merritt comes back on, to have to sit back and have to be okay with taking a different role in the team and and and settling into that. And I just I love being able to hear the players not really sugarcoat and be like, yeah, that's a tough role. And now to see her, where you and I were worried about is she gonna be able to have enough of the role that she has earned, which no no mistake about it, she earned last year. Y now with DC, absolutely. And it's gonna be th those are gonna be some boots to fill because the as we've talked about, that that team is gonna need to to find their scoring some somewhere early on. And I think they're gonna get it in a great trade here for Emily. No, I think Emily is absolutely wonderful. I don't have a I don't I have I don't have enough nice things as that's backwards. I have so many wonderful things to say about her. I got to work with her briefly in the Omaha Supernovas training camp last season and like you said, Severin. She proved it on the court that she can be a scoring option for the supernovas. And so that's a phenomenal ad to any team. But I think Emily plays with a maturity that is so far beyond her years. even as a as a rookie, I think she she took on a really great leadership role at Ohio State, you know, finished up there. And I think she was really able to carry that poise and presence into the supernovas. And I think those qualities have to only be heightened by you know, experiencing the role changes and the role differences that she'll discuss in the interview. And I think that's just an amazing get for the DC flight. And it's exactly like you said, man. Ramont Alassan is gonna need another senior leader by her side. And I think Emily, despite her relatively few years in the pro ranks, can absolutely fill that role. and on top of hitting a really heavy ball from that back pin. Yeah, second all time in most statistics at Ohio State, you're doing something right. And I think too, where I I like we we've seen all around all the dis the discussion about, you know, when you expand by five teams, amazing, but sometimes one of the the difficulties is finding enough people to to fill spots. You and I countered, specifically you, and I think it was a great point, and I remember it in one of our our episodes a couple of weeks back, of this is a great time to see those athletes who just it may not have worked out for whatever reason where they they didn't get to see the court a lot, but that does not mean that they aren't deserving of it and and that they aren't deserving of being able to have that role that allows them to shine in a different role off the bench. And I think Emily's a perfect example of that. And she's one where c like we said candidly, you and I were talking about like if she's the odd one out, that's disappointing and that's a shame. And I think we were looking at it saying, well, merit's merit. Journeyc they they won't sign for nobody or for nothing. So Where does that leave her? And you never want to plan for an injury, but that's a that's a hell of a player to have in case someone goes down. I like this so much better for her. And and I think I like it better for Oma. I think this is a a beautiful, best of both world scenario there. and and I I'm just so excited as well for DC to identify a player like her where I think you look around the rest of the league and you say, That is a player that needs the opportunity that we can provide here. For whatever reason the the ping pong balls and work out our way to be able to get to the top three or the top two or wherever they they felt like they need to be. So you go and identify someone, I think as well, too, I'm about to state the most obvious thing ever, but you know she can play in this league. And you also know that she can deal with the huge air quotes, adversity of having to shift her role and move back to the bench. And again, one of the things I think you'll hopefully the fans will really like from this interview is hearing her talk very specifically about what it's like to have to fill those roles and and and I think it was great to hear things about her mentality where, you know, yes, it was great to prove the doubters wrong and get to the championship match. Yes, it's tough to support merit sometimes, but also know and fully recognize that that is who needs to be taking the spotlight right now. yes, sometimes it's tough to be that player who needs to, you know, squeeze Kiara Reinhardt's the hand and and and calm down the energy a little bit. So all things that I'm teasing for this interview. But yeah, Jenna, just one final thought of I think this is such a great best of both worlds trade scenario. That just gets me so excited because it's exactly the kind of thing that you and I were so excited about talking about those scenarios a couple weeks ago. No, 100%. I mean, you've got me all fired up to watch the interview again. And obviously we're here in podcast land. We're not going to be watching it with you guys, but you're in for a treat. Well you can pretend that we're all following along with you, even though Jen and I have already seen it. So without any further ado, let's get you to our interview, our discussion with Emily Londot on the Set Six podcast. Hi everyone. I did this interview before Omaha traded me to DC. So I just want to come on here and say a quick thank you to Nova's Nation for making my first two pro seasons super memorable. I'm super excited to get out to DC flight and be a part of bringing professional volleyball to the DC area. can't wait to get started. Emily, welcome to the Set Six Podcast. We so appreciate having you on. We're so excited to talk to you. And honestly, you know, we're just I cannot wait for the season. It feels like this offseason has been forever. You probably feel like, gosh, you know, nice to have the off season to rest and decompress. But I'm curious, please, let's start with, you know, are you getting back into training soon? What have you been up to in this this offseason? Please, let's start there. Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm I'm excited to get back into the gym with the girls. I have been in the gym with Ohio State volleyball this offseason. So definitely getting my reps in, watching volleyball. Super fun there. And then just lots of family time, friends. since I'm back home in the Columbus area, I get to see a lot of the people I love. So yeah, it's just been a great off season so far. I love the Ohio State connection as we've talked about before. You know, we we hang around the high street area when when when you're not working, are we enjoying the nice turn I'm assuming the leaves are starting to turn there in Ohio State, so everything good there? Yeah, everything looks beautiful. The trees are a little red on top, still green on the bottom, but Can't wait till they're all different colors. yeah, a little bit of short north restaurant action, but other than that, stay in staying close to family. There we go. I love that. Yeah. My brother graduated from Ohio State and we we would go to Short North. He would take us to High Street. And I think honestly, Columbus has some really underrated food spots, which I love. so that's that's fantastic. Columbus is such a great area too. So glad that you're getting to enjoy that when you're not working. We will talk a little bit more about how Ohio State and your role there coming up in in a second, but I wanna first start with your thoughts on what's gonna be a new look Omaha supernovas next year and you know, new coach, couple of really big important pieces coming in, you know, the in the signing this offseason. What were your your first overall thoughts on what's gonna be a little bit of a new look team next year? I've actually played with a few of the the girls coming in. So Cammy, me and her played together for USA for I think three years growing up. And then Joe, Josie Vonduren, the setter, she played with me on Ohio State for a couple years as well. And then T, I got to play with her on the All-Star game last year. So how do you think this team will be different? And how will it be the same maybe to last year? When I left Omaha, me and Chris actually had a chat and he said I would maybe be playing outside. So I've been training on the outside this off season. So we'll see how that goes. But I did play outside in college for just a little bit. So I'm I'm used to it. It's just getting back into the rhythm of that. That is really cool because honestly, full disclosure, some of our inside conversations, we were looking at the roster and we were like, you know, we're wondering how this is gonna work, you know, with everybody playing one pos, you know, in that same position. And we're like, especially with how well you played last year, we were like, that would be not great if we didn't see you in a key contributing role on the court, which you've more than earned. And to have you to to learn that, that's a little like nice knowledge bomb you dropped on us there, which is awesome. So that's really cool. I'm excited to see that. Is there any like I mean what are the let's start basics, what the differences in how you're preparing for this a little bit of a a shift there? Definitely a lot of server seat reps because I hadn't practiced serve receive since senior year in college and I played five years. So serve receive will be a challenge, but I've always been good ball control. and that's the biggest difference for me. Like I've always been able to hit on the outside and off blocker is gonna be a little bit different, but nothing too crazy. Are you getting a little reps at Ohio State, maybe that, you know, against the the girls there as well to be able to kind of First off, show them who's boss, show you still have it. But also second, to be able to kind of get some early reps before you get into OTAs and things like that. Yeah, definitely. I jump in whenever I can and then usually stay after practice or go in early before and just get my own reps. I want to ask you more about as well, your sort of your your inside perspective of what you saw from some of your teammates. I'm curious, what was it like to watch players like Merritt and Chiara really rise into what maybe some consider stars last year, you know, from your inside perspective, being on the team, getting to see them every day, getting to see them in practice, and then obviously to being so dominant on the playoff run. just just what was it like to watch them last season? I mean, the way that you guys see them rising is like what we see in practice every single day. It's just like them getting the opportunity and like taking advantage of it and being able to see that is incredible. and Obviously Merit being in my position, it was it's hard, but it's also like she supported me when I was doing well. So I turned around and supported her when she was doing well. And she did super amazing in that last final run that we had. And I could not be more proud of her in that time. Yeah. I th it it looked like you all really were such a tight knit unit. And I think that was really exemplified by by Thomas, you know, talk talking to him last year as well and just how I remember getting to talk to you all towards the end of the season and the theme was always, you know, the joy, the joy that everybody was playing with, how everybody was felt like they're playing free. And that that was like consistent through every single one of you that I talked to. And I think that was so apparent to where even, you know, like you said, with with with merit, obviously that's, you know, not always gonna be the easiest situation, but you all just look like you're such a tight and cohesive unit, which was great. And and I think that that probably transitions into my what I'm ho hoping is not too difficult of a question, but when when the season didn't end the way that you all hoped, what was it like in the locker room and how I'm did everybody really come together? How quickly did you and the team get over the sting of that championship loss and then flip the switch to the next season? I mean, every loss is tough, you know, but we just have so much love for each other and we went out there and gave it our best shot and That final run that we went on even before playoffs, it was an incredible thing to turn around a season and in that way. So I think we just had so much love after that loss and obviously people going different directions. Like that was our last time little like together. so just taking that last time and really really taking it in. And yeah, I mean, obviously it still hurts for me. So I don't know if I've moved on f fully, but it's such as life. It's a it's a game of errors. You someone's gotta lose and that day we were the we were the people who lost. I don't want to press on the bruise too much, but what I do wanna ask is is it I think that's I I'm I'm very curious to hear more about that because I think a lot of the players that I've talked to, really all of them, it's you know, hey, you'll you'll flip the switch a and and eventually you just kinda have to to move on and I wanna know more about, you know Like are you carrying that into this next season of of like, you know, starting the revenge tour and like how you're using it to to motivate you? Because I just think that's a fa it's fascinating to dive into the mentality from your perspective of where you know, I love that. I we haven't I haven't moved on. I'm still mad, I'm still pissed, and I still wanna go out there and and sort of, you know, avenge that. And so can you tell me a little bit more about how you might carry that mentality into next season? Yeah, I think it's hard to have like revenge tour when so many teams are different, so many people are different. but going into it and like having that enemy with the team, not necessarily with people on the team. It's like, yeah, we want to go be indie. Yeah, we want to go be Dallas, but but they're different people. So it's like, just go out there and win the game and and it'll be great. but yeah, I don't know. I wouldn't necessarily call it a rent a revenge tour, but it's just going out there and like proving what Omaha volleyball is about. Totally. And I what I also liked is I I talked to Kiara recently as well and she I asked this question and she she admitted with a definite yes. so I'll ask you the same one. Was there any satisfaction among the teams sort of proving the doubters wrong, proving the people who probably thought middle of the season, no way this team makes the championship. Gotta be a little bit of a like, yeah, we we we showed all the people who didn't believe in us. Yeah, we we had to prove what we were all about. Like we We knew we were amazing because of how we practice every day, what work we put in, and it's just all about what happens on that one day and that doesn't define us. So we went on a few losing streaks, but just turning it around, we can go on a few winning streaks and it's like it does not define you when you lose a game. Emily, I wanna kind of zoom out and and ask a l a couple like questions about the league overall before we zoom back in and talk about you specifically as a player, but Just you I'm assuming you've probably kept tabs on the league, you know, throughout this off season and five expansion teams adding conferences. Just want to get your general thoughts on league expansion, off season moves, and really what what I guess we might consider the state of the league right now from your perspective. Yeah, I think it's awesome. Like adding five new teams and making conferences is is a step in the right direction. Like five new teams means what, eighteen times Five is I don't know what it is, but that's that many more people who get to come back to the US and play volleyball in front of either their own fans or foreign players coming in and like showing us what their game is all about. I think that's incredible. And like I think we're gonna see volleyball grow even further. Especially to those new cities like DC. I'm super excited to to see what they're about and like go there hopefully and Do that, but yeah, I think it's just a testament to like how much growth volleyball and the MLV like are going through. Yeah, DC was super cool. I mean, look, you you all are the gold standard, which we'll talk about, but like DC, I I was just there a couple weeks ago and that being on the on the water was super cool. I think for any doubters about the anthem, like give it a chance. Like the mock-up looks really cool. It looks like so fan involved, like which is gonna be so close to the court that you I mean, now you all might end up in people's laps if you're diving out to you know for ball. So maybe that won't be the greatest thing. But hey, front row seat for everybody else. Popcorn's gonna be going everywhere. But no, I I I'm ex I'm excited for all of the teams as well. But D C I think I think it has a chance to be a really unique one of a kind venue that, you know, you all know all about unique venues. So I'm surprised I I I'm looking forward to how that will be received as well. And when you all first go in there, the the first thoughts, I'm definitely going be asking everybody about that too. That's gonna be great. Yeah, I'm super excited. so with that, you know, we just talked about Omaha being a first class organization. Do you have any advice for the new teams on How to emulate the Nova's experience. Now, with the huge caveat that not everywhere can be Omaha, and Omaha is unique and one of a kind, but maybe little things that can be taken from the experience that you are well versed in from playing with them that, hey, if this is a little thing that they can take to really build up their organization from the ground up, this would be a great thing to add. I think one thing that Omaha does really well is like they get us into the community a lot. So like we'll go to libraries and read books. We'll go to lots of different events and I think just having that exposure, like, yes, Nebraska is a different breed of fans. Like they'll always be there. But I think creating that personal connection with us, with the fans, I think is a a big step in like bringing people into games, all of that stuff and have having that support. So I think if if more teams could do that, I think some teams do, but like Market it, like show it on social media because people also want to see us with fans and like interacting with the with the little kids and all of that stuff. So if if I had one piece of advice, I'd say more of that. and it shows our human side, like we're not just athletes, we're we can have conversations with the people where we live and that kind of stuff. So I would definitely recommend that. I think it's a great piece that I've always loved. I think I I've talked about this before, but like the simultaneous building you all up as stars and and you know, fixtures of of the sporting community while also giving you all the chance to meet everybody face to face and be the genuine, amazing people that you are away from the court so that you know, even if it's little girls coming in who idolize you, they can have the easy ability to be able to talk to you all as people and realize as as much as I idolize this athlete. They are also the nicest, coolest, most caring human as well, which goes for p all of you. Yeah. And even like recognizing faces in our autograph line, I think that's so special. Like I saw you at that one event that we went to. I'm so happy you're here. Those little moments of connection go a long way. Emily, I'm gonna paint a a hypothetical scenario for you if you indulge me here, but let's say you're talking to one of our new international signings, maybe one the ones you you know, you haven't known before. who and they asked what what's it like to play in this league? How would you how would you go about describing it? I mean, I'd say it's a battle every night. you know, we play teams multiple times. So we may play one team at the beginning of the year and they might be a completely different team in a month and a half. But it's always a a fun battle. each new city we go to is super amazing and seeing those fans is cool. But yeah, going in, we gotta be competitive and we gotta put in the work during the week against any any opponent on the other side. I do wanna go back to what I said I would do, which is zoom back in to talking about you as as an individual and as a player. And, you know, I I've we talked earlier too about like your role, which I I think is so hard to quantify and just, you know, putting it down into just one role because I think you were, as I said before, such a consistent presence and you were had such a great ability to step in when needed and and step up when needed. but if we can still use that that term your role to to frame this next question, you know, how did you settle into it last season and specifically how did it change once Thomas took over and started leading the team in his own unique way? My role going in was just be me and see what happens. I think for that first month where we're we're training, everyone's competing, everyone's getting to know each other. So it might not be great at all times, but like s going in and creating those connections so you can have them when we actually start games. I think I don't think no, merit started for for the beginning of the year. So at that point my role was supporting her and making her better in practice. Like making everyone better in practice, trying my best so I can either earn that spot or make sure that whoever's on that court is gonna win the game. And I think once I finally got an opportunity and became a starter, which is great, my role changed a little. So I was trying to be a point scorer and calm the court down a little bit. but then we switched again and I had to be that supporter again and work my butt off in practice. So I was supporting the team who was on the court, the six that were on the court and and being ready to go in at any point. And that's a that's a difficult job. Like I'll be the first to to say like that job is hard. You have to stay ready standing there, ice cold. Like I have to jump around, do some squads, do some lunges. Like that is that's one of the hardest things, but having that moment to go in and like prove in three rotations what I can do, I'm gonna do that. And so I guess I don't know if that answers your question, but like my my role changed every couple of weeks and there's nothing I could do about it because it's just what was like in front of me at that point and I had to choose to do it with joy and support and with everything that I had. So I think going into it with those things, whatever your role is, is gonna be a good thing. It answers it perfectly. Can you expand on what it means to calm the court down, like you just said there? I think people do it differently. And the way that I calm the court down could be different than the way someone else calms the court down. Like some people, I get me I an example is me and Kiara, when we're at the net together, like we'll hold hands and like squeeze. And so that moment is us calming each other down. so maybe it's little moments like that and not necessarily all six of us calming down as one. It's like Little moments with Chiara, little moments with Allison, little moments with Nora. And then overall that just settles the whole team. Do you really have to have to have a feel of when you have to calm the court down versus maybe when you need to hype the court up? And is that someone else's role? Is it like your role is to calm down Chiara or you know, to you know, talk to Allison or and and it's someone else's to hype everybody up if the energy isn't quite there? I feel like you find that out as you figure out your new team. the way that I hype the court up is like I gotta get that kill. Like I'm gonna kill the ball and then we're gonna celebrate and we're gonna hype it up. but like other people can do it with just their presence. And I I wouldn't say I'm one of those people. I would say I'm a playmaker that hypers people up. But some people walk on that court and like their ability to just be aggressive on defense, on offense, whatever it is they do. Is the way they hype the court. I would say, you know, if you'll allow me to kind of talk you up a little bit, I think that y you were one of the best in the whole league at being able to do what you just said was so tough of like be ice cold and then come in and be a spark. And I th I'm just fascinated by the mentality of that. Like like you said, it's hard, it's difficult. How do you get into that right mentality to where you were able to do it time and time again? And I feel like it's one of the the most difficult things to do consistently well. And you managed to find a way to do that. In my college days, I wasn't on the bench a lot. So I didn't have that perspective of like what it felt like to be on that side. And going into year one, I was on it a little bit more. So I had to figure out how to do that, how to stay ready and not be sad in my role. but I think the people on the on the team helped let me see like she's doing great out there and you are also amazing. Like her being out there doesn't mean anything negative on me. Like I put in the work in practice too. And so like just having that mentality of like whenever I get my opportunity, I'm gonna go out there and give it everything I have. I'm not gonna tip it because that's not that's not my job. I'm gonna get my feet there and I'm gonna hit that ball. And then I'll come back out and I'll have to do it again. And I think it's just cool, a cool perspective to have. And it definitely comes with practice of like the more it happens, the b easier it gets to like mentally go in and be ready to try my hardest or like not be afraid to make that mistake is also a big part of it. Is like maybe I'm going in when we're down. And Yes, we need points, but I can't be afraid to make the gap even bigger by making a mistake. Like it's just the the confidence in your own abilities, I guess, and like doing it every day in practice and then translating it to the game. And yeah, just having that confidence and perspective of like I'm me and I'm gonna go in and do my thing. Have you imparted any of that wisdom to your your your athletes at Ohio State? I try. They it's like if you if you don't have that perspective, it's hard to like it's kind of like a canon event, you know, those things that like everyone's gotta go through. Yeah. And like you don't get it until you get it. And like I can try to help lead the way and like explain it to them, but until they wanna understand it, like it's not gonna get through their head. But but I try to I try my best to tell them my experiences and then like connect that to theirs. Yeah, I mean, college kids, especially at this point, you c you can't tell them anything. And then, you know, they'll remember it maybe, you know, five years from now or something like, yeah, you know, Emily was really right there on that. Exactly. How gratifying was it to be an all star last year with everything that we've talked about, you know, and and the confidence I can hear from you on on your ability to be able to to do what you did, and then does it almost feel like, Yeah, I I earned that and you're you're darn right I'm an all star. I appreciate that. But yeah, I mean, I don't know if I was necessarily expecting it because I started the first I don't know what it was, six to eight games not playing much, getting a few swings here and there, but then I went on that a big run and luckily it was before the all-star match and it just happened to be at the right time. but yeah, I was I was so honored to l to see that my work had been seen by others and It's always great to be recognized like that. Yeah, did don't did not expect it, but was super happy and proud of the the work I had put in to get to that point and be recognized. I I'm always interested to learn a more about the connection between setters and hitters. And I'm curious what kind of traits you like in a setter. Not speaking specifically about Cami or or anybody that was setting last year, but just in general. broad broader scale. What do you like? What do you look for? What really fits your game well? I like a vocal setter, like someone who's who's gonna tell me what's what it is and that's what it is, because they're the one of the big leaders on the court and they run the show on the offense. And so I I like them to be vocal, but not all of them are, but I prefer a louder presence. and someone who's gonna Be willing to tell me when it's my fault. Like if if they put up a good ball and I mess it up, you you tell me it's my problem and I gotta figure it out. but in the same way, like if I need it better, they need to be able to take it that maybe I need it a different way or whatever. But someone with that open communication, but it's like direct and nobody holds it against anyone because we're here to win and that's what it's all about. But yeah, vocal, direct. And aggressive, I'd say, are three big words that I would I would say. I think I've told this story before. I'm sure you've had something similar too, but I was talking to a setter once, which we'll shall rename she she will remain nameless, but it was off you know, off the record and she was like, Look, I'm a pro. We're all pros. If I mess up, you know, it's on me. I'll tell you it's on me. But if you try to tell me that my set was my fault and it wasn't It's like I'm gonna give you a stink eye. And I was laughing so hard the way that they they were talking about it. It was so funny. Yeah. It's nice to know that like sometimes everybody just wants it to be, you know, direct. And you tell me when I mess up, I'll tell you when you mess up, and we're all pros and we'll all go home at the end of the day with like nothing happened. But it was the delivery, especially too, was always my favorite part. That's just weird. But I'm sure there was nothing like that. No stink eyes during the 2019 U19 World Championship and the 2019 U19 Norseka championship. Which I believe is where you played with Cami. And what was that experience like? How did it help you as a player? and how did that international experience really broaden your game if it did? Mm-hmm. I mean, though being with like the twelve best athletes at that point when we were what, 17 years old, maybe not even that old, I think just opens your eyes to a new world of like, wow, like I can do this and I can do big things. one of my club coaches always said dream big and like at that point I was like, This is dreaming big and also I can dream bigger. And like that was when I was really like, I can play pro, I can do all these things. but yeah, going overseas and playing I think it was Honduras and Egypt, incredible. seeing different types of games with different countries was just you learn so much and having a coaching staff like Jim Stone, who sadly recently passed away. he he was incredible and he coached at Ohio State as well. So having that connection was cool. And then actually the the world in Egypt was where I met J Fo, Jen Flynn Oldenberg for the first time, who then later became my college coach. So learning from her and and Jim and a few of the other coaches was is just an incredible opportunity. And Going through those moments and also like trying to learn the volleyball, but also realizing, wow, like we're in Egypt, we're playing volleyball and like this is awesome. And like taking that moment in and having the perspective of like not everyone gets to do this. So like let's take advantage of this opportunity and and really make the most of it. It's a perfect transition with the Ohio State connections to my next question, which was why was Ohio State the right spot for you? And and what about their really prepared you to be a pro. And before you answer that, I need to talk you up for context for people who aren't familiar with your career there. Second in career kills, second in career points, fifth in career block assists, seventh in career total blocks, and tenth in career digs, as for the entire Ohio State program history books. So with that context, na now please let me know why Ohio State was the best spot for you. I think always growing up I I like I'm a I'm a homebody all the way and like I love family time and all of that. but I also wanted to look elsewhere to see like to make sure that it was my my home. And so I looked at some other schools and drove a long way to go to another school. And I was like at that point, I was like, I don't think I can go this far from home. And I'll be the first to admit like I I am a homebody, so I love my parents, love my family. But so that was one aspect. Also the culture at Ohio State when I visited, I had lots of visits. Obviously recruiting was different when we were getting recruited. I was like fourteen years old, making one of the biggest decisions ever, which is insane. But I'm glad they changed the rules. yeah, the fourteen year old who went on visits, like apparently loved what she saw. And I'm just happy that I made the right choice in getting here. Creating a new culture with J Fo and all of the girls on the team that I I grew up watching. yeah, I just knew there was no no better place for me to be and which solidified me staying for my fifth year there as well. I think there was no other program that I was gonna go into and like feel the same way. 'cause Ohio stays home and it and it always will be. Isn't it crazy how some of the choices and decisions you make as a teenager have such an impact on like the rest of your life? I know that's like such a big, like broad question, but it's not even a question, it's a statement. But I I mean like I don't even remember what I was doing at fourteen. I think it was in like what are you at that age? Like seventh grade, eighth grade? That's crazy. I can't even imagine. Like and then clearly you were a very astute decision maker at fourteen because that worked out perfectly for you. Yeah, I guess. I mean I cried a lot 'cause That's a big decision to put on a fourteen year old or eighth grader and yeah. But luckily I had my parents there at Sportby and and knew it was the right call. Emily, can you tell me why you think Jen once said of you, quote, You're a presence, you just want to be around. that's so sweet. I don't know. I think I I have no like shame in being myself. Like I'm I'm wild, I'm funny, I'm singing all the time, like doing random stuff that people are like, what is she doing? But then it's like a I mean, I guess people enjoy being around it. So I'd I'd think that. But then I also can flip that switch and become serious and like game mode and competitive. so I think hopefully those things are what she meant. And then I mean, she's the one who helped me figure out how to have that competitive and serious and then also bring in the fun and bring in the joy and jokes all at the same time, like during the game. so I think that's something that I am happy that she taught me. was just to have fun while being competitive and that's when I play my best is when I'm having fun. so just yeah, I think those I think that's what she would think. I can just hear, you know, how much, you know, love and respect you have for her and and and what she's done. For you, but also, you know, just how great of a coach she was or is. How wha what makes her different? What makes her unique? You just kinda told me a little bit there, but you know, more of of like what sets her apart and what her what really exemplifies her unique style. Mm-hmm. I think with any coach, you have to adjust a little bit a little bit, like year to year with whatever athletes you have. But I think like she stayed consistent with the fact that she did preach having fun. while also being competitive and like we were laughing at practices while also putting in the work and like sweating and doing all these hard drills, but also making it fun, all of that. And I think that's something she kept consistent. And I think that's something she why she's such a great coach is creating that space where people can be themselves with no shame and using everyone's unique like not abilities, but like characteristics and like highlighting those within the team. And like she helps everyone be them their best selves. and then also like she was a badass on the court when she was in college. Like she was a setter. She was a outside, like she can she could do it all. And I think that creates some sort of respect going into it. Like if you don't even know her, like you have to respect her because of what she's done. but yeah. I she's just incredible and she would go out there and do the drill better than us. And I th that's like we have to go out there and do it better than her now. So we gotta we gotta work on this because she could just be cold, step in and dish and out a system set to the to the target and we could barely get whatever 10 in like one 10 minute session. But yeah, I think just her ability to like nonchalantly do that and then walk away and be like, All right, your turn. what just created like a good environment to be in and yeah, that's a few things that make her super special. Just the ultimate mic drop when coaches can just come into the drill and just, you know, boom, that's how it's done. That's sick. And for any position. That's awesome. Mm-hmm. Foo first, I mean, I can't forget, you gotta tell me what what what kind of songs are being sang along to or or you know, hummed along to by you. You know, what what's what's put place me in the genre or the favorite artist that we're talking about here? Literally anything. Like Most I I mostly listen to country, but I've been listening to Cienna Spiro a lot lately and she like has those songs that you like belt out. I I be I belt in the car and then I like tone it down a little bit when I go into practice. Like I'll still be myself even as a like a coach for these girls. Like we'll sing together and like have that fun space. but yeah, a lot of a lot of country, Some pop, I guess. Whatever whatever's on when I leave the car is what's is what I'm singing for the rest of the day. Hey, the versatility is key. Versatility is key. You know, that's how you relate to the new pl to the you know the incoming freshman as well. It's it's perfect. Yeah, definitely. Emily, as we we get to the the back half of our our talk here. I got I gotta get personal. And so I gotta ask, how did your mom, Laurie, who played at volleyball at Louisville and was an all-American there, the first all American, I believe. and your sisters, Rachel and Allison, how did they influence your volleyball career growing up? Yeah, I mean, my mom I think was coaching. I can't remember when she like took a break, but I think she was coaching while she was pregnant with me. And then I came out and she was still coaching. And so I've been in the gym my whole life. she moved to high school when I was elementary age, maybe. So after el elementary school I would I would come down the hill and I would watch practice. And once I got to a certain age, I would jump in and like practice with them because what else was I gonna do? So I think just having that opportunity where she was in the gym with these amazing athletes, and like having that exposure to strong women, my mother and the team, which my sisters were. probably on the team at that point. it's just so cool to like have that. And then I would always be dragged to like club tournaments and like that kind of stuff. So like I'm always been like a you w the more volleyball you watch, I think the better you'll not better you'll be, but like the more you'll know, the more you see, the more you can do, so that kind of stuff. And like just being able to watch them. And then they both all of them went on to Rachel and Allison went on to college and like supporting them while I was still in high school. And then they could support me when I was in college after they graduated. Like it w it's just a great like family dynamic of like support, like pure support of whatever we're doing. It's funny. One of my parents' favorite things to tell people is like when I was little, I wouldn't ask what's for dinner. I would ask, what concession stand are we going to tonight? Cause we would always be on the run, whether that be volleyball. Me and my sisters played basketball, softball growing up. So like we were always on the move. So they always like to ask, What concession stand are we going to? Was my thing, I guess. Go to concession stand food. And if you have a favorite concession stand. And it'll be okay if you don't say Ohio State's many concession stands. But if that is, you know, you gotta tell me. I don't know if I don't know what it was when I was younger, but right now I love a good soft pretzel with cheese. Good answer. Good answer. Yeah. That's my main go-to. If I'm looking for something else, maybe a hot dog, a a Coke or a Pepsi, some sort of candy bar, Hershey's or Snickers. something simple like that. But yeah. That's a that's a balanced concession stand meal. It's perfect. Yeah, exactly. I don't know my favorite concession stand. Ohio State does have some really good soft pretzels. So if you're ever in town, come get one. 100%. But yeah, I would say the soft pretzels for my house state are good. I mean i it it is not trivial to rank concession stands because especially out here, like when I go, you know, to a Dodgers game or I'm going to a you know a ducks game, hey, I'm gonna be ranking my stadium experience based on how good these concession stands are. The Dodgers, they have like the gourmet food and all that stuff, which is like if it's not as good as the Dodger dog, I'm gonna, I'm gonna drop them down a tier. So you know, always got to keep everybody, you know, humble and on their toes because your concession stand meal, you that soft pretzel If you're trying to get all fancy with the concession stand stuff and it's not as good as just my soft pretzel, you I'm gonna you're getting minus stars, you know? That Yelp review is gonna be bad. Yeah, my s my roommate and friend actually in college, she on the volleyball team, she would go and get popcorn at every single Big Ten arena and she had she probably still has the rankings in her notes app. So I think Minnesota was up there. Their popcorn is unmatched. But interesting. Interesting. Now I I wish we could have gotten her to come with us to Wrigley and then tell us how that that experience would have been too. And like, does that count with the you know like being the big ten? So that that's interesting. That's really cool. We'll have to get those notes at rankings as well. Yeah. I did want to ask too, and I believe I saw it was all Ohio honors in both volleyball and basketball. And I believe you were you were coached by your mom at one point as well throughout your your high school days, if I have that right. But just the two sport athlete for for you know in that stage, like very impressive. And how did you juggle that? Yeah, it was it was a lot. And yes, my mother did coach me all four years in high school. I played with my middle sister Allison. She was a senior when I was a freshman, so we got to play together. I played varsity. but yeah, that it was a lot. The schedule was really demanding. And my once basketball season came around, I was also playing club volleyball. So my club volleyball coach had to be a little more flexible than he wanted to. But I was like, Hey, I'm playing basketball. So if you want me to play here, then we're gonna have to figure something out. And he was he was totally down with it. But yeah, once I committed for college, since that was like eighth grade summer, I think going into freshman year, there was a less of a pressure for me to really focus on volleyball and like make sure I had a plan. So it was just about me doing what I love and being with friends and staying in shape, working those different muscles. I I love multi sport athletes. Like I'm I think it's super important to play multiple sports growing up. and it did teach me a lot. It taught me t time management, like going from school from to basketball practice, go home for twenty minutes. My mom had dinner ready when I got home, ate dinner, changed, left again and wasn't home until ten thirty that night. And so that was multiple days per week, I think, growing up during that high school time and Time management is super important in college. So I think that taught me that. and I'm still teaching people that at Ohio State if they want to listen. but yeah, I think it taught me a lot and it made me stronger. And yeah, I I'm all for the multi sport. Does one of the things that it teaches you is it like kind of how to take care of your body from an earlier age as well? Cause I'm just sitting here thinking, my gosh, your poor knees doing all that. But yeah, I mean, I would imagine that, you know, in order to stay. ready and ab and able to do that, that you'd have to really start taking care of your body even in high school. Yeah. I think at some point my body like adapted to all of that work. because then for those like two to three day tournaments for club volleyball, like I was thriving on day three because of how well my body was in shape from basketball, from running, from club volleyball practice. Like at some point it it adapted, but There were points where maybe I had a really tough basketball practice where we did lots of sprints or whatever. And I would go to club practice and I'd say, like, hey, like basketball was hard today. Maybe I don't take as many jumps to prepare for the weekend or whatever. Like it was advocating for myself in the way that if I don't ease up on something, then then you're not gonna have me for a month, you know. Yeah, that's you gotta tell the you gotta remind the kids like, hey, it was harder in my day. We were doing sprints every day, you know, we were doing all that stuff. They they they go easy on easy on you these days. That's that's great. Emily, we are gonna close out our chat here like we do you know a lot on this on this show, which is a little bit of a rapid fire question bank. And so this is for anybody who maybe, you know, doesn't know you as well or maybe is turning turning this on for the first time, being like, I really like her. I really like her personality, getting to know about her. And these are a lot, you know, kind of off the court away, you know, just Getting to know more about you. So don't think about them too hard, but it's a nice fun little way to close out the show. Sound good? Sounds good. All right, we're gonna launch into it here. So, Emily, what is the last TV show or movie that you watched? Or if you're more of a book person, the last book that you read? I just watched the Da Vinci Code with my boyfriend the other day. Insane movie. I loved it. What is your current hobby? Volleyball, always. If I'm not doing or coaching volleyball, I'm watching TV. I I'm gonna hope that pottery gets thrown in there as well, too. You know, even if you even if you go solo, I think you know, when we'll just you know, post it to the stories, let's see how the progress goes. That'd be great. Yeah. I'll tag you. Perfect. Perfect. Emily, what is your pet peeve? Ooh. Bad drivers. Like I have major road rage. Great answer. w what is your last day on Earth, Meal? We're gonna have a big spread. We're gonna have some pasta with red sauce, but not the marinara, like kinda like a vodka sauce with chicken on that, a burger with bacon. what's a good side? I love a good Caesar salad, simple, nicely dressed, with a nice crispy McDonald's Coke. And dessert. Hmm. An Oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen. This is very thought out. I love that. It's a very large spread. Also, that was just off the off the top of the dome because that's a great off the dome meal. I love that. That was very, very thorough. Very thought out. W would McDonald's be mad that you're going to Dairy Queen for the blizzard? I don't know. Maybe, but they're better, so I would agree. Emily, who would you want to play you in the movie of your life? Ooh. Okay, I'm watching Dance with the Stars right now and I love Riley Arnold. Like she may not be able to play volleyball. I don't know if she can. I haven't looked that far. But she would be really cool to like be in that presence because I think she also has that like goofy side. Cause I do watch her TikToks and she's she's super lighthearted and goofy. So maybe she'd be a good answer. She's not that tall, but we'll work with. she'd have to wear the like the Tom Cruise shoes that give like the false perspective of height. That'd be that'd be perfect. Definitely. Emily, what is the fictional world that you wish you could live in? I loved the book Divergent Growing Up. And so like I think I would be divergent. I think I'm all of the things. so I would live in that world. But like minus the the killing and all the bad stuff. 'Cause we might have to a similar world. Very similar to I think it was Tori Dilfer Stringer who said the hunger games. So but she's like minus all of that. She's like if we can have like a Yeah, exactly. Emily, what would you be doing if you were not a volleyball player? People are gonna hate this answer, but I would be coaching volleyball. and if I wouldn't be able to be in the volleyball world, I'd find a way to be in sports probably. just around sports, around athletes, around hardworking people, that kind of stuff. And the final question for you, Emily, what makes you happy? So many things. My family, my friends, volleyball, winning, Ohio, Nebraska, mostly Omaha. but yeah, all of those things. Well, Emily, what makes us happy is being able to chat with you here on the Set Six podcast. And we really appreciate your time. Thank you for your stories, your insight. Thank you for, you know, sharing, you know, all about your career, but also, you know, just sharing in our excitement for next season. We cannot wait To see you back on the court. We can't wait to see the team back on the court. and you know, until then, we we've been very grateful to be able to talk to you on this podcast. We appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for having me. Awesome stuff. As always, huge thank you to Emily. Big thank you to the Omaha supernovas. Thank you to the DC Flight. I just really appreciate being able to talk to Emily and to bump this up into being timely in a way that we weren't honestly expecting with the trade coming down. But Jenna, a couple things that stood out to me, obviously I I talked about before. just how candid we she was about kind of her her mentality throughout the season. Another one that I noticed and I wonder if our listeners noticed going through about like the twelve minute mark, she mentions DC. And specifically we're talking about like the the teams, you know, are you excited for it to go to different places with the expansion teams like, yeah, especially DC. And I'm like, okay. We're we're were there some talks going on that that we weren't knowing about at that time. Again, this being recorded a couple of weeks ago. I just, you know, of of all the teams to bring up as you're excited to go to, I wonder why the DC Flight w was in there. Exactly. The foreshadowing I think is a little bit on the nose. I think if I was reading this as a novel and she weirdly name dropped the D C Flight, that'd be foreshadowing one hundred percent. So I think there might have been some rumblings earlier than even we let on, but those details are usually kept pretty, pretty close to the chest. So No, absolutely. Any other any other details from chatting with Emily, from having Emily as as the focus of our episode this week that that caught your eye that you wanted to mention? I mean, I don't know, not necessarily Emily specifically, but again, this is such a wonderful testament and I think it's a really important reminder to everyone that this is professional sports, right? The margins of difference between one athlete and the next, between a starter and a bench player, we're we're talking We're talking about our whole selection of athletes are the top one percent of volleyball players. So the differences between them become absolute fractions of a percent, right? Why why it's one player or over another. And so this trade is a perfect example of though Emily may have ended the season as a bench player, there's no doubt that she's immediately going to make an impact on the D C flight just because she might have been a fraction of a percent or Merit might have been a fraction of a percent better in the Omaha configuration. That's absolutely no indication of the lack of quality in Emily Londa. And I think we'll be able to see that on full display. And I think she's ex I think she's excited about it, especially with the foreshadowing. I think she knew and I think she's gonna be really pumped about her new her new team for the season. Yeah, you've you've sparked two thoughts for me on on that. One is, you know, I think it was to your point on that, I thought it was so interesting to hear as well, which is is interesting in the context of what we now know that Chris McGowan had talked to her about switching positions and they w they were already trying to plan to have her be a part of the team either way because they recognize that. And I don't mean be part of the team, I mean be a a a key contributing factor on the court. so that was that was the first jumping off point I had. The second one is I think you you saw this firsthand. I think it was in Atlanta when when there were so many future stars of this league being on that team at once and just not enough not enough either not enough of the ball to go around or not enough time on the court to be able to be had. But where to exactly your point, you have literal future stars in this league just, you know, hanging out waiting for their chance. And just because it didn't come in that one year on that one team, you know, now now you look around at at players as we mentioned, Merit, at like like Mia and like Marley and and just they they all happen to be there at once crossing paths. And I'm I cannot wait to see this year who it might be where we last year were wondering if they would get a little bit of a different shot on a different team in a different role and who is really r able to take the spotlight and shine with it. entirely. I mean, I'm gonna bring it back and talk about the Brewers again. Sorry, everybody. I'm only a little excited in case you couldn't tell. so Jake Bowers for the Milwaukee Brewers nearly walked away from professional baseball at the end of the 2024 season, and now he's the absolute hero of the month of Milwaukee, taking absolutely monstrous at-bats. 11 12 pitch count at-bats, and in one case taking a 12-pitch count walk. To send the runner home and most recently in the Dodgers series, outlasting an 11 pitch count at bat and absolutely rocketing a home run to put the Brewers up. So long story short, the man almost walked away from professional baseball in 2024 and simply came back for the health insurance. And look at him now, simply two short years later. I think it's so easy to focus on the short term stories of an athlete and maybe a season that doesn't quite work or, you know, it's not their season. If people say that seasons in life and I think seasons in sport are very much the same thing. We don't know who's gonna come out and completely surprise us this season. And that has me so completely stoked for the start of games. That's only hmm, what? A little over two months away. I still think it's too far, but it's ti it's time to get excited. It is now the appropriate time to start getting really hyped, really excited, and really talk about who we think we're gonna see do something really amazing this year. I don't think I can say it any better myself and I I think it's time to transition towards the end of the show and and wrap up first with our fun topic, which is again, Jenna, gonna have not much to do with with the sport of volleyball, but to continue the trend of talking about other sports just for a little bit. But only because you and I happened to go to two g two games in NFL week six. So I figured that could be a fun opportunity for us to talk about kind of like separately sort of related plans that we had away from this podcast that ended up kind of intersecting both with our teams winning a and honestly Wisconsin having a a a hell of a run over where you are right now. But I just thought that ended up being interesting. I saw wait, you know, it's like the what is it the Umbrella Academy meme where it's like the two cars passing by and you're like the point out of the window of like, wait, you're going that way too. So wait, that's from Umbrella Academy? gosh. It is. See there you go. I'm d I just exist to break down where where the meme's origin is from. But how was your experience at the at the Packers game? it was a beautiful fall day to go up to Green Bay. I'm I live in Milwaukee, so taking the trip up there isn't too, too bad. But I mean, when an opportunity to get some very, very nice tickets falls into your lap for a very reasonable price, you can't say no to that. And it was a night game, so it made working Monday a little bit unfortunate. But hey, Packers won. A great time was had by everyone. The tickets were phenomenal. I I feel very lucky whenever I get up to Lambeau. It's a really To special place. For sports, I I still would like to go. dude, you have to come. Surely the Patriots will come at some point. It's like very few and far between, but I it's I've always heard it's one of those stadiums and venues where you have to see it once. I haven't I can't say I've been one of the big you know, gotta go to each different stadium guy. I was actually very fortunate where one of the ones I did want to go to was in San Francisco for the to see the Giants, which thank thank you to the NorCal Rumble with their event promotion over there and the cross promotion from when they announced their team branding. I actually got to go for the first time for when th there was that activation there on on that day. And so that was a a great one to check off my bucket list. And so the next one hopefully would be in Green Bay. Maybe that'll happen when if we announce a a team in Wisconsin finally, but that would be that'd be really cool. But no, I've always seen that it's it's such a cool atmosphere over there. And you know, sometimes you can park on people's lawns to walk in. So I I always like the unique arena or stadium atmospheres I feel like always always lend to fun stories and experiences. That's so funny because it again, that feels so incredibly normal to me. And my only question to you is you think you're brave enough for a snow game? dude, please. I I I I went to see so I I went to Gillette Stadium to see the Patriots this week. Not very cold at all, but the last time I went before actually two times before this one, I saw the 2018 game against the the divisional round against the Titans and that was in or maybe that was that was two thousand fourteen, whenever it might might have been, and that was like minus thirteen degrees all the way up in the nosebleeds. So trust me, I've been there. I've seen it. All right, all right. I'll hold my bullying for the Southern California guy. That's fine. I'll keep that one in my mind. Well that's nice that that's nice why for the most part, at least for us, you know, we we're we're the MLV matches are all played at indoors. But who knows, maybe we'll get a stadium series game eventually down the good point. Good point. Well, we learned our lesson from that this summer, so we'll see how that turns out. Jenna, I think it's time to wrap up the show. But it's been nice to to make this work from our our different locations, me and Boston, you and Milwaukee and and all the way across the country. But it's you held down the fort very nicely last week and it's nice to rejoin the Fray this week as we had a great episode chatting with Emily Londot. Who's to say what's coming next week? we'll figure it out. I'm gonna be off to New York City after this to attend the WSF gala, which is gonna be great. We have some of our athletes attending there. So it should be some social media content coming your way on the MLB socials. next week I think is gonna be, let's see, we have Mia Tuaninga, or we could do Kiara Ryan or Kiara Russell, actually. or we'll see. There are some other interviews that I have in the pipeline that we'll we'll keep we'll we'll keep on the back burner for now but we'll figure it out. Either way will be a great episode 28 for you. Before we go Please continue to like, comment, share, subscribe. Please continue to tell your friends about the podcasts, how we gain new listeners. Go check out the MLV Training Essentials live on the MLV shop now. Navigate our website for that. Very easy. You can catch us on the next episode, Thursdays at 3 p.m. Eastern. That's when it happens. And of course, cannot forget to say thank you to producers Mike, Amy, and Jenna. Does not happen without them, and it does not happen without you. One more time, everybody, thank you so much for listening to the Set Six Podcast. The official podcast of Major League Volleyball. We'll see ya next time. See ya.