Latest / Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast / Episode 022 | Tori Dilfer-Stringer Is Back and Playing for Something Bigger

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Episode 022 | Tori Dilfer-Stringer Is Back and Playing for Something Bigger · Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast

• Mike Moline: In this episode, we welcome Tori Dilfer Stringer to the podcast. She's a new mom, a league OG, and now officially the newest setter at MLV NorCal. She's poised to take a big role this season. Plus, we've got Jenna Rosenthal joining me for the news and the reaction. So lock in. This is the Set Six Podcast. What's going on? How are we doing, everybody? Welcome back to the Set 6 podcast. This is the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. I'm your host, Sever Lavinstein. With me is Jenna Rosenthal. And please like, comment, share, subscribe. We're on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube and all the great ways that you get your podcast. Before you listen to this episode 22 with Tori Dilfer Stringer and her triumphant return to MLV, please. Go listen to episode twenty one where Jenna and I had what ⁓ what I think was one of our favorite conversations, at least I'll speak for me, it was one of my favorite conversations where we called it our missing persons report, where we were sort of previewing the players that are still out there to be announced for either DC or LA, which we'll know soon enough in short order. But a lot of fun on that chat. So go listen to that one. Before you listen to this one, in this, we're gonna talk the news. We're gonna have our interview with Tori, and then we're gonna have a little fun before we get out of here. So, Jenna, how are we doing today? I'm doing Great. Hello, Severin. How goes? Hi, Jenna. I'm d we're doing great. We are a little bit ⁓ later recording than we are typically, but ⁓ making sure that we get this before the the end of the work day and the light falls ⁓ on the east on the the midwestern side of the the hemisphere over there. But ⁓ no, it's it's ⁓ it's great to be here on this ⁓ specific day because it was so much fun chatting with Tori and then also it kind of I feel like some of our news, ⁓ at least one of the announcements, leads into ⁓ a couple of things that we talked about. last week. So we'll get there in a second. But yeah, it's it's nice to ⁓ get this in today before I actually jump on a plane and head to DC tomorrow. So if I'm speaking to you from the future, it would be everything that you know from that event from this end of week, dear viewer and listener. But ⁓ at this current point in time I'm excited to go do that in the rest of this week. I was gonna say someone's gonna need a flight tracker. Maybe that'll be the next feature on social media. Where in the world is Severn Lavenstein? It's like the sequel to Where is Carmen San Diego? ⁓ my God, I love that game. That was formative, really, right there. Jenna, let's ⁓ let's launch into our news and ⁓ let's start with talking about Pan Am Cup. And last week we mentioned ⁓ Toyosionabanjo and Natalie Foster. It was ⁓ very adequately pointed out that it was an oversight on my part that we have athletes ⁓ on several of the other rosters, which I will try to defend myself just a little bit that at the time we did not know the rosters for everybody else, and it was a little inside information that I was working off of. For the team USA roster, but be that as it may, we certainly do not want to go without mentioning some of our MLV athletes on some of these rosters. Let's start with Canada with Emily Bush and Bellanoble. You might recognize that name or not recognize that name yet, but you will. And so ⁓ let's start with Emily. She had eleven kills last match versus the Dominican Republic. Again, at this time that you might be listening to this podcast, you might be like, wait, Severin, that wasn't the last match. Well, it was the last match for us that we currently know at this point of time. ⁓ and then you know, Noble, I believe, was one of the starting setters there for Canada and had a pretty big impact. But ⁓ Canada competing and then Mexico, 2026 MLV MVP, Sofia Maldonado Diaz had 29 kills, two blocks for 31 points versus the U.S. in their first matchup in that. ⁓ pool phase, this is all for us before they start going into the elimination mass matches. ⁓ Alondra Vasquez for Puerto Rico and also playing for ⁓ the Dallas Polls had sixteen kills and a block in a win over Canada on September twelfth. And so again, like we said, at the time of our recording here, pool phase is wrapping up, and then the rest of the tournament will come to the conclusion this weekend. There's only so much research we can do, and time traveling has yet to ⁓ fall into our scope. So you'll have to make do with the news that we have as we speak. working on it as well. ⁓ but ⁓ just also ⁓ to t ⁓ I r forgot to put down Toyosi and Natalie's stats, but they all we saw that they had ⁓ some solid results in their first matches as well. But Jenna just you're also ⁓ very qualified to talk about ⁓ Pan ⁓ Cup experiences because you played in a Pan Am Cup before, but let's start first with your ⁓ overall perspective on our athletes playing at this level and then please give us some of your ⁓ you know insider stories on what it's like to be at this level and playing in these kind of tournaments. Honestly, these tournaments are so good for our athletes, any athletes, to be exposed to different styles of play, right? ⁓ especially with major league volleyball and ⁓ maybe some of the college experience that some of these athletes have had, going on to Norseca events and playing against international teams, there might be ⁓ different I I would almost call it different flavors. It's not completely different play styles. We're not really reinventing the wheel when it comes to volleyball here, but there are certain elements that ⁓ international ball brings and I think being exposed to this huge variety of volleyball styles can only sharpen your own toolbox as you pursue volleyball in your own regard. So that's fantastic. On top of just the purely ⁓ there's something really special about traveling, you know, in this case to Mexico to represent Team USA and wearing the flag across your chest, like That's a huge point of pride for any athlete. And I remember when I got selected to the Pan Am Cup roster, ⁓ it felt like both a validation of the journey I had been on to develop as an athlete and the promise and the hope of more to come, especially with these Pan Am Cup rosters, a little bit more of a developmental roster at times for Team USA. So I hope the athletes can go into this experience learning a lot, technically speaking, and learning a lot about themselves, about Again, an endorsement of what you have done and the promise of what you could continue to develop too to the future. Do you do you go into it really almost I'm I'm gonna call it like testing the hypothesis of who you are as a player at that point? Or is that just something where you look back on it, maybe final matches, couple matches where you're like, I am really the kind of player that I thought I was going into this, or maybe, you know, some of your hypothesis to use that analogy is is challenged at a certain point and and and I guess what happens after you've after you've realized that? That's a really good question. So I think you're right. I think a lot of times international ball will test that hypothesis you have about yourself, but I think with these slightly shorter run tournaments, ⁓ it's a snapshot over a matter of weeks and maybe not a matter of months like an international season would be. I think it's a more of a exclamation point and a showpiece for the work that you have done, the work that you have done in the gym in Anaheim. So yes and no. It's It's a good ⁓ benchmark, but it's not necessarily the same Alchemy Lab. It's a stage for you to show your to show the things that you've been working on over the course of a summer grinding in Anaheim, California. Because as we both know, there's a lot more athletes than just the fifteen or so that we see on VNL rosters. There's a much larger training group putting in the work day in and day out in Anaheim. And this is a chance for that group to show To show their stuff against international competition and again continue to build on that journey of Team USA and their entire career. Any specific favorite memories from your Pan ⁓ Cup experience? Like any one or a couple or maybe a match that sticks out in your mind? ⁓ I so the thing is I was lucky to do cup and games. So the games aren't played this this year, but ⁓ I think these were my only trips with Team USA. And so I think I still vividly remember ⁓ riding in the bus, you know, all of us in our, you know, in our jackets with the uniform in the bag and just ⁓ the pride of being in that moment. ⁓ and for a little bit of a reality check, Karsta Lowe's metal water ball launched itself out of her bag as we rounded a particularly sharp corner and I took the hydro flask straight to the ankle. In retrospect, I don't know how I made it because that was actually pretty excruciating. All like full hydrocl f full hydro flask, just right to the ankle bone. that does a good job of of placing us in the time period because that means we were pre Stanley, ⁓ in terms of the water bottle and we were post camelback. So that's perfect timing in the water bottle lineage. Okay, it's fine. You can call me old. I'll just go cry in a corner. It's fine. Not at all where I was going with that. They they we're now on the Awala phase, so you know. I think we're are we not in a post Awala society? We might be. I think it's been an Awala for too long, so surely we must be behind the times. But but surely also, you know, better memories than just taking a water bottle to the end. Well, yes, of course. No, exactly. Just you know, being with that group of girls and truly kind of embracing the adventure. Our ours was in Peru. Two locations in Peru. Gosh, the The specific towns escape me, but very small, small towns in Peru. And just really it really hones in on the team aspect of being, you know, we're going together, we're going into battle. And anytime you travel internationally, there's gonna be some hiccups along the way. And so meeting those challenges together was was fantastic. And I also, ⁓ I think we had an afternoon off, or no, we chose to do act we did active recovery on the beach in Peru, right? And I remember I wa I waded out a little bit, ⁓ me and my little emo heart, I waded out a little bit into the water, got my got my feet wet and you look, right? 'Cause if it's the Pacific Ocean, so you wade out and you look right, and theoretically California's that way, you know. It's just a little bit further north and you know, I when I think back on my international volleyball experience, I think about how grateful I was to that volleyball took me so many different places beyond the game specifically. 'Cause again, when I look back, that's what I remember specifically. I don't necessarily know if I remember the games so much. I mean, I know we won some, we lost some, and that was amazing, but the camaraderie with the girls, the pride at representing Team USA and experiencing the new experiences, that really sticks out sticks out for me. It it's really interesting because it's something that you'll hear later on in this interview that, you know, Tori talked about wanting to remember ⁓ specific matches and and her last points playing before she ⁓ fully retired and then she said, you know, as funny as as she got further away from it, the the memory started to fade a little bit to the point where she couldn't remember that exact point. So it's ⁓ that that tracks in line with with what you're saying there, Jenna. Just to to land the plane on the players that are currently playing, Toyosi against Costa Rica had ⁓ four kills and two blocks. Natalie had two kills, two blocks and two aces. No surprise there on that last point of the statistics. And that was against ⁓ Costa Rica like I mentioned. ⁓ for more on these stats and for more of the the matches that'll round out the week that are ⁓ for elimination, you can head over to norseika.net and find all of the most updated analytics and stats over there. Jenna, let's move on to our next topic, which is ⁓ gonna round out the news, which was just we were talking last week about ⁓ who we thought might sign with ⁓ MLV LA or MLV D C or I should say announcements because ⁓ a lot of these athletes have probably already signed, but we were just waiting to see who would be announced. We got our first announcement for LA, and that was Tristan Savage, someone that we talked about a little bit being one of the the really star middles that was out there. ⁓ and we got that announcement today, but your reaction to that going official. I really am s so excited that Tristan can have her have a team of her own. ⁓ because she did such an am She has such a fantastic, admirable job filling in for Lane Van Buskirk at the end of last season. And I'm really happy that she can continue to build off of that amazing momentum and, you know, be the be the centerpiece of the front line of the MLV LA team. ⁓ I think that I'm so glad that I'm so glad the announcements came out to back up our really heavy handed foreshadowing. We're gonna have to take some notes from Taylor Swift on how to do Easter eggs a little bit better, but No, I'm super excited for Tristan. I can't wait until they release the rest of the rest of the roster to compliment her strengths. And then we were gonna save this for the news, but then we figured we might as well talk to her. And so that was ⁓ Tori Dilfer Stringer becoming ⁓ the newest member of MLV NorCal, bringing some ⁓ veteran leadership, bringing some new mom energy and mom strength, which is something that we're gonna talk about. Her return from becoming a a mom is gonna be just so amazing to to C. And then also something that we'll talk about that I don't want to spoil too much before we get into the interview is how it's really gonna honor the memory of one of her coaches in the formative years of her early playing career, which ⁓ is such another amazing reason for her to to be playing. But Jenna, ⁓ just quickly before we launch into this interview, getting to talk to Tori was fantastic, and we'll talk more about it on the other side. But what was just your overall reaction when you saw that signing come through the transaction wire, which I know that you always have a a hand on and a finger on the pulse of the transaction wire. Dude, I was so excited. Tori was su she has got such a I I don't really buy into the whole aura thing, but Tori has got such a wonderful aura and a wonderful energy that emanates from her, you know, great person to have as your teammate. ⁓ really fantastic energy, great setter. And like to your point, I'm so excited to see I haven't I haven't actually talked to her since ⁓ season one well, socially. But I haven't seen a ton of her since season one in Columbus. And I'm so, so, so happy that her volleyball journey gets to continue and she gets to come back to the game that she's already given so much to. And I'm so excited to see how like to to your point, the new mom energy, like I already know she's gonna be such a fantastic mother. That loving, caring energy that she shared to her teammates and friends only has to be magnified as a parent. ⁓ yeah, I was super stoked. I immediately picked up the phone. I was like, Girl, are you serious? Like, such amazing news, especially since she was an OG. She saw this stuff in twenty twenty three from the beginning. So we'll talk about that and we'll talk about a lot of other topics. She's gonna be she's back and we're gonna be seeing a lot more of her. Let's get into our conversation on set six with Tori Dilfer Stringer. Tori, welcome back to MLV and welcome to the Set Six podcast. We are so excited to have you. As we'll get into, we know you never really left, but just so great to have the news this week that you are returning as a player and signing with MLV NorCal. So many places to start, but let's just start with, you know, how you arrived at that process and rejoining the league with this new team with it with MLV NorCal. Yeah, well, thank you. I'm so so excited to be back. ⁓ and yeah, just fired up to chat with you and yeah, I guess, gosh, long story short, ⁓ I've known Carrie Walsh Jennings for a long time. Our families have known each other and we were actually just chatting over the summer and I had kind of been playing around with the idea of playing again. and she kind of threw out something like, Hey, are you do you think you want to? And ⁓ and it kind of started the conversation and ⁓ and then they hired coach Alex Dumpy and she and I had a conversation and it was kind of a We went back and forth for a little while, didn't know if it was gonna happen, didn't know if made sense on their end, on my end. ⁓ talked to you know, tried to just see what ⁓ what options are out there. I knew it was gonna be a little bit tricky with the timing of when I decided to come back with most rosters being full, but ⁓ it all timed up well and I'm super excited. I grew up in San Jose and so ⁓ super fired up to be going back and see a lot of people I grew up with and ⁓ play in front of, you know. people that play at my club my old club and my high school and ⁓ so yeah just really excited for that opportunity and thankful for the Mercal team just ⁓ yeah I guess kind of taking a chance on somebody coming back after a year off. What what lit that first spark of your thought? You know, you said you were playing around with the idea of coming back. Was it when that team was announced? Was it, you know, you're just watching some volleyball on T V and you're like, ⁓ I I still got it. I still got it no, that's a good question. It was not like I thought I still got it. ⁓ I actually really loved watching and being a fan last year. ⁓ being a fan while also staying involved in a different ⁓ line of work, I should say. ⁓ I was actually talking to a friend that works with the Ignite and ⁓ she just kinda, you know, brought it up and mostly both of us just joking around and and I was like, you know, I mean I yeah, if I I could do it. Like I know I could. ⁓ gotta have some great, you know, resources around me, some people to you know, a lot of great support, especially, you know, childcare, family, all of that. It's just it's different nowadays. but it was kind of that. And then, ⁓ long story short, I actually I lost somebody really close to me, my high school volleyball coach, ⁓ who was also one of my club coaches and made a huge impact on me as a player, first person to train me as a setter, ⁓ trained both my sisters as well. And he ⁓ unexpectedly passed away in May and ⁓ I flew out to San Jose for his pe ⁓ funeral actually and I think it was kind of there. I didn't decide there, like, yeah, I'm gonna go after this, but that kind of, you know, reignited the fire a little bit. And I knew that if I had asked him if if he was still here and I could ask him, Hey, do you think I should do it? He'd be like, Absolutely. You know, you got to if you still have an abled body and and the desire to do it, why wouldn't you? You know, what an awesome, awesome opportunity and and career path. So ⁓ had a couple of conversations with my husband and once we were both on board it was like, all right, let's let's do this. figure it out. There are so many avenues where that's so inspirational. One, to honor the memory of your coach like that. Two, to be playing back kind of for your hometown team. And three, which was bearing the lead, is that you're a mom now and that is going to be your you playing is going to be just a million times inspirational to your little girl. But you know, I want to talk let's let's touch on the hometown angle of it first. You know, to go back and and play there. What is that gonna mean to be able to kind of be in your your home area, where kind of where you grew up and to, you know, help foster along with this new franchise in their first year? Yeah, I mean, I think my whole family ties back to our, you know, us all falling in love with the game of volleyball to Northern California, the Bay Area. My dad grew up in Aptos and his sisters both played. ⁓ and so he's been watching volleyball for a long time. And my aunt was the first person that ever handed me a volleyball and said, Let's set against the wall. And ⁓ so we've strong ties back to the volleyball community in Northern California, which as you probably know runs very deep. The roots are very, very deep there. ⁓ just a history of fantastic club, high school and collegiate programs. ⁓ and I just it feels so cool and pretty surreal because I really we ⁓ I I mean, I I moved so far for college, you know, since leaving and my parents move have moved since too. So it's not like I was going back all the time in school. you know, whenever we have breaks and ⁓ so I've been back pretty it's been few and far between. ⁓ but in the last year I've been back about three times and it's just it's fun every single time. I'm like, wow, it brings back a lot of memories. Mostly so much, so many of those memories, I should say, are volleyball related. And ⁓ yeah, I'm just really excited. I'm excited to represent, you know, Valley Christian High School and Vision Volleyball Club and Encore Volleyball Club who I played for and ⁓ ⁓ their s their presences are still so strong in the volley volleyball community there, which is so cool to see just the longevity of it. ⁓ and just programs that have been built up well. ⁓ and so yeah, I'm just really excited and it kinda I I texted my high school athletic director and before you know, around when I signed and just let him know and he's like, Well, I guess we'll be season ticket holders, but it's just cool to to know that I'll be playing in front of some people that have seen literally my entire journey. ⁓ which yeah, it's just special. I love being able to hear your your sense of identity for all of it too in in that specific area is is so great and that's ⁓ what I would assume would be a really big, you know, you know ⁓ factor and also, you know, your experience and and ⁓ your involvement in the college game as well. You're bringing a lot of of great qualities to this roster and to this organization just as you were maybe kind of having some of those first conversations. What did you make of the roster when the signings were announced and when you started having an idea of the team that you'd be joining? Yeah, I think I I was like geeking out during the day couple days where rosters are being announced. I thought it was so fun and ⁓ especially with expansion teams, I was like, wow, this is I mean, there's more players in the league and and ⁓ it's just it was super fun to see all that and NorCal is definitely a team that caught my eye. One just I've always been interested in the organization because it's, you know, my hometown and ⁓ and knowing Carrie and just great people behind ⁓ behind that team and ⁓ leading the charge. So Yeah, I mean, I saw the rosters and I was like, okay, like this the the this is pretty impressive. I mean, across the board, really the whole league. I'm like, wow. I mean, I think Indy retaining so many players was just fantastic to see. You just love to see people, you know, coming back to a team, especially with you know, they obviously they had such an amazing regular season and and got so close. ⁓ and so I know they're chasing after that that together. but yeah, I mean the roster I was like, I don't I don't know any it's the first team I'll ever play on where I don't already know. someone on the team, which is like kind of terrifying, but also really exciting and like such a cool opportunity to meet so many new players. ⁓ couple that I just I mean, I'm excited to meet everyone, but a couple I'm super excited about. ⁓ Yana just being such a, you know, I mean, really just a volleyball staple in the world. I mean, I think I s I saw her I saw her play when she played in Skandici, ⁓ and obviously watched her world championships and the Olympics and everything, you know, so just see being able to play with somebody that you have seen play on TV is pretty impressive. then just exciting and then really excited to play with Taylor Lampere and Ally Czech. But yeah, I'm I'm fired up. I think it's a great roster and a lot of ⁓ definitely young and just hungry, hungry talent. Pia Timmer's another one that I'm like really, really fired up to play with. ⁓ but everyone, I mean, they're all really exciting ⁓ players. It's such a great point and and it really illustrates the the close knit nature of the volleyball community that you've played on teams where you've always had someone that you might have known from a prior experience. What has that been like in your in your previous experiences, whatever level it may be? Like when you first join a team and you might know someone like do you just naturally is like I I envision like the first day of school and you like see someone else, you're like, okay, I I remember that person from last year and I'm in homeroom with a different group. I mean, that's all I can relate to from an ARP perspective. But then when you go in, is it like you start to quickly make friends? You s especially for you as a setter, I'm imagining it's gonna be really important to develop those connections early. How do you go about that? How do you envision going about that maybe this year, not having necessarily that person to lean on? Yeah, for sure. That's a great question. I think I mean, relationships and just connecting is I mean, that's the backbone of of my identity as a player, I feel like. That's kind of where I've built, how I've been able to, you know, be a good teammate and be what my teammates might need me to be as a setter and as a teammate, you know, on on the court, off the court. ⁓ so relationships are huge for me and just diving into those early on and creating them on the court, like during practice, you know, but also off the court, you know, taking the time to actually invest in the people that you're you're playing with every day. And ⁓ I think I learned that because I've had people do that with me. You know, I've had awesome teammates and and coaches and mentors and people that have just really poured into me in that way and ⁓ always cared about me as a person, ⁓ as a student athlete and then obviously as an athlete. ⁓ so I think that's kind of how I've built, you know, my approach to being on a new team, not knowing anybody is I'm just gonna, you know, I'm gonna dive in. I'm I I totally I'm a I'm a huge believer that vulnerability breeds trust. And so like I'm gonna be vulnerable. I'm gonna be there for my teammates. I'm gonna be open with them and honest. Like this will be my first time playing as mom. Like I'm gonna be honest and open about that journey and and there's gonna be some hard pieces of it, I'm sure. It's also gonna be really, really fun. So I plan on being open about that and and hopefully that can be reciprocated and we just build a lot of trust. I feel like if you know, if if I want a teammate to trust me, I gotta trust them. You know, and so I wanna I wanna earn that and you know, be very I guess just upfront about, you know, I I I I wanna go chase my best, but I wanna chase our team's best too. And be just really straightforward about like what I'm here to do and I'm here to do do this to my very best ability. ⁓ as a teammate, as a mom, as a friend, as a wife, everything. ⁓ so yeah, I mean, I think it's it's gonna be interesting. I'm like I I get kind of nervous talking about it. Like, you're right, it is kind of first day of school, but ⁓ I'm pretty extroverted and so I'm just gonna kinda put myself out there and ⁓ that's that's usually that served me well in the past and ⁓ yeah, I just want to be the teammate that I would want to have. Vulnerability breeds trust is like words to live by. I love that. And and and you were touching on it right there. What I was what I was gonna ask before you put it so eloquently was just w asking you what story you wanted to tell this season, because I think a lot of us can look at it from the outside, you know, and and see, you know, this is one of our OGs coming back to show that she's still got it. This is Tory, you know, proving that you can be a mom and come back and still be at the top of your game. This is, you know, coming into a team and and providing veteran leadership. There are so many different ways that we can look at you and your return here, but and you put it right there, but I I guess I I you know, to to kind of fully crystallize it, what is that story that you want to tell? What is it, what is the main thing that you want to show us? Is it that, you know, like because I I like I said, I feel like there are so many different avenues that we can look at this through different prisms and and it's it's more complicated than that, right? Yeah, for sure. Gosh, that's you're asking some good questions today, Severin. Thanks. I feel like I don't know, for me, this season is just really gonna be encapsulated by playing for something so much bigger than myself. You know, like I'm playing for a husband that's sacrificing a lot for me to chase the stream. You know, I'm playing for my daughter and what she's gonna see. And I'm and I'm also playing for the the women that have gone before and and played as moms, you know. Like I think I definitely they're part of me after, you know, two seasons ago and be in playing the season pregnant, I like, you know, I'm I I'm okay to be done. It wasn't like I felt like I had to be done. But then at times it was like I did feel like I had to be. And the only thing that kind of took me out of that was seeing other other moms do it. And and so seeing that it's it's so much more normalized now and it doesn't feel impossible is so encouraging. And I feel like I would not have even thought of the idea if there weren't other people doing it. So I'm also playing as kind of a a nod and a respect to those women as well. ⁓ and then obviously to hopefully inspire more to to do it if they want to. I mean, it's the coolest thing to be able to live out my two dreams. And I haven't even done it yet, and it's already the coolest thing. Just training and getting back into it is like this feels so incredible. ⁓ but yeah, I mean, I feel like this season, like I said, it's just I'm playing for something bigger myself and I I mean, I always feel like that's my general approach to the game. I've never try or I've always tried to not make it about me, but I I've failed in that in a lot of ways. You know, I think of my first season with then PVF now MLV, I don't feel like I was playing for anything bigger than myself. I was I don't I don't think I encapsulated that well and and I struggled through it because of it, you know, and and it was still fun. Like I'm still living out my dream, but I didn't do it as well as I as I wanted to and it was kind of a reality check of like, why do I do this? Like if I just do it for myself or do it for, you know, whatever, like it's n that doesn't feel worth it enough to me. You know, like it's gotta be something bigger and ⁓ and I'm always playing for the glory of the Lord. But I also think that he's put other reasons on my heart. You know, it's my daughter, it's my family, my husband, and it's my coach, Ron. I think that's a huge I'm I a hundred percent wanna honor him with the way I play, but then also the way that I'm just a teammate and I interact with everybody and and an ambassador for the sport. Did you at any point kind of talk to other players who had retired or maybe even your dad when he decided it was the time for him to retire and and or you know, e players in different sports, you know, players it who might have been, you know, at a different phase of life potentially. And and was it ever a point where you realized, Well, I'm not at that point yet? You know, was that was that ever part of any conversations you were having before you firmly made the decision to come back? Yeah, I mean, I had talked about it generally a lot with Megan Lush when we played together my two years in Columbus. ⁓ and just kind of her jour journey was so interesting. Her she thought she was done too and then ended up coming back and playing three full seasons, which is just incredible. and so she's just a huge inspiration to me and, you know, just an incredible friend and teammate. And I rely relied on her a ton while, you know, playing the season while being pregnant and then after. And ⁓ I still rely on her in the sense of like, how how do you do this as a mom? You know, like how how is it really possible? And so I mean, I don't know if we had any like explicit conversations about that. I've definitely talked to my dad a little bit about his retirement journey and ⁓ but honestly never really in depth of like trying to put myself in his shoes or in other people's shoes. ⁓ it wasn't some big pondering long like, am I gonna come back? It I think it was just kinda at the time my heart wasn't in it. And then I think the Lord just kind of opened my heart back up to it, and then it was kind of like a realization of like, okay, this isn't it's it's not over and I wanna keep doing this. And the only thing I can point to is like I remember the last match I played in in the twenty twenty five season, but I always told myself I was like, I really want to remember the last point of volleyball I ever play. And that sounds so weird to be thinking about now when I'm like getting back into playing, but I'm it's almost like, wow, I don't remember it as vividly as I want to and that was kind of not a sign, but like that kinda pointed me to like, Okay, yeah, you're gonna play volleyball again. Like that wasn't your last match ever competitively. So yeah, I don't know there wasn't any like explicit conversations or anything like that, but it's I I feel like everybody kind of ponders it at some point, whether you feel like you're getting towards that or, you know, what you want to accomplish before you, you know, retire, or if you do want to have a family, do you want to do both? You know, I think it's it's on a lot of our minds. But yeah. Tori, what's your favorite part about being a mom? It's all so fun. I mean it's it really is. Like I think gosh, favorite part. I mean, I think really genuinely seeing her like become a full blown human, like ⁓ just doing so much is my favorite part. Like every day I feel like she's doing something new and different. And it's hilarious. Like it's so funny at this stage too. Just like she's discovering it as we are too and just seeing her kind of like she like figure something out and just like her reactions to it are just hilarious. ⁓ but I mean man, it's so fun. Like I I silly things like I like getting her dressed and like putting a little bow in her hair when we're going from places. But really, like I feel like my favorite part is just seeing her become her own person and and like the independence is like it's hard because it's like, wow, you needed me so deeply for so long. And like obviously she still needs me, but it's in such a different way. And like she's so independent already and wants to do things on her own and wants to explore. And so that's like one of the hardest parts, but also one of the most fun parts. You're already a a role model for her in so many facets of life, but have you given any thought to how this will be almost opening the door to be a role model in a whole other aspect of life of being able to come back after, you know, becoming a mom and then, you know, getting to to play at this level in MLV a and setting a precedent not only for her, but for lots of other young girls, for lots of other women who maybe wanna make a comeback similar to yours after having kids. I mean, it's a a whole new ability to be a role model and have you given that any thought? Yeah, I think a little bit. I think ⁓ I definitely take it as a ⁓ like I do have a responsibility to be a good role model because other people have done it well for me and ⁓ and I've just had a lot of people like cheer me on in it. You know, like I I think I when I first, you know, had the conversation with my parents after talking to my husband Ethan, like, hey I think we're gonna try to do this. Like they were just they were so all in and they were like how can we help? You know, and so I think them being all for it was just like that's the type of parent I wanna be. You know, and I feel like I'm setting by doing this, I'm setting that example of like what I'm gonna support you and whatever you wanna do. And I'm gonna chase after it with you as much as, you know, my parents have for me and to the very best of my ability. And so I think I wanna like I'm trying to set the example that one, like my life didn't end when she was born. Like it it fully rebegan. And like she doesn't she doesn't hold me back from doing anything. Like if anything, she just makes it more fun. ⁓ and for sure more challenging at times, but like that doesn't that's not a bad thing, you know? Like I think it's I get to experience this in a whole new light. And so I want her to see that. Like I want her to know that, like, ⁓ like I got to be a part of my mom's career, but like she also helped make it possible, you know. Like I feel like she's kind of reignited a fire within me of like, I've spent the last almost year chasing being the best mom I can be. Like I also want to go chase the best volleyball player I can be. And I did it for so long and and to be able to do both, like I just don't know if there's like I w I want to represent that well to her. I want to give a good example to her of like you can absolutely chase your best in multiple things. Like you never have to be just one thing. And and just with like and I feel like there's endless opportunities now. Like it is so, so cool to see that like No one's having to fight for the right to play in the United States anymore. You know, like I I think it's still a fight to obviously make this the best product it can be, but it's like we're not having to fight of like, hey, we deserve to play at home and have family watching and and have families, like our own immediate young like young families or children in the stands with us. And not that that was impossible overseas, people have done it, but it's like to be able to do it at home is just it's incredible. I mean, she's gonna own at Career Day. Like when it's at when it's school, career day comes in, she's got those pictures of, you know, mom and your dads at the games holding theirs, you know, getting the high five mom coming off the court. I mean, nobody's coming close to that. That's gonna be, you know, amazing memories. And she's gonna be able to point to that years from now and be like, Yeah, mom was pretty cool. That'll be pretty sweet. I already feel like she's gonna be a better athlete than me. I mean, she has so much of my husband in her and he's such a great athlete. And like, gosh, you're just gonna make me like I feel like she's just blowing me out of the water so early. And I'm like, I want nothing more than that. I want nothing more for you to do anything and everything you want to the best of your ability. And ⁓ but I'm so excited. It like almost makes me like giddy thinking about her getting to play sports in the next however many years and like run around and play soccer. And then, you know, when the day comes that she can serve a volleyball over the net, like I it's gonna be so cool. I was gonna say how long before we start rolling maybe that the little mini foam volleyball over her way? ⁓ she already has two. She already has two mini volleyballs. Yeah. No, so she said she loves Right on track. She yeah, ball is one of her favorite words. So we're we're we're on track. Yeah. Tori, how has your relationship to the sport changed as a whole? I I feel like you've been involved on on every level, whether it's, you know, from the the Coaching side, the front office side to you know the player side and and I guess the way I'd frame it is if like if you could talk to yourself from twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three, realistically not even that long ago, but you know, what w how are you a different player and and how how are you, I guess, ⁓ how do you relate to the sport now in a different way than maybe you did even just a couple years ago? Yeah, I mean, I feel like you said like twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three, not that long ago, but I feel like I've lived multiple lifetimes in that time. ⁓ and see yeah, I just I've seen the game from such a different lens in that time frame. ⁓ I think getting to coach Boulevard last year was it it was so eye opening because you think you know so much. You really do. And like I felt like I always really, like as a player, like felt like I had a pretty good high volleyball IQ and, you know, that was a a stronghold of, you know, my persona as a player is like I knew the game pretty well. But then like you get into a coach's like a practice planning session and they're talking about something you're like, wait, I don't I don't understand that at all. ⁓ and so I thought it was really cool because one, like I I I learned I really know setting well. I know the game, but like I knew setting. I didn't know the game from an outside hitter's perspective, or Liberos or Middles or Oppos. And that was really cool to learn that. Not experience it. Obviously I'll never be any of those positions, but to learn it a little bit and then try to see it through a different player's lens while coaching was really, really special and But yeah, then seeing, I don't know, seeing the game from a totally new perspective with being ⁓ in a front office with the Ignite was so special because one, they just do it so well. It's such incredible people there there. They just they really are creating such a great product and a great environment for their athletes and for the people that work there. And so I was super fortunate to be able to see that side of it and ⁓ and it's I I I just gained a new, you know, respect and appreciation for everything that goes into a game day operation. I and I think it made me really appreciate the show and the the just the product that MLV has put out because so much more goes into it. Like it's not just rolling a team out on the floor with an opponent and find like it's it's so much more than that. And ⁓ and it's a lot of people sacrificing a lot and working really, really hard so us players have a really cool venue to play in and you know, a a a network that is, you know, live streaming your games or broadcasting them or, you know, like it's it a lot goes into it. And so I don't know, to answer the question how my relationship with the games changes has changed, I just feel like I've have a deeper appreciation for all aspects of it. You know, it's not just like how much I love playing volleyball. It's like how much I love the game of volleyball. I love watching it. I love coaching it. I love being a part of it. I love playing it. Like I just I really do just love it. And and I feel really fortunate that I do have that relationship with it. You know, not everybody gets to experience their sport in that way. And so I just feel really fortunate and lucky to have seen it from all different angles. Not all, but like a lot of angles. And and to just, you know, have a even deeper appreciation for it. Where do you feel like we're at now if we're kinda like zooming out to like forty thousand foot view talking women's sports as a whole? Do you think there's more openness today in it to in this day and age to that being a a a a an option where you don't have to put your career aside to be a mom and and do you hope that if if we're not necessarily where ne we need to be, that there can become more increased visibility for women, girls, athletes to be able to still be able to follow their dreams regardless of whether or not they want to pursue motherhood. Yeah, man, I mean, we've come really, really far. And I think that and us even just in the last couple of years, I feel like the last few years have been a huge, huge step, specifically in volleyball. For moms playing, ⁓ but really all, you know, women's sports. And from what I've kind of gauged, like I feel like the NWSL is kind of leading the charge in terms of contract negotiations and maternity leave and those kinds of things. And they've really set the standard high, which is so awesome to see. And they really have they've just they've started to set that standard. And now it's really up to everyone else to kind of follow it and provide the things that That ⁓ that need to be provided for even more women to feel like they can do this. We're at the point now where it is absolutely possible and it is it doesn't feel like you're, you know, it's the biggest burden in the world to try to do both. But there's always room for growth, I think. I mean, I think that's true about everything. But I do feel like we're in a much better spot. And I mean, I always said, I truly was a player that always said, like, once we decide to have a family, I think I'll be done playing. Like I didn't think I even wanted to do both. But also in the back of my mind, I didn't think it was actually possible. And you know, like to really do it well, to do both well. And and now that's just like I know it's proved me wrong. Like I know it is possible to do both really well. And ⁓ and we've seen it over and over again and and we're seeing, we're starting to see the support. And I think it really it's gotta come top down. You know, that r it needs to be every person involved with every women's sports league and team. in the United States, really worldwide, but I'll just talk to US sports right now. Like everyone needs to get on board with it and and find ways to not make any mother feel like she's different from other players in a negative way. You're gonna be different no matter what. You just are and that's okay. But different in a negative way. ⁓ to allow people to feel like they can come back, both, you know, with financial security, with support, physically, mentally, all the things. ⁓ I think we have huge strides to take in in that sense. ⁓ but I'm really, really thankful for where we're at and and pleased with where we're at. But like I said, there's always room to grow. And and hopefully, you know, I can help be a part of that and, you know, help lead the charge in that way. Not that I have all the answers to it. I don't know, you know, I don't know how to make all that possible, but I know that we can. And but I do think it's gonna take everybody getting on board top down, every every league, ⁓ women's sports league in the States needs to needs to get on board with it. This is a a Question I want to ask you now as we as we transition into some little nitty-gritty details of of your comeback. It was something I was thinking about when I was thinking about what I wanted to ask you for this interview is I'm so curious what is the hardest to get back and what kind of comes back just naturally? I don't know where you're at in your in your prep process. I know we're getting close to OTAs, but you know, have you found like one thing just comes back immediately? And there's might maybe another thing you're like, ⁓ wow, I thought I was going to be a lot more ready to go on this area of the game and and I need a little bit more work on it. Yeah. I I think I'm still figuring it out each day. ⁓ I think right generally the setting, your hands, that's coming back. A lot of the muscle memory stuff, you know, you your serve routine feels the same, you know, the contact, like those kind of things. It that stuff comes back pretty fast. ⁓ the feel of everything. I know that's very vague, but like feel is such a thing in volleyball. Like you just I'm sure you've heard so many players talk about the feel, you know, like I've the feel is that. but a lot is, you know, speed and agility and just power were such a power sport. And ⁓ I think that's already taken a lot of work and I have a lot of hard work to keep going. ⁓ but I would say like the general feel I i there's a lot of muscle memory there. So like touching a volleyball doesn't feel bizarre, but the movements and, you know, like coming off the net, you know, releasing out of server seed to the net and then coming off the net, like those things just to not clicking as fast as they used to. And I think that's normal for taking eighteen months off of playing or however long it's been. but yeah, a lot of a lot of hard work goes into that. And and then just like, I don't know, the feel of playing sixes again. I think that's not all of us have an opportunity to play a ton of sixes in the offseason. And and so getting that, you know, playing defense behind a block. You know, playing defense was weird. I was like, whoa, I forgot a ball can come that fast. And then and then you you're playing behind no block and then all of a there's a block and you're like, ⁓ this is different. You know, like that's why we have blockers. ⁓ but yeah, I mean I think a lot has come back that feels normal and there's also a lot that I'm like, man, there's this is it's gonna be a long journey. And it already has been and there still is a lot, but but I definitely feel prepared and I feel like our timeline is I feel good. Were there ever any moments you c you can tell me if if it was, you know, like Sneaking onto the court at Louisville or or ⁓ you know, after practice at Indy, and we're just like, Yeah, still got it. I remember so I was, you know, on as a offensive consultant with Louisville last season and I was very pregnant at the beginning of the season and we're in two a days and ⁓ and w you know, we're splitting up doing some skill position work and ⁓ I can't remember why it happened or whatever. ⁓ but we were just running some quicks with the middles and setters were over there and so it was like, Hey Tori, you want just pop in and set for a second? And I'm like nine fully nine months pregnant. And I mean it's easy. Like they're just literally tossing balls straight to you. But I set one and and like the first one I set, I was like, Yeah, still got it. It was like probably the easiest thing I could have done. Literally put my hands up and just went like that. But Hold on, don't couch it. No, no, no. We just got that. Don't couch it. I believe you. I'm with you all the way there. But it was fun. I was like, okay, maybe maybe let's let's have this baby first and then figure it out. I love it. I love it. So okay, so what is the what does the routine look like for you right now? And now please, Tori, I need, you know, i i if the if the food's getting prepped for for your daughter first, that's part of the routine. And then we go into the then we go into the day. But what is your you know, I know we're we're getting close to OTAs like we mentioned, but kind of right now where you're at, what is your sort of daily routine look like? Yeah, daily routine, you know, up earlier than I used to be. Babies are babies are funny. They like early hours of the day. So yeah, up early and kinda hanging out with with her, letting her play a little bit. and morning routine. K I've tried to keep that the same. I always love morning routine. So I'm having breakfast and coffee and doing some some quiet time and ⁓ and sometimes that's that's interrupted and she doesn't want to play on her own and that's okay. So then I play with her. ⁓ but Yeah, she still takes two naps a day, so she'll go down, you know, still in the morning and and I head over to lift. ⁓ so I lift, takes a little while and then tired, really tired, but gotta get back, get some lunch, and and then I go get some reps most days ⁓ with some other players and ⁓ still kinda working into that. It's been it it's like balancing like how much do you wanna push right now and feel like I got I gotta still feel good to be a mom and then go back the next day. And so every day's a little bit different with how much we're doing. ⁓ and then head back and and hang out with her, do, you know, mealtimes with her. Those are fun and challenging at times. This age is very interesting with meals and food, but it's fun. She gets to explore a lot. Her spaghetti is her favorite food, which I mean it's one of my favorites, so it makes sense. She loves it, but it's nice and messy, so we take a while to clean up and ⁓ but yeah, and then it's, you know, bathtime and bedtime with ⁓ her and my husband and then hang out for a while. So It was kind of vague. Like I didn't give a ton of detail, but it's you know, life is I've learned that life is very ⁓ repetitive with kids and routine is really important and it can feel like monotonous at times, but it's also like really fun to see like, ⁓ we did this yesterday and she's doing this now with it today because she learned whatever. And like we're learning animal sounds right now. And so like hearing her say that a cow says moo and and then the next day sh the sheep says bah. Like and so like it's just funny because Like we're doing the same stuff, but she's just like her brain is just like going, going, going and she's learning every day and ⁓ and that's that's what kinda like keeps you on your toes and makes it fun. ⁓ and then obviously training being, you know, ramping up keeps me on my toes. And ⁓ I don't my strength coach doesn't tell me exactly what we're doing going in each day, which I'm thankful for because I don't know if I'd have you know, really be as excited as I am some days going in if I knew. And so that keeps me on my toes and I'm thankful because it's like, you what, once you're there, get the work done, you know, do it. as best you can and ⁓ but yeah getting yourself there sometimes when you're a little low on sleep or, you know, dealing with baby things is is hard. But ⁓ I've got a really great support system around me. My parents are so helpful. My husband's awesome. ⁓ and so I'm just thankful. The that that's a revelation showing up and not knowing what you're gonna be doing for strength training that day. I I I know, not exactly. I know. No, I know. But I actually think it's kind of helped me. Like I know the general idea or we push you know, like lower push, upper pole, you know, the concepts, but it's fun to like not know exactly. And and I think it's it's good because we're exploring like my body feels different than it did before having a kid and that's normal. And so we get to explore those that piece of it too and figure out like what's working best for me now. Because it is a little bit different than it used to be. You know, you learn your body so well playing for so long. But now it's it's almost like I'm in a different body and I have to figure this one out and what's working best for this one and what's gonna give me the best results and and you know, minimize risk of injury and those kind of things. So ⁓ it is it's been fun. I feel like my approach to the weight room is different these days, but it's more fun because it's like exploratory now, if that makes sense. Yeah, I I I that's just such a fascinating topic that I I didn't even consider of like, you know, p all those different muscle groups that you're gonna have to start working in and things like that. It's Crazy. One the things I want to be paying specific attention to is is what kind of ⁓ energy drink of choice, be it the your coffee order or what it is to keep up the athlete and mom energy. So I know a lot of the the women were on Alani's last year, so we'll see what what you end up choosing. I'll be paying very specific attention to that. I I know I like Alani, but I'm really into Bloom these days. I've really liked Bloom, but you know, I'll I'll definitely be trying things out for sure and I'll probably show up with a a different one each day. So I'll I'll definitely check in on that. Bloom. Got it. Got it. Yep. ⁓ Tori, you you mentioned a lot of great stuff about working with Indy and your perspective on seeing this whole league from various different ⁓ positions, I think is is just awesome. ⁓ I want to ask more and and I've asked several of our athletes this question, but you know, when you look at at ⁓ some of our very successful franchises like Indy or or Omaha or, you know, Dallas in their first year, whatever it may be, but now specifically for you, looking at Indy and some of the things they did really well. Are there specific points of that that you'll be bringing to NORCAL to try to replicate sort of what they have going on and bringing that over? And again, I feel like you're very well qualified because you know that area super well. So maybe there's some things about the that part of the co you know, the area that won't work so well. But just I'm curious if there are things that you noticed where you might be trying to bring that over when establishing this new team in year one. Yeah, gosh. I think I mean, I could rave about how Indy does things for a while. ⁓ but I specifically got to work with our commun with community outreach and I was with Randy Raf on that and she was just the best because she knows Indiana volleyball. She knows Indiana. That's I mean, and and Indi Indiana sports and but specifically the volleyball scene. And so really diving into that and they know their target audience. Like they're very it was like everything they had a vision for everything. They have, I should say. They have a vision and and they don't really like they don't they don't get distracted by fads or things that could be cool. Like they know this is our goal, this is the lane we're driving down. And we're gonna be really open to a lot of ideas that are, you know, helping us work towards that goal. But we're not gonna get distracted by stuff that isn't within our scope of vision. And I felt like they just did that so well. And I think there's a lot there's like a message in that for, you know, whether you're a player, a coach, a front office, you know, staff person or an intern or whatever, like if you know your vision, like where you're driving towards, like stay within that and do it so, so well. And so I'll definitely be taking that with me. I felt like that was a huge thing. And and with that, like knowing the audience, like knowing what Northern California volleyball fans want or like or who they are, you know, and I think that's that's the fun part about a place like Northern California is the diversity. And the that the roots run really deep in volleyball and and I really want us to dive into all of that. And I know our our staff already is. Like it's so cool to see some of the stuff they're doing and ⁓ and I think us players are really gonna, you know, hop on board with that and and drive towards it. But ⁓ yeah, I really I feel like having a vision, like know knowing what you want. It's not just like goal setting. It's like I think back to gosh, like the classes that you take early on in college as a student athlete, like talk about smart goals like the S ⁓ A R T. And I couldn't tell you exactly what each of those stand for now, but like everything was driven. Like they had to be measurable and attainable. And like you have to have a metric on them almost. And and we can do that in sports. We can do that in a front office sense, you know, using data from, you know, our ticket, you know, like the scan rate. That was something I learned. You know, just it's just all these things that you have no idea or a thing as a player and learning all that and like, okay, like what's my vision as a player, as a teammate, as a teammate and like for our team, and how do I go about that the best I can? ⁓ I feel like that's probably the biggest thing to take. ⁓ but also just knowing like a just a really deep appreciation for everything that goes into a game day. You know, like I hope that every person that goes into putting on our production in Northern California knows how much I appreciate them and I plan to let them know that and because it is really, really hard and really, really cool to see it all come to life. Indy and NorCal being two of just the latest stops for you because you know, you played first and second seasons of of PVF and, you know, you've seen everything about this league. But you know, to to again zoom out once more, how have you seen the league grow and evolve from the start? To now. Big question I know, but I feel like you're more qualified than most still to talk about that one. No, for sure. I mean, that was it's it's grown a lot, and I don't know if I'll have a ton of like specifics to point to, but it's been really, really cool to see. I think one of the grow like I th I I I always think of like Orlando from season one to season two, you know, right? One to two. Yeah. They, you know, I mean, barely miss out on playoffs. It was such a tight race for playoffs that year one, and barely miss out, and then they go win a championship the next year. And it felt like they just like tweaked a few things. But like that I don't know, they just and I don't know the ins and outs of what they did and the players, but I mean, they were clearly very talented and well coached. But it's just like you see the growth there of like, hey, we used this year to learn X, Y, and Z and we're gonna go build off of that. ⁓ I got to see, you know, Atlanta and Columbus and how they do things and seeing that growth has been really cool. I've seen one thing I've seen is teams really dive into their market. I think that's one of the coolest things I've seen. Like I think back to something as small as like our one of our jerseys in Atlanta year one. And I think they've done it each year. I'd have to, you know, correct me if I'm wrong. But our jersey had the Atlanta, ⁓ like a map basically of all the roads like in like a a lighter color on our jersey and just really dove into that. And I know they had like ATL night, I believe, and just really are like diving into their community. And Columbus was huge on community. You the Ohio volleyball scene was just fantastic and we got to really dive into that and I felt like I really appreciated that. ⁓ and I mean, seeing nationwide, like a a stadium like nationwide, like continue to grow and bring fans in, that's a huge way I've seen it grow. ⁓ but yeah, I mean, I feel like there's a lot of new this year, new expansion teams, new coaches, new players. And it it's really cool to see. And I'm I feel like this is kind of the year where it's like, all right, like this is MLV, you know, like this is the product that we've been trying to build and it's still not a finished product. But we're getting there and we have such a better vision of what it's meant to be and what everyone wants it to be, you know, within and fan experience too. ⁓ so yeah, like I said, I don't know if I have like a ton of specifics, but there's been a lot of growth and it's been really cool to see. You could clip that for a commercial, so I don't know what you're talking about, not a ton of specifics. That was perfect. ⁓ but to that point too, you know, then to to take it one level below, I guess, you know, to your experience with Louisville. What have you noticed about the the college to pro transition? And then specifically I feel like Louisville, as we've seen, has been such a great pipeline for some of our best athletes and ⁓ you know, just such a great connection to the NCAA space. And and what have you noticed about that transition? You know, we saw ⁓ Mimi last year being able to come in and light in the league on on fire from straight from the N CAA ⁓ ranks, and and just I'm curious if there are trends or things that you've noticed about the college to pro transition. Yeah, for sure. I think a huge one to point to is like they're you're now training in college for your pro career too. You're not just training for your four now five years in school. And and I've seen that. I don't know if that's been an an intentional switch everywhere, but I know certain places it has been. I think Louable being one of them is that like, you know, that staff is preparing these players to go have really long, awesome careers. And they care about those careers as much as they do their career at Louisville and that team's success. And I think that's really special because I think that takes, you know, it takes people that care about the sport and the person more than just that team that they're dealing with right then. ⁓ and it's really hard to find that separation at times because your job and this is your life and like it's all everything feels so intense in the middle of a season. But to have that perspective that it's bigger than just that moment is really, really cool and and these athletes' lives can and a lot of them will be or sorry, not lives, careers will be longer than just their time in school. And so I think you're training now when you're preparing, like the everyone's preparing you to become a professional athlete. And I think we're just seeing that because of the sp the scope of college athletics right now. It's basically professional athletics and so the preparation is there and you're being treated like one with responsibility and expectation. ⁓ and so I think we're learning as athletes like the expectation, like this is a job now. And it's a really awesome job and you're really fortunate to have it, but it's also a job. You have a job and you better go do it is kinda you know, and we're learning that earlier, which I think is a great thing. And ⁓ and I also think it's gonna weed out people that don't really want to play professional sports, which is a good thing for everyone, like for them to not feel the pressure to do it if they don't want to. And for, you know, like you know you're only gonna get people that want to, 'cause it's hard. College sports is has always been hard and it might even be harder now. That might be a hot take. I don't know if that's if that's accurate, but it might be harder now because you're you're basically a professional athlete at eighteen years old. And so I think it takes a it's a greater responsibility and and there's gonna be people that realize they don't want to do it because of that. And that's good for them to know that. Like having that direction is good, I think. ⁓ so I don't know. I mean it we could die this could be an hour long conversation about, you know, the changes of college sports, but I think how you choose to look at it is how you're gonna see it. If we look at it as a good thing, and that's preparing athletes to come in as pros already and know how to handle themselves on the court and off the court, it's a good thing. You know, if we want to look at it another way, sure, you can always find a different perspective. But I think it's a great thing. We're seeing fantastic players. I think you pointed out Muni's a fantastic example of being able to come straight from a college season, playing great, you know, national outside hitter of the year. to then being outside hit of the year in in the pro world. And so I think it's just we're able to see that fluidity and there's gonna be more stories like that, which is so awesome. And I think it's also kind of like to us veterans, we're like, shoot, we we gotta keep stepping it up. They're only getting better back there. Like we gotta we gotta keep getting better. So ⁓ I think it's great. Man, you're leaving us wanting more there with with that. It's perfect. But it's it's the perfect way to set up a a possible maybe episode two with with you, Tori. Yeah, for sure. ⁓ it's it's been yeah. I I'm glad I didn't ask that question at the beginning because we we could have gone forever on that one. I know, we might have been yeah. Hey, no, it's all good. It's it's saving us for the next episode. But Tori, before you leave, and you've been more than generous, which with what I'm sure is not a lot of free time for you these days. But so we're gonna make sure that we get you back to having maybe a little bit of free time. But first What we like to do here when we when we chat with our our favorite athletes is give a little bit of a rapid fire questions that help us know everybody a little bit better. Not that we need to get you know get to know you better at all, but maybe for someone who's tuning in who doesn't know enough about you, ⁓ these rapid fire questions are how we like to close out. So I'm sure you've done some of these. Don't think too hard about it. You know, maybe one or a couple word answers, but ⁓ you know, we're gonna we're gonna just run through them and and see what we get. You think you're up for it? Yeah, absolutely. All right, Tori. First up. What is the last TV show or movie that you or book that you read? We can go T V show movie that you watched or book that you read. ⁓ Lioness TV show. Tori, what is your current hobby? Being a mom. Good answer. What is your pet peeve? Ooh, slow walkers and picky eaters. Great one. Great one. Last day on earth meal. I'm imagining not spaghetti. Not spaghetti. I do love spaghetti. ⁓ a really, really good steak and keep it simple, like a steak, a potato, some kind of potato, and a vegetable. Tori, who would you want to play you in the movie of your life? ⁓ my gosh. ⁓ that's so good. Jennifer Lawrence. What is the fictional world that you wish you could live in? Okay, not I don't I wouldn't actually want to live in this world. But I've always loved the Hunger Games. And to s just to like experience it, but not I know that sounds terrible. I don't actually want to experience that. It's so dystopian. But to like I don't know what she's Yeah, we'll say all the cool parts of it without all the terrible parts. Love that. ⁓ Tori, what would you be doing if you weren't a volleyball player? I'd be a mom and I don't really know what else. ⁓ probably something else, but definitely just, you know, mom would be priority, as it always is. And I think I have a good idea of what you might say here. But the final question for you, Tori, what makes you happy? ⁓ my family and being around them and ⁓ and yeah, I I mean it's kinda cheesy and I've said it a couple of times already, but like being able to chase both dreams. Tori, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you here on on Set Six. Welcome back. Congratulations on being a mom. I am so excited for being able to go up to either games it or matches in NorCal, matches whenever we see you on whatever stops, you know, throughout this season. But ⁓ it's gonna be a blast to follow your journey ⁓ throughout this season ⁓ and and just so happy to have you back. But thank you for joining us here on the Set Six podcast. Yeah, thank you so much for having. This is super fun. A huge thank you to Tori Dilfer Stringer and to MLV NorCal. ⁓ just I had a blast getting to talk with Tori and Jenna. She is so genuine. She's so excited to be back. I think you can you can see that. ⁓ I just I mean, I I could listen to her talk about anything from where the college game is at to her routine being a mom to all the things that it's gonna take to get ready to to come back. But ⁓ I thought well, I mean, look, there's so many different ways we c we can go to to pick up different points. I thought one of the ones that I thought was very notable was when she talked about having almost more of appreciation for how this all operates from getting to see some things from more of a front office perspective with Indy. No, I totally agree. And honestly, I can completely relate. ⁓ getting to peek under the hood has been both terrifying and incredibly exhilarating just to see the pure logistics of things that go into keeping a volleyball team and a volleyball league operational. And I'm sure she got. all of that and more being on the front lines of the indie ignite. And so I think athletes that are able to go and come back to just bring that little bit of perspective is so, so incredibly helpful because sometimes, you know, it like any company, sometimes decisions can be made and it's a little confusing. It doesn't seem immediately obvious on the jump, though there is some very good reasoning by some very intelligent people behind it. So having someone who can kind of walk in both worlds, like Tori has, is incredibly invaluable both to the organization and her team, I would think. So if someone hasn't had the privilege of getting to watch her and maybe sort of what you saw from, you know, the early days of of you both being in this league to, you know, maybe what what you saw kind of in the the last time she was playing before or getting to see her this year, just sort of what are are some of the characteristics about her as a player? So if we think back to twenty twenty three, I think ⁓ Tori had a lot of really great name recognition coming from some really successful seasons at Louisville. ⁓ I believe her class, I'd have to check carefully, but that cohort was really instrumental to the turnaround of the Louisville program and the program Dan Meskie was building up there. So she already had a lot of cultural cachet from that moment. And then you saw at through talking to her, her natural charisma and her genuine enthusiasm for the sport and for the project. really made it very easy for her to talk to a lot of people. And when we t l think back to the, if you want to call them the OGs, ⁓ myself, Morgan Hence, Tori Dilfer Stringer, ⁓ Ronica Stone, Love now, ⁓ it was a lot of work in those early days of convincing people that ⁓ a professional volleyball league in the United States is is very much in underway. It's very much happening and getting people really excited and giving them the confidence enough To make a break from some of their more established plans they might have had for their lives. Maybe they were so sure that they needed to pursue their volleyball dream in the European leagues, or maybe they were so sure that they were going to put volleyball aside. And in those early days, just talking to people, talking to the people we knew and getting them excited about the message was a really big, big strength of Tories in the in those early days. I mean, I think when we when we were looking at NorCal, we said, okay, you know, these are gonna be a lot of players who are maybe going from roles sort of similar to what we talked about with Tristan, from roles where they weren't necessarily in maybe a full frontline leadership, gotta produce every night situation, to now having to to take that kind of role, talking about Taylor Lanfair, Ali Czech, Pia Timmer, very talented players, but might have also before this signing had to have taken a leadership role. And then I think you bring in Tori with having a bunch of experience from whether she's, you know, coaching at Louisville, from what she saw at Indy, from having that League OG perspective, from playing on the national team level to playing at a on a bunch of different levels to, you know, then working with Alex. She said she was really excited about that, coach Alex Dumfey. I think it's gonna be I I would assume once she gets to kind of get acclimated to everything, I think she's gonna bring a really great leadership perspective, even if it's just being a friendly. face and and a and a shoulder to lean on in the locker room that will benefit this team greatly. And then also just the fact that she's, you know, from the area, even if it's someone who's coming in who has no idea about, you know, that general area, knowing the restaurant recommendations from from the low to the high, I think she's gonna be nothing but a positive influence to this team. Even if she does take, I mean, I'm not assuming that it will take her a little bit to get up to speed, but let's say even the first month of the season, she's still trying to kind of get back to things. I think just having her presence is gonna be great. But that said, I know that, you know, however long it takes her, once once she's playing like we know she can play, it it's gonna be lights out on the court as well. No, to your point, it's such a natural scaffold for leadership. she can build onto the framework that these players are already bringing. And we know that these are incredibly talented players. And to your point, Severin, they haven't necessarily had the biggest, loudest frontline role. Tori has often filled that. ⁓ she came to Columbus, ⁓ joined me in Columbus season one, and after a very You know, it's really difficult to move teams midseason and she really handled that transition with a lot of grace and was able to continue to lead and bi lead via a positive role model for that Columbus Fury team that I'm sure the same pattern is gonna very much apply here in NorCal. And that's what makes me excited about this NorCal roster, right? It's very much gonna be a one plus one equals three situation. And I think Tori Dilfer Strenger is gonna be a little bit of that magic sauce that makes makes the makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Sauce, math, alchemy, scaffolding, lots of different analogies, and we're and and she's all of those things. I love it. And ⁓ yeah, no, I I can't wait to see it for sure. Jenna, let's ⁓ transition to the next part of the show where we will check in on our mailbag. And I understand that you have some ⁓ some mail for us that we can go through. Let's check out the mailbag. ⁓ first question what is NorCal's name? To which I say Hush. It's coming very in a couple weeks. A couple weeks or maybe a a week. I think it's coming very, very soon. I beg you to stay patient. ⁓ question number two. When will the LA roster drop? Well, I think you've already seen it starting to to trickle out and it might be a little bit of a a slow roll there, but I would say also pretty soon. We know Tristan is number one, at least at the time of Us here recording on a Tuesday, so heck, you might even know more than we do. ⁓ if you're talking from future you to past us. Yeah. Wow, man, we are really bending space and time here. That's fantastic. What a medium. Bending space and time. That's the subheader. That's the LinkedIn report. The LinkedIn version. will there be an update to IR from Kyra Brooks? I find it so difficult to keep up with who is hurt. Yeah, I think I think we can we we might be able to help with that a little bit coming into this season. Obviously we started this like final couple weeks of the season, this podcast. And so now that we'll have a full season going in, I think that's certainly if something that ⁓ you all want, we can we can help with keeping track of that. ⁓ definitely. We'll have the lists and that can be a part of our regular weekly coverage as we move into season four. So thank you very much for that note. That's fantastic. ⁓ our ever favorite Jenisville. Jennize Bell, I I know who you are. And I know you love Grand Rapids. I just need to figure out how to pronounce your name. Anyway, or your screen name. Question. Who needs to be sacrificed to get MLV a primetime game of the week on one of the big four networks? Tori mentioned Hunger Games, so along that vein, I'll I'll volunteer as tribute. But I I what I do know is that ⁓ some things are being talked about behind the scenes. I don't think any promises can be made. but Yeah, I don't I won't go any further with that, but I know the right people are having the right conversations and I'll leave it there. I hope this was a somewhat useful mailbag, everyone. I we we we do truly strive to give you as many answers as we possibly can without getting our hands smacked by those the powers that be. So slide into our Instagram DMs, pop a comment on the YouTube video. We're here, we're open. You could stock our personal Instagram pages if you felt so inclined. I might strongly advise against that. But hey, we are available to you. We thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Set Six podcast. We'll be back next week where ⁓ I think we'll have reaction from the DC flight ⁓ brand announcement and venue location announcement, ⁓ and all things from that day. ⁓ and we'll we'll break down the whole thing. So that'll be next week's episode. ⁓ ⁓ but until then, go check out the full library, go check out our MLV essentials on the shop from Ren. ⁓ and you know, stay tuned because more stuff is coming as we get ever closer to things like the draft and OTAs. And ⁓ we're really kicking into high gear as we move into fall and then the later stages, and you know, it'll be December and January before you know it. So we're having so much fun with you in the meantime, and we hope that you'll keep listening. But until then, that is gonna do it for this episode of the Set Six Podcast, the official podcast. of Major League Volleyball. I'm Severin Lavenstein. That is Jenna Rosenthal and we will see you next week. Before we go, also just a thank you to our producers, Mike, Jenna, and Amy. It does not happen without them, and it does not happen without you. Once again, thank you so much. We'll see you next time. Take care, everybody.