Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Ashley West on Utah Volleyball, Rivalry game vs BYU tomorrow night, Her athleticism: Can she dunk (?) + more

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Ashley West on Utah Volleyball, Rivalry game vs BYU tomorrow night, Her athleticism: Can she dunk (?) + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: You're tuned to the Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
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  Speaker 3: Welcome to our number two on the Sean O'Connell Show.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome in from your Utah volleyball team, Ashley West, outside
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  Speaker 2: hitter and oppo hitter.
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  Speaker 3: We'll talk about that with her. Ashley, welcome to the show.
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  Speaker 3: How are you?
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  Speaker 4: I'm good. I'm good. Thanks for having me on. I'm
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  Speaker 4: super excited.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: We appreciate you joining us here for a minute. BYU
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  Speaker 2: tomorrow night at the Huntsman center at seven read out.
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  Speaker 3: Everybody get there.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Utah tickets.com slash volleyball. Get the tickets. They're running specials
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  Speaker 2: right now. Great family activity. Get all the kids out there.
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  Speaker 2: Make some noise as Utah hosts BYU. And, Ashley, obviously
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  Speaker 2: this is a big one. This is a nationally ranked
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  Speaker 2: BYU team. You guys are right up there in that
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  Speaker 2: conversation as well.
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  Speaker 3: And, you know, tell me what the expectation is.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me what your thoughts are heading into this match.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah. I mean, we're excited, you know, it's easy to
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  Speaker 4: get fired up for this game. We play them year
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  Speaker 4: round in the spring, but for sure, now that we're
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  Speaker 4: back in the same conference, it's just, it's really easy
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  Speaker 4: to get, like I said, fired up to play them.
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  Speaker 4: They're playing some really good volleyball right now, but I mean,
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  Speaker 4: so are we. So I'm just excited to get out
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  Speaker 4: there and compete. You know, we've got a lot of
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  Speaker 4: key components this year. And yeah, I mean, I think
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  Speaker 4: it's just get to that first whistle and just let
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  Speaker 4: it roll. So yeah, we're excited. We're really excited to
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  Speaker 4: have them at home first and then we'll go down
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  Speaker 4: there in a couple of weeks, but to get them
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  Speaker 4: in the Huntsman center first in front of our home
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  Speaker 4: crowd last year, we set an attendance record. So we'd
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  Speaker 4: like to do that again. And yeah, just, I guess
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  Speaker 4: beat them on our own court first.
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  Speaker 3: What are they best at?
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  Speaker 2: What's, what's the biggest threat from this BYU team right now?
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  Speaker 4: They're, they're pretty good offensively. They've got a lot of
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  Speaker 4: powerhouse attackers who swing with a lot of, with a
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  Speaker 4: lot of pace and who are very physical. They move
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  Speaker 4: the ball around. So it'll be good for us, for
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  Speaker 4: our eyes defensively to, to face attackers who see the ball,
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  Speaker 4: see the court, have really good vision and play volleyball
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  Speaker 4: at just a really high level. So we're anticipating to
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  Speaker 4: get into a lot of long rallies with them. They're
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  Speaker 4: good defensively too. They're just, they're, they're very sound team.
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  Speaker 4: You know, it's hats off to them and the training
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  Speaker 4: they've been doing in the spring this year. that they just,
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  Speaker 4: they're going to bring their best. And like I said, their,
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  Speaker 4: their attackers just moved the ball around really well. So
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  Speaker 4: we've been talking about this digging in, in long rallies
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  Speaker 4: against them, moving the ball around when we send it
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  Speaker 4: back their way and just competing.
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  Speaker 2: I feel like you're an athlete who understands rivalries probably
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  Speaker 2: better than a lot of people. If you don't know,
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  Speaker 2: Ashley's dad, a Colorado Buffalo mom, a Nebraska Cornhusker. So
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  Speaker 2: I imagine that was a conversation at some point during
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  Speaker 2: your childhood. So we'll start there. Like rivalry games. I
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  Speaker 2: love the BYU-Utah rivalry. It's one of the most unique
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  Speaker 2: in the whole country. I don't know it from the
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  Speaker 2: volleyball perspective, but is that accurate? Were you raised with
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  Speaker 2: a deep understanding of what rivalries in sports are actually
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  Speaker 2: supposed to be?
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  Speaker 4: Oh my gosh. Yes. I mean, the CU Nebraska rivalry
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  Speaker 4: ran deep in my family. My cousin on my mom's
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  Speaker 4: side then went to Nebraska to play football. And the
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  Speaker 4: first time I saw my dad in Nebraska Jersey, I
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  Speaker 4: thought like, I thought the world was ending. I thought
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  Speaker 4: the sky was falling, but he'll tell you that he
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  Speaker 4: was just very supporting Kenny. But yeah, no, I mean,
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  Speaker 4: It's just the greatest thing that comes with college sports.
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  Speaker 4: It's so cool to be a part of a school
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  Speaker 4: that has such a big rivalry. It gets the people going.
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  Speaker 4: There's nothing better than just a good old rivalry game.
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  Speaker 4: Being raised in that kind of environment in my own
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  Speaker 4: household and definitely within my family as well, it's just special.
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  Speaker 4: You just understand a little bit more. And now, now
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  Speaker 4: that I've been at Utah for a while and I've,
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  Speaker 4: you know, spent a lot of time here and this
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  Speaker 4: is where I've kind of planted my roots. I, I
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  Speaker 4: kind of feel that rivalry in my freshman year. I
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  Speaker 4: kind of was like, no, you know, whatever. Okay. Utah BYU.
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  Speaker 4: But now that I've been here for so long and
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  Speaker 4: I have so much pride to be a youth and
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  Speaker 4: I know how much the rivalry means not only to me,
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  Speaker 4: but all the players and coaches who have come through
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  Speaker 4: this program before me, I just can't wait to go
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  Speaker 4: out and represent that as well. Tomorrow night.
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  Speaker 2: How long did it take? Was it like, your freshman
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  Speaker 2: season that gave you that wake up? Because I don't
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  Speaker 2: expect that someone who's, who's raised out of state understands
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  Speaker 2: like the nuance and the venom and some of the
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  Speaker 2: stuff with this rivalry, but how long does it take
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  Speaker 2: for an out of state player to really absorb it
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  Speaker 2: and start to realize what it means?
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  Speaker 4: I would say pretty quickly. I mean, the upper class
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  Speaker 4: and on my, on my team, my freshman year, they
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  Speaker 4: let me know what kind of monster the rivalry game is.
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  Speaker 4: And that was when we were back in the PAC 12.
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  Speaker 4: So the, we didn't have the in-conference rivalry, you know,
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  Speaker 4: and I feel like that adds a whole nother layer
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  Speaker 4: to it. Cause now we're talking about Conference standings, they're
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  Speaker 4: in the running for the top spot in the conference
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  Speaker 4: right now. We are too. And yes, it's early in
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  Speaker 4: the conference, but you add the layer of being in
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  Speaker 4: the Big 12 together and it just adds so much more.
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  Speaker 4: But I would say, yeah, probably right after that first
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  Speaker 4: game my freshman year, I was like, okay, I get
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  Speaker 4: it now. I'm locked in. We don't we don't wear blue.
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  Speaker 4: We don't talk about the color blue. We don't talk
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  Speaker 4: about the why any of that stuff up here. So,
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  Speaker 4: I mean, with all due respect, it's fun every single
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  Speaker 4: time to them and to play against them. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 4: I would say probably right after my freshman year, I
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  Speaker 4: was like, OK, I get it.
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  Speaker 1: I get it.
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  Speaker 4: And I'm bought into it. I love it.
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  Speaker 2: I want to talk about you individually here on the roster.
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  Speaker 2: You're listed as both outside and oppo hitter. And for
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  Speaker 2: the uninitiated volleyball people, tell me what it means to
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  Speaker 2: have to do both of those at a very high level.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah. I mean, so I came in, I was recruited
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  Speaker 4: as an outside. I spent my, my, I guess my
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  Speaker 4: junior years playing on the outside, which is the left
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  Speaker 4: side playing six rotations. So I would play in the
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  Speaker 4: back row and pass play, serve, receive, play defense, And
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  Speaker 4: then when I got here my freshman year, it was
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  Speaker 4: kind of just what the team needed at the time was,
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  Speaker 4: was someone on the right, which is essentially, you know,
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  Speaker 4: same position, just opposite side of the court. You definitely
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  Speaker 4: see the court differently and kind of the volume you
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  Speaker 4: carry is a little bit different, but from a hitting perspective, perspective.
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  Speaker 4: It's just see ball, move the ball around and hit
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  Speaker 4: it hard. So it was an easier transition than I
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  Speaker 4: kind of thought it was going to be at first.
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  Speaker 4: And just through my time here at Utah, I've kind
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  Speaker 4: of bounced back and forth. And something that I love
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  Speaker 4: about this program is they continue to develop us as
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  Speaker 4: players through our time here. So I haven't gone fully
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  Speaker 4: away from the outside. I mean, I'm still training, passing
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  Speaker 4: and defense every single day. That's something Coach Alyssa is very, very,
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  Speaker 4: I mean, she just holds a lot of weight to
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  Speaker 4: that is developing her players as, as all around volleyball
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  Speaker 4: players and not just a skill specific athletes. So right
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  Speaker 4: now my role for this year's team and where I've
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  Speaker 4: been training and spending my time is on the opposite.
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  Speaker 4: And I've loved that and I've been having a ton
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  Speaker 4: of fun. But yeah, so I just, we, they listed
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  Speaker 4: both just cause I've kind of been 50 50 with
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  Speaker 4: my time here at Utah and it's been great.
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  Speaker 2: Ashley West is our guest here on the Sean O'Connell show.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Utah Volleyball hosting BYU tomorrow night. Get there to the
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  Speaker 2: Huntsman Center for a redout. Tickets are on sale right
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: now at utahutes.com. Pack this place out as it's a
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  Speaker 2: ranked BYU team coming in to the Huntsman Center. So
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  Speaker 2: back to this matchup and I guess where it falls
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  Speaker 2: in the season.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know how much momentum is emphasized.
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  Speaker 2: We were talking about this with the football game last
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  Speaker 2: week at Rice Eccles and how there was big momentum
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  Speaker 2: swings in that game. And depending on what athlete you
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  Speaker 2: talk to and what sport, right, there's the momentum in
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  Speaker 2: the moments and in the games and then the momentum
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  Speaker 2: of the season. And you're coming off a couple of
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  Speaker 2: big wins, 3-0 over Kansas State, 3-0 over West Virginia.
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  Speaker 2: Do you believe that you guys can carry some of
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  Speaker 2: that momentum in against BYU, or do you have to
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  Speaker 2: take it as its own thing?
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  Speaker 4: I think a little bit of both. I think we
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  Speaker 4: have a lot of momentum just from the past two
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  Speaker 4: games that you just mentioned, but also this season itself
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  Speaker 4: has been kind of, we've been just taking it one
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  Speaker 4: day at a time. And, you know, we've got a
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  Speaker 4: really unique group this year who's very motivated and very hungry.
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  Speaker 4: So I think not only the past few games, but
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  Speaker 4: also just taking a set off of pit and playing
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  Speaker 4: some really high level competition throughout our season so far
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  Speaker 4: with pit being ranked number two in the nation, being
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  Speaker 4: able to take a set off of them was something
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  Speaker 4: we definitely added to our little confidence piggy bank. But yeah,
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  Speaker 4: I mean, I think not only the momentum from the
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  Speaker 4: past few games, but also the fact that, you know,
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  Speaker 4: we reverse swept them at home last year, the year
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  Speaker 4: prior to that, we swept them at home. So just
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  Speaker 4: kind of knowing what, what we're capable of doing on
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  Speaker 4: our home floor and in front of our own fans and, and, Yeah,
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  Speaker 4: I think just kind of using it all as momentum,
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  Speaker 4: like you said, and just using it as confidence to
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  Speaker 4: fuel ourselves to get ready to go at 7 p.m.
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  Speaker 4: tomorrow night.
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  Speaker 3: Big picture.
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  Speaker 2: Your volleyball program is in a similar state of what
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: football was in where, you know, longtime head coach steps
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  Speaker 2: away and new young coach comes in first year, you know,
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  Speaker 2: kind of steering the ship. Despite having deep awareness of
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: what this program is, it changes the role. or Costa Rica,
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  Speaker 2: what has been the most noticeable change? Has there been
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: a big shift in any of your preparation, schedule? Is
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: it more the same or is it more different? Give
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: me a sense of what it's like having a new
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  Speaker 2: head coach at this point in your career.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, there's definitely some differences that, you know, that,
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  Speaker 4: that we saw, but for the most part, I think
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  Speaker 4: the coolest thing that I've been able to notice and
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  Speaker 4: really buy into this season is coach Alyssa has been
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  Speaker 4: always prided herself on her authenticity and how she shows
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  Speaker 4: up the same every single day. She did that when
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: she was in the associate head coach role. And that
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  Speaker 4: hasn't changed even though her title changed. And even though
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  Speaker 4: she stepped into this head coaching position and taken over
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  Speaker 4: this program. So I think that's, that was the biggest
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  Speaker 4: part that I was looking for as the transition happened.
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  Speaker 4: And I mean, she just has stayed true to her
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  Speaker 4: own colors and, and shows up the same and really
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  Speaker 4: just cause she loves us and she loves the sport
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  Speaker 4: and she loves to grow the sport. And I think
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  Speaker 4: that's just one of the biggest lessons that if anything,
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  Speaker 4: she can teach to all of us is that no
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: matter how, how your day is going or the title
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  Speaker 4: you hold next to your name, just show it for
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  Speaker 4: the people around you. And there's going to be a
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  Speaker 4: lot of reward from that.
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  Speaker 2: We had her on a couple of weeks ago, and
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  Speaker 2: she was bragging on you guys and some of the
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  Speaker 2: athletes in that program.
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  Speaker 3: What's your vertical, Ashley?
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  Speaker 4: I touched 10-5. I don't know what she was saying,
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  Speaker 4: but yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think she was saying that. 10-5 is up there.
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  Speaker 3: Can you dunk a basketball?
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  Speaker 4: I mean, we haven't tried in a while. I haven't
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  Speaker 4: tried since my surgeries, but I mean, I'd be willing
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: to try. Maybe I could see. We'll get you a day.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: We'll get you like a, we'll get you a mini ball,
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: make it a little bit easier with a mini ball
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: or something.
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  Speaker 4: No, I'm getting a basketball in there for sure.
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  Speaker 3: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: So for, for someone like I gotta make, you gotta
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: make sure you ask these questions the right way, but
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: like for someone, for someone who has that as part
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  Speaker 2: of their skillset, right? Like that has that elite athleticism,
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  Speaker 2: that power, the size, right. Uh, how much do you
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  Speaker 2: build your game around it? And how much do you
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  Speaker 2: have to like say, no, I need to like the skill,
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  Speaker 2: the craft has to be a point of emphasis here
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  Speaker 2: because obviously the athleticism is what gets you a scholarship
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: and carries you to this level. But when you get
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: to the higher levels of any sport, everybody's an athlete.
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  Speaker 2: Everybody can jump. Everybody can play. Everybody's, like, athletic to
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  Speaker 2: some degree. There's outliers, of course. But how much do
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  Speaker 2: you let that still be a driver in your game versus, like, no,
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  Speaker 2: that's just a happy little byproduct of me being a great,
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  Speaker 2: skilled volleyball player?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a good question. I've actually... I'll just let
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  Speaker 4: you in on a little insight. I didn't originally think
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: I was going to play college volleyball. So I didn't
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: think I didn't really buy into the sport for a
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: while until later in my high school career. So I
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  Speaker 4: had a lot of learning of the game to do
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  Speaker 4: once I got to this level. And once I realized
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  Speaker 4: how fast the game moves at this level. So I
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: spent a lot of time both when I was healthy
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: and also when I was injured, just learning the game
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  Speaker 4: and seeing the game from different angles, understanding, you know,
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  Speaker 4: how the ball moves and understanding, you know, what the,
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  Speaker 4: what the stat sheet may and all the things that
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: come within it. So I think that my athletic ability
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  Speaker 4: and I'm very blessed by it. And it's definitely something
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  Speaker 4: that I can, I can kind of fall back to,
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  Speaker 4: but something that I've recently taken a lot of pride
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  Speaker 4: in within my own game is, is the knowledge of
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  Speaker 4: the game that I've been able to grow and, over
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  Speaker 4: the past couple of years. And that comes from the
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  Speaker 4: investment from my coaches as well, was just sitting down,
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  Speaker 4: breaking down film, explaining things over and over again to me,
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: finding different ways to understand the game, um, has been
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  Speaker 4: something that I've now been able to take onto the
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  Speaker 4: court now that I'm healthy. Um, so I, yeah, I mean,
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  Speaker 4: to answer your question, I think understanding the game and, and,
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  Speaker 4: and learning that and understanding that, yes, I am strong
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  Speaker 4: and physical and that is, that's a strength of mine,
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: but then learning, okay, how can I be crafty? How
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  Speaker 4: can I move the ball around? Maybe like an undersized
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: pin attacker would, or how can I work my angle
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  Speaker 4: with my platform to not let a deep serve beat me,
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  Speaker 4: even though I am tall in the passing lanes. Um,
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  Speaker 4: so yeah, I think it's a little, it's a, it's
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  Speaker 4: a combo of both. And I think when you get
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  Speaker 4: to this level and like you said, you're surrounded by
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  Speaker 4: a ton of other athletes who are very strong and physical,
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  Speaker 4: and that's a definition of our team this year, for sure. Um,
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  Speaker 4: you've got to learn how to expand your game in
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  Speaker 4: other ways. And for me, that's, that's really in the
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  Speaker 4: film room.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, forgive me for backtracking a little bit here, but
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: why did you not buy into volleyball until later in
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: your high school career?
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  Speaker 4: I was stuck to softball. I was raised in a
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: competitive household. My parents introduced my sister and I to
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: all sports at a young age, and for a while there,
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  Speaker 4: I just fell in love with softball. I was a pitcher.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: and a power hitter. And I just loved it. And
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: I thought it was so fun. It came super easy
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  Speaker 4: to me. I was introduced to a very high level
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  Speaker 4: of softball at a super young age. So I was
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: from Colorado, but playing for a travel ball team out
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: of Anaheim, California and loved that and just loved that
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  Speaker 4: experience there and got a little bit burnt out summer
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: going into my junior year. And that was when I decided, well,
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: I guess I'm tall. Maybe I could put this height
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: towards something else. And Kind of just fell in love
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  Speaker 4: with volleyball that year because it was so new and
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: it was so fresh and everyone was always like high
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: energy in the gym and just, I don't know, just
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  Speaker 4: everything kind of clicked that summer going into my junior year.
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  Speaker 4: And ironically, that was kind of when recruiting was happening
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: at the time. So yeah. kind of made a switch
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: transition and probably stressed my parents out more than I
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: can even imagine, but it all worked out. So yeah, softball,
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: that was where my heart was at.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: So your parents and you invested like your entire childhood
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: of time and travel and money and energy and all
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: that stuff into softball and then volleyball ended up being
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: the thing for you.
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, honestly. Yeah. It's the best way to put it.
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: And I'm just so grateful that my parents were able
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: to support me in both directions that I wanted to go. Um,
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: and then, I mean, they were my biggest supporters. They
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: believed in me like, like no one else. And, you know,
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: I had a dream as a little girl to play
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: college softball and, you know, be one of the best
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: pitchers in the nation. And they let me chase that
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: as far as I wanted to chase it. And the
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: day that I came to them, I was so scared,
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: but the day that I came to them to tell
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: them that, maybe this isn't where my heart's at and
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: this isn't the love that I have for the game anymore.
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: They were right there, big arms, ready to hug me
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: and help me go the next direction. And I was
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: grateful enough and lucky enough to be supported by amazing
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: volleyball coaches in Colorado who kind of just took me
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: in as this raw, unexperienced athlete and started to train me.
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: And all of a sudden I was you know, getting
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: some looks at by other schools and getting recruited to
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: a sport that I honestly didn't even know much about.
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: So yeah, that's kind of why I had to I
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: was a late bloomer to the sport, you could say.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: That's pretty cool.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Which of your parents tries to claim more of your athleticism?
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Because this is something that happens when both mom and
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: dad are athletes.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: Oh, I don't know if they're listening or not, but
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: I would say probably my dad. He just, yeah, I
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: would say if you ask him, he's going to take
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: more of the more of the accountability for that. But
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: I mean, they were both such elite athletes, so it's
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: hard to say, but yeah, I'd say he probably tries
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: to take more of it.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Okay. I, I, I've talked about this on my radio
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: show a lot of times. And like, of course, dads
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: are always like, yeah, you get that stuff from me.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: But when you really look at the best athletes in
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: the world, sneaky, it's always like, yeah, dad is an athlete,
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: but if you're a great athlete, dad, but an unathletic mom,
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: You still kind of have a chance, but not really.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: If you're a great athlete dad with a great athlete mom,
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: that's when you have the super kids. That's when you
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: end up being a D1 type of prospect.
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: I'll let them know you said that my mom will
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: appreciate to hear that.
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: Well, it's science as, as far as I can describe, um, the,
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: the professional opportunities in women's sports are growing and they're
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: growing pretty rapidly. And we've seen now in volleyball, we've
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: got a franchise here in salt Lake, uh, same thing
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: with softball with the Talons now playing in salt Lake city.
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: Obviously the WNBA is having a big moment these last
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: couple of seasons, uh, So, you know, this is it's
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: relatively new. And I know that there's been volleyball professionalism,
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: you know, overseas for a long time. Is that something
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: that that you see for yourself? Will you try to
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: pursue this professionally?
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah. 100%.
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah. I think over the past couple of years that
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: now that I've kind of, like I said, I've been
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: injured while I've been here and I've been able to
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: get healthy and I'm kind of seeing the direction that
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: my game is going. I, um, it's definitely a dream
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: of mine and a goal of mine that I, that
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: I plan to chase when I get done here at Utah.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: And then in your bio, it says you also want
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: to get into sports broadcasting.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: Is that true?
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it is true. I've been grateful enough and blessed
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: to have had a couple opportunities here to shadow College
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: Game Day and sit in on the broadcast during the
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: volleyball games last season, do some on-air commentating. And it's
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: just kind of been... You know, something that I didn't
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: really know I wanted to do coming into college, but
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: once I kind of was thrown into it and I
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: was just told to talk about sports and talk to
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: people and do all these fun, cool, exciting things, I
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: was like, you know, I could see myself maybe making
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: a career out of this once I'm done playing volleyball.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: So that's the challenge is in a, in an industry
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: that is very competitive and is continuing to expand as
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: sports in the States expanded. How do I keep my name,
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: you know, out there as a broadcaster, but also as
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: an athlete. So trying to navigate that and prioritize the
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: right thing at the right time, but for sure, something
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: that I do want to get to eventually in my life.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: Well, and of course, focus on volleyball right now. And you're,
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: you're playing career play as long as you can. The
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: job market is waiting at some point, of course, but
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: this might be a stupid question. Do you, do you
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: want to focus on volleyball? Do you want to focus
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: on women's sports or would you be someone who could
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: see themselves like, you know, commentating on, on NFL games
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: or being a part of The because the unfortunate reality
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: or just the reality, I don't know if it's unfortunate
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: or not, is that like that's where the biggest money is.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: That's where the biggest professional opportunities are. Can you see yourself,
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: you know, like on college game day at some point?
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I for sure can. That's kind of where my
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: head went immediately when I realized that this is something
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: that I want to do. I mean, I'm competitive. I
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: was raised in a very competitive household. And so I
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: want to be on the biggest stage in front of
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: the biggest crowd and carry the biggest load that I
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: can carry. So I think that's the competitive side in me.
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: But if I can also be a a voice and
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: a face in front of a camera for the women's,
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: for the women's side of sports and be a part
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: of the expansion of it right now, I would take
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: huge pride, pride in that. So, you know, I think yes, small,
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: short answer is I would do want to be on
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: NFL game day and college game day and maybe the NBA,
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: that would be cool too. But I mean, if I
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: can help expand college sports and get more eyes and
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: more viewers on in a space that is already expanding rapidly,
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: I would love to do that as well.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: Well, the nice thing is it's not one or the other.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: They're not mutually exclusive, right? Not these days. Have you
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: linked up with Holly Roe ever?
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Um, briefly, I haven't like sat down, sat down with her,
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: but briefly we've been able to cross paths when she's
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: been on campus. Um, ironically enough, she was my old
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: head coach. Beth Lanier was her, was Holly Rose first
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: official interview when she graduated after she graduated from the U.
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: So that was kind of funny when coach Beth told
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: me that. And so there's some connection there, but I mean,
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: I would love to sit down and just pick her
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: brain for sure. One day.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm sure you'll make that connection at some point
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: because that's a good friend to have in this business,
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: and she's kind of the gold standard.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: For sure.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Fun stuff.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for answering all my questions as
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: I pick your brain on everything around volleyball and some volleyball, too.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: And most importantly, good luck. We want you to go
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: smash BYU because, obviously, it's go Utes all day here
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: on ESPN 700.
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: Thanks for your time, Ashley.
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you, guys.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: Ashley West, outside hitter and oppo hitter for this University
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: of Utah volleyball team. Red out at the Huntsman Center
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: tomorrow night at 7 p.m. BYU is the 14th ranked
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: team in the country.
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: Get there. Support your Utes.