Latest / Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast / Episode 002 | Kaylee Cox's Dream Comes True
Transcript
- Mike Moline: I never knew that professional volleyball would happen in the United States, let alone in my home city, home state. And so for my friends and family to come and support me at every single game, mean, it's been a dream come true and it's everything I've ever wished for. Hello and welcome to the set six podcast the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. This is episode two. We've got a great conversation coming up here for you with Kaylee Cox of the Dallas Pulse. Super great to talk to Kaylee outside header for Dallas who's been really just such a consistent presence for them. We know about Mimi Collier, we know about Sophia Maldonado-Diaz, but Kaylee has been maybe an unsung hero of that lineup and we're just so grateful to talk to her. It's an on location episode. and when we were in Frisco a couple of weeks ago. So we will get you to that conversation momentarily. If you've not listened to episode one, please go do so. It's with Morgan Hentz of the Grand Rapids Rise. Always amazing to chat with Morgan and another amazing conversation. So please go and check out that episode again wherever you may be listening. We appreciate you for doing so and that episode is available wherever is most convenient for you to listen. So that's Apple, YouTube, wherever. Just got back from Omaha. That's the first thing I want to talk about and because it was right after they clinched had the fortunate availability to cover that match and it was a great one. It was a really fun match, but they were going against Columbus in order to clinch it at the beginning of the match going in. was do they need to win in three sets, four sets, or was it one where eventually this ended up being the case where by the time the match got started, any kind of win was going to get them into the postseason and We know all the trials and tribulations that Omaha has had to deal with this season and to be able to get to that magic number above 500 and earn a playoff spot the third year in a row that they have done so that they'll be competing for the MLB championship. major congratulations to them. A major congratulations to Coach Robson. I'm chuckling because I got to meet him for the first time when he came out to his press availability. He was sporting a little bit of a peach fuzz mustache and I am certainly no facial hair expert, although I can tell you that, unfortunately, it's well beyond peach fuzz for me. And, you know, even after a couple days, especially for any on-camera work, I gotta break out the razor right away. But I think if someone tells me Mr. Robson might be able to go quite a few days without shaving based on that peach fuzz mustache, but he was all in great spirits for it because I guess actually the story behind it is one of their assistants has a pretty killer mustache and... ⁓ Robson is getting joining in on the fun and apparently all the team really likes it and is making fun of him for it and hey, he ripped off three wins so it might have to stay and become a playoff peach fuzz mustache, ⁓ but of course it was also Thomas's ⁓ 26th birthday, I believe which is crazy and he's doing so well. It's it's it's awesome to see a fellow guy in their 20s doing such an amazing job as he is in that position but ⁓ Yeah, no, it was it was really cool too, because we got to chat with couple of the players to off the top of my head, I believe is Brook Mosier, Beeson and Elit Sketsinger and they use their faces lit up when we were talking about, what's it like to be coached by Thomas and they just talk about how he's such a great positive presence, which I think is really needed sometimes and especially for a lot of what Omaha was going through just having someone who has a little bit of a new perspective and had a great outlook on the team and just seeing Thomas interact with them during the match. He's so fired up and in practice as well. He's got a lot of personality and I think he's a great fit for that team. And I think this all played out in the court as well. So it was also really great to see a nice celebration for Diane Mendenhall, the team president before the match. Diane has been always so nice to us when we're when we visit, but also I'm sure Omaha fans know better than I do just how much of a presence that she has been. So sad to see her transition away from that role, but really great to see the support that she got from both the in-stadium crowd, but also just that great staff in Omaha. once again, big shout out to them. And it was great just being here on the West coast. think it's funny when I chat with my friends about, man, I really love my going to Omaha. It's so much fun. They're like, really? It's sideways look. It's like, oh, that's one of the places I fly over on my way to the other destination. But I love the city so far. I've had some great experiences with the food. Shout out to Block16, I got a really nice poutine breakfast burrito. I didn't even know they made those, but that was fantastic. But overall, I think the city is well laid out. It's really nice to get to the arena. A lot of different options. ⁓ Chatting with some nice folks while I was watching one of the hockey games during some of my downtime and actually got them to come out to the match. you know, they could thank me for selling at least two more tickets there. ⁓ no, it was funny because it was the full experience. We got a tornado warning that dropped some hail on the... arena as I was doing some the pregame interviews. So the full Nebraska experience, but I love it so far. I'm telling you, don't knock it till you go there for anybody who hasn't. But Omaha fans, know that and I don't need to tell you. either way, we are off to Frisco this week. And for many of you, it is championship week already. By the time you're listening to this, we'll be flying out momentarily. So ⁓ we I can't believe it's already here. I know I said that before, but the fact that we are already at championship week, we know the four teams finally it is Indy Dallas, Omaha and San Diego, we are still waiting on the seating for the final two teams that will be decided. Actually, again, for most of you already listening to this in the future, you probably already know what the seating is. ⁓ But stick around too, because I'll tell you more towards the end, but we will have some ⁓ on location preview content, whether that be on social media or here on this podcast, we are planning a live podcast that we where we will chat with members of all the teams. So Whether you're a general MLB fan or a fan of any of these teams that are in the MLB Championship, we will have content for you with some of your favorite athletes. So stay tuned for that. ⁓ Predictions, ⁓ as I said, seeding that we'll know at that time, it's all going to be there. So without any further ado, let me get to the guest for this week. Sitting down with Kaylee Cox in the arena where this is all going to take place at the MLB Championship in Frisco from Comerica Center. It is our conversation with Kaylee Cox. Kaylee, thanks so much for taking some time to join us here today. I know, I mean, maybe it's a little different when you're seeing the court get set up and you're coming from practice, but how has this whole day been like for you going into another match day tomorrow? Yeah, I mean, we kind of do the same thing before every single match. So we have our practice the day before and get a bunch of touches going with the team. And I'm excited to have another home game. We haven't had one in a while, so it's awesome to be back home. We're here in Dallas getting set up for the championship that's gonna be here in a couple of weeks. We're incredibly excited that it's gonna be here, just taking a tour of the arena, seeing where you guys get to play all of the time. Is it neat kind of seeing some of the championship banners going up around us and how this is all gonna turn into the site for the whole final showdown? Yeah, it's awesome. mean, for us to be able to host the championship and for us to have already clinched a playoff spot is amazing for our team and for this franchise to be able to host in its first year. I hope people come out and really support us and support this whole league. Yeah, Kaylee, tell me about this year with Dallas. I you guys went from the start where maybe maybe we were overlooked at some point just being a new franchise. And then you very quickly put all of those doubts or anything like that to rest. You've been on fire. Tell me about the season. How's it been for you guys? Yeah, the season's been awesome. I think we we had expectations going in and I think we've kind of blown those expectations through the roof. And I think we've surprised a lot of people in this league. mean, with a franchise being its first year, you never know what to expect. And so I think Shannon's done a great job and she did a great job putting together a team for us to go out and fight for a championship. she like as a coach? mean, you've probably had a lot of coaches at this point in your career and they're all probably a little different. What is she like? She's awesome. I mean, she pushes me to my limits and I think that's awesome in a coach for me and I need that from a coach. And so for her to push me every single day in the gym has been awesome. And I mean, she's super funny if you get to know her and she just She's very joking at times, but she can be serious at times. So she's an awesome coach and I'm grateful to have her in my first year. I'm looking forward to chatting with her at Serb and Pass tomorrow. I'll see if I can sneak in a couple of jokes, kind of loosen her up a little bit. That's so funny. You touched on that and it's something I like to ask a lot of athletes is, you're a professional, you've gone through a lot of coaching. What do you want out of a coach? And again, you hit on it there, but is it like just subtle little reminders? Are you like, yeah, I know where my platform is. I know where the right attack angle is, but. And what are you specifically needing from a coach at this point in your career? Yeah, I think this is only my second year playing pro. And so for me, it's different than somebody that's been playing for multiple years. And so for me, I'm looking for her to give me some technical, but also I've been playing for so long where some of it I know and I know how to fix, but she's done a great job with me. I think I've grown through my first season and now, and so I think she's made me such a better player and a person. Yeah. At the point of talking to you right now before this match on Friday, I believe you've won nine of your last 10, if I have that correct. You've clinched a playoff spot. Walk me through what the team mentality was for these last 10 matches where you were just on even more of a tear than usual to lock up that playoff spot. And that means we're going to see you here in the first couple of weeks of May for the championship. Yeah, we knew we didn't want to get complacent with where we were. And so to keep going through the last 10 matches of our season, we knew that we had to fight and to eventually clinch. Even though we have already clinched, we're still gonna go out and fight for getting that number one seed. And if we can get it, then that's gonna be awesome to be able to be the one seed going into where we're playing at home. So just trying to fight each and every day and not getting placed in both where we are. Just between you and me and everybody else watching, is there a little bit of a rivalry with Indie? I know you want that redemption. I you're going after them for the number one seed. I know you want to see them again. A little bit of a rivalry? I mean, they're a great team. They have... shown up every single match and so they've put on a great season and so for us to maybe go out there on Sunday, this coming Sunday to go and get a home or go get an away win would be awesome going into playoffs but we'll eventually see them possibly in the playoffs who knows but ⁓ we're just going at it every single day but they've had a great season. You mentioned those away wins too and apologies because these stats are all off the dome so you may be a little wrong but I think it's 10 wins on the road this year. I mean, complete road warriors. Why is that? Is that down to team mentality? Is that to just feeling comfortable no matter what court you're on? Because again, you win a lot at home too, but that road record really stuck out. Yeah, I think it's team mentality of knowing that we're gonna be good whether we're away or whether we're at home. And I think our strength coach has done a great job of getting us prepared when we travel and also our trainer. mean... We're doing the ability right when we land and stuff. And I think that's prepared us for the long run in this season. And I think that helps us get road wins. I heard players once refer to that stuff as like the dark grind, the things you don't see of like, even if you're on the plane, doing the walking up and down and the stretching or, you know, the bus or you're moving around in the aisles. So yeah, shout out to those trainers. They know how to get everything. We're firing on all cylinders all the time. That's amazing. Yeah. I got to ask you, what is it like playing with, I mean, you have some absolute, in addition to how great of a player you are, got some amazing players playing with you, know, Mimi, Sofia, Natalia, what is it like playing with all of them? It's so easy and so fun. mean, they're carrying a huge load for, especially Mimi being a rookie. I mean, she doesn't act like one and also Sofia and Nati, like, it's awesome to play with them. make... my life easy on getting kills because the blocks going out to them. So, but it's awesome. I mean, they're great teammates, great players. And so to be able to be comfortable with them, even though it's our first year playing together has been awesome and they're amazing. So another point of just personal, you know, curiosity, I if you can tell my athletic days were long behind me. They ended in high school, but I've always been curious when you get to a level that you're at where you're just absolutely on top of your game. You mentioned kind of how it's a new team. It's a new structure where Do you do notice like, okay, it was that practice in January, whatever, where we clicked, or was this match where I just noticed, you know, everything was going to me completely the way I needed it to go? Was there a moment like that? Or is it just, you know, it just kind of happens? think it honestly just kind of happens. mean, throughout training camp, we really focus on building that connection with each other. And I think building the connection on the court is important, but it's really important off the court as well. I mean, we built a really good connection with the whole entire team. And so just having that special bond and connection helps us perform out on to the court together. All right, yeah, we need to talk about you more. And we need to talk specifically, too, about your connection to this area. You're from the wider Dallas area. What is it like to be playing in your in your home state? It's so amazing. mean, it's everything I've dreamed of. And I never knew that professional volleyball would happen in the United States, let alone in my home city, home state. And so. For my friends and family to come and support me at every single game, mean, it's been a dream come true and it's everything I've ever wished for. We were talking before about, you know, being able to take some of your teammates back to go, know, grilling at your family's place. It sounds like some really amazing opportunities to, you know, be close to your family and then also, you know, be really comfortable with where you're at too. And is that kind of an overlooked part of being a professional athlete where if you're in a comfortable situation that can help you perform better? Yeah, I think. I've heard so many stories about people overseas. mean, my older sister plays overseas and I have heard how hard it is to not be able to look into the stands after games and see family or friends and being able to go talk to them. it makes me super comfortable to be able to after a game, after a win, I can go over to the stands and talk to my family and just see them and see them support me. From an outside perspective, you know, I'm based in California. I've been to Dallas a few times. I like I see that the fans here are so passionate, so knowledgeable about volleyball from the grassroots up. What is the fan base like here? It's awesome. mean, North Texas is such a huge volleyball area. And so to have those fans and have those younger club girls come out and support us, I mean, it's huge for this franchise and honestly for this league. And so I really love our fans. They bring energy every single time, no matter what's happening out on the court. And so to have them. be in the sands and support us is awesome. anybody coming in for out of state for the championship, what are they going to experience? What are they going to see when they come here? mean, walking into the facility, it's so nice. But beyond that, what are they going to experience atmosphere wise? It's going to be loud. mean, the fans here are loud every single time. And so for them to come out and support us every single night has been awesome. And they're really loud and they're really into it. mean, there's a bunch of cheers that they have learned. I mean, they've even learned our bench cheers. ⁓ It's awesome to see them do it. Can you give us an example of one of the ones they've learned? ⁓ I will say Nene's is like the Heisman like trophy and so it's like doing that so they also participate in like the monster block stuff so it's awesome. That's the important one to catch on to especially I mean you've got a couple of those to contribute to those as well so that's that's amazing. Let's talk about ⁓ you mentioned club a little bit you were part of TAV, I believe. And you played with a teammate, Jelly Shear, excuse me, who is now your teammate there, now here in Dallas currently. What was the whole club scene like for you? And then obviously getting to reunite with her as well. Yeah, the club scene was really intense. mean, TAV has been a top club in the United States for a long time. And so I think that prepared me for a lot of things in my future. It was awesome whenever me and Jelle found out that we were going to be teammates here again. I mean, we were teammates in high school, teammates in club. so to kind of, it's just like a full circle moment of just being back here together. intense is it yet? Like when you're eight, nine, 10, like, I mean, are you at the point where, mean, we're not just out there to have fun. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I actually didn't start playing volleyball till I was like 13. So I think I kind of like skipped all of that, but it's really intense. mean, those clubs. take it very seriously and they have really great coaches there and so for them to kind of be in that every single day has been awesome. I'm gonna jump ahead to something I want to touch on later but so basketball background and your family, didn't start playing till 13, were you shooting hoops before then? Were we always gonna go basketball and then all of sudden volleyball one day? I actually like really did not like basketball at all. I mean I would try. I would go and sub in with my younger sister, but I did not like it. So actually played soccer for eight years and then made the transition to volleyball. You must've been pretty good at soccer though. Yeah. I mean, I played with some awesome teammates. mean, some of... One of the girls is actually on the Dallas Trinity that's here now. That was the most humble yes to then transition into the answer is absolutely yes. That's so sick. That's awesome. And then you were just like, yeah, you all play basketball. That's serious. I'm not, not I want it to be different. mean, both my parents played basketball too. So was like, I'm going to go take my own path. Very successful basketball family too. I believe I'm going to miss all the stats, but as a couple of championships for your parents I believe, or sisters, And then your parents played in college. Yeah, that's not just playing basketball at a small level. that's fantastic. The whole club preparation to get you to play at the collegiate level, what skills do have to learn? What are some of the hardest things to pick up? And how did you go about that? think the hardest skill to pick up, honestly, was passing. I I started out as a middle and a setter when I first started club and then transitioned over to right side. And so I would play right side in club and then outside in high school. So I think the passing was the hardest. And I think as the game grows and as you get older, people are serving more tough. And so to figure all of that out was probably the most challenging for me. Are you someone who likes to watch a lot of film for that? Or are you like, me more reps? That's what I need. I love watching film. mean, I have always been a film person. I watch so much volleyball. It's kind of bad. ⁓ But I think it's just the film piece of it. I would go back and watch my sometimes my club games, sometimes high school and getting into college. I would sit down with coaches and watch film. So I think that was the biggest thing for me was just film, film, film every single day. I think that's fascinating because you talk to some athletes like they're just so not into film. And it's not like they won't do it. I think it's so neat when you find someone like yourself who's like, love film. I'm gonna dive into it. Give me the clicker. I'm gonna make sure I'm pausing at all these points. I mean, that's just so neat. So here's an example. One of the things I always have thought is interesting is, it tough to shift your mindset to like, I am now zoomed out from wherever this camera is, and I need to put myself into the visual representation of where I am on the court? I don't know if that's making sense the way I'm saying it, but is that difficult to do for some people or for you maybe? It's sometimes hard for me because sometimes I'll just be like going through and like watching it and I'm not actually watching it. And so for me to like take the time to like, okay, I'm not just watching this for fun. Like I need to dive into it to see what's actually going on. So sometimes it can be hard. like, I have to the switch in my brain to be like, no, you have to look at these things. That's awesome. Just one more question on the on the club side of things. Do you still stay in touch with people at TAV? I do, yeah. We actually went over to their new facility over in Northlake a couple weeks ago and I got to see a bunch of my old coaches and a couple of them have came to games and so it's been awesome to see them still supporting me throughout the years. That's so neat. I want to touch more on your family and your growing up. Let's go more into, I believe it was three sisters that you grew up with. What was that whole thing like? I know that's a very broad question, but your whole upbringing, can you give us a summary? It was fun, but also there were a lot of fights. mean, we were such a competitive family, whether that be out in the front yard, like playing a game of porcelain or playing card games. Like somebody was crying and somebody was not having a good time, but it was awesome. I love my sisters. Two of them are home right now and so they've been able to come support me at my games and but it kind of made me into the player that I am today. I mean they pushed me beyond my limits sometimes but it helped me in the long run. Filled that competitive spirit a little bit. Yeah. It's great. Was there one, was it cards or was it a horse that really set you off? Like I can tell you for me with my brother it was Super Mario Brothers. We played that on the Wii. Yeah. biggest fight I can ever remember us having. And then I was like, I'm not talking to you till you get to be like 14 and then you're cool until then. No, can't do it. Can't do it. Honestly, like going off the Wii thing, like we would fight over who would get like player one or player two. It was, yeah, it was important, but it would cause the biggest fights ever. my poor parents would have to separate us every single time. Well, I feel like it's an unwritten rule that the oldest sibling has to be played at one. And people who don't have a we don't understand that. Now it's like, I don't even know if we still exist. Yeah, I don't know. It's a whole side topic. we simultaneously brought families together and tore them apart at certain points. and then obviously both your sisters, very successful athletes, your parents, very successful athletes, that competitive nature, I mean, I'm assuming and please correct me if I'm wrong, as you were getting into the club scene and as you were getting more competitive, that your parents knew obviously that there are points where we gotta just let you be you, right? How did they kinda go about doing that? Yeah, I mean, my mom coached me a little bit in volleyball, so sometimes she kinda just had to step back and let me be. mean, I always, we would get in the car rides home and she's trying to tell me a million things, I'm like, mom, I got it, I'm to the point where I'm like, I know what to do, but I think she just... They're both super competitive as well and they wanna help us in any way that they can. So that was their way of helping us and trying to help us out. And I mean, I love it. So I mean, my mom will still send me texts of like, why'd you do that? And I'm like, I don't know, mom. It's like, I got it. I got it. I've seen all the film at this point. What was the college process like? It was very interesting. I mean, for me, I really got recruited through high school because in club I was playing right side and that's not what I wanted to do in college. And so my high school coach, Jamie Siegel, she really helped me out and she really got me open to playing outside in college and made coaches see that I was a good outside. And so she really helped me out, but it was very stressful. mean, I started at one school and then transferred after two years and that was a lot of stress and it was very hard. Do you have to go and have those conversations with coaches that are scouting you and be like, hey, I know you see me playing this, but I want to play this and here's why? do they even, does some not even give you the chance to really explain that? It was actually good. mean, a lot of coaches kind of understood where I was coming from and I would just have to send them film from high school because they would only see me in club playing right side and in club and playing right side. didn't really get to play back row at all. And so they had to watch a lot of film from my high school that I would send them. So a lot of them were very understanding. I'm gonna cheat and look at my notes here to gas you up, but you have the second most kills in WKU history and you're the fourth in Conference USA. So very easy to say that you had a very successful college career. What was it about the college game that really you felt like you molded nicely to and that really suited your style? I think just the offense that WKU runs, I think our offense is great and Travis, the head coach there, he does an awesome job. I mean, he's been there for over 30 years and he's probably one of the best coaches I've ever had. so training under him and training with those girls every single day in the gym made me a successful player on and off the court. And so for him to kind of support me through all of that just made me into the player I am. How was the transition to pro for you? Was that an easy transition, smooth? Nice to have a league in the US, right? Yeah, yeah. It was challenging at times. I think you hear about the pace of a game getting faster from high school to college, but nobody really ever talks about that from college to pro. But there is a little bit of a jump from that. And so just getting used to that and getting used to playing against people that might be 10 years older than me was really crazy because, I mean, they have so much experience and this is my first year pro, so. That was challenging at times, but I think my teammates were very helpful in getting me used to everything. I've always been curious where that line is between the youth and excitedness and the ability to hit anywhere on the court and that age and wisdom and the mental game and where that line maybe converges. Maybe it's after like two or three years and you're like, okay, now I've got everything going. So I've just always been curious about where that is. Were there any veterans that helped you in your transition? Yeah, Megan Lush for she's still playing at Columbus. She was awesome. mean, she was such a good mentor for me and she's been playing for so long and has so much knowledge. And so for her to be there to help me in my first season was awesome. And I still talk to her every single day. Tell me more about that first season in Columbus. How was it? What were some of the things that you did outside of volleyball, you know, enjoying the city at all? And how nice was that team camaraderie? We obviously talked about the Dallas team camaraderie, but they're in Columbus last year as well. Yeah, it was awesome. mean, I had a great roommate, Kate Georgiades. She was my roommate in Columbus. And so me and her would always go out and do things. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but she was. And so she would go to all these new coffee shops and stuff. But it was awesome. mean, it was such a good learning experience. end up finishing last, but it was such a great learning experience for me to come into my second year and learn so many new things. Not a coffee drinker. Are you a matcha person? I'm not. I think. I am actually like, I strictly go straight from water. Like I'm not a huge anything. I need to hide my energy drinks around you. I'm on like five, just to function throughout the day. That's amazing. Good for you. But just this in the serious part of this overall observation, I think the city of Columbus we were talking about before is such a unique city and like Dallas has its little quirks. Did you enjoy getting to explore and going to even some of the coffee shops when you weren't partaking in drinking coffee? Yeah. Columbus is awesome. mean, the people there are amazing. And so, and there's so many great restaurants. I was kind of saying like, there's the locks bagel that was right next to our hotel. So when I was back in Columbus, I got to go there and get one every single morning, which is so awesome. But yeah, the food scene is awesome. And my head coach from WKU, his son was on the men's volleyball team at Ohio State. So I was able to actually go see a couple of the Ohio State men's games, which is really cool. Yeah, are some of those in the Kaveli Center? They are. I've there. Yeah, it's a good setup there for sure. Kaylee, I want to zoom out and ask you like a ⁓ broad question that I've hit your first two years here in MLB. If you can kind of zoom out yourself and take a look at your career right now, what are your goals? What are your aspirations and what do you hope to be? obviously already a very successful pro here in Dallas. What do you want for your career kind of at this point? I know it's a big question. Yeah. I mean, I want to play for as long as I can. ⁓ I love volleyball and just the people that I've met along the way have made this journey so easy. And so I think I want to just succeed in every single season and just be able to push my teammates every single day in the gym. And I'm such a competitive person. So I obviously want to win. And it would be amazing to win the championship this year and even for the years to follow, but. I would like to play as long as I can and just keep having fun with it until I can. That outlet to compete is always incredibly important as long as it lasts. This is more of a statement than a question, but I'm hoping that maybe you'll have something to add to it. I've found that the volleyball player as a person is so unique where they're so much more personable and down to earth and well-rounded than I feel like you get with some other sports and some other athletes where it's just... You don't get that. And I'm curious if along your career, your journey, your path has pointed every level, if you've just noticed the same thing about just, you've mentioned a lot about meeting a lot of really great people who happen to be volleyball athletes. And I'm wondering if you have anything to add to just, it seems like a very tight-knit community of very great people. Yeah, there's so many people that you can meet in the world of volleyball and I have. not met any bad and so it's been awesome to meet the people along the way and I still talk to people and some of them will probably be in my wedding someday but it's just the people care so much about your journey and about you and so I don't think you really find that in a ton of other sports just with all the people leaving and everything so I think it's awesome with the sport of volleyball of what it's came to. All right, Kaylee, we know that you're a really great player on the court. We know that you don't drink coffee. What do you do outside of volleyball? To be honest, I am a person that just loves to lay in bed. That sounds so bad, but after practice, I'll go home and just put on a show that I love and just relax. ⁓ But I love to try new restaurants, love to go shopping, but I won't spend a ton of money. I'll just go and look, but shopping's always fun. For the people who are gonna be coming for the championship, please give them a restaurant recommendation, especially coming from you, it's gonna be more than anybody else. Okay, I love Tex-Mex, so Maceiro is really good. It's over in Legacy West, but it's a Tex-Mex restaurant and it's amazing. Who has better Tex-Mex? Is it ⁓ Texas itself or is it whatever California's version of Tex-Mex is? Okay, I did. When we were in San Diego, I had a California burrito for the first time and that was... Really, really good. But they're so completely opposite. Well, I've probably just offended so many people by calling it Tex-Mex. It's got its own name there that I just cannot pull up right now. But they are different, I have noticed. And then I think the barbecue here is just... It is. Can't beat that. It is really good. What's the show that you're watching? Right now, it's Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. I've heard that one can get some pretty heated. Yeah, yeah. A lot of drama in it. Is that the permanent go-to? Do you have others in the Rolodex? That is the one right now. I'm looking for any show recommendations if you'll have any, but that's the one for right now. Gotcha. Gotcha. All right. I've got some rapid fire questions for you along those lines. But so we've already hit you hit the first one is why we got to go here. We already went currently reading or watching. So we've got Secret Lives and Mormon Lives. Who is your favorite artist or your current favorite song? My favorite artist is probably Daniel Caesar. Current song? I don't know. I love country music too. yeah. Gotcha. Next up, if you could pick a fictional universe to live in, which one would you choose? Ooh. This is, my sister's gonna laugh at me for this, but we love like despicable mean like minions, so I would love to go there. That would be so fun. So many parents watching this are just like, ⁓ my gosh, I have memorized every line to all of that because I have found that nobody who watches minions, if they have little kids, only gets to watch it once. must have on loop. So I'm sure a lot of parents love that answer. What are your three desert island foods? Ooh. I love pasta, so that would have to be one. ⁓ Hold on, before you go any further, it's huge debate. Is there a certain shape of pasta that is superior to other? ⁓ Rigatoni. You had an answer. Locked and loaded. was perfect. That's literally what I use every single time because the sauce just gets in there and so I'm like... That's how you eat pasta, it's awesome. I make it way too much because it's just too easy. It is, I need to branch out a little bit. It's so bad. Batten microwave meatballs from Trader Joe's. Boom, done, we're in. That's perfect. So I cut you off, that was one. Okay. You got two more desert island foods. Pasta's a great choice. You got your carbs I would say like any kind of fruit. Like I love raspberries, blackberries, so any kind of fruit. And then I got to throw protein in there. You're taking this from a very logical approach. It's not like other people I feel like would go candy. You'd choose something, I don't know, anything else that tastes good. You're like very athlete focused. I gotta get all my food groups in. Probably like a good steak would be my protein. Can't get along with that at all. What is the best thing that happened to you last week? Last week, ooh. Trying to think. We won in three in Omaha. That was awesome. That was a pretty good match too. Yeah. Good specifically for the overall atmosphere. Great match for you. What did you like about it? atmosphere there is awesome every single time. mean, they bring in so many fans and their fan base is so loyal. So to play in that arena every single time is so awesome. So that's what makes it great. And Gaelynn, if you weren't playing volleyball, what would you be doing? I would be in medical device sales. That is incredibly specific. How did we land there? ⁓ I have had interest in it since I was like a senior in high school and I just like know of a lot of people that do it. And so I've always wanted to get into that field and it requires super competitive people. So I would love to do that once I'm done with volleyball. It sounds like a very complicated profession to be in. Is that something that you kind of looked into more in college? Were you ⁓ kind of taking steps to possibly pursue that when you were younger? Yeah. I mean, I had a couple of internships and sales, but never any in medical sales. But I've just seen so many people be successful at it and they love. athletes and so I would just love to be able to convince people like, you need to buy this. It's a great product. So I've always been one to love to talk to people and love to convince people I'm right. That's amazing. Yes, absolutely. That's amazing. Well, I hope that your competitive days last as long as you want them to. That's a fine career choice to have once you're done for sure. That's amazing. And always, always looking to stay around Texas. Yeah, I think so. mean, me and my dad were just talking about that the other day because they thought about moving, but they were like, I think all of our daughters are going to end up staying in Texas. So, yeah, for sure, Texas. Especially around here is not that well, Kayleigh, we can talk to you forever, but I'll close with just bringing it back to volleyball for one final question. Give me a little bit of a two parter here, a season retrospective of just everything that's happened to get to this point and then what you're looking forward to here down the stretch. as we were coming fast on closing out this 2026 season of MLB. Yeah, this season's been awesome. I like I kind of said before, nobody really had high expectations for this franchise being its first year. And I think we've exceeded whatever expectations people had. And so I think a lot of people overlooked us at first and now realize that we're really good. And I think Shannon in the front office put together a really good team. so. to be able to close it out here in Dallas is gonna be awesome. And I hope a lot of people come out and support us. We're looking forward to it. Kaylee, just for our fans, new fans of you, hopefully, where can they find you? Where can they follow you? And where can they just see some of your life outside of volleyball as well? Yeah, you can find me on Instagram at kaylee.cox. ⁓ But yeah. Awesome. Well, Kaylee, thank you so much for chatting with us on the Set Six podcast. We appreciate it. And we're looking forward to seeing you the rest of the season. Thank you. A big thank you to Kaylee for joining us. Like I said before, think it was so great to get to hear just, first off, finally, before I get to what it was great to hear, what was shocking to hear, how do you live life without coffee? I have no idea how one does that. I drink three cups a day. Sometimes that's not enough. I cannot believe that someone, especially a high level athlete like Kaylee can live without coffee. So kudos to her. ⁓ I think it was great to hear about the differences between club and school play. think Kaylee was so knowledgeable and so introspective is the word that I would use, especially just talking about her upbringing in an athletic household. And then also to, you she said something about the difference between people tell you a lot of times about the difference in how fast the game is from high school to college, but they don't necessarily tell you about the differences from the college game to the pro game. I thought that was fascinating commentary. Yeah, I, like I said, I'd never met Kaylee before this and it was so awesome to be able to have this conversation. I hope it was the first of many because she has just such a great view of the game. Apparently, lot of great people have helped her out as well. And I know that Kayleigh will certainly help out the next generation of athletes to come. It's great to hear that she is still in contact with her TAV club. And I also I think one of the things that we need to touch on is I think she was underselling how good she is or was at soccer. I'd be curious to see how it will go now if she kind of traded in the volleyball for a soccer ball at this point. But now I think she's also pretty good at the volleyball thing too. It's gonna be great to see how Dallas does in this championship. They've they've really I've got to think they're gunning for India. I know I tried to push that a little bit with one of that. The those questions that was before they actually had their final match with Indy. Because at that time, we had followed the pulse from Dallas to Indy for that final match at Fisher's Vent Center. And yeah, it's crazy. It's a team that was really good on the road and team that's really good at home and in that matchup, the team that was really good at home won. But, ⁓ you know, this is all stuff that we've talked about before, but I just, you gotta think at some point, maybe the damn breaks and Dallas gets ahead, but I know that they want their chance ⁓ at a rematch and we'll be curious to see who it's going to be. We obviously know that ⁓ Omaha and San Diego are going to be great as well. And we'll have a chance to chat with them before we hit the MLV championship. A couple more things just as we, as we get set to wrap up. I've already told you about my travel. So I don't want to bore you with that, but I will tell you one thing that I also really like about the experience that we offer at Major League Volleyball is the ticketing experience. can get tickets now. I think you saw it at as low as $19. I'm not going to bore you with what I'm watching because it hasn't changed from last week to this week. What I will bore you with, if you'll indulge me, is the general experience, sometimes for getting in for other sporting events for your ticketing experience. It is certainly sometimes not as easy as ours. I'll give you one and I'm so I'm only 27, but I feel like sometimes people rag on me for acting a little bit like a one of the olds as the kids call them because I cannot figure out some of these apps sometimes to get into the stadiums or parks. I'll give you an example. I was getting getting clowned on, but I was also very fortunate to be able to go to a baseball game the other day and you have to download that MLB ballpark app. and I couldn't figure out it's transfer ticket here, all your tickets there, but it's not actually in your app and you signed in with the wrong account and here's your login, but the key, the password keyword login isn't the same. And then, ⁓ you signed up for it, you bought it online, but it's not there. And now it's there. I was, I was ready to throw the phone. And then like the, experience of actually having a physical ticket, I've sort of kind of replicated that with an app that you can find, I highly recommend. I wish they'd sponsor me personally, but I wish they'd sponsor anything. It's the Momento app, M-O-M-E-N-T-O, where you know how they don't give you physical tickets anymore? I I still have some physical tickets hanging in my childhood bedroom from games that I got to go to in the past. This is almost like a way you can virtually do that. You can upload your photos, your videos, and it makes a cool little ticket symbol for you. But... Yeah, some of these these games are not easy to get into. then another one was, you know, before before I left for one of these matches, I was saying, Oh, maybe I can get to I'm also a hockey fan. So so maybe I can get down the street to a ducks game. Because the first time they've been in the playoffs since 2017. And you know, I checked the ticket prices, it's like 100 bucks, which is steep to get in. I've seen those ducks games, they I love them, but they are not always the same. The stands are always full for those for during the regular season. And I was like, ⁓ a hundred bucks to get in. That's great. And my brother calls it when you're sitting in the nosebleeds, he levels it one up and he says, ⁓ your head is scraping the rooftop sometimes. But, ⁓ you check back in, get back in. The tickets have raised $150 in the span of two days for a bunch of, you know, fair weather fans, I've got to assume coming in from who haven't been there the whole season. It's like, you know, man, for the fans that just wanted to get in, you're now almost out. Nevermind if you want to go buy food or drinks. So, Again, to tie this all back in, I like our ticketing experience because you can actually get in for a decent price and you're not going to spend a fortune too. And that doesn't change too much from the regular season to the postseason. So there you go. That's my quick little rant that has nothing to do with anything. But like I said, I don't have any update for you on the shows that I'm watching or listening to. So I figured I'd give you that one, little bit of my real world experience there. If you'd like to reach this show, you can reach me at severin at mlbb.com. That's S-E-V. RIN and once again, thank you to Kaylee Cox for joining us on this episode and that's going to do it. Thank you for listening to set six, the official podcast of major league volleyball. This has been episode two, I'm Seven Lannstein and we'll catch you next time.