October 16, 2024 • 40 mins
After nearly 30 years of coaching collegiate volleyball, LOVB Omaha Volleyball head coach Suzie Fritz is taking on a new challenge: leading a professional team during its inaugural season. She and host Tiffany Oshinsky chat about Suzie’s excitement for her new role and LOVB Omaha in general, success as a college coach, and the challenges of being a mother working in athletics in the latest episode of Serving Pancakes. Also, Tiffany welcomes back broadcaster Emily Ehman to discuss the five-set thriller between Nebraska and Purdue on October 11.
Topics include:
- Nebraska and Purdue go five
- Parity in college volleyball
- Defensive genius
- Challenges of a first-year team
- Preparing for preseason
- Excitement for the Omaha fandom
- Focusing on the LOVB Omaha plane
- Lessons from a 30-year career
- Starting as a player-coach
- Motherhood and working in athletics
- Showcasing LOVB
and more!
Follow Emily on Instagram, Youtube and X (formerly Twitter).
Follow Suzie on Instagram.
Follow LOVB Omaha on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez
Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi, I'm Tifny Oshinsky, and this is Serving Pancakes with
League one Volleyball, with the inaugural Love season just around
the corner. Over the next few weeks, we'll be following
some of the biggest women's college volleyball games featuring schools
that our players attended. In today's episode, I'll be going
over the thrilling five set victory for number two Nebraska
over number ten per Due with Big ten Networks Emily Emon,
(00:23):
and then Love Omaha's head coach Susie Fritz will join
me to talk about the inaugural season, her career, and
so much more so. First, let's talk to Nebraska Purdue.
Emily Even, welcome back to Serving Pancakes. So happy you're here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So happy to be here. Always down to chats men'saavolleyball.
It's been a crazy season so.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Far, absolutely insane, and this match was equally insane, with Nebraska,
who was number two, coming back from being down two
to one to beat Purdue twenty five, twenty two, twenty
two to twenty five, twenty three, twenty five, twenty five,
twenty two, and then the insane it's set seventeen fifteen.
So let's talk big picture. First, Emily, what stood at
(01:06):
to you the most in this match?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
To be honest, the biggest thing to me was watching
this match. It didn't feel like Nebraska won. It felt
like Purdue lost it. You know, they were up two
to one in one of the toughest places to play
in the entire country at the Devani Center. They're up
ten to eight and set five and then kind of
let it slip away. The biggest thing to me was
produce service errors. You know, they had four in that
(01:29):
fifth set alone, four in a period of the first
seven points, So they were just handing Nebraska, you know,
part of that fifth set. And when you look at
the numbers, Purdue pretty much outplayed them. I mean in
terms of blocks fifteen to five and a half, they
out blocked Nebraska. They out hit them three eleven to
two forty two. And that's a really good Nebraska defense.
And if you're going to be able to hit above
(01:50):
three hundred against them, to me, you have to be
able to capitalize on that. Eva Hudson and kloeesha Coin
produce outsides are just absolutely insane. One of the best
duos in the country combined for nearly fifty kills the difference. Though,
again those service errors for Purdue, they had nineteen of
them in the entire match. If you have the opportunity
to take down the number two team in the country
(02:10):
and you're kind of out playing them in almost every capacity.
In the fifth set, you're up ten to eight, you
have to find a way to close it. So it's
kind of, you know, for the Boilers, letting it slip away.
But I mean, what a fun volleyball match. The defense
was outstanding. It's so fun when you see players like
Hudson and Shaquoigne go off, and then you're playing in
one of the best atmospheres in college volleyball. I mean,
(02:31):
it doesn't get much better than that in a seventeen
to fifteen fifth set.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
There's so many things I want to touch on that
you just mentioned. I want to break things down first.
Let's start with the most recent thing that you just said,
playing at the Davanny Center. You've been there. You know
you can feel the electricity coming from your screen while
watching games in Nebraska, but can you just explain what
it is like to actually be there, especially when you
have such a wild match like this was.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, the Davanni Center is second to none. To me,
it's the most intimidating place to play in all of
college volleyball. I mean, the bells and whistles there are incredible.
It's an incredibly nice facility. It seats about eighty five
hundred or nine thousand with standing room only, and they
sell out every single night. They're closing in on three
hundred and fifty consecutive sellouts, which is a Division One
(03:18):
Athletics women's record, not just for volleyball but all of
women's athletics. It is crazy. Those fans know volleyball so
so well. They're so knowledgeable about the game. You know,
they know in a chair, and then if the other
team's doing well, like it's real quiet in there, but
it is. It's crazy. I mean, when you have nine
thousand fans screaming at you in that kind of environment,
it is so so tough to play in and that
(03:40):
really becomes a difference maker when you enter a fifth set,
when things are close, when you can get that crowd
momentum behind you. That's one of the reasons why it's
one of the best home court advantages in all of sports.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I mean, they've won thirty five straight there, so you know,
watching this game and hearing this crowd, I can completely
understand how much of a home field Advanta is now
one of the heroes for Nebraska. Merrit Pison. She had
a season high twenty two kills in this game. We've
seen how good she is. We know how good she is,
(04:12):
but can you explain why teams struggle to stop her?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Mayor Beson's a gamer. I mean, she is one of
the most difficult attackers to stop in the country. She's
very rangey, meaning she can vary up her attack well.
She hits deep corners, she can barrel things down the line.
Whatever set is given to her, she does a really
nice job of adjusting to that. She also has really
great court vision, so it doesn't matter the defense in
the block you put in front of her. She's able
(04:35):
to see the block really well. If there's a small seam,
she'll hit right through it. Does a nice job at
targeting fingertips. She's always just got a heavy arm. I mean,
if you give her a received to rip through, she's
put in the putt in a hole in the floor.
She is just absolutely incredible. One thing that I think
Nebraska hasn't necessarily utilized enough but they started to during
that match against Purdue is getting her going in the
(04:56):
back court. They've been rotating her out with a DS
in the back row, which last year she was so
effective back there. She was one of the best backcourt
attackers in the country. And now this year they've been
using a DS because they have a plethora of just
incredible littles on that team. But Beson really got it
going in the back row, especially when it mattered most
when those sets are really tight, especially in that fifth set,
(05:16):
they left her back there, and I mean she was
just going off. But I mean, she's a gamer, she's rangy,
she's athletic, she can just fly jump out of the gym.
She's so much fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And talk about Andy Jackson because she's also been absolutely unstoppable.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I mean she's like nearly unstoppable. There's one point in
that match I think I want to say it was
a third set she was hitting like nine hundred. I mean,
Andy Jackson right now is in a league of her
own in terms of middles. Her slide attack is the
best that I've seen in the country. I mean, the
way that she's able to fly up there and even
if it's not the perfect set, manages to find something
to do with. But she added three inches to her
(05:52):
vertical in the offseason. She now touches ten ten, which
is crazy for an attacker that's only six ' three.
She can jump out of the gym. She's really rangy.
She's very explosive, strong arm, and her connection with rossettter
Berg and Riley is incredible. You know, they had time
to practice it over the summer playing in the USA
gym obviously a lot of you know, time just in
the Nebraska gym as well. But Andy Jackson's incredible. Her
(06:15):
offense has taken just massive strides in the last year,
and her blocking too has gotten a lot better.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You mentioned Eva Hudson and kloe Cha Coin on Perdue.
They both had double doubles in that match. They also
looked unstoppable. I mean, if I didn't know the score,
I would have thought that Perdue had it just based
on how they were hitting. Even though they lost this match.
How dangerous is this Perdue team with them?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
They're so dangerous. I mean, the key to stopping Perdue
is to slow down Eva Hudson and kloes Ha Coin,
which teams can't do. You know, it's so incredible because
if you look at Chloe Hacoin, she's an attacker that's
about five to nine, and I would say that's like
a generous five nine. She's more like a five eight,
but she jumps through the gym. It doesn't matter that
you know that the ball is going to either of
(06:59):
them in the outside or the backcourt, you still can't
find a way to stop them. Which is what makes
this Purdude teams so fun is you know where the
ball is going. They set a vast majority of their
sets to the outside, to one of the two, and
they just find ways to put it down in a
fifth set, in the beginning of the first set, it
doesn't matter. They're gonna get a ton of swings. They're
just ballersm You know, I always think about who would
(07:22):
I not ever want to play against, and those are
two players that I just would never want to face
on the other side because you know they're getting the ball,
they're still going to put it down. They also just
have that look in the rye that you know they're
going to take their game to the next level. And
as an opponent, I would be completely terrified.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I mean, Shaquinn being five, eight, five nine or whatever is.
I think it says she's five to ten on on
the roster, but I also know as someone who's five
to three, who was once put in a book as
five to six. I know people like to be a
little generous, but I mean she's going up against Mary
Beeson who's six three I believe, and Andy Jackson six floor. Like.
I mean, the fact that she can get those hits
(07:58):
down and have that many in a match against girls
who are that tall is insane.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It's crazy, And to be honest, for both of those
players too, it's not only just their front court play,
but it's like having two liberos in the back court
as well. They are so good defensively, they fly around
the back court. I mean, Chaquhanna is making saves in
that fit set that you could have got prdue the win.
Obviously didn't, but I mean she is incredible in the
back court as well. Both of them are, for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
And then their middle hitter, Raven Colvin. She didn't have
the best night hitting, but she did lead with eleven blocks.
So again same question when it comes to Raven, how
dangerous is she on this team?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Raven Colvin's incredible I mean, she's a very undersized middle
She's just about six feet tall, maybe five to eleven,
but she plays so much bigger than she is because
she's a little bit shorter. She really has to make
sure to be very disciplined. That's what she's really good at.
Blocking wise, she makes really explosive movements. She doesn't move
until she knows where the ball is going, and that's
(08:55):
led to just stuff after stuff. I mean right now,
she's second in the NCAA and blocks percont at about
one point seven, which is just absolutely unheard of. Again,
second in the country, that's first in the Big Ten.
She is incredible, and also when they can get her
going offensively, it really changes the game for Purdue. She's
good enough to where the ball doesn't have to be perfect.
(09:15):
Purdue oftentimes talks about just getting it in a window
for her to hit, because she's so athletic and dynamic
that if you can just get the ball to her,
she'll figure out something to do.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
With for sure. Now, Perdue was dominant in the second
and third set, beating Nebraska in those two, But what
happened in the final two, especially in that fifth set
where they were up fifteen fourteen one point a way
to seal the game. What went wrong with the Boilers.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
To be honest, Nebraska started making plays, and it took
them up until that point to really do it. They
were kept in that set because of produe service errors.
You know, up until about the seven point mark, Purdue
had handed Nebraska for service airs, so they were already
kind of in the set, and then all of a
sudden at ten to eight, they found a way to
turn it on. Their front row really started making plays,
(10:02):
and it was a really balanced effort. It's not like
one person really ended up just going off at the
end to get it done.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Mayor Beeson had those last two kills for Nebraska, But
up until that point they just found ways with other people.
Whether that was Andy Jackson getting it killed, you know
twice late in that set, Harper Marie showed up big.
The biggest thing for Nebraska is when it's tight, they
turn it on, and sometimes they struggle with that starting
off matches a little bit slow. But again, also if
(10:30):
you're playing in a fifth set at the Devani Center
and it's that close and you've got the crowds momentum
behind you, that definitely helps your team turn it on
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
All right, Well, time for the serving pancakes. Pancake counter
and in this match, I only counted one pancake. It
was in the fourth set by Landychboy. Nebraska was up
nine to five when Chilboy came out of nowhere to
just get that pancake and dig the ball up. Unfortunately,
Nebraska did not get the point on that effort, but
it was a valiant effort by her, and I went
(10:58):
to comment her on that. But talking about defense in general,
I know we talked about Hudson and shit Coin, but
what did you see in the defense from both teams?
What really stood out to you?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, I mean you know Nebraska's defense always stands out.
You mentioned a player like Landy CHOBOI just absolutely incredible.
I think they did a really nice job in the backcourt,
which they always do, just racking up dig after dig.
Lexi Rodriguez to me, she's hands down the best libarro
in the country. I thought Perdue was doing a good
job keeping the ball in Bergen Riley in the back court.
(11:28):
Her dig numbers were really high, trying to get Nebraska
out of system. But really what stood out the most
was the blocking from Perdue. I mean, they did an
incredible job really from start to finish, and that's what
this Purdue team is known for. They just put up
block after block. They ended with fifteen of them against
Nebraska is about five and a half, so that really
stood out. You know, Raven Colvin again just a phenomenal blocker.
(11:50):
She really led that charge for Perdue and was just
absolutely lead up front. She wrecked up nine stuff. So
you know, it's a backcourt defense for Nebraska the front
court defense for Purdue that really stuck out.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Lastly, Emily, there has been so much parody in women's
college volleyball this season, so many upsets in your opinion,
Why is that and what does it mean for the
rest of the regular season going into the tournament.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Well, parody means that it's going to be really fun
as we head into the rest of the season. But
it's been really cool to see because over the last
three or four years, we're seeing upsets like we've never
seen before and so much more parody top to bottom.
You know, a lot of conferences, take take the ACC
for example, used to be a very top heavy conference.
You had Pitt, you had Louisville, and then Georgia Tech,
(12:34):
you know, is always kind of in the mix, but
now there's so many conferences and teams where it's anyone's game.
You can't take a night off because top to bottom,
these conferences are getting so much stronger, and not only
are the top teams getting better, but the middle teams
are now pushing the top teams, and the teams that
are normally at the bottom of conferences are pushing those
middle teams taking sets off of the top teams across
(12:55):
the board. Right now, you can't take a night off
because we've seen upset after upset time and time again,
which for us as fans, I mean, it makes it
so exciting. It's you know, every night we're seeing massive upsets,
which is going to you know, pay dividends for a
lot of teams down the line in the tournament too,
and probably some pretty big upsets once once postseason play starts.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Very excited to say that that tournament is going to
be a lot of fun to watch. Well, thank you
so much, Emily, appreciate you taking the time to speak
with me and talk some women's collin volleyball.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, I love it. Happy back Anto time. Thanks for
having me.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Great analysis by the extremely knowledgeable Emily Emon. Now let's
talk about professional women's volleyball in Nebraska. Love Omaha head
coach Susie Fritz is here. Coach Fritz has the resume
and experience you want in a head coach. Born and
raised in Kansas, coach Fritz began her coaching career in
nineteen ninety four at Florida Atlantic. She eventually found her
(14:03):
way back home, becoming the assistant coach of Kansas State
in nineteen ninety seven, then took over the program in
two thousand and one. After twenty five seasons with the Wildcast,
she became an assistant coach at Arkansas. During her tenures,
she led nationally ranked teams to eighteen NCAA tournament appearances
with her players, including sixteen All American selections, twenty six
(14:23):
All Region selections, and fifty six All Big twelve selections.
And now League One Volleyball is lucky to have her lead.
Love Omaha Coach Fritz. Welcome to Serving Pancakes. Thanks so
much for me here.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. Tiffany,
thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Now, thank you so much, coach. I have to start
by asking, after such a storied career in college ball,
why did you decide to go to the pros, specifically
with League one Volleyball?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Oh my gosh, so many, so many things, you know,
the one just the people involved in League One where
I think as I as I kind of started to
get more into it and meeting. My first initial meeting
actually was with Danielle Scott, who you know, five time Olympian,
(15:15):
phenomenal human being, and just her excitement for how League
one was building, and Tom Hogan and his team. They're
just phenomenal people, and I think that's where it started.
I knew volleyball. Volleyball is in my heart, it's what
I love. Coaching is the family business, right But the
(15:36):
college landscape is changing, and I think this was the
next logical step for me that made a lot of
sense to do what I love, but have it look
a little different if I'm being honest.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
So what are you expecting to be the biggest difference
between college and pro Yeah?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
I think what I noticed right away and in conversations
with the with the women on the team is just
this desire for collaborative work, right is you know these
guys are professionals. They've played all over the world. They
have far more international plane experience than I have. I
have a lot of volleyball experience, But I think the
(16:13):
collaborative piece of it is, and you take away the
academic piece, which is a big part of the student
athlete experience, right, So I think the collaborative just where
you these guys know what they want, they know what
they need, they communicate it openly and honestly, and I
love just the direct model and the really clear vision
(16:37):
of where they want to go. So I think those
are the big pieces right now.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
This is the inaugural season of League one. So what
have been some of the challenges you've faced planning for
a first time team in a first time league.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, you know, I heard someone say you're building the
plane as you fly it, right, there's a little bit
of that where because you're I do feel to be honest,
really comfortable with just the all the pieces in the parts,
you know. I think when I became a head coach,
I tell people often that it took me probably five
to seven years to get my arms wrapped around all
(17:14):
of the entities there are involved in an athletic program,
whether it be collegiate internationally, and you start thinking about
the marketing and promotions and the ticketing and the events
and the strength and conditioning, athletic training, right, and the
list goes on and on and on, and really, I
think as a head coach you want to have at
least some minimal knowledge of these things. So everybody's doing
(17:38):
that for the first time in all of these different areas,
and the communication and the collaboration that's required to do
that is what I noticed right off the bat, right,
is that we're all but the intention within the organization
is phenomenal and everybody's in it together trying to problem
solve quickly as things arise, and that part of it,
(18:01):
I think is pretty huge for the organization period to
be successful.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Well, we're only a few weeks out from preseasons starting,
So what are you doing to prep for this first.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Preseason planning practice? You know, I mean, I'm trying to
stay focused on the volleyball things. There's a lot of
things to be focused upon, but I'm trying to really
just stay focused on the volleyball things. And you know
what the structure of practice is going to look like,
Starting to set a schedule for the women on the
team and working with League One in terms of what
(18:35):
their requirements of the athletes are going to be. There's
and I'm sure you're familiar with it, but there's a
tremendous amount of just resources and opportunity that these women
have access through League One and some of the programming
that they have done just from the pro level all
the way down to the club level is phenomenal. So
(18:56):
just getting organized, I think more than anything, is the
simple answer.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Do you sort of have like a mentality of what
you want to build in this first year?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Yeah, I do. You know, I want to be really
competitive and I want you know, there's a there's a
desire in me in some ways right to represent women
in sports and desire to you know, I know a
lot of the women on my team are so excited
to represent something where young players can look to and say, hey,
(19:29):
I can do that someday. And I think there's still
a little bit of that in me that if you
want to be a volleyball coach and you want to
coach at the highest level and you want to stay
in the United States to do it, that opportunity is
there for you, and there's not a lot of women
professional coaches and that representation for me really matters. And
I'm excited to be able to have a chance to
(19:52):
be a great coach and do it in a great
league with a tremendous group of women.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I love that well. Especially Nebraska is one of, if
not the hotspot for women's volleyball. I mean, watching the
Nebraska Perdue game on Friday, there were so many cutaways
of the younger generation holding sign saying stuff like future
Nebraska volleyball player. You know, they're just so excited about
the sport and they want to be part of it.
(20:19):
So now you've coached at Kansas State for a long
time in your career, but you also had the opportunity
to play in Nebraska. So what are you expecting when
you get to come coach in Omaha.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Yeah. I tell people a lot like I've been external,
like just in arms reach, watching it for a really
long time, and I think until you're in it, you
don't really totally get it. Just the fandom that exists
in the state of Nebraska, and it's you know it.
I mean Creighton University. Kirsten Berenthal is a phenomenal coach
(20:53):
and she's got her team playing exceptionally well and Matt
Buttermore at UNO. And this is out side of the Huskers, right,
who have traditionally been a powerhouse, and John does a
phenomenal job there and so the university filtering system, if
you will, and they're all successful all the way down
to the club level. The high schools in Omaha play
(21:15):
tremendous volleyball. Just fandom is the best word that I
can explain it. They're true volleyball fans. They love volleyball
there and I just feel blessed to be, you know,
part of it and embed ourselves in that community. It's phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Well, speaking of some of the players on your team,
you get to coach four time Olympic medalist Jordan Larson
and two time Olympic medalist Justine wang Arantez. So let's
start with Jordan, who is known as the governor of Nebraska.
What are you excited about when it comes to coaching Jordan.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah, you know, it's been a really neat experience to
get to know Jordan on a level outside of maybe
her as a volleyball player, you know, and just the
journey that she has been on from a career perspective.
And admire that and use that in some ways to advance,
(22:11):
if you will, right, the experience of our team and
myself and our program. And she is an amazing human
being with this desire to give back to the Nebraska
community that helped build her and put her in a
position to have this phenomenal volleyball career. And she's committed
to service and mentorship and legacy, if you will, And
(22:33):
you know, I just feel blessed to be in that
with her, you know. And I think that's the cool part,
right Jordan, is she's going to let me be in
that with her and wants to still be coached and
wants to get better as a player, and wants me
to coach the heck out of her. So it's a
really cool, I think dynamic so far. I have so
(22:55):
much admiration for her and where she's been and the
fact that she's still doing it, So I can't say
enough good things about it, you know, and the opportunity
to do that with.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Her, Yeah, and with her experience, I mean, how do
you coach somebody with that much experience?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Well, Jordan knows exactly what she wants and what she
needs for the most part, right, I think a lot
of times with an elite level player like that, it's
not necessarily about doing more with her, you know. In
some ways, it's about helping her refine, if you will.
You're not asking her to do more, You're asking her
to do really specific things, really really well, you know,
(23:34):
and helping her create that list. You know, what is
she thinking about, what is she working on? How can
we help her do that? And I don't think that
list is very long for her anymore, you know, for
a lot of the women on the team, right is
just what's your list right now? Where do you want
us to help you? And that's where I think that
collaborative piece really comes into play with these guys. Is
(23:57):
at this point they kind of know who they are
and what they want.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
M for sure. And then Justine Wangarantez best libero at
the Olympics in Tokyo. She's the all time digs leader
in Nebraska, another queen of the state, if you will,
when it comes to volleyball, do you think that you
have a huge edge right there with your libero situation?
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Wait feels like it, right, it feels like it. But
they're all good, you know, And just a shout out
to you know, Maggie upright and Danielle Michelle Chapman, right Smith,
those were the recruiters that went out and got these
phenomenal athletes on all the teams Omaha included. And I
just think they've done such a phenomenal job of getting
(24:38):
the right talent to be able to make this thing go.
And yeah, I do. I think I have a little edge, right,
she's the best. Who doesn't want the best?
Speaker 1 (25:01):
We're going to be seeing elite volleyball, elite players and
not just you know, in Omaha, but all over the league.
As you were saying talking about the recruiting and trying
to get these women to join the league, there's just
so many amazing players. So specifically talking about Omaha, who
on your team are you most excited to coach and
to introduce to the States?
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah, that would be impossible for me to answer, you
know that, Yeah, that would be impossible for me to answer.
There are just the diversity within the roster. I'm excited
about the international players and their opportunity to experience the
sport culture in the US. When you talk to them,
that's something that they're just really amazed by and looking
(25:46):
forward to being part of that. So I think there's
a piece of that for sure, But even more than that,
just the community aspect of League One and the ability
to have it be more than just volleyball. Those are
all things I'm really excited about. I don't know as
if I can, if you ask me to pull out
one player, right, I just don't think that's possible. I'm
(26:08):
excited to get to know all of them and be
part of this process for all of them and hopefully
help them advance their careers and have a tremendous experience.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Well, there are ten women who were on the US
Olympic team this past summer who are spread out among
the sixth League one teams. You know, there are international
Olympians in the league, as well as other top players
from all over. So with all of these players out there,
which teams do you think will be the hardest to
compete against? And who are you most excited to face? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (26:40):
All of them? I don't know. That's the cool thing
about it, right is I don't know, and all of them?
You know, the answer is all of them, And right now,
if I'm being frank, I'm not really thinking too much
about anybody else, Right is all of our time and effort.
I've got this tremendous staff that we put together in Omaha.
(27:02):
Remy is from France and he's got a ton of
international experience. And we were able to bring in Corey
Tetzlaf who was an All American at Creighton and she's
part of our staff. And Joby Ramos was currently at
Iowa Western Community College. And I've got this beautiful, amazing staff,
and I just right now, we're going to build our
(27:23):
own plane, you know, and we'll worry about everybody else
is when we get there.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Now, looking back at your career, both as a player
and a coach, what things have you learned that you're
bringing to love Omaha.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yeah, the list would be too long too. I often
say I've screwed it up so many times, right is.
I think where I'm at from a career perspective right
now is that early on, I think I over coached everybody.
You know, that anything that was coming into my it
(27:57):
was You're trying to fix everything at once. And I
think what I've learned is it's just better to do
less well. And so maybe both from a coaching perspective
and a life perspective, I'm on this mission to do
less better and I think just really being intentional about
what you want to accomplish that day, what you want
(28:19):
to accomplish that practice, what are the most important things,
and how do you create an environment that allows everyone
to be successful within that? And I think for me
that's priority one. I'm philosophically. I know who I am
from a coaching perspective. I know what I want to
do and what I don't And it's a really wonderful
(28:41):
place to be and to feel like you've done a
lot of trial and error and you've made a lot
of mistakes and you're in a place where you feel like, yeah, no,
this is the way we want to do it. And
so I think that's where I'm at right now.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Would you say you learn most of this from coaching,
like in your career, because you said earlier that your
family is you know, you're from a family of coaches.
Do you learn any of this from them too, or
did you learn anything specifically from them that you've brought
to your coaching.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Yeah, a lot, you know our family. That's it's an
interesting dynamic, right because you're always talking a lot of
this stuff. I feel like I learned from my family
was the relationship culture building pieces. Right. They're football coaches
and basketball coaches and tracking field coaches, right. So from
a sport perspective, I think that's just stuff I learned
along the way. I had some tremendous mentors and people
(29:32):
that were really really influential in my life and shaping
how I wanted to teach and how I wanted to
learn about volleyball. Just from a philosophical perspective, what are
the most important things? How do you go about teaching
and training them? How do you develop your own principles
within that and yet not lose who you are as
a coach? You know, I have to be me and
(29:54):
but you're always just grabbing pieces and parts from different
places along the way. And I think I'm to a
really nice place where I want to keep learning, but
I want it to be within a certain framework now.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
So going back to the beginning of your coaching career,
you kind of had this unique way of becoming a coach,
because I've read that you actually started coaching while you
were still playing. So can you tell me.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
You went six and twenty one that year? It was
just really terrible?
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yeah, So, well, how did you go from becoming a
player to a coach? Can talk about that transition, what
it was like, especially since you were playing, you were
like a player manager in baseball in that regard, But
talk about that and also just how you got into
the sport in general, because I also read that you
considered yourself a late bloomer to the sport.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Yeah. Yeah, you know, it was different than the club systems,
particularly in rural America, were not established in the nineteen eighties.
You know, I'm dating myself a little bit, but so
I think if I really think back that far right,
it just was different. And so I went to junior
college route initially as a player, and then I ended
(31:03):
up at Florida Atlantic University and I played for this
Venezuelan guy. His name was Leo usgata Key and if
you say who's got the key really fast, that's how
you say his name. And he was just the coolest.
I played for Ray Bichard, who's the volleyball coach at
the University of Kansas, and then I worked for him
for a couple of years, and I worked for Jim
(31:23):
McLaughlin for a few years at Kansas State as an
assistant and with my dear friend Jason Watson, who is
an amazing, just brilliant coach at the University of Arkansas,
and along the way was introduced to Marv Dumfy and
Carl McGowan and a lot of these guys just really
shaped how I feel about volleyball. And I think back
(31:44):
to that time of yeah, sure, I want to be
a volleyball coach, and unfortunately they had fired Leo uscati
Key and had hired a the assistant women's basketball coach.
This actually happened back then to coach the volleyball team,
and the problem was she just didn't know anything about volleyball.
So I came on basically to run practice, but with
(32:06):
my teammates.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
They were the.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Players that I had played with the year before, and
it was complex, and we weren't very good, and I
was terrible, and you know, it was a really difficult start,
if you will. But I left there thinking, Okay, why
would anybody do this? This is terrible? And I got
really lucky that I landed a couple of jobs after that,
(32:28):
and it's turned into be this beautiful, imperfect journey, career,
journey that I wouldn't give up for the world.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Did you know that when you were a player coach
that coaching was the next step or did it sort
of take you a few practices a little bit of
time before you realized, like, this is my path.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I think it took me a lot. Yeah, I think
it took me a long time, to be honest. I
think you know that you have a disposition for teaching
and mentorship and development. I think you know you have
this disposition. I learned pretty quick that if I wasn't
if it wasn't volleyball, I'd be teaching something. I think
I see myself as a teacher and so, but it
(33:07):
took a while to gain both the knowledge and the
experience to feel comfortable in the role. It's not something
you know learn overnight for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Now, going back to two thousand and three, I read
that you were named the Big Twelve Coach of the
Year after you led Kansas State to their first ever
conference title. You were on your way to coaching the
Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament, and you were one month
away from giving birth. So, being that it was two
thousand and three, what was it like being so far
(33:38):
along in your pregnancy, having a young child, and coaching
at such a high level. What type of support did
you get?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Yeah, I remember that it's chaos, you know. I mean,
I think it's just this, it's just this chaos that
you're living in. And I remember just constantly thinking finding
joy in the chaos, right, find joy in the chaos. So,
you know, what was it like being pregnant? You know,
it was just being pregnant. I don't know as if
it was anything other than that, right I At that time,
(34:10):
that was my second pregnancy, so I knew a little
bit more what to expect. The first one was probably
a little tougher because you don't know what's coming, but
the second one you kind of know what to expect.
I do remember seeing my physician and going, hey, can
I get on this plane and fly to you know, wherever?
Do you have to come with me? What's going to
happen here? And so organizing that. But my doctors were great,
(34:33):
My team was great. I don't if I'm being honest,
I was just coaching and happen to be pregnant, you know.
And now when after you have the babies, right, and
then they're alive, then you have to try to keep
them alive. And that's a whole different set of things. Right.
So one of my funniest stories is having probably my
(34:55):
four year old with us in the back of the
van and the team was always so great with them,
and having them in the back of a van and
having him get sick and like really getting sick, virtually
got sick in the van, and having my team just
be a bunch of champs, and thinking, oh my gosh,
you know, God love them. But you know, those teams
(35:15):
along the way when my kids are little, they helped
me raise my kids. They ran around in the gym,
and the athletic trainers helped me, and the assistant coaches
helped me, and the ops people helped me, and my
parents helped me, and it was it was a team
effort to try to get those boys right to maybe
to school, if you will, right. So I had a
(35:37):
lot of hands and a lot of help.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
I love that. I mean it's now twenty years later,
and I feel like there's, you know, still a stigma
attached to working moms or athletes being moms, but you know,
speaking specifically about love. Sarah will Hyde Parsons of Love.
Madison is pregnant with her first child.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
Off the top of my head.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
You know, there are a lot of moms in the league,
like Carley Low and Julienne Fossett, and in general, you're
seeing a lot of professional women athletes in like the
WNBA or n WSL who are becoming moms and working moms.
So over the course of your coaching career, how have
you seen working moms supported and athletics. How has it evolved?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I have you know, won
they're athletes. They're athletes first, you know, I mean, they're well,
maybe they're moms first, right, but they're but they're athletes,
and I guess my thought is they absolutely can do
it right now. They have some physical demands that pregnancy
complicates that. You have to be pretty committed to coming
(36:44):
back after a pregnancy because you've got to get back
in shape, you've got to meet the physical demands of
your sport. And but the ones that do it, it's
just it's absolutely possible. It's no different than putting on
a suit and going to work, and it is just
what they choose to do. So I have you know,
that's how I feel about it. There's no reason why
(37:07):
these women can't go have a family and do this too.
You know, we have to well we don't have to,
but many of them choose to carry them, right, and
so that complicates it. It's going to take you out.
Like Sarah, right, she's going to take a year off
and then she's going to get back in shape and
she's going to come back. And being a parent makes
(37:28):
you a better person, you know. So she's going to
come back and learn some things along the way and
try to figure out how to balance being a working mom,
and she'll do it just like you know, thousands of
women to come before.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Speaking of kids, I saw that your son is was
a caddie at Whistling Streets.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Yes, yeah, yeah last summer.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Are you guys big golfers? Uh?
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Yeah, you know, I don't want to say I'm a
good golfer, but I'd like to play golf. Right, He's
a big golfer. My husband's a big golfer, and so
it was an amazing experience for him last summer. He
loved it. He absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
That's amazing. You know, Jordan Larson picked up golf during
the pandemic. I feel like, maybe, yeah, you guys should
start some sort of you know, team bonding experience getting
out on the links.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Yeah, it takes a minute, right to get good at golf.
I don't know if the beginning golfers would think the same,
but you know, but I go hack it around pretty
I go hack it around when I can.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Oh, I love it. I love golf. I'm not very
good at it either, but it's a lot of fun
to play.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
I think I may need to get to retirement because
it takes some time to get good at it.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
True. Well, lastly, going back to volleyball, what do you
hope to showcase in this inaugural season and what do
you want fans and the public to see, learn and know?
Speaker 3 (38:51):
Yeah, you know, I hope that we can showcase just
a phenomenal level of play, you know, simply. I hope
that we can put all of our pieces together and
in a short period of time and really show showcase
this beautiful combination of international athletes and American athletes and
(39:11):
varied levels of experiences, and put all of our pieces
together and just simply play phenomenal volleyball.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Right.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
If you ask me what I really want to accomplish,
that's it, right, And I want the fans and the
people to see how amazing. These women are just there.
Oh my gosh. They are so much more than volleyball players,
and they're amazing volleyball players, but they're also these incredibly driven, smart,
(39:38):
talented humans that I think are tremendous role models just
for people, not just little girls, but just for people
in terms of how they're driven to be successful, how
they honed their craft, how hard they work to be
good at it, and how well they failed and recovered
and go again. And so I guess that's what I
(40:00):
want people to know and see. But mostly I just
want to put all the pieces together and be really
good at volleyball.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I love it. Well, Coach Fritz, thank you so much
for coming on Serving Pancakes. It was a pleasure speaking
with you.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
It's so nice to meet you, Tiffany.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Thank you. Serving Pancakes is an iheartwomen's sports production in
partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find
us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts for wherever you
get your podcasts. Production by League one Volleyball, I'm your host,
Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Oliverrez is our senior producer. Our executive
(40:35):
producers are Carrie Stett, Tamaradiki and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing
lead is Jawara Parker. Sound editing and mixing by Daniel Gonzalez.
Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior
Special thanks to Emily Emon and coach Susie Fritz. Stay
tuned for another episode of Serving Pancakes. Thanks for listening.
Hi, I'm Tifny Oshinsky, and this is Serving Pancakes with
League one Volleyball, with the inaugural Love season just around
the corner. Over the next few weeks, we'll be following
some of the biggest women's college volleyball games featuring schools
that our players attended. In today's episode, I'll be going
over the thrilling five set victory for number two Nebraska
over number ten per Due with Big ten Networks Emily Emon,
(00:23):
and then Love Omaha's head coach Susie Fritz will join
me to talk about the inaugural season, her career, and
so much more so. First, let's talk to Nebraska Purdue.
Emily Even, welcome back to Serving Pancakes. So happy you're here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So happy to be here. Always down to chats men'saavolleyball.
It's been a crazy season so.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Far, absolutely insane, and this match was equally insane, with Nebraska,
who was number two, coming back from being down two
to one to beat Purdue twenty five, twenty two, twenty
two to twenty five, twenty three, twenty five, twenty five,
twenty two, and then the insane it's set seventeen fifteen.
So let's talk big picture. First, Emily, what stood at
(01:06):
to you the most in this match?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
To be honest, the biggest thing to me was watching
this match. It didn't feel like Nebraska won. It felt
like Purdue lost it. You know, they were up two
to one in one of the toughest places to play
in the entire country at the Devani Center. They're up
ten to eight and set five and then kind of
let it slip away. The biggest thing to me was
produce service errors. You know, they had four in that
(01:29):
fifth set alone, four in a period of the first
seven points, So they were just handing Nebraska, you know,
part of that fifth set. And when you look at
the numbers, Purdue pretty much outplayed them. I mean in
terms of blocks fifteen to five and a half, they
out blocked Nebraska. They out hit them three eleven to
two forty two. And that's a really good Nebraska defense.
And if you're going to be able to hit above
(01:50):
three hundred against them, to me, you have to be
able to capitalize on that. Eva Hudson and kloeesha Coin
produce outsides are just absolutely insane. One of the best
duos in the country combined for nearly fifty kills the difference. Though,
again those service errors for Purdue, they had nineteen of
them in the entire match. If you have the opportunity
to take down the number two team in the country
(02:10):
and you're kind of out playing them in almost every capacity.
In the fifth set, you're up ten to eight, you
have to find a way to close it. So it's
kind of, you know, for the Boilers, letting it slip away.
But I mean, what a fun volleyball match. The defense
was outstanding. It's so fun when you see players like
Hudson and Shaquoigne go off, and then you're playing in
one of the best atmospheres in college volleyball. I mean,
(02:31):
it doesn't get much better than that in a seventeen
to fifteen fifth set.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
There's so many things I want to touch on that
you just mentioned. I want to break things down first.
Let's start with the most recent thing that you just said,
playing at the Davanny Center. You've been there. You know
you can feel the electricity coming from your screen while
watching games in Nebraska, but can you just explain what
it is like to actually be there, especially when you
have such a wild match like this was.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, the Davanni Center is second to none. To me,
it's the most intimidating place to play in all of
college volleyball. I mean, the bells and whistles there are incredible.
It's an incredibly nice facility. It seats about eighty five
hundred or nine thousand with standing room only, and they
sell out every single night. They're closing in on three
hundred and fifty consecutive sellouts, which is a Division One
(03:18):
Athletics women's record, not just for volleyball but all of
women's athletics. It is crazy. Those fans know volleyball so
so well. They're so knowledgeable about the game. You know,
they know in a chair, and then if the other
team's doing well, like it's real quiet in there, but
it is. It's crazy. I mean, when you have nine
thousand fans screaming at you in that kind of environment,
it is so so tough to play in and that
(03:40):
really becomes a difference maker when you enter a fifth set,
when things are close, when you can get that crowd
momentum behind you. That's one of the reasons why it's
one of the best home court advantages in all of sports.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I mean, they've won thirty five straight there, so you know,
watching this game and hearing this crowd, I can completely
understand how much of a home field Advanta is now
one of the heroes for Nebraska. Merrit Pison. She had
a season high twenty two kills in this game. We've
seen how good she is. We know how good she is,
(04:12):
but can you explain why teams struggle to stop her?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Mayor Beson's a gamer. I mean, she is one of
the most difficult attackers to stop in the country. She's
very rangey, meaning she can vary up her attack well.
She hits deep corners, she can barrel things down the line.
Whatever set is given to her, she does a really
nice job of adjusting to that. She also has really
great court vision, so it doesn't matter the defense in
the block you put in front of her. She's able
(04:35):
to see the block really well. If there's a small seam,
she'll hit right through it. Does a nice job at
targeting fingertips. She's always just got a heavy arm. I mean,
if you give her a received to rip through, she's
put in the putt in a hole in the floor.
She is just absolutely incredible. One thing that I think
Nebraska hasn't necessarily utilized enough but they started to during
that match against Purdue is getting her going in the
(04:56):
back court. They've been rotating her out with a DS
in the back row, which last year she was so
effective back there. She was one of the best backcourt
attackers in the country. And now this year they've been
using a DS because they have a plethora of just
incredible littles on that team. But Beson really got it
going in the back row, especially when it mattered most
when those sets are really tight, especially in that fifth set,
(05:16):
they left her back there, and I mean she was
just going off. But I mean, she's a gamer, she's rangy,
she's athletic, she can just fly jump out of the gym.
She's so much fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And talk about Andy Jackson because she's also been absolutely unstoppable.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I mean she's like nearly unstoppable. There's one point in
that match I think I want to say it was
a third set she was hitting like nine hundred. I mean,
Andy Jackson right now is in a league of her
own in terms of middles. Her slide attack is the
best that I've seen in the country. I mean, the
way that she's able to fly up there and even
if it's not the perfect set, manages to find something
to do with. But she added three inches to her
(05:52):
vertical in the offseason. She now touches ten ten, which
is crazy for an attacker that's only six ' three.
She can jump out of the gym. She's really rangy.
She's very explosive, strong arm, and her connection with rossettter
Berg and Riley is incredible. You know, they had time
to practice it over the summer playing in the USA
gym obviously a lot of you know, time just in
the Nebraska gym as well. But Andy Jackson's incredible. Her
(06:15):
offense has taken just massive strides in the last year,
and her blocking too has gotten a lot better.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You mentioned Eva Hudson and kloe Cha Coin on Perdue.
They both had double doubles in that match. They also
looked unstoppable. I mean, if I didn't know the score,
I would have thought that Perdue had it just based
on how they were hitting. Even though they lost this match.
How dangerous is this Perdue team with them?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
They're so dangerous. I mean, the key to stopping Perdue
is to slow down Eva Hudson and kloes Ha Coin,
which teams can't do. You know, it's so incredible because
if you look at Chloe Hacoin, she's an attacker that's
about five to nine, and I would say that's like
a generous five nine. She's more like a five eight,
but she jumps through the gym. It doesn't matter that
you know that the ball is going to either of
(06:59):
them in the outside or the backcourt, you still can't
find a way to stop them. Which is what makes
this Purdude teams so fun is you know where the
ball is going. They set a vast majority of their
sets to the outside, to one of the two, and
they just find ways to put it down in a
fifth set, in the beginning of the first set, it
doesn't matter. They're gonna get a ton of swings. They're
just ballersm You know, I always think about who would
(07:22):
I not ever want to play against, and those are
two players that I just would never want to face
on the other side because you know they're getting the ball,
they're still going to put it down. They also just
have that look in the rye that you know they're
going to take their game to the next level. And
as an opponent, I would be completely terrified.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I mean, Shaquinn being five, eight, five nine or whatever is.
I think it says she's five to ten on on
the roster, but I also know as someone who's five
to three, who was once put in a book as
five to six. I know people like to be a
little generous, but I mean she's going up against Mary
Beeson who's six three I believe, and Andy Jackson six floor. Like.
I mean, the fact that she can get those hits
(07:58):
down and have that many in a match against girls
who are that tall is insane.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It's crazy, And to be honest, for both of those
players too, it's not only just their front court play,
but it's like having two liberos in the back court
as well. They are so good defensively, they fly around
the back court. I mean, Chaquhanna is making saves in
that fit set that you could have got prdue the win.
Obviously didn't, but I mean she is incredible in the
back court as well. Both of them are, for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
And then their middle hitter, Raven Colvin. She didn't have
the best night hitting, but she did lead with eleven blocks.
So again same question when it comes to Raven, how
dangerous is she on this team?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Raven Colvin's incredible I mean, she's a very undersized middle
She's just about six feet tall, maybe five to eleven,
but she plays so much bigger than she is because
she's a little bit shorter. She really has to make
sure to be very disciplined. That's what she's really good at.
Blocking wise, she makes really explosive movements. She doesn't move
until she knows where the ball is going, and that's
(08:55):
led to just stuff after stuff. I mean right now,
she's second in the NCAA and blocks percont at about
one point seven, which is just absolutely unheard of. Again,
second in the country, that's first in the Big Ten.
She is incredible, and also when they can get her
going offensively, it really changes the game for Purdue. She's
good enough to where the ball doesn't have to be perfect.
(09:15):
Purdue oftentimes talks about just getting it in a window
for her to hit, because she's so athletic and dynamic
that if you can just get the ball to her,
she'll figure out something to do.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
With for sure. Now, Perdue was dominant in the second
and third set, beating Nebraska in those two, But what
happened in the final two, especially in that fifth set
where they were up fifteen fourteen one point a way
to seal the game. What went wrong with the Boilers.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
To be honest, Nebraska started making plays, and it took
them up until that point to really do it. They
were kept in that set because of produe service errors.
You know, up until about the seven point mark, Purdue
had handed Nebraska for service airs, so they were already
kind of in the set, and then all of a
sudden at ten to eight, they found a way to
turn it on. Their front row really started making plays,
(10:02):
and it was a really balanced effort. It's not like
one person really ended up just going off at the
end to get it done.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Mayor Beeson had those last two kills for Nebraska, But
up until that point they just found ways with other people.
Whether that was Andy Jackson getting it killed, you know
twice late in that set, Harper Marie showed up big.
The biggest thing for Nebraska is when it's tight, they
turn it on, and sometimes they struggle with that starting
off matches a little bit slow. But again, also if
(10:30):
you're playing in a fifth set at the Devani Center
and it's that close and you've got the crowds momentum
behind you, that definitely helps your team turn it on
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
All right, Well, time for the serving pancakes. Pancake counter
and in this match, I only counted one pancake. It
was in the fourth set by Landychboy. Nebraska was up
nine to five when Chilboy came out of nowhere to
just get that pancake and dig the ball up. Unfortunately,
Nebraska did not get the point on that effort, but
it was a valiant effort by her, and I went
(10:58):
to comment her on that. But talking about defense in general,
I know we talked about Hudson and shit Coin, but
what did you see in the defense from both teams?
What really stood out to you?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, I mean you know Nebraska's defense always stands out.
You mentioned a player like Landy CHOBOI just absolutely incredible.
I think they did a really nice job in the backcourt,
which they always do, just racking up dig after dig.
Lexi Rodriguez to me, she's hands down the best libarro
in the country. I thought Perdue was doing a good
job keeping the ball in Bergen Riley in the back court.
(11:28):
Her dig numbers were really high, trying to get Nebraska
out of system. But really what stood out the most
was the blocking from Perdue. I mean, they did an
incredible job really from start to finish, and that's what
this Purdue team is known for. They just put up
block after block. They ended with fifteen of them against
Nebraska is about five and a half, so that really
stood out. You know, Raven Colvin again just a phenomenal blocker.
(11:50):
She really led that charge for Perdue and was just
absolutely lead up front. She wrecked up nine stuff. So
you know, it's a backcourt defense for Nebraska the front
court defense for Purdue that really stuck out.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Lastly, Emily, there has been so much parody in women's
college volleyball this season, so many upsets in your opinion,
Why is that and what does it mean for the
rest of the regular season going into the tournament.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Well, parody means that it's going to be really fun
as we head into the rest of the season. But
it's been really cool to see because over the last
three or four years, we're seeing upsets like we've never
seen before and so much more parody top to bottom.
You know, a lot of conferences, take take the ACC
for example, used to be a very top heavy conference.
You had Pitt, you had Louisville, and then Georgia Tech,
(12:34):
you know, is always kind of in the mix, but
now there's so many conferences and teams where it's anyone's game.
You can't take a night off because top to bottom,
these conferences are getting so much stronger, and not only
are the top teams getting better, but the middle teams
are now pushing the top teams, and the teams that
are normally at the bottom of conferences are pushing those
middle teams taking sets off of the top teams across
(12:55):
the board. Right now, you can't take a night off
because we've seen upset after upset time and time again,
which for us as fans, I mean, it makes it
so exciting. It's you know, every night we're seeing massive upsets,
which is going to you know, pay dividends for a
lot of teams down the line in the tournament too,
and probably some pretty big upsets once once postseason play starts.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Very excited to say that that tournament is going to
be a lot of fun to watch. Well, thank you
so much, Emily, appreciate you taking the time to speak
with me and talk some women's collin volleyball.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, I love it. Happy back Anto time. Thanks for
having me.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Great analysis by the extremely knowledgeable Emily Emon. Now let's
talk about professional women's volleyball in Nebraska. Love Omaha head
coach Susie Fritz is here. Coach Fritz has the resume
and experience you want in a head coach. Born and
raised in Kansas, coach Fritz began her coaching career in
nineteen ninety four at Florida Atlantic. She eventually found her
(14:03):
way back home, becoming the assistant coach of Kansas State
in nineteen ninety seven, then took over the program in
two thousand and one. After twenty five seasons with the Wildcast,
she became an assistant coach at Arkansas. During her tenures,
she led nationally ranked teams to eighteen NCAA tournament appearances
with her players, including sixteen All American selections, twenty six
(14:23):
All Region selections, and fifty six All Big twelve selections.
And now League One Volleyball is lucky to have her lead.
Love Omaha Coach Fritz. Welcome to Serving Pancakes. Thanks so
much for me here.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. Tiffany,
thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Now, thank you so much, coach. I have to start
by asking, after such a storied career in college ball,
why did you decide to go to the pros, specifically
with League one Volleyball?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Oh my gosh, so many, so many things, you know,
the one just the people involved in League One where
I think as I as I kind of started to
get more into it and meeting. My first initial meeting
actually was with Danielle Scott, who you know, five time Olympian,
(15:15):
phenomenal human being, and just her excitement for how League
one was building, and Tom Hogan and his team. They're
just phenomenal people, and I think that's where it started.
I knew volleyball. Volleyball is in my heart, it's what
I love. Coaching is the family business, right But the
(15:36):
college landscape is changing, and I think this was the
next logical step for me that made a lot of
sense to do what I love, but have it look
a little different if I'm being honest.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
So what are you expecting to be the biggest difference
between college and pro Yeah?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
I think what I noticed right away and in conversations
with the with the women on the team is just
this desire for collaborative work, right is you know these
guys are professionals. They've played all over the world. They
have far more international plane experience than I have. I
have a lot of volleyball experience, But I think the
(16:13):
collaborative piece of it is, and you take away the
academic piece, which is a big part of the student
athlete experience, right, So I think the collaborative just where
you these guys know what they want, they know what
they need, they communicate it openly and honestly, and I
love just the direct model and the really clear vision
(16:37):
of where they want to go. So I think those
are the big pieces right now.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
This is the inaugural season of League one. So what
have been some of the challenges you've faced planning for
a first time team in a first time league.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, you know, I heard someone say you're building the
plane as you fly it, right, there's a little bit
of that where because you're I do feel to be honest,
really comfortable with just the all the pieces in the parts,
you know. I think when I became a head coach,
I tell people often that it took me probably five
to seven years to get my arms wrapped around all
(17:14):
of the entities there are involved in an athletic program,
whether it be collegiate internationally, and you start thinking about
the marketing and promotions and the ticketing and the events
and the strength and conditioning, athletic training, right, and the
list goes on and on and on, and really, I
think as a head coach you want to have at
least some minimal knowledge of these things. So everybody's doing
(17:38):
that for the first time in all of these different areas,
and the communication and the collaboration that's required to do
that is what I noticed right off the bat, right,
is that we're all but the intention within the organization
is phenomenal and everybody's in it together trying to problem
solve quickly as things arise, and that part of it,
(18:01):
I think is pretty huge for the organization period to
be successful.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Well, we're only a few weeks out from preseasons starting,
So what are you doing to prep for this first.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Preseason planning practice? You know, I mean, I'm trying to
stay focused on the volleyball things. There's a lot of
things to be focused upon, but I'm trying to really
just stay focused on the volleyball things. And you know
what the structure of practice is going to look like,
Starting to set a schedule for the women on the
team and working with League One in terms of what
(18:35):
their requirements of the athletes are going to be. There's
and I'm sure you're familiar with it, but there's a
tremendous amount of just resources and opportunity that these women
have access through League One and some of the programming
that they have done just from the pro level all
the way down to the club level is phenomenal. So
(18:56):
just getting organized, I think more than anything, is the
simple answer.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Do you sort of have like a mentality of what
you want to build in this first year?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Yeah, I do. You know, I want to be really
competitive and I want you know, there's a there's a
desire in me in some ways right to represent women
in sports and desire to you know, I know a
lot of the women on my team are so excited
to represent something where young players can look to and say, hey,
(19:29):
I can do that someday. And I think there's still
a little bit of that in me that if you
want to be a volleyball coach and you want to
coach at the highest level and you want to stay
in the United States to do it, that opportunity is
there for you, and there's not a lot of women
professional coaches and that representation for me really matters. And
I'm excited to be able to have a chance to
(19:52):
be a great coach and do it in a great
league with a tremendous group of women.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I love that well. Especially Nebraska is one of, if
not the hotspot for women's volleyball. I mean, watching the
Nebraska Perdue game on Friday, there were so many cutaways
of the younger generation holding sign saying stuff like future
Nebraska volleyball player. You know, they're just so excited about
the sport and they want to be part of it.
(20:19):
So now you've coached at Kansas State for a long
time in your career, but you also had the opportunity
to play in Nebraska. So what are you expecting when
you get to come coach in Omaha.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Yeah. I tell people a lot like I've been external,
like just in arms reach, watching it for a really
long time, and I think until you're in it, you
don't really totally get it. Just the fandom that exists
in the state of Nebraska, and it's you know it.
I mean Creighton University. Kirsten Berenthal is a phenomenal coach
(20:53):
and she's got her team playing exceptionally well and Matt
Buttermore at UNO. And this is out side of the Huskers, right,
who have traditionally been a powerhouse, and John does a
phenomenal job there and so the university filtering system, if
you will, and they're all successful all the way down
to the club level. The high schools in Omaha play
(21:15):
tremendous volleyball. Just fandom is the best word that I
can explain it. They're true volleyball fans. They love volleyball
there and I just feel blessed to be, you know,
part of it and embed ourselves in that community. It's phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Well, speaking of some of the players on your team,
you get to coach four time Olympic medalist Jordan Larson
and two time Olympic medalist Justine wang Arantez. So let's
start with Jordan, who is known as the governor of Nebraska.
What are you excited about when it comes to coaching Jordan.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah, you know, it's been a really neat experience to
get to know Jordan on a level outside of maybe
her as a volleyball player, you know, and just the
journey that she has been on from a career perspective.
And admire that and use that in some ways to advance,
(22:11):
if you will, right, the experience of our team and
myself and our program. And she is an amazing human
being with this desire to give back to the Nebraska
community that helped build her and put her in a
position to have this phenomenal volleyball career. And she's committed
to service and mentorship and legacy, if you will, And
(22:33):
you know, I just feel blessed to be in that
with her, you know. And I think that's the cool part,
right Jordan, is she's going to let me be in
that with her and wants to still be coached and
wants to get better as a player, and wants me
to coach the heck out of her. So it's a
really cool, I think dynamic so far. I have so
(22:55):
much admiration for her and where she's been and the
fact that she's still doing it, So I can't say
enough good things about it, you know, and the opportunity
to do that with.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Her, Yeah, and with her experience, I mean, how do
you coach somebody with that much experience?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Well, Jordan knows exactly what she wants and what she
needs for the most part, right, I think a lot
of times with an elite level player like that, it's
not necessarily about doing more with her, you know. In
some ways, it's about helping her refine, if you will.
You're not asking her to do more, You're asking her
to do really specific things, really really well, you know,
(23:34):
and helping her create that list. You know, what is
she thinking about, what is she working on? How can
we help her do that? And I don't think that
list is very long for her anymore, you know, for
a lot of the women on the team, right is
just what's your list right now? Where do you want
us to help you? And that's where I think that
collaborative piece really comes into play with these guys. Is
(23:57):
at this point they kind of know who they are
and what they want.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
M for sure. And then Justine Wangarantez best libero at
the Olympics in Tokyo. She's the all time digs leader
in Nebraska, another queen of the state, if you will,
when it comes to volleyball, do you think that you
have a huge edge right there with your libero situation?
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Wait feels like it, right, it feels like it. But
they're all good, you know, And just a shout out
to you know, Maggie upright and Danielle Michelle Chapman, right Smith,
those were the recruiters that went out and got these
phenomenal athletes on all the teams Omaha included. And I
just think they've done such a phenomenal job of getting
(24:38):
the right talent to be able to make this thing go.
And yeah, I do. I think I have a little edge, right,
she's the best. Who doesn't want the best?
Speaker 1 (25:01):
We're going to be seeing elite volleyball, elite players and
not just you know, in Omaha, but all over the league.
As you were saying talking about the recruiting and trying
to get these women to join the league, there's just
so many amazing players. So specifically talking about Omaha, who
on your team are you most excited to coach and
to introduce to the States?
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah, that would be impossible for me to answer, you
know that, Yeah, that would be impossible for me to answer.
There are just the diversity within the roster. I'm excited
about the international players and their opportunity to experience the
sport culture in the US. When you talk to them,
that's something that they're just really amazed by and looking
(25:46):
forward to being part of that. So I think there's
a piece of that for sure, But even more than that,
just the community aspect of League One and the ability
to have it be more than just volleyball. Those are
all things I'm really excited about. I don't know as
if I can, if you ask me to pull out
one player, right, I just don't think that's possible. I'm
(26:08):
excited to get to know all of them and be
part of this process for all of them and hopefully
help them advance their careers and have a tremendous experience.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Well, there are ten women who were on the US
Olympic team this past summer who are spread out among
the sixth League one teams. You know, there are international
Olympians in the league, as well as other top players
from all over. So with all of these players out there,
which teams do you think will be the hardest to
compete against? And who are you most excited to face? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (26:40):
All of them? I don't know. That's the cool thing
about it, right is I don't know, and all of them?
You know, the answer is all of them, And right now,
if I'm being frank, I'm not really thinking too much
about anybody else, Right is all of our time and effort.
I've got this tremendous staff that we put together in Omaha.
(27:02):
Remy is from France and he's got a ton of
international experience. And we were able to bring in Corey
Tetzlaf who was an All American at Creighton and she's
part of our staff. And Joby Ramos was currently at
Iowa Western Community College. And I've got this beautiful, amazing staff,
and I just right now, we're going to build our
(27:23):
own plane, you know, and we'll worry about everybody else
is when we get there.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Now, looking back at your career, both as a player
and a coach, what things have you learned that you're
bringing to love Omaha.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yeah, the list would be too long too. I often
say I've screwed it up so many times, right is.
I think where I'm at from a career perspective right
now is that early on, I think I over coached everybody.
You know, that anything that was coming into my it
(27:57):
was You're trying to fix everything at once. And I
think what I've learned is it's just better to do
less well. And so maybe both from a coaching perspective
and a life perspective, I'm on this mission to do
less better and I think just really being intentional about
what you want to accomplish that day, what you want
(28:19):
to accomplish that practice, what are the most important things,
and how do you create an environment that allows everyone
to be successful within that? And I think for me
that's priority one. I'm philosophically. I know who I am
from a coaching perspective. I know what I want to
do and what I don't And it's a really wonderful
(28:41):
place to be and to feel like you've done a
lot of trial and error and you've made a lot
of mistakes and you're in a place where you feel like, yeah, no,
this is the way we want to do it. And
so I think that's where I'm at right now.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Would you say you learn most of this from coaching,
like in your career, because you said earlier that your
family is you know, you're from a family of coaches.
Do you learn any of this from them too, or
did you learn anything specifically from them that you've brought
to your coaching.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Yeah, a lot, you know our family. That's it's an
interesting dynamic, right because you're always talking a lot of
this stuff. I feel like I learned from my family
was the relationship culture building pieces. Right. They're football coaches
and basketball coaches and tracking field coaches, right. So from
a sport perspective, I think that's just stuff I learned
along the way. I had some tremendous mentors and people
(29:32):
that were really really influential in my life and shaping
how I wanted to teach and how I wanted to
learn about volleyball. Just from a philosophical perspective, what are
the most important things? How do you go about teaching
and training them? How do you develop your own principles
within that and yet not lose who you are as
a coach? You know, I have to be me and
(29:54):
but you're always just grabbing pieces and parts from different
places along the way. And I think I'm to a
really nice place where I want to keep learning, but
I want it to be within a certain framework now.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
So going back to the beginning of your coaching career,
you kind of had this unique way of becoming a coach,
because I've read that you actually started coaching while you
were still playing. So can you tell me.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
You went six and twenty one that year? It was
just really terrible?
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yeah, So, well, how did you go from becoming a
player to a coach? Can talk about that transition, what
it was like, especially since you were playing, you were
like a player manager in baseball in that regard, But
talk about that and also just how you got into
the sport in general, because I also read that you
considered yourself a late bloomer to the sport.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Yeah. Yeah, you know, it was different than the club systems,
particularly in rural America, were not established in the nineteen eighties.
You know, I'm dating myself a little bit, but so
I think if I really think back that far right,
it just was different. And so I went to junior
college route initially as a player, and then I ended
(31:03):
up at Florida Atlantic University and I played for this
Venezuelan guy. His name was Leo usgata Key and if
you say who's got the key really fast, that's how
you say his name. And he was just the coolest.
I played for Ray Bichard, who's the volleyball coach at
the University of Kansas, and then I worked for him
for a couple of years, and I worked for Jim
(31:23):
McLaughlin for a few years at Kansas State as an
assistant and with my dear friend Jason Watson, who is
an amazing, just brilliant coach at the University of Arkansas,
and along the way was introduced to Marv Dumfy and
Carl McGowan and a lot of these guys just really
shaped how I feel about volleyball. And I think back
(31:44):
to that time of yeah, sure, I want to be
a volleyball coach, and unfortunately they had fired Leo uscati
Key and had hired a the assistant women's basketball coach.
This actually happened back then to coach the volleyball team,
and the problem was she just didn't know anything about volleyball.
So I came on basically to run practice, but with
(32:06):
my teammates.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
They were the.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Players that I had played with the year before, and
it was complex, and we weren't very good, and I
was terrible, and you know, it was a really difficult start,
if you will. But I left there thinking, Okay, why
would anybody do this? This is terrible? And I got
really lucky that I landed a couple of jobs after that,
(32:28):
and it's turned into be this beautiful, imperfect journey, career,
journey that I wouldn't give up for the world.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Did you know that when you were a player coach
that coaching was the next step or did it sort
of take you a few practices a little bit of
time before you realized, like, this is my path.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I think it took me a lot. Yeah, I think
it took me a long time, to be honest. I
think you know that you have a disposition for teaching
and mentorship and development. I think you know you have
this disposition. I learned pretty quick that if I wasn't
if it wasn't volleyball, I'd be teaching something. I think
I see myself as a teacher and so, but it
(33:07):
took a while to gain both the knowledge and the
experience to feel comfortable in the role. It's not something
you know learn overnight for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Now, going back to two thousand and three, I read
that you were named the Big Twelve Coach of the
Year after you led Kansas State to their first ever
conference title. You were on your way to coaching the
Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament, and you were one month
away from giving birth. So, being that it was two
thousand and three, what was it like being so far
(33:38):
along in your pregnancy, having a young child, and coaching
at such a high level. What type of support did
you get?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Yeah, I remember that it's chaos, you know. I mean,
I think it's just this, it's just this chaos that
you're living in. And I remember just constantly thinking finding
joy in the chaos, right, find joy in the chaos. So,
you know, what was it like being pregnant? You know,
it was just being pregnant. I don't know as if
it was anything other than that, right I At that time,
(34:10):
that was my second pregnancy, so I knew a little
bit more what to expect. The first one was probably
a little tougher because you don't know what's coming, but
the second one you kind of know what to expect.
I do remember seeing my physician and going, hey, can
I get on this plane and fly to you know, wherever?
Do you have to come with me? What's going to
happen here? And so organizing that. But my doctors were great,
(34:33):
My team was great. I don't if I'm being honest,
I was just coaching and happen to be pregnant, you know.
And now when after you have the babies, right, and
then they're alive, then you have to try to keep
them alive. And that's a whole different set of things. Right.
So one of my funniest stories is having probably my
(34:55):
four year old with us in the back of the
van and the team was always so great with them,
and having them in the back of a van and
having him get sick and like really getting sick, virtually
got sick in the van, and having my team just
be a bunch of champs, and thinking, oh my gosh,
you know, God love them. But you know, those teams
(35:15):
along the way when my kids are little, they helped
me raise my kids. They ran around in the gym,
and the athletic trainers helped me, and the assistant coaches
helped me, and the ops people helped me, and my
parents helped me, and it was it was a team
effort to try to get those boys right to maybe
to school, if you will, right. So I had a
(35:37):
lot of hands and a lot of help.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
I love that. I mean it's now twenty years later,
and I feel like there's, you know, still a stigma
attached to working moms or athletes being moms, but you know,
speaking specifically about love. Sarah will Hyde Parsons of Love.
Madison is pregnant with her first child.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
Off the top of my head.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
You know, there are a lot of moms in the league,
like Carley Low and Julienne Fossett, and in general, you're
seeing a lot of professional women athletes in like the
WNBA or n WSL who are becoming moms and working moms.
So over the course of your coaching career, how have
you seen working moms supported and athletics. How has it evolved?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I have you know, won
they're athletes. They're athletes first, you know, I mean, they're well,
maybe they're moms first, right, but they're but they're athletes,
and I guess my thought is they absolutely can do
it right now. They have some physical demands that pregnancy
complicates that. You have to be pretty committed to coming
(36:44):
back after a pregnancy because you've got to get back
in shape, you've got to meet the physical demands of
your sport. And but the ones that do it, it's
just it's absolutely possible. It's no different than putting on
a suit and going to work, and it is just
what they choose to do. So I have you know,
that's how I feel about it. There's no reason why
(37:07):
these women can't go have a family and do this too.
You know, we have to well we don't have to,
but many of them choose to carry them, right, and
so that complicates it. It's going to take you out.
Like Sarah, right, she's going to take a year off
and then she's going to get back in shape and
she's going to come back. And being a parent makes
(37:28):
you a better person, you know. So she's going to
come back and learn some things along the way and
try to figure out how to balance being a working mom,
and she'll do it just like you know, thousands of
women to come before.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Speaking of kids, I saw that your son is was
a caddie at Whistling Streets.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Yes, yeah, yeah last summer.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Are you guys big golfers? Uh?
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Yeah, you know, I don't want to say I'm a
good golfer, but I'd like to play golf. Right, He's
a big golfer. My husband's a big golfer, and so
it was an amazing experience for him last summer. He
loved it. He absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
That's amazing. You know, Jordan Larson picked up golf during
the pandemic. I feel like, maybe, yeah, you guys should
start some sort of you know, team bonding experience getting
out on the links.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Yeah, it takes a minute, right to get good at golf.
I don't know if the beginning golfers would think the same,
but you know, but I go hack it around pretty
I go hack it around when I can.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Oh, I love it. I love golf. I'm not very
good at it either, but it's a lot of fun
to play.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
I think I may need to get to retirement because
it takes some time to get good at it.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
True. Well, lastly, going back to volleyball, what do you
hope to showcase in this inaugural season and what do
you want fans and the public to see, learn and know?
Speaker 3 (38:51):
Yeah, you know, I hope that we can showcase just
a phenomenal level of play, you know, simply. I hope
that we can put all of our pieces together and
in a short period of time and really show showcase
this beautiful combination of international athletes and American athletes and
(39:11):
varied levels of experiences, and put all of our pieces
together and just simply play phenomenal volleyball.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Right.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
If you ask me what I really want to accomplish,
that's it, right, And I want the fans and the
people to see how amazing. These women are just there.
Oh my gosh. They are so much more than volleyball players,
and they're amazing volleyball players, but they're also these incredibly driven, smart,
(39:38):
talented humans that I think are tremendous role models just
for people, not just little girls, but just for people
in terms of how they're driven to be successful, how
they honed their craft, how hard they work to be
good at it, and how well they failed and recovered
and go again. And so I guess that's what I
(40:00):
want people to know and see. But mostly I just
want to put all the pieces together and be really
good at volleyball.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I love it. Well, Coach Fritz, thank you so much
for coming on Serving Pancakes. It was a pleasure speaking
with you.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
It's so nice to meet you, Tiffany.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Thank you. Serving Pancakes is an iheartwomen's sports production in
partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find
us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts for wherever you
get your podcasts. Production by League one Volleyball, I'm your host,
Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Oliverrez is our senior producer. Our executive
(40:35):
producers are Carrie Stett, Tamaradiki and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing
lead is Jawara Parker. Sound editing and mixing by Daniel Gonzalez.
Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior
Special thanks to Emily Emon and coach Susie Fritz. Stay
tuned for another episode of Serving Pancakes. Thanks for listening.
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