July 9, 2024 • 37 mins
Lauren Carlini is a setter for the U.S. Women’s National Team and has played professional volleyball overseas for eight years. A three-time AVCA All-American at the University of Wisconsin, Carlini grew to love Madison, Wisconsin, and will lead LOVB Madison when League One Volleyball’s inaugural season launches in late 2024. She and Tiffany Oshinsky discuss Lauren’s volleyball career at Wisconsin and abroad, excitement over joining LOVB and LOVB Madison, affection for dogs – and, of course, pancakes – during the inaugural episode of Serving Pancakes.
Chapters include:
- Young Lauren’s dreams and how she got into volleyball
- Introduction to the University of Wisconsin, its campus and the Madison community
- Beginning a pro career overseas
- Lauren’s response to missing the Tokyo 2020 roster
- The close-knit relationships on Team USA
- Excitement about playing professional volleyball in the United States
- Lauren Carlini: Must LOVB dogs
- Lauren’s Legacy
Follow Lauren on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Become a LOVB Insider to stay up-to-date on when tickets will go on sale, team info, venue announcements and more!
Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez is our Senior Producer
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr
Sound Designer: Max Lorenzen
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 Tiffney Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes. Nope,
not a podcast about food. This is a podcast about
volleyball and more to you. A pancake is a fluffy,
syrup drenched breakfast food button volleyball. A pancake is a
high effort move when a player flattens her hand against
the ground to keep the ball in play. And that's
(00:24):
us digging into high efforts that are moving sports forward.
Listen in as I talk with the people making the
biggest impacts on global volleyball and women's sports perspectives, insights,
and behind the scenes stories, all with the side of pancakes.
Today's episode features one of the greatest setters to ever
come out of Wisconsin, Lauren Carlini. Lauren was a four
(00:48):
time All American for the Badgers and was named the
twenty fourteen Big Ten Player of the Year. She's played
professionally overseas since twenty seventeen and has been on the
US women's national team since graduating college in twenty sixteen,
and this summer she'll be representing Team USA at the
Paris Olympics.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Lauren, thanks so much for having some pancakes with me.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
I have a c oh, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Amazing pancakes here.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I love me a good thick buttermilk. Is this like,
Oh my gosh, I love me some French press coffee.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Too big coffee gal Oh yeah, so like.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
That's probably one of my big dreams is to have
a coffee shop one day, no, and then at night
it turns into a wine bar.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
So this kind of like one two punch.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Can I be invited?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah? You can. The thing is not a big chef myself,
so I gotta find me in one of those. So
would you need anyone's so interested? Oh girl, you're getting
way ahead of me. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Is a super bas at Carlini's Cafe. But then you
gotta do something for the wine part of it too,
like the evening appertito.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Carlini's Cafe in one bar.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
There you go. Why yeah, if it ain't broke, don't
fix it.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I love it all right? So I have to start
all the way back at the beginning.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Okay, run it back.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
What did you want to be when you grew up
before volleyball was even in the picture.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
What was a little arnoining me?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
That's that's hard because I feel like since I have
memories I was always in the gym, and so yeah,
I was in the gym from basically when I was
in the womb, came out of the womb, I was
still in the gym. My mom was playing in these
like nightly leagues, and so Monday nights, Wednesday nights, I
was always there.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Just playing against the wall, peppering by myself, just messing
around with the ball.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Before I even knew where what the sport was, and
so that was just my kind of initiator into the sport.
I started at like five six years old, like on
a club team, and so I wish I could say, oh,
I wanted to be this or that, but I think
I really wanted to be a volleyball player from day one.
I had a little Yeah, I had a lot of
respect for first responders with my dad being a firefighter,
(02:51):
though I would never have wanted to go into that
profession myself. So yeah, I probably would say volleyball player.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
So when did you know that you were good.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Out, that you knew that this, oh was going to
be the right thing.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I think it took a little bit because I started
so young.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Everyone that I was playing with was anywhere between like
two and five years older than me, and so I
was a little barrel for a while, and I had
spandex that looked like swim trunks that you know, were
flared out, And so took me a while to kind
of understand the game, figure out what my niche was
and how I was going to play as a player,
(03:26):
and who I was going to become. And so I
finally realized I was getting good. Maybe my thirteen's year,
that is actually when recruiting kind of started back in
my day, having college coaches be interested and wanting to
go to camps and just kind of transitioning into a
setter role. That was my first year of actually becoming
a setter. I loved being a ballhog in a sense.
(03:46):
So I'm like I get to I get to every single.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Play, I get a part of it. Yeah, I'm in.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
And so that helped simmer down, like my control free
becauseide of things. But I think it was, yeah, probably
when I was thirteen is when I realized, like, this
is this can be something big?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
What else are you a control for? You about?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Not that much anymore. I will say I've like simmered
down quite a bit. But being the oldest child. I
would always force my younger siblings into playing school, and
naturally I would be the principal, the teacher. I would
do all the grading and they would have to be
the students that do the homework.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And they didn't like that so.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Much, but I would say, yeah, I've grown out of
that a little bit.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And you know, kind of found what works for me
in that sense.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Well, you could have been a principal or a teacher, maybe, yeah,
you know what, more respect to all the power to
them and dealing with kids, because good for them.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I don't know how.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
They did it for myself included, so yeah, more power
to them.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
You started going to Wisconsin for camps at what age.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I was in six or seventh grade.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I don't remember the exact day, but six or seventh
grade when I started getting in contact with the coaching
staff there. And my initial thing was like, WHOA, there's
this girl named Maria Carlini who plays for the back.
This woman has the same last name as us but
has no relation. Like that was a really cool connection
that we had, and so that is what initially got
(05:09):
me going to Wisconsin, the games, the camps. So yeah,
at a really young age just kind of built that
connection not only with the staff but with some of
the players as well.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So you always knew he wanted to go to Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
That was the dream I did.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
I did.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
This was also during the glory days of Penn State,
the dynasty era, and so.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Hey, guys, it's me. I wanted to interrupt Lauren's interview
for a quick second to give you some info about
this Penn State dynasty she mentioned so under head coach
Russ Rose, Penn State was an absolute powerhouse back then.
Between twenty and seven and twenty fourteen, the Nitney Allons
won six national titles, including four in a row between
(05:49):
twenty and seven and twenty ten. Wisconsin, a Big ten
rival of Penn State, meanwhile, had yet to win one.
All Right back to Lauren and why she ultimately chose Wisconsin.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I dabbled a little bit with the idea of wanting
to go to Penn State, and I remember Russ Rose
sending up like a sign ball and a little note saying,
you know.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Like looking forward to your future. Da da da.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
But I would say overall, it was Wisconsin from day one.
A lot would have had to have happened to me
for me to not go there.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
So you reaching out to the coaches at Wisconsin kind
of reminds me.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
So I was supposed to go to Penn State to play.
That was my trajectory in life for a period of time.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And I started going to the Penn State camps when
I was thirteen, and thanks to my dad, we printed
up business cards, oh official official business cards from our printer,
from our EPs on or whatever it was, with the
volleyball and my name and my phone number on it.
And I went up to Russ Rose as a thirteen
year old and gave him my business card.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I bet he got a hoot.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Oh. Well, then my dad when he came to pick
me up, because they do, you know, court coaches and
you get to play in front of everybody. My dad
saw him and went up to him, and coach was like, business.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Card, memorable, that's all that matters. You're memorable. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
But yeah, that was my dream to go to Penn State,
just like you to go to Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
But then I got into film school and I went
and we swerved careers.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
We swerved careers.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Career, Yeah, but we're here, that's right, and that's all
that matters. That's right.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So I have to ask you. So you're from Aurora, Illinois, Yeah,
near Chicago. A lot of fun Wisconsin?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Yeah, what was it similar?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Different?
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I mean, was it yea more cornfields and suburban or
was it? Was it actually like a really good time?
Speaker 3 (07:35):
It was great time. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I think that was one of the main draws of
me wanting to go to Wisconsin. Obviously going to camps
every year, kind of understanding the dynamic of the team
and what went on outside of court hours. I think
that was a little bit of the draw for me,
was like, hey, I get to go to a school
that has great education, great athletics, and you get to
have a lot of fun off the court, you know,
and enjoy your time while you're up there.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
And for me, it was really important to be able
to have my family close.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Enough to where they can come and watch the games,
and if you know, I was feeling homesick whatever, I
could go home pretty easily. So it was two hours
door to door, so it worked out perfect. Really, it
was the best of all worlds where my family was
there for every home match and I was able to
go home when I wanted, and it was only two
hours away, and so I had just the absolute best
(08:23):
experience at Wisconsin and gosh, I'm just so excited that
I get to call that place home now.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Truly, Well, you just bought a house there, I did,
So what was that like, buying your first house? I mean, yeah,
what was that experience like? And yeah, degrading everything. Oh
it's expensive.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
First off, it's a little shock to the system with
the bank account, but it's so fun because it's yours.
And for those of us who have played professionally now
for whatever one, two, three quads, we don't have a home.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
We live out of suitcases, and so now being able to.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Call a place my own and buy my own furniture
and kind of decorate how I want to, it's a
really cool, like turning point in my life.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's slowly but surely coming together.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
It's been really fun to just kind of go and
like window shop and try and curate what I want.
But I'm just so looking forward to being there full time.
And yeah, just having a place to go home and
go back to.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Do you have an eye for decorating? No.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Pinterest has done great pottery barn westdalm Are like my
go tos, I have an idea of what I want
to get at. I will say, again, just very menialist,
natural with some I love all of green, so we're
going for splashes of like olive green and everywhere.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, Pinterest, it's a real life Pinterest board.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
There you go. Exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
So when you're playing in Wisconsin, did you know that
you wanted to continue and keep playing?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
For sure?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I will say when you're in college. At least when
you were in college, you really didn't know anything about
professional volleyball playing overseas.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
It was just this like unknown world.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
I will say, having people like Chrystal Harmado, who I
reached out to Alicia Glass being able to chat with
them about like, Hey, what can we expect when we
go overseas? What is a good number I should be
shooting for. What are some good countries to be playing in? Culture,
things to be aware of. There's just so much that
you're unaware of. And I think that's why so many
girls after a half season one season overseas are like
(10:14):
this is terrible. I'm done because it is such a
shock to the system. You just don't know what to expect.
And so for me it was I knew I wanted
to play professionally. I knew it was probably going to
be a challenge being overseas for anywhere between six and
eight months of the year, but that was something that
we had to do and we had to sacrifice in
order to be on the national team to try and
become an Olympian.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
How does the process work of professionally? How do you
get picked?
Speaker 4 (10:51):
So, at least in my experience, it was at the
ABCA Final four, So this is in December. If you're
graduating in the spring, you have a little bit more
time to kind of figure it out. But if you're
graduating in December, it's like two week process. You're choosing,
you're getting an agent, you're going overseas, and so I
luckily had all spring tick to side.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
But step one, get an agent.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
I found someone who was in Italy and he's been
great just because he has his boots on the grounds there.
He knows teams owners, a lot of connections, that's what
you're looking for, and so we were kind of just
figuring out, okay, what teams need setters for next season
and ended up starting out in Italy and signing that contract.
I want to say it was in April or May
and so it was fun, like, whoa, I just signed
(11:32):
my big you know, my big girl contract and got
enough money for down payment on my car, which was great.
But that was the first step into like adulthood and
playing overseas and kind of figuring out that world.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
So there's a lot of steps that go into it.
Your first year.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
You don't realize that you need to bring peanut butter
vanilla extract if you want like good smelling, like laundry beads,
gotta bring those. Like, there's so many little things that
you don't realize.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
That you learn. When you get over there.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
You're like, wow, I need some jiff immediately, and if
you don't have it, you're going to spend ten dollars
at the grocery store and buy it.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
So yeah, there's a lot of learning experiences when you
get over there. But it's cool.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
I'm glad to have been able to do that and
experience different cultures and people.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But there's a lot of growing pains in there as well.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
How much downtime do you have when you're overseas to.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Explore Oh too much? That was one of the things
my first year overseas. I did not realize how much
free time you had. Like literally in college, it's okay,
I have to wake up, I have to go to lyft,
then I have to shower immediately go to class. In between,
I'm doing study hall practice. Your day is timed out
from them second you wake up to the second go
(12:40):
to bed. Then you get overseas and you're like, huh,
I have to find hobbies and things to pass the time.
That was really difficult to like be completely by myself.
I didn't have any other Americans on my team my
first year, and so it was really being thrown into
full independence and autonomy. So yeah, it was like, Okay,
I guess I'm taking up rating and leering and I'm
(13:01):
going to go outside and enjoy the sun. And I
wish I would have embraced being in that a little
bit more than what I did, because I was literally
living in the vineyards of Florence.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
We're better, but at.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
The time, it was like, I'm so alone and I
don't have any hobbies that I'm trying to find things
to pass the time that I'm really not enjoying that much.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
So it was a tough balance at times.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
So I lived lived in Florence for the summer.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh, I just remember going to get pizza Gilato, like
any live music I could find.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, I fell in love with Nyochi Alfredo out there.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
They wait Alfredo. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
They didn't like it when I would ask for it, but.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
They there's no way they made this for you.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Well it was like a cream sauce.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
But okay, I translated it's Alfreda when I came back
to the States.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But uh oh, I loved it.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
I think Florence is still one of my favorite city
in the entire world. I'm not sure if you had
the same experience, but there's just like this magical aura
about it, Like when you're in the city, it's just
it's small and welcoming and inviting, and there's just something
so unique about it.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
I loved Florence so much.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Same, I'm right there with you, one of my favorite
cities I've ever visited.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Agreed, Oh beautiful. Do you ever go back?
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Let's see, Well, when I was there, that was my
first season. The next season I was in Novara, which
was right outside Milan, Okay, so got to Florence whenever
I could, especially when we played the team there. And
then the third year I was in Parma, which is
like right in the middle of Italy, and was able
to go to Florence I think twice that year. So yeah,
whenever I can, I make it back there.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
But I haven't made it back in a couple of
years now, so hopefully so Well.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
You said that you read a lot, So what kind
of books do you do?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
You still read a lot?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
I do.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
I've definitely transitioned. I would say when I was in.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
My dark girl era back in Italy, it was more
reading a lot of military books, really into like, yeah,
kind of just World War two special ops, and so
I was reading a lot about that and their mentality
and how they kind of go about things, because what
they do is like the top of the top, right
in terms of just execution, teamwork, just mental capacity to
(15:09):
handle a lot of different things.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
So I really appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
So I was reading a ton of those, a little
bit of self help, and I would say I've transitioned
away from that now. I'm way more into like the
Colleen Hoover's, the Emily Henry's, like we're reading summer beach
reads and romance, a little more lighter side of things.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So I would say that's my go to right.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Now, All right, do you guys have a book club
on the team, because I feel like a lot of
you read.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
You know, I want to say at one point we
were kind of passing books around whenever we're on trips,
Like whenever we're overseas and we're on a three week trip.
It's like we each bring two books, we read it,
and then we pass it around to each other. So
that's been lovely and something that we've done in the
past couple of years.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
All right, yeah, Well, so going back to the US
women's team, now, I know in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
You were one of the women who was not.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Picked for the twelve roster, So what was going through
your mind? Did that make you want to train harder,
did it make you want to stop playing?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
What was what was your thought process?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, I would say a little bit of everything. Right.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
So we were in a bubble when we got the announcement,
So that part, I think was honestly the hardest, just
having to we're all in the same hotel, like my
teammates are across the hall, and having to digest all
that information and the reality of it in you know,
twelve hours before we have to decide whether or not
we're going to go to practice the next day, because
we were given the freedom to choose, if you're not
(16:37):
one of the twelve, take a day and you know,
take your time to kind of digest the information, and
so as alternates, we all chose like, hey, we're here
for the team.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
This is our priority.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
Even though it sucks that we didn't make the roster
and it's really hard, we're gonna we're here to do
the hard things. And so we decided to go to
practice that day and give everything we could to our teammates,
and yeah, it was hard. It was It was really
tough to just be like, dang, this is a team
that's going to go represent us in Tokyo. And obviously
they chose the best group they could and they won
(17:08):
gold and they've done incredible things for this program and
so seeing that result at the end of it made
it worth it, but didn't make it easier, of course not.
And so after that went home for I think we
got one week, two weeks for you maybe, and was
just with friends and family and got back in the gym,
and at that point it was like, Okay, I'm just
going to be the best teammate I can possibly be like,
(17:30):
we are here to again do the hard things, and
so practicing all the way up until they left for Tokyo.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
It did take me a little bit.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
I went to Turkey after that for my professional team,
and it was hard to be like, all right, it's
time to flip the switch, and we're looking forward to
the next squad, We're looking forward to what's next. So
I would say it took me a little bit to
kind of get back on track, But within a few
weeks I was like, all right, we're going to get better.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
We're going to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
What advice do you have two girls women?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, any players who hit that point where they want
to make this team, they you know, they're good enough
to make this team, and then obviously not everyone can
make it, right, So what advice do you have for
anyone who's in that spot.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
I think one is before the decision is even made,
just give yourself the best chance possible. Even now as
we're going through this process of being hopefully on the
roster of twelve for Paris, it's am I doing everything
I possibly can so that at the end of the day, I.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Don't have any regrets.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
So that's the first thing, is like going one hundred
and ten percent in every single day. The second thing
is just being a really good teammate and knowing that, like, hey,
a roster is going to be chosen. There is basically
a decision to be made, and it doesn't take away
anything from you as a player, as a person. The
roster just didn't go your way this time, and so
(18:51):
there's this balance of acceptance but also like making it
as hard as you can on the coaches or the staff,
whoever it may be, to make that decision. And then
I think the biggest thing for me, especially now being
at the end of this journey, is like, again, I
don't want any regrets. I don't want anything saying oh
I left this on the table. So yeah, give your role,
be the best teammate you can possibly be. Support others
(19:13):
because there's no point in bringing other people down. People
are going to see that it's being very inauthentic, and
so yeah, just be the best you can and make
the decision as hard as possible for the staff.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
For the final twelve is it just the coaches decidning.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
As far as I know now that the case was different.
In Tokyo.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
It was a staff and us girls also voted, so
it was kind of a team wide.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
I think it was just where our team was at.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
We hadn't played together in a year because of COVID,
and so it was more about like vibes and feelings
and who was the best fit and who would.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
You want to go to war with next to you.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
So again I'm not sure if that's the case this
time around, but either way, like I know our team,
we've set ourselves up well to make that decision if
it comes to it.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
You girls seem very close.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I looked at your instagrams and everything, and it's like
a lot of awesome pictures in different locations, girls visiting
each other in different cities, birthday party, celebration stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Do you just find that.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Everyone's easy to connect with because you've been on this
incredible journey together or is it also just about who
you all are as a person?
Speaker 4 (20:21):
First off, I think we have the best girls on
the entire planet. Like literally I'm having conversations with people
in the weight room or just when we're at lunch
or dinner, whatever it may be, and I'm like, these
girls are incredible, not only humans, but athletes and just
people like who they are to their core. And I
(20:42):
think that is a major key as to why we
are so successful and why we are so close is
because we're all friends. And we were actually talking about
this the other day, where it's like, we're so lucky
to be in a team setting and a team sport
where you have friends built in, Like you don't need
to go into the community and say like, oh, I'm
gonna go this group and see this Facebook friend place
(21:02):
and no, like, we are each other's people and there's
a lot of power in that. And so between being
just genuine great humans having a built in sense of
friendship on a team, and then us being on this
journey now for almost eight years, the majority of us
we've gone through a lot of hard things. We've all
played overseas for many years and understand the dynamics of
(21:23):
being over there and how valuable it is to meet
up with each other in East Tumbul or Italy wherever
it may be, even if it's just to speak English.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
For a couple hours.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
There is so many of these like nuances that people
outside of our bubble are circle just can't comprehend or understand.
And so there's great friendships that are going to last
a lifetime. And it's not only because we're doing great
things on the court, but because we truly enjoy each
other's company off the court as well.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
And a bunch of you are now going to be
playing with each other. Yeah for love, I mean Madison,
o Maha for some of the girls. You know, So
what does it feel like to know that you're now
playing together again but in the States and families close by.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
It's so fun now because we get to see each
other literally every single weekend on our home turfs with
all of our friends and family.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Until like that alone, I'm like.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Say less, I was, I was in because it's like
I get to play with these people and play against
these people, which is like it's college all over again,
but now at an even higher level of volleyball, which
is insane to think about.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
And so yeah, I'm just so.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Pumped to be able to be building this from the
ground up with these incredible women.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
And yep, another fun fact coming your way. I just
wanted to quickly give you the lay of the land
about how League one Volleyball will work in its inaugural season.
There are six teams located in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha,
and Salt Lake City, and nine of the twelve women
playing on TMOSA at the Paris Olympics are playing in
(22:54):
the league. Preseason starts in November this year, with the
regular season beginning in January twenty twenty five. So get excited,
all right. Now back to Lauren.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I think we're going about things the right way.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
We have the right people on board, and so I'm
just so excited to see what it brings and then
the results of all this.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Correct me if I'm wrong. But were you considering retiring
from volleyball at some point?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
What did you want to do?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Like, what were you ready to do or thought you
were ready to do?
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Who knows, I would say honestly, I didn't know. I
think a couple of years ago, before professional volleyball talks
were in the question for the United States, I kind
of knew after two quads I was going to be
done with national team, and so that also means done professionally,
Like I wouldn't want to just play overseas just to
play overseas, and so it was kind of like this
(23:43):
great Abyss that I was looking.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Into, and I had no idea what was on the
other side of it.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
So it was kind of just incredible timing and luck
that Love came into the picture and was like, hey,
right after Paris, we're launching this league.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
And I was like, my.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
Body steel feels pretty good and the mind is feeling
pretty good too. And so when they said a possible
team is going to be a Madison, I was like,
where do I sign? It was just right time, right place,
right people. It was kind of yeah, this like synergy
of things happening. I like don't even like to think
about what would have happened if I didn't. Maybe I
(24:18):
would have tried to get into coaching. That's kind of
been like peaking my interest as.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Of late at the college level. At least for now.
It's let's play.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Let's see what this league can do, Let's see what
this team has built, this program is built, and yeah,
let's let's.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Give it a run.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
So you're gonna be back in Madison.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah, So I have to ask you this, because you're
from Aurora, Illinois.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Are you a Bears fan or a Packers fan?
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Oh God, I gotta go on record now.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Because I feel like that's you know, it's a.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
H Listen, well, listen.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
If we're being honest, the Packers are way better, okay,
but I cannot say, can't say their slogan.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
I just cannot say. I'm sorry Packers fans.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
I'm unfortunately a Bears fan for now until they're good.
I don't think they've been good since like two thousand
and five. They made one good run back in the day,
and since then it's just been sad. But my dad, Tony,
he's still wearing his Bear stuff every single Sunday just
to lose. Since I'm from Chicago, I have to say
I'm a Bears fan, all right, enough, I'm more of
a player's girl.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I follow people that I like who played at Wisconsin.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
We became friends, so now they're you know, in the
Steelers or Texans, whatever it may be.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
So we're your Steelers gal. She's a Pittsburgh gal, all right.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
I had to ask because I'm like that that's you know,
those are warring factions, right.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Oh, that's for sure, that's for sure.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Yeah, But I will say, sorry, Spotted Cow is the best,
like Wisconsin beers where it's at really oh yeah, the
brewery scene is popping off up there. Yeah, Milwaukee brewers.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I know a bunch of beer in like some places,
but at the bigger names less than like ye smaller
craft beers that are popping up around that probably make
for better beer.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Exactly.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
You got to go those little, local, small businesses exactly.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
So I want to ask you a question that I
don't know if you'll you're prepared to answer, But let's
see what you got. What if something that no one
really knows about you that you want people to know
about you?
Speaker 4 (26:27):
So I am I love dogs so much? Okay, I
really do. So I'm I just started a rover, like
literally two weeks ago because I want to go walk dogs,
like I'm missing my three dogs from home, and so
I'm thinking about starting a dog walking business in Madison
when I get there. Just putting that out there for
(26:48):
anyone's dogs, you need to.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Be walked or watched or fed or played with. So yeah,
I'm a big dog lover.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Joined a couple of animal shelters as well, just to
like go and help out and volunteer not.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Related to dogs, because I feel like that's such an
easy thing, right.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Everyone loves dogs unless you're a cat person, your cat person,
I am. Most of our team are cat people, really yeah,
because they're easy to take overseas that you just take
them in their little carrier and gt doo. But I
don't know when I'm gonna get a dog, hopefully someone
in the new here something else.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Do you have time?
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yes, type of dog, but you know to are you
kind of adopting, you know, just bringing the love of
whoever needs love?
Speaker 4 (27:29):
I do like, okay, this is so again, I'm very
basic Golden retrievers, right, I do love like burna doodles,
but I think they have a lot of health problems.
My dogs now, they're called Walruses. They are shar Pay
mixes with either basset hound or beagle, so they're a
little scrunchy guys.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
They're so cute though.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
I think you got to let the dogs speak to you, right,
You got to make eye contact and like feel their energy.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
That sounds so weird.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
But no, though, because dogs me, it's a personality thing.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Totally, yeah, totally other than dogs.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
No, I'm just a really like I'm a really big foodie,
I will say, And so I don't know. I would
totally love to start my own business one day. Or
be like co founder of you know, cafe, wine bar,
whatever it may be attached to a yoga studio. Like
I am a little bit more than volleyball, A little bit.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
I like to mean, I like means you're five, right,
So I am.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Vulleyble No, but it's yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
I love to eat and drink, explore new places, and
I love to do yoga. I love cross training with yoga.
I think it's a really great balance just to stay limber.
You probably want something a little more deep there, But
that's all I got for you.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Emptyep because I love that. Yeah, because I love food too,
I'm just do you cook?
Speaker 3 (28:42):
I do? I would say, I'm like the twenty minute
sheep pan queen.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Oh, so like what's your specialty?
Speaker 4 (28:49):
Oh, usually it's salmon with some type of like I
like sweet potatoes especially, and then I'll throw a couple
of vegetables on there, because you gotta balance. I also
when I was in Italy, I mean pasta and just
the quality of ingredients there are so good, and so
I would just make different pastas like every other night.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
But salmon is a really big one for me. Love
my fish.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
You and my husband literally make the same meal he
makes either chicken or salmon and steat potatoes with a sound.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Oh mister health right, yeah, we love that.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Not me.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
You're like, where's my doughnuts for dessert?
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Pancakes, speaking of I know now that they're cold, that's fine.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Pancakes are good at all temperatures.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
I'd love me a good like breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, waffles.
People really get into, Like, what is it the chicken
and waffles. That's the one thing I can get into. Eh,
it's like a Southern thing, I think. Yeah, yeah, I'm
from the North.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yeah, I'm from Northeast, so I like, I like just
like my bread products with butter.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Literally I remember when Okay it's still the case now.
If you walked into my dad's house, but there's like
one of my friends Sarah, she would walk into the
house and she'd be like, Oh, there's the carb because
it was just bread, just white bread, rolls. You got
the hot dogs, hamburger buns, everything, and.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, big carb household. So going back to volleyball, Yeah,
what do.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You want your legacy to be, especially now that you're
able to play here in the States and FAMI people.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
I think for me, it was.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
I guess it is about growing the game, especially in
Wisconsin in Madison.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
I think these fans deserve it.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
They've been with us since day one and it's just
only grown in terms of popularity and attendance and buy
in from them especially.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
All right, last fun fact of the episode, Wisconsin has
definitely led the way when it comes to popularity in
women's volleyball. Back in twenty twenty two, the Badger set
the record for the highest attended women's sporting event in
state history and the largest indoor crowd for an NCAA
volleyball match all time, with sixteen thousand people in attendance.
(30:57):
They then broke those records in twenty twenty three when
they had seventeen thousand, thirty seven fans in attendance. Not
to be outdone, but their rival did outdo them when
Nebraska set the world record for the largest attendance at
a women's sporting event in September twenty twenty four with
over ninety two thousand fans. Lauren and I will get
(31:18):
more into this in just a minute, but let's get
back to her excitement of playing again in Wisconsin.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
And so of course starting it on my home grounds.
Of Madison and growing the game. They're making as big
as possible, as popular as possible, and expanding that nationally.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
I think we're there. I think it's the right time,
it's the right place.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
Like I said, the right people are on board, the
numbers are speaking for themselves that it's time for volleyball
to take off. And so I want to be a
part of that. I want to be a spokesperson for love.
I want to be Yeah, I guess just show that
passion through my play and how I present myself in
the community.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
So that is kind of what I want to leave
behind love that.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Yeah, speaking of number and how it's clearly growing, Nebraska
just set the record for most in attendance of a
female or a women's sporting event, but Wisconsin held that before.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
For volley Oh, we're just like, yeah, we're just like
going back and forth.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I love it. I love it, And.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
It's one of these things where you know, John Coke
and Kelly Stiffield are kind of going back and forth
and it's great for the game, Like you couldn't ask
for anything more in terms of two figureheads who are like, hey,
how can we make this even bigger? How can we
make this even better, and it's healthy competition, and it's
drawing the attention of everyone nationally, and on the grander
(32:38):
scheme of things, you have people like Kate and Clark
and NC double A women's basketball, where I think I
can attest that the women's game was a little bit
more visible and you can name more women on the
court versus the men's NC double A.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
So we're seeing the shift in.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Dynamics of men's and women's sports, and women's really starting
to take off, and so writing the coattails in a
sense and kind of starting to pave our own path
in the volleyball world. I think we're on the right
track and I'm really excited to see where this goes.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Well, speaking of the college game, I mean, these girls,
guys and girls, right, they now are able to capitalize
things to nil get their names out more.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
When you were playing, did you ever think that would happen?
Speaker 4 (33:17):
No, you can take a granola bar without getting yelled at.
I mean it was like, oh, it's downpouring rain and sleeting,
but coaches can't give you a ride home, so they're
like have fun walking. Now girls are getting cars and
you know, whatever else you want but I think it's
great that the game is going in that direction to
be able to, you know, monetize ourselves. I think when
(33:41):
I was in school, it was more like we didn't
really question it. It was just like, hey, this is
the way it is.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
It stinks, you know, like it would have been nice.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
To have some jersey sales or you know, have a
coffee brand. Who was like here, take a free cup
every five times?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Or did your cafe back in college?
Speaker 3 (33:56):
What could have been?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
What?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
But here we are now and people are, you know,
rightfully so getting what is deserved as athletes and you know,
their image.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
So I think it's great.
Speaker 4 (34:07):
Do I think it's a little wild right now with
the transfer portal and NIL and sponsorships and all of this, Maybe,
but I think again, it's good to be able to
have freedom. Now we can reel it back a little
bit maybe later, but amazing where we're at and where
the sport's going now.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
I know that you obviously didn't experience the NIL and
all this kind of stuff, but seeing it now and
kind of being older and having a more adult mindset
towards it. What kind of advice do you have for
girls who want to play volleyball and are coming up
that are soon going to have this opportunity for.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Nil as well.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Embrace it, right, Like, you only get four years of it,
and you have four years to kind of promote yourself
and you have these amazing opportunities at your hands, and
so doing that and really using your full potential, but
at the same time really being smart about your money.
Like I think people talk about the MBA a lot,
and people who all of a sudden come into mind
and then two years later they're broke because they don't
(35:02):
know how to handle all of this. And so I
think that's another dynamic that's going to come into play
where it's like, hey, let's be really smart about this
and let's take care of our money and not just
blow it all on one car. It's okay, are we
doing what we enjoy? Are we finding joy in this
and does it bring me, you know, passion also? And
(35:23):
how are we being smart about this so that we
can kind of grow on it and live on this
for a while because that money is there, and I
think that's something really cool.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
So with love starting with the growth of women's sports
and volleyball, where do you see the sport in five
ten years, Where do you much to see the sport?
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Where I hope to see the sport.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
I hope that we're regularly on national TV channels every
almost every single game is being shown on these channels.
Thousands and one hundred thousands. This is normal for us
for our viewership. In terms of in arena matches, I
want us playing in big arenas. I want us having
that experience, but also having the fans experience it so
(36:02):
they're not feeling like they're in the nose Blades and
they're watching Nose Blade game.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
No, it's hey, we are all immersed in it.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Like, how do we make this best not only for
the players, for the athletes, coaches, but how do we
make it also a great fan experience? And I think
this is something the NFL has done a great job of.
Is they have jumbo chons everywhere. They have those, you
guys would know better with the cameras and diving on
the field and making it look like a video game, Like,
how do we make our sport that but make it feminine,
(36:29):
make it very powerful? And I think it's going to
be really cool change in dynamic the next couple of years.
But I wanted to be the next biggest thing. I
wanted to be the next big pro league in the States.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
I love it so much. Yeah, well, thank you so
much for your time. I want to we got it. Cheers. Oh,
because this is a wonderful conversation. And thank you, thank you,
thank you for having pancakes.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Oh, of course, my pleasure anytime.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Serving Cancakes is an iHeart women's sports production. You can
find Serving Cancakes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Tiffany Oshinski.
Anya oliverrez is our senior producer. Our executive producers are
Carrie Stett, Tamaradiki, and Lindsay Hoffman.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Our marketing lead is Jawara Parker.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior
special thanks to Lauren CARLINI. We'll be back next week
with Jordan Poulter, another accomplished setter who helped Team USA
win their first gold at the Tokyo Olympics and who
will be back this summer in Paris. Stay tuned for
what we serve up next.
Hi, I'm Tiffney Oshinsky, and this is serving pancakes. Nope,
not a podcast about food. This is a podcast about
volleyball and more to you. A pancake is a fluffy,
syrup drenched breakfast food button volleyball. A pancake is a
high effort move when a player flattens her hand against
the ground to keep the ball in play. And that's
(00:24):
us digging into high efforts that are moving sports forward.
Listen in as I talk with the people making the
biggest impacts on global volleyball and women's sports perspectives, insights,
and behind the scenes stories, all with the side of pancakes.
Today's episode features one of the greatest setters to ever
come out of Wisconsin, Lauren Carlini. Lauren was a four
(00:48):
time All American for the Badgers and was named the
twenty fourteen Big Ten Player of the Year. She's played
professionally overseas since twenty seventeen and has been on the
US women's national team since graduating college in twenty sixteen,
and this summer she'll be representing Team USA at the
Paris Olympics.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Lauren, thanks so much for having some pancakes with me.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
I have a c oh, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Amazing pancakes here.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I love me a good thick buttermilk. Is this like,
Oh my gosh, I love me some French press coffee.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Too big coffee gal Oh yeah, so like.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
That's probably one of my big dreams is to have
a coffee shop one day, no, and then at night
it turns into a wine bar.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
So this kind of like one two punch.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Can I be invited?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah? You can. The thing is not a big chef myself,
so I gotta find me in one of those. So
would you need anyone's so interested? Oh girl, you're getting
way ahead of me. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Is a super bas at Carlini's Cafe. But then you
gotta do something for the wine part of it too,
like the evening appertito.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Carlini's Cafe in one bar.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
There you go. Why yeah, if it ain't broke, don't
fix it.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I love it all right? So I have to start
all the way back at the beginning.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Okay, run it back.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
What did you want to be when you grew up
before volleyball was even in the picture.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
What was a little arnoining me?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
That's that's hard because I feel like since I have
memories I was always in the gym, and so yeah,
I was in the gym from basically when I was
in the womb, came out of the womb, I was
still in the gym. My mom was playing in these
like nightly leagues, and so Monday nights, Wednesday nights, I
was always there.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Just playing against the wall, peppering by myself, just messing
around with the ball.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Before I even knew where what the sport was, and
so that was just my kind of initiator into the sport.
I started at like five six years old, like on
a club team, and so I wish I could say, oh,
I wanted to be this or that, but I think
I really wanted to be a volleyball player from day one.
I had a little Yeah, I had a lot of
respect for first responders with my dad being a firefighter,
(02:51):
though I would never have wanted to go into that
profession myself. So yeah, I probably would say volleyball player.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
So when did you know that you were good.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Out, that you knew that this, oh was going to
be the right thing.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I think it took a little bit because I started
so young.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Everyone that I was playing with was anywhere between like
two and five years older than me, and so I
was a little barrel for a while, and I had
spandex that looked like swim trunks that you know, were
flared out, And so took me a while to kind
of understand the game, figure out what my niche was
and how I was going to play as a player,
(03:26):
and who I was going to become. And so I
finally realized I was getting good. Maybe my thirteen's year,
that is actually when recruiting kind of started back in
my day, having college coaches be interested and wanting to
go to camps and just kind of transitioning into a
setter role. That was my first year of actually becoming
a setter. I loved being a ballhog in a sense.
(03:46):
So I'm like I get to I get to every single.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Play, I get a part of it. Yeah, I'm in.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
And so that helped simmer down, like my control free
becauseide of things. But I think it was, yeah, probably
when I was thirteen is when I realized, like, this
is this can be something big?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
What else are you a control for? You about?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Not that much anymore. I will say I've like simmered
down quite a bit. But being the oldest child. I
would always force my younger siblings into playing school, and
naturally I would be the principal, the teacher. I would
do all the grading and they would have to be
the students that do the homework.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And they didn't like that so.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Much, but I would say, yeah, I've grown out of
that a little bit.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And you know, kind of found what works for me
in that sense.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Well, you could have been a principal or a teacher, maybe, yeah,
you know what, more respect to all the power to
them and dealing with kids, because good for them.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I don't know how.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
They did it for myself included, so yeah, more power
to them.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
You started going to Wisconsin for camps at what age.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I was in six or seventh grade.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I don't remember the exact day, but six or seventh
grade when I started getting in contact with the coaching
staff there. And my initial thing was like, WHOA, there's
this girl named Maria Carlini who plays for the back.
This woman has the same last name as us but
has no relation. Like that was a really cool connection
that we had, and so that is what initially got
(05:09):
me going to Wisconsin, the games, the camps. So yeah,
at a really young age just kind of built that
connection not only with the staff but with some of
the players as well.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So you always knew he wanted to go to Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
That was the dream I did.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
I did.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
This was also during the glory days of Penn State,
the dynasty era, and so.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Hey, guys, it's me. I wanted to interrupt Lauren's interview
for a quick second to give you some info about
this Penn State dynasty she mentioned so under head coach
Russ Rose, Penn State was an absolute powerhouse back then.
Between twenty and seven and twenty fourteen, the Nitney Allons
won six national titles, including four in a row between
(05:49):
twenty and seven and twenty ten. Wisconsin, a Big ten
rival of Penn State, meanwhile, had yet to win one.
All Right back to Lauren and why she ultimately chose Wisconsin.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I dabbled a little bit with the idea of wanting
to go to Penn State, and I remember Russ Rose
sending up like a sign ball and a little note saying,
you know.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Like looking forward to your future. Da da da.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
But I would say overall, it was Wisconsin from day one.
A lot would have had to have happened to me
for me to not go there.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
So you reaching out to the coaches at Wisconsin kind
of reminds me.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
So I was supposed to go to Penn State to play.
That was my trajectory in life for a period of time.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And I started going to the Penn State camps when
I was thirteen, and thanks to my dad, we printed
up business cards, oh official official business cards from our printer,
from our EPs on or whatever it was, with the
volleyball and my name and my phone number on it.
And I went up to Russ Rose as a thirteen
year old and gave him my business card.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I bet he got a hoot.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Oh. Well, then my dad when he came to pick
me up, because they do, you know, court coaches and
you get to play in front of everybody. My dad
saw him and went up to him, and coach was like, business.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Card, memorable, that's all that matters. You're memorable. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
But yeah, that was my dream to go to Penn State,
just like you to go to Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
But then I got into film school and I went
and we swerved careers.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
We swerved careers.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Career, Yeah, but we're here, that's right, and that's all
that matters. That's right.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So I have to ask you. So you're from Aurora, Illinois, Yeah,
near Chicago. A lot of fun Wisconsin?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Yeah, what was it similar?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Different?
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I mean, was it yea more cornfields and suburban or
was it? Was it actually like a really good time?
Speaker 3 (07:35):
It was great time. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I think that was one of the main draws of
me wanting to go to Wisconsin. Obviously going to camps
every year, kind of understanding the dynamic of the team
and what went on outside of court hours. I think
that was a little bit of the draw for me,
was like, hey, I get to go to a school
that has great education, great athletics, and you get to
have a lot of fun off the court, you know,
and enjoy your time while you're up there.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
And for me, it was really important to be able
to have my family close.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Enough to where they can come and watch the games,
and if you know, I was feeling homesick whatever, I
could go home pretty easily. So it was two hours
door to door, so it worked out perfect. Really, it
was the best of all worlds where my family was
there for every home match and I was able to
go home when I wanted, and it was only two
hours away, and so I had just the absolute best
(08:23):
experience at Wisconsin and gosh, I'm just so excited that
I get to call that place home now.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Truly, Well, you just bought a house there, I did,
So what was that like, buying your first house? I mean, yeah,
what was that experience like? And yeah, degrading everything. Oh
it's expensive.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
First off, it's a little shock to the system with
the bank account, but it's so fun because it's yours.
And for those of us who have played professionally now
for whatever one, two, three quads, we don't have a home.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
We live out of suitcases, and so now being able to.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Call a place my own and buy my own furniture
and kind of decorate how I want to, it's a
really cool, like turning point in my life.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's slowly but surely coming together.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
It's been really fun to just kind of go and
like window shop and try and curate what I want.
But I'm just so looking forward to being there full time.
And yeah, just having a place to go home and
go back to.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Do you have an eye for decorating? No.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Pinterest has done great pottery barn westdalm Are like my
go tos, I have an idea of what I want
to get at. I will say, again, just very menialist,
natural with some I love all of green, so we're
going for splashes of like olive green and everywhere.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, Pinterest, it's a real life Pinterest board.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
There you go. Exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
So when you're playing in Wisconsin, did you know that
you wanted to continue and keep playing?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
For sure?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I will say when you're in college. At least when
you were in college, you really didn't know anything about
professional volleyball playing overseas.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
It was just this like unknown world.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
I will say, having people like Chrystal Harmado, who I
reached out to Alicia Glass being able to chat with
them about like, Hey, what can we expect when we
go overseas? What is a good number I should be
shooting for. What are some good countries to be playing in? Culture,
things to be aware of. There's just so much that
you're unaware of. And I think that's why so many
girls after a half season one season overseas are like
(10:14):
this is terrible. I'm done because it is such a
shock to the system. You just don't know what to expect.
And so for me it was I knew I wanted
to play professionally. I knew it was probably going to
be a challenge being overseas for anywhere between six and
eight months of the year, but that was something that
we had to do and we had to sacrifice in
order to be on the national team to try and
become an Olympian.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
How does the process work of professionally? How do you
get picked?
Speaker 4 (10:51):
So, at least in my experience, it was at the
ABCA Final four, So this is in December. If you're
graduating in the spring, you have a little bit more
time to kind of figure it out. But if you're
graduating in December, it's like two week process. You're choosing,
you're getting an agent, you're going overseas, and so I
luckily had all spring tick to side.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
But step one, get an agent.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
I found someone who was in Italy and he's been
great just because he has his boots on the grounds there.
He knows teams owners, a lot of connections, that's what
you're looking for, and so we were kind of just
figuring out, okay, what teams need setters for next season
and ended up starting out in Italy and signing that contract.
I want to say it was in April or May
and so it was fun, like, whoa, I just signed
(11:32):
my big you know, my big girl contract and got
enough money for down payment on my car, which was great.
But that was the first step into like adulthood and
playing overseas and kind of figuring out that world.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
So there's a lot of steps that go into it.
Your first year.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
You don't realize that you need to bring peanut butter
vanilla extract if you want like good smelling, like laundry beads,
gotta bring those. Like, there's so many little things that
you don't realize.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
That you learn. When you get over there.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
You're like, wow, I need some jiff immediately, and if
you don't have it, you're going to spend ten dollars
at the grocery store and buy it.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
So yeah, there's a lot of learning experiences when you
get over there. But it's cool.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
I'm glad to have been able to do that and
experience different cultures and people.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But there's a lot of growing pains in there as well.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
How much downtime do you have when you're overseas to.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Explore Oh too much? That was one of the things
my first year overseas. I did not realize how much
free time you had. Like literally in college, it's okay,
I have to wake up, I have to go to lyft,
then I have to shower immediately go to class. In between,
I'm doing study hall practice. Your day is timed out
from them second you wake up to the second go
(12:40):
to bed. Then you get overseas and you're like, huh,
I have to find hobbies and things to pass the time.
That was really difficult to like be completely by myself.
I didn't have any other Americans on my team my
first year, and so it was really being thrown into
full independence and autonomy. So yeah, it was like, Okay,
I guess I'm taking up rating and leering and I'm
(13:01):
going to go outside and enjoy the sun. And I
wish I would have embraced being in that a little
bit more than what I did, because I was literally
living in the vineyards of Florence.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
We're better, but at.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
The time, it was like, I'm so alone and I
don't have any hobbies that I'm trying to find things
to pass the time that I'm really not enjoying that much.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
So it was a tough balance at times.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
So I lived lived in Florence for the summer.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh, I just remember going to get pizza Gilato, like
any live music I could find.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, I fell in love with Nyochi Alfredo out there.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
They wait Alfredo. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
They didn't like it when I would ask for it, but.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
They there's no way they made this for you.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Well it was like a cream sauce.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
But okay, I translated it's Alfreda when I came back
to the States.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But uh oh, I loved it.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
I think Florence is still one of my favorite city
in the entire world. I'm not sure if you had
the same experience, but there's just like this magical aura
about it, Like when you're in the city, it's just
it's small and welcoming and inviting, and there's just something
so unique about it.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
I loved Florence so much.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Same, I'm right there with you, one of my favorite
cities I've ever visited.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Agreed, Oh beautiful. Do you ever go back?
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Let's see, Well, when I was there, that was my
first season. The next season I was in Novara, which
was right outside Milan, Okay, so got to Florence whenever
I could, especially when we played the team there. And
then the third year I was in Parma, which is
like right in the middle of Italy, and was able
to go to Florence I think twice that year. So yeah,
whenever I can, I make it back there.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
But I haven't made it back in a couple of
years now, so hopefully so Well.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
You said that you read a lot, So what kind
of books do you do?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
You still read a lot?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
I do.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
I've definitely transitioned. I would say when I was in.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
My dark girl era back in Italy, it was more
reading a lot of military books, really into like, yeah,
kind of just World War two special ops, and so
I was reading a lot about that and their mentality
and how they kind of go about things, because what
they do is like the top of the top, right
in terms of just execution, teamwork, just mental capacity to
(15:09):
handle a lot of different things.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
So I really appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
So I was reading a ton of those, a little
bit of self help, and I would say I've transitioned
away from that now. I'm way more into like the
Colleen Hoover's, the Emily Henry's, like we're reading summer beach
reads and romance, a little more lighter side of things.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So I would say that's my go to right.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Now, All right, do you guys have a book club
on the team, because I feel like a lot of
you read.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
You know, I want to say at one point we
were kind of passing books around whenever we're on trips,
Like whenever we're overseas and we're on a three week trip.
It's like we each bring two books, we read it,
and then we pass it around to each other. So
that's been lovely and something that we've done in the
past couple of years.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
All right, yeah, Well, so going back to the US
women's team, now, I know in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
You were one of the women who was not.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Picked for the twelve roster, So what was going through
your mind? Did that make you want to train harder,
did it make you want to stop playing?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
What was what was your thought process?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, I would say a little bit of everything. Right.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
So we were in a bubble when we got the announcement,
So that part, I think was honestly the hardest, just
having to we're all in the same hotel, like my
teammates are across the hall, and having to digest all
that information and the reality of it in you know,
twelve hours before we have to decide whether or not
we're going to go to practice the next day, because
we were given the freedom to choose, if you're not
(16:37):
one of the twelve, take a day and you know,
take your time to kind of digest the information, and
so as alternates, we all chose like, hey, we're here
for the team.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
This is our priority.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
Even though it sucks that we didn't make the roster
and it's really hard, we're gonna we're here to do
the hard things. And so we decided to go to
practice that day and give everything we could to our teammates,
and yeah, it was hard. It was It was really
tough to just be like, dang, this is a team
that's going to go represent us in Tokyo. And obviously
they chose the best group they could and they won
(17:08):
gold and they've done incredible things for this program and
so seeing that result at the end of it made
it worth it, but didn't make it easier, of course not.
And so after that went home for I think we
got one week, two weeks for you maybe, and was
just with friends and family and got back in the gym,
and at that point it was like, Okay, I'm just
going to be the best teammate I can possibly be like,
(17:30):
we are here to again do the hard things, and
so practicing all the way up until they left for Tokyo.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
It did take me a little bit.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
I went to Turkey after that for my professional team,
and it was hard to be like, all right, it's
time to flip the switch, and we're looking forward to
the next squad, We're looking forward to what's next. So
I would say it took me a little bit to
kind of get back on track, But within a few
weeks I was like, all right, we're going to get better.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
We're going to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
What advice do you have two girls women?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, any players who hit that point where they want
to make this team, they you know, they're good enough
to make this team, and then obviously not everyone can
make it, right, So what advice do you have for
anyone who's in that spot.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
I think one is before the decision is even made,
just give yourself the best chance possible. Even now as
we're going through this process of being hopefully on the
roster of twelve for Paris, it's am I doing everything
I possibly can so that at the end of the day, I.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Don't have any regrets.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
So that's the first thing, is like going one hundred
and ten percent in every single day. The second thing
is just being a really good teammate and knowing that, like, hey,
a roster is going to be chosen. There is basically
a decision to be made, and it doesn't take away
anything from you as a player, as a person. The
roster just didn't go your way this time, and so
(18:51):
there's this balance of acceptance but also like making it
as hard as you can on the coaches or the staff,
whoever it may be, to make that decision. And then
I think the biggest thing for me, especially now being
at the end of this journey, is like, again, I
don't want any regrets. I don't want anything saying oh
I left this on the table. So yeah, give your role,
be the best teammate you can possibly be. Support others
(19:13):
because there's no point in bringing other people down. People
are going to see that it's being very inauthentic, and
so yeah, just be the best you can and make
the decision as hard as possible for the staff.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
For the final twelve is it just the coaches decidning.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
As far as I know now that the case was different.
In Tokyo.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
It was a staff and us girls also voted, so
it was kind of a team wide.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
I think it was just where our team was at.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
We hadn't played together in a year because of COVID,
and so it was more about like vibes and feelings
and who was the best fit and who would.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
You want to go to war with next to you.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
So again I'm not sure if that's the case this
time around, but either way, like I know our team,
we've set ourselves up well to make that decision if
it comes to it.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
You girls seem very close.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I looked at your instagrams and everything, and it's like
a lot of awesome pictures in different locations, girls visiting
each other in different cities, birthday party, celebration stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Do you just find that.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Everyone's easy to connect with because you've been on this
incredible journey together or is it also just about who
you all are as a person?
Speaker 4 (20:21):
First off, I think we have the best girls on
the entire planet. Like literally I'm having conversations with people
in the weight room or just when we're at lunch
or dinner, whatever it may be, and I'm like, these
girls are incredible, not only humans, but athletes and just
people like who they are to their core. And I
(20:42):
think that is a major key as to why we
are so successful and why we are so close is
because we're all friends. And we were actually talking about
this the other day, where it's like, we're so lucky
to be in a team setting and a team sport
where you have friends built in, Like you don't need
to go into the community and say like, oh, I'm
gonna go this group and see this Facebook friend place
(21:02):
and no, like, we are each other's people and there's
a lot of power in that. And so between being
just genuine great humans having a built in sense of
friendship on a team, and then us being on this
journey now for almost eight years, the majority of us
we've gone through a lot of hard things. We've all
played overseas for many years and understand the dynamics of
(21:23):
being over there and how valuable it is to meet
up with each other in East Tumbul or Italy wherever
it may be, even if it's just to speak English.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
For a couple hours.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
There is so many of these like nuances that people
outside of our bubble are circle just can't comprehend or understand.
And so there's great friendships that are going to last
a lifetime. And it's not only because we're doing great
things on the court, but because we truly enjoy each
other's company off the court as well.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
And a bunch of you are now going to be
playing with each other. Yeah for love, I mean Madison,
o Maha for some of the girls. You know, So
what does it feel like to know that you're now
playing together again but in the States and families close by.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
It's so fun now because we get to see each
other literally every single weekend on our home turfs with
all of our friends and family.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Until like that alone, I'm like.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Say less, I was, I was in because it's like
I get to play with these people and play against
these people, which is like it's college all over again,
but now at an even higher level of volleyball, which
is insane to think about.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
And so yeah, I'm just so.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Pumped to be able to be building this from the
ground up with these incredible women.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
And yep, another fun fact coming your way. I just
wanted to quickly give you the lay of the land
about how League one Volleyball will work in its inaugural season.
There are six teams located in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha,
and Salt Lake City, and nine of the twelve women
playing on TMOSA at the Paris Olympics are playing in
(22:54):
the league. Preseason starts in November this year, with the
regular season beginning in January twenty twenty five. So get excited,
all right. Now back to Lauren.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I think we're going about things the right way.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
We have the right people on board, and so I'm
just so excited to see what it brings and then
the results of all this.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Correct me if I'm wrong. But were you considering retiring
from volleyball at some point?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
What did you want to do?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Like, what were you ready to do or thought you
were ready to do?
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Who knows, I would say honestly, I didn't know. I
think a couple of years ago, before professional volleyball talks
were in the question for the United States, I kind
of knew after two quads I was going to be
done with national team, and so that also means done professionally,
Like I wouldn't want to just play overseas just to
play overseas, and so it was kind of like this
(23:43):
great Abyss that I was looking.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Into, and I had no idea what was on the
other side of it.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
So it was kind of just incredible timing and luck
that Love came into the picture and was like, hey,
right after Paris, we're launching this league.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
And I was like, my.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
Body steel feels pretty good and the mind is feeling
pretty good too. And so when they said a possible
team is going to be a Madison, I was like,
where do I sign? It was just right time, right place,
right people. It was kind of yeah, this like synergy
of things happening. I like don't even like to think
about what would have happened if I didn't. Maybe I
(24:18):
would have tried to get into coaching. That's kind of
been like peaking my interest as.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Of late at the college level. At least for now.
It's let's play.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Let's see what this league can do, Let's see what
this team has built, this program is built, and yeah,
let's let's.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Give it a run.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
So you're gonna be back in Madison.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah, So I have to ask you this, because you're
from Aurora, Illinois.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Are you a Bears fan or a Packers fan?
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Oh God, I gotta go on record now.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Because I feel like that's you know, it's a.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
H Listen, well, listen.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
If we're being honest, the Packers are way better, okay,
but I cannot say, can't say their slogan.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
I just cannot say. I'm sorry Packers fans.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
I'm unfortunately a Bears fan for now until they're good.
I don't think they've been good since like two thousand
and five. They made one good run back in the day,
and since then it's just been sad. But my dad, Tony,
he's still wearing his Bear stuff every single Sunday just
to lose. Since I'm from Chicago, I have to say
I'm a Bears fan, all right, enough, I'm more of
a player's girl.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I follow people that I like who played at Wisconsin.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
We became friends, so now they're you know, in the
Steelers or Texans, whatever it may be.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
So we're your Steelers gal. She's a Pittsburgh gal, all right.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
I had to ask because I'm like that that's you know,
those are warring factions, right.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Oh, that's for sure, that's for sure.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Yeah, But I will say, sorry, Spotted Cow is the best,
like Wisconsin beers where it's at really oh yeah, the
brewery scene is popping off up there. Yeah, Milwaukee brewers.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I know a bunch of beer in like some places,
but at the bigger names less than like ye smaller
craft beers that are popping up around that probably make
for better beer.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Exactly.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
You got to go those little, local, small businesses exactly.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
So I want to ask you a question that I
don't know if you'll you're prepared to answer, But let's
see what you got. What if something that no one
really knows about you that you want people to know
about you?
Speaker 4 (26:27):
So I am I love dogs so much? Okay, I
really do. So I'm I just started a rover, like
literally two weeks ago because I want to go walk dogs,
like I'm missing my three dogs from home, and so
I'm thinking about starting a dog walking business in Madison
when I get there. Just putting that out there for
(26:48):
anyone's dogs, you need to.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Be walked or watched or fed or played with. So yeah,
I'm a big dog lover.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Joined a couple of animal shelters as well, just to
like go and help out and volunteer not.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Related to dogs, because I feel like that's such an
easy thing, right.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Everyone loves dogs unless you're a cat person, your cat person,
I am. Most of our team are cat people, really yeah,
because they're easy to take overseas that you just take
them in their little carrier and gt doo. But I
don't know when I'm gonna get a dog, hopefully someone
in the new here something else.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Do you have time?
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yes, type of dog, but you know to are you
kind of adopting, you know, just bringing the love of
whoever needs love?
Speaker 4 (27:29):
I do like, okay, this is so again, I'm very
basic Golden retrievers, right, I do love like burna doodles,
but I think they have a lot of health problems.
My dogs now, they're called Walruses. They are shar Pay
mixes with either basset hound or beagle, so they're a
little scrunchy guys.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
They're so cute though.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
I think you got to let the dogs speak to you, right,
You got to make eye contact and like feel their energy.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
That sounds so weird.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
But no, though, because dogs me, it's a personality thing.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Totally, yeah, totally other than dogs.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
No, I'm just a really like I'm a really big foodie,
I will say, And so I don't know. I would
totally love to start my own business one day. Or
be like co founder of you know, cafe, wine bar,
whatever it may be attached to a yoga studio. Like
I am a little bit more than volleyball, A little bit.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
I like to mean, I like means you're five, right,
So I am.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Vulleyble No, but it's yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
I love to eat and drink, explore new places, and
I love to do yoga. I love cross training with yoga.
I think it's a really great balance just to stay limber.
You probably want something a little more deep there, But
that's all I got for you.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Emptyep because I love that. Yeah, because I love food too,
I'm just do you cook?
Speaker 3 (28:42):
I do? I would say, I'm like the twenty minute
sheep pan queen.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Oh, so like what's your specialty?
Speaker 4 (28:49):
Oh, usually it's salmon with some type of like I
like sweet potatoes especially, and then I'll throw a couple
of vegetables on there, because you gotta balance. I also
when I was in Italy, I mean pasta and just
the quality of ingredients there are so good, and so
I would just make different pastas like every other night.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
But salmon is a really big one for me. Love
my fish.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
You and my husband literally make the same meal he
makes either chicken or salmon and steat potatoes with a sound.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Oh mister health right, yeah, we love that.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Not me.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
You're like, where's my doughnuts for dessert?
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Pancakes, speaking of I know now that they're cold, that's fine.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Pancakes are good at all temperatures.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
I'd love me a good like breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, waffles.
People really get into, Like, what is it the chicken
and waffles. That's the one thing I can get into. Eh,
it's like a Southern thing, I think. Yeah, yeah, I'm
from the North.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yeah, I'm from Northeast, so I like, I like just
like my bread products with butter.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Literally I remember when Okay it's still the case now.
If you walked into my dad's house, but there's like
one of my friends Sarah, she would walk into the
house and she'd be like, Oh, there's the carb because
it was just bread, just white bread, rolls. You got
the hot dogs, hamburger buns, everything, and.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Yeah, big carb household. So going back to volleyball, Yeah,
what do.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You want your legacy to be, especially now that you're
able to play here in the States and FAMI people.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
I think for me, it was.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
I guess it is about growing the game, especially in
Wisconsin in Madison.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
I think these fans deserve it.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
They've been with us since day one and it's just
only grown in terms of popularity and attendance and buy
in from them especially.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
All right, last fun fact of the episode, Wisconsin has
definitely led the way when it comes to popularity in
women's volleyball. Back in twenty twenty two, the Badger set
the record for the highest attended women's sporting event in
state history and the largest indoor crowd for an NCAA
volleyball match all time, with sixteen thousand people in attendance.
(30:57):
They then broke those records in twenty twenty three when
they had seventeen thousand, thirty seven fans in attendance. Not
to be outdone, but their rival did outdo them when
Nebraska set the world record for the largest attendance at
a women's sporting event in September twenty twenty four with
over ninety two thousand fans. Lauren and I will get
(31:18):
more into this in just a minute, but let's get
back to her excitement of playing again in Wisconsin.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
And so of course starting it on my home grounds.
Of Madison and growing the game. They're making as big
as possible, as popular as possible, and expanding that nationally.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
I think we're there. I think it's the right time,
it's the right place.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
Like I said, the right people are on board, the
numbers are speaking for themselves that it's time for volleyball
to take off. And so I want to be a
part of that. I want to be a spokesperson for love.
I want to be Yeah, I guess just show that
passion through my play and how I present myself in
the community.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
So that is kind of what I want to leave
behind love that.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Yeah, speaking of number and how it's clearly growing, Nebraska
just set the record for most in attendance of a
female or a women's sporting event, but Wisconsin held that before.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
For volley Oh, we're just like, yeah, we're just like
going back and forth.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I love it. I love it, And.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
It's one of these things where you know, John Coke
and Kelly Stiffield are kind of going back and forth
and it's great for the game, Like you couldn't ask
for anything more in terms of two figureheads who are like, hey,
how can we make this even bigger? How can we
make this even better, and it's healthy competition, and it's
drawing the attention of everyone nationally, and on the grander
(32:38):
scheme of things, you have people like Kate and Clark
and NC double A women's basketball, where I think I
can attest that the women's game was a little bit
more visible and you can name more women on the
court versus the men's NC double A.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
So we're seeing the shift in.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Dynamics of men's and women's sports, and women's really starting
to take off, and so writing the coattails in a
sense and kind of starting to pave our own path
in the volleyball world. I think we're on the right
track and I'm really excited to see where this goes.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Well, speaking of the college game, I mean, these girls,
guys and girls, right, they now are able to capitalize
things to nil get their names out more.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
When you were playing, did you ever think that would happen?
Speaker 4 (33:17):
No, you can take a granola bar without getting yelled at.
I mean it was like, oh, it's downpouring rain and sleeting,
but coaches can't give you a ride home, so they're
like have fun walking. Now girls are getting cars and
you know, whatever else you want but I think it's
great that the game is going in that direction to
be able to, you know, monetize ourselves. I think when
(33:41):
I was in school, it was more like we didn't
really question it. It was just like, hey, this is
the way it is.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
It stinks, you know, like it would have been nice.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
To have some jersey sales or you know, have a
coffee brand. Who was like here, take a free cup
every five times?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Or did your cafe back in college?
Speaker 3 (33:56):
What could have been?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
What?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
But here we are now and people are, you know,
rightfully so getting what is deserved as athletes and you know,
their image.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
So I think it's great.
Speaker 4 (34:07):
Do I think it's a little wild right now with
the transfer portal and NIL and sponsorships and all of this, Maybe,
but I think again, it's good to be able to
have freedom. Now we can reel it back a little
bit maybe later, but amazing where we're at and where
the sport's going now.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
I know that you obviously didn't experience the NIL and
all this kind of stuff, but seeing it now and
kind of being older and having a more adult mindset
towards it. What kind of advice do you have for
girls who want to play volleyball and are coming up
that are soon going to have this opportunity for.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Nil as well.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Embrace it, right, Like, you only get four years of it,
and you have four years to kind of promote yourself
and you have these amazing opportunities at your hands, and
so doing that and really using your full potential, but
at the same time really being smart about your money.
Like I think people talk about the MBA a lot,
and people who all of a sudden come into mind
and then two years later they're broke because they don't
(35:02):
know how to handle all of this. And so I
think that's another dynamic that's going to come into play
where it's like, hey, let's be really smart about this
and let's take care of our money and not just
blow it all on one car. It's okay, are we
doing what we enjoy? Are we finding joy in this
and does it bring me, you know, passion also? And
(35:23):
how are we being smart about this so that we
can kind of grow on it and live on this
for a while because that money is there, and I
think that's something really cool.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
So with love starting with the growth of women's sports
and volleyball, where do you see the sport in five
ten years, Where do you much to see the sport?
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Where I hope to see the sport.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
I hope that we're regularly on national TV channels every
almost every single game is being shown on these channels.
Thousands and one hundred thousands. This is normal for us
for our viewership. In terms of in arena matches, I
want us playing in big arenas. I want us having
that experience, but also having the fans experience it so
(36:02):
they're not feeling like they're in the nose Blades and
they're watching Nose Blade game.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
No, it's hey, we are all immersed in it.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Like, how do we make this best not only for
the players, for the athletes, coaches, but how do we
make it also a great fan experience? And I think
this is something the NFL has done a great job of.
Is they have jumbo chons everywhere. They have those, you
guys would know better with the cameras and diving on
the field and making it look like a video game, Like,
how do we make our sport that but make it feminine,
(36:29):
make it very powerful? And I think it's going to
be really cool change in dynamic the next couple of years.
But I wanted to be the next biggest thing. I
wanted to be the next big pro league in the States.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
I love it so much. Yeah, well, thank you so
much for your time. I want to we got it. Cheers. Oh,
because this is a wonderful conversation. And thank you, thank you,
thank you for having pancakes.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Oh, of course, my pleasure anytime.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Serving Cancakes is an iHeart women's sports production. You can
find Serving Cancakes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Tiffany Oshinski.
Anya oliverrez is our senior producer. Our executive producers are
Carrie Stett, Tamaradiki, and Lindsay Hoffman.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Our marketing lead is Jawara Parker.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior
special thanks to Lauren CARLINI. We'll be back next week
with Jordan Poulter, another accomplished setter who helped Team USA
win their first gold at the Tokyo Olympics and who
will be back this summer in Paris. Stay tuned for
what we serve up next.
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