00:00:03
Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Tiffany Oshinsky, and this is Serving Pancakes with League One Volleyball. Over the next few episodes, we will follow Team USA's quest for gold at the Paris Olympics. As Team USA preps to play Brazil, We're serving you a special two part episode for you today. First, we'll be joined by twenty sixteen bronze medallist and League One Volleyball's head of pro Integration, Courtney Thompson, and then we'll head over to the beach to talk with the Beach Volleyball twins, Audrey and Nicole Norse, who have over two hundred thousand followers on social media and have won four straight NCAA championships for USC. Courtney Thompson, welcome back to Serving Pancakes.
00:00:46
Speaker 2: Thank you, great to see you, and I'm just looking to be on again.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: I'm very excited to have you on because you are on the ground in Paris, so this is exciting because we have true insight on what's going on out there. So I was curious what has it been like so far.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: It honestly, if you're a fan of sports and you like to travel, this is like best case scenario. It's been pretty incredible, you know, like Paris has done incredible job, just the infrastructure and how easy they make everything, and then of course the food and the drinks are amazing. And part of the fun is just I think being in all the hype, you know, and seeing people dressed up from different countries at a cafe sitting next to you and getting to hear about their week and what they're watching, and so it's been pretty special.
00:01:32
Speaker 1: We are recording this on Thursday after the men's heartbreaking loss in five sets to Poland, and you were there, so I'm curious what was the roller coaster of motions like and were any of the women's team there to watch.
00:01:44
Speaker 2: You know, we were the women's team, I think watched from the village and I was actually watching from our partner, the Adida's house, which is amazing. So I didn't get tickets, but god, I'm so gutted for them. You know, those guys have been together for a long time and at this level, as you know, any I mean, the margins are so thin, you know, and to lose fifteen thirteen in a semi final happened to me once, you know, we were in that position in Rio, and you're just so close and it's the matter of a few serves and a few swings. So you know, in step four they they looked so good and they were hot, and they were on a roll, and you kind of when you catch the momentum, it's like, oh, we got to capitalize here. And so I was ready for Poland to make a push in the fifth set, and they just out executed us a little bit. Incredible group of guys, of wonderful staff. So we love them and excited to see them fight for bronze.
00:02:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say, at least they're still playing for a metal, so we can see them against Italy or France, depending on who wins that game. But being inside the arena for the women's Games, what is it like in that gym, Because as a viewer from home, it's seems loud, but I'm sure it's even louder being actually there.
00:03:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's wild. I feel like I'm getting a crash course and like fan experience. They've got like two hype people there the whole time, so almost every play they're on the mic, coornating a cheer or playing some fun song and doing something funny on the board. So it is it's an awesome venue, like it's beautiful to look at, but it's a pretty intimate feel. I feel like in the last few Olympics and certainly Tokyo, there's no one there, but in Rio and London the fans are pretty far from the floor, so you kind of get this big arena feel, which can be cool, but it's different when people are right there in it with you, and I think the energy of that is pretty tangible. So it is incredibly fun as a fan. From what I've heard from the athletes, they are having a blast too, and really enjoying beating off the energy, especially because a lot of them are in Tokyo for the first time and they missed out, so it's cool to see that.
00:03:57
Speaker 1: Are the hype men hyping up the crowd in general or do they sometimes like focus on one team over the other?
00:04:04
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, they do both mostly, Yeah, mostly in general. And then they'll be like, if you're here for USA, let's go crazy, you know, and if you're for polling, which is also pretty fun. We were at a three on three basketball game the other day, the US versus France, and there was like ten Americans. What it felt like and they'd go, if you're here for USA, you know, and we like, whoa trying to be loud and they're like, I'm France and it was like, you know, just erupt and then they felt that was funny. So it's yeah, it's but it all feels like pretty playful. You know, you can kind of tell the honor of getting to fight for your country and so that's awesome.
00:04:44
Speaker 1: Now, Billy jin King was at the game? Was she at the polling game or was she at the France issues at the polling game? Have you seen any other celebrities at the Women's Games?
00:04:55
Speaker 2: I haven't yet, but I think as we had in the semis, it's gonna ge it real. Hopefully we'll see some. Yeah, usually there's a few basketball players that come out and watch and support, and uh yeah it should be fun but really cool that Billy Jinking was there. What an icon and someone we all have a lot of gratitude for.
00:05:14
Speaker 1: Oh my god, she's amazing and I love that she was there and that the girls got to meet her and speak with her, because yes, icon is the perfect word to describe Billy Jinking.
00:05:24
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:05:25
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about the women's game over Poland. Because they were victorious on Tuesday. They won in three straight sets twenty five, twenty two, twenty five, fourteen, twenty five, twenty. How has this US team matched up against Poland in the past.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was the first time we beat them this squad, which is wow. Yeah, it's a long streak and so they're obviously a great team. And it was so fun because I feel like it was the first time that things were really clicking across the board for US, and we all knew, like, hey, we have so much good volleyball in US US as if I'm still on the team, within our team, you are, but to see him, yeah, you know, they served really aggressively, which I don't know, I feel like we dial that up quite a bit. Our offense looked as crisp as it has I think in the last few years really and defensively, not only were we digging a lot of balls, but we got to convert them. So for the balls that we dug, we're taking really tough swings, which is the name of the game at this point in the tournament. So it was really cool to see and you could just tell like the girls were having fun. You probably stop from where you were too.
00:06:35
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and for you know, speaking of digging, can we just talk about Justine Walorantos for a second, because that girl is everywhere on the court.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: It's almost like you take it for granted because she makes it look so easy. He is phenomenal. And I was sitting like two rows in front of her family, and it like took everything in me not to just turn around every time and be like, oh my god. But she's the best and such a great team. Everyone loves her. She exudes so much joy and she's such a badass, so it's really fun to watch her.
00:07:07
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. Now, in the second set, the US absolutely dominated twenty five to fourteen. It felt like everything was just working for them, right.
00:07:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, to me, they I thought that was the best match I've seen Jordan set since she's been back offensively, and I know that they've been working on their rhythm, and of course Plumber and Skinner have been playing a little bit more, and you could just see like they were taking more confident approaches based on the timing of the setter and getting better swings. And the game is one and lost at the pins, you know, and of course we have to be great in the middle and get something in the offense going there, but really you just take so many more swings on the pins that that's really meat and potatoes. So to see that happen it was great. And then you start feeling kind of the momentum and the vibes. You play a little more free, and it's exactly where we need to be going into the seven. So we were very fired up.
00:08:04
Speaker 1: I'll say, now Avery's gonna Actually there's this one play where Avery she pushed the ball out of bounds late in the set, and you know, the announcers were laughing about it. They were joking that Justine went up to her and we're like, you know, it's okay, but you know, just don't do that again. But how often do you end up in these like high stakes matches like the Olympics quarterfinals and find yourself able to joke about a miskey like that.
00:08:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a cool question. It's such a balance. I think Haley wrote something on this on social media about like it's so beautiful to kind of to be intense and to be in it and to be focused and also have moments of levity, and because it is, like it's so intense, and everything in the Olympics, both the anxiety and the excitement or dialed to one hundred, you know, and so to be in that moment and just go, yeah, that was weird, and so you know, like what could you do and kind of laugh at yourself. And there's always those games or practice where it's just an off the wall player it. You know, you make this incredible dive and it hits you right in the head and you're like, well, all right, I'm an idiot. So it's fun. It's fun to be able to know the spots of when you can kind of laugh at it and move on.
00:09:15
Speaker 1: M knowing that third step set. The US started down seven to one, What did this team do to dig themselves out of that hole to come back and win?
00:09:24
Speaker 2: Man, there's so many things you can point to, but I probably would start with, uh, it's easy to kind of let off the gas or to just say, like, you know what, we're down. We kicked their butt in the first two, like let's go get the fourth, and you kind of like, oh, they're they're playing, well, we're not. We'll kind of ride this out. And they just stayed in the fight. And so much a volleyball if you're down seven, it's like, can I just get the next one? Can we just get the next one? And they kept the service pressure on. I think that's probably the best match they served this tournament, which is great, and it's all about service pressure. And then when you get the ball back either free, you make a good dig and you take really tough, aggressive swings and they were just relentless, you know. And then we started calling back and polland came back a little bit and we stayed in the fight, and god, it was fun.
00:10:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was. And another person I want to talk about is the governor herself, Jordan Larson Governor. I mean, thirty seven years old, playing in her fourth Olympics, but she's playing like she's still twenty five.
00:10:25
Speaker 2: He looks great and it's so cool and I have so much respect for I mean, she's the best player in the world, you know, and she has been for so long and at this point in her career to be open to hey, I can start and I can be amazing, and I can do all these things. And if this is where I'm needed today, I'm here for it. And you can tell the players that have been in so many tough moments because they just show up and they're like, I'm just doing me, you know, and whether or not they get an ace or they miss it or like, it's not even about that. It's like we just went for it. And you can tell when people are competing like themselves and when the moment feels really big, you know what I mean. And so yeah, she's just like writing a playbook on this. She's like, Okay, oh, this is what this is when I get good and yeah, so much respect for her. She's come in in some tough moments and balled out. HM for sure.
00:11:19
Speaker 1: Now Lauren Carlini is back after having that back injury after the first match, and Jordan obviously is coming back and playing these intense matches after that gnarly knee injury in December of twenty twenty two. So obviously the center is very important to the game, right they orchestrate the entire play. I'm not going to disagree with you there, But what are they doing to stay healthy to handle this intense situation, especially going into the semis.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: A great question, I think. You know, obviously, physically there's so much recovery that we always do massage. You know, there's a lot of messuses here in the Olympic village, norma tech, all the tip stuff they do, ice baths when they're at home, certainly like eating and hydrating, well, sleeping, all those things. But I think what's unique about this tournament is like it's so emotional for many reasons. And it's also the thing people don't often talk about is most people's entire family is here and family friends, and you're getting messages from your kindergarten teacher and it's like beautiful, but it's like there's a cost to it energetically, and so I think I think the veterans know how to recharge their own battery even in a tough environment. And the Olympic Village is very cool, but it's not like you can go have coffee by yourself before you see two hundred people. You know, you're eating meals with everybody, and again that that wears on you amidst everything else that's going on. So I think what they've done well is to find places to kind of recharge their own battery, getting time outside of the village with their families and friends or just alone so that they can come back the next day and like you know, push it because it's a lot's required in this tournament. I think too, what has blown me away with Jordan, Lauren and Micah is it in such a challenging, unique, rare situation. Was the first time we have an alternate. Our alternate was used, and then Lauren came back and is now healthy. Jordan was kind of the question mark, and then that ended up happening. They've all stuck together and really committed to like being great teammates, honoring their own experience, but also, hey, what does the team need? And it's really remarkable at this level to stay team oriented and supportive when it's not what you would want to have happen. And credit to them, and I think it sets the tone for the entire team. So for every club athlete listening or watching these guys, just know it's not easy to be a great teammate when you're not getting what you want. But it's a really beautiful thing and it's so much bigger than all of us, and they're they're doing it the best I've ever seen it.
00:14:15
Speaker 1: Well, So what you said before about not having that alone time to kind of recharge, I never really thought about that because in my mind I'm thinking when you go back to the Olympic village or you know where the athletes are, you have like your room, you can relax, you can chill. But I guess you and Carly even said in the previous episode that you were on that you're in a suite basically with other teammates. It's not like you're by yourself. So how do you find that time, Like where do you go to get that recharge? Is it always out of the village trying to find some random cafe and wherever you are, or do you find like a little corner in the Olympic village where you can maybe read for a little or something.
00:14:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's a little different for everybody. I think it's about you know, what works for each person. The village usually has a few spots that are like a lounge area, or you just sit in the sun like the weather's been amazing here, or kind of like a walking path. I think for some people getting lost in a Sydney in Europe feels like home because they've done that in their entire career, so that can be recharging. I think sometimes plugging it, plugging in with family and just having a meal feels nice. I will lovingly say my family's amazing, and at times it's hard to not feel kind of they're like so excited for the game, what about like you know what I mean? So it can also feel a little bit hard. So I'm guessing they're all doing it a little bit differently, but I they're all trying to be intentional about it. Yeah.
00:15:45
Speaker 1: And then one last question about the poll. In game, I heard when the announcers say that Team USA is mantra is gritty versus pretty. So I got asked, did you think this match was gritty or was it pretty.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: Or b I think both. I think it's the most pretty we've seen, and at times it was pretty gritty, but it is true like I thought the France match was gritty in a way because they weren't in rhythm that often. Like it wasn't a feel good match where it's like, oh, things are working, we're all in sync. It was kind of like, oh this is you know, maybe you come into gym some days and you have seventy percent of your best and it's like you can't quite and instead of judging it, it's like, all right, we're gonna do the best with what where we are today and keep striving to get a little bit better and kind of get out of it. But uh yeah, I would say yesterday was pretty and we're hoping that the maybe we'll bring both of them with us in the Semis for sure.
00:16:41
Speaker 1: So in the Semis, they're playing Brazil, who they beat in Tokyo for the Gold Metal. What can we expect from this match, dud.
00:16:51
Speaker 2: I'm so excited. You've had such a history with Brazil. You know, they beat us in London, we beat them in Tokyo, they beat us in Beijing. I believe in the funds as well, and we can expect a dog fight. You know, Brazil is a really talented team. They you know, great players in each position. Obviously, they play the game to me like it's a dance, So they're like very they're just cut a cool rhythm and feel to how they play the game. They play pretty fast. Gabby I think is probably the best outside in the world right now in many ways, and she's really fun to watch. And they're super emotional. So when they get going, they get going, and they're kind of like this steamroller. And so for the US I think it's important when they're on to kind of weather the storm and again stay in the fight like they have with Poland and Set three, and then when they're when they're feeling it, like all right, let's go, let's put the pressure on them. I expect it'll be, yeah, really tight in every set. We're gonna definitely need to serve tough to put a lot of pressure on them so we can kind of gang up on their outsides a little bit. But I can't wait for the match.
00:17:58
Speaker 1: Oh, I'm so excited. I'm hoping that Chiaka can just come out blocking like crazy. I love how the announcers are calling her your Chiaka oh block, because that's.
00:18:08
Speaker 3: What she is.
00:18:09
Speaker 1: She's just dominating up there at the net. It's a good one, right. I thought it was clever. So I'm gonna give my hat tip to them. Yes that's what we need. You can start it off, you can get them going in Paris. But yes, this will be very exciting to watch the semifinal match in a way. In my mind, it's kind of like a gold medal match in a way because of how you know, this intense rivalry from all the previous games that they've played each other. But this is gonna be super exciting, but anything else you want to.
00:18:38
Speaker 2: Add, Yeah, I just I think it's a good matchup for us playing Brazil, like our styles. You know, in this kind of game, the quarterfinals is a hard one to win, you know. It's it's so deflating if you're out of that one, and then if you win, it's like, all right, we get two more games. You're fighting for metal no matter what. There's something really special and then this match it's just getting more and more charged. I keep saying that, but it's it feels like electric, And when you're in the gym, when you're walking, when you're on the train going, it's just like everyone's pretty heightened, and it's so special, and I think I just want to say, I think for all of us watching as fans, it's I always thought it as an athlete, it's so rare to have these days where you get to compete in a match like this, Like you train the entire year and your entire career to get a handful of these, And what a beautiful human experience that we all get to be a part of it, and to ride the highs and lows and celebrate these humans that are just truly like going for it on the world stage, and I don't know if there's anything better, And so I feel really honored to be a fan and get to feel a little bit a part of it. And of course, you know, being alumni of the team, and so many of these guys are coming to play at home next year, so there's something even more special. I think about competing right now for everything that's ahead for the USA team. So just feeling excited.
00:20:04
Speaker 1: Oh so excited. But real quick, is there a little bit of you that kind of wishes you were still out there?
00:20:09
Speaker 2: You know what I've I It is like so fun knowing that you went for it in your career and that it's so like had I not have that experience, I would say yes. But we're I'm sitting now, I'm like, you know, this is pretty great. Fan is like awesome. You know. We have like five teammates ex teammates are that are here right now and we're having a blast just celebrating these guys and it's their turn and they're getting after it and we get to have some wine and then cheer them on in the match. So I'm not complaining.
00:20:39
Speaker 1: You get to enjoy the Parisian wine.
00:20:41
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, it's pretty great.
00:20:43
Speaker 1: So amazing. Well, Courtney, thank you so much for coming on and for sharing this insight and when we're excited to watch what happens.
00:20:52
Speaker 2: Next, go USA.
00:20:53
Speaker 1: Thank you guys, Thanks Courtney, Audrey Nicole, thank you so much for any meet on serving pancakes.
00:21:01
Speaker 3: Thank you for having us, for having us. We're super excited to be here.
00:21:05
Speaker 1: Yes, super excited to have you know, I have to start with the Olympics because obviously it's going on. It's a big deal. Have you ladies been watching them, and Audrey, let's start with you.
00:21:14
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I've been watching it a little bit and it's been super exciting. It's really great to see former teammates in the Olympics right now. I've been keeping up with Tina gardena former USC alum, Sarah and Kelly, and so it's just it's amazing to see you know, USC represent at in Paris twenty twenty four. Yeah, and it's it's good. Aud and I are both early risers, so a lot of the beach matches started as early as six am, same with indoors, so it's it's it's fun to be up early and just to to wake up to watching sports.
00:21:50
Speaker 1: We love it with the USC alums. Are you guys like La twenty twenty eight, I see you.
00:22:00
Speaker 3: That's my whole thing with it is no matter what, we will have close friends that are playing in it. I think that's always been, you know, and it's it's across many sports, you know, we have we have One of our former roommates was an Olympic gold medalist for the water poolo team in twenty twenty one. One of our her best friends that we're friends with is currently on the Australian national team, playing and representing Australia and the Olympics for water polo. We train next to Corey Bethune, one of our good soccer soccer friends went to USC. She's she's representing the US right now in Paris on the soccer team. There's Ry Benjamin from from track and field. There's Michael Norman from track and field. So if the USC family is really prominent and strong in the Olympics, and it's just so fun to have those connections into to see those athletes, dreams really just come to fruition.
00:23:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, so cool. Any sort of connection that I find, whether it's you know, people I grew up with who went to my high school or you know, there's a bunch of athletes from my area where I currently live who went to you know, the high schools nearby who are representing in the Olympics. And I'm like, I love this. I don't have a personal connection to them, but just that camaraderie you feel knowing I mean you guys, actually knowing the athletes is way cooler. And to be part of the Olympics in that kind of way is such a great feeling. Now, going back to beach for a second, how cool is the court being right in front of the Eiffel Tower.
00:23:35
Speaker 3: So, I mean it's got to be the best stadium that's ever been done in the Olympics or in any tournament. I mean the fact that it's sitting right underneath the Effel Tower, and then at night you get a beautiful sunset overlooking the court. I mean, I wish, I wish we could be there right now. Yeah, person, yeah, so cheering cheering on the teams. I think it's great for the sport, and you can see it on TV. That stadium is packed every single match and you have athletes that are from different sports that are coming to watch. I know Snoop Dogg was there at one moment. Well, bron was watching watching Karen and Christen that was awesome, so.
00:24:17
Speaker 1: Embarrassing his daughter.
00:24:19
Speaker 3: I think just it's bringing a lot of awareness to the sport just being in a phenomenal venue and it goes to show what a great venue can do for the sport. And seats are being filled. I think it's a sport that's that's worthy of more investment because of that, because people enjoy watching it. It's really really exciting.
00:24:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, it definitely seems like the marquee event to be at just because of how cool the location is. Plus the competition is absurd and amazing to watch. So I feel like all these people are all of a sudden like whoa beach is really cool? And look how awesome these athletes are, Like how do they do that with just two people on the court keeping them ball up for that long? Now for the women, sadly both christ and Us and Taring Cloth and Sarah Hughes and Kelly Chang were eliminated this week, But how impressed were you with them in this run in the Olympics.
00:25:09
Speaker 3: We're both very impressed. It's hard to perform at the Olympic level. I mean, we don't know what that's like, but it's probably the highest stake environment that you can perform in for our sport. It is literally the pinnacle. I think both teams showed a lot of grace. They they were very fiery, competitive, and it's unfortunate. I think it's tough because you know, Canada was such a such a solid team and they're playing so well right now that it's just kind of that that that balancing between being able to hang in there but then also being able to be on a roll. I think with beach volleyball, you really want to be steady as as can be as consistent as possible, and it's really a game of bears. If you're making less errors than the other team and you're staying mentally composed the whole time, and you're being in the moment, taking advantage of every opportunity that comes to you, just fully, that's the team that's gonna win. I think that's where all four of our USC players maybe struggled in and out of keeping that consistent the entirety of their matches. But you're seeing it teams like Brazil and from Canada, and you know, Tina showed signs of that throughout her with Latvia, throughout her progression. I didn't see their match this morning, but I saw that Brazil kind of handle them a bit easily, relatively just based on the score. I don't know the match, but those teams that are on a roll, clearly they're just out to dominate and kill. And it's kind of the mindset you have to have.
00:26:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Kristin Nuss is only five foot six. As someone who's only five to three in a quarter, I am always in awe at the short women who play volleyball because I love seeing that. To me, I'm like, represent but how hard is it to be five to six and play beach?
00:27:03
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, it is so hard, especially when you're going up against really big tall blockers six three plus. I mean, you have to have vision, jump timing, like everything has to line up perfectly. When you're at that height, you really have no room for air because you need to be hitting it at your max. You need to be reached at your max every single time, whether it's a good set, whether it's a bad set. And so she has really amazing footwork. She if you watch her in her approach. She'll take like four looks where she's in the middle of moving and then her head will kind of bop. She'll survey what's in front of her and then just finds the open court. Every single time. She's so much fun to watch. Yeah, I think what she lacks in her height, she completely makes up for with every other part of her game. I mean, she's one of the best defenders in the world. They did this really interesting study at LSU where they tracked every athletes speed with their first step. She led every athlete. So at the time Jamar Chase was he's a wide receiver. I think for the bangals angles faster than him were her first wow, which I mean, and it shows on the beach court. So she's really speedy, she's really springy. She is that her court awareness is phenomenal. And honestly, when if you can make up, you know, make up with your game in those ways the height, you can kind of overcome that that quote unquote bird like what we see as a burden. Yeah. Yeah. And then at the end of the day too, it's a certain pass game. So if you can serve and get a couple of aces on your serve and if you can side out at eighty percent or above, you're looking at, you know, likely a twenty one nineteen eighteen win. Like, if you can do that, get a couple of blocks, you've you've hopefully won the won the game.
00:29:07
Speaker 1: Now you two have very good ball control when you play. Do you, guys, because you've played together a bunch and your sisters, do you find that you guys just know how to react to different out like different hits to the game, or do you guys actually focus more on helping each other out saying Okay, I'm blocking line, so make sure that you go cross, or how does it work for you too when you guys are on the court defending.
00:29:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's like, honestly, it's a balance of everything that you just said. The trust thing is huge, and like it's funny like we'll go through plays where we're playing and if we're running a four and Nick decides to ditch the call and take ball or do something else, and I'm going to a certain spot in the court and then it leaves something open. It's like, Okay, I'm trusting her to do this, and then she doesn't. That's I don't think that doesn't usually happen like throwing out of the bus, I think, but it being is that, like you have to have that trust where your blogger's going to do their job. Every time you run a call, they're going to do that call. And then as a defender, you're going to work and put go basically right behind them where you're supposed to. So it definitely takes trust. Also just experience, like muscle memory, getting reps on reps on reps, putting in plus ten thousand hours, getting competition in and you kind of start to develop like this fifth sense of what you're supposed to be doing in all aspects of the game. Yeah, and I think we kind of we share that fifth sense, so the just to add on really quickly, like we we give each other autonomy to make decisions and kind of improvise during the play because it's the same decision. My decision is what she would make if that makes sense, like yes, so she already knows what I'm going to do before I do it because we think the same way. We've been partners since we were nine or ten, so we have that autonomy to be dynamic and do different things as well as the expectation of what the other person's going to do. If that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, just add on.
00:31:09
Speaker 1: Now, you guys are sisters. I know that being sisters because I have a sister, everything is great. But it's not always rainbows and sunshine right there. There can be tense moments between the two. So how did you two overcome that? And how did you guys, how are you able to play together for so long without there being a potential breakup?
00:31:30
Speaker 3: That is a really good question, and we'll just say that there have been a lot of tears, and that's from when we were twelve when we're now twenty three, So you know, it's it's a continuous learning process, and you know, we ultimately attribute the fact that we've stayed together for this long tour sports psych We've had a sports syke since we were sixteen years old and started out as you know, calling someone to figure out how to play with a sibling, figure out how we can be on the court. And I want to rip each other's heads off if we're both perfectionists, and so we you know, will butt heads. And you know, from that point on, as we started to mature over the years, it kind of became shifted from a sports psych to like a life therapist because there's so many other things that you go through outside just being an athlete, whether it's you know, who am I without my sport? Who am I without my twin? Who am I?
00:32:28
Speaker 2: You know?
00:32:28
Speaker 3: If I'm injured? So there's there's all these things that that we ended up going through and just being able to lean on our sports psyche and learning how to lean on each other and like really understand what the other needs. It's like it's like we're like a real like part of partnership, like relationship, like you're with someone. It's like a couple. Honestly, it's couples. You have to be able to I think we've really learned how to communicate with each other and on the court, I've learned, Okay, this is what I need first, and then second you've learned I need, and vice versa, And so it's becoming more self aware than ourselves and then also becoming self aware with the other person, if that makes sense.
00:33:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, So how have your personalities differed when you approach playing volleyball.
00:33:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great question. I think there's just been quite the evolution because you know, as twins, we're always kind of put in the same stentence. So we've each had our own journey with figuring out the player that we individually want to be on our own and how we can together help each other to be the best team possible. I think we're I would probably characterize characterize myself as a bit more of like cutthroat e of the twin. I mean, we're both pretty high up there with how our teammates can can attest to this with how we approach things, we're varied by the books, vary by the books. We our corners are sharp. We don't cut any corners. It's just a non negotiable, and we kind of lead with like a momba mental that's the athletes that we are, and through our own journeys we've had to develop a bit of tenasty resilience, grit just being split blockers, being twins, kind of having a target on our back a bit, just because we've been in the space for so long and we've been competing at this level for a long time, so you know it. They've evolved in very different ways, but I think interestingly, at the same time, they've kind of evolved together to create the best team possible and just the best version of ourselves for each other, for our team and obviously for USC too. I love that.
00:34:40
Speaker 1: What about off the corn, how have you found your individual identities outside of being a pair and what do you guys like to do differently?
00:34:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good question. There's like, honestly, there's not much that we like to do differently, just because you know, we kind of grew up in the same things, like we love to surf, love to cook, we're super into nutrition, and then you know, outside of that, like being at USC, we really did put our studies first and so we kind of always want to make sure that we are utilizing every resource there and we eat, Like we even had the same majors masters at USC. So, wow, we're very similar in our interests. I think personality wise, we're a little bit different and I And the great thing is that you know, she has a lot of strengths that I don't have, and she helps me, and then there's things about myself that maybe she doesn't have and I can help her.
00:35:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:35:40
Speaker 3: I think when you think about like the character development piece outside of your sport, which I think in college is really it's kind of the first time you're on your own you really figure out the person that you want to be. We've been so integral in each other's lives in that facet of you know, kind of pointing out like hey, like if there's a certain situation, like maybe you could have handled this better, Like how can we treat people the way that they want to be treated? How can we take these teammates that we see as lights and that have such a good impact on us and say, wow, how can like look at how why are they that way? And how can we have an impact on other people in a similar light? And it goes beyond sports. So I think like that character development piece is always having someone with you, not necessarily that it's nitpicking things at all, but it's just kind of growing with you for those growing with you through those experiences and saying like, hey, like how can we be better people through this? And how can we be better people to each other and better people to those around us? And you end up having just such a more fruitful experience.
00:36:43
Speaker 1: Have you found that this tight relationship, the fact that you guys have such similar such you know, the same similarities, the same likes, the same things that you like to do cooking and things like that. Have you found that that has really helped you with your social media because your social media presidence has grown exponentially, right.
00:37:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I think that definitely has. Because when we started out, we I think we created that page and we were around sixteen years old and there really wasn't any beach volleyball social media pages out there at the time. So we've been growing it for a while and kind of when we got to USC we thought okay, and with Nil when that came a thing, I think spring of twenty twenty one, we really thought, okay, this, I think we should really transition this from a volleyball brand to a lifestyle brand. And so once you know, COVID happened and volleyball was kind of taken away, we sort of really got into nutrition, really got into cooking, really got into working out, which we were always into working out, but when you don't have volleyball, it's like all you do. We were like hyper focused on it, and then we started to kind of explore those aspects of our brand and really like wanted to create distinct content pillars that we could be posting just to differentiate our content and kind of bring out like this more full fledged brand. Yeah. I mean, I think it just goes back to the idea that all athletes are more than athletes, and there is a reason that they are wired a certain way, and if they see success in their sport, there's a very definitive reason for it, whether it's the experiences they've had or their daily habits that is just so ingrained it becomes a lifestyle and having a work ethic where it's really like a lifestyle. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. So we thought, how can we portray it up to the world so that other athletes can get an inside look into how we do things, so that maybe we can learn from other athletes. We've always appreciated to athletes and just individuals with some sort of following that give a very authentic inside look and to see how are they the way that they are, Why are they wired this way? What got them there? And so that was kind of the precipice of this and the impetus of like, Okay, that's what we want to portray. How how can we do that?
00:39:02
Speaker 1: I love that actually, because I feel, especially with indoor volleyball, you know, the unlike football, who where you have you know, your quarterbacks or your you know, wide receivers or even soccer goalies, whatever it might be. Baseball players, your pitchers, you know, very specific positions that you can kind of become a one off and really showcase who you are. I feel like for indoor volleyball especially, you know, it's such a team sport that we haven't had a chance to really see individual players really shine because they're also such a team that they want to be seen as a team. And for beach volleyball, I feel like, you know, you two as as sisters, but even YouTube together, you do have this individual opportunity to showcase who you are because it's the two of you, right, It's small, and I feel like what you're saying about, you know, the content that you put out and how you can showcase yourself as an athlete, because athletes are more than just athletes, they are people too, I feel it is really important.
00:40:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you're telling a story, right, and I think I think there are indoor athletes that really have that impact though. I mean, if you look at Logan Eggleston in her last year at Texas, they did a great piece on like how she may want to be president, like I remember doing I remember seeing this piece and I was like whoa, Like who is this girl? And then when you get to meet Logan in person, she's it all makes sense, like that that person is special, she's there for a reason and she's going to have a great impact. So I think when you have schools and you have the Nce DOUBLEA and different brands and outlets that are creating content in that way around these individual athletes, they really do have a very compelling story to tell. And you know, indoor vival is a team sport, but I think there is that opportunity to grow those individual brands and just give an inside look because you know, there's a lot of different differentiation in indoor Every position is different. I mean, looking at it, it's funny like if you look at the international whatever just or volleyball, like it's Nola Bearro is really taller than five eight, you know, but you know the whole I always think that's so fascinating that that that there is such a like a high differential of that and like what did they do? They don't they don't necessarily get all of the praise because they're not the one that's putting the ball away every play. But so what is that like?
00:41:19
Speaker 2: Like?
00:41:19
Speaker 3: What is like? There are different storylines that can come out of of every sport, I think, and it's just a matter of curating the right platform to to kind of push push that content out.
00:41:33
Speaker 1: Yeah for sure. Well, speaking of storylines, I feel like this is a perfect segue to talk about storylines of movies and TV shows that feature volleyball, because we wanted to do a little bit of movie TV volleyball trivia with you are you ladies game? Yeah?
00:41:49
Speaker 3: Yes, so either we are not big movie jonkies.
00:41:55
Speaker 1: All right, Well, I feel like there's some that might be a little tricky, but there's some that I feel like you should be able to get just based on either context clues or just the popular movies like Geist. So we'll start with this one. Which movie character was in love with a vampire and also really bad at volleyball.
00:42:18
Speaker 3: I have not.
00:42:23
Speaker 1: I can give you a hint if you'd like.
00:42:26
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, I love a hint.
00:42:29
Speaker 1: It was originally a book series that they turned into a movie about vampires. Yes, so yeah, movies Twilight, and the character was Bella played by Kristin Stewart, great actress, not very good at volleyball in the movie? All right? Next question, which movie did Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise go head to head in an iconic volleyball match? Yes, Top Gun, what a great, great scene scene.
00:43:02
Speaker 3: The volleyball is not, but it was a good scene.
00:43:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right. Number three? Which show? In the episode Company Picnic, is it revealed that the receptionist is a talented volleyball player during an employee volleyball game.
00:43:18
Speaker 2: Yeah?
00:43:19
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I love the Office too. As volleyball players? Do you get annoyed watching Pam serve because she's horrible at serving? Every time I watch it, they like they showed you like a horrible like jump and like smack, and then they quickly cut away because they know it's not real.
00:43:41
Speaker 3: It's funny because she's kind of put out to be like excuse me, not like she's put out to be the office is the company's best player, but the volleyball is really not that great. So it's but for those that don't play this port, and you could kind of see how it works. It works, it goes with the storyline.
00:44:00
Speaker 1: I'm all for it, and I give mad props to Jennifisher for going through that all right number four, which Dog discovered he had an uncanny ability to play volleyball after he played uncanny basketball.
00:44:17
Speaker 3: Is it like airbud or something?
00:44:20
Speaker 1: Yes, airbud in airbud spikes back.
00:44:24
Speaker 3: Oh the basketball was great.
00:44:27
Speaker 1: Well done, all right in the last one, which I think may be the hardest one because of how old you ladies are, but which late nineties and early two thousand's MTV cartoon character had volleyball as part of the intro to the show, this brown haired glasses wearing introvert no idea.
00:44:51
Speaker 3: No John Blake, Daria.
00:44:55
Speaker 1: Did you even know what Daria is? I was thinking that was like, I don't know if they're gonna know Daria. But as someone as a millennium grew up watching that show, I was like, oh, Daria, all you ladies did really well. I thank you guy. Uh basically four out of five that Darya one was little fun, It's really good. I thought you did great well. Ladies. Thank you so much for being on serving pancakes. It was lovely talking with you, and I can't wait to see ladies out on the beach wherever, wherever the sand may take you.
00:45:30
Speaker 3: Thank you so much. We're so happy to be thank you so much for having us on.
00:45:37
Speaker 1: By the way, if you're new to volleyball, make sure you check out Kayles Stapleton, who played volleyball at San Diego and professionally overseas for three years, and Devin Newberry, who played beach volleyball for UCLA. They'll be posting Volleyball one oh one on our social channels at love That's at l ovb to help you understand the rules, positions, and everything in between. To make sure to follow so you don't 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. Production by League one Volleyball, I'm your host Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Alvarez is our senior producer. Our executive producers are Carrie Stett, Tamara Daiki, and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing lead is Jawara Parker. Sound editing and mixing by Cody Nelson. Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior. Stay tuned for our next episode, where we break down team USA semifinals match against Brazil. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Tiffany Oshinsky, and this is Serving Pancakes with League One Volleyball. Over the next few episodes, we will follow Team USA's quest for gold at the Paris Olympics. As Team USA preps to play Brazil, We're serving you a special two part episode for you today. First, we'll be joined by twenty sixteen bronze medallist and League One Volleyball's head of pro Integration, Courtney Thompson, and then we'll head over to the beach to talk with the Beach Volleyball twins, Audrey and Nicole Norse, who have over two hundred thousand followers on social media and have won four straight NCAA championships for USC. Courtney Thompson, welcome back to Serving Pancakes.
00:00:46
Speaker 2: Thank you, great to see you, and I'm just looking to be on again.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: I'm very excited to have you on because you are on the ground in Paris, so this is exciting because we have true insight on what's going on out there. So I was curious what has it been like so far.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: It honestly, if you're a fan of sports and you like to travel, this is like best case scenario. It's been pretty incredible, you know, like Paris has done incredible job, just the infrastructure and how easy they make everything, and then of course the food and the drinks are amazing. And part of the fun is just I think being in all the hype, you know, and seeing people dressed up from different countries at a cafe sitting next to you and getting to hear about their week and what they're watching, and so it's been pretty special.
00:01:32
Speaker 1: We are recording this on Thursday after the men's heartbreaking loss in five sets to Poland, and you were there, so I'm curious what was the roller coaster of motions like and were any of the women's team there to watch.
00:01:44
Speaker 2: You know, we were the women's team, I think watched from the village and I was actually watching from our partner, the Adida's house, which is amazing. So I didn't get tickets, but god, I'm so gutted for them. You know, those guys have been together for a long time and at this level, as you know, any I mean, the margins are so thin, you know, and to lose fifteen thirteen in a semi final happened to me once, you know, we were in that position in Rio, and you're just so close and it's the matter of a few serves and a few swings. So you know, in step four they they looked so good and they were hot, and they were on a roll, and you kind of when you catch the momentum, it's like, oh, we got to capitalize here. And so I was ready for Poland to make a push in the fifth set, and they just out executed us a little bit. Incredible group of guys, of wonderful staff. So we love them and excited to see them fight for bronze.
00:02:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say, at least they're still playing for a metal, so we can see them against Italy or France, depending on who wins that game. But being inside the arena for the women's Games, what is it like in that gym, Because as a viewer from home, it's seems loud, but I'm sure it's even louder being actually there.
00:03:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's wild. I feel like I'm getting a crash course and like fan experience. They've got like two hype people there the whole time, so almost every play they're on the mic, coornating a cheer or playing some fun song and doing something funny on the board. So it is it's an awesome venue, like it's beautiful to look at, but it's a pretty intimate feel. I feel like in the last few Olympics and certainly Tokyo, there's no one there, but in Rio and London the fans are pretty far from the floor, so you kind of get this big arena feel, which can be cool, but it's different when people are right there in it with you, and I think the energy of that is pretty tangible. So it is incredibly fun as a fan. From what I've heard from the athletes, they are having a blast too, and really enjoying beating off the energy, especially because a lot of them are in Tokyo for the first time and they missed out, so it's cool to see that.
00:03:57
Speaker 1: Are the hype men hyping up the crowd in general or do they sometimes like focus on one team over the other?
00:04:04
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, they do both mostly, Yeah, mostly in general. And then they'll be like, if you're here for USA, let's go crazy, you know, and if you're for polling, which is also pretty fun. We were at a three on three basketball game the other day, the US versus France, and there was like ten Americans. What it felt like and they'd go, if you're here for USA, you know, and we like, whoa trying to be loud and they're like, I'm France and it was like, you know, just erupt and then they felt that was funny. So it's yeah, it's but it all feels like pretty playful. You know, you can kind of tell the honor of getting to fight for your country and so that's awesome.
00:04:44
Speaker 1: Now, Billy jin King was at the game? Was she at the polling game or was she at the France issues at the polling game? Have you seen any other celebrities at the Women's Games?
00:04:55
Speaker 2: I haven't yet, but I think as we had in the semis, it's gonna ge it real. Hopefully we'll see some. Yeah, usually there's a few basketball players that come out and watch and support, and uh yeah it should be fun but really cool that Billy Jinking was there. What an icon and someone we all have a lot of gratitude for.
00:05:14
Speaker 1: Oh my god, she's amazing and I love that she was there and that the girls got to meet her and speak with her, because yes, icon is the perfect word to describe Billy Jinking.
00:05:24
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:05:25
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about the women's game over Poland. Because they were victorious on Tuesday. They won in three straight sets twenty five, twenty two, twenty five, fourteen, twenty five, twenty. How has this US team matched up against Poland in the past.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was the first time we beat them this squad, which is wow. Yeah, it's a long streak and so they're obviously a great team. And it was so fun because I feel like it was the first time that things were really clicking across the board for US, and we all knew, like, hey, we have so much good volleyball in US US as if I'm still on the team, within our team, you are, but to see him, yeah, you know, they served really aggressively, which I don't know, I feel like we dial that up quite a bit. Our offense looked as crisp as it has I think in the last few years really and defensively, not only were we digging a lot of balls, but we got to convert them. So for the balls that we dug, we're taking really tough swings, which is the name of the game at this point in the tournament. So it was really cool to see and you could just tell like the girls were having fun. You probably stop from where you were too.
00:06:35
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and for you know, speaking of digging, can we just talk about Justine Walorantos for a second, because that girl is everywhere on the court.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: It's almost like you take it for granted because she makes it look so easy. He is phenomenal. And I was sitting like two rows in front of her family, and it like took everything in me not to just turn around every time and be like, oh my god. But she's the best and such a great team. Everyone loves her. She exudes so much joy and she's such a badass, so it's really fun to watch her.
00:07:07
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. Now, in the second set, the US absolutely dominated twenty five to fourteen. It felt like everything was just working for them, right.
00:07:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, to me, they I thought that was the best match I've seen Jordan set since she's been back offensively, and I know that they've been working on their rhythm, and of course Plumber and Skinner have been playing a little bit more, and you could just see like they were taking more confident approaches based on the timing of the setter and getting better swings. And the game is one and lost at the pins, you know, and of course we have to be great in the middle and get something in the offense going there, but really you just take so many more swings on the pins that that's really meat and potatoes. So to see that happen it was great. And then you start feeling kind of the momentum and the vibes. You play a little more free, and it's exactly where we need to be going into the seven. So we were very fired up.
00:08:04
Speaker 1: I'll say, now Avery's gonna Actually there's this one play where Avery she pushed the ball out of bounds late in the set, and you know, the announcers were laughing about it. They were joking that Justine went up to her and we're like, you know, it's okay, but you know, just don't do that again. But how often do you end up in these like high stakes matches like the Olympics quarterfinals and find yourself able to joke about a miskey like that.
00:08:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a cool question. It's such a balance. I think Haley wrote something on this on social media about like it's so beautiful to kind of to be intense and to be in it and to be focused and also have moments of levity, and because it is, like it's so intense, and everything in the Olympics, both the anxiety and the excitement or dialed to one hundred, you know, and so to be in that moment and just go, yeah, that was weird, and so you know, like what could you do and kind of laugh at yourself. And there's always those games or practice where it's just an off the wall player it. You know, you make this incredible dive and it hits you right in the head and you're like, well, all right, I'm an idiot. So it's fun. It's fun to be able to know the spots of when you can kind of laugh at it and move on.
00:09:15
Speaker 1: M knowing that third step set. The US started down seven to one, What did this team do to dig themselves out of that hole to come back and win?
00:09:24
Speaker 2: Man, there's so many things you can point to, but I probably would start with, uh, it's easy to kind of let off the gas or to just say, like, you know what, we're down. We kicked their butt in the first two, like let's go get the fourth, and you kind of like, oh, they're they're playing, well, we're not. We'll kind of ride this out. And they just stayed in the fight. And so much a volleyball if you're down seven, it's like, can I just get the next one? Can we just get the next one? And they kept the service pressure on. I think that's probably the best match they served this tournament, which is great, and it's all about service pressure. And then when you get the ball back either free, you make a good dig and you take really tough, aggressive swings and they were just relentless, you know. And then we started calling back and polland came back a little bit and we stayed in the fight, and god, it was fun.
00:10:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was. And another person I want to talk about is the governor herself, Jordan Larson Governor. I mean, thirty seven years old, playing in her fourth Olympics, but she's playing like she's still twenty five.
00:10:25
Speaker 2: He looks great and it's so cool and I have so much respect for I mean, she's the best player in the world, you know, and she has been for so long and at this point in her career to be open to hey, I can start and I can be amazing, and I can do all these things. And if this is where I'm needed today, I'm here for it. And you can tell the players that have been in so many tough moments because they just show up and they're like, I'm just doing me, you know, and whether or not they get an ace or they miss it or like, it's not even about that. It's like we just went for it. And you can tell when people are competing like themselves and when the moment feels really big, you know what I mean. And so yeah, she's just like writing a playbook on this. She's like, Okay, oh, this is what this is when I get good and yeah, so much respect for her. She's come in in some tough moments and balled out. HM for sure.
00:11:19
Speaker 1: Now Lauren Carlini is back after having that back injury after the first match, and Jordan obviously is coming back and playing these intense matches after that gnarly knee injury in December of twenty twenty two. So obviously the center is very important to the game, right they orchestrate the entire play. I'm not going to disagree with you there, But what are they doing to stay healthy to handle this intense situation, especially going into the semis.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: A great question, I think. You know, obviously, physically there's so much recovery that we always do massage. You know, there's a lot of messuses here in the Olympic village, norma tech, all the tip stuff they do, ice baths when they're at home, certainly like eating and hydrating, well, sleeping, all those things. But I think what's unique about this tournament is like it's so emotional for many reasons. And it's also the thing people don't often talk about is most people's entire family is here and family friends, and you're getting messages from your kindergarten teacher and it's like beautiful, but it's like there's a cost to it energetically, and so I think I think the veterans know how to recharge their own battery even in a tough environment. And the Olympic Village is very cool, but it's not like you can go have coffee by yourself before you see two hundred people. You know, you're eating meals with everybody, and again that that wears on you amidst everything else that's going on. So I think what they've done well is to find places to kind of recharge their own battery, getting time outside of the village with their families and friends or just alone so that they can come back the next day and like you know, push it because it's a lot's required in this tournament. I think too, what has blown me away with Jordan, Lauren and Micah is it in such a challenging, unique, rare situation. Was the first time we have an alternate. Our alternate was used, and then Lauren came back and is now healthy. Jordan was kind of the question mark, and then that ended up happening. They've all stuck together and really committed to like being great teammates, honoring their own experience, but also, hey, what does the team need? And it's really remarkable at this level to stay team oriented and supportive when it's not what you would want to have happen. And credit to them, and I think it sets the tone for the entire team. So for every club athlete listening or watching these guys, just know it's not easy to be a great teammate when you're not getting what you want. But it's a really beautiful thing and it's so much bigger than all of us, and they're they're doing it the best I've ever seen it.
00:14:15
Speaker 1: Well, So what you said before about not having that alone time to kind of recharge, I never really thought about that because in my mind I'm thinking when you go back to the Olympic village or you know where the athletes are, you have like your room, you can relax, you can chill. But I guess you and Carly even said in the previous episode that you were on that you're in a suite basically with other teammates. It's not like you're by yourself. So how do you find that time, Like where do you go to get that recharge? Is it always out of the village trying to find some random cafe and wherever you are, or do you find like a little corner in the Olympic village where you can maybe read for a little or something.
00:14:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's a little different for everybody. I think it's about you know, what works for each person. The village usually has a few spots that are like a lounge area, or you just sit in the sun like the weather's been amazing here, or kind of like a walking path. I think for some people getting lost in a Sydney in Europe feels like home because they've done that in their entire career, so that can be recharging. I think sometimes plugging it, plugging in with family and just having a meal feels nice. I will lovingly say my family's amazing, and at times it's hard to not feel kind of they're like so excited for the game, what about like you know what I mean? So it can also feel a little bit hard. So I'm guessing they're all doing it a little bit differently, but I they're all trying to be intentional about it. Yeah.
00:15:45
Speaker 1: And then one last question about the poll. In game, I heard when the announcers say that Team USA is mantra is gritty versus pretty. So I got asked, did you think this match was gritty or was it pretty.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: Or b I think both. I think it's the most pretty we've seen, and at times it was pretty gritty, but it is true like I thought the France match was gritty in a way because they weren't in rhythm that often. Like it wasn't a feel good match where it's like, oh, things are working, we're all in sync. It was kind of like, oh this is you know, maybe you come into gym some days and you have seventy percent of your best and it's like you can't quite and instead of judging it, it's like, all right, we're gonna do the best with what where we are today and keep striving to get a little bit better and kind of get out of it. But uh yeah, I would say yesterday was pretty and we're hoping that the maybe we'll bring both of them with us in the Semis for sure.
00:16:41
Speaker 1: So in the Semis, they're playing Brazil, who they beat in Tokyo for the Gold Metal. What can we expect from this match, dud.
00:16:51
Speaker 2: I'm so excited. You've had such a history with Brazil. You know, they beat us in London, we beat them in Tokyo, they beat us in Beijing. I believe in the funds as well, and we can expect a dog fight. You know, Brazil is a really talented team. They you know, great players in each position. Obviously, they play the game to me like it's a dance, So they're like very they're just cut a cool rhythm and feel to how they play the game. They play pretty fast. Gabby I think is probably the best outside in the world right now in many ways, and she's really fun to watch. And they're super emotional. So when they get going, they get going, and they're kind of like this steamroller. And so for the US I think it's important when they're on to kind of weather the storm and again stay in the fight like they have with Poland and Set three, and then when they're when they're feeling it, like all right, let's go, let's put the pressure on them. I expect it'll be, yeah, really tight in every set. We're gonna definitely need to serve tough to put a lot of pressure on them so we can kind of gang up on their outsides a little bit. But I can't wait for the match.
00:17:58
Speaker 1: Oh, I'm so excited. I'm hoping that Chiaka can just come out blocking like crazy. I love how the announcers are calling her your Chiaka oh block, because that's.
00:18:08
Speaker 3: What she is.
00:18:09
Speaker 1: She's just dominating up there at the net. It's a good one, right. I thought it was clever. So I'm gonna give my hat tip to them. Yes that's what we need. You can start it off, you can get them going in Paris. But yes, this will be very exciting to watch the semifinal match in a way. In my mind, it's kind of like a gold medal match in a way because of how you know, this intense rivalry from all the previous games that they've played each other. But this is gonna be super exciting, but anything else you want to.
00:18:38
Speaker 2: Add, Yeah, I just I think it's a good matchup for us playing Brazil, like our styles. You know, in this kind of game, the quarterfinals is a hard one to win, you know. It's it's so deflating if you're out of that one, and then if you win, it's like, all right, we get two more games. You're fighting for metal no matter what. There's something really special and then this match it's just getting more and more charged. I keep saying that, but it's it feels like electric, And when you're in the gym, when you're walking, when you're on the train going, it's just like everyone's pretty heightened, and it's so special, and I think I just want to say, I think for all of us watching as fans, it's I always thought it as an athlete, it's so rare to have these days where you get to compete in a match like this, Like you train the entire year and your entire career to get a handful of these, And what a beautiful human experience that we all get to be a part of it, and to ride the highs and lows and celebrate these humans that are just truly like going for it on the world stage, and I don't know if there's anything better, And so I feel really honored to be a fan and get to feel a little bit a part of it. And of course, you know, being alumni of the team, and so many of these guys are coming to play at home next year, so there's something even more special. I think about competing right now for everything that's ahead for the USA team. So just feeling excited.
00:20:04
Speaker 1: Oh so excited. But real quick, is there a little bit of you that kind of wishes you were still out there?
00:20:09
Speaker 2: You know what I've I It is like so fun knowing that you went for it in your career and that it's so like had I not have that experience, I would say yes. But we're I'm sitting now, I'm like, you know, this is pretty great. Fan is like awesome. You know. We have like five teammates ex teammates are that are here right now and we're having a blast just celebrating these guys and it's their turn and they're getting after it and we get to have some wine and then cheer them on in the match. So I'm not complaining.
00:20:39
Speaker 1: You get to enjoy the Parisian wine.
00:20:41
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, it's pretty great.
00:20:43
Speaker 1: So amazing. Well, Courtney, thank you so much for coming on and for sharing this insight and when we're excited to watch what happens.
00:20:52
Speaker 2: Next, go USA.
00:20:53
Speaker 1: Thank you guys, Thanks Courtney, Audrey Nicole, thank you so much for any meet on serving pancakes.
00:21:01
Speaker 3: Thank you for having us, for having us. We're super excited to be here.
00:21:05
Speaker 1: Yes, super excited to have you know, I have to start with the Olympics because obviously it's going on. It's a big deal. Have you ladies been watching them, and Audrey, let's start with you.
00:21:14
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I've been watching it a little bit and it's been super exciting. It's really great to see former teammates in the Olympics right now. I've been keeping up with Tina gardena former USC alum, Sarah and Kelly, and so it's just it's amazing to see you know, USC represent at in Paris twenty twenty four. Yeah, and it's it's good. Aud and I are both early risers, so a lot of the beach matches started as early as six am, same with indoors, so it's it's it's fun to be up early and just to to wake up to watching sports.
00:21:50
Speaker 1: We love it with the USC alums. Are you guys like La twenty twenty eight, I see you.
00:22:00
Speaker 3: That's my whole thing with it is no matter what, we will have close friends that are playing in it. I think that's always been, you know, and it's it's across many sports, you know, we have we have One of our former roommates was an Olympic gold medalist for the water poolo team in twenty twenty one. One of our her best friends that we're friends with is currently on the Australian national team, playing and representing Australia and the Olympics for water polo. We train next to Corey Bethune, one of our good soccer soccer friends went to USC. She's she's representing the US right now in Paris on the soccer team. There's Ry Benjamin from from track and field. There's Michael Norman from track and field. So if the USC family is really prominent and strong in the Olympics, and it's just so fun to have those connections into to see those athletes, dreams really just come to fruition.
00:23:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, so cool. Any sort of connection that I find, whether it's you know, people I grew up with who went to my high school or you know, there's a bunch of athletes from my area where I currently live who went to you know, the high schools nearby who are representing in the Olympics. And I'm like, I love this. I don't have a personal connection to them, but just that camaraderie you feel knowing I mean you guys, actually knowing the athletes is way cooler. And to be part of the Olympics in that kind of way is such a great feeling. Now, going back to beach for a second, how cool is the court being right in front of the Eiffel Tower.
00:23:35
Speaker 3: So, I mean it's got to be the best stadium that's ever been done in the Olympics or in any tournament. I mean the fact that it's sitting right underneath the Effel Tower, and then at night you get a beautiful sunset overlooking the court. I mean, I wish, I wish we could be there right now. Yeah, person, yeah, so cheering cheering on the teams. I think it's great for the sport, and you can see it on TV. That stadium is packed every single match and you have athletes that are from different sports that are coming to watch. I know Snoop Dogg was there at one moment. Well, bron was watching watching Karen and Christen that was awesome, so.
00:24:17
Speaker 1: Embarrassing his daughter.
00:24:19
Speaker 3: I think just it's bringing a lot of awareness to the sport just being in a phenomenal venue and it goes to show what a great venue can do for the sport. And seats are being filled. I think it's a sport that's that's worthy of more investment because of that, because people enjoy watching it. It's really really exciting.
00:24:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, it definitely seems like the marquee event to be at just because of how cool the location is. Plus the competition is absurd and amazing to watch. So I feel like all these people are all of a sudden like whoa beach is really cool? And look how awesome these athletes are, Like how do they do that with just two people on the court keeping them ball up for that long? Now for the women, sadly both christ and Us and Taring Cloth and Sarah Hughes and Kelly Chang were eliminated this week, But how impressed were you with them in this run in the Olympics.
00:25:09
Speaker 3: We're both very impressed. It's hard to perform at the Olympic level. I mean, we don't know what that's like, but it's probably the highest stake environment that you can perform in for our sport. It is literally the pinnacle. I think both teams showed a lot of grace. They they were very fiery, competitive, and it's unfortunate. I think it's tough because you know, Canada was such a such a solid team and they're playing so well right now that it's just kind of that that that balancing between being able to hang in there but then also being able to be on a roll. I think with beach volleyball, you really want to be steady as as can be as consistent as possible, and it's really a game of bears. If you're making less errors than the other team and you're staying mentally composed the whole time, and you're being in the moment, taking advantage of every opportunity that comes to you, just fully, that's the team that's gonna win. I think that's where all four of our USC players maybe struggled in and out of keeping that consistent the entirety of their matches. But you're seeing it teams like Brazil and from Canada, and you know, Tina showed signs of that throughout her with Latvia, throughout her progression. I didn't see their match this morning, but I saw that Brazil kind of handle them a bit easily, relatively just based on the score. I don't know the match, but those teams that are on a roll, clearly they're just out to dominate and kill. And it's kind of the mindset you have to have.
00:26:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Kristin Nuss is only five foot six. As someone who's only five to three in a quarter, I am always in awe at the short women who play volleyball because I love seeing that. To me, I'm like, represent but how hard is it to be five to six and play beach?
00:27:03
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, it is so hard, especially when you're going up against really big tall blockers six three plus. I mean, you have to have vision, jump timing, like everything has to line up perfectly. When you're at that height, you really have no room for air because you need to be hitting it at your max. You need to be reached at your max every single time, whether it's a good set, whether it's a bad set. And so she has really amazing footwork. She if you watch her in her approach. She'll take like four looks where she's in the middle of moving and then her head will kind of bop. She'll survey what's in front of her and then just finds the open court. Every single time. She's so much fun to watch. Yeah, I think what she lacks in her height, she completely makes up for with every other part of her game. I mean, she's one of the best defenders in the world. They did this really interesting study at LSU where they tracked every athletes speed with their first step. She led every athlete. So at the time Jamar Chase was he's a wide receiver. I think for the bangals angles faster than him were her first wow, which I mean, and it shows on the beach court. So she's really speedy, she's really springy. She is that her court awareness is phenomenal. And honestly, when if you can make up, you know, make up with your game in those ways the height, you can kind of overcome that that quote unquote bird like what we see as a burden. Yeah. Yeah. And then at the end of the day too, it's a certain pass game. So if you can serve and get a couple of aces on your serve and if you can side out at eighty percent or above, you're looking at, you know, likely a twenty one nineteen eighteen win. Like, if you can do that, get a couple of blocks, you've you've hopefully won the won the game.
00:29:07
Speaker 1: Now you two have very good ball control when you play. Do you, guys, because you've played together a bunch and your sisters, do you find that you guys just know how to react to different out like different hits to the game, or do you guys actually focus more on helping each other out saying Okay, I'm blocking line, so make sure that you go cross, or how does it work for you too when you guys are on the court defending.
00:29:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's like, honestly, it's a balance of everything that you just said. The trust thing is huge, and like it's funny like we'll go through plays where we're playing and if we're running a four and Nick decides to ditch the call and take ball or do something else, and I'm going to a certain spot in the court and then it leaves something open. It's like, Okay, I'm trusting her to do this, and then she doesn't. That's I don't think that doesn't usually happen like throwing out of the bus, I think, but it being is that, like you have to have that trust where your blogger's going to do their job. Every time you run a call, they're going to do that call. And then as a defender, you're going to work and put go basically right behind them where you're supposed to. So it definitely takes trust. Also just experience, like muscle memory, getting reps on reps on reps, putting in plus ten thousand hours, getting competition in and you kind of start to develop like this fifth sense of what you're supposed to be doing in all aspects of the game. Yeah, and I think we kind of we share that fifth sense, so the just to add on really quickly, like we we give each other autonomy to make decisions and kind of improvise during the play because it's the same decision. My decision is what she would make if that makes sense, like yes, so she already knows what I'm going to do before I do it because we think the same way. We've been partners since we were nine or ten, so we have that autonomy to be dynamic and do different things as well as the expectation of what the other person's going to do. If that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, just add on.
00:31:09
Speaker 1: Now, you guys are sisters. I know that being sisters because I have a sister, everything is great. But it's not always rainbows and sunshine right there. There can be tense moments between the two. So how did you two overcome that? And how did you guys, how are you able to play together for so long without there being a potential breakup?
00:31:30
Speaker 3: That is a really good question, and we'll just say that there have been a lot of tears, and that's from when we were twelve when we're now twenty three, So you know, it's it's a continuous learning process, and you know, we ultimately attribute the fact that we've stayed together for this long tour sports psych We've had a sports syke since we were sixteen years old and started out as you know, calling someone to figure out how to play with a sibling, figure out how we can be on the court. And I want to rip each other's heads off if we're both perfectionists, and so we you know, will butt heads. And you know, from that point on, as we started to mature over the years, it kind of became shifted from a sports psych to like a life therapist because there's so many other things that you go through outside just being an athlete, whether it's you know, who am I without my sport? Who am I without my twin? Who am I?
00:32:28
Speaker 2: You know?
00:32:28
Speaker 3: If I'm injured? So there's there's all these things that that we ended up going through and just being able to lean on our sports psyche and learning how to lean on each other and like really understand what the other needs. It's like it's like we're like a real like part of partnership, like relationship, like you're with someone. It's like a couple. Honestly, it's couples. You have to be able to I think we've really learned how to communicate with each other and on the court, I've learned, Okay, this is what I need first, and then second you've learned I need, and vice versa, And so it's becoming more self aware than ourselves and then also becoming self aware with the other person, if that makes sense.
00:33:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, So how have your personalities differed when you approach playing volleyball.
00:33:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great question. I think there's just been quite the evolution because you know, as twins, we're always kind of put in the same stentence. So we've each had our own journey with figuring out the player that we individually want to be on our own and how we can together help each other to be the best team possible. I think we're I would probably characterize characterize myself as a bit more of like cutthroat e of the twin. I mean, we're both pretty high up there with how our teammates can can attest to this with how we approach things, we're varied by the books, vary by the books. We our corners are sharp. We don't cut any corners. It's just a non negotiable, and we kind of lead with like a momba mental that's the athletes that we are, and through our own journeys we've had to develop a bit of tenasty resilience, grit just being split blockers, being twins, kind of having a target on our back a bit, just because we've been in the space for so long and we've been competing at this level for a long time, so you know it. They've evolved in very different ways, but I think interestingly, at the same time, they've kind of evolved together to create the best team possible and just the best version of ourselves for each other, for our team and obviously for USC too. I love that.
00:34:40
Speaker 1: What about off the corn, how have you found your individual identities outside of being a pair and what do you guys like to do differently?
00:34:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good question. There's like, honestly, there's not much that we like to do differently, just because you know, we kind of grew up in the same things, like we love to surf, love to cook, we're super into nutrition, and then you know, outside of that, like being at USC, we really did put our studies first and so we kind of always want to make sure that we are utilizing every resource there and we eat, Like we even had the same majors masters at USC. So, wow, we're very similar in our interests. I think personality wise, we're a little bit different and I And the great thing is that you know, she has a lot of strengths that I don't have, and she helps me, and then there's things about myself that maybe she doesn't have and I can help her.
00:35:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:35:40
Speaker 3: I think when you think about like the character development piece outside of your sport, which I think in college is really it's kind of the first time you're on your own you really figure out the person that you want to be. We've been so integral in each other's lives in that facet of you know, kind of pointing out like hey, like if there's a certain situation, like maybe you could have handled this better, Like how can we treat people the way that they want to be treated? How can we take these teammates that we see as lights and that have such a good impact on us and say, wow, how can like look at how why are they that way? And how can we have an impact on other people in a similar light? And it goes beyond sports. So I think like that character development piece is always having someone with you, not necessarily that it's nitpicking things at all, but it's just kind of growing with you for those growing with you through those experiences and saying like, hey, like how can we be better people through this? And how can we be better people to each other and better people to those around us? And you end up having just such a more fruitful experience.
00:36:43
Speaker 1: Have you found that this tight relationship, the fact that you guys have such similar such you know, the same similarities, the same likes, the same things that you like to do cooking and things like that. Have you found that that has really helped you with your social media because your social media presidence has grown exponentially, right.
00:37:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I think that definitely has. Because when we started out, we I think we created that page and we were around sixteen years old and there really wasn't any beach volleyball social media pages out there at the time. So we've been growing it for a while and kind of when we got to USC we thought okay, and with Nil when that came a thing, I think spring of twenty twenty one, we really thought, okay, this, I think we should really transition this from a volleyball brand to a lifestyle brand. And so once you know, COVID happened and volleyball was kind of taken away, we sort of really got into nutrition, really got into cooking, really got into working out, which we were always into working out, but when you don't have volleyball, it's like all you do. We were like hyper focused on it, and then we started to kind of explore those aspects of our brand and really like wanted to create distinct content pillars that we could be posting just to differentiate our content and kind of bring out like this more full fledged brand. Yeah. I mean, I think it just goes back to the idea that all athletes are more than athletes, and there is a reason that they are wired a certain way, and if they see success in their sport, there's a very definitive reason for it, whether it's the experiences they've had or their daily habits that is just so ingrained it becomes a lifestyle and having a work ethic where it's really like a lifestyle. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. So we thought, how can we portray it up to the world so that other athletes can get an inside look into how we do things, so that maybe we can learn from other athletes. We've always appreciated to athletes and just individuals with some sort of following that give a very authentic inside look and to see how are they the way that they are, Why are they wired this way? What got them there? And so that was kind of the precipice of this and the impetus of like, Okay, that's what we want to portray. How how can we do that?
00:39:02
Speaker 1: I love that actually, because I feel, especially with indoor volleyball, you know, the unlike football, who where you have you know, your quarterbacks or your you know, wide receivers or even soccer goalies, whatever it might be. Baseball players, your pitchers, you know, very specific positions that you can kind of become a one off and really showcase who you are. I feel like for indoor volleyball especially, you know, it's such a team sport that we haven't had a chance to really see individual players really shine because they're also such a team that they want to be seen as a team. And for beach volleyball, I feel like, you know, you two as as sisters, but even YouTube together, you do have this individual opportunity to showcase who you are because it's the two of you, right, It's small, and I feel like what you're saying about, you know, the content that you put out and how you can showcase yourself as an athlete, because athletes are more than just athletes, they are people too, I feel it is really important.
00:40:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you're telling a story, right, and I think I think there are indoor athletes that really have that impact though. I mean, if you look at Logan Eggleston in her last year at Texas, they did a great piece on like how she may want to be president, like I remember doing I remember seeing this piece and I was like whoa, Like who is this girl? And then when you get to meet Logan in person, she's it all makes sense, like that that person is special, she's there for a reason and she's going to have a great impact. So I think when you have schools and you have the Nce DOUBLEA and different brands and outlets that are creating content in that way around these individual athletes, they really do have a very compelling story to tell. And you know, indoor vival is a team sport, but I think there is that opportunity to grow those individual brands and just give an inside look because you know, there's a lot of different differentiation in indoor Every position is different. I mean, looking at it, it's funny like if you look at the international whatever just or volleyball, like it's Nola Bearro is really taller than five eight, you know, but you know the whole I always think that's so fascinating that that that there is such a like a high differential of that and like what did they do? They don't they don't necessarily get all of the praise because they're not the one that's putting the ball away every play. But so what is that like?
00:41:19
Speaker 2: Like?
00:41:19
Speaker 3: What is like? There are different storylines that can come out of of every sport, I think, and it's just a matter of curating the right platform to to kind of push push that content out.
00:41:33
Speaker 1: Yeah for sure. Well, speaking of storylines, I feel like this is a perfect segue to talk about storylines of movies and TV shows that feature volleyball, because we wanted to do a little bit of movie TV volleyball trivia with you are you ladies game? Yeah?
00:41:49
Speaker 3: Yes, so either we are not big movie jonkies.
00:41:55
Speaker 1: All right, Well, I feel like there's some that might be a little tricky, but there's some that I feel like you should be able to get just based on either context clues or just the popular movies like Geist. So we'll start with this one. Which movie character was in love with a vampire and also really bad at volleyball.
00:42:18
Speaker 3: I have not.
00:42:23
Speaker 1: I can give you a hint if you'd like.
00:42:26
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, I love a hint.
00:42:29
Speaker 1: It was originally a book series that they turned into a movie about vampires. Yes, so yeah, movies Twilight, and the character was Bella played by Kristin Stewart, great actress, not very good at volleyball in the movie? All right? Next question, which movie did Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise go head to head in an iconic volleyball match? Yes, Top Gun, what a great, great scene scene.
00:43:02
Speaker 3: The volleyball is not, but it was a good scene.
00:43:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right. Number three? Which show? In the episode Company Picnic, is it revealed that the receptionist is a talented volleyball player during an employee volleyball game.
00:43:18
Speaker 2: Yeah?
00:43:19
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I love the Office too. As volleyball players? Do you get annoyed watching Pam serve because she's horrible at serving? Every time I watch it, they like they showed you like a horrible like jump and like smack, and then they quickly cut away because they know it's not real.
00:43:41
Speaker 3: It's funny because she's kind of put out to be like excuse me, not like she's put out to be the office is the company's best player, but the volleyball is really not that great. So it's but for those that don't play this port, and you could kind of see how it works. It works, it goes with the storyline.
00:44:00
Speaker 1: I'm all for it, and I give mad props to Jennifisher for going through that all right number four, which Dog discovered he had an uncanny ability to play volleyball after he played uncanny basketball.
00:44:17
Speaker 3: Is it like airbud or something?
00:44:20
Speaker 1: Yes, airbud in airbud spikes back.
00:44:24
Speaker 3: Oh the basketball was great.
00:44:27
Speaker 1: Well done, all right in the last one, which I think may be the hardest one because of how old you ladies are, but which late nineties and early two thousand's MTV cartoon character had volleyball as part of the intro to the show, this brown haired glasses wearing introvert no idea.
00:44:51
Speaker 3: No John Blake, Daria.
00:44:55
Speaker 1: Did you even know what Daria is? I was thinking that was like, I don't know if they're gonna know Daria. But as someone as a millennium grew up watching that show, I was like, oh, Daria, all you ladies did really well. I thank you guy. Uh basically four out of five that Darya one was little fun, It's really good. I thought you did great well. Ladies. Thank you so much for being on serving pancakes. It was lovely talking with you, and I can't wait to see ladies out on the beach wherever, wherever the sand may take you.
00:45:30
Speaker 3: Thank you so much. We're so happy to be thank you so much for having us on.
00:45:37
Speaker 1: By the way, if you're new to volleyball, make sure you check out Kayles Stapleton, who played volleyball at San Diego and professionally overseas for three years, and Devin Newberry, who played beach volleyball for UCLA. They'll be posting Volleyball one oh one on our social channels at love That's at l ovb to help you understand the rules, positions, and everything in between. To make sure to follow so you don't 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. Production by League one Volleyball, I'm your host Tiffany Oshinsky. Anya Alvarez is our senior producer. Our executive producers are Carrie Stett, Tamara Daiki, and Lindsay Hoffman. Our marketing lead is Jawara Parker. Sound editing and mixing by Cody Nelson. Our theme music is Pancakes by Eric W. Mast Junior. Stay tuned for our next episode, where we break down team USA semifinals match against Brazil. Thanks for listening,
