Court Captains: A Volleyball Podcast

After discussing the all-league team make ups, we come up with our own award categories, mainly based on ~*VIBES*~. Nikki fills us in on some Volleytalk forum drama and we hold a brief in-memoriam for the bottom four teams. Gone, but never forgotten. Can't wait to see you all in Vegas! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Our first Official Media episode that includes press conference Q&A with coaches?! We might be journalists after all.In the second-to-last week of the PVF, the playoff picture became more clear: Indy official took the fourth slot - but not until after we saw them play Orlando live from Fishers. Shout out to the Ignite Comms team who made us feel SO welcome, we are so grateful to you! We talk our reactions from the match including arena vibes and reactions to seeing and hearing these players in-person for the first time. Let us know what you think of Nikki's questions for the coaches - she might be able to do it again in the playoffs.Then we do a quick rundown of some other impressive matches from this week. We're so excited to see how the second season in PVF history finishes up!Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

We're back! There was a lot of volleyball to cover over the last 2 weeks. That's overwhelming, so we barely talk about that! Ian tries to keep us on track with his bucket organization system as we discuss the final push for the last playoff spot. Kelly admits to some infidelity and Nikki gets fired up about some jewelry. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Warning to the listeners, Nikki is mad this episode. She's mad at Orlando's staff, she's mad at Vegas's coaches, and she's mad at the PVF transactions rules. She'll be back to her optimistic cheerleading ways next time, maybe.We have a lot of drama to talk through this week, which we DO appreciate the PVF for. We discuss Adora Anae's transfer, her false start for Vegas, and Shime's absence from the transactions page. Then, tea on some speculations and rumors for 2025!Match analysis: once again, Nikki is mad… about Orlando's performance. We chat through Columbus's surprising win against Indy and the crushing performance Grand Rapids handed Vegas.SPRING BREAK next week, so we'll be taking the week off from recording. Pour one out for week 14 - consider this our official moment of silence for Adora's missing jersey number. Catch ya for week 15!Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Surprise! In-season player interview! And a rare video pod for yall! We LOVED getting to chat with Courtney Schwan of the Orlando Valkyries. We start this episode by getting to know her a bit better, and then review ORL's Week 12 match against Indy with her.From there, we discuss the transactions drama (but recorded before the April 1 deadline so… we'll have more thoughts on those final moves for you next week). Then, we get into some match reviews and talk through Atlanta's hot 8-match win streak, what's going on with Grand Rapids hot-and-cold play, and Omaha's wins while back to their OG lineup. We're starting to see some differentiation between the top 4 and bottom 4… but do we have our playoff group yet?Thanks for sticking with us this season! See ya next week!Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Today on Court Captains, Ian teaches all of us a new phrase! Kelly's theory of mid-season transactions from overseas players proves to be correct ahead of the April 1st trade deadline, marking the return of Nootsara Tomkom. We chat about how Tealer continues to be an unstoppable force and we hypothesize if Fury has a fighting chance to move up in the standings. Oh and of course there's the oh so casual topic of pregnancy in professional sports.Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Spoiler: some of us DO think we're journalists!Lots of action in week 10 as Omaha storms back to the top of the table and Orlando's streak is broken by San Diego. Atlanta is having a mid-season power move and Vegas a mid-season crisis. Grand Rapids takes two losses at home, Columbus gets a sweep, and Indy holds on to the 4th spot for now.Kelly and Ian are tested on the actual team court captains of each team in the PVF, and then Nikki does a ~positive~ Dear PVF because we do love the PVF!!!!Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

A lot of chatter chatter in this episode. Nikki loves to love letter in this podcast, so first she begins with a little ode to Kelly being a great volleyball player. Then Ian matches our adult volleyball league commitment with a commitment of his own - reading the many rules pages of his upcoming fantasy baseball league. Wish his team luck!!After Ian's scorner, we do a full meander through the league action from week 9, from Grand Rapids's great week to Atlanta fighting back, with Vegas's inconsistency leading to a bit of a slip n' slide. Don't miss our shares of gossip interspersed throughout the match analysis!Also for the record, Footloose came out in 1984 so that was a joke. Most of these players were not born… and weren't even born for another twenty years. Just Ian showing his old a&& again :) Unless you count the remake?Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

We are just about halfway through PVF season two if you can believe it! We do a little check-in on the commercials (and their soundtracks) that Ian asked so nicely for in his Dear PVF. Per usual we review transactions, Ian's scorner, and week 8 match analysis.We have loved seeing Orlando get to the top, and are starting to see Atlanta get back to their standard form. Vegas is in the midst of a losing streak, Indy is still getting healthy, and Omaha did a sweep/swept combo. Don't miss Nikki's long-winded love profession for Chompoo or Kelly singing that Valkyries song.Time stamps:Start to 8:55 - A Dear PVF topic check-in8:55 to 16:17 - Ian's scorner16:17 to  19:12 - Standings and transactions 19:12 to 43:50 - Match Analysis43:51 to End - Week nine schedule and closingFollow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Reactions to week 7 of the PVF comin' at ya! We review transactions (we're a day behind the live transactions, Mojo basically undid everything they did last week so, sorry about that!), speculating on injuries based on instagram activity, Ian's scorner, and talk through our thoughts from the all-star game. Nikki instructs all her little sisters - um, we mean the players - to not look at social media comments. You're all doing so good! Don't worry!Warning to anybody listening with kids around, maybe especially don't do that this week! Tiger Woods' shenanigans are mentioned. We'll let you be the judge.All-star game thoughts lead to a discussion around “connections” made in practice, and what the “red zone drills” looked like for Nikki & Kelly back in the day. Then we talk about all the other regular season matches from the week - Columbus gets their shit together, Orlando stays strong, Indy tries to figure things out without Lek, and Vegas has a bit of a messy match.Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Today we're talking all about Nikki's valentine's gift mishap – oh and some volleyball, sure. We answer some fan questions, including a lengthy discussion on rotations (who knew it was such a rich subject area?). We also dive into some discussions about team depth, roster management, and how injuries are shaping the playoff race.A highlight of the week was Columbus taking down Vegas in what we thought was going to be another reverse sweep from Vegas, but they just couldn't swing it. We've got another jam packed Thursday schedule this week. Which match up are you most excited for?(PS Kelly is sorry for her crass humor at the beginning, but it just had to be said)Timestamps:0-5:15 - Valentine's gift mishap5:20-17:35 - Listener questions 17:40-21:16 - Injuries and transactions 21:22-27:21 - Scorner27:22-45:50 - Match chat45:55-End - Dear PVF and Wrap upFollow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Did yall see that transactions page drama this week? We chat through that in the context of some official word from the league on the 24-hour practice squad claim period. Spoiler alert, Omaha wants to keep all 3 of their setters! We also do a fun little bit about potential player movement and our thoughts on trades in this league. Nikki thinks there needs to be a fun little trade next month, for the sake of the league. JFYI… she is mostly kidding. Don't come for her. Megan Lush is definitely staying in Columbus.Then we go through week 5 matches and our reactions. We continue to scratch our heads a bit on the two libero situation, but hey, Orlando is thriving, so maybe we're old and out of touch. We're pumped to see CLB get their first win, hoping Atlanta can get it together, and interested to see how Indy can shift for next week.Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at:courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

We're talking Sunday Funday this week! All teams played on Sunday, taking advantage of the no-NFL-Sunday. We had some great sweeps and surprises (Mojo took a set from the Vibe for the first time EVER?!) Some other highlights include Thrill making their way to the top of the standings. Omaha was swept for the first time by Orlando, who put on a great showing all week. Grand Rapids is hitting their stride after some roster changes. We speculate who Columbus will finally win against and Nikki comes at you with a brand new “Dear PVF” hot take.  You don't wanna miss this one, we only used a *few* sports metaphors along the way! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

As Ian so aptly put it, no new professional volleyball leagues were announced this week, so we're back to business as usual recapping the PVF action! We feel Ian's really hitting his stride with Ian's Scorner - what do yall think? Since there were only five matches in week 3, we talk through each one of them. From recounting Indy's first loss in program history to the Mojo, to Rise's major roster changes. From speculating what's happening with Columbus, to reviewing the incredibly tight Vegas/Orlando match. We've got you. We've also officially branded our weekly request to the league. You're gonna like this jingle. We had lots of fun with this one! Thanks for being here :) Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Hey Captains. Business as usual around here. Nothing to see. No Notes app announcements to decipher. All is cool.  No we're kidding. For the first half of this episode, we recount all the drama of the MLV (Major League Volleyball) announcement. It's major - haven't you heard? We give the play-by-play, and all the information that's been shared on the league so far, along with our perspectives, fears, and frankly, brutal mockery, which we do not anticipate will stop at any time. The second half, we talk highlights from PVF week 2 game play. There are a lot of matches to cover, so we might not get to all of them on each episode this season, but we'll always make sure to talk through Ian's Scorner as well as our main takeaways, excitements, and key stats. And to be honest, we'll probably give one main complaint to the league each week too - this week, it's a polite request to make sure the Standings page is accurate :) Thanks PVF, love you! The YouTube chat is kinda toxic lately, huh? Maybe see you there, maybe not. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Captains, hello. PVF is here. Are you not entertained? On the pod this week, we give our thoughts on the league overall so far. From the production and announcers to the starting lineups and team performance analysis of every team, we've got plenty of thoughts on week one. A few highlights: Ian has the vision, with Indy turning it around and finishing off Orlando in their opener. Kelly thinks it's really fun to see all these players in new jerseys! Nikki needs the PVF swirling logo to take less time between the reply and the live feed. See you in the YouTube chat! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Hey Captains! For the first time in PVF history, the second season is about to begin!!! Our season preview is all about the talent! We update you on the latest that's happened with the league since the draft, and then chat through our top two players of each position in the league that you should keep an eye on during opening week. Then we speculate on who's making the big bucks, which rookies we think will be able to make an impact this year, and our biggest question marks for what we're curious to see this season. Finally, we give you our predictions for who will come in at the top of the table this season - but of course, we reserve the right to cheer for every team and support anyone who makes it happen. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Welcome to Court Captains! We're happy you're here. If you've heard about women's pro volleyball in the United States and you want to learn more, you're in the right place. We're here to provide a breakdown of the pro leagues in the US as of the 2025 season. We'll tell you how each league operates, how many teams and players each league has, as well as league roster rules. We share information that we have on salaries, how the season goes in terms of regular play, tournament play, and playoffs - plus, where you can watch these matches. We also go into the founders of each league and the investment/business structure, so you can learn more about how these leagues came about. Who are we and what do we know? Two of us played volleyball in college and one of us is a volley newbie who loves all the sports. Between us, we've been in the volleyball world (playing youth club volleyball, NCAA, coaching club, and playing adult USAV) for over 4 decades. We are a weekly PVF podcast - so we can't say we're completely unbiased, but these are our honest opinions of these leagues after months of research! We hope you'll tune in for our weekly episodes and stay up to date with all the PVF action this season! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

SEASON TWO IS UPON US, CAPTAINS. With the draft coming up on Monday 11/25, we're coming to you with everything we know about the draft rules and what to expect. NCAA athletes do NOT declare for this draft - so anything can happen! We chat through quick reminders on what each team is working with given the summer signing period: total roster numbers, number of returners, PVF transfers, and new faces. Which rosters are we excited about? Concerned about? Intrigued by? Confused by? Then, friend of the pod Jay Markle joins us to talk about college athletes he's been keeping an eye on for this draft! We need him, because fall is our off-season, and we do not watch much college volleyball anymore (Kelly and Nikki are LONG retired, can you blame us?) Thanks so much to Jay for educating us and speculating with us! You can find his substack with draft prospects and player interviews at https://pvfdrafthub.substack.com Get your refresh on current signings via our Watch List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YA5wXBUKuG0nPnBxEJVCX4Y12FXHwIUCOmIhqr49JDs/edit?usp=share_link Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Our fourth and final guest of the 2024 off-season is Morgan Lewis! A southern California native, Morgan started playing volleyball at 9 and dreamed of playing professionally. She played college volleyball as an Oregon Duck, and was happy to be drafted her rookie year by Coach Haneef-Park - to play in her hometown for the San Diego Mojo in the inaugural PVF season. Morgan talks with us about her excitement to play for the Columbus Fury in 2025, what went into her decision to transfer, and tells us about her current hyper fixation meal that proves to us she's ready to feel at home in Ohio. We also chatted with Morgan about her pre-game routines (someone get this girl an Alani deal), her on-court jewelry preferences, and her earliest volleyball memory (it's the cutest story ever). Hope you enjoyed our interview series! Now let's get ready for season two

Our third guest is M'Kaela White of the Orlando Valkyries! Born just outside of Washington DC, M'Kaela started her volleyball journey at the age of 16. Since then, she's filled that journey with both natural talent and plenty of extra hours of hard work - after playing her college career at JMU, she went on to play pro overseas in Finland, Italy, and Romania. We talk about the cultures of those places and what it was like to navigate agents and the pro world. M'Kaela tells us about her first year with the Valkyries, how she got connected to Amy Pauly, and confirmed for us that the vibes of ORL were immaculate - both in team chemistry and in accessibility of quality Puerto Rican food. We loved hearing MK talk about her love of music and clarinet, her family dynamics, and their natural triple threat status! Hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did

And for our second guest: Hannah Maddux of the Vegas Thrill! Hannah hails from San Antonio, Texas, and yes, she has seen Wemby in the flesh. A University of South Alabama Jaguar, we talk with Hannah about her experience getting that “you've been drafted” call upon graduating from a mid-major league school and her rookie season that followed. From playing with Mother to remembering her first ever match in Omaha's crowded-but-not-heckler-filled arena, her experience with the Thrill left her excited to head back to Vegas for the PVF's second season. We loved hearing about her big break into the volleyball announcing world, and of course, her favorite musicals. Keep track of PVF 2025 signings with us on our Google Sheet: PVF '25 Commitments Watch List - by Court Captains Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or a reaction to the signing period? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com Looking to support making volleyball more equitable? Consider donating to Lights Out Volleyball https://www.lightsoutvolleyball.org/

Captains… we're in our interview era. We're so excited to have August Raskie as our first guest! Raskie, a Colorado native, is an Oregon grad and five-year pro who began her PVF career with the San Diego Mojo. We talk about her pro experience so far, her reactions to the inaugural PVF season, and her excitement to join the Grand Rapids Rise next year. August also chatted with us about her life as a lefty and her thoughts on service routines, as well as her life off-court pursuing art, painting, drawing comics, and writing (we love her as the resident PVF Bob Ross). Finally, we ask August about her mantra “Oh to be human” and what being human means to her

Hey Captains, it's nice to see ya again! We had to jump back on the mics to talk through Signing Day / Signing Week / Signing period updates and reactions - our FIRST PVF offseason! Since all players in the league signed on for 1-year contracts in 2024, the signing period is chaos and we're here for it. Happy to see some of these players sign on for bigger salaries in 2025 (of course, we don't know who's being paid what… yet… But we expect a good number of these intraleague transfers are for increased salaries and/or playing time, so get your money, athletes!) We talk through the confusingly disparate marketing tactics for these teams' announcements, as well as PVF's cute little non-announcement announcement that we'll only see 8 teams in 2025, rather than the previously promised 10. Excited for Indy to get going, and hoping for some good news from Dallas and Kansas City for 2026. During this episode we talk about an organization that we love - LOV! You can find more about them to get involved or donate at: lightsoutvolleyball.org Keep track of PVF 2025 signings with us on our Google Sheet, which you cannot edit because you don't have permissions, but if you could, we'd advise that you not edit them on your phones: PVF '25 Commitments Watch List - by Court Captains Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or a reaction to the signing period? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com

Hey, Captains! It's the FINAL week of the FIRST regular season of the PVF. First we talk about what we can expect in the next few weeks in terms of free agency and re-signing timelines. We've also got some other-league tea to spill. Then we do our final match analysis from week 16 - a handful of teams got their full rosters in during their last games, which we love. Finally, we have playoff previews! We talk about our predictions for the semi-final matches, past stats on these teams from their regular season head-to-heads, and what we think each team needs to do to get to the final. Thanks for hanging out with us this season :)   JOIN OUR WATCHALONG! We'll be live-streaming our reactions to the playoffs on our YouTube channel, so join the conversation (new YT chat alert!) at youtube.com/@CourtCaptainsPod Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And, if you prefer to listen to us via YouTube, all our episodes will be uploaded there as well!

Hey, Captains! We're reviewing week 15 (and a teeny bit of week 16) of the PVF. A few updates from the top including our final speculation on VNL departures (we think we're done with those) and injury updates (from what we've heard around the block). Keep your eye out on May 20th for roster announcements from the teams, as that's the day any unsigned 2024 players will become free agents (and we'll likely hear about any resignings). We give our points of view on some listener questions, and then dive into match analysis. This week we had a lot of playoff-implication spice on the court! The 3 and 4 spots have been up for grabs among Columbus, Grand Rapids, and San Diego - we saw some energetic volleyball as teams fought for their ticket to the playoffs. We also saw Atlanta's final regular season match, plus a double header as San Diego stayed in Grand Rapids for the weekend (weird flex PVF schedulers but okay). JOIN OUR WATCHALONG! We'll be live-streaming our reactions to the playoffs on our YouTube channel, so join the conversation (new YT chat alert!) at youtube.com/@CourtCaptainsPod Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And, if you prefer to listen to us via YouTube, all our episodes will be uploaded there as well!

Welcome back! We've got a big episode for the Captains this week. We have many updates on VNL moves and speculations: we talk about potential challenges for PVF teams if players depart for national team duties and who might fill in (one important update since time of recording: we know Morgan Hentz will be present for the remainder of Atlanta's PVF season!).  We also talk through recent transactions these teams are making as last-ditch efforts to furiously push into their playoff mojo, as well as answer some questions from listeners! And of course, recaps for the seven matches from week 14. This week we had strong performances from San Diego, an intense post-match interview from Columbus, and continued dominance from Atlanta. Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! Ian and Kelly are hosting solo this week as we cover week 13 of the PVF. Another seven match week. Atlanta drops a match, but secures their spot in the PVF Championships in May. Thrill, Rise, and Fury each won one and lost one and Mojo barely dropped a tight 5 set match to Omaha.  Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! PVF had six matches in week twelve, so we review transactions made before the trade deadline (spoiler, no trades were made) and get right into match analysis. We continue to see Atlanta crushing, San Diego going up in the standings, plus the fight for 3rd and 4th keeps getting interesting. We also chat through some of our experience at our first in-person PVF match, in Grand Rapids against Vegas this past Saturday. Plus, Nikki characterizes the dynamics of each teams' friendships. Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! This week we're coming at ya with all you wanted to know about the VNL… from people who had never heard of the VNL. We also explain what court captains ARE! Can you believe we've never done that? Our namesake! We can't wait to see you in Grand Rapids! PVF played 5 matches in week eleven. We saw San Diego get some wins and their best attendance turn-out all year against Columbus. Bethania de la Cruz from Orlando received this week's Player of the Week honors. We also discuss the benefits of playing your bench. TL;DR: Give those women some playing time! Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! This week we talk about how you CAN get good sushi in Omaha. Really! REALLY. You have to believe us. We also chat about some disappearing transactions and Nikki's idea to make the schedule less grueling.  PVF played SEVEN matches in week ten. Atlanta almost had all sweeps, Columbus just couldn't get that magic they had last week back, and Omaha got some wins at home. Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! This week we start by talking about the increased player salary details shared by PVF CEO Jen Spicher in a recent match at Vegas. Then we discuss some waiver/practice squad definitions so you can track movements and make sense of the PVF Transactions page. PVF played four matches in week nine. Atlanta's 5-match win streak was snapped by Columbus, along with their “undefeated in 2-point sets” record - but they keep the number 1 spot in the standings! Plus, we got to see a Mojo sweep, and we do love getting out the brooms. Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! We have a BONUS episode for you. Now that we're halfway through the inaugural PVF season, we picked our all-star rosters based on the first 8 weeks of play. Here were our rules: - 14 player roster, just like PVF regulations - “Standard” starting roster, plus one backup for each position - Two wild card spots, can be any position Let us know what you thought of our picks! Comment on our Bonus Episode instagram post @courtcaptainspod with your reactions. Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! Big trade news in the PVF this past week as Tori Stringer of the Atlanta Vibe was traded to the Columbus Fury in exchange for two first-round draft picks. We review how that looks in the context of current trade policies, and discuss some of our theories / implications. Also this week, a big interview dropped with LOVB's Director of Operations, Tom Hogan. Nikki listened to the whole hour so you don't have to, and provides a rundown of the discussion points and new information we have on the second US women's pro volleyball league to come onto the scene in 2024. PVF played three matches in week eight. Atlanta secured its number 1 spot again with a win over Omaha. “The Blue Teams”, Orlando and Omaha faced off resulting in an Omaha win, and finally Vegas overcame Grand Rapids, in a game that gave us our first setter Player of the Week!  Apologies to those who don't like coughing sounds. It only happens in the first 5 seconds of the episode. Enjoy! Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back, Captains! Ever wonder what a PVF travel day looks like? This week we imagine the insane travel weekend Orlando had, on an extremely detailed level. We also politely request that Grand Rapids' and San Diego's bird mascots get together for a little rumble. And: do you know what the Yellow Pages are/were? Ian drops some knowledge. PVF week seven of play brought us five matches, where Atlanta and Omaha stayed on top of the standings, bringing both of their win streaks up to 3. We talk through an impressive Vegas 4-set win over Columbus and a couple 5-set thrillers for Orlando. We're having a great time in this episode, and hope you do too. Into data? We love this stats sheet courtesy of r/pvf! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back! This week on Court Captains we… had sound issues :(  We're accidentally doing a Goldilocks thing with our audio on this episode (Nikki's too loud, Kelly's too quiet, Ian's just right) so bear with us and maybe keep your volume down - we're sorry! We're learning! Week six of PVF action brought us seven matches - at least one from every team in the league. Columbus maintains their win streak with another dub (they've won their last 4) and Atlanta & Omaha reaffirm their top-of-the-standings position. We discuss the more recent presence of short serves in the league, Bolt6's dislike of pancakes, and away Columbus fans at Orlando getting frisky. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back! This week on Court Captains we're chatting about week five of PVF matches. We witnessed our first “swappy” as Nikki has demanded we call them, Mojo picked up their first win (not just any win - a HUGE upset against the #1 team), and Columbus climbed the standings on an impressive 3-0 hot streak. We know you were all eager to hear our takes on the new NCAA double contact rule, so we discuss that along with some *GOSSIP* we gathered from the YouTube live match chat (thank you chat, we love you chat!)  Notable Timestamps 9:07 Omaha at Columbus 15:48 Orlando at Vegas 18:04 Grand Rapids at San Diego 22:44 Columbus at Vegas 26:55 Omaha at Orlando 30:25 Vegas at Columbus Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And as always, look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back! This week on Court Captains we're talking through a very busy week four of PVF action - EVERY team played this week, so we have much to discuss. We talk about some organizational PVF news and then match analysis, including a handful of teams with a bunch of lineup changes, Omaha's win streak, and Grand Rapids taking another match away from Vibe to slide into the number 1 spot in the standings. After match chats, stay with us to hear us talk about middle-of-the-court name games, time-out opinions, and the complexity of pro athletes having full careers outside of volleyball. Notable Timestamps 05:39 Match analysis starts 39:58 Player of the week predictions 41:54 Nikki's takes Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back! This week on Court Captains we're talking about the week three PVF matches - five of the league teams played two matches. And, we got to see Vegas Thrill for their first two matches of the year. We dive right into match analysis, talking through serve efficiency % (thanks PVF for updating your website!), a deep dive on legendary setter Alisha Glass Childress of the Thrill, why a team might switch out their setter, and front row pre-serve lineups. Notable Timestamps 1:51 Match analysis starts 34:40 Player of the week predictions 36:10 Listener Q&A Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back! This week on Court Captains we're talking about the week two PVF matches. We got to check out San Diego Mojo twice, against Atlanta Vibe and Omaha Supernovas. In our Stats Corner this week, we chat through how the teams are measuring serve receive performance as well as what breakpoint means in volleyball terms. We still do not know what serve efficiency % is or how to calculate it, so don't ask us!  Then we discuss the two matches from the week. Nikki establishes herself as a Mojo apologist/hopeful, Ian doubles down as a de la Cruz stan, and Kelly gives her recs on mid-game blocking adjustments. Notable Timestamps Stats Corner: 3:05 PVF Announcements: 14:50 Match Discussions: 19:00 Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome back! For our second episode we're talking about opening Pro Volleyball Federation week observations - we saw two thrillers and a sweep! 5 out of the 7 teams played their first matches this week. First we chat through what we're seeing in these arenas and some of the rules and regulations the league is implementing. We give a breakdown of some common stats you'll want to know, and then talk about each of the three matches that took place during the ~inaugural~ week of the season. And yes, the pun was intended. Timestamps: Volleyball Stats Explanation: 12:14 Match Discussions: 28:00 Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com And look out for us in the PVF YouTube livestream chat!

Welcome to Court Captains: A Volleyball Podcast! For our first episode we're telling you: what is the PVF and who the hell are we? TLDL: the PVF is the Pro Volleyball Federation - a new women's professional volleyball league in the US. With this podcast we are planning to bring you weekly episodes reviewing the action of the PVF. We'll bring our takes (they'll be various temperatures), our opinions (we typically have many), and our feelings (also many). This week we go through some history of women's professional volleyball and how we got here, followed by some detail on how the PVF was created and who's behind it. We'll also do a bit of a preview of the teams and what you can expect! We're so excited for this season! Hope you come along with us. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question? Email us at: courtcaptainspod@gmail.com