The History of Emmaus Volleyball with Neil Pitman

[00:00:09] Speaker A: And welcome back to in the Nest and Emmaus athletics podcast on the campus of Emmaus Bible College. I'm your co host, Matthew Tomlinson, and we're here with a very special guest, coach Neil Pittman. Coach, how are you doing? [00:00:26] Speaker B: I am doing very well. [00:00:28] Speaker A: We really appreciate you being here on the podcast and just talking about your experience as Emmaus, as a student, as a coach, and just the history of Emmaus volleyball, because, man, we had some good years. [00:00:40] Speaker B: Yeah. And I'm really happy to be here, but I'm a little confused because I did think this was a Taylor Swift podcast, so I actually may not be exactly prepared for what you're going to ask me, so apologies. [00:00:53] Speaker A: What's your favorite album? [00:00:54] Speaker B: Oh, it's folklore. Folklore. [00:00:55] Speaker A: Okay, moving on. I'm just kidding. [00:00:58] Speaker B: I mean, how much time do we have? [00:01:02] Speaker A: All the time in the world. [00:01:03] Speaker B: OOH, I like that. [00:01:04] Speaker A: All right, until both our wives are calling saying, where are you guys? Get off the podcast. [00:01:07] Speaker B: Stop talking about volleyball and Taylor Swift together. [00:01:10] Speaker A: But yeah, speaking of volleyball, Coach Pittman, you served as our volleyball coach for eleven years from 2009 to 2012 and then 2015 to 2021. You are an alum of Emmaus. You graduated in 2002 in the computer information systems program. 2018 national Coach of the Year. 134 wins, including that back to back conference champions made it to the Final Four in the National Championship tournament and what was it? 47 and eleven in those two years. [00:01:46] Speaker B: That sounds right, which is awesome, but yeah. [00:01:48] Speaker A: I just want to talk to you about the history of Emeus, your experience here. So let's go back to the very beginning when you were a freshman, before you were a freshman. How did that process come to getting to Emmaus start? [00:02:02] Speaker B: Okay, so my family lived in Canada, which is actually where I learned how to play volleyball. Men's volleyball is pretty big up there. And then my dad got a job at Emmaus in the 90s, so family moved here. And so it was the natural progression of being a faculty kid and being around Emmaus. And after high school, I was like, this is where I want to go. This is what I want to do. So when I came to Dubuque, I played volleyball, club volleyball. So USA Club volleyball, like, a lot of the women play around as a Canadian. As a Canadian, I was like, this is what I'm doing. So, yeah, that's what led me to Emmaus. And then I was here for five years, and like you mentioned, doing the computer program that started during my time here. So it's not that I was a bad student or just really liked to be at Emmaus, which I did, but I changed my major to complete it, so I took that fifth year. [00:02:53] Speaker A: Did we have a club volleyball team at the time? [00:02:55] Speaker B: No, I played some inner murals. Got you. So that's how I got to emaus start. [00:03:01] Speaker A: And then you graduated in 2002 with Computer information systems. [00:03:06] Speaker B: Yes. [00:03:06] Speaker A: And then what got you into volleyball? Coaching volleyball after that. [00:03:11] Speaker B: Right. So when I was at MAS, I played intermurrals. I kept playing in tournaments. Like, I still played in leagues, like indoor league, men's league at Clark College. Did a lot of grass and sand tournaments. So I was actively playing volleyball. But then yeah, so it was my senior year. My mom was actually working at Tri State Christian School. And so then that shout out Huskies. Yes. Shout out. Huskies. So there was a connection there. And then it was a new program there that had been going just for a year. So through my mom, I found out that they had a need for an assistant coach. And it's not something I'd ever thought about doing, but I was like, I'll check it out. [00:03:48] Speaker A: Why not? [00:03:49] Speaker B: Why not? [00:03:50] Speaker A: Little did we know. [00:03:51] Speaker B: Little did we know. So, yeah, I started there the first two years as an assistant coach. And it was really interesting because I was like, this is going to be so easy. I know. Volleyball. I've played a lot of volleyball, and I'm going to go it was assistant coach for high school and head coach for middle school. [00:04:09] Speaker A: Oh boy, girls. [00:04:10] Speaker B: And I was like, yeah, no problem. [00:04:12] Speaker A: Middle school, yeah. Volleyball is a whole nother. [00:04:17] Speaker B: But honestly, I look back at that formative time, it was really great because it really made me be like, hey, I might be a decent volleyball player. How do I teach this? I had no idea. [00:04:28] Speaker A: Right. How do you communicate? How do you coach? Well and understanding to trial by fire, for sure. [00:04:35] Speaker B: So two years as assistant and then the rest of the time, whatever it was, maybe five more years. I'm really bad at math, I'm sorry. [00:04:40] Speaker A: 1St 1001-1001. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Up until 2008 as head coach at Tristate. And that was really fun. Great experience there. [00:04:54] Speaker A: And then so 2008 you were still coaching at Tristate. And then 2009 is when Emmaus decided to start an intercollegiate women's volleyball team, which was obviously our first year ever. Did they approach you, say, hey, we want to start this, will you coach? Or was it like, hey, if we start this, will you coach? How did that kind of go along that got you on board to starting your Emmaus Again journey? [00:05:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. So a couple of things. My good buddy Juice, Justin Smith, was athletic director, I think in alumni relations. Kind of hybrid, hybrid role. [00:05:31] Speaker A: He did everything at the time. He had like 47 hats that he had on. [00:05:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So he'd been in contact with me, not to recruit me, but just like when club volleyball was going on, which I believe was two years maybe of when they were playing against other intercollegiate programs, he just kind of let me know, like, hey, we're doing this, I should check this out. But actually I was thinking about it today, and the actual, real spark of it was I was eating Chinese food with my wife, I think, at that great Dragon, that place by Target. [00:06:01] Speaker A: Still there? [00:06:02] Speaker B: Yeah, still there. Haven't been in years. I don't know what it's like. We were there, and I remember Tim Iverson came in, and he came over to me. He's like, hey, you still coaching at Tri State? And I'm like, yeah. He's like, ever think about moving over to intercollegiate volleyball? And I was like, Wait, what? So that was the first time I'd heard about it, so you can really he was the very first one. But then obviously I'd been talking to then it was a good transition because my wife was teaching at Tri State at the time, but we were about to have our first baby, and so then she was going to be done teaching there. So that connection, the perfect transition, that connection point was done. It was the question of, like, do I continue on at Tri State without Beth being there? Because she actually served as my assistant coach for the last two years that. [00:06:45] Speaker A: I was there, which was pretty fun, isn't it? [00:06:48] Speaker B: It was awesome. But she will admit she is not an athlete, not a volleyball player, but she loved mentoring the girls and doing all that stuff. So anyway, so then we were, well, you know, maybe this is like an open door. And it was a pretty soft start, like, not a big schedule, not a lot of travel. And I was like, hey, having a new baby. Maybe this will work. Yeah. So then I met with Juice, and I believe John Glock at the time, and then the rest is history. The rest is history. [00:07:19] Speaker A: How would you say what was your mindset or how would you go into with the mindset of, like, okay, we are starting this program from the bottom. We're building it from the ground up. Do you just go in there, like first year, like, okay, we'll see what we have. We'll go into that and then kind of build off of that? Or how would you say your mindset was going into that? Because clearly it worked out in the end. [00:07:45] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, going into it, I don't recommend anybody do mean here's what I'll say over all of, like, my experience at Emmaus was phenomenal. And even that time, it was phenomenal. It was just really hard. [00:07:58] Speaker A: Right? [00:07:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And it probably would have been a different landscape if you were, like, thinking about starting a new program today when you're already established you're part of the NCCAA, you're part of a conference, you kind of have all that down. Whereas in 2009, I got hired in July. [00:08:12] Speaker A: We have games in a month. Right. [00:08:15] Speaker B: And basically they had some remnants from the club team that were going to be back, and then basically whoever else that was going to walk through the door. But to your question, my mentality in that first season was like, okay, let's just establish what this is. And that was very challenging to think about doing. It's scary to do, right? Yeah. You put yourself out there, but also super fun and rewarding because it was basically like, well, blank slate, right? Yeah, you can do whatever you want with this. Within reason. I think that first season was kind of just like, okay, what is it like coaching here? How do we put it together? What is the competition like? [00:09:08] Speaker A: Right, because you go from two years of club where it's like more, we have fun, it's higher inner murals, to full on competitive intercollegiate. [00:09:19] Speaker B: But I mean, Juice had sent me some videos of highlights of the club team and I'm like, oh, I can work with it. And I was like, okay, there is something here, right. It's not a complete unknown. So it's like we had okay, we had pieces to up, some pieces. I know we're going to talk a little bit about some players, but at the time, like a Christie Steinhouse bracelet, like Hannah Denny, Sarah Lepisto, those players were here and it was like, okay, we can do something, we can do something with this. So that first season, yeah, I think we played like eleven matches. We ended up four and seven, which, I mean, man, in the first year. [00:09:50] Speaker A: Of a team, we won some matches, was huge. Right? [00:09:53] Speaker B: And I think my favorite from that season would have been the very first game, like the very first intercollegiate volleyball game. Adam Aus was at home versus Calvary. [00:10:00] Speaker A: Oh, that's fun. [00:10:01] Speaker B: And you can imagine what the atmosphere is like because this is like, this is all new and nothing against soccer. Soccer was started that year too. Super exciting. But club soccer had been going for so long. People were used to going to soccer games and so volleyball, even when they had the club volleyball at home, was exciting, but this was like, whoa, this is a big deal. So anyway, we won the very first set against Calvary, set the program the right direction. I think it was like 26 24. It was close. I mean, we lost the rest of the match, but just that initial feeling. And I think that season we were. [00:10:32] Speaker A: Like, okay, so that would probably feel a little embarrassing, losing the first set to a brand new team, maybe, I don't know. [00:10:40] Speaker B: We love Calvary, so I think they. [00:10:42] Speaker A: Were probably okay with probably fine. 2009 2012 was your first stint coaching. Yes. And then obviously you took a break. [00:10:53] Speaker B: Yes. [00:10:53] Speaker A: And you came back and you said, I'm going to build this up again. Would your mindset different the second time around or how would you say yes? [00:11:03] Speaker B: So just to back up a little bit. So then I went through 2010 1112 and I think we made some good progress there. I think we ended that time with a winning record, which, I mean, I don't know how we did that, right? But throughout that time, it was still an uphill battle, and not to anybody's fault, Adamaus or anything. Just like, the landscape of what sports were like during that time, it was different than it is now. So understand, recruiting wasn't a thing when I first said you literally walk around. [00:11:38] Speaker A: During freshman orientation, hey, you look athletic. Want to play? [00:11:42] Speaker B: So when I wanted to do that, starting in 2010, I got a lot of like, coach, what are you doing? What does this even mean? [00:11:50] Speaker A: Coach, you tripping. [00:11:51] Speaker B: We don't have scholarships. What, are you recruiting them? How are you going to recruit them? So that was kind of like a shift. So then going through those first four years, we were able to recruit some players. We have some continued successes. And then I decided to take the break because I felt like where things were at and what I was doing in my family life, personal life, I was like, okay, I need to step away from this for a while. Nothing bad, no conflict or anything with Emmaus, like, all good there. Just personally, I was like, okay, I kind of have reached the end of this phase. [00:12:27] Speaker A: Reset. Reset. [00:12:30] Speaker B: So then you asked about my mindset coming back, so I took the two years off, and when there was an opening in 2015, honestly, I like this story because Emmaus actually reached out to me a couple of times, and I didn't even have the conversation with him. I just flat out told them that that's what I did. [00:12:55] Speaker A: Third time's a charm. [00:12:56] Speaker B: Well, I mean, just because I was like, nope, this store is closing my life like this. And then it was actually the last time John Glock reached out to me and was just like, can we have a phone call? And I remember talking about my wife about it, and she was know, I can remember sitting there, and she was like, I think that maybe God is knocking at your door here. And you're just, like, slamming it. You're just like, no, I'm not even going to open it. And she's like, you should pray about this. You should meet with him. You should do that. So she was very supportive in that way to be like, hey, don't be stubborn about this just because you said no. [00:13:36] Speaker A: Praise the Lord, you did that. [00:13:37] Speaker B: The rest is history. Yes, we ended up meeting. We had a great conversation, but my mindset was a bit different because in that transition time, when I was gone, we had joined the MCCC. So that was a component that was important because that is something that I had kind of wanted before that. So basically coming back into it, I was like, okay, I have unfinished business here. And I was like, okay, when I come back and do this, within four years, I want to win the conference championship for MCC, and I want to also make a real push to the best that I could for Emmaus to leave the ACCA and join the another that was another important check, which we. [00:14:17] Speaker A: Did two years later. [00:14:19] Speaker B: So, yeah, I think I had a lot better handle on things. Spending some time away from things sometimes helps you kind of have that clarity. And I came back and I was like, okay, now I can have I want to do. Before, I was like, let's do this to the best we can. It was still great. Now I came back and was like, let's have some definable goals, and how are we going to do this? And obviously, that was into the Coach Gras era. So on the recruiting side, we really kind of stepped those components up. [00:14:48] Speaker A: We hit a totally another gear with that era of recruiting. And even, like, you look at all the banners in the gym before 2014, and there's nothing, right? And then 14 hits, and then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. [00:14:59] Speaker B: Right? So I had experienced recruiting before in the first iteration, but really with Coach Gras partner, and if you know Coach Grah at all, just, like, his personality and the way that he conducts himself, and he's just a grinder. And us two together, we were like, let's go, volleyball. [00:15:16] Speaker A: Let's go. [00:15:18] Speaker B: So I really wanted us yeah, I wanted to hold on to the same principles and the same way we conducted ourself in the Emmaus athletic way. I don't want to give that up at all, but I was like, we can push this to be more competitive than it even was, and, let's go. Let's do it. [00:15:32] Speaker A: And boy, was I always joked that because I was the class right before we started fully recruiting for basketball, I'm like, if I was in that position now, I would not be recruited. [00:15:46] Speaker B: But yeah, it would have been a mayor. [00:15:47] Speaker A: It would have made you right. [00:15:48] Speaker B: No. Yeah. [00:15:48] Speaker A: So coming back 14 or 1516. [00:15:55] Speaker B: That. [00:15:55] Speaker A: Was like the foundation was set those first four years, and then you came back and then, man, those first couple of years, things really started to get going, and then all of a sudden, 1718. Oh, my goodness. Kind of let's walk. Let's talk about those years of wow. [00:16:14] Speaker B: Yeah. So, yeah, like you said, 15 laid the foundation, ended up at 500 record, but really could see, hey, some of the components are here, and a young team working on the gelling, but okay, again, seeing what is the competition doing? Where do we need to get to? And a core group of those those freshmen and sophomore players were really dedicated to they finished that season. It was hard, but they finished it. And we're like, okay, we see that. We can do this. [00:16:48] Speaker A: We can do something. [00:16:49] Speaker B: So 2016, we kind of continued that. Had a few more components, but lost a few. So it was a smaller roster, but continued to make strides there, especially in the conference. And that was the year we made it all the way to the conference final and still think about that game from time to time. Played Ozark, who was an upset in the other side of the bracket, and we ended up losing to them in five sets. 1614 in the fifth. Heartbreaking. But I think I said this to you earlier, that loss, I think anybody who was on that team can remember it so well, and it was such a hard thing to do. We weren't even supposed to be there. And then we should have been happy, but then we lost and it was so tight. But I think that moment was really like a turning point. [00:17:45] Speaker A: That was a pivotal point in the program. [00:17:47] Speaker B: In the program, yeah. Because we had the athletes that had the drive and the desire to be successful, and they realized, like, okay, we got a little taste of this. It's time to go next. So that was the last year in the ACCA. We did the ACCA tournament. We ended up well there. I think we did third place that year after that conference loss. And then that was the transition year into the like, boy, we took that. [00:18:14] Speaker A: By storm that first year. [00:18:15] Speaker B: Yeah, we really did. And so going with that mindset, we really recruited. We had some great additions to the team, and I was expecting us to do well. I was a little bit like, okay, NCCAA, it's going to be a bumpy ride. A little bit. Did not turn out that way, I can't see. Yeah. 2017, I think, exceeded my expectation, but everybody's expectation, team expectation, fans expectations, school expectations. It was almost like we didn't know what to do with it. [00:18:52] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like, what in the world's going on? I think we talked earlier that year. We started the season ten and yeah. [00:19:02] Speaker B: Ten and O, but also 30 and. [00:19:03] Speaker A: O in 30 and O in sets. [00:19:05] Speaker B: Which is I still can't understand. [00:19:08] Speaker A: Crazy. [00:19:08] Speaker B: Right? And so it was one of those things where, honestly, I think at that point, we finally lost that 11th match. And I was like, thank you. Yeah, because it was almost like we didn't know what to do with it. And we weren't having a lot of adversity. We were winning pretty handily. Teams would push us a little bit, but if you're winning 30 all the time, you're in control time. [00:19:35] Speaker A: Early in that season, some of those sets weren't even close. It wasn't like 25 20. I mean, it was like 25 ten. [00:19:41] Speaker B: Yeah, but I mean, you know, as a coach, great teams are born out of Adversity. And I was like, oh, man, we. [00:19:48] Speaker A: Really haven't when are we going to hit that? [00:19:50] Speaker B: We really haven't. We haven't really had a lot of that. So how's this going to play out long term? But we just kept cruising throughout the year, and I think we still were playing pretty free because we didn't have the expectations. It's not like, oh, we were the ten time regional champions, we need to get it again. But I think going towards the postseason that year, we started to feel it because it's one of those things when you're successful, everybody starts talking at you. [00:20:17] Speaker A: And they're like, hey, that target on you grows big. [00:20:19] Speaker B: Yeah. They're like, hey, you could probably win the conference, and hey, you could go to nationals. I was very big on like, I don't want to think about that. I don't want to talk about that. I was like, I want my next game. And that's like, what we really had to focus in on that, because if you start focusing in on all of these externals and especially what people are telling you, that's a dangerous place for a team to be, I think, because then you get it in your head like, oh, we're going to all this team. [00:20:47] Speaker A: You have to keep every game has to equal the same, otherwise a team that shouldn't win will beat you or you won't play as well. [00:20:56] Speaker B: Yeah, and we started talking about it like, next game mentality, but also that was the year we started talking about next ball mentality. And one of the phrases I like to use as a coach a lot was playing outside the scoreboard. And that's a hard thing to do when you're just playing the way you should, and you're not because you'd see it from time to time when players would would be playing and depending on the gym, they'd be like, turn around. Like looking at the score. Like, looking at the score like, oh, I messed up. No, what's the score now? And it's like, if you can get. [00:21:22] Speaker A: A coach look at the score right. [00:21:25] Speaker B: Whether you're winning or losing, if you could get to that same place where you're just executing and not worrying about that. And I know, like, okay, obviously it's always in our head what the score is, right? But that's like, just conceptually. That's what we just had to start talking about. Even as being a team that was doing very, very well, it still worked the same as if you were a team that was not doing well. You still have that same kind of focus. Anyway, 2017, we won the conference tournament at home, undefeated, which was a very sweet moment, and that was one of our goals for the season. We're like, we're going to win the conference tournament this year. So to do it in our gym, that was the best, that was special. [00:22:05] Speaker A: That winning 2017, going in 2018, as a coach, how is your mindset like, okay, we just came off winning conference. [00:22:15] Speaker B: Went to the national went to the. [00:22:16] Speaker A: National tournament at large bid. At large bid, which in the first year, coming back in the NCCAA, that is crazy. [00:22:23] Speaker B: Crazy beyond our wildest dreams. Honestly, we were just so grateful. And at that point, we were like, this is like a no pressure. We were number eight seed. We were like, we're going to go and celebrate our season. That's all we're going to do. [00:22:35] Speaker A: And that's when it was still in Bob bob Jones there. How fun going into 2018 season with all the lights, all the success, how did you prep for that year with the team of, like, okay, we've tasted success. We've been there. We've been at the highest level. Now, how can we get better or continue that success without having, as people say, the championship or the success hangover of where you do so well and all of a sudden you struggle, like kind of we did in basketball last year. [00:23:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a difficult I'll tell you, it's a very difficult place to be. That year of coaching was the year I felt the most pressure on myself, bar none. And I mean, that's self imposed. That wasn't from anybody else, because fans or players, parents, they're celebrating the success, and they want more of it, and that's what they should be doing. But as a coach, you internalize that a little bit, a lot, everything. So what my mindset was, is that I was like I knew that was going to be the case. And I knew with our recruits and players stepping up into new roles, that our team would be good, but we might not actually be as strong. We lost Wynn Vandersaw, who was like a crazy outside hitter, which she was terminating almost every ball we needed her to. And we she was very good. We'll talk more about. So I was like, we're going to have to strategize differently, but we're still going to go for it. We're going for it. And so it was a lot of of, honestly, that year, I can think I leaned on people more than I had, and probably what I should have been doing the whole time. I could remember meeting with Coach Brown, Ben Brown, and we would go out for breakfast to a Sunshine family restaurant. It'd be like 06:00 a.m.. We'd go there for breakfast and just talk and talk through all these things and just, man, there was times where I was like, this is a lot of pressure. [00:24:35] Speaker A: And having that weight on your shoulders, too, of like, that's a lot. [00:24:39] Speaker B: Yeah. Through 2018, what did we start at that year? We did another crazy run, 16. [00:24:45] Speaker A: And we started that year 16. [00:24:47] Speaker B: And so we didn't lose till mid October. I mean, we were ranked number one. [00:24:52] Speaker A: Yeah, we started the season ranked number one. I think that was the year we lost, what, five games, I think, that year. [00:24:56] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:57] Speaker A: And it was two NAIA teams and teams. [00:25:03] Speaker B: It'S great. Don't get me wrong. Being nationally ranked in any measure, like the team this year, that's awesome. That's a great celebration of your success. Right. But when you are hearing about it all the time, it's like, you got to be careful of that and you got to take it the right way. So, yeah, I was really proud of that team because I think how they played throughout the season, they necessarily weren't the best players, but they definitely were one of the best teams in the NCCAA because we really had players step into roles and all of a sudden it's like everything just gelled and everybody flourished. And we were like, this is awesome. Yeah. And that was the first year with Coach Richter, too, coach Hannah. [00:25:52] Speaker A: And that was the year that we made to the Final Four. That year before no, that was that year, right? [00:25:58] Speaker B: Yeah. We were able to repeat in the MCC undefeated again. We won that. And that Nationals thing was still just hanging over our heads. Honestly, I remember Coach Hannah after we won the championship, we were at Ozark and we played Manhattan and we beat them to win the conference. And she was like, Coach, it's okay for you to be happy and celebrate. And I'm like, honestly, Hannah, I'm so sorry. I'm thinking about the next and like, that's where we were kind of like it was still this like, okay, but regionals is coming. We were able to make it to the Regional Final and just that nemesis of Marinette. [00:26:44] Speaker A: I think we lost in five sets. The three they swapped that's right. [00:26:49] Speaker B: Yeah. But then we got the deservedly so because they were the better team and they played the better match. And we were very optimistic. We're like, we can beat them. We had beaten them for the first time that season at their place, and then they beat us at our place. And so this was the third meetup in the Regional Finals and 30 swap. [00:27:07] Speaker A: Little note did we know we'd play them a fourth time at Nationals, but yeah, so we got the automatic bid. That was the year that you won Coach of the Year. And Hannah Postmo won NCCAA Player of the Year for volleyball. [00:27:20] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a huge honor for her. And she absolutely deserved it. I mean, I don't know, because when they select those players, I was part of the All American Committee that year, and they're like, pretty much every year Player of the Year goes to a secret ballot, so everybody in there voted for her. So I don't know what the final was, but it was very clear, hands down, she absolutely deserved to be Player of the Year that year. It was basically the culmination of like, four years of what she had done of straight excellence. [00:27:50] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Then that was Paige Sweeney's freshman year, and she was first team All American, which that was her sophomore year. She was both all American. Both years. And how often does that happen? [00:28:02] Speaker B: I don't think she was 20. Or is it just her first? [00:28:04] Speaker A: Look at that. [00:28:05] Speaker B: I'm. Pretty sure it's very rare for a freshman to get All American, which is crazy. I'm pretty sure she would have deserved it based on what she did, but she definitely did get it that 2nd, 2018. [00:28:16] Speaker A: And I think that was the year that you led the nation by a landslide in aces. [00:28:21] Speaker B: Yeah. So interesting. Yeah. Going back to saying, how did you prepare? So basically we knew we had a core of players that could execute pretty well. And so really, we changed our strategy on some things because we're like, these are the players we have. We're not going to be able to play like we did last year. And so part of the strategy, I actually went to a coaching clinic in Omaha in the spring that year. And one of the presenters, this was like art of coaching volleyball. So very high level college coaches, d one coaches, and one of them did a presentation, like a 40 minutes presentation on serving. And I was like, because to a lot of fans, you may be frustrated when players miss serves. It's like we just gave up a point, which is true. So there's different strategies in volleyball as far as serving. You could go for like high percentage, never mess up, but then you give the team an easy ball to put back at you. Right. But then you don't give up a point if you miss. Or you can go kind of middle of the road, like aggressive, get them out of system. Or you can go the other extreme and be like, just burn it. And we're going to get as many aces and out of system plays as we can. We're going to miss a lot of serves, and we got to be okay with that. That's where we went in 2018 because we had personnel that could serve really well. Like, Paulina Valdorain was an amazing server, and we'll talk more about her later, too. So it was like a strategy shift. We started spending a lot of time in practice on serving. We would watch film of other teams and be like, how can we pick them apart from the service line? And so that probably was a game changer for us throughout the season. Obviously, we still had to execute everything else, pass the ball well, hit the ball in, all of that stuff. But yeah, there's a very famous volleyball coach, Russ Rose, who coached at Penn State for 45 years or something like that. And that was one of the things that he had said at the clinic that took away was, coach the team you have and play to your strengths. Don't coach the team that you wish you had, or the player you wish you had, or the player that got away. Coach the team you have, play to your strengths, minimize your weaknesses. And I was like, that is great advice. Let's do that. [00:30:40] Speaker A: I'm going to take that and run with it. I think a lot of times, being an assistant coach, sometimes that is your mindset of like, okay, this is what I want this team to be, or this is what I want us to do. And it's like, no, do what you have to your strengths and figure out what that is and then run with it. [00:30:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And in volleyball, I've seen it a lot, and I was guilty of it too, where a lot of coaches are married to their system. They're like, this is the system I want to run. [00:31:07] Speaker A: We're never changing it, or they'll do. [00:31:10] Speaker B: Variations within it, but this is the way we think is the best way to do it. But it's like, I had to really turn the corner on that. My earliers at Emmaus, I was like, I don't have the players that can execute this. I'm going to have to simplify something. And even if it's not my preference, we're going to try it this way. A lot of coaching and volleyball at the D two level for NCCAA is like, a lot of ball control. Like, teams that control the ball well. [00:31:33] Speaker A: They can pass it, control the ball. [00:31:35] Speaker B: Well in all aspects. Those are the teams, like, probably if you were able to crunch the numbers exactly, you would see the trend. Like, those are the teams that win the most. So teams that can serve the ball in, hit the ball in, pass the ball to the Sutter, like, all of those things control all the way. It's not the defining thing, but it's one of the big ones. [00:31:55] Speaker A: All those really add up, for sure, right? [00:31:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:59] Speaker A: So 2018 team, what a year that they had. And then you had 2019. Obviously, we didn't play 2020 because of COVID And then you're finally your 2021, that 2018 team. We graduated a lot of talent. So how would you say, like, coming off of that championship run, those fabulous seniors going into 19, then 2021 was it, I'm sure. [00:32:30] Speaker B: Well, yeah, because that 2018 team was awesome. But also keep in mind it was the culmination of all those years of work, of starting back in 15 and being like, this is kind of like our goal. Right? And then those players, it was their culmination of all of that. So it was just like a super emotional time. And we were down there in South Carolina so tired. We'd left everything on the court the season's long. We drive there, it's already snowing. We're like, what is going yeah, talk about coming back to that. We knew it was going to be different. We're like, okay, we have some remnants of that team here, but we've lost so many through graduation, or just moved on from Emmaus for the right reasons. And so I'd say, yeah, it was pretty tough. But we had tempered our expectations, and it was kind of nice because I think that year we did better than we should have. I think we ended up at 512. [00:33:33] Speaker A: And twelve that year. [00:33:33] Speaker B: Okay. But we also finished second in conference and made it to the conference tournament championship, which we, on paper, we shouldn't have been. And I think Coach Hannah and I talked, we were like that year, we had a lot of reverse intimidation of opponents where they'd be like, all right, we're in trouble, Emmaus, we should be able to beat them. And then we would end up just end up winning. But, I mean, a testament to the players that they realized things were different. The players that were returning, a lot of them got slotted in different roles. A lot of players started. For the first time, we had new players. And so, yeah, it was really supposed to be like, okay, this is going to be like a slight reset rebuild into 2020, and especially losing a four. [00:34:23] Speaker A: Year setter, who's probably the greatest volleyball player of all time. Here a setter alone. That's the quarterback out there. That's just totally different. [00:34:33] Speaker B: Right? [00:34:34] Speaker A: So, yeah, that's big difference. But I mean, thankful for those years that we had. Let's talk a little bit about Coach Hannah and Coach Megan, since you were able to coach with Coach Hannah. She was your assistant coach for four years, three seasons. Talk a little about the experience you had with her and what you see that she's been able to do. Well now as the head coach here. [00:34:56] Speaker B: Yeah. So Coach Hannah, let me back up a little bit. So in 2017, I had promoted a manager, Abby Hoyt, to be assistant coach. Okay. That was 2017. And then she had gotten a teaching job, so she wasn't going to be back for 2018. And so then I was like, okay, we're going into this. We won the conference, we went to nationals. I'm going to need an assistant. I can't run this on my own. You need somebody who's going to be able to come alongside these players and help mentor them to get back to where we want to be. And so going down the list, thinking, scratching my head, like, who can it be? Asking for referrals, like, founding nothing. And finally, so Beth, my wife, and I were talking one weekend. We're like, okay, we're going to pray this weekend specifically that the Lord would bring an assistant coach that we need. Or if not, if the answer is no, then I was like, I'm just going to do it myself. That was so we prayed that weekend and got a text from a very good friend and said, hey, are you still looking for an assistant volleyball coach? Hannah Richter just moved back into town. You should talk to her. It's. Like what? [00:36:16] Speaker A: The Lord answers prayers. [00:36:18] Speaker B: True story. So Hannah and I end up meeting and you can ask her side of it. I think she probably met with me, like, as a courtesy. She was looking for other volleyball. She was looking for other coaching know, I think she had talked to Senior and maybe Clark elsewhere, I don't know. But yeah. So we ended up meeting at Caribou Coffee and we just had a great conversation. We ended up really clicking. And it just happened that she's like, yeah, I want to do this. Let's do this. And so having her that year in 2018, honestly, was probably behind the scenes. But a huge reason that team was so successful, because she was able to come in, bring a wealth of knowledge, coaching experience and be a mentor to the girls and also be different than me and someone also who was not afraid to be like Coach, that is a bad idea. And that's what you need. That's what you need in an assistant coach, to be like, hey, have you really thought this through? Because I'm thinking this and that iron, sharpens iron thing so important. So I can't say enough. What a difference she made in the program. Even just that first year, coming in with a new baby and just a change in life, moving back to Dubuque and all of that, man, what a wonderful thing that was. And then continuing on through 2019 and coaching with her in 2021, same thing. We worked really well together. So when I thought about leaving, that was such a hard thing to think about because I had such loyalty to Coach Hannah. I was like, this is going to be hard to be like, hey, I'm sorry, I need to step away. But I have to say just how incredible, so proud of her. If there was anyone that I would want to be leading the program, there is no one else. No one else at all. I think that she has such a great mind for the game. She understands it. She's intuitive in a lot of ways. She sees things in players and she sees things in the team very well. But she's also purposed to make from day one, she's purpose to make an investment in the lives of players. And that's what you really need. That breeds success. Yes, but more importantly, that is the reason to be a coach, right? And so I think she is 100% on board with that and realizes what a position to be in where I can have this mentoring relationship with these ladies at this time of their life. Adamaeus that I can impact them for Christ and be a leader in that and also have a great time with them and coach them volleyball and have them learn things and maybe win some games and be successful. So I think that she's done last year, I'm sure was really difficult. Right? It's hard. It's hard to be the new head coach and to not have your own process for recruiting and you're kind of out of your element. And she did a great job with what she had. [00:39:37] Speaker A: But see where we're at now, like, oh, my goodness. The jump between last year and this year. Wow. Right? [00:39:44] Speaker B: And so there is no doubt in my mind she is such a capable coach, and she's going to continue to do great things. And I'm saying it right now, she should be regional Coach of the Year. Absolutely. And if she's not, that's a shame. [00:39:58] Speaker A: You heard it first from Coach Pittman. [00:40:01] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm super proud of her. Yeah. [00:40:06] Speaker A: We're so thankful for what you were able to teach her when you were coaching here and then having her take over. And just the position that we're in with volleyball, it's going up. We're so excited. Not even just volleyball, but soccer, cross country, basketball, mass athletics has really taken huge steps. Even the last couple of years, even since I played, since you coached, man, there's just so many exciting things going on, looking ahead. [00:40:34] Speaker B: Can I just talk about Coach Megan, too? Yes. [00:40:37] Speaker A: Talk about Coach Megan. [00:40:38] Speaker B: Okay. So I'm just so grateful to see them as partners because I think they bring different things to the know. Coach Hannah is like, oh, Coach Megan's able to take care of a lot of my administrative stuff, which sounds like a small like as a coach, there is a lot of things that need to be done. And to have someone be like, hey, I'm going to take that off your plate. That's amazing. [00:40:58] Speaker A: I'm going to order food, I'm going. [00:40:59] Speaker B: To book hotels, I'm going to do expenses, whatever. But Megan served as manager for two years and then ended up playing in 2019. [00:41:10] Speaker A: She really has every experience that you could have on a team. [00:41:13] Speaker B: But I think for someone like her to be a manager and then move and come back and play, that's tough enough as it is. That was a brave thing for her to, you know but I think that maybe hopefully that season gave her a lot of experience that she took, know, to being back on the floor and then taking that into the coaching role. But what I will say is, know someone like Meg that served as a that's a pretty low job. Know, being part of the team is, hey, can you I know we just traveled, and I know it's midnight. Can you make sure all the laundry. [00:41:49] Speaker A: Gets done and change it and switch it? [00:41:52] Speaker B: But somebody needs to do that. And somebody who serves like that and is already from 2017, it's like giving themselves the service of the team. Of course she should be the assistant coach. It makes perfect sense. So I love to see them working. [00:42:06] Speaker A: Together, and it's so fun to see them interact and just how they work so well together. They really do love that they have to support each other. And just for the game and for these girls, it's really cool to see. [00:42:19] Speaker B: Yeah, it's really cool. And I'm only seeing it from the outside, you know what I mean? But I've talked to coach Hannah, and they're just a great team together. [00:42:27] Speaker A: They really are. Like we said, we're really excited for it. [00:42:30] Speaker B: Yeah, it's awesome. [00:42:31] Speaker A: But yeah, speaking of players. [00:42:35] Speaker B: With our. [00:42:36] Speaker A: 15 year history of the program, 14 seasons, there's been a lot of really talented players, popular, you wouldn't think like 15 years. That's not a lot of time for a program to really grow and develop. But Nationals, two of those years, there have been some talented, talented girls, for sure, young ladies, women that have come and played it for our program. And we want to talk about a couple of them, a few of them, and just the impact that they had on our program, on the school, and just recognize them because okay, yeah. So what do you want to talk about, Coach? [00:43:12] Speaker B: Okay, well, I know this week we looked at all time statistics and got them, pulled them up, and she gave me this, and I was like, I can't even see that. But I got to preface this by like, I can't talk about this in the context of these are the best players or my favorite players, because really we could talk about it as far as statistically objectively, this is the impact they made. And I'm happy to talk about that, but what I told you earlier was, like, to be a successful team, you have so many of these role players that might show up in the middle of this stat sheet that were just as important as these other players to accomplish these things. [00:43:52] Speaker A: Right. [00:43:52] Speaker B: So I don't want to take any of that away from them. And, yeah, I think that volleyball is such a team sport that we're going to talk about these players as individuals, but really, they were products of the teams that were built around them. [00:44:09] Speaker A: Right. [00:44:09] Speaker B: So please understand that, as I say that I was like, I could never. [00:44:13] Speaker A: Pick who need to talk about pretty. [00:44:15] Speaker B: Much any starting lineup in the history of Emmaus volleyball. I would say, yes, girls, let's go. We're going into battle together. And I would be fine with it. There you go. All right, just start with who you have highlighted for pin players. So outsides or outsides? Let's talk about Paulina. Paulina Valdorain. So 2018, she came in, and it was actually a good time for her to come because we had that big hole when Wynn left, which we'll talk about her next, probably, but Paulina was just a beast from day one. Very bright, loud personality, huge personality, where was know. But it was great because volleyball teams need that, and she really added that. So when Paulina first came, just, I'm going to go through these quickly. So I could probably tell many, many stories about her and all the others. But when Paulina first came in, I had her on right side because I just wasn't sure she could bomb the ball, but I wasn't sure about her consistency. So I was like, I'm not sure we're going to start on right side because it's less swings. Let's see how she does. And then she had this huge jump serve, just like scary a bomb. But it was the same thing. I was a very conservative coach. I was like, okay, I want to make sure I stayed in my lane. You wouldn't categorize me as a reckless coach at all. So I was like, Paulina, you got to stop that. I don't trust you to do it. Even with our serving mentality that we're having, I'm like, I just don't think so. She had to convince me. She was like, look, coach, in her way. Come on, coach, in the Paulina way. In the Paulina way. Come on, coach, you got to let me do it. And I mean, she did miss a lot of serves, but in our strategy of what we were doing that year, I think I don't know what the spread was in the NCCA, but she by far was number one. [00:46:11] Speaker A: I mean, I think I remember there was one game where she had like ten aces in a row and it was like, yeah. [00:46:16] Speaker B: I mean, teams would be afraid of her and even if she didn't get the ace, it was hard for them to make the pass. And you could see when she went back and if she missed her first one, the other team being like, we lucked out. Yeah, great player. And if you look at her statistically, probably across the board in that 2018 year where there was a lot of tough matches, even go to the national tournament and see what she did statistically in those matches, she was lights out. She was in that one position where we'd give her the ball a lot. And her and Hannah Postma worked well together and she would take care of a lot of stuff. [00:46:51] Speaker A: And even in like, two years, she's the second leading kills leader in emaus, which is awesome. Crazy. Two years, Paulina. And then there was obviously Allie hertz. So one of our four year players from that 15 to 18 team. [00:47:12] Speaker B: All time leader in kills. [00:47:13] Speaker A: All time leader in kills, which is awesome. [00:47:15] Speaker B: Yes. And Allie was instrumental in building those teams. And she really had a lot of growth in her career and moved around to actually hit right side her senior year, which was what we needed her to do. We swapped with Paulina and she was able to say, yeah, whatever's best for the team, let's do know. She struggled throughout the years with shoulder, a lot of pain and injuries. She fought through just yeah, she was a fighter and a grinder and just a great person to have on the team. [00:47:50] Speaker A: And the fact also crazy thing, she was third all time in digs as. [00:47:53] Speaker B: Well, which is a lot of defense and a lot of time on the floor. A lot of jersey replacements for Allie. [00:48:01] Speaker A: All those sleeves being ripped and everything. And then yeah, like, man, Wynn Vandersaw okay. What a hitter. [00:48:08] Speaker B: Yeah, she could jump out of the gym. She was very just a very sweet person. But when she got into game time, it was like Beast mode. Yeah. And she did everything. But again, she was in that same position as Paulina, where it's like she got a lot of attempts. We'd give her the ball a lot. And she really did carry us offensively. And when you have players like that who are so dangerous offensively, it really helps the whole team because it frees everyone else up, because everybody's like, oh, we're going to go here, but now we're going here. And so that makes you dangerous. On it makes those less Beast mode players better because they have more opportunities. [00:48:45] Speaker A: Because the defense is so focused on. [00:48:47] Speaker B: The power hitter of what they think. [00:48:49] Speaker A: And I love the story you said the other day about when it was at Nationals, when you were going to Tweak. [00:48:56] Speaker B: Yeah. It wasn't Nationals. There was a time where I was thinking about tweaking the rotation, and she basically in her very sweet way, and she would never brag or say this to anyone else, but she said to me, she's the ball coach. She's like, Coach, don't do it. She's like, no one's going to be able to stop me. And honestly, it's true. So I was like, okay. I'll consider that she has the record. [00:49:17] Speaker A: For most kills in a set or in a match with I think it's 28 or 29. [00:49:21] Speaker B: Yeah. And I mean, what did she average? It's probably like four kills per set. So, I mean, it's super high 4.19. I think that's a lot. [00:49:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:33] Speaker B: Crazy. [00:49:34] Speaker A: Which is it is looking at middles. We've had some pretty good middles throughout the years. [00:49:42] Speaker B: Well, the first one I want to shout out is Christy Braceland. So she was an original 2009 and 2010, and she was instrumental in helping us kind of establish things. But if you look at her stats, she is up there in blocks and in hitting percentage. But you have to remember what's so cool about that is she wasn't playing on high caliber teams, so she was carrying a lot of weight there, but speculation. But if you took her and put her on one of those later teams where it's like things were firing at a whole different level, how much better would she would have? [00:50:20] Speaker A: Probably well, the fact that she's up there with a year of eleven games, she's up there statistically, so she's got. [00:50:28] Speaker B: That and then she had whatever we did 15 or 25 games in 2010. But yeah, it's pretty crazy. Yeah. So she was a fantastic volleyball player. And the thing about Christie I always remember is no matter what, she always had a huge smile on her face. Not a fake smile. Like, always huge. Like no matter what, she'd encourage the team. And whether she got blocked or whether she hit some girl in the head, she'd just be, like, the same. This is awesome. Guys are playing fun. I still remember that about her. So that was amazing. All right, who else do we have in middle? [00:50:59] Speaker A: Yeah, let's see. Paige Sweeney. [00:51:01] Speaker B: Okay, so Paige yeah, Paige was an amazing player, and we kind of got Paige in. When Paige showed up, we really had very little conversations with her. She hadn't visited, and so we were kind of like, what? I remember talking with Hannah Postman about it, and we're like, what is Paige going to be like as a player and hitter? And then after that first practice, we were like, hello. Hey. Welcome to Emmaus. She was the final piece of the puzzle that we needed that 2017 season. It's always hard to fill that middle blocker position, I feel. [00:51:39] Speaker A: I think she led the nation of blocks that year, too. [00:51:41] Speaker B: Yeah, she was definitely a very strong middle, and I think that she got better at Emmaus than her previous playing, like, in high school, just for the fact of working with Hannah, those two, probably of anyone else that I've ever seen play middle. Their timing was just there, and she was one of the few players we could give, like, a zero ball to where Hannah could jump and just barely touch the ball, and she could be right there and bang it. But also just, like, super positive and just a great leader on the team and just brought good energy and just really made a huge difference. All American. ABCA all American as well with Hannah in 2018. So yeah, huge. [00:52:29] Speaker A: Which is awesome. [00:52:30] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:30] Speaker A: Other middle looking at Katie Ryan. [00:52:32] Speaker B: Oh, katie Ryan. So I put Katie Ryan. Yes. Talk about Katie Ryan in the middle. But Katie Ryan, when I recruited her, was actually an outside, and I wish I would have seen her play outside Adamaus, because she was so good. And I think that was really in 2012 when she came as a freshman. We had a very small team that year, and I was like, Katie, you're going to have to play middle because no one else can block. And she was like, what? Yeah. So I really appreciated her. That's a hard thing to do as a player, to play a position that she had never played before and to be like, Coach, this is outside of my comfort zone. This isn't what you recruited me to even do, but I'm going to do it because I know that we need to do it. That is huge. So I only got to coach her that one season, and then she played in 2013 and 2014 after that. But her stats are still amazing. [00:53:18] Speaker A: I mean, she's third all time in kills from playing a position that she's never played before, which just shows, like. [00:53:22] Speaker B: So I wish we would have been able to see her at her natural position and maybe when in those middle years, she may have played it from time to time. I'm not sure how that, but I know when I coached her, but she did a fantastic job in the middle, especially for being you. I remember we'd have to pull her back and have her serve, receive and play defense and do all that stuff and still hit in the middle. It was crazy. [00:53:42] Speaker A: When you're the best player in the team, you have to do everything. [00:53:45] Speaker B: That's true, especially if you're a small roster. [00:53:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Looking at some of the defensive specialists or the liberals we've had throughout the years, obviously those championship teams were Savannah Peterson. Now, Savannah Redding was the libero on the team. [00:53:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think she's our all time leader for Diggs. [00:54:01] Speaker A: Time leader in diggs. [00:54:02] Speaker B: Yep. And so yeah, Savannah, man, she really was able to shine as being Libero. Was a great server as well, so contributed a lot to the team there. But I really wish we could have seen Savvy do four years of it because the first two years I had to have her hit because we didn't really have the outside hitters that we needed. And she pretty much did everything. She hit outside. One time. [00:54:31] Speaker A: She had top ten in kills, too. [00:54:32] Speaker B: Yeah. So, I mean, she's like Allie. She was just like a worker. She was dedicated. She would work out a lot in the summer doing volleyball. She was very intuitive in the back row. And when we moved her in 2017 and 18 to that position yeah. She did fantastic job, and we wouldn't have been as successful those years without her in that role. And thankfully, we were able to find hitters to fill the gap and finally move her. I think we were going to do it in 2016 and we had an injury and then we had to move her back. So again, one of those players that said, hey, Coach, this is what I want to do, but I understand I need to do this and I'm going to do it because that's what we need. I love that. [00:55:17] Speaker A: Two years of outside, two years of Libero, and still all time leader in Digs. Like, that's impressive. [00:55:21] Speaker B: It is impressive. Yeah. [00:55:23] Speaker A: Another one that you talked about was Molly Skoglin. [00:55:26] Speaker B: Yeah, Molly. Yeah. I wanted to shout out Molly because she was like the original first true Libero that we had. Someone who had played it in the past that came to Emmaus and did it, but mostly for her. She was on the floor a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. And she played and then took a break from volleyball and got married and was away in 2015 when I came back. And so that is no small feat either, to step away from the game and come back as a slightly older player and put your body through that kind of punishment. And yeah, she was super important to. US that 2015 year to have her on the court doing serve, receive, and. [00:56:12] Speaker A: She'S top four in digs, which is crazy, too. [00:56:15] Speaker B: That's awesome. [00:56:15] Speaker A: And then looking at current player on the team, Jenica Beach, who's our current Libero. I mean, first year, she's almost top ten in digs, which is crazy. [00:56:26] Speaker B: Yeah. And digs per set. So. Yeah, I don't know, Jenica, but I know what I see. And she's got the know you want Liberos who are hustlers, but also ones who are in position before the ball is there and know how to read an offense and read what the defense is doing. And, yeah, this girl can play some ball. [00:56:48] Speaker A: Her passing is really good, too. [00:56:50] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, yes, of course you need that. [00:56:52] Speaker A: But yeah, no, just knowing, like, she's a freshman and she's already up there, there's a chance she could break a thousand Digs in two years, which is freshman. [00:57:01] Speaker B: Yeah, freshman. Still saying Libera of the Year regional. Let's go. [00:57:06] Speaker A: And then looking at probably the greatest player, too. Not probably. She is the greatest player Emmaus has ever had. Butter. Hannah Postma. [00:57:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, really quick, I'll talk about Hannah, but shout out to my list. Sarah Walker. And, oh, Shannon. Yeah, of course. Shannon Flogle. Those two ran a six two together in 2012, and they were both great setters. And I think Shannon had set the year before, so their numbers don't show it as much because they split everything. But that was probably one of the greatest setting teams that we had prior to Hannah, but yeah, what can you say about Hannah was not only a fantastic setter in 2015 when she came, we also had Savannah and Allie that were like, oh, I can set. So I kind of ran them through their paces in the first couple of practices, and I was like, okay, we clearly have a next level. Not that Allie or Savvy were necessarily even bad at it. They were capable. [00:58:17] Speaker A: It was just so good. [00:58:18] Speaker B: Next level. But the thing about her is that she could do everything. [00:58:26] Speaker A: She's number one in assists, number two in digs, number one in aces, number four in kills. [00:58:30] Speaker B: Her hitting percentages way up. But I think what it is is it's rare to have players that are so capable but also such fierce competitors. And that's something that once you get them at this level, you can't coach that into them. They either have it or they you can you can enhance it and kind know, mentor it a little. But, like, Hannah came in with her background and experience. She'd been in some very high level situations, some pressure situations, and she was like, Bring it. I want that. I thrive off that. So she was a player that could take over games, and it'd be like there's a strategy, right? Like, oh, if your setters in the back row, the other team will hit the ball to the setter because then they can't set right. And teams would continue to do this and all that would happen is Savannah would get the ball and set it in the back road and she'd be like, thanks for giving me that. I mean, because I feel like I'd. [00:59:37] Speaker A: Always say she was such a good setter, but she was such a good hitter, too. [00:59:42] Speaker B: Yeah, she could pound the ball. And also just a phenomenal blocker, like you said. [00:59:49] Speaker A: If you think about it, those fourth all time in kills and probably two thirds of those, if not more, are back row kills. [00:59:56] Speaker B: Right. [00:59:56] Speaker A: Which is crazy. [00:59:58] Speaker B: Yeah. And really good at serving. We talked about this at the almost after Hannah was gone. We started calling it the Postma, because what she would do is she would be on the service line and she would find the Libero on the other side, which traditional strategy says, okay, don't serve the ball at the Libero because they're their best passer over there. Serve it at someone else. So Hannah would specifically look at the Libero and serve it at her and keep serving it at her from time to time. If she thought she could break her mean, there's a measure of confidence. Not that she did it exclusively, but she was very good at being like, I see weakness over here. She was a rare player that could a lot of times players are focused on what's going on on their own side. And Hannah was always like, what's going on over there? And that quality to have as a player is great, but especially as a setter, you know what the defense is doing over there, you know those trends. And she had the ability to coming in with a super high level still be very coachable and learn things. And also to be flexible to say, like, hey, I'm at a level where some of these girls aren't at and let's work to bring them along. And she was able to make players into better players by playing with her. [01:01:20] Speaker A: What an amazing and that's just scratching too. There's so many other talented girls. We're so thankful for all the young ladies that have taken their time and put their heart and soul into whether it was one, two, three or four years of volleyball here at Emmaus. And just taking like you said, there's so many role players that were so key in the foundation of building this program up. And just so thankful for players in those positions where there's so many people out there that don't get the recognition or the credit. But they're the reasons why I remember we are yeah. [01:01:55] Speaker B: Because either they were important in foundation or when the foundation was established, they were important in taking us to those next levels. And we could not have done it without so good shout out to all 78 of them or however many there are on here. For sure. [01:02:09] Speaker A: Well, Coach PIM, we're so thankful for talking about the history of volleyball, but want to look ahead, kind of recap this past week with soccer, volleyball across country, and then kind of looking ahead to the conference tournaments this week. This past week volleyball played, they were ranked first time since the 2019 year, number nine. They played Grace, who's ranked number 11th, kind of had an off game. We ended up losing 30 to Grace. It was a rematch from when you beat them three two at their place. But good teams have great games and good teams have bad games. So looking to kind of push that off going into the conference tournament. Soccer tied with Marinatha, so this is the first time ever Marinatha hasn't beaten Emmaus in a soccer season. And that was a huge just moment for the guys. I mean, it was one, one in the 95th minute and we got a penalty in the box and Marinatha had an opportunity to get a penalty kick to win the game. And how often do goalies stop a PK and Tucker stop the PK? And we end up tying, which was amazing, and he won NCAA or NCCAA Student Athlete of the Week for a second time this season, which is awesome. And then cross country ran their Super Regionals at Faith, which it sounds like we might actually be hosting that next year, which would be really cool, but ran well. Kate Jansen PR'd and she finished 7th in the super regional race and got first team all American regional. All Regional. Excuse me, first team All Regional, which is really cool looking ahead to the conference tournament. So volleyball is at Manhattan, they're the four seed. They play Ozark, who's the fifth seed, and if they win, they play the number one seed, Manhattan on their home court to go to the championship game. But anything can happen in postseason, as you know, and as you said before, soccer, they're the two seed and then they play Manhattan, who's the three seed, and if they win, they play the winner of Faith and Ozark for the championship. Currently, Cross Country is off for two and a half weeks until they go to the national tournament in Grace. And we just found out that the first power ratings came out for soccer and we're the number one seed in the region. [01:04:32] Speaker B: Nice. [01:04:32] Speaker A: Which is awesome. And volleyball is the number three seed, so there'll be the three seed going to regional play. So lot of fantastic and great things coming the Emaus Eagle way. Plus we have basketball starting in two weeks, so nine days until our first game, so a lot of excitement going on, but again, yeah, coach Pittman, we just appreciate the eleven years of dedication. Well, more than that, because you were a student and everything, but just all the support you've had through the years, how you've really literally built this program from the foundation up and just the impact you've had on us on Emmaus, on so many countless young ladies who have played for us. And just thanks for taking time out of your busy day and talking with us about the history of volleyball. [01:05:20] Speaker B: Yeah, my pleasure. Is great conversation. I loved it. [01:05:23] Speaker A: We appreciate it. So, you guys, thanks again for joining us. Keep an eye out on all of our social medias for game schedules, for tournament updates, watch the live streams. We're super excited. It's a great day to be in Eagle. We'll see you guys later.