Volley Talk with Sarah Pavan

In this episode of Volley Talk, we discuss Week 2 of the Men's VNL. A couple of teams are looking better and better as the tournament goes on and a couple are on a serious decline. The men's competition is always so tight and several matches this week were incredibly exciting. Heading into Week 3, we try to predict who will make the cut for the Final 8, and what the semifinals may look like. If yo...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we discuss Week 2 of the Women's VNL. Things were all over the place with teams losing and winning unexpected matches. There was a lot of movement, but USA has taken over the number one ranking heading into Week 3! Dominican Republic and France will have to make a push to avoid relegation. If you have questions for us or topics you would like us to explore, drop us...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we take a look at what happened during Week 1 of the 2026 Men's VNL competition. As we saw with the women's side, both Brazil and Japan are undefeated and are at the top of the ranks. Cuba and Argentina are still looking for their first win, and France had a rough week in Ottawa, going 1-3. If you have questions for us or topics you would like us to explore, drop us...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we take a look at what happened during Week 1 of the 2026 Women's VNL competition. There are only 2 undefeated teams, and Italy's 39-match win streak has come to an end. With 4 new teams in both MLV and LOVB for the 2027 season, there has been an influx of new talent signing contracts to play in the US. Men's VNL Week 1 is coming this week! If you have questions for...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we take a look at the USA women's wide roster for the 2026 VNL. Which players have us scratching our heads and who do we think was missed? Will this roster have what it takes to win a medal this season? Men's Champions League wraps up with Perugia dominating the Final Four in Torino, and we address one of the most highly requested topics of the week: Pitt's Europe T...

It was a big weekend for volleyball! MLV finished up their third season, and Dallas Pulse took the title in a win over the Omaha Supernovas. On the NCAA men's side, it was an all-Big West final with Hawai'i taking down UC Irvine in 4. It might not have been the most exciting volleyball we have seen recently, but we love a final, and there is only one more league left to finish up before internatio...

There is a lot to cover in the volleyball world this week! The NCAA Men's Regionals happened this past weekend with one particularly surprising result that not many people saw coming... Women's Champions League Final Four went down in Istanbul with a new champion emerging victorious, and the MLV Championship is upon us! Get ready for a lot of analysis, predictions, and heartache (from Sarah). Join...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we break down the upcoming NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship. With 12 teams participating for the first time and 4 locations for the Regional matchups, this is going to be a really exciting tournament! UCLA, Hawaii, Long Beach State, and Ball State earned the 1-seeds so they get a first round bye and the luxury of hosting the Regionals matches. Will there be any up...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we dive into the LOVB Championship that happened this past weekend in LA. Austin and Salt Lake went the distance, with Austin ultimately winning their second straight LOVB title in the Golden Set. We also expand our Fraudulent or For Real game to some recently successful NCAA women's teams. Who is on the right track for the long term and who is going to fade out? Jo...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we talk about the LOVB Playoffs that happened in Louisville this past weekend. For the second year, neither top seed made it to the final. We will be seeing Austin vs Salt Lake in Long Beach this weekend! MIVA upsets have become the norm, Indy and Dallas are the only teams guaranteed an MLV playoff spot, and we do a men's version of our domestic and international dr...

Go to our sponsor https://joinissa.com/sarahpavan to become a Certified Personal Trainer and get $100 off your order! In this episode of Volley Talk, we talk a lot about what has been going on with LOVB this week. The end of an era amid playoff controversy, player suspensions, and more. UCLA men are no longer undefeated, MLV playoff spots are up for grabs, and men's Champions League Final Four is...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we break down the Champions League quarterfinal series between Scandicci and Fenerbahce. This was the only women's quarterfinal to go to a Golden Set, and the level of play was so entertaining to watch! We also make women's Dream Team selections for international volleyball, Team USA, and NCAA. We know there will be some varied opinions here, so let's hear your pick...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we take a look at the fan-voted (?), league-determined (?) player-inputted (?) MLV All-Star teams. Basically, we have no idea how exactly these teams were chosen, but we have some thoughts. We also break down some of the longer winning and losing streaks in various leagues. Are they indicative of how the team actually plays or is something weird going on? Join our M...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we look back at the NCAA Women's National Freshmen of the Year from 2010-present. This exercise is a bit tougher than the POY segment we did last week, but we try to rank their collegiate and pro careers. UCLA remains unbeaten after taking down Hawai'i 3-0, Indy and Dallas have clearly separated themselves on the MLV front, and what would happen if there was a "tran...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we look back at the NCAA Women's Players of the Year from 2010-present. We have some fun and try to rank their collegiate careers and see how their pro careers stacked up to expectation. Confirm or Deny makes a comeback, and the Hawai'i vs Pepperdine series was a lot of fun- honestly, much more competitive than we were expecting! Will Hawai'i hand UCLA their first l...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we take a look at the playoff matchups happening in the Italian leagues and Champions League. We get out our crystal balls to predict how various leagues will finish their regular seasons and playoffs. Will we be correct? The FIVB officially released the rule changes they will be testing in the 2026 VNL (no libero changes, thankfully!), and we dive into the LOVB dou...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we take a look at the invitees to the USA Volleyball Collegiate Training Camp. Who would make our starting 7? Any surprise selections or snubs? Our listeners have been on the same page lately, and many people have been submitting the same questions, which is awesome. We dive into some of the most popular questions, including why we don't talk more about Kendall Kipp...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we go over some of the rule changes we will see implemented in VNL 2026. Some are ok, and some are... not our cup of tea. Grand Rapids and Omaha made a very interesting trade in MLV that has us shaking our heads, and we dive into the pros and cons of some different blocking tactics. Join our MLV fantasy league for the 2026 season!! Go to playvoli.com/volleytalk to p...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we go over some of the most exciting matches we watched this week, including UCLA vs Long Beach State on the NCAA men's side, Vakifbank vs Scandicci for women's Champions League, and some men's Coppa Italia! There was so much great volleyball to watch and we hope you were able to catch a couple matches! We bring back a Volleyball 101 segment with serving zones and s...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we are all over the map because there was a lot to talk about. LOVB picking up waived MLV players has got a lot of people talking. The Coppa Italia final between Conegliano and Scandicci was absolutely incredible. The US Department of Education found that San Jose State violated Title IX. It was a big week. Our listeners have come up with some great segment ideas, s...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we talk about our favorite and least favorite matches of the week. We also discuss the Omaha Supernovas and their uncharacteristic 3-3 start to the season. Will they bounce back and make a push for the top as expected, or does this team just not have it? Pavan's Percentages makes a comeback, and we talk about teams that have gotten off to a good start in 2026 and ot...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we discuss two of the best matches we watched this week- UC Irvine vs Pepperdine on the NCAA men's side, and Scandicci vs Novara in the women's A1 Italian league. These matches were outstanding and we highly recommend going back to watch them, especially the Italian match. We also reintroduce a game segment with an MLV Coaches' Mood Meter! Join our MLV fantasy leagu...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we talk about the Kelly Sheffield podcast interview that has gone viral. We had dozens of people reach out to us to talk about it, so of course we had to dive in! Watch the interview on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DxQMCf6b_k Listen to the interview here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joncast-podcast-a-wisconsin-sports-podcast/id1588964558?...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we go over the absolute mess that is the NCAA women's transfer portal. There were some big surprises again, and we see some programs losing big while others are making huge pickups. Winter time also means pro coverage!! We talk a bit about what is going on in a couple overseas leagues and do a 2026 MLV preview for the domestic side of things. Join our MLV fantasy le...

In this episode of Volley Talk, we talk about the NCAA Final Four. Texas A&M took down Pitt and Kentucky 3-0 to claim their first National Championship! All-American and Player of the Year awards were announced last week as well, so we have a lot to cover to close the book on the 2025 NCAA women's volleyball season! If you have questions for us or topics you would like us to explore, drop us a...