Advertise on podcast: Court Captains: A Volleyball Podcast

Lot of volleyball to talk about this week - Indy keeps picking up wins, Dallas has an unexpectedly long road trip, and Omaha is back in their groove. You get Ian+Nikki only for 20ish minutes of this, sorry for the technical difficulties from Kelly’s end! We talk transactions news (mostly setter dramaaaa), speculate on passing stats contributing to winning, and once again call for a sneaky (player consented) trade a la Giannis (RIP Kelly’s knowledge of all sports but volleyball). Hope you’re ready to lock in for week 5! We are already losing track! You can still make your MLV fantasy team over on the Voli app! Download at playvoli.com/courtcaptains Follow us on TikTok and Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

We have returned from sunny San Diego and are freezing again, but that’s show biz. First we talk about a couple of notable transactions from the last week - yes, we heard Maddie Waak went to LOVB, no we did not record this after that news. Most of our commentary still stands! Then, we talk week 3 matches - one we caught live, some YouTube reviews, some stats reviews. Orlando with two losses, Omaha and Grand Rapids with big away wins, and no one is undefeated anymore. And Dallas in the top spot????? We love to see it. Nikki and Ian also have a conversation about The Attendance Situation and why we think people should maybe stop talking about it :)  Respectfully!!!!! We had so much fun at the Mojo game; thanks so much to everyone who came up and said hi!! We love your zoo and your seals. You can still make your MLV fantasy team over on the Voli app! Download at playvoli.com/courtcaptains Follow us on TikTok and Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

Week two review for youuuuuu! But first, we talk through general MLV updates, including reviewing the big media advisory announcement from the drama queen Omaha Supernovas (said with love!) and our musings about why no one’s referencing Bolt6 anymore. Additionally, we had no choice, but simply had to, finally, give our thoughts on the “LOVB and MLV should merge” discourse. You are free to offer your commentary on the topic, but our opinion is correct (lol jk it’s an open convo!) Then: MLV week two. Omaha takes two 5-set losses, San Diego finally beats Atlanta, and Nikki’s high on Indy. Kelly also explains why tandem attacks probably don’t make sense for this level per Nikki’s curiosity. Don’t forget to hit us up if you’re at this Friday’s Mojo game! You can still make your MLV fantasy team over on the Voli app! Download at playvoli.com/courtcaptains Follow us on TikTok and Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

How’d yall like week 1? We thought it was fun. Our reactions to John Cook’s little salary cap mishap, San Diego’s 11th hour transactions, and rule changes you should know about for this upcoming season. Then, Ian’s scorner has returned! Week 1 results in a couple of minutes, and our reactions to the first showings from these teams. We are most impressed by Columbus, hoping San Diego can pull off a main character energy for this season, and super excited about the competition overall - the parity, the parity!!!!! You can still make your MLV fantasy team over on the Voli app! Download at playvoli.com/courtcaptains Follow us on TikTok and Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

A little spice throughout this episode… some things just make us heated, you know? But we’re not mad about season three being almost here! We have a fancy new video border and a lot of opinions. We start with general news and updates: our reactions to the Valkyries performance in the World Club Championships, recent LOVBuh news, and a new podcast on the scene by an ex-Supernovas player. Then, we talk through roster updates and cuts and new signings (as of Sunday evening recording; some things have happened in two days!), and we make our predictions for who we think will be the 4 teams at the top of the table. Hope you’re getting excited for opening day! And don’t forget to make your MLV fantasy team over on the Voli app! Download at playvoli.com/courtcaptains Follow us on TikTok and Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

Our pre-season interview is NEW HEAD COACH of the San Diego Mojo, Alisha Childress! We are so excited to have Alisha on the pod (some of us even more excited than others, you can guess who that is) before her legendary first MLV coaching season begins. Our first coach interview, our first Olympian interview - and the first player-turned-coach of MLV! We start by hearing about Alisha’s time on Athletes Unlimited, as both a player and a coach. We learn more about her favorite players and coaches that she’s learned from over her career who have helped her create her style and values in coaching. We talk about MLV’s place in the greater landscape of pro volleyball globally, the two libero system, and Alisha tells us all her players that she’s excited about this season (don’t worry, it’s all of them). As a note, this interview was conducted before this year’s draft - so you won’t hear any tea about who’s signing and who’s not for 2026! Season 3 of MLV starts January 9 - keep an eye out for our season preview episode coming out before then! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

The headline second-half-of-free-agency updates, 2025 Champion Orlando Valkyries going to the Club World Championships, and Draft Day! Congratulations to Mimi Colyer of the Wisconsin Badgers for being the first pick of the draft! She’s going to the Dallas Pulse, which Nikki realizes now that she never said aloud… anyways. Ian gives us the low down on the Club Championships and how they work and Nikki takes us through her draft headlines. Which rookie are you hoping to see hit the floor this year? Let us know what you thought of draft day! One month till the season starts :)  And in case you needed it… here’s a gentle nudge to not forget to be the captain of your own court. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

WE HAVE A SEASON THREE The first week of August has bestowed upon us leaks of a “merger”, official announcements from the league, and free agency news galore. We put forth our perspective on the MLV name change (and the logo…) and what we think happened with Omaha’s return to the league, we review the changes to the salary structure, and talk reactions to day one of the free agency period. It looks like we’re an MLV podcast now. Let us know your questions, reactions to these changes, and things you want us to talk about on next week’s pod! As always - you mustn’t forget to be the captain of your own court. Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspodGot a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

Our final episode of PVF Season two! You may have been PVF-less for the last week but we’re here to help you bring back the good times with memories of the playoffs. We talk through the two semi-final matches as well as the championship: Nikki regales us with Vegas tales (including what ABO means), Kelly wonders what’s happening with Omaha next year, and Ian’s microphone was a bit screwed up. Thanks for coming along with us this year! Keep an eye out for an occasional episode drop during free agency. As always, drop us your questions anytime! Follow us on Instagram for our commentary and updates: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

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: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

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: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

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: @courtcaptainspod Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

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: [email protected]