SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter13 Touko 2020

Savvy Simo, UCLA's favorite 'pain in the butt,' returning for one more year

On the evening of January 14, UCLA women’s volleyball coach Mike Sealy had the mic. As he expounded on the tremendous careers of his seniors, of which there were just two – setter Cali Thompson and outside hitter Savvy Simo – he turned to Simo and, instead of gushing about her laundry list of accomplishments, said a joke.

“You’re one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached,” he said.

At least, Simo thought it was a joke. Over the past four years, she had been, by her own admission, a “pain in the butt,” something her beach coach, Stein Metzger, will readily, if not warmly, agree to. But Sealy didn’t laugh. Didn’t betray a single sign of amusement. He couldn’t have been more serious, and afterwards, he’d hug Simo and tell her that she’s the best, and to keep in touch.

That’ll be easier to do than Sealy could have known.

Savvy Simo’s coming back to UCLA for one more year.

When the NCAA initially granted an extra year of eligibility for all spring athletes who had their 2020 seasons cut short, Simo had no designs on returning to Westwood. She’d done her four years, playing both beach and indoor. She’d won two NCAA Championships on the beach, piled up 91 wins, completed her sociology major.

She was ready to move on.

“When I found out everything was cancelled I was like ‘Screw it, I’m not coming back, I’m over college, I’ve had my time, I already feel old, I want to play AVP, I want to do interviews, I want to move on,’” said Simo, who went 13-2 on court one with Abby Van Winkle in the truncated 2020 season.

Already, she had plans to move to the South Bay to room with LMU transfer Iya Lindahl. She was going to play on the AVP Tour, launch what is already a promising career in sports media. Move on with her life. As the reaction to Covid-19 spread, and the economy was shuttered and sports, including the AVP, were postponed indefinitely, if not altogether cancelled, reservation began to take root.

With no AVP to play at the moment, few if any jobs readily available, many of her rivals – Kristen Nuss and Claire Coppola at LSU, for instance – returning to school, her roommate, Lindahl, remaining in college, was there any real reason to move on?

It was a picture painted by Rachel Morris, Simo’s old coach at WAVE in San Diego, that ultimately convinced her.

“Look, Savvy,” Morris, a former setter for Oregon, told her, “next May you’re going to be sitting on your couch watching your team compete for a national championship and, win or lose, you’re going to regret not being there.”

“That,” Simo said, “was the tipping point for me. I was like ‘You’re so right, I cannot imagine watching this team play, knowing I could have had an opportunity.’”

She called Metzger. She wanted to come back. It’s simple in concept, but not in execution. There was the academic side of things to work out, since Simo can’t exactly return with no classes on the schedule, only to play beach volleyball for a few months in the spring semester. There is still the thorny scholarship issue as well, something that schools around the country are dealing with. But there was zero chance Metzger would let that interfere with Simo returning. He’d make it work, because if there’s one thing UCLA could use most on its young and talented team, it’s the Bruins’ phenomenal pain in the butt leader.

“I friggin love Stein, I love Jenny [Johnson Jordan], I think they’re both incredible humans,” Simo said. “Literally yesterday, I said ‘I’m sorry for being such a pain’ and he said ‘You really are a total pain but I love you kid.’ I’m so excited to come back.”

The Bruins will be equally excited to have Simo back as well. Simo’s fellow seniors, Lily Justine and Madi Yeomans, are moving on, making Simo, already the vocal leader of the bunch, the de facto captain of a team that featured underclassmen in 50 percent of its starting lineup: Van Winkle (sophomore), Lindsey Sparks (sophomore), Lexy Denaburg (freshman), Devon Newberry (freshman), Rileigh Powers (freshman).

“I took on the leadership role with the other seniors and it was a challenge but I just kinda took it and ran with it and no program is ever perfect but we were on the ups and it was a bummer it was cancelled but thankfully I’m back and I’m fired up to see the potential this team has,” Simo said.

“Me and Stein, we have a really great relationship and I think a reason why we kinda go back and forth is because I do have a really high level of respect for Stein. I listen to everything he says and he is one of the best coaches I’ve had on the beach and he is so smart and I think especially this year, I wanted to win so bad and I know he did too.

“I’ve learned and matured and figured out when to pick my battles and when to not. Even this year, there were times where I was like ‘Stein we need to be doing more of this’ and agree or disagree, I think we both have a common goal and we want to win. He has so much experience but I also have the side of the players and the team and we worked out a balance to find out what’s best. Jenny also plays an incredible role in that balance as a female figure too. People like Sarah [Sponcil] and people like Zana [Muno] were the same: We all just want to win. And that’s an incredible part of UCLA’s culture and I hope it carries out.”

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BEDLAM ENSUES: Nobody Is Safe At The Beach Volleyball World Championships

Welcome back to SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, where Travis is back breaking down all things Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, Australia. The round of 32 is over, and in this episode, we highlight: - The huge and shocking upset delivered to Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft by Martina Maixnerova and Kylie Neuschaeferova - The not so huge but still unexpected upset of Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier over Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot - The still less huge but still unexpected upsets of Chaim Schalk and James Shaw over Nicolas Capogrosso and Tomas Capogrosso, and Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg of USA Volleyball over Zoe Verge-Depre and Anouk Verge-Depre - The ALMOST upsets, but not quite, as Thamela and Victoria survive Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard, Evandro and Arthur survive Ben O'Dea and Brad Fuller, and Anders Mol and Christian Sorum survive Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett - The Cinderella run of Melanie Paul and Lea Kunst amidst a thriving German federation, who will also see Louisa Lippmann and Linda Bock, and Sandra Ittlinger and Anna Grune in the round of 16 - The Big Game hunter who is Valentina Gottardi, as the Italian blocker and Reka Orsi Toth knocked out Germany's top pair in Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller - Poland's brutal draw of David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the first round - Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner continuing their World Championships title defense - Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen careering at the perfect time with a fourth straight sweep SHEW! We'll be back again tomorrow! SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Get 10 PERCENT OFF VBTV using our discount code, SANDCAST10 Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products! We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link. If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Our medical timeout was brought to you by SHIELD Athletic Tape. If you’re an athlete, coach, or just train hard, you know that staying healthy is easier said than done— it’s about staying supported. That’s where SHIELD comes in. SHIELD is a U.S.-based athletic tape company built by athletes, for athletes. Whether it’s rigid tape for serious support, kinesiology tape with true 4-way stretch for maximum mobility, or turf tape to fight off burns on the field — SHIELD’s got you covered. They even make recovery wraps for post-session cooldowns and inflammation control. And because it’s all made right here in the U.S., you’re getting elite quality and fast delivery —they are truly not cutting corners. Try SHIELD today — support that actually performs. Check them out at shieldhealthandfitness.com and use code SANDCAST for a discount. Tape smarter. Train harder. SHIELD up.

19 Marras 38min

Chaos Begins! World Champs Playoffs Set to Bring Madness in Adelaide

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18 Marras 31min

Favorites, Contenders and Dark Horses: The FINAL World Champs Preview

Kyle Friend and Travis Mewhirter break down all things Beach Volleyball World Champs here in Adelaide, Australia, going over the favorites, contenders, and dark horses for each gender. Favorites: Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, Duda and Ana Patricia, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan. Contenders: Linda Bock and Louisa Lippmann, Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre, Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye, Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers Dark Horses: Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon, Andre and Renato, Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger SHOOTS! *** Our medical timeout was brought to you by SHIELD Athletic Tape. If you’re an athlete, coach, or just train hard, you know that staying healthy is easier said than done— it’s about staying supported. That’s where SHIELD comes in. SHIELD is a U.S.-based athletic tape company built by athletes, for athletes. Whether it’s rigid tape for serious support, kinesiology tape with true 4-way stretch for maximum mobility, or turf tape to fight off burns on the field — SHIELD’s got you covered. They even make recovery wraps for post-session cooldowns and inflammation control. And because it’s all made right here in the U.S., you’re getting elite quality and fast delivery —they are truly not cutting corners. Try SHIELD today — support that actually performs. Check them out at shieldhealthandfitness.com and use code SANDCAST for a discount. Tape smarter. Train harder. SHIELD up.

13 Marras 27min

The Importance of Storytelling in Sports ft. Kyle Friend, Frito, Tri Bourne | SANDCAST

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is a SANDCAST family affair! Bringing in our star videographer, Daniel "Frito" Freitas and co-host and regular contributor Kyle Friend to chat all things beach volleyball, and particularly what we can do from a storytelling standpoint.

12 Marras 1h 19min

Brian Lewis: The Evolution, Future, and Current State of Volleyball | SANDCAST

In this episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, former AVP professional beach volleyball player Brian Lewis shares his journey through the world of beach volleyball, discussing the evolution of the sport, the importance of entertainment value, and the role of youth development in shaping future athletes. - He reflects on his personal experiences, training dynamics, and the need for athletes to take ownership in promoting the sport. - The discussion also touches on the cultural shifts within volleyball and the promising future of the sport as it continues to grow in popularity. - He chats about some absolutely GOLDEN old school stories - The ridiculous talent pipeline that is Hawaii's baby court And so much more. Another one for the gold mine, folks! SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Get 10 PERCENT OFF VBTV using our discount code, SANDCAST10 Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products! We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link. If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

5 Marras 1h 16min

Beach Volleyball World Championships: Women's Pool Breakdown and Preview

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29 Loka 44min

Beach Volleyball World Championships: Men's Pool Breakdown and Preview

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22 Loka 53min

Mailbag! Why Doesn't the USA Host More Events? Sara Hughes' Triumphant Return

Welcome back to a Fan Question episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, where the boys take on all of the questions from our loyal listeners. We talk about: - Why doesn't the USA Volleyball host more professional beach volleyball events? - Why are crowds in the USA not showing up to anything? - Is Kelly Cheng the best player in the world? - What do we think of Sara Hughes and her new partner, Ally Batenhorst And a whole lot more! SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Get 10 PERCENT OFF VBTV using our discount code, SANDCAST10 Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products! We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link. If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

15 Loka 1h 3min

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