S4E11: Conference Tournaments, Pacific Gives, D-Ops

We run the full men’s volleyball playoff gauntlet, from the NEC and EIVA through the MIVA, MPSF, and Big West, then put real picks on the table for who wins and who sweats the bubble. Along the way we get into bracket expansion math, Pacific Gives fundraising chaos, and why behind-the-scenes ops work is the secret weapon of great programs. 

• Stanford season ends at BYU and the playoff mood shifts fast 
• NEC and EIVA quick hits, matchups that feel like annual destiny 
• MIVA final prediction talk with the usual playoff truths 
• MPSF semifinals recap, USC vs UCLA championship stakes 
• Big West reactions, Hawaii, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC San Diego scenarios 
• At-large bids with a 12-team bracket, who’s safe, who’s first out, what upset breaks it 
• Pacific Gives recap, donor match strategy, swimmer wager and the “fake donors” saga 
• Arielle’s DI-ops realization, what great ops actually solve, and why food logistics matter 
If you watch this, like, comment, subscribe.

Transcript

No Dockets And Stanford’s Exit

Matt Houlihan 0:00

Alright, anything to add to the docket? I think we just let it rip, guys.

Arielle Houlihan 0:02

Let's ru let's coaches group chat it. Like, let's just chat.

unknown 0:05

Yeah.

Arielle Houlihan 0:07

We don't need to have a docket.

Matt Houlihan 0:08

Dockets for cowards.

Arielle Houlihan 0:10

Dockets are for losers.

Matt Houlihan 0:12

Dockets are for tryhards and pick me's. We'll have a good docket.

Arielle Houlihan 0:17

Bobby just did Bobby just snort. Matt and I have slept for a total of, I think I slept for two hours.

Matt Houlihan 0:30

The close of the Stanford men's volleyball season was yesterday. We were defeated by the Brigham University Cougars. As Riley and Halley call them, the BY Pooh's. The BY Poohs. That is what our daughters call them. Yeah, they got us they got us at home at uh in Provo.

Arielle Houlihan 0:50

They're playing good.

Matt Houlihan 0:51

Oh, yeah. They played great. They came out, they came out firing. We we weathered the storm in the third, uh, just didn't have enough in the fourth.

Arielle Houlihan 0:58

But they just lost to UCLA. They played UCLA well in the first. Yeah.

Matt Houlihan 1:02

We're getting into our this is the this is the playoff time of the year. And so that's what we're gonna mainly discuss here as we get into the uh the meat and potatoes of this uh this current episode of the coach's group chat. We just watched everything, and I know I know Daniel Daniel is a is a busy man. Chad's a busy man. I want to make sure we uh record this episode, we get this thing done. So I brought out the big guns. I pre-tested the audio. Bobby, please don't let me mess this up. Uh I've got all of the recording. I got a two-terabyte hard drive wired up here. We are we're knock on wood. We're raring to go right now. So Daniel, can you uh can you lay the groundwork? What did I keep saying? Set the scene? Lay the foundation. I don't remember what you're saying. Set the page. I don't know. But can you uh can you lay the groundwork for us on the MPSF playoffs that we just watched today?

NEC And EIVA Bracket Talk

Daniel Rasay 1:56

Starting with the MPSF, shouldn't we start with like the NEC or something? No.

Arielle Houlihan 2:01

The E I V A?

Daniel Rasay 2:04

SIAC? Start wherever you'd like to.

Arielle Houlihan 2:09

Work east to west.

Daniel Rasay 2:11

NEC Final Four. We got St. Francis versus Long Island University in one half of the bracket. And we got FDU versus Maryland Eastern Shore. Ooh. Good ball.

Matt Houlihan 2:30

Tell us more. Who you got? Who you got coming out of this?

Daniel Rasay 2:33

I don't know. Number one seed St. Francis going to D3 next year, right? So maybe a last hurrah for them. But Long Island has the NEC player of the year. Kale Spencer from Hawaii. Yeah. So who knows?

Matt Houlihan 2:50

They got uh St. Francis. We've played against them this year. They got Brady Stump is their uh their best outside. The dude actually does have an absolute rocket of an arm.

Daniel Rasay 2:58

So is that the one that almost killed Sony that the one that almost killed Sony Casi?

Matt Houlihan 3:02

Yeah, exactly.

Arielle Houlihan 3:02

Oh yeah. I remember that. That was funny.

Matt Houlihan 3:05

Alright, okay. I like it. NEC. I'm gonna I'm gonna take uh my my prediction. I'm gonna go, let's go St. Francis here. Okay, keep going. What what's next on the East Coast? Give us the E I V A. You're not gonna let us predict. That's okay. We'll come to you later. Give me the Long Island Sharks.

Arielle Houlihan 3:22

I predict that I can't remember the names of the schools. That's why they were talking about that.

Matt Houlihan 3:26

Okay, never mind. Never mind. Yeah, I know when to skip over you. Don't worry.

Arielle Houlihan 3:29

He saw the dead in my eyes.

Matt Houlihan 3:31

Just let it be.

Arielle Houlihan 3:33

Okay, keep going.

Daniel Rasay 3:34

Uh Penn State goes five with Charleston.

Arielle Houlihan 3:39

Is Charleston West Virginia?

Matt Houlihan 3:41

Yes. Yes. Not in Charleston, South Carolina. I would have personally given Peter Chris a noogie. But like, how dare you? How dare you stall this manager?

Arielle Houlihan 3:54

I feel like Charleston should be in South Carolina.

Daniel Rasay 3:57

There is a Charleston.

Arielle Houlihan 3:59

No, I know. They should move that school and put a men's volleyball team in Charleston, South Carolina, and then that would be like a cool place to be. Have you ever been to West Virginia? Mountain Mama?

Matt Houlihan 4:09

Can't say that I have.

Arielle Houlihan 4:10

You haven't either? I'm the only person in this group that has been to West Virginia. Not much that WVU big party school.

Matt Houlihan 4:16

Not much that has brought me to the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Arielle Houlihan 4:20

I don't have anything else to say about it.

Daniel Rasay 4:27

And then Princeton upset NGIT in the first round. And then good for Sam Schweisky.

Matt Houlihan 4:34

He's like, let's be good at the end. Yeah. He's going full path, actually. He's like, you know what? Nothing matters until everything matters.

Arielle Houlihan 4:42

Yeah, there you go. Smart. So what's the final? It's final?

Daniel Rasay 4:46

That's the final of Penn State Princeton.

Matt Houlihan 4:49

Which is the rematch of last year as well. And I want to say the year before that also. As it should be.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Yeah, you gotta let Pav win the whole thing, right? Yeah. Win it all. Like all. Like all of it. Yeah.

Matt Houlihan 5:04

No, not gonna win it all. But they're gonna get in. Yeah. I I'm going, I'm going pav. Pav getting in. But shout out to Schweisky for uh for making some good out of this season and getting to the finals. That was uh that's a big one. Alright, what's next? Who else you got? You want to give us a little Syak? We got our Syak commit already.

Daniel Rasay 5:21

Fort Valley State, in. Bang. Go wiggles. Yep. Beta Bay Long.

Matt Houlihan 5:27

Obviously the beta Bay factor.

Daniel Rasay 5:29

Belmont Abbey, close little Carolina. I think that's the name of the conference. In. That's all I got.

MIVA Final And Quick Picks

Matt Houlihan 5:35

Alright, now move us, move us to the we got me, we got Miva, we got MPSF, and we got Big West. Big West is the furthest behind. They just started tonight. So let's go uh let's go Miva. You got the Miva, you got the Miva finals for us, right?

Daniel Rasay 5:48

Loyal uh ball state.

Matt Houlihan 5:50

Correct. Loyal ball state. Any predictions? Yeah, Daniel's the most informed one on this podcast.

Chad Gordon 5:56

Everybody knows you don't bet against Mr. Patrick Rogers. That's right. In the playoffs. I know better. I've chirped it. In the Moulihan household, I would I would not besmirch his good name.

Arielle Houlihan 6:07

We have a shrine to Patrick Rogers in our house, actually.

Chad Gordon 6:09

That's true. Right in the garage. Right in the garage next to my Pacific Jersey. I thought it was a touch too far, but you know, that's it's your garage. No.

Matt Houlihan 6:18

Ah, you know what? Um, speaking of ball state, shout out to my boy at You Got a Fur Vest Guy. You know who I'm talking about? Donated 25 bucks. He donated 25 bucks.

Arielle Houlihan 6:30

Let's actually talk about that. Let's talk about the Pacific thing.

Matt Houlihan 6:33

That's a good docket I have since we're not doing a docket too. You got a fur vest guy sent me a custom beta bay fur uh necklace thing. Oh. And it just I don't know if it got lost in the mail or what happened. He like sent me the image. He's like, I'm so sorry. Like it I sent you this. And I was like, that is incredible. Yeah, I was like, we have a screen. And I will personally track this down. So you got a fur vest guy is is my guy. That's so nice. And I'm a I'm a big fan of him. So shout out. I don't know if he's a loyal listener to the pod, but someone knows who I'm talking about. Get it on his way, and that's why I'm picking ball state.

Arielle Houlihan 7:07

I feel like he is a loyal listener. Probably. He's he's just like if there's anybody who's a learned scholar.

Matt Houlihan 7:14

This is a podcast for all of all of all learned scholars. That's fair. You got a prediction over there? You got a loyal versus ball state prediction? You want to take the contrarian take? Uh bitches love Sosa is bad.

Arielle Houlihan 7:27

Yeah. Sure. I don't really. Yeah.

Matt Houlihan 7:33

Ariel is.

Arielle Houlihan 7:36

I'm what? I'm I'm brain mush right now. I'm tired. Uh I care deeply about this. And I'm gonna pick ball s no, I'm gonna pick Loyola. Based off of seeing both of those teams, and I liked Loyola better at that point. And then I didn't think about them again until now. So Loyola is my pick.

Matt Houlihan 8:00

Doc, prediction before we move to Ball State. Ball State. All right, three to one. Everybody, oh wow. Yeah, contrarian. All right. Let's move ourselves along. MPSF is into the finals now, so let's go MPSF next.

Arielle Houlihan 8:13

Changing from the Miva to the MPSF made my brain take a step back for a second. So cute. Go ahead.

Chad Gordon 8:18

You were in a different state. All right. Today's 20 hours.

MPSF Semis And Title Predictions

Arielle Houlihan 8:21

I think it's the light in my eyes. That's what's actually doing it to me. I'm like, I feel like I'm too bright. I feel like I'm a little kid in a car trying to sleep, but there's construction on the road. And I'm like, stop, turn it off. Okay.

Matt Houlihan 8:34

Go ahead, everybody. Uh, the construction that we had was the MPSF semifinals this evening. We had BYU taking on UCLA and USC taking on Pepperdine for the third time in a row here. And we had a barn burner of USC taking on Pep in five, 17-15, I want to say. Uh hell of a game from Sterling Foley. Absolutely handled the uh handled the load. I think I don't know if uh Dylan Klein's a little bit banged up or what the situation was, but um he was out there the whole time as well and definitely contributed. But Sterling really, from the start of the match, was setting the pace for them. Uh a couple different setters. I think all three setters for USC played at one point.

Arielle Houlihan 9:16

Who finished out the fifth?

Matt Houlihan 9:17

I don't know. I was coaching USYVL Girls Volleyball at that point of the uh of the match. So I'm not sure. I want to say it was uh Chapin uh who finished it out. And then uh Pep was rotating a couple different guys through as well. Uh definitely didn't seem as crisp as they had played USC the previous week. But man oh man, you gotta think that they're still probably safe with an at-large. Uh and then you had BYU taking on UCLA, and BYU uh we ran into them as a freight train yesterday as Stanford, and uh Cole Hauser, who got his first collegiate start against Stanford last night, went off against us, and he went off again against UCLA in the first set, and BYU took the first 25-20, but then uh they they awoken the Bruin. They awoken the bear, and the bear said, Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna go ahead and take this. And they took it uh pretty cleanly in four. But a a pretty damn good fight from BYU and uh a nice job. They did they do a good job hosting up there, I would say. Good uh good experience, good staff, friendly people. Swig. You know, swig's a good touch. Good touch to kind of throw out there. We hiked the Y. We did. We went up at the top of the mountain. That thing is it's deceptive. You park your car at the bottom of the parking lot to the Y, and you can just see it right there. You're like, oh, it's right there. This is gonna be easy. First, first straightaway is just up the mountain, but they shoot you off to the right away from it, and then you're cut back, switch back the whole way.

Arielle Houlihan 10:46

Man, that thing was a I was not mentally prepared for that hike at all. Like, did not think that we were like actually hiking, and then I was like, oh, we're like really hiking here.

Matt Houlihan 10:56

Yeah. Apologies for that, uh, that little mental detour that we took. Yeah. We've got ourselves a nice little red v blue Crips and Bloods rematch. UCLA taking on USC for the MPSF championship. Let's go around the horn. Let's go around the horn for some predictions here. Chad, starting with you.

Chad Gordon 11:15

I think I think the Bloods, they're just they're they're mixing too many setters. I this was the conversation week one, right? If they're not healthy, it's it's uphill sledding. So I gotta take the crips on this one.

Arielle Houlihan 11:26

I'm changing my pick from the beginning because I said that USC at the beginning, and I am now on the UCLA train, I think, just based on watching both of them. I have no reason to not want UCLA to be successful, and I think I like their team in totality more.

Matt Houlihan 11:44

UCLA? Yeah. I mean, the coward's choice, obviously. We're a boring podcast.

Arielle Houlihan 11:50

We're a boring gay Puerto Rican podcast.

Matt Houlihan 11:52

I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna take the the USC other side of the coin here, and the reason is Chad's looking at me like You're just doing this for the the clicks. No, no, I'm not doing it. It's not even clickbait because nobody clicks. Here's the reason. I this is a waste. For USC, I think I think they're in because they made it to the NPCF finals, but it's still like they're they're still reeling from last year of not getting in and they they made the finals there. I think USC is going to play like their life depends on this. And I think UCLA, they want to win, don't get me wrong, it's a rivalry game. They want to they want to make it a clear path. It's less of an incentive. Yeah. I think USC has the guns to be able to take down a UCLA. Sure. It's not a clear path victory, but uh as a betting man, I have enough of a hedge here where I'd feel like I could I could throw some cash on. I'm not, I'm not. I no longer am a college deploy, so it's fine if I could. USY bill's gonna be on your ass though. Uh I'm just saying I think I think USC's got a little bit more motivation to get this thing done. And UCLA, I don't I think UCLA getting a loss too going into the NCAA tournament, they wouldn't be that mad because it's gonna be more motivation than something that galvanizes them going into the tournament. I think when it comes to the NCAA tournament, I'm UCLA is my my clear pick here, but for MPSF, I could see USC definitely taking this thing. So I'm gonna go I'm gonna go USC in four is gonna be my guess. Take us to the Big West.

Arielle Houlihan 13:22

I don't know what was the coward's choice there. Was it UCLA or was it? UCLA was the coward's choice because UCLA is definitely the coward's choice. I don't know.

Chad Gordon 13:29

I think yeah, I think the point is that they've been running away with the games.

Arielle Houlihan 13:32

No.

Big West Reactions And Forecast

Matt Houlihan 13:33

Yeah, yeah. Chad, your turn. Big West. We just watched two matches here.

Chad Gordon 13:38

I don't care anymore. The gauchos got swept. Nothing, nothing matters. C Sun's out, so there's there's your hot topic, men's volleyball, gone. I mean, why why even have why even finish the rest of the big west turns? Shout out to Jordan Lucas.

Arielle Houlihan 13:51

And the whole thing now. Jordan's not playing.

Matt Houlihan 13:54

Uh can he start commentating now? Oh, yeah. Honestly. Get that guy needs to be ESPN2 needs to be saying, Jordan Lucas, I need a sideline reporter. Bring yass. Let's go. You're you're going.

Chad Gordon 14:08

Yeah, so stop stop asking, like, hey coach, like, what'd you like in the first set? Like, give me the hard-hitting questions. Like, let me get out there. Yeah. What do you want to see different in the second?

Arielle Houlihan 14:16

I don't want to hear any more politically correct answers that are like buzzwords.

Chad Gordon 14:20

Yeah. You don't even need a reporter. You just here's a flashcard. Just let them go. All right. I don't know. What's actually going on? Big West. What's happening in the Big West? Irvine won, so Irvine plays what? Long Beach? Long Beach State, yes.

Matt Houlihan 14:35

Which means Hawaii plays UC San Diego.

Chad Gordon 14:38

Yeah, I think I think Hawaii's gonna handle that one. Yep. Um, not in love with San Diego. I mean, they obviously San Diego beat Hawaii last year or this year.

Arielle Houlihan 14:46

No, literally the last match they just played. I'll I'll give them that, but I think that's the second year in a row that they've beat them. Who did they upset last year?

Daniel Rasay 14:55

I think it was a couple years ago. They beat them in the tournament. Do you remember that? Yeah, I do. Yeah, it was in the tournament.

Chad Gordon 15:00

San Diego does catch fire. Like, they're kind of one of those teams, like they can just get rolling and like, whoa, like what is happening? And then you're like, Bryce Stevore, I could walk under the net, but it we just lost in three. Like, what's happening here? I don't get it. Um I I I don't I don't see it happening. Um, you know, again, if you're betting, I'm I'm on Long Beach for that one. And then if depending on is Hawaii healthy right now? I believe so.

Matt Houlihan 15:26

But I don't I don't haven't seen anyone that's not in their lineup in the last one.

Chad Gordon 15:30

Man, yeah, then I think that'll be I think that's gonna be a great great map. So you got Hawaii over St. Oh, sorry, sorry, yeah, Hawaii over, yeah, and then uh Long Beach Irvine. Irvine at home.

Arielle Houlihan 15:40

I like Irvine.

Chad Gordon 15:41

I can I can buy the Irvine.

Arielle Houlihan 15:43

Darcy's gotta stop getting hit in row one, but is it row one? Row three, row four. It's row four. Yeah.

Chad Gordon 15:52

All rotations are dangerous.

Arielle Houlihan 15:53

Actually, no, it's row five.

Chad Gordon 15:56

He was back row and he got hit by the surf.

Arielle Houlihan 15:58

Yeah, but he's moving in row five, moving to over to six.

Chad Gordon 16:01

I thought he just got hit in four just because I think that's gonna be a little bit more.

Arielle Houlihan 16:08

He was moving right into the ball both times. We've all been there. Have we? I've never been there. I mean, I have never been there, but we've all had a teammate who's been there. Yeah, we've all seen a kid be there.

Matt Houlihan 16:21

Twice. All right, so you're who you go, you're going uh who's your who's your big West champion? Who wins? Oh man.

Arielle Houlihan 16:28

Irvine Hawaii in the final then?

Chad Gordon 16:30

Yeah, I would love to see that. And I think if I think if Irvine makes the final, I think they can win it. And then the tournament's not gonna let Irvine in because they we we know NIP's gonna get it.

Arielle Houlihan 16:41

Oh yeah, you won, but we're not letting you in. Sorry.

Matt Houlihan 16:44

Even if they win the AQ, they're like, yeah.

Arielle Houlihan 16:46

No, you're not in.

Matt Houlihan 16:48

The rule was you had to stream 100% of your matches to get the AQ. So you're out. Ariel, who you got?

Arielle Houlihan 16:56

I would like to see Irvine win it.

Matt Houlihan 16:59

And that's what you'd like? What do you think? Heart says Irvine, brain says.

Arielle Houlihan 17:05

I like Long Beach too.

Daniel Rasay 17:07

Okay.

Arielle Houlihan 17:08

Hawaii's coming after me again.

Daniel Rasay 17:10

I'd like a Hawaii Irvine final.

Arielle Houlihan 17:13

I think that would be electric.

Daniel Rasay 17:14

Yeah. I think it'd be good for the sport. But I don't know. I like Irvine at home a little bit. Just watching the match and seeing their crowd, and they're getting some good rowdy students there. I think it'll be a good atmosphere. So yeah. Home cooking.

At-Large Bubble And Bracket Math

Matt Houlihan 17:34

Agreed on the Irvine Hawaii, I don't know what year it was last time Irvine hosted, Irvine got to the finals against Hawaii. I think it was with the Worsley brothers playing, and Hawaii took it. So maybe it's just that bias of seeing that happen the last time it was there. Hawaii's also playing good ball right now, and I think they're they are a team with something to prove. And just seeing how Hawaii has traveled to Long Beach to Irvine when they played at Irvine, they've done a fantastic job as they continuously do filling it out. So I'm gonna go with Hawaii. It's gonna feel not truly like a home game, but it's gonna feel pretty damn close for for UH. So that's that's where we're all let the cards fall. But now let's get to the real fun part. Who is on the outside looking in? Who's gonna get let in with the newly expanded at larges, and who's gonna be how many outside? How many teams are in the tournament again? Daniel can tell you. Okay. Twelve. Twelve total. Daniel can tell you. Twelve. Sorry. Daniel can tell you that he knows the AQs, and I didn't have that answer.

Daniel Rasay 18:34

Yeah, so there's seven, seven AQs. Okay. So if you are a math guy.

Chad Gordon 18:40

Big math guy.

Arielle Houlihan 18:41

I'm not. Give it to me in non-math terms. There's five at-large. One for every finger. Yep. Okay. So uh first question I have.

Matt Houlihan 18:52

Is anyone in the Miva in that conversation for an at-large if they don't win the AQ?

Arielle Houlihan 18:59

Well, we'd be looking at Loyal Ball State.

Matt Houlihan 19:01

Loyal to Ball State. So let's say Ball State loses, because I think Ball State's probably the higher RPI rank. Ball State probably has a case for one of those five, which takes us down our list again. So let's say ball state's in that combo. We know if UCLA gets knocked, they're getting one. But let's assume they win. That leaves USC needing one. Let's assume Hawaii wins. Okay, because they probably would get an AQ as well, or uh an at-large if they lost. Now you've got Long Beach. USC Long Beach, USC, Pepperdine, Ball State. I buy that. Those would be the five of the at-larges.

Arielle Houlihan 19:42

So who's the first out? BYU.

Matt Houlihan 19:44

First out. You're looking at BYU.

Arielle Houlihan 19:47

That makes sense that they're out.

Matt Houlihan 19:49

Yeah. UC Merced? The Texas of the Central Valley, the pits of Nebraska. Wait. No, sorry. That was bad. Did we just solve the automatic qualifier? Is there anyone? Is there anyone that we're that we think should get in? That should get in. I think Irvine should get in.

Arielle Houlihan 20:08

That's a hot take based off the last one. It's just there's always a case to be made for Irvine not getting in, but we would like to see them in the tournament.

Chad Gordon 20:25

Who's that six team that would kick Irvine out? That's really that's what the people want to know.

Matt Houlihan 20:28

Is BYU really the only one that is No, there's more. I I want to say, oh, uh McKendry or Lindenwood was uh was up there on the RPI. I'm gonna say no. Alright, maybe we've solved it. Maybe maybe.

Arielle Houlihan 20:42

Maybe this is the most non-controversial.

Matt Houlihan 20:45

I mean, it's nice when you get the expansion, right? Like when it used to be two at large, all of a sudden when it's two at larges, an urban's the middle finger.

Arielle Houlihan 20:53

Okay, so let's say one of them messes up here.

Matt Houlihan 20:57

That's true.

Arielle Houlihan 20:58

Well, if one of them messes up, then they just switch and it doesn't matter.

Chad Gordon 21:02

I think there's no one still playing that we're really worried about not getting that qualifier.

Matt Houlihan 21:08

Or not getting the large well, yeah, unless you had a UC San Diego upstate over Long Beach, San Diego wins out. And then Irvine loses. If you get a San Diego, if San Diego takes a run, then all of a sudden now it's a ball state question, ball state question with a ball state or loyal with a who was our four there. That's where the Irvine and the USC and Pepperdine, all of a sudden, like one of those teams, one of those teams is outside looking in. Unlikely, I'd say. Which means bracket expansion. Bracket expansion is is doing what it's supposed to do. We're getting the best teams into the tournament here.

Chad Gordon 21:48

Great.

Matt Houlihan 21:48

Doesn't feel unrealistic. Nice guys. We solved it. Good job. Us. Let's get it to sixteen next year. Maybe Pacific will be in there. Right away, ready to roll.

Pacific Gives And The Swimmer Bet

Arielle Houlihan 22:01

Let's talk about Pacific really quick before uh let's do.

Matt Houlihan 22:04

Let's do let's uh We got to see uh the the headmaster himself, Devin Young, at BYU this weekend, and we also had Pacific Gives, our fundraiser, fundraising effort.

Arielle Houlihan 22:15

Matt, can you tell the viewers how uh your update on your battle with the swimmers?

Matt Houlihan 22:19

Yeah, so we uh we decided I was I was approached by Pis Pacific earlier in the year asking if we'd be willing to participate in the Pacific Gives campaign specifically for men's volleyball. And I said that Ariel and I would be willing to donate uh five thousand dollars and put a put a a a match together.

Arielle Houlihan 22:36

I found this out on the day of Pacific Gives that I had committed to doing this, but you know what? I still support it.

Daniel Rasay 22:42

So he gave his Stanford salary, that's what he said in the video, right? He's like Donald Trump, he's giving his salary free. Yeah.

Arielle Houlihan 22:50

Yay, Donald. Oh no, I'm not gonna do it.

Daniel Rasay 22:56

We're getting the Donald Trump impression wrong.

Matt Houlihan 23:01

China. Uh I'm the best. Okay, here we go. Uh spot on. Put it uh put it put in the 5k and said, hey, if we get 50 individual donors, then our five R5,000 gets unlocked. Boom. We hit that within an hour of Pacific Gives starting. But to make it even sweeter, I'm in a fantasy football league with all of my old college friends who all are swimmers, and it's me. It's all swimmers and me. And so all I hear all year is just us shit talking to each other, and it's great, all good fun. Uh, and the commissioner of our league, Nate Leroy, is also the assistant coach for Pacific swimming. So, of course, we put a friendly wager out there, and I say, We are coming for men's swimming, we're coming for everything this year. And our best friend from college, Bart goes, kill him. And so all the swimmers are going after me in the group chat. And I'm just stirring the pot. I'm saying, you know, we're just I would just refuse to lose to the swim team at anything. He lost the swim team. Nate goes, all right, do you want to do you wanna bet on total dollar raised or individual donors? And I said, We're gonna crush you in total amount, so I'll be a gentleman and we'll go individual donors. You're on. And we are we are drumming up support any way we possibly can. We get we get up to like 170 individual people donating, and swimming is at 25 people when I go in for practice with Stanford. I come out of practice, and somehow they're at 210 individual donors, and I'm looking at the list, and there's a lot of anonymous, and then all of a sudden I start seeing Albert Einstein, Homer Simpson, and I'm like, this is horseshit. That's a bot farm. And sure enough, in the group chat, they're all just talking. They're like, we are we're just you're we're refusing to lose. We're bot farming this. Um, that's so funny. I talked to Devin the next day. He's like, Yeah, dude, the swimmers are cheating. The AD sent an email to all the coaches saying, guys, the donors have to be legitimate. It's literally like wire fraud to put fake people's names on this.

Arielle Houlihan 25:24

That is so funny.

Matt Houlihan 25:25

And he they directly they directly reference the Albert Einstein donation. So I was I was calling for I was calling for a recount. I was pulling my best Donald Trump impersonation there as well, saying voter fraud. Uh, but you know what? The the wager the wager was simple. It was hey, if I if swimming wins, I will go to a swim meet and cheer for come like be at a Pacific swim meet. And if they lose, they will come in their speedos to a men's volleyball game. I think both are gonna happen.

Arielle Houlihan 25:53

I think both will definitely happen.

Matt Houlihan 25:55

Uh all in all, just some some good, clean fun.

Arielle Houlihan 25:57

Raise some money for uh good clean, almost not clean fun where five minutes, but hey, whatever.

Matt Houlihan 26:04

You almost got the sport like cutly kicked off of campus. Yeah. Well, next year you know what I'm doing? I'm going after men's soccer.

unknown 26:09

Yeah.

Matt Houlihan 26:09

Men's soccer was the program that they added to cut men's volleyball. Oh. So we also had our our fantasy football league was named Pacific Men's Soccer for a couple years, uh, with the with the volleyball alums. So we'll we'll go after them next. They actually won it. They had the most, they had the most donors. So now I know my target.

Arielle Houlihan 26:26

I want to say a total we raised like sixteen or seventeen thousand dollars for our between us on that, which is great.

Matt Houlihan 26:34

Let Devin go to work over there. Yeah. Get a go sign something. Go sign somebody.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

Go get a kid.

Matt Houlihan 26:40

I know that's not a lot, but we're we're working for it.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

Go get a go get a fourth of a kid.

Arielle’s DI-Ops Dream And Next Plans

Matt Houlihan 26:46

So there you go. That was the uh that was the Pacific update. But in this same vein on the trip, we uh we came to notice one of Ariel's superpowers, her true calling in life.

Arielle Houlihan 26:59

So can this be the last thing we talk about? Because I need to go to sleep soon.

Matt Houlihan 27:02

Yes, yes. Tell the people about your true calling.

Arielle Houlihan 27:06

Uh so I decided that I want to be a Deops when I grow up. What's a Deops? Thank you for asking, Chad. I was hoping that Daniel was gonna ask, but then he just stared into oblivion. What's a Deops? A Diops is a director of operations for a program. Lots of programs have this position. It's like a paid team mom. Kind of like a paid team mom. Diops do lots of different things in different roles, I think, across the country, men's and women's teams. Some schools have a Diops for both their men's and women's team that handles both. Um, the setup is different all over the place. There are a lot of people that don't have a Diops in their program. Uh sometimes Daniel is your Diops. Sometimes Diops gets thrown into your title of assistant coach as well. Um but Deops is just like where I thrive. For the last however many years, I have not I have been the opposite of a Diops. I have been the person with a spotlight on my forehead and front of house, not front of house. And uh I used to be like a behind-the-scenes person that got to like weave in and out and take care of business and like make things happen, and I just thrive in that environment, so I think I want to be a Diops when I grow up. Back to my roots.

Matt Houlihan 28:28

Yeah, back to it. What's what do you think the number one thing is that uh that you would provide as a Diops? Like what's your what's your Diops superpower?

Arielle Houlihan 28:37

Um I think my Diops superpower is I can make anything happen. Like if you t if you say that something needs to happen, I will make it happen. Specifically in a matter of timing, of like, oh, we've got a game in three hours and this person needs to this, that will happen. Like I will beg borrow cheat steal to make that happen before we have game time. Like that, I think is the it should be the biggest superpower of a Diops, I think. Okay.

Matt Houlihan 29:14

Daniel, living living the life of a assistant coach, Diop. What was your what was your superpower? Number number one thing that you would have loved to off what's the number one thing you would have loved to offload to an actual Diops?

Daniel Rasay 29:28

Probably just the food stuff. It's just like so many moving parts with like orders of people or getting reservations for a large group at places can be a challenge as well. It's just like I don't know. I I liked it because feeding people is my love language and it's how I nurture people, and so it was easy for me to do that, but it's just kind of a hassle sometimes, especially when it's high-level athletes, so you want to get them things that are gonna help them perform at a high level as well. So take a lot of things into account.

Arielle Houlihan 30:00

But also, there's a case to be made that a woman needs to be in the Diops position, like it's a pink job. You said it, not us. I'm allowed to say it because I am the said woman, but it's like I would say that there are uh Diops is probably a position majority held by a woman in the United States.

Matt Houlihan 30:22

USC women's volleyballs Diops is a guy.

Arielle Houlihan 30:25

Sick.

Matt Houlihan 30:26

How I wonder how many there are. That's just an observation. I don't know. Well, there's one.

Arielle Houlihan 30:32

Yeah. I just think that it's probably primarily Brad's so progressive. He was like, yeah, get rid of the women in this position. Yeah, it's an interesting, it's like the team mom.

Matt Houlihan 30:46

Yeah.

Arielle Houlihan 30:46

But we do have a few team dads.

Matt Houlihan 30:48

I've only ever had one team dad. And he's probably my one of my favorite team parents of all time, and he's now my assistant coach.

Arielle Houlihan 30:55

Yeah, it's true.

Matt Houlihan 30:56

Shout out to Scott Morris.

Arielle Houlihan 30:58

I want to be a Diops when I grow up, I think. So if there's any people looking for a Diops, I should be your number one hire. Because I am overqualified for that job, but I am.

Matt Houlihan 31:10

She's looking.

Arielle Houlihan 31:12

I'm I'm looking. I'm not sure.

Matt Houlihan 31:14

She's hashtag open to work.

Arielle Houlihan 31:15

I'm am I? I don't know. I'm gonna get hit up by some like South Mississippi State University community college. South Carolina.

Matt Houlihan 31:26

Charlotte.

Arielle Houlihan 31:26

It's gonna be like, hey, I heard you were looking for a T Off's job.

Matt Houlihan 31:30

And I think we need to consider a live stream of some upcoming matches. I could live stream. Watch with watch with the instead of doing even doing an episode, we just do a live watch party and we just come and watch a game and we we live stream and we chit chat.

Arielle Houlihan 31:44

I think that's a great idea.

Matt Houlihan 31:45

I love we could chit chat. All right.

Arielle Houlihan 31:47

Well, hey, that will be coming soon.

Matt Houlihan 31:49

If Matt can figure out how to if we record that if you watch this, like, comment, subscribe.