Best Volleyball League of America Podcasts (2024)

1
Episode 50: Icemen and Friedrichshafen Libero Avery Aylsworth - The Deep Corner Ep. 50 1:12:22

2+ y ago1:12:22

1:12:22

Former club national champion, Loyola Chicago standout, and now professional libero Avery Aylsworth joins the show all the way from Germany! Rob and Avery get into everything about making the jump overseas into professional volleyball that's specific to the libero position, including how to get recruited, how to get your foot in the door and win co…

1
Episode 49: Olympian, Commentator and Vlogger Ci Michel - The Deep Corner Ep. 49 1:05:52

3y ago1:05:52

1:05:52

The Deep Corner is BACK! Bringing back the podcast leading up to the 2022 VLA season with a great guest - Ci Michel! Ci played volleyball in the 2012 Olympics and professionally all over the world, including in the Athletes Unlimited women's professional league in the US earlier this year, and has since covered the game as a commentator at the 2021…

1
VLA Championships Preview - The Deep Corner Ep. 48 38:18

3y ago38:18

38:18

Rob flies solo this week to take you through a detailed preview of this week's VLA Championships, June 22-24 live from AAU Nationals in Orlando! The "founding five" VLA Tier 1 squads will compete for the season championship with thousands of young volleyball fans watching in person, and it might be the most wide open competition we've ever seen. Ge…

1
NY Pride/Four to Four's Brandon Greenway - The Deep Corner Ep. 47 52:39

3y ago52:39

52:39

New York Pride outside hitter and Four to Four podcast host Brandon Greenway joins the show this week! He talks about his unique start to his volleyball career growing up in Maryland to his college recruitment to Charleston in the EIVA, a very strangely timed position switch, and making his way to Denmark this past year for his first professional s…

1
Rob previews next weekend's VLA Cup! The Deep Corner Ep. 46 43:54

3y ago43:54

43:54

Rob goes solo for a special episode, previewing all 11 VLA Cup teams' rosters, backgrounds, and history leading up to next weekend's MASSIVE tournament! We also announce our new live YouTube show, Around the VLA, premiering on Monday, May 10 at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST! Hosted by Rob and Vince Zanzucchi, with several guests and unique segments, Around the…

1
Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Millar - The Deep Corner Ep. 45 1:06:55

3y ago1:06:55

1:06:55

Long show today, but packed with incredible stuff! Olympic gold medalist Ryan Millar joins the show to get interviewed for a change, as for the last year or so he's hosted the CrossNet Volleyball Podcast with several awesome guests. He talks about his role in turning the BYU men's program into what it is today, his journey on the national team towa…

1
Reigning Champion Captain Tim Falknor on the Icemen's Season Debut - The Deep Corner Ep. 44 33:17

3+ y ago33:17

33:17

VLA Board member and Chicago Icemen captain Tim Falknor joins the show as the last team representative on the podcast leading up to the VLA regular season event in Buffalo, NY THIS WEEKEND! He responds to the trash talk from the other two teams and explains the expectations of the reigning champs for this event and the whole season, plus lots of gr…

1
Boston Bounce Captain Jeff Vautrin - The Deep Corner Ep. 43 38:16

3+ y ago38:16

38:16

The fearless leader of the new VLA Tier 2 squad Boston Bounce, Jeff Vautrin, joins the show this week before his team's VLA debut next weekend in Buffalo! Jeff took over as the head coach of the men's program at Lasell University a few short years after finishing his playing career there, and has added "head women's coach" and "VLA team captain" to…

1
Team LVC Captain Chris Hosley on the VLA Buffalo Event - The Deep Corner Ep. 42 31:55

3+ y ago31:55

31:55

New York Team LVC Captain and VLA Board member Chris Hosley returns to the show to give a long overdue recap of his team's performance against Team Pineapple in January, and to preview the next VLA 2021 regular season stop: Buffalo, NY April 17-18! Chris and the Legion have quite the squad ready to take on the defending champion Chicago Icemen and …

1
Two-Time Olympian setter Don Suxho - The Deep Corner Ep. 41 58:07

3+ y ago58:07

58:07

A very special guest this week - 2x AVCA All-American, AVCA National Player of the Year, and 2x USA Olympic setter Don Suxho! A phenomenal player with an even more incredible story, growing up in communist Albania (just north of Greece) and finding his way eventually to USC for a stellar college career before gaining American citizenship and joinin…

1
Rob & Vince go LIVE from Arizona! The Deep Corner Ep. 40 25:04

3+ y ago25:04

25:04

Special episode this week - recorded LIVE on Monday night, February 8, host Rob St. Claire and frequent guest Vince Zanzucchi of the VLA Board and Phoenix Ascension preview this weekend's BIG VLA regular season event! They get into the two awesome venues in the Phoenix area, the two brand new teams that will be playing, what VLA Tier 2 is all about…

1
Special Announcement - The Deep Corner LIVE! Monday night, Feb 8 1:38

3+ y ago1:38

1:38

Quick announcement - The Deep Corner is going LIVE! Tonight (Monday Feb 8, 2021) at 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST Rob will be going live from Ascension Volleyball practice in Phoenix, AZ leading up to this weekend's big VLA regular season event. Ascension captain and frequent podcast guest Vince Zanzucchi will hop on to talk about this weekend's event, …

1
George Mulry of the Int'l Volleyball Hall of Fame - The Deep Corner Ep. 39 51:15

3+ y ago51:15

51:15

A special guest, the Executive Director of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, George Mulry joins the show this week! As the one and only full time employee of the Hall, George gives us tons of detail on eligibility and voting for induction into the Volleyball Hall of Fame, including our very own Lloy Ball's enshrinement in 2015. He also giv…

1
Lloy Ball on the 2021 VLA season kicking off! - The Deep Corner Ep. 38 50:33

3+ y ago50:33

50:33

VLA co-founder, Olympic gold medalist, and general volleyball LEGEND Lloy Ball rejoins the show after being the first ever guest on The Deep Corner -- and boy, has the world changed since then! Lloy and the VLA board have dealt with a global pandemic, pulled off a great event last summer, and are now ready to play in 2021 starting THIS WEEKEND with…

1
Everett from Volleyball Source! - The Deep Corner Ep. 37 59:34

3+ y ago59:34

59:34

Another guest from north of the border joins the show - Everett Delorme from Volleyball Source! Another absolute must follow for any volleyball fan, Everett has built the Volleyball Source website and brand to almost 14k instagram followers! We spend almost an hour talking volleyball, including fighting for superiority between the NCAA and Canadian…

1
Dan from FiveOne VB and the CEV - The Deep Corner Ep. 36 47:46

3+ y ago47:46

47:46

The Deep Corner is BACK this week with a big guest - Dan Meneley, the CEV digital content coordinator and the man behind the FiveOne Volleyball podcast, instagram, and YouTube channels! Dan gives us some headlines from the big European professional leagues playing right now, which you can hear a lot more about on his podcast. We get into how he got…

1
Bri Schunzel from the JVA - The Deep Corner Ep. 35 49:48

4y ago49:48

49:48

The JVA Director of Marketing, Education, and Player Development, Bri Schunzel, joins the show this week on behalf of the Junior Volleyball Association, one of the VLA's event partners and friends! Bri was an all star setter in her playing days collegiately and professionally, and now she's approaching her tenth year full time at the JVA. We get in…

1
Icemen All-Tournament Middle Brandon Poindexter - The Deep Corner Ep. 34 32:12

4y ago32:12

32:12

VLA Kickoff Classic All-Tournament middle blocker Brandon Poindexter (@brandonp428) joins the show after his Chicago squad's win at the Kickoff Classic a month ago, getting into his volleyball origin story on the east coast, his figurative and literal growth as a player, and how he stays in such spectacular shape. He also has a fascinating and uniq…

1
Ascension Libero CJ Suarez - The Deep Corner Ep. 33 45:56

4y ago45:56

45:56

Phoenix Ascension libero CJ Suarez (@cjsuarez_) joins the show a few weeks after a stellar performance at the VLA Kickoff Classic to talk us through his volleyball journey. He tells some great stories about being an MVP caliber outside hitter in high school at only 5'10", grinding incredibly hard to make his college team at Cal State Northridge, be…

1
LVC All-Tournament Middle Mike Marshman - The Deep Corner Ep. 32 42:23

4y ago42:23

42:23

New York Legion middle blocker Mike Marshman (@mikemarshman) returns to the show, with a weekend of VLA volleyball and an all-tournament award behind him, to talk about his team's weekend at the Kickoff Classic. We get into LVC's habit of going to 5 sets, what it takes to shake off rust and build team chemistry quickly during a tournament, what big…

1
Icemen MVP Outside Hitter Dave Wieczorek - The Deep Corner Ep. 31 46:17

4y ago46:17

46:17

The Deep Corner is back! Chicago Icemen outside hitter and recently crowned MVP of the VLA Kickoff Classic Dave Wieczorek (@davewieczorek) joins the first show since last weekend's event to talk about everything in his volleyball life. He gets into each match the Icemen played throughout the tournament, plus his college career, time spent in the US…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 30 - Kickoff Classic preview with Vince Zanzucchi 25:28

4y ago25:28

25:28

Live volleyball is happening this weekend! Yes, seriously! VLA Director of Digital Operations Vince Zanzucchi (@vzanzucchi10) rejoins the show to give a preview of what everyone can expect starting Thursday evening, July 2 all the way through Sunday July 5. Make absolutely sure you're subscribed to the VLA YouTube channel, where the Thursday pre-st…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 29 - Cody Kessel 32:12

4y ago32:12

32:12

A new addition to the New York Legion roster for next weekend's VLA Kickoff Classic, outside hitter Cody Kessel (@codykessel) joins the show in anticipation of returning to volleyball in a week. He talks about growing up in Colorado where there's barely any boys' volleyball, having USAV legend John Kessel as a father, taking a gap year between high…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 28 - Zach Melcher 32:31

4y ago32:31

32:31

Phoenix Ascension setter Zach Melcher (@zach_em_smack_em) joins the show to talk about his quarterback-like approach to the setter position, his transferring from Cal Baptist to Grand Canyon JUST before Cal Baptist's program was cut, his first professional season overseas in the Czech Republic, and much more. An impressive rapid fire question perfo…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 27 - EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT with Tim Falknor 11:39

4y ago11:39

11:39

VOLLEYBALL IS BACK! That's right, real, live, professional sports are back on the schedule! VLA Director of Player Relations Tim Falknor rejoins the show to talk a few quick details about the event now on the calendar: July 3-5 at the Ball Sports Academy in Angola, IN. Stay tuned to the VLA social media platforms for many more details!…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 26 - Match Analysis - USA v. Brazil, 2019 FIVB World Cup 36:06

4y ago36:06

36:06

Rob (@rstclaire1) goes solo again this episode to break down the play and commentary of a match from last year's FIVB World Cup between the US and Brazil. You'll definitely want to watch the video for this one on the VLA YouTube channel!

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 25 - Mark Jones 40:59

4y ago40:59

40:59

Chicago Icemen outside hitter Mark Jones (@mjoneo11) joins the show to break down his volleyball career in detail, from hilariously humble beginnings to a stellar college career at George Mason where he shared EIVA co-player of the year honors with some guy named Aaron Russell. He breaks down the differences between outside hitter and opposite in d…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 24 - Tomás Goldsmith 41:57

4y ago41:57

41:57

Team Pineapple outside hitter Tomás Goldsmith (@tomas.goldsmith) joins the show to talk about his unique volleyball career. He gets into the transition from playing division 1 libero to absolute all star college club outside hitter, how he's continued to level up his game since college, how his jump serve is so crazy good, and how his indoor game t…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 23 - Volleyball Broadcasting Analysis 47:27

4y ago47:27

47:27

Your familiar host and VLA play by play guy Rob St. Claire (@rstclaire1) goes solo for this show to talk about volleyball broadcasting. Just about everyone in the volleyball community knows what it's like to be frustrated by bad uneducated commentators while watching a match...Rob gets into why it's such a common problem, what it takes to be a bett…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 22 - Ryan Windisch 28:22

4y ago28:22

28:22

SoCal Rising Tide head coach and occasional libero Ryan Windisch (@tropicalwindy) joins the show to talk about playing, coaching, and everything in between. He has a unique perspective on collegiate volleyball having played at the junior college level, the NCAA division 1 level, and now as the head coach for the Irvine Valley College men's program.…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 21 - Andrey Diachkov 41:13

4y ago41:13

41:13

Ukrainian volleyball rock star Andrey Diachkov (@volleyball.advice) joins the show to talk in depth about his stellar international volleyball career that spans 15 years and several countries. He tells a few incredible stories about 5 set wins, crazy home-and-home CEV matches, playing so well against teams that they have no choice but to sign him t…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 20 - Eric Martin 45:51

4y ago45:51

45:51

The legendary Eric Martin (@mremartin5) of Team LVC joins the show to somehow attempt to condense his 30-ish years of volleyball down to one single podcast. We cover all the changes in how the game is played that E has played through, the journey to the VLA level for a 5'6" utility guy, and the similarities between being a musician and a volleyball…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 19 - Mike Marshman 40:33

4y ago40:33

40:33

New York Legion middle blocker Mike Marshman (@mikemarshman) joins the show to talk about his crazy last second recruitment to Saint Francis, the amazing progression of his team from his freshman to senior year in college, the differences between playing in France and Finland, and a nice crash course in how to read block in the middle. Mike also ge…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 18 - Bruno Amorim 39:01

4y ago39:01

39:01

Team Pineapple outside hitter/opposite Bruno Amorim (@brunera16) joins the show after finally getting home to Indiana after an insane stretch of travel disappointments when his Saudi Arabian professional season was cut short. We also cover his amazing volleyball exposure story, try to list every country he's played professionally in, dive into the …

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 17 - Daniel Davidson 44:43

4y ago44:43

44:43

SoCal Rising Tide (@risingtidevb) founder/general manager and VLA Director of Marketing Daniel Davidson joins the show, and we go all over the place talking volleyball. We cover the dangers of the NCAA reducing sports, how Dan consulted the FIVB on how American sports work, the Rising Tide origin story, and breaking into the American professional s…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 16 - Dave Hancock 43:19

4y ago43:19

43:19

Chicago Icemen middle blocker Dave Hancock (@dave_hancock_) joins the show to talk about his late blooming volleyball career, all the way from his college club days at Purdue to professional volleyball in Germany and in the VLA. He has some great stories and lessons from his volleyball career and continues to be a monster in the middle at every lev…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 15 - Will Foley 39:31

4y ago39:31

39:31

VLA Director of Business Development Will Foley (will.foley@usavla.com) joins the show to bring a unique and detailed perspective on what it takes to build a professional volleyball league in today's American sports culture and landscape. We talk about how to put "butts in seats" at matches, how to get the sport in front of the most people, and how…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 13 - Todd Jay 36:24

4+ y ago36:24

36:24

Official VLA Event Photographer Todd Jay (@theetoddjay) joins the show to talk about how ridiculously many photos he's taken in his life, what makes a great volleyball photo, and some of his favorite memories from capturing the sport. The VLA is so lucky to have such a talented guy on board to help capture some incredible moments! Give Todd a follo…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 12 - Blake Leeson 38:35

4+ y ago38:35

38:35

New York Legion middle blocker Blake Leeson (@blake_leeson) joins the show to talk about his humble volleyball beginnings, his quick growth into a starting role on back-to-back NCAA championship teams at Ohio State, and the transition into professional volleyball, plus his connection story to Team LVC and an incredible coincidence about flamingoes.…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 11 - Chris Hosley 32:49

4+ y ago32:49

32:49

New York Legion (@teamlvc_vla) captain/team rep and VLA director of league development Chris Hosley (@c_hosley) joins the show to talk about three-peating collegiate national championships back in the day, Team LVC's origins, the birth of their iconic flamingo symbolism, and a lot more about the history and culture of the volleyball scene. Great ch…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 10 - Bryan Lewis 35:52

4+ y ago35:52

35:52

Phoenix Ascension opposite Bryan Lewis (@bryan_lewisvb3) joins the show to talk hitting, serving, and high level volleyball mindset, plus his career and experiences from the college club level all the way to the VLA. Awesome interview.

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 9 - Coley Pawlikowski 36:24

4+ y ago36:24

36:24

VLA Director of Business and Event Operations Coley Pawlikowski (@coleypaw) joins the show to give crucial updates on the VLA schedule amidst the worldwide postponements/cancellations due to the coronavirus. We also chat about her Danish coaching experience, the VLA board's goals for this season and beyond, and why having a volleyball league run by…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 8 - Dan Starkey 40:18

4+ y ago40:18

40:18

Chicago Icemen outside hitter Dan Starkey (@starkeyvolleyball) joins the show to talk about his unique journey to the professional volleyball level, including his path through college, time spent in the UK playing volleyball and getting a graduate degree, and his last second call to fly to Denmark to join a professional team this season. A really c…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 7 - Joe Kauliakamoa 35:54

4+ y ago35:54

35:54

Phoenix Ascension outside hitter/setter Joe Kauliakamoa (@joekauliakamoa) joins the show to talk about his unique and fascinating volleyball career. He's played with and against some big names, has a crazy setting resume, and decided to be a top caliber outside hitter in the VLA just for fun. Make sure to check out this look into one of the more in…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 6 - Matt August 32:40

4+ y ago32:40

32:40

SoCal Rising Tide middle blocker Matt August (@mattaugust_) joins the show amidst the worldwide coronavirus cancellations to talk about his volleyball career, his first professional season in the Czech Republic, his time with the US National Team, his nasty float serve, and more. Don't miss this great chat with a rising VLA star.…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 5 - Tim Falknor 33:01

4+ y ago33:01

33:01

Chicago Icemen (@chicago_icemen_vla) captain/team rep and VLA Director of Player Relations Tim Falknor joins the show to chat about his unique volleyball background, what it takes to play at a high level, the Chicago volleyball scene, his Icemen squad and its origins, and much more. Don't miss this one.…

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 4 - Pasquale Fiduccia 25:30

4+ y ago25:30

25:30

Team Pineapple setter Pasquale Fiduccia (@squalefiduccia) joins the show to talk about joining a brand new collegiate program, his growth as a setter, learning under Lloy Ball, and much more. Great interview with a guy with a ton of personality.

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 3 - Vince Zanzucchi 38:16

4+ y ago38:16

38:16

Phoenix Ascension captain/team rep and VLA director of digital operations Vince Zanzucchi (@vzanzucchi10) joins the show from his Hawaiian vacation to talk about his team, our new Mikasa volleyball, preseason scrimmages, live streaming, and the league's digital strategy. Awesome interview.

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 2 - Griffin Shields 26:10

4+ y ago26:10

26:10

Chicago Icemen opposite Griffin Shields (@griffin_shields) joins the show to talk about his college career, switching positions, recovering from injury, and wearing a very interesting set of jerseys while playing in Germany!

1
THE DEEP CORNER Episode 01 - Lloy Ball 37:21

4+ y ago37:21

37:21

The inaugural episode of a new VLA show - The Deep Corner, hosted by Rob St. Claire! The legendary Lloy Ball joins the show for the first episode to talk about his overseas pro volleyball career, his VLA squad Team Pineapple, and what he looks forward to this first VLA season.

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