We explain the other half of the PPV Pyramid and how it came to be. There is the athlete PPV Chart and then the program PPV Chart. Recruitology is the study of volleyball recruiting and it's patterns and predictability. I break down who is rivals with who, what programs tend to recruit where and and why the actual athlete PPV score doesn't matter as much as the Level does. This is a generalized look at my study of program recruiting trends over the past 3 seasons and predicting this class from i...
Jun 04, 2025•53 min•Season 2Ep. 22
We dive deep into some sensitive subjects, dealing with hot topics in our world of recruiting and helping athletes and families have the experience that is best for them. We tackle topics like athletes being unable to attend Select Camps due to club practice, overpractice, and too long a season, as well as the insane month of June for 16s. Then we dive into our yearly topic of WHY would any club ever tell prospects that they ARE NOT ALLOWED to talk about camps they are going to or schools they a...
Apr 19, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 21
We talk about the happenings of Spring around volleyball, and that definitely includes college volleyball. We bring in Anders Nelson, head coach of Vandy Volleyball, to talk about Year 1, how things are going with his new program, and everything exciting leading up to their August start date. What an exciting time in Nashville. Then we bring on C.C. McGraw of Louisville to talk about everything new and old in The 'Ville as the Cards go through Spring under Dan Meske. She talks about the program ...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Matt Ulmer sure has had a busy week. The former Head Coach of Oregon gave college volleyball plenty to talk about last week when he took the Head Coaching position at the University of Kansas. The last week has been slightly hectic, but the new leader of the Jayhawks is taking it all in stride and he took a few minutes to talk this morning. He describes the process, WHY KANSAS, his immediate goals and long term plan. Plus why this seems like such a great fit. Then we talk about what all goes int...
Jan 24, 2025•31 min•Season 2Ep. 19
We sat down with Louisville Sophomore Setter Nayellis Cabello who was named ACC Freshman of the Year and also helped guide the Cardinals to the NCAA National Championship Match in December. She has also been horribly overlooked by the national volleyball media during her prep and young college career, but that doesn't phase the energetic Floridian one bit. Her upbeat, care-free attitude is evident on and off the court and it was just what the doctor ordered this season for the Cards as she fit i...
Jan 18, 2025•34 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Texas commit Genevieve Harris talks with VBAdrenaline about her early years of volleyball and her extremely competitive nature. She talks about how she was misjudged by some as a bad teammate, but rather than getting upset or angry she used that to see things from others point of view and become a better leader, player and friend. It also helped grabbed the attention of some of the top programs in the country and set her apart from others in the country when it came to recruiting. Harris talks m...
Jan 10, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 17
VCN 2028 Libero Averi Bridges had a memorable USA Nationals last July. In particular, on amazing match vs. WAVE Volleyball. The standing room only crowd may not have come to watch her play, but when they left and following a social media post a short while later, the trajectory of her volleyball career was drastically different. Learn the story of how the Nebraska 'bro used the match of her life to launch her career and hasn't slowed down since. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website ...
Jan 03, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Mac and Darren dive into an intense episode. They recap the reaction to Mac's terrific article on athletes dealing with negative posters on social media. This leads to an emotional discussion on fans lack of reaction to a serious reaction and also a talk about "chat boards" and more. Then they dive into talk about the upcoming Transfer Portal and VBAdrenaline's coverage of the portal and player PPV evals. Finally we talk about site updates and how you can find Class Player Evals and Team Signing...
Dec 08, 2024•56 min
Mac and Darren tackle one of the biggest myths in the recruiting world: "It's a bad thing for prospects to share schools they have interest in." We give several reasons why we believe this is completely false, why it is actually a great idea for prospects to share schools that they like, and how easy it is to do it on our site. We also address the importance of courage to use leverage in recruiting and how most volleyball athletes are afraid to do that in today's process. **We also answer a lett...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Macs on the road so Darren takes it solo and covers a variety of topics. First, the office staff posted a friendly "Stadium List" that got messy with Big Red Kool-Aid. *Next we dive into the Creighton Debate as Selection Sunday approaches *Then we break down Champions Mindset and how Nebraska uses it better than anyone, but EVERY program could do most of the things they do every day. *Following, Darren talks about his interview with the top 2 PPV scorers in the Class of 27 and how each wasn't af...
Nov 25, 2024•45 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The team breaks down a wonderful time of year in volleyball: Preview our LIVE Signing Day Show and content, which is full of interviews and much more, this Wednesday. We talk about the stress that is November on college coaches. Mac breaks down the successful first week of the Str8 Talk Recruiting Site and the comments we have received from parents and athletes. Nebraska fans were restless, thinking Big Red deserved to take over the #1 spot in the polls this week. We break down why that was a bi...
Nov 09, 2024•56 min•Season 2Ep. 7
We welcome Mac Podraza to the team and man is there some recruiting tea to catch up on! We try and dive into the "new NCAA recruiting rules" and that gets messy. We talk about Purdue's newest 2025 flip of All-American Libero Aniya Warren and try and break down her decommitment and process behind (again this gets messy). We talk about our new staff (yes I finally have an actual TEAM:) and they are rocking it out. Mac breaks down our two newest projects at VBAdrenaline the "Str8 Talk Recruiting Se...
Oct 31, 2024•55 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Marlie Smith is not only one of the top 2027 Setter prospects in America, she is also a National Champ an All-American and just may be the most educated expert when it comes to the recruiting process of anyone in the country. Why???? Because her entire life has basically been about college recruiting, from birth her father has been a D1 men's basketball assistant coach so she has lived and breathed the recruiting "game" from the inside. I sat down with Marlie and her father for an hour-long in-d...
Sep 08, 2024•28 min
AVCA Director Jaime Gordon is the guest and he talks First Serve Classic and so much more about the event and the teams involved. Plus we dive into the 2024 College season, what's ahead for the AVCA and we even talk a little NCAA Preseason Top 10. Great informative episode and gets you pumped for season ahead. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and re...
Aug 16, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 4
I talk with Brennan Dean of WAVE Volleyball about several topics dealing with the recruiting world including: 1. Is Ireland Real as "High of a Character Kid" as I think she is? 2. How good is this 2027 West Coast recruiting class!! 3. How do recruiting coaches handle the changing waves of volleyball recruiting when advising prospects? This guy is amazing. I haven't left many more conversations impressed than I did this one. Must listen for parents, athletes, and club personnel. This guy is a wea...
Aug 02, 2024•42 min
Kentucky Sophomore Libero/DS Molly Tuozza was an All-American everything Libero for Houston Skyline. She talks about what growing pains she went through on the transition to college. She also gets real about what it's like accepting and moving fwd with not starting for the first time in your career. Plus we talk about the 1st Serve Classic vs. Nebraska and her Kentucky team a little bit. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do y...
Jul 27, 2024•30 min
Here from Charlotte Vinson a Munciana volleyball star who survived a near fatal infection this Spring. She's on the road to recovery and doing well there is still much unknown about her future, but she's taking things day-by-day and she's totally OK with that #Perspective. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us c...
Jul 15, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread the word about all the amazing things that are happening in the world of college volleyball. Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode....
Jun 13, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 18
NCAA D1 Assistant Coach of the Year Dan Meske has a candid interview on a coaches' thoughts on recruiting, what do they really think, what do they pay attention to, what are they looking for and much, much more. Plus we get side tracked and talk about some real cool off-topic vb things. Great info for athletes and parents! It's ok to talk about your experiences, recruiting should be fun:) Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do ...
May 30, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Hear from two of the top 2025 prospects in the USA. Carly Gilk and Abby Vander Wal sit down and tell us about their process, what they learned and how they came upon their decisions. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread the word about all the amazing things that are happening in the ...
May 23, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 16
We take the gloves off and talk some real recruiting. Questions from athletes, parents and me when it comes to recruiting education. Like what and why are there hard timelines, how to advocate for yourself, what to prepare for. What are college coaches thinking and how to truly find "your fit". Along with some myths and old tales that just aren't true. The owners of Flow State Volley jump on and we tackle some difficult topics that often go un-talked about and it can cause athletes to not fully ...
May 15, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread the word about all the amazing things that are happening in the world of college volleyball. Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode....
Apr 09, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Talked with the new Director of VB Operations, Gilad Doron, about all things IMG Volleyball. Learn about training, college prep, future projects and growth at the facility in Bradenton, FL. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread the word about all the amazing things that are happening ...
Apr 03, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread the word about all the amazing things that are happening in the world of college volleyball. Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode....
Mar 12, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread the word about all the amazing things that are happening in the world of college volleyball. Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode....
Feb 28, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Indiana Head Coach sits down to talk about his best season yet for Hoosier Volleyball, his contract extension, building a program and finding the right fit in a program. He's a volleyball lifer and definitely brought life to Hoosier Volleyball. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow and spread th...
Feb 03, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Emily Ehman may be THE NAME in volleyball media. The Northwestern graduate is everywhere and is crafting her brand that is synonymous excellence. We met years ago high in the rafters at the COVID Final Four in Omaha. It was her first big chance with B1G Ten Network and man has her career exploded ever since...........and newsflash it's because she works her butt off at being the best! Great catching up and talking volleyball. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren ...
Jan 24, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Cursty LeRoux just finished her first season as Recruiting Coordinator for Texas Volleyball and what a year it was. She dives deep into the Longhorn Culture, what Coach Elliot is really like behind the scenes and gives some big advice for future prospects. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on Instagram @vbadrenaline.com PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will help us continue to grow a...
Jan 23, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this episode of the VB Adrenaline Podcast, Darren Tipton sits down with co-host Samantha Campion, senior All American at Cal Poly Pomona . The team highlights the top prospects showcased at the NTDP as well as spotlighting prospect profiles found on VBadrenaline.com. Stay tuned in for this comprehensive overview of key players, insightful takes on the volleyball world , and an engaging discussion of volleyball's future. Connect with VB Adrenaline: Check out the website Connect with Darren on ...
Jan 10, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this episode Darren dives deep into the world of Husker volleyball. He is joined by Lincoln Arneal, who shares insights into Nebraska and Big Ten volleyball. In the discussion, they cover topics ranging from the passion of Nebraska players, team dynamics, transfer players, the competition within the team, and the dedication of the coaching staff. They also cover what makes the Nebraska team unique, including the significant community involvement and fans' recognizability of players. Join them...
Jan 03, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 6
