Serving Pancakes

Khat and Tiffany recap last week’s matches and preview this weekend’s LOVB Classic, an in-season tournament where all six teams will compete alongside Triple Crown NIT, the premier junior tournament in the nation. Tiffany also sat down with LOVB Houston’s Amber Igiede and Jess Mruzik. Both new to professional volleyball – Jess is a rookie and Amber is in her second pro year – the two discuss their transition out of college volleyball, the close relationships on LOVB Houston, how they’ve experienced the season so far, and more. 

Follow Amber on Instagram.
Follow Jess on Instagram.
Follow Khat on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tiffany and Khat begin the latest episode of Serving Pancakes by recapping week four and LOVB Atlanta taking the top spot of the league standings. They also welcome LOVB Atlanta outside hitter and founding athlete Kelsey Cook to the podcast. The trio chats about Kelsey being a leader on the team and in the league as a whole, her life abroad, the four-match win streak that Atlanta is currently on, and Kelsey’s love of traveling and documenting her travels. 

Follow Kelsey on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Follow Khat on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Co-host: Khat Bell
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another exciting week of League One Volleyball action has come and gone. Host Tiffany Oshinsky and Co-host/LOVB Austin opposite Khat Bell break down all four matches of week three with the lovb and insight you’d expect from the duo. 

Follow Khat on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode recorded at League One Volleyball’s First Serve celebration in Atlanta, women’s sports advocates Ari Chambers and Jenny Nguyen join Serving Pancakes senior producer Anya Alvarez to discuss the moment that women’s sports is having right now. Both Ari and Jenny have created spaces dedicated to platforming and growing women’s sports – Ari in the digital sphere as a host and analyst on ESPN and founder of HighlightHER, and Jenny physically as the cofounder and CEO of The Sports Bra, the country’s first sports bar dedicated to women’s sports. They’re contributing to the rising tide of women’s sports right now that includes new leagues, new investments and more women’s sports content hitting the mainstream than ever before. Women’s sports are becoming normalized. 

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The League One Volleyball season has started! LOVB Austin opposite Khat Bell joins Tiffany as co-host, and the two break down what’s happened so far in the season with insights only an athlete who played in those matches can provide. The pair also chat with Khat’s teammate and LOVB Austin Founding Athlete Chiaka Ogbogu and LOVB Madison rookie Sarah Franklin, who joined the league as part of the LOVB 6 in December.

Follow Khat on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Follow Chiaka on Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).
Follow Sarah on Instagram and TikTok.

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Madi Bugg and Molly McCage have been friends for over half their lives thanks to volleyball. Hailing from different parts of the country – Madi from North Carolina, Molly from Texas – they met through the U.S. Youth National Team. While at tryouts, training camps and competitions, they were drawn in by each other’s nerdiness plus love of reading and giggling. Now in their 30s, they’ve maintained their friendship through different colleges, professional leagues and even continents. While not teammates in League One Volleyball, both Madi and Molly are excited to see each other from across the net while helping build a new league at home in the U.S. They recently caught up with host Tiffany Oshinsky to discuss their careers and friendship in and out of volleyball. 

Other topics include: 

• Half a lifetime of volleyball friendship
• Difference between LOVB and other pro leagues
• Excitement for First Serve
•  A sport of community and family
• The importance of well-roundedness
• Getting into higher level volleyball
• Going Pro
• Coming to LOVB

Follow Molly on Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).
Follow Madi on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You cannot find someone more determined on the volleyball court than Khat Bell. The opposite hitter from Mesquite, Texas, has nothing but out-battled friends and opponents alike ever since finding volleyball in the seventh grade. In school, she beat out her friend for the final spot on the A team. At Texas, she gritted through a bulging disk to deliver an NCAA title. In South Korea, she finally beat down a seemingly undefeatable foe to become the first foreign player to be named Finals MVP. With the end of her career on the horizon, Khat has come home with LOVB Austin, determined to showcase the sport of volleyball. She and host Tiffany Oshinsky examine that determination in depth in the latest episode of Serving Pancakes. Other topics include:

• Difference between playing overseas and in LOVB
• All the Longhorns on LOVB Austin
• Khat’s seventh-grade obsession with volleyball
• After initial reluctance, Texas is the choice
• Winning it all after a major injury
• Doing it all for mom
• Starting a pro career in South Korea
• Coming back for LOVB
• and more!

Follow Khat on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After missing her grandfather’s funeral while playing overseas, Mariena Hayden was ready to come home. The outside hitter from Belle Plaine, Minnesota, had settled in with Greece’s ASP Thetis, but she couldn’t miss any more big moments. Luckily, League One Volleyball called with a roster spot four hours away from home with LOVB Madison. She jumped at the chance. Since, Mariena’s enjoyed life as a pro in the United States and getting to know her new city and teammates. Most importantly, she’s been home, celebrating Thanksgiving with family for the first time since high school. She recently caught up with host Tiffany Oshinsky in the latest episode of Serving Pancakes. 

Topics include:

• Home for the Holidays
• Mariena and the Amazonians
• Training Camp at LOVB Madison
• Mariena’s start in volleyball
• Winning a state title with a torn ACL
• A collegiate career of shrinking shoes
• Getting convinced to go pro
• Coming home for LOVB and family
• Mariena’s top reads

and more!

Follow Mariena on Tiktok,  Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So far on Serving Pancakes, we’ve highlighted American players coming home to play professional volleyball for the first time. Alternatively, there are 27 international athletes coming to the U.S. for professional volleyball, including German opposite Kimberly Drewniok. Kimberly has played professionally in Germany, Italy, France, Türkiye and Serbia. She’s won four domestic titles in her career, including the 2019 German Cup. A long-time member of the German National Team, she’s actually played in the state of Nebraska before – when the U.S. hosted a 2019 VNL pool in Lincoln – and is excited to launch League One Volleyball and be part of the community with LOVB Omaha. Kimberly discusses the decision to come to the U.S., her mom’s immense support and more with host Tiffany Oshinsky. Topics also include:

• Costco, drive-thrus and other American experiences
• Playing with Nebraska royalty
• Coach Suzie - Kimberly’s first female coach
• Kimberly growing up
• Germany’s volleyball pipeline
• Kimberly’s biggest supporter: Mom
• Deciding to come to LOVB
• Outreach to the next generation
• Kimberly off the court
• Writing history with LOVB

Follow Kimberly on Tiktok,  Instagram and Facebook.

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh out of college, Anita Anwusi is making her pro debut this season in her hometown with LOVB Houston Volleyball. A first-generation college graduate, the middle blocker hails from a Nigerian family that was originally skeptical of her athletic career. After Anita’s initial success in high school and reassurance from LSU coaches, Anita’s parents trusted Anita to venture down the elite volleyball pathway. While Anita has planned for her future after volleyball – pediatric physical therapy – she’s very much focused on absorbing all the knowledge she can from her experienced LOVB Houston teammates. She and host Tiffany Oshinsky recently chatted about Anita’s late start in competitive volleyball, love of food and more in this week’s episode of Serving Pancakes. Topics include: 

• Adjustment to the LOVB Pro life 
• Anita setting out on her own path
• Going to LSU
• Overcoming a fear of mistakes
• Looking ahead to a career in physical therapy
• … But first, LOVB
• Anita off the court
• Hopes for season one
• And more

Follow Anita on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Host: Tiffany Oshinsky
Senior Producer: Anya Alvarez
Executive Producers: Carrie Stett, Tamara Deike, and Lindsay Hoffman
Theme Music: Pancakes by Eric W. Mast, Jr.
Sound Designer: Daniel Gonzalez

Serving Pancakes is an iHeart Women's Sports Production, in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.