In this episode of She Aced That, Alyxandra sits down with Maya Winterhoff — middle blocker for the Columbus Fury of Major League Volleyball and App State's first-ever professional volleyball draftee. Selected No. 20 overall in the 2025 MLV Draft, Maya was the only player from the Sun Belt Conference drafted that year, capping off one of the most decorated careers in App State history: four-time All-Sun Belt, AVCA East Coast First-Team All-Region, over 1,000 career kills, and three consecutive seasons leading the Sun Belt in hitting percentage.

In this conversation, Maya opens up about:

🏐 Falling in love with volleyball as a sixth grader🏐 Why she chose App State over Dayton and Delaware (and the Instagram bio trick that helped her decide)🏐 The wild regional championship story that involved a ref call, a curtain, and social distancing🏐 What draft day actually looked like — including the pimple patches, the packing, and seeing her name on the screen🏐 The reality of transitioning from college to professional volleyball and playing alongside Olympic-level talent🏐 Why middle blocker is the most underappreciated position on the court🏐 Her dream of becoming a college coach and the path she's building to get there

Maya's story is a masterclass in trusting your gut, committing to your decisions, and letting your game speak — no matter where you start.

Follow Maya and the Columbus Fury this MLV season.

What does it actually take to run a volleyball club? Not the polished version — the real, behind-the-scenes, phone-calls-every-morning, budgeting-over-a-year-in-advance version.

In this episode, I sit down with Alan Patterson and Rob Conley, the Club Director and Assistant Club Director of Dynamite Volleyball Club out of South Lyon, Michigan. Al founded Dynamite — not because he set out to build a club, but because he wanted to give his daughter a better volleyball experience. What started as one local team has grown into a competitive club with nearly 170 athletes across national, premier, and local level teams.

We get into all of it — what it costs to run a club, how they find and keep great coaches, what goes into hosting tournaments, how they handle drama and conflict on teams, their approach to recruiting, their reasonings on maintaining a smaller club size, and what kept them afloat during COVID when so many clubs didn't make it.

Whether you're a volleyball parent trying to understand what actually goes on behind the scenes, a coach looking to grow, or someone who's ever thought about starting a club of your own — this conversation is for you!

This week I'm sitting down with Alejandro De Mendoza, also known as @thevolleyballcoach! Alejandro is the club director at Momentous Volleyball Club in California, a coach with over a decade in the sport, and someone who spent years working alongside the USA Women's National Team. We get into growth mindset and why that one little word "yet" is more powerful than you think, the difference between internal and external confidence and how people pleasing shows up in athletes more than we talk about, what it actually takes to build elite team culture, how his experiences changed the way he coaches, and what he wishes was different about youth volleyball development in the United States.

The future of volleyball is now — and Emily Ehman has been at the forefront of it!

Emily grew up in Bloomington, Indiana as a multi-sport athlete playing both volleyball and track at a high level. She played club at Circle City in Indianapolis, driving over an hour each way. At 5'8" she could touch 10 feet — a direct result of her cross-training as a jumper and sprinter. She committed to Northwestern in the spring of her junior year, where she walked on as a libero after playing six-rotation outside her entire life and balanced playing in the Big Ten with one of the most rigorous journalism programs in the country.

When COVID shut the world down right as she graduated, Emily took matters into her own hands. She built a volleyball web show from her parents' basement, pitched herself to volleyball publications and networks, and essentially created the digital host role in volleyball media. She covered the NCAA tournament for Big Ten Network, worked with Athletes Unlimited, and has since become a fixture on ESPN, ABC, Big Ten Network, Fox, and CBS. She was in the booth for volleyball day in Nebraska — the world record 92,003 attendance event — and has been at the forefront of pushing for better coverage, better visibility, and better treatment of the sport at every level.

In this episode, Emily and I talk about being a multi-sport athlete, choosing a two's team over a one's team to keep doing track, walking on at Northwestern and the mindset shift of going from being the best on your team in high school to playing with other elite athletes in college, role acceptance and finding your value when you're not getting playing time, navigating student athlete life, graduating into a pandemic with no reel and no job, building a career from scratch by identifying gaps and pitching herself, what it was like to call volleyball day in Nebraska, the future of professional volleyball in the US, and her advice for anyone looking to keep the sport in their life beyond playing.

Whether you're an athlete figuring out what's next, a parent supporting your kid through sports, or someone who just loves volleyball and wants to understand where this sport is headed — this episode is for you!

Follow Emily Ehman: @EmilyEhman

Pitt Volleyball assistant coach Kamalani Akeo joins She Aced That to talk about what makes one of the most successful programs in college volleyball so consistently elite. From culture and buy-in to direct communication and what Pitt calls "small conflicts," Kamalani breaks down the foundation that has led to multiple Final Four appearances and national championship runs.

Kamalani's own story is just as compelling — growing up in a volleyball family in Hawaii, playing club under Olympic medalist Robin Ah Mow-Santos, tearing her ACL senior year of high school, committing to Pitt as a libero and becoming ACC Setter of the Year as a sophomore, playing professionally in the Czech Republic and Slovenia during COVID, and coaching at Pitt alongside her younger sister. We also get into the recruiting process from a coach's perspective, advice for setters on leading beyond technique, how to navigate injuries without losing your identity, and what parents really need to hear about supporting their kids in sports.

Follow Kamalani @kamalaniakeo

Holly Toliver ran the Michigan State volleyball camps I attended as a kid and was one of the players I looked up to at Jenison Fieldhouse. She was part of MSU's historic 2017 Elite Eight run, ranked second in the Big Ten in aces, and went on to play professional volleyball across the world and at Athletes Unlimited alongside Olympians like Jordan Larson.

This conversation is one of the most honest we've had about what it's really like to go pro, the highs of playing on international stages and winning MVP awards, and the lows of getting released by your own college coach from a professional team. Holly opens up about dealing with injuries without proper support at times, the decision to walk away from the sport, and how she's now pursuing her next chapter.

We talk about the grief that comes with leaving something you love—even when it's still alive and accessible—and why that transition is so hard no matter what level you played at. Holly also shares incredible advice about not boxing yourself into one position, her serving routine that made her elite, and why versatility makes you a better athlete.

If you've ever struggled with identity after sports, making hard career decisions, or figuring out what comes next when your playing days end, this episode is for you.

Elise Hardesty-Irvin, NAIA college coach, 17U club coach, and the creator behind @letstalkvolleyball joins She Aced That!

In this conversation, we discuss:

• What it really takes to be a setter - the mental fortitude, leadership, and constant feedback
• Practical advice for athletes dealing with injuries and mental blocks
• Recruiting truths every athlete and parent needs to hear (when to start, how often to email, keeping options open)
• How she started @letstalkvolleyball after feeling burnt out and falling back in love with the sport
• Conflict resolution skills for teams using "I" and "we" statements
• Her favorite skills to coach
• What's missing in volleyball content and what conversations need to happen more
• The one piece of advice she'd give her freshman-year self

This episode is packed with insights, authenticity, and actionable advice.

Follow Elise: @letstalkvolleyball on TikTok

Topics: volleyball recruiting, NAIA volleyball, college volleyball, setter training, sports psychology, concussion recovery, the yips, mental blocks, transfer portal, volleyball coaching, @letstalkvolleyball, content creation, athlete mental health

Dr. Anitra Brockman continues to make history! As the head coach of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Men's D1 Volleyball Program, the first NCAA D1 HBCU to add men's volleyball, Dr. Brockman is breaking barriers and paving the way for the next generation of female coaches.

In this episode, we dive into:

• How she went from parent coach to D1 trailblazer
• What it's really like being the only woman in the room
• The misconceptions about women coaching men—and why vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness
• Her advice for young coaches: "You don't need permission. All you need is belief in yourself, a mentor, and drive."
• Building a program from scratch with character over talent
• Making volleyball more accessible for communities that need it most

Dr. Brockman's message is clear: Stop waiting for validation. Stop listening to people who don't want you where you are. Go do the dang thing.

Follow Dr. Brockman:Instagram: @DrCoachABrockmanUMES Men's Volleyball: @UMESHawksMVB

What happens when you break your back in three places at 15? For Victoria Clay, it became the catalyst for an incredible journey from Division I cheerleader to fitness entrepreneur impacting well over 100,000 people.

In this episode, Victoria shares her philosophy that changed everything: "Confidence comes from your preparation." Using her powerful balance beam analogy, she breaks down why practicing like you compete is the difference between showing up nervous and showing up ready—whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or starting something new.

We dive into:

• Overcoming a career-ending back injury and the mental strength it took to return
• The perfectionism trap in sports (and how to break free)
• Victoria's battle with self-doubt before posting her first fitness video
• Teaching 13 CycleBar classes a week while building Victoria's Fitness
• The truth about fueling your body as an athlete and instructor
• Why "if you want to go fast, go alone—but if you want to go far, go together"
• Creating spaces where vulnerability is welcomed and community is everything
• How to actually START when you're scared, busy, or feel unprepared

Victoria is a former Liberty University cheerleader, CycleBar instructor & manager, head gymnastics coach at Northville High School, and certified nutritionist who's built a thriving fitness community both online and in person. Her story is proof that your setbacks don't define you—how you come back does!

If you've ever struggled with perfectionism, felt lost after athletics, or wondered if you should just start that thing you've been thinking about for years—this episode is for you.

Connect with Victoria:Instagram: @victorias__fitnessTikTok: @victoriaclay0CycleBar Northville (Michigan)

Connect with She Aced That: @sheacedthat

Leah Wilton-LaBoy just finished her senior season at the University of Utah! She started at Utah State, transferred to Oklahoma, then finished her college career at The University of Utah. Three programs, three coaching staffs, three completely different groups of hitters - and she still hit 2000 career assists!

In this conversation, Leah shares about:

→ Growing up in a volleyball family

→ Winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament as a freshman

→ Why she entered the transfer portal—twice

→ Losing some confidence at Oklahoma and how she rebuilt it

→ What it's like to take a set off Nebraska in front of a sold-out crowd

→ Her philosophy on building trust with hitters quickly

→ Why the setter-hitter connection is about relationships, not just reps

→ Advice for athletes navigating the transfer portal

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts :)

Follow Leah: @leahlaboyy

Follow She Aced That: @sheacedthat