1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Lexi Rodriguez, let's talk about your teammates: March 29th, 10:25am

Episode Date: March 29, 2022

DP asks Lexi multiple questions about some of her teammates and the roles each person playsFeeling of the final point in the semi final and realizing you are going to play in the National Championship gameAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to one-on-one with DP. Presented by Beatrice Bakery on 93-7 The Ticket and the Ticketfm.com. Welcome back, one-on-one. She's one of the best, seriously. Simple enough. Lexi Rodriguez, Huskers volleyball. And so you can see what it looks like. See, it's actually there, slightly delayed.

So even if you have a hiccup and you go on a rant, you have a dump button that protects you from yourself. from yourself. So if you slip up and get excited, we've all done it. So don't worry about that as well. Whose is we? See, this is this guy. This is this stuff that I put on. I never had to dump myself.

Of course you have it. From the text line, Lexi, thank you for coming on and giving us listeners a great insight into all your awesomeness. You have fans. I've been in several sports markets. very rarely does somebody take over that market the way you have. This is a football town. This is a football town. Now it's Alexytown.

Like this is like you really could just change this. This is, having gone to matches and then seeing you about the hay market, I'm just, I don't know that I've seen anybody get the reaction that you do. And that's in a month, you're from a team of Queens. Like there is not one.

one person on the roster that's not a shining diamond. And it's remarkable to want. So I'm going to ask you to go through, we'll talk about some of your teammates. And you can tell us secrets about them. You can tell us stories about them. Or you can simply tell us the truth and tell us who they are. Let's start with who's your roommate? Allie.

Okay. So Allie, Battenhorth. Who is Ali and why is she so awesome? Allie is awesome because she is the definition of just herself. She doesn't matter who's around. Like, it could be coaches. It could be little kids. Like she's going to be her, she's a little weird, goofy,

but she's going to be herself all the time. She's super outgoing. I don't know if you guys ever saw, but, like, pictures of her on the court, like, celebrating. Yeah. She has, like, crazy eyes. and that's just like kind of who she is. You all do.

Yes. You, it's great. I love the pictures after something big happens because everybody just, the eyes get massive and somebody's yelling. And there's always at least one person that's just like, whoa. Yeah, that's true. Hit the button. Hit the button. You're a little too much.

The arms go flane. It's like, whoa, don't hit me, please. Okay. So what other sports did you play? Me? Yeah. Basketball. until like eighth grade and then I did tennis my senior year in high school.

Which one were you better at? Out of those two? Yeah. Basketball. Hooper, huh? She could hoop. A little bit. I mean, I was still small, but.

No, but. She got game. You know, you see her face lit up, which she had to think of, yeah, can I call myself a hooper? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I think so. Let's talk about the captains in the league.

leadership of this team. Who are the folks whose personas drive this team to championship game levels? Well, our captains last year were Lauren, Kenzie, and Nicklin, and then Kenzie and Nicklin are obviously like returners, and I think they both are very different in their leadership styles, but they both give like this passion and like, we're going to win this point, we're going to win this game. And so I think that drives like the whole team. Are they sane? Are Nicolin and... Are Nicolin and Kinsey sane?

To an extent. It's a perfect question. I've spent... No, because I've spent so much time with them that I know that a part of what makes them elite is that there is a savagery to how they approach the game. You're a savage in that nothing... it seems like you play as though nothing is allowed to beat you. Yeah.

Right? And so some people saw it where there's a level of insanity to that. When you play and a play is made that is difficult but not impossible and you make the play, how is it that you manage to regroup, recoil, and get back in play as quickly as you do? I think it's just like I have a tendency to just never be satisfied and so it's just like if one thing happens

even if the next thing that I have to do is even harder like I still expect myself to be able to do it well because you you make an impossible dig and then you'll get back in place and somehow recognize where the opposing offense is going to go before you've even

completed your role roll. Like you're going to, you'll do a 720 role and then sprint exactly to the one place that they can, that they're going to go to. That, that makes me think that you're really an alien just playing volleyball under human form. But that's pretty remarkable. Is that, is that serious repetition?

Is that intuitive? Is that, or is it just natural? Like, you just. know where there's a hole and where you need to fit. I think it's a combination of all of them. Okay. It does come with reps of just, like, getting defensive reps or whatever reps they are. But then it's also just, like, reading and, like, knowing the game, like, to a certain level.

And, like, because the faster the game gets, the more you have to know. So I think with more time at the college level, it gets a little easier. But then I think a huge part of it is just, like, having that competitive. side of you and just willing to literally do whatever it takes to help your team win. Speaking on the making the plays and the speed of the game, I know, you know, just watching some of those balls get hit, I would be terrified to be in your spot. So I just kind of like a two-part kind of question where like, who on your team hits the hardest and then who has been like the hardest hitter that you've, you know, received?

Ooh, ooh, those are a good question. The hardest hitter on the first? the team, I'd say, is probably Whitney. She's got an arm, man. I mean, I don't, and she just jumps so high that it's like, you literally see her head on top of the net, like coming at you. And it's just like, okay, like. It's not terrifying. Yeah, at all.

Looking you into your soul before she hits it at you. Yes. And then going along with that, like, the Wisconsin, like, hitters who are like six. 12 feet tall. Yeah, it would probably be probably the hardest just because they can literally hit anywhere. but do you find yourself looking across the net after somebody will try to put one down on you

and you dig it out and we get the point and then you just kind of look over the net and just it's up I wouldn't say ever do that just to look over the tall girl and go you thought yeah yeah yeah don't don't come back here again like this isn't open for business Lexi Rodriguez is with us. Who's the biggest competitor on the team? That's hard too. I would honestly probably give it to Kenzie just because some of our biggest, like, tight moments,

I feel like in some shape or form, she's somehow involved with making a huge play. When you think of this past season and all of its ups and downs, all the new lessons that you had to learn to get there. Early in the season, there was some conversation over the changing of the guard, right? These new, these freshmen coming in, super talented, but how do we get them into the fold? And are we doing it too soon? Like, are we doing too much?

And there, amongst all this is you. how did you perceive your injection into the spotlight right like was it did it feel natural did it feel like just how did you go through it um it did feel pretty natural but that was i would say only because of how the team treated me they didn't necessarily treat me like a little freshman who needed a pat on the back every time they made a mistake like they held me to high standards as well and so I think it was easy for me to be like okay they respect me on the court they respect my role and all that and so it kind of allowed me to fully take it in and then just go go off and do my thing with with Lauren gone there is a a hole in the leadership uh miss Rodriguez

are you accepting that position or that responsibility? Can that be handed to you or does that have to be earned? I definitely would have to be earned. Last year I definitely had more of a passive presence on the court. Like I was going to be super like... You were superwoman on the court. Yeah, like on the court. But when it came to talking to the team or handling...

anything that a captain would handle. Like, I didn't really put much input in it. I was kind of just letting the upperclassmen take the roles and was just kind of like go with the flow. And then, like, once we got to the, like, postseason, I kind of, and we were getting in those type moments, I kind of realized that I wanted to be a person who was going to, like, really, like, encourage

and put, like, we had to get this done. And so now I think. I think I'm more willing to be open to that position, but I would definitely say it has to be earned by the whole team, and it definitely has to be proven that I can do that. If I asked you to recall the moment, the final point, the match point leading that will take the Huskers to the championship game, final point of the semifinal,

and the moment you recognize and realize that you're going to play for the national championship. There was a celebration that was pretty remarkable that happened on that floor. And in it, you still remain poised. Like you saw it,

like you looked at it, took it in, and then dove in the dog pile. Like, I watched you just like, this just happened. Yeah. Walk us through the feeling when you know that your team is going to play for the national championship.

I think it was like so just mind blown. I was just so not shocked. I knew we were going to make it there. I did. But it's almost just like you don't think it's real. Like you genuinely think you're like living in a dream or some like different universe because I mean you like it's a dream of everyone's to make it to a national championship. to win a national championship. And then when you're actually in those moments, it's just like, whoa, like, you start

to look back at everything you've done to get there. And it just seems like there's no way that, like, the world chose us to be in this moment. And so I think when that final, like, ball hit the ground, it's just, like, flashbacks of, like, everything. And then you three seconds go by and then you find. finally realized like, whoa, we're going to the national championship. Yeah, and then I need to get on the pile. Yes.

Like, I need to get on the pile. She should join the celebration. Yeah, yeah, that needs to be there. Not many of us are ever going to know the thrill, the emotions of standing on a podium receiving a gold medal for the USA, and anything at any level. You've got to do that. When you're getting the medal, when you're standing on the podium,

What does that feel like to you? Oh, just a dream. It's like a mini glimpse of something that everyone aspires to do, which, well, for me at least, is to, like, make it to the Olympics, to win a gold medal at the Olympics. And it's just, like, the fact that we did that at, like, a smaller stage was, like, crazy. And I think it's a dream of mine to, like, represent USA at the next level. and so when that happened, it was just unbelievable. Okay, we're going to put you on the hot seat.

You ready? Okay. All right. Who's the best dancer on the team? The best dancer. Probably, Kenzie. I would say Kenzie. Or Becca.

Becca is a good one. That's an upset. That's an upset. Okay, we're going to have to check on that. Very well. Who has the best taste in clothing? Clothing. I would say either Kayla or Kayla.

I, yeah, just from your trip to Hawaii, I would agree. Yeah. How do you have like an outfit for everything? Yeah. Over the course of Hawaii. Who's the funniest? Probably Anni. Annie Buckets.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's fantastic. By the way, have you ever called her that other than. than just now um no but actually like a few days ago it got brought up yeah some i don't know who said it but some of the face that nicklin and kensy made when she said oh yeah people call me that people called me they looked at her with such disgust they're like no one no one um i was surprised

because when they were talking about who's the best basketball player and that's how you know on he said well yeah we played the boys and i i was totally in my bucket and i was like okay you know there's that whatever you say yeah yeah who's the messiest the messiest because you just spent 10 days on a road trip with them just calling people out wow hey no holes part let's get it in well i lived with oh i don't know i don't know i don't know i lived with kenna too and she's not like messy she just gets a little disorganized that part just a little see that That's leadership. She just,

that's leadership. She'd clean it up. It's just, you know, just takes some focus. That would call it messy. Just disorganized. Just not without function.

All right. We've got to keep you for the hour now. So we've made it this far. Let's finish up. Let's finish strong with the leadership. Let's see Roderriguez here on one-on-one. Watch live on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch. You're listening to one-on-one with DP on 93-7 the ticket and the ticket-fm.

Thank you.