Carli Lloyd the volleyball player is not Carli Lloyd the soccer player.

They are two of the best to ever do it in their respective sports, and both have won Olympic medals with Team USA, but they have never actually met despite an attempt to get them together at the 2016 Olympics.

That hasn’t stopped the confusion among fans over the years. Lloyd the volleyball player recalls one time a few years back when Lloyd the USWNT forward had a particularly memorable game and she started to receive congratulatory messages.

“I was like, what?” Lloyd tells Just Women’s Sports. “Then I started realizing that they were sending them to Carli Lloyd the soccer player and not me.”

Admittedly, Lloyd does not follow soccer, saying that she’s “terrible” at the sport and doesn’t really understand it. But once she became acquainted with the other Carli Lloyd, a two-time World Cup champion and FIFA Player of the Year award winner, the volleyball setter understood why people wanted to reach out.

“I don’t mind being mixed up with her. I would never take credit for all the things that she’s doing, but like, she’s an amazing athlete,” Lloyd says, adding that she now follows the soccer player on social media.

Another thing the Lloyds have in common is the time they’ve spent traveling the world while at the peak of their sports. Lloyd has made stops in Italy, Brazil, Turkey and Azerbaijan, among other countries, during her 10-year professional volleyball career overseas.

While she personally enjoys going overseas to play, she recognizes that it’s not for everyone. That’s where Athletes Unlimited, the players-led league entering the final week of its second volleyball season, comes in.

“They’re thinking about your mental health, your physical health, your interests outside of the sport,” Lloyd says of AU’s unique approach. “And they’re making it so well-rounded that it allows the athlete to play volleyball, but also pursue other passions at the same time and provide space for you to grow in.”

Lloyd’s activities outside of the sport have included motherhood, after she gave birth to daughter Storm last May. Having her daughter on the sidelines has been a highlight for Lloyd this season, and Athletes Unlimited has made it possible with the progressive pregnancy policy it implemented last year in consultation with the Player Executive Committee.

“I got to play my first match and Storm was there, and it was one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever experienced,” Lloyd says. “Just seeing her there and realizing how far I had come, because I didn’t know for sure if I would play again, and I definitely didn’t know if I’d be playing in the United States.”

Before giving birth, Lloyd knew deep down she wasn’t done with volleyball and continued to train during her pregnancy. Lloyd played beach volleyball until the seven-month mark, and as soon as she was cleared postpartum, she got back to being active.

Now back on the court nine months postpartum, she doesn’t take the opportunity to compete for granted. Entering the final two games of the AU volleyball season, Lloyd is 23rd on the leaderboard with 1,777 points, but third in assists in 344 and 10th in digs with 115.

“Right now, my body feels really good, and I think it’s because of all of the attention I put into it throughout all of those steps — pre-pregnancy, during my pregnancy and postpartum,” says Lloyd, one of many female athletes being more vocal about balancing a professional sports career and motherhood, including Portland Thorns midfielder Crystal Dunn.

“I’m such a huge advocate for women to listen to their bodies and stay active through pregnancy,” Lloyd adds. “It’s motivating, and also I want to tell women that you can do it. It’s totally doable to get back and be even better than before, but it does take a lot of work.”

Emma Hruby is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.