By Kristen Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
December 9, 1997

Volleyball team seeks intimate court setting

Photo courtesy of Washington State University Arizona Daily Wildcat Washington State's Bohler Gym, which holds 3,500 fans and has been the home of Cougar athletics since 1928, is the epitome of what a volleyball setting should be like, according to UA volleyball coach Dave Rubio. Rubio would like to see Bear Down Gym replace McKale Center as the Wildcats' home court because of its smaller size and the fans proximity to the court.

UA volleyball player Sara Johnson summed it up best when she said that, even when record numbers of fans attend a match at McKale Center, it still looks empty.

"When there are a ton of fans you still see the dark yellow seats at the top," she said, despite the fact that a record 4,927 fans came out to see the Oregon State match in October that preceded the men's basketball team's Midnight Madness festivities.

Ever since Johnson was a freshman, coach Dave Rubio has been lobbying for a move to Bear Down Gym, the facility used by Campus Recreation for intramural and club sports.

A varsity event hasn't been staged there since the basketball team played in Bear Down through the first half of the 1973 season.

Rubio wants to convert Bear Down into the volleyball team's permanent home for the intimate setting it would provide.

The Wildcats currently play all their matches at McKale, which holds 14,489. Arizona, who averaged 1,288 fans this season practiced at McKale full time until basketball season started. Since then, they have been shipped to Bear Down for most workouts.

"(Moving) would allow us some individualism in our sport," Rubio said. "I would eventually like to have Bear Down (permanently) and share it with the recreation department."

Brian Carswell, Campus Recreation's associate director, said Bear Down Gym is the primary venue for intramurals and cannot be given up to the athletic department.

"If anything's done, it's got to be a win-win situation for everyone. However, if it's updated, than we've got a win-win situation," Carswell said.

"(Campus Rec) could coexist as well. We don't want to take over. There would be tradeoffs," Athletic Director Jim Livengood said.

Carswell said he thinks the move is at least a couple years down the road but Livengood said he thinks there is "a chance to possibly look at it for the 1998 season."

It's no secret that many renovations need to take place before it becomes a suitable home for the volleyball team.

Carswell said a new heating and cooling unit and bleachers would need to be installed. Steve Kozachik, the athletic department's director of facility management/capital projects, said improvements would have to be made in lighting to accommodate for television purposes, the locker rooms would need to be renovated as well as the ceiling.

Rubio wasn't sure it needed to be touched.

Instead, players with rocket-high serves like Southern Cal's Jennifer Kessy, would have to adjust. As for playing the ball off the exposed rafters, he said, "Play pinball."

These are just a few things Rubio envisions in his quest to get the team moved to Bear Down.

He said Washington State's Bohler Gym is the premier venue to model.

Bohler, home of Cougar athletics since 1928, holds 3,500 fans, many of which are just a few feet from the court.

"I don't really think it's a real opponent-friendly setting because the crowd is very boisterous. Volleyball coaches love to see it and have said this is the atmosphere volleyball should have. (Bohler) is the epitome of what a volleyball setting should be because the sport is such a great spectator sport."

Livengood, who came to Arizona after a half dozen years as the Cougars' athletic director, said Bear Down could hold 3,500 fans as well.

"(Bohler) was dynamite and Bear Down could be the exact same thing. I think (Bear Down) would be a great home for volleyball. It's the right size and would make a tough place for opponents to play," Livengood said.

Three Pac-10 schools - Washington State, California and Southern Cal - play in small facilities.

"Moving to Bear Down would be so wonderful for the program. It would definitely be in our advantage to get a big crowd packed into a small gym," setter Michaela Ebben said.

But Joan Bonvicini, UA's women's basketball coach, has no desire to accompany the volleyball program to Bear Down.

"I feel we have the best facility in the Pac-10 and a top two or three in the country with McKale and were going to stay here," she said.

Rubio, whose team ended its season Saturday with a NCAA Tournament first round loss to Oral Roberts, said it has been about a year since Livengood and he have discussed the issue.

"What's going to happen is Jim and I will sit down and talk," Rubio said. "I'd like to find out what needs to take place and what the next step is."