I was sitting down at Gill Coliseum for about five minutes before realizing how crazy it is that women’s collegiate volleyball is not a way bigger deal. A lanky girl from Arizona State perfectly timed a jump to collect a well-placed set by her teammate and smacked the ball with all her might. I considered whether that spike would have broken my nose. It was a perfectly executed play of finesse and power. Yet, it never touched the ground. An Oregon State player dived forward and stuck out her arm to keep the point alive. A few volleys later, Oregon State scored. I glanced around to see if anybody shared my enthusiasm for the dramatic play. A few fans clapped in awe but just as many were preoccupied with their kids or their phones. The disinterest summed up volleyball’s struggle for attention. In a country obsessed with collegiate and professional football, volleyball plays in the shadows.
It’s hard to talk about the success of women’s sports without mentioning Title IX. The 1972 act sparked a continuous growth of women’s sports that continues today. Nearly 96% of colleges currently dress up women’s volleyball teams. However, these teams compete for attention against sports with longer histories and bigger budgets (not to mention systemic bias). The Oregon State volleyball game I, along with about a thousand other fans, attended took place in the basketball stadium. It’s a block away from Reser Stadium, which fills up to 45,674 rambunctious fans every other Saturday. Even undefeated Pac-12 schools Stanford and Washington only average 2,000 fans at volleyball games and both teams are contenders for a national championship.
Oregon State beat a very good Arizona State team in straight sets that night and competed valiantly with top ranked Stanford the next weekend. If they can win a few more big matches, they are likely to get a bid to the national tournament. Their Eugene counterparts are ranked in the top 10 and will be there waiting. Unbeknownst to most Oregonians, Oregon’s two big college volleyball teams have a chance to make some noise this year. They’ll even play each other once more in a must see match. The volleyball Civil War takes place the day after Thanksgiving and will likely be more competitive and exciting than college football’s storied Civil War game 24 hours later.
The game I attended happened to be some sort of “Disney” night. Daughters came dressed as princesses and a few college students looked like extras from the ball scene in Cinderella. During timeouts and between sets, classic songs were blasted from the speakers and kids came down to play games with Disney characters. A common theme was the announcer asking players and young fans alike which Disney princess they would want to be. Answers like Belle and Ariel were screamed out by the young girls, but all I could think about were the great role models right in front of them. These young girls should want to grow up to be volleyball players.
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