From nearly 10,000 to 0. That’s the number of fans the Hawaii men’s volleyball team could see in a span of a Friday to Friday.
Last Friday, the Rainbow Warriors had their program’s 11th sellout, a crowd the players say fueled their five-set victory over Brigham Young. This Friday, there could be no crowd for Hawaii’s Big West opener at Cal State Northridge.
A CSUN official said no decision had been made as of Tuesday afternoon as to whether to allow fans to attend the Friday-Saturday series in the Matadome. The potential is there should CSUN follow the lead set by the conference in banning spectators from this week’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as a precaution for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“It’s kind of hard for that reality to set in, especially after having that sold-out crowd,” Warrior senior hitter James Anastassiades said. “It would be insane. I don’t think the fans understand how much they help us. Just a huge thank you to everyone who came out (against BYU). I don’t think we’d have won if we didn’t have 10,000 behind us.
“But if you can do it in the practice gym with no one there, you should be able to do it in a game with no one there. It definitely takes away the home-court advantage.”
The domino effect happening around college athletics also has impacted No. 2 Hawaii’s match at No. 8 Pepperdine next week. The nonconference contest originally was scheduled for Tuesday in Firestone Fieldhouse but has been moved up to Monday.
The scheduling revision began with Harvard canceling its spring break trip to California where the Crimson were scheduled to play USC on Saturday, Pepperdine on Sunday and Concordia on Monday. It also had Concordia reaching out to Hawaii coach Charlie Wade to see if the Warriors could fit the Eagles in, something that wouldn’t work since Hawaii has maxed out the number of regular-season playing dates allowed (28) for this year.
Pepperdine has not yet determined whether it will allow spectators for tonight’s match with Jamestown. The Waves also host No. 9 UCLA on Friday.
On Tuesday, UC Santa Barbara announced that no fans will be allowed at any athletic contest on campus “for the foreseeable future.” The third-ranked Gauchos volleyball team (14-2, 1-0) is at No. 4 Long Beach State (10-1, 0-0) on Thursday and host the Beach on Friday.
The Warriors were to leave today on their third trip of the season, and first since sweeping a pair at Stanford Feb. 14 and 15.
“Obviously the coaches, players and fans are not happy with the situation,” Wade said. “We’re trying to hang on and see what happens. We’d rather have fans in the stands, whether it’s home or on the road.
“We played both our (conference) road opponents (CSUN and UCSB) in front of nobody in October, wanting our new guys to get a feel for the gym. We didn’t think that would have the relevance of this.”
Wade said his players are aware of the precautions in place, including washing hands. The difficulty is in remembering not to hug, shake hands or kiss fans.
“I think we can live aloha without hugging and kissing everybody,” Wade said. “Moving forward, we’ll get on a plan today.
“As an athlete, you like to be playing in front of friends and family. A crowd is part of the thrill of being a Division I athlete. I hope they continue to allow people to come watch.”
The Warriors will travel 15 including senior hitter Colton Cowell. The King Kekaulike graduate missed Friday’s match against the Cougars with a combination of flu-like symptoms and a re-aggravated leg injury.
COLLEGE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Big West
>> Who: No. 2 Hawaii (15-1, 0-0) at Cal State Northridge (4-11, 0-0)
>> When: Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m.
Nonconference
>> Who: No. 2 Hawaii at No. 8 Pepperdine (7-6)
>> When: Monday, 4 p.m.
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1420-AM/92.7-FM Friday and Monday 1500-AM Saturday
>> Video: bigwest.tv
>> Series: Hawaii leads CSUN, 54-21; trails Pepperdine, 35-44
