Can the success of beach volleyball in the Summer Olympics carry over to the women's indoor game at the Division I level?

That's what coaches and administrators from around the country are waiting to find out.

Many viewers of the Olympics saw the American team of Misty May and Kerri Walsh slug their way to a gold medal because NBC made the decision to air many of the winning duo's matches in prime time so they could be seen by the largest audience.

Meanwhile, the indoor game was shown primarily in the late-night window. It also didn't help that the American women, who entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the world, had a disappointing finish and were eliminated in the quarterfinals after posting a 2-3 record in pool play.

But since volleyball isn't in the mainstream of consciousness for sports fans in this country, some in the volleyball community believe any publicity is good publicity.

"I look at it as a positive with the quality of air time that volleyball received,'' said Lisa Love, an associate athletics director at the University of Southern California and a former chair of the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee. "The popularity of the beach game and the ripple effect for volleyball in< general for both outdoor and indoor is significant. It's an exciting product. People can look at the high end of that as a professional opportunity after finishing their amateur career in college. It's positive for volleyball to be on television. I think the beach popularity is only helpful.''

Complementary sports

In general, volleyball programs see a peak of interest in an Olympic year. But since the American women's indoor team wasn't winning and was bounced from the competition earlier than anticipated, the attention focused on the two-player outdoor game.

For those who don't watch women's volleyball regularly, there is more to the sport than bikinis, sand and dancers who entertain the crowd during timeouts.

"It started out with no one in the stands then it became a packed house, which is similar to what happened in Atlanta in 1996,'' said Julie Hermann, the current chair of the Division I volleyball committee and an associate athletics director at the University of Louisville. "People weren't familiar with it at either Atlanta or Athens, but by the end of the tournament, that was the place to be because they had tickets and people realized what a great sport it is.''

May and Walsh, the all-time winningest women's duo in U.S. pro beach volleyball history, were the stars of a national television commercial depicting them playing on an icy beach in their bikinis. Their popularity wave crested with the gold medal match that was shown in prime time.

It's the type of occurrence that can inspire girls to take up the sport.

"Beach volleyball has a little more glitz and glamour,''said Kathy Gregory, the coach at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "It's on the beach in bikinis. So the publicity was better. It was probably a little more exciting to watch. They (May and Walsh) were ranked No. 1 in the world, and they were going against the top Brazilian teams. They are very charismatic and competitive. Who wouldn't want to watch that?

"One helps the other. To become a good volleyball player you need to learn how to play beach volleyball. Beach volleyball will help you indoors. They are a very good complement.''

Gregory, who is in both the indoor and outdoor volleyball halls of fame, recruits players who have aspirations to be on the pro beach volleyball tour after their college careers.

UC Santa Barbara has 12 outdoor courts, and Gregory likes her players to make use of them when they are training in the off-season. She said ball-control positions such as outside hitters, liberos and setters can benefit the most by moving around in the sand and dealing with the wind and the sun, while they are playing.

"It makes you tougher mentally,'' Gregory said. "On the beach, there is no way to hide any weakness you have in the game. Playing on the beach develops your all-around skills.''

Southern California coach Mick Haley sees the catch-22 in this situation. He coached the U.S. women's indoor team to a fourth-place finish in the 2000 Summer Olympics. One of his star players was Walsh, who chose the beach over the indoor game to form a lucrative team with May.

'It's a good thing'

Both could have been starters on the indoor team that failed to medal in the Athens.

"If Walsh had stayed with the national team indoors, I'm relatively sure that we would've not only medaled but had a shot at the gold,'' said Haley, who has guided the Trojans to the last two NCAA titles. "We had the shot anyway, because we were in the top three indoors for the last three years. But when you get to the Olympics, anything can happen.''

Haley doesn't begrudge the decisions of May and Walsh, both of whom were national players of the year during their collegiate years in the late 1990s at Long Beach State University and Stanford University, respectively. He likes the fact that women have the opportunity to play the sport in the United States.

Haley hopes people are paying attention to the quality of play, along with all the party atmosphere.

"I wonder if the outdoor beach game will wear out when it's not about music,'' Haley said. "I do think it will continue to be popular as the quality of the athletes gets better and as they train. I think more people like the men's beach game because of the velocity and the power. I think a lot more people like the women's indoor game for that reason.''

Many programs are taking notice of the marketing strategies of beach volleyball. They want their fans to feel entertained while watching the match and when they enter the arena.

The University of Florida had a Carnival Day promotion for its October 17 match against the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Inflatable tents with trampolines, and face painting were some of the extras offered to the fans.

"We are popular with families in the Gainesville area,'' said Gators coach Mary Wise. "I have a 10-year-old who will pay more attention to the carnival than the match. I think the success of beach volleyball is all positive. We're all under the same umbrella, and we're all family. Success for a sibling is a good thing.

"There was a time when a player of Kerri Walsh's athletic ability was playing basketball. This is a good thing. It is still volleyball.''