Paul Kengor: Wake up to women’s volleyball

Any discussion of sports in Western Pennsylvania leads to the Steelers, the Penguins, the Pirates — our reigning triumvirate of football, hockey, baseball. Also high on the list is Pitt football, or any local football, high school included. There’s also Pitt basketball.

What am I missing? The vast majority wouldn’t think of volleyball — women’s volleyball. But we should. The most successful sport in this town four years running is Pitt women’s volleyball, which for the fourth year in a row has made the Sweet 16. They’re a No. 1 seed, along with Nebraska, Stanford and Wisconsin.

Not only does women’s volleyball continue to thrive at Pitt; it’s surging nationwide. A striking testimony to that occurred a few months ago in Lincoln, Neb. On Aug. 30, a gigantic crowd of 92,003 paid attendees filled the Nebraska Cornhuskers stadium to cheer the university’s five-time NCAA champion women’s volleyball team. They broke the world record for a women’s sporting event.

Think about that: 92,000 for volleyball. Those are crowd sizes you see only with some NCAA football teams — Big Ten programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State. (For the record, Penn State has a tremendous history with women’s volleyball, having won multiple national championships.)

Most important, what happened in Nebraska genuinely reflects legitimate interest in the sport. What particularly impresses me about the success of women’s college volleyball is its authenticity. The popularity is not contrived. The games are broadcast increasingly on one of the ESPN channels (though not enough, in my opinion).

By contrast, ESPN for years has pushed women’s basketball (pro and NCAA) on viewers, to little avail. I say that while acknowledging the outstanding women hoopsters who can run circles around guys in a basketball game. But generally speaking, men and women alike don’t throng arenas to watch women play basketball, nor stadiums to watch them toss footballs in women’s football leagues.

But rejoice ESPN, you have a winner in women’s volleyball.

I first watched a women’s volleyball match at Grove City College. I was beating around campus on a Saturday with the kids when we happened upon a game. “Wow,” I said. “These girls are really good.”

I watched again when my alma mater, Pitt, was surging as a top women’s team. I was blown away by the skill level. These women are immensely talented at a high level — the digs, the serves, the spikes/kills, the set-ups.

I think what also resonates with fans is that volleyball seems a natural fit for women. It’s so unlike the grotesque spectacle of women punching each other in the face in female boxing or mixed martial arts. Women’s volleyball seems a best extension of femininity. The girls have ponytails, hair ties, earrings, makeup. They’re caring yet strong.

The femininity is further displayed in how they react to one another. They do group hugs when they score every point (there are a lot of points). They console crying opponents after a loss. Unlike guy hockey or football players, they don’t knock senseless and brood over victims laying at their feet. They’re compassionate and kind.

In all, these character traits have allowed college women to carve out a niche for themselves. Here’s a sport where male counterparts aren’t even on the radar.

The question is, when will it arrive on the radar of most Americans?