Volleyball typically plays home games in the Field House, which is temporarily closed due to water damage. (Yiwen Zha | Student Life)

A burst pipe in the Athletic Complex has caused women’s volleyball to move their games from their normal home in the Field House to the Sumers Recreation Center and the Varsity Gym. It was discovered in early July that a pipe burst in the walls of the AC leading to a leak down to the floors of the Field House, where WashU’s volleyball and basketball teams play their home games. The cause was a malfunction in the supply line to a drinking fountain in the AC, with the leaking water spreading down to the Field House floor, according to Athletic Director Anthony Azama.

Renovations to fix the issue began in August, and WashU projects the court to be done by October 7, in time before the end of the volleyball season, according to Azama. It was decided that the Field House would be unsafe to play in for the foreseeable future while the floor is being replaced, according to athletes familiar with the situation, so the Bears are using the Rec Center and the Varsity Gym, a different court in the Athletic Complex, in the meantime. Especially aggravating for WashU was that the Field House was equipped with an entirely new floor two years ago as part of the AC renovations. 

“It definitely put a damper on our hopes for the volleyball season,” Zoe Foster, a senior middle blocker on the team, said. 

This upcoming weekend — Sep. 6 and 7 — WashU is hosting California Lutheran University, Trinity University (Texas), Tufts University, and other prominent Division III schools as part of the East to West battle, an Alumni Weekend event, which is hosted by WashU once every four years. This time though, the Bears will have to move from their usual court, affecting the normally vibrant weekend. 

“As a senior, this being my last year, it was a little bit disappointing,” Foster said. “But my team, my coach, and I have all done a really good job of trying to adjust to it. It was all out of our control and we sort of just have to make the best of the situation.”

Some of this weekend’s games will be held in the Sumers Rec Center, which is typically used for recreational basketball, badminton, and other sports. (Sam Powers | Student Life)

Volleyball will be playing this weekend’s matches in the Rec Center and in the Varsity Gym, normally a practice facility separate from the Fieldhouse, in the Athletic Complex. Bleachers will be moved into the facilities for spectators, but space is much more limited than it normally would be. For alumni weekend, the larger space of the courts in the Rec Center allows for multiple games to continue at once with extra space for fans. 

In addition, according to the Rec Court schedule, the three courts in Sumers will be closed all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to recreational use due to the tournament. Those courts are typically used by students and community members for basketball, volleyball, badminton, pickleball, and other sports.

If the situation is taken care of in time, volleyball will be able to finish their season where it was scheduled to start, in the Field House in front of a full capacity crowd. In the meanwhile, however, the program will be forced to adjust and make the most out of the unique circumstances.