CSUB volleyball architect surveys his masterwork

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Page 1 of 5 SPORTS Home > Today's Paper > Sports Sports RSS Feed Print Story E-mail Story CSUB volleyball architect surveys his masterwork BY SIMON JUDE SAMANO, Californian staff writer

1 Page 1 of 5 SPORTS Home > Today's Paper > Sports Sports RSS Feed Print Story Story CSUB volleyball architect surveys his masterwork BY SIMON JUDE SAMANO, Californian staff writer ssamano@bakersfield.com Saturday, Sep :07 PM Last Updated: Monday, Sep :42 AM Life before Dave Rubio and life after Dave Rubio. The man himself may be too humble to admit it, but that's how Cal State Bakersfield's volleyball program is defined. OUR READERS RECOMMEND: Woman arrested after driving off Hwy. 58 offramp Dump truck falls down embankment, killing driver Handling the estate of a family member can be tough work Two motorcycle riders die in head-on crash Hit-and-run accident sends child to KMC PHOTOS: Photo by John Harte / The Californian Former Cal State Bakersfield volleyball coach Dave Rubio returned to the Icardo Center for the first time since the Roadrunners began the process of becoming a Division I program. Rubio, who now coaches at the University of Arizona, led CSUB to a Division II national championship in Before Rubio's five-year tenure as coach, CSUB was nothing special. Then he came along in 1987 and turned things around, leading the Roadrunners two years later to their first NCAA Division II national championship in Rubio finished his career at CSUB with a overall record including a 9-3 mark in three consecutive postseason appearances before leaving for Arizona, where he's been coach the past 18 years. Since his departure, the Roadrunners have continued their winning ways, making the postseason

2 Page 2 of 5 12 out of 16 years. It all began with Rubio building CSUB now a Division I Independent program into a Division II power. "You see the results," said Valerie Cowan, who was a senior on the '89 team. "In three years, we went from bottom of the (California Coaches Athletic Association) to winning a national title." Added Tami Jurgensen, who was a junior on the national title squad: "He put volleyball on the map in Bakersfield." Rubio, ever the soft-spoken man of modesty, gives credit where credit is due, to his players and to former assistant coach Rob Wortman. He deflects talk about leaving a lasting legacy. "I don't know about that," Rubio said on Saturday before his Wildcats defeated CSUB 25-17, 25-9, in the Roadrunner Invitational to improve to 8-1. The Roadrunners fell to 5-6. "Back in 1987, when I first got hired, volleyball was still in its infant stages compared to where it's at now. The CCAA back then was in its heyday Cal State Northridge, UC Riverside, Sacramento State, several teams in the Big West now that are Division I. "Back then they were all great programs, and I was fortunate to be part of building a program here at Cal State Bakersfield and having some relatively good success." The defining season of Rubio's tenure, of course, was With Rubio in town for the tournament, several members of that team were in attendance at the Icardo Center on Saturday for an unofficial reunion. The night was scheduled to culminate with a post-game dinner at Prime Cut, where 51 alumni 88 people total with family were expected to attend. Naturally, the talk of Saturday night was reminiscing on the dream season, in which CSUB posted a regular-season record before sweeping four postseason matches to the national championship. Jurgensen, who's originally from Alaska, recalled telling her parents not to travel for the playoffs because she didn't expect the team to get so far. "They kept saying, 'Should we come down?' I said, 'Well, no, the next team is supposed to be even better than this team, and I'd be surprised if we get past them,' " said Jurgensen, who now lives in Seattle. "But we just kept sweeping everybody in three, and it was just unbelievable." Rubio calls the '89 season and his 2001 season with Arizona, when the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four, as his two most memorable. As he looked back on guiding the Roadrunners to the national title, even he was a bit flabbergasted as to how it all happened. "It was a combination of a lot of things that happened, kind of like the cosmos all aligning, you know," Rubio said. "They put everything aside and said, 'We could do this.' And despite all the losing, which is the amazing thing about it, because we lost a lot. It brings back special memories." MOST READ Latest news - Story: Woman arrested after driving off Hwy. 58 offramp

3 Page 3 of 5 Latest news - Story: Dump truck falls down embankment, killing driver Funerals - Story: Funeral services for Sept. 15 Latest news - Story: Hit-and-run accident sends child to KMC Latest news - Story: Fatality possible in Sunday night accident at David Road, Hwy. 99 MOST ED 1. High bee prices sting almond growers 2. Taking inventory for some California pettrust p 3. Pot gardens an 'ecological disaster' 4. Diabetes and me: A reporter's journey from fear to self-control screen cinemaplex breaks ground Site map News Today's Paper Local News Latest News Sports Race to Victory Staff Blogs Bakosphere Ask the Californian Breaking News City Beat School House Zach Business Eye Street State News World News Weather Obituaries Funeral Notices Other Multimedia Photo Galleries Interactive Maps Special Reports RSS Feeds Newsletters SMS Alerts Contact Newsroom Entertainment Movies Dining Calendar Go & Do Contests New Releases Blog: Cocktail Culture

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The Columbian Serving Clark County, Washington

1 of 5 7/21/2011 11:36 AM Login Place an Ad Subscribe e-edition Mobile RSS Print this article Thursday, July 21, 2011 The Columbian Serving Clark County, Washington Jump to content Weather Blog 64 Clark