Post by 7thWoman on Oct 11, 2006 19:13:55 GMT -5
Sometimes you read an article in the morning paper that just stops you dead in your tracks. This one was in this morning's sports section of the SB Newspress. Cindy Bible was a co-worker of mine for several years, and we were always talking about her daughter and volleyball.
RIP Cindy. And go Gaels!
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Mandy's mother inspired the Gaels
John Zant
October 11, 2006 7:46 AM
As a memorial service was about to begin Sunday afternoon at Trinity Episcopal Church, a dozen statuesque young women entered
the sanctuary.
They were the volleyball team of St. Mary's College in Moraga. They had left their campus at 7 a.m. for the 340-mile ride to
Santa Barbara, and they would return at 11 p.m.
They would have come any distance to celebrate the life of Cindy Bible, the mother of their teammate Mandy Bible.
"It was a no-brainer," said Rob Browning, coach of the Gaels. "The only thing we discussed was the mode of transportation. Our
administration decided to charter a bus rather than have us drive."
Cindy Bible had been a supportive fan at St. Mary's matches for years, and on Sept. 28, she transcended fandom.
A brain tumor took Cindy's life early that morning. That night, St. Mary's played one of the year's most important matches
against Santa Clara, the top team in the West Coast Conference, ranked No. 9 in the nation and a Final Four participant last
year.
The Gaels were prepared to take the floor without the grieving Mandy Bible, their two-time All-WCC setter.
"People were telling me, 'You shouldn't play. You've gone through too much,' " Mandy said. "But my mom would have wanted me to
play. She always told me: 'Work hard. Play hard.' "
Her father, Bob Bible, and sister April drove from Santa Barbara to watch the match.
All the ingredients were in place for a miraculous victory by St. Mary's out of the Hollywood tearjerker archives.
Such things only rarely happen in real life.
But on this night, it did.
Santa Clara won the first two games of the best-of-five match by scores of 32-30 and 30-23.
St. Mary's came back and swept the next three games, 30-26, 30-27 and 15-10.
Mandy Bible played out of her mind. She almost accomplished a quadruple-double. The 5-foot-9 senior had 55 assists, 13 digs,
10 blocks and eight kills.
"We couldn't think of a single play where she didn't make good contact with the ball," Browning said. "Every set she made was
perfect."
"During the match I thought of my mom," said Mandy, who had spent much of the summer with her ailing mother while she worked
at the volleyball camp of Jon Lee, who had coached her at San Marcos High.
"Our team had something extra that night," Browning said.
Mandy and her teammates remained on the floor, crying and hugging each other, for 15 minutes after the stunning triumph.
The next day, Browning received an e-mail from economics professor Bill Lee.
"He said it was the most exciting, most emotional game he'd seen in any sport during 25 years at St. Mary's," the coach said.
The Gaels play their next two league matches in Southern California, on Thursday night at Loyola Marymount and Saturday
afternoon at Pepperdine.
"My mom hadn't been able to come to any games this year," Mandy Bible said, "but she'll be watching the rest from wherever she
is now."
John Zant's column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. E-mail: jzant@newspress.com.
RIP Cindy. And go Gaels!
---------------------------------------------
Mandy's mother inspired the Gaels
John Zant
October 11, 2006 7:46 AM
As a memorial service was about to begin Sunday afternoon at Trinity Episcopal Church, a dozen statuesque young women entered
the sanctuary.
They were the volleyball team of St. Mary's College in Moraga. They had left their campus at 7 a.m. for the 340-mile ride to
Santa Barbara, and they would return at 11 p.m.
They would have come any distance to celebrate the life of Cindy Bible, the mother of their teammate Mandy Bible.
"It was a no-brainer," said Rob Browning, coach of the Gaels. "The only thing we discussed was the mode of transportation. Our
administration decided to charter a bus rather than have us drive."
Cindy Bible had been a supportive fan at St. Mary's matches for years, and on Sept. 28, she transcended fandom.
A brain tumor took Cindy's life early that morning. That night, St. Mary's played one of the year's most important matches
against Santa Clara, the top team in the West Coast Conference, ranked No. 9 in the nation and a Final Four participant last
year.
The Gaels were prepared to take the floor without the grieving Mandy Bible, their two-time All-WCC setter.
"People were telling me, 'You shouldn't play. You've gone through too much,' " Mandy said. "But my mom would have wanted me to
play. She always told me: 'Work hard. Play hard.' "
Her father, Bob Bible, and sister April drove from Santa Barbara to watch the match.
All the ingredients were in place for a miraculous victory by St. Mary's out of the Hollywood tearjerker archives.
Such things only rarely happen in real life.
But on this night, it did.
Santa Clara won the first two games of the best-of-five match by scores of 32-30 and 30-23.
St. Mary's came back and swept the next three games, 30-26, 30-27 and 15-10.
Mandy Bible played out of her mind. She almost accomplished a quadruple-double. The 5-foot-9 senior had 55 assists, 13 digs,
10 blocks and eight kills.
"We couldn't think of a single play where she didn't make good contact with the ball," Browning said. "Every set she made was
perfect."
"During the match I thought of my mom," said Mandy, who had spent much of the summer with her ailing mother while she worked
at the volleyball camp of Jon Lee, who had coached her at San Marcos High.
"Our team had something extra that night," Browning said.
Mandy and her teammates remained on the floor, crying and hugging each other, for 15 minutes after the stunning triumph.
The next day, Browning received an e-mail from economics professor Bill Lee.
"He said it was the most exciting, most emotional game he'd seen in any sport during 25 years at St. Mary's," the coach said.
The Gaels play their next two league matches in Southern California, on Thursday night at Loyola Marymount and Saturday
afternoon at Pepperdine.
"My mom hadn't been able to come to any games this year," Mandy Bible said, "but she'll be watching the rest from wherever she
is now."
John Zant's column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. E-mail: jzant@newspress.com.
