In the landscape of P5 volleyball, where will the new arena and training facility put us?
There are some volleyball only facilities but not a ton. Most stand alone facilities are converted old basketball facilities. KU actually has one of the most notable stand alone facilities specifically built for volleyball. It's notable in that it's their second one. Their first volleyball only facility was built in the 90's, their latest one is just two years old. I haven't seen it so I can't speak to how nice it is. I do know it was built in 8 months which, to me, gives up real pole barn vibes which is what their first building essentially was.
I've probably been in around 30 DI facilities across the country and our new home should comfortably put us in the top 25.
Having said that, to MIR's point, probably half of the D1 facilities across the country are complete crap. Of the other half, most are playing in either current b-ball primary arenas or old arenas no longer in use for b-ball that have been converted for VB. I'm sure it's not as bad as it was in the past, but Mississippi State played their matches in a rodeo arena that had a dirt floor. It would be the equivalent of K-State playing in the Ag school's Weber Arena.
Why does that matter? While Ahearn certainly wasn't in the top 25 facilities-wise, it was no excuse for Suzie to suck at her job. There are top 25 programs with worse facilities than Ahearn and it shouldn't have been allowed to be her crux for being bad at her job for the better part of the past decade.