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August 16, 2004 7:04 pm

Indiana volleyballer hopes time is right for U.S. victory

By BRYCE MILLER

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece — In a Los Angeles studio, the future U.S. Olympic volleyball player sat with his college teammates and soaked up TV legend Bob Barker.

Then it happened: Phil Eatherton, come on down.

"It was heartbreaking," said Eatherton, in mock seriousness. "I lost a lot of stuff on the Showcase Showdown."

Eatherton, the tallest player ever to play college volleyball at Ball State, laughs at his quirky past that includes being a contestant on The Price is Right, a massive McDonald’s Happy Meal toy collection and a family television that never moved from one channel.

The free-spirited middle blocker and his U.S. teammates play the Netherlands today in a Pool B match at Peace & Friendship Stadium.

The Americans are 0-1 in pool play after a four-set loss to Italy on Sunday, the same day the Dutch defeated Russia. Eatherton, a 6-foot-9 college All-American, recorded five kills and two blocks against the Italians.

"It’s a big match for us," Eatherton said. "We need to play well."

Eatherton’s volleyball career started closer to the ground than the top of the net when Ball State coaches took a chance on a tall but untested player.

"After that first practice, I realized I wasn’t a good volleyball player," he said.

Because of Ball State, though, Eatherton met Barker.

The team took spring trips to train and was in the crowd nine years ago when Eatherton heard his name over the loudspeaker. He pulled the time-test trick of bidding $1 less than the other contestants, who all had overbid.

"Yeah, it worked," he said.

Eatherton won a game and advanced to spin the wheel that determines the Showcase Showdown.

He hit the $1 spin on the big wheel, winning $1,000. But he underbid on a convertible car, trip to Disneyland a refrigerator.

Eatherton recovered from his near-miss on national TV and, later, being the last middle blocker cut from the U.S. team for the 2000 Sydney Games. Now, his family has ordered cable television for the first time to follow him in Athens.

"I guess it’s cool to say I was on the Price is Right," Eatherton said. "You know what, though, it’s cooler to say you’ve been to the Olympics."

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