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Free spirit Sykora brings energy and color to volleyball team
SYDNEY, Australia -- The most intriguing work of art at the Olympics is American Syko. Stacy Sykora always answers to her given name or to Sacs, but she has had a T-shirt printed that proclaims her Syko -- and few of her teammates on the U.S. volleyball team would disagree. Sykora is a libero, the new, strictly defensive position that volleyball instituted last year. While her teammates were decked out in white against Kenya on Monday, Sykora was, as the rules stipulated, dressed in a different color -- red, in this case. As outside hitter Allison Weston noted after the 25-16, 25-6, 25-6 rout, the startlingly athletic Sykora truly is a horse of a different color. As an outside hitter -- even as a former all-American at the position at Texas A&M -- Sykora's chances of being an international star were bleak. But thrust into a new role, one that she is helping to define, Sykora is a digging and passing wonder, a 5' 10" volt of electricity that runs through a team off to a 2-0 start. Sykora has the anticipation and speed to be an exceptional libero, but her commitment is what makes her stand out like her jersey. With the U.S. holding a fat 23-12 lead late in the first set against a Kenyan team that was in way over its head, Sykora, who has a bum right shoulder, hurled herself five feet off the court to dig a ball with her left fist, ultimately a futile play but one that spoke volumes about her willingness to do the dirty work.
Of course, Sykora is more than willing to speak volumes about herself. She is on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, frank and funny, which can take some getting used to. Coach Mick Haley acknowledges the contribution of someone so relentless but admits that once in a while he wouldn't mind putting his finger to his lips and going, "Shush." "The energy is great but everybody has to get away from her once in a while," Haley told me. "You have to give it space, but it's your responsibility to move away, not hers." Sykora, 23, actually says she has calmed down -- although you could hardly tell by the foot that she kept shaking as she sat on a folding chair and talked. As a child, she suffered from a seriously short attention span. She always had to be doing something and it often took the form of sports -- basketball, running, even heptathlon. She worshipped those who scaled Olympic heights, like Florence Griffith Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and others who simply were on another mountain, like Dennis Rodman. Sykora figured anyone who would sacrifice his body to rebound and play defense was worth emulating. The one tattoo on her back and the 10 body piercings -- "I'm not telling you where," she said (although the two in her tongue were tough to miss) -- are simply coincidental. "She's one of the craziest people I know," Weston said. "I wondered a lot about her when she joined the team. I mean, who is this? But she developed into a good teammate with leadership skills."
Men's chances look bleakThe U.S. men, who played like a bunch of strangers in an opening four-set loss to Argentina, are in trouble. Setter Lloy Ball is nursing a gimpy knee that has affected his redoubtable jump serve and middle blocker Jeff Nygaard is battling the flu. While the Americans don't have to beat the favored Russians on Tuesday, most likely they are going to have to pull off an upset of at least one of the big three teams in their group -- Russia, Yugoslavia or Italy -- to advance to the quarterfinals. Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber is in Sydney covering the Games for the magazine and CNNSI.com. Check back daily to read Farber's behind-the-scenes reports from Down Under.
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