On the third floor of Margot Connell Recreation Center, students count reps of lat pull-downs just feet away from Boston College volleyball’s home court.
A strip of artificial turf, treadmills, and a jogging loop sit right above on the fourth floor, looking down on the court.
Only four transparent doors separate Division-I, ACC matchups from the clatter of dumbbell plates and a whole row of strength equipment. Even when the sounds are blocked out, spectators and players can see the strength machines while matches are going on.
Sights and sounds can emanate from the fourth floor, too. While many fourth floor activities are shut down during volleyball games, it is not surprising to hear the squeaking of basketball shoes from the adjacent courts.
Workout spaces and equipment remain, but the court upon which BC volleyball has played its last 29 home matches comes and goes. When it is disassembled from the floor and the bleachers are folded against the wall, three grass-green tennis courts are uncovered.
The Plex’s third floor is not an arena, nor is it a volleyball gym. And it is certainly not a space that should be hosting Division I volleyball matches and practices.
BC volleyball cannot continue to play in the Plex for much longer.
The ACC had the most top-10 teams in the women’s volleyball RPI last season. Every match deserves a serious atmosphere—especially crucial, seed-deciding ACC faceoffs, and the Plex’s current atmosphere is simply unsuitable for high-stakes matchups.
The tennis courts seat 530 people, per the Boston College 2024-2025 fact book. That’s just not enough.
During BC’s match last season against No. 1 Pittsburgh, for example, the heavy crowd filled up the lone wall of bleachers and forced fans to pack the fourth-floor jogging track overlooking the game. BC took the first set, and fans stood along the track for the entire 90-minute match.
How did volleyball end up in this unfavorable setup, anyway?
Well, it was forced there when the former volleyball home court and basketball auxiliary gym, Power Gym, was renovated into a part of the Hoag Basketball Pavilion. The gym is now basketball-only.
Men’s and women’s basketball and ice hockey take up prime athletic space during the volleyball schedule in Conte Forum, too—even before those sports’ seasons begin. The hockey ice sheet made an appearance in Conte Forum a month before the first home volleyball match. BC volleyball last played in Conte during the 2022 season.
Hockey and basketball sit atop the hierarchy when it comes to scheduled time in Conte Forum, and it will likely always be that way. That’s why BC should not wait for athletic space on campus to miraculously open up in order for volleyball to have a true home.
Normally, being a Division I athlete earns one the privilege of using top-tier facilities. In the case of BC volleyball players, though, the venue they’ve been given is nothing of the sort.
If BC wants to show full commitment to its volleyball program, the Eagles need a better, Division I–caliber, volleyball-ready home.
Then, and perhaps only then, will the school truly meet the standards of a successful ACC program by giving its athletes and community the venue they deserve.
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