By Mike Lucas, The Capital Times
Photo: Kyle Bursaw

This article appeared in the September 18, 2008, edition of 77 Square. 

When Jon Arias was first approached about doing radio play-by-play for University of Wisconsin women's volleyball, he was flattered. He was also a little hesitant because of his lack of exposure to the fast-moving and fast-growing sport. "I didn't want to sound like an idiot on the air," said Arias. "I didn't want to go into something and not know what I was talking about."

But the more Arias thought about the opportunity to get involved with such an elite program, the more it made sense. Especially given the popularity of the Badgers, who ranked third nationally in home attendance last season -- drawing an average of 5,050 to the UW Field House. Only Hawaii (6,452) and Nebraska (5,140) attracted bigger crowds, and there was a sharp drop-off after the top three.

With such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable fan base, Arias recognized the importance of clarity and credibility in becoming the radio voice of the Badgers. He also knew that he was sorely lacking in experience before doing his first match last October: Wisconsin at Minnesota. He had seen only one previous match before taking the air. "And I was horrible," he admitted.

Tough grader. But he knew that he could get better with more familiarity with what he was seeing, and calling. And that would entail developing his own style in combination with becoming more comfortable with the language of volleyball. "Jon gets to weave a tale and put a picture in people's heads," said UW coach Pete Waite. "I know that it's great exposure for us."

This season, for the first time, you can hear all of the Badgers' volleyball matches on The Mic (WXXM/FM 92.1) with Arias behind the mic. Only nine other schools air all of their matches on commercial radio stations: Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Creighton, Illinois State, South Dakota State and Wichita State. That's a select group and speaks to the uniqueness and challenge of such a play-by-play undertaking.

One of the first things Arias did to prepare was get in touch with John Baylor, who's entering his 14th season as the voice of Nebraska volleyball. Baylor's advice? Pace yourself. "If you get too excited on an attack right away and it's dug out," Arias said, "that rally could keep going for 20 seconds and you've already peaked."

Baylor had more advice: know the terminology.

"That's been the hardest thing," Arias confided. "It's like going to a foreign country and you don't speak Spanish and you're trying to pick up bits and pieces of the language as you go. That's what I've been doing with some of the terms, and I think I've gotten better. I know I have a whole list of different ways to say -- quote unquote -- spike."

Another tip from Baylor?

"He said some people say bump, but I don't, and I never say spike," Arias related. "I was told by others they're both kind of elementary terms. A bump is a pass, and it should be called a pass, while a spike is an attack.

The most important thing is conveying the action to the listener with some sense of timing. "There are times when less is more with the description," Arias said, "because you don't have time to describe exactly what happened on one side of the net because it can go back and forth twice before you get the words out."

In hockey, the play-by-play announcer will put an exclamation point on his goal call. Since the puck is virtually impossible to follow on television, it becomes even more problematic to paint the picture for a radio audience. Ditto for soccer. Along with the lack of scoring, that is why the goal calls can be so excessive and over-dramatized.

"Most of the time, a kill is going to be pretty exciting in volleyball; it's going to be aggressive like a stuff at the net for a block," Arias said. "A great dig can be exciting, too. My goal is to convey where the ball is and who is on the offensive. On TV, you can see the attack or soft tap. On radio, you have to describe how it was a line drive on the serve, a block at the end, or a tip in the middle."

Waite appreciates the effort. "(Jon's) enthusiasm is going to build as he gets locked in and he gets to know the players and the excitement of the game. I don't think he's missing anything, except experience."

In this regard, Waite has been more than willing to share his knowledge. No one knows the game better than Waite, the winningest volleyball coach in school history, with 502 victories. "Pete has answered all my questions, no matter how idiotic they may seem," Arias said. "And he hasn't made me feel dumb about asking them."

The 28-year-old Arias was raised on football, basketball and baseball while growing up in the small Minnesota community of Delavan, a town of 250 people located 40 miles south of Mankato. He got hooked on radio play-by-play as the sports director of the campus station at Winona State. He later worked in La Crosse before making his way to Madison.

For nearly four years, Arias has functioned in different capacities for WIBA-AM/1310 and ESPN 1070, including his sidekick role with Mike Heller and Owen Murphy, whose sports talk show airs weekdays from 3-6 p.m. Arias delivers the sports updates.
 
Meanwhile, he also has stayed involved with the play-by-play of high school football and basketball. "All I want is reps," Arias said, "because I think it will help me become more polished."

As will the volleyball experience and exposure. Who knows where this will all lead? But, at some point, if Arias makes a name for himself in radio maybe more people will pronounce his correctly. It's Ah-dee-us. Not Air-ee-us. Not Are-ee-us. More importantly, it's a pass, not a bump; and an attack, not a spike.

© 2008 Capital Newspapers Inc.