Friday, February 25, 2000

Tierneys rally 'round volleyball competition

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BY JOHN JOHNSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Team Tierney has gathered at the Boudinot Avenue LaRosa's for their pre-game meal. It's Monday night. Are you ready for some volleyball?

Everyone has a story worth telling. At least, that's the theory. To test it, Tempo is throwing darts at the phone book. When a dart hits a name, a reporter dials the phone number and asks if someone in the home will be interviewed. Stories appear on Fridays.

        Patrick Tierney wears a grin and his favorite color, green. Ruth, his wife of 28 years, sits across the table, between daughters Jill, 27, and Bridget, 21, who is next to her boyfriend, Mark McChristian. On the other end of the table is the Tierneys' 24-year-old son, Sean, with girlfriend Bev Baker.

        “Hi Peggy!” the gang says. Peggy, their waitress, has served this crew from Price Hill before. Indeed, the Tierneys are no strangers to the Boudinot LaRosa's, a west-side landmark.

        Back in high school, long before he became a construction inspector for Cincinnati Water Works, Patrick washed dishes for Buddy LaRosa. Must have done a good job, too, or the restaurant wouldn't have hired Jill, Sean and Bridget, who have all worked at the Boudinot location.

        You see, when the Tierneys find a good thing, it tends to work its way through the family. Take Irish dancing, for instance. Jill, Sean and Bridget all performed for the McGing Irish Dancers.

        And then there's volleyball.

        On Mondays, the Tierneys play on a Cincinnati Recreation Commission team. In fact, they make up five-sixths of it.

        The Tierneys' ties to volleyball reach back even further than their ties to LaRosa's. As a boy growing up on Cincinnati's west side, Patrick enjoyed summertime visits to Hueston Woods and Cowan Lake, where his family and neighbors rented cabins. Every evening, they set aside time for volleyball.

        When Patrick and Ruth began playing in co-ed leagues about 15 years ago, the kids tagged along.

        Says Sean: “Some of my earliest memories are of going to my parents' volleyball games on Friday nights.”

        When the kids were old enough, they played on school teams. Now they're grown, but still gravitate to the court.

        Sean, who teaches religion at Elder High School, coaches the school's junior varsity volleyball team; he's also assistant varsity coach at Seton High.

        Jill is pursuing a master's degree in elementary education at Xavier University. And Bridget is a manager in LaRosa's corporate office where she handles special events and recruiting.

        There was never a grand plan to come together as Team Tierney. But when spots opened up on Patrick and Ruth's team, they immediately thought of their kids.

        How do their individual talents mesh? Jill says she talks too much, but is a good all-around player. Sean says he gets frustrated easily, but sacrifices his body. Bridget is short, but uses her speed to her advantage. Ruth is a good server, and Patrick never gives up.

        Put it all together, and you've got Team Tierney.

        And you've got a family.

        Both Jill and Bridget live at home. Jill moved back a couple of years ago to change careers, after four years of working for alma mater, Ursuline College, near Cleveland.

        “A lot of people say they would never be able to move back home after living away as many years as I did,” she says.

        But she enjoys her family, noting, “We have parents who are fairly hip.”

        At that, Ruth laughs.

        But it must be true. When Patrick turned 48 last August, 20 of his children's friends helped him celebrate.

        “Not many people can say they want to hang out with their parents,” Bridget says.

        Sean, who lives less than a mile from his parents, says, “I think we have that sense of togetherness and sense of belonging.”

        A bit later, on the volleyball court at Dater Junior High School, they clap for each other. They offer encouraging words. They dive for the ball. They ... lose the match.

        No matter. Team Tierney knows togetherness will take it far.

       

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