UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / ROBYN NORWOOD : Family’s Ties Prove Strong for Brothers

Chad Milling is a UC Irvine volleyball player, but when the Anteaters played UC Santa Barbara in men’s basketball last week, Milling pulled for the other side.

His brother Kyle is a 6-foot-8 freshman forward for the Gauchos.

The favor was to be returned Tuesday, when the Irvine volleyball team traveled to Santa Barbara. The brothers planned to get together around 5 p.m. and spend maybe a half hour together before the game--at which Kyle was required to cheer for the Anteaters.

“I haven’t seen him much at all this year,” said Chad, a 6-7 junior middle-blocker. “He’s been so busy and so have I. It’s been kind of fun to watch him play on TV.”

Maybe the only members of the Milling family who have been busier than the youngsters are Mom and Dad. They’re trying to keep up with the athletic careers of three talented children.

Chad and Kyle are competing in college, and their sister Kara, a volleyball and basketball player at Poway High School, is one of the best outside hitters in the state. She’s still a junior, but with her talent, she’ll almost certainly be playing in a high-powered college volleyball program two years from now.

For Paul and Bev Milling, the travel schedule from their Poway home is already tough.

“Our cars are taking a beating,” Chad Milling said. “They go to about five games a week. They have permanent splinters.”

Even though both boys played basketball, volleyball and water polo in high school, basketball is the traditional sport in the family. Jack Sikma, the former NBA center, is a cousin. And the Millings didn’t know much about volleyball until they moved from Illinois to California when Chad was about 6.

“When I chose volleyball, they said ‘You’re going to play volleyball not basketball?”’ Chad said. “Volleyball is still a new thing to them.”

Chad was a water polo player in high school, but chose volleyball in college.

“To tell you the truth it was mostly out of laziness,” he said. “I didn’t want to swim five hours a day.”

Instead, he has continued to improve as a volleyball player. Just last week, he set a school single-match record for block assists with 12 in a loss to Loyola Marymount.

The disappointment to Milling is that the Anteaters--playing their first season under new Coach Andy Read--are 1-5.

“The new coach has been great but (the record) is disappointing,” Milling said. “Coach has worked hard on my defense. He’s helping me touch more balls, block more balls. The way I’m playing gives me confidence to be a leader on the court.”

Confidence hasn’t helped the Anteaters win much yet, though, which is the way it has been for years. Last season, they finished the season ranked 17th in the nation. Which sounds a lot better than 2-14 in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn.

“This is my fourth year in the program,” Milling said. “We’ve always been up in the rankings, but then people say ‘What’s you record?’ and I say, ‘Well, 5-19.’ ”

Milling has one more year after this, and an ongoing goal for the team’s success.

“I just hope it gets better.”

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Tipoff time change: The men’s basketball team’s game at UC Santa Barbara on Monday will be at 7:30 p.m., not 9 as originally scheduled.

The game, once a possible ESPN game, is no longer scheduled to be televised.

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Big West suspensions: As part of the punishment handed down by the Big West Conference after a postgame altercation between Irvine and Fullerton last month, Irvine players Uzoma Obiekea and forward LaDay Smith will not be with the team for Saturday’s rematch against Fullerton at Titan Gym.

Both players are also banned from a possible Big West tournament meeting between the teams.

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County bragging rights: The Irvine and Fullerton women’s teams meet Thursday at Titan Gym in a game that won’t be as highly charged as the men’s is likely to be.

The Anteaters, 1-17 overall and 0-10 in the Big West, have lost 25 consecutive road games. The Titans are 4-13 and 2-9.

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The college baseball season has begun. Without Irvine. And after the Anteater program’s discontinuation after last season, the future of the on-campus stadium is uncertain.

By next fall, it could be home to soccer matches. Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said there are discussions with the city of Irvine for a joint-use agreement that would turn the stadium into a multipurpose facility.

“I’d love to be playing baseball on that field,” said Guerrero, a former UCLA baseball player. But he said money and gender equity concerns mean the return of baseball is well down the line. And if it is brought back, it will have to be accompanied by a new women’s sport--perhaps softball--to preserve a balance of men and women athletes.

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More money talk: The university administration made it public that the next athletic director would be expected to raise $500,000 to $1 million a year. Some candidates balked at that goal as unrealistic, and a questioner reminded Guerrero of the requirement Tuesday. Can it be done?

“Did they say what year?” he quipped. “I think it’s very realistic in this community,” he said. “Is it going to be easy? No.”