Emotional victory

BEIJING – Hugh McCutcheon looked around the gym floor for someone, anyone, with a cell phone in their hand. The U.S. men’s volleyball coach had left his in the locker room Sunday. But he could not wait another minute to call his wife, Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon, and share his gold medal moment with her.

The U.S. men won the Olympic tournament with a hard-fought 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory over Brazil only 15 days after Elisabeth’s parents were attacked and her father killed in Beijing. With the Bachmans’ initials etched on their shoes, the Americans shoved aside the pain of the past two weeks and filled their coach’s heart with a joy he had not felt in a long, long time. As the players embraced and wept, McCutcheon put his hands to his shaven head, walked off the Capital Gymnasium court and took a deep breath.

Then he borrowed a cell phone to call Elisabeth, who had been watching on television back in Minnesota. Hours after funeral plans were announced for Todd Bachman, McCutcheon’s team took him to the other end of the emotional spectrum with U.S. volleyball’s first Olympic gold in 20 years.

“I called Wizzie, and she said, ‘You won! You won! You won!’ ” McCutcheon said. “We were just listening to each other smiling on the phone.

“On the one hand, I mourn the loss of my father-in-law greatly, and my heart aches for my wife and family and for the loss. On the other hand, I’m extremely proud of and happy for my team and the USA Volleyball organization for the things we’ve been able to achieve. Those are the two emotions I have, and they’re conflicted, obviously. But I cannot change what’s happened. I can just embrace what’s occurred and try to deal with it accordingly.”

The unexpected victory helped lift a touch of the sadness that had veiled the entire U.S. volleyball delegation since the Aug. 9 attack. The Bachman family was touring Beijing’s Drum Tower when Todd and Barbara were stabbed in an apparently random attack by a man who then committed suicide. Todd was killed, and Barbara is recovering steadily from serious abdominal wounds.

Elisabeth accompanied her mother home to Minnesota as Hugh’s team roared through pool play and into the semifinals.

As Brazilians sang and waved flags in the stands, their team took the first set. The United States maintained its composure and earned tight victories in the next two sets as the momentum shifted constantly and the tension built throughout. Players skidded on their bellies to chase down balls, dived to stop lethal spikes and gave every ounce of energy to keep play alive.

Down 20-17 in the fourth set, the United States rode Clay Stanley’s exceptional blocking to take a 23-21 lead. The tournament’s most valuable player delivered a kill to end the match, sending McCutcheon and his staff spilling onto the court with their arms in the air.

Shortly after the victory, McCutcheon boarded a plane back to the United States to rejoin his family. His mother, Milly, will come from New Zealand for Todd Bachman’s funeral Friday in Lakeville.

McCutcheon felt he owed it to his players – who had committed so fully to his plan – to give himself over to them until their Olympic story had ended. He now will shift back to comforting his wife and working through his sorrow.