MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois' 2011 volleyball schedule calls for the Fighting Leathernecks to play seven games inside Brophy Hall. Fans will notice one major difference from last season, when new player wall clings and new team banners were mounted.

New scoreboards were installed over the off-season and the retrofit will bring some much-needed improvements to the Western Illinois volleyball experience, says tenth-year head coach Kym McKay.

"The old scoreboard was outdated and past its prime," said McKay. "Volleyball uses a sixty minute running clock for warmups and the scoreboard was so antiquated that the clock maxed out at thirty minutes. Additionally, numerous sockets were irreparable and it was very tough to distinguish the score at a quick glance."

The installation of the two scoreboards began over the University's 2010 Thanksgiving Break and was completed in mid-December. The addition of a second scoreboard puts Brophy Hall in accordance with the majority of Division I volleyball arenas.

The project, similar to the wall clings last fall, was self-funded by the volleyball program. By hosting annual summer volleyball camps, the program was able to raise the $10,000 needed to install the scoreboards.

The Fighting Leatherneck volleyball program purchased the scoreboards from fellow in-state school SIU-Edwardsville. According to McKay, Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Tim Van Alstine began work on the project back in 2009 with a visit to SIUE's campus.

"While touring SIUE's new facility, Dr. Van Alstine realized that they had to replace their scoreboards with ones that accommodated their larger facility," said McKay. "The scoreboards that they no longer needed were fairly new. We are extremely grateful that Dr. Van Alstine and Dr. Brad Hewitt (SIUE Director of Athletics) were able to work together to assist our program in this facility enhancement." 

According to McKay, taking down and hanging the new scoreboards is the second largest enhancement to the facility next to the installation of The Sport Court before the 2008-09 season. Through diligent fundraising work, the Western Illinois volleyball program has enhanced the student-athlete and fan experience at all future conference home matches.

To finish the project, the volleyball program used Signmaker of Macomb to improve the aesthetics of Brophy Hall. Signmaker of Macomb customized the scoreboards with the addition of Western Illinois athletics logos and general labels.

Western Illinois volleyball opens the 2011 season at the SIUE Tournament from Aug. 26-27 and will host Chicago State for the home opener Sept. 13 inside Western Hall. The Fighting Leathernecks will unveil the new scoreboards on Sept. 23 when Summit League foe Southern Utah visits Macomb for a 7 p.m. matchup.