When Lloy Ball called his wife at 6 a.m. Saturday, he thought he knew exactly what she would say.

The Woodburn native and setter on the United States men's Olympic volleyball team was calling to tell his wife about the attack on the in-laws of American coach Hugh McCutcheon. McCutcheon's father-in-law was stabbed to death and his mother-in-law gravely injured in Beijing.

When he was told of the incident, McCutcheon ran out of a U.S. practice, but the players didn't find out what happened for an hour and a half, Ball said. They immediately called family members, most of whom had not left America yet.

“I didn't want them to come because I didn't think it was safe,” Ball said. “I called Mom and Dad first because I wanted them to think about it. I figured for sure Sarah would say, ‘Of course I'm not coming. I'm not bringing my child into that.'”

Except Sarah Ball had a different plan when he woke her up and said she needed to make a quick decision.

“Incidents like this happen every day in Fort Wayne and other places, but we still walk down to Coney Island and don't worry about it,” she said. “How many murders happen in Fort Wayne, and we still continue our everyday life. You can't live your life in fear. I want Dyer to see your fourth Olympics, and if we feel unsafe at any time, there's a plane that goes the other way, too. We're going to be there for you.”

“It just goes to show that 15 years ago when I picked her, I did a hell of a job,” Lloy Ball said.

Sarah, son Dyer and Ball's parents, Arnie and Sandy, made the 13-hour trip from Fort Wayne to Chicago to Seoul to Beijing on Saturday, but arrive not in time to see Lloy lead the U.S. over Venezuela.

Knowing his family was safe, Ball was able to concentrate on his team, which is still in shock. McCutcheon missed Saturday's match to be with his wife, a former member of the U.S. women's team. He spoke with the players by phone before the match.

“To hear the hurt in his voice…,” Ball said. “We've gone into battle with the guy, and not having him there obviously had some effect on the guys. When we were up 2-0, I think as our minds started to wander, thinking we were going to win this easily, I'm sure it crept into some of our minds.

“It was a random act of violence, and for it to fall on somebody you know… You never think about the stuff you hear on the news every day until it affects you. There's not a lot of rhyme or reason. There isn't any. There's no motive - not robbery, not hate crime, not a protest. It was an act of an ungodly insane and stupid man.”

Because of the McCutcheon family situation, the Americans have become one of the early top stories of the games. After the match Saturday night, team members answered questions for two hours from a larger than usual press contingent.

“I think one of the reasons Hugh missed the match was maybe he felt the media attention would become a distraction to some of the guys who haven't dealt with things like that before,” Ball said. “Luckily we have a veteran team, and we're pretty handy at handling difficult questions like that.

“We told Hugh we want him back absolutely and without question, but it has to be when he's ready and when it's good for his family. He would expect nothing less from us in that situation.”

Ball said the team now has full-time security guards. Interpol and the U.S. Secret Service have become involved in the investigation, and President Bush spoke with McCutcheon and offered White House doctors. (His mother-in-law's condition was upgraded today from critical to serious.)

“If anybody ever had any question about the commitment and organization of our government, it's been answered,” Ball said. “They've been unbelievable.”

Like Ball, most of the members of the team have traveled the world and have competed in the most intense athletic competitions possible. They never expected something like this on the world's biggest stage.

“I still think this is one of the safest countries in the world,” Ball said. “You can't have a gun here, there are police everywhere and you can't drive your own car, so there's no traffic. China has controlled, in a good way, what is going on here.

“As guys and their families get together and we get into more of a routine, I think we'll settle down. We just need to win some matches, and once we get out of pool play the real tournament will begin. Hopefully by then Hugh will be back, and we'll get going and make a push.”