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In 1981 the Epperson family was just getting started in Volleyball. Anna and Lara had been playing for their Junior High school program and for the Davis Volleyball Club. The Davis VBC raised money for the girls to travel to Omaha, Nebraska to play in the Junior Olympics. Dave and Bernice helped put together several fund-raisers with the other parents.
In December of 1981 the Epperson helped organize an exhibition with the local media to promote the Volleyball program. Due to the successful organization of these events Bernice was recommended to Gary Colberg to help administer the Junior Olympics in 1982. This started with the regional tournament at Davis and Knoxville and then to the Finals in Santa Barbara.
In 1983 the Eppersons were living in Laguna Niguel when the Junior Olympics were scheduled to be played at UCLA. The natural flow had Bernice and now her husband Dave in the organization of the 1983 Junior Olympics. At this tournament the decision had been made that the Junior Olympics in 1984 was to take place in Rhode Island. Wink Davenport, the commissioner from California, was convinced that with the Olympics themselves being played in Los Angeles the California teams (representing 70% of the teams enrolled in the junior Olympics at that time from the West Coast) would be unwilling or unable to make the trip to Rhode Island. Therefore, Wink asked Bernice and Dave if they would consider running a tournament on the West Coast during the same time frame. Bernice and Dave agreed on the premise that they could use their own format that would allow for more play by all teams. This was the beginning of the Volleyball Festival format that allows equal amount of play for teams at all ability levels of the draw. Working with Santa Clara University as the girl’s site and with San Jose State University as the boys site; Bernice and Dave held the first Volleyball Festival in 1984.
For the 1985 Volleyball Festival it was suggested that the girls and boys be at completely separate location. In this vein, Bernice and Dave ran the girls tournament at UC Davis and the boys at UC Berkeley.
In 1986, the Volleyball Festival put on its first all girls tournament. Following the success at Davis the year before, the 1986 tournament was also held at Davis. The growth of the sport even at this time was phenomenal, growing from 120 total teams in 1985 to 190 girls teams in 1986.
The expansion to the Sacramento Convention Center and Cal Expo has marked the beginning of a new era of The Volleyball Festival. In 2004 the Festival moved to Reno Nevada to take advantage of a newly enlarged Convention Center that held 75 courts that reduced the number of venues to only three. Again In 2009 when the Phoenix convention center was enlarged the Festival was able to move into a 107 court facility that would accommodate all of the Festival teams at one location with hotel and university dormitory space in the immediate neighborhood.
The Volleyball Festival offers...
- An Event that was Honored by the International Volleyball Hall of Fame for its contribution to the sport
- Leaders who have been inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and who have been honored by USA Volleyball for their contributions to the sport
- Girls teams from all over the United States (ages 12 & under - 18) and from abroad
- Guaranteed 14 matches over five days
- Competition at multiple ability levels
- Fabulous Opening Ceremony
- Nationally Televised Finals with world class commentators
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