Ivie Makes Big Impact on 4-Man Tour : Volleyball: National team member at center of Team Paul Mitchell.

He took a huge chance on his No. 1 draft pick, but when you’re talking franchise player, it was a risk team captain Pono Ma’a was more than willing to take.

National team member Bryan Ivie, a strapping 6-foot-7 middle blocker, was considered the catch, no matter what Bud 4-Man volleyball team landed him.

“Everyone else had three players before I got to pick again,” Ma’a said with a grin as dusk fell on the first day of this four-man beach volleyball tour event Saturday at Mission Bay. “They’re calling Bryan the franchise, like what Magic Johnson was to the NBA. He’s so talented, the guys around him raise their play, and he gives us a lot of options.”

Those are options that Ma’a, captain of Team Paul Mitchell, is only now beginning to explore. But he’s off to a good start.

In the first stop of this 10-city tour, Team Paul Mitchell ended the opening day of play with a 2-1 record, which put it in a three-way tie with Team Speedo and B.U.M. Equipment. Joining the leaders in today’s final rounds, beginning at 9 a.m. at Mariner’s Point, are Ocean Pacific (1-2) and defending champion Club Sportswear (0-2). Semifinals, followed by the final, are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.

“As a captain you look at all the players and think, ‘This (combination) could be good, that could be good,’ and this team looked good on paper,” Ma’a said. “I was happy with how we did. It’s nice to see it work out. Our chemistry is good, but more than anything, we have good attitudes.”

For good reason. Team Paul Mitchell was 2-0 before Team Speedo, led by Captain Doug Partie, handed the team with the best hair on the beach a 15-10 loss.

“We lost a close one in the end, but that had a lot to do with being tired,” Ma’a said. “Yesterday the national team practiced four hours. Not that we’re the only team with national team members, but . . .”

Hardly. Eight of the 20 starters on the five teams are on the current San Diego-based national team. Ma’a drafted two of them, Ivie and 1988 gold medalist Eric Sato.

National team representation--veterans and newcomers alike--on the tour extends past the starters. Including the alternates, there are 19 current and former national team members on the tour, six of them Olympic gold medalists and 23 NCAA All-Americans.

That makes for some pretty heads-up competition.

“The talent pool has definitely gone up,” said Ma’a, a 6-4 outside hitter who was the tour’s kill leader (256) in 1991, its inaugural year. “There’s some serious talent out here. You figure every player out here has a minimum of seven years of experience. That helps bring a lot more parity to the tour.”

And a lot of free publicity, depending on how the boys do this summer in Barcelona.

“If we win, it will help out the tour, but I think it will help out volleyball in general, not just four-man,” said Sato, who rejoined the national team last April because he felt he had something to contribute.

But the national team members get much back for the credibility and celebrity they give. In an highly competitive atmosphere where players are fighting for a spot on the final roster, the beach tour is much-needed break from the daily grind.

“It’s a great release,” said Sato. “You come out here, out in the sun, in the sand, and you paid for it, too.”

Ma’a, a two-time All-American at Hawaii said, “This league gives them a mental break. I was on the national team a while, and it’s a job. This is a job, but it’s a fun job.”