Kirby Steps to the Front and Center : Volleyball: With the creation of a rival tour, the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. player has become a leader in her organization.

During her first two years as the top-ranked player on the women’s pro beach volleyball tour, Karolyn Kirby was known as a shy athlete who took care of business on the court.

One player on the tour compared Kirby to pop star Michael Jackson, stating that she’s the best at her profession and she keeps a secretive, almost mysterious existence away from work.

But a series of events this year have led Kirby to be more outspoken and involved in the way the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. conducts business.

She got the organization involved with the Women’s Sports Foundation, often attends WPVA board meetings and has opened up to the media. Now in her third season as the tour’s No. 1 player, Kirby says she had no choice but to come out of her shell.

Consider that:

* The organization that pays her salary (the WPVA), already in deep financial trouble, was hurt badly when four of the top six players signed multiyear contracts with a rival tour sponsored by the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals--the governing body of the men’s tour--before the start of the 1993 season. The WPVA still owes Kirby 25% of last year’s prize money, and this year’s purse has been severely cut.

* Kirby, who was also recruited by AVP, lost her partner, Nancy Reno to that organization. Kirby and Reno teamed to win last year’s World Championships in Manhattan Beach and were expected to dominate this year. They even had a team sponsor lined up, which is rare in beach volleyball because partner changes are commonplace. Kirby has been publicly critical of the players who left the WPVA and has worked closely with the Women’s Sports Foundation in an effort to help the troubled WPVA survive the blow.

* Flo Bryan, who was hired as executive director in March, quit abruptly before the season opener April 17. A couple of weeks later Bryan accepted a position with the AVP tour, which Kirby says was demoralizing because Bryan was thought to be the WPVA’s last hope.

In addition, Kirby endured two personal problems in the same week. She had a serious spider bite on her right thigh that prevented her from training, and her partner, Liz Masakayan, found out she had an ulcer. The team still managed to finish third at the May 15 Austin Open.

Between tournaments in New Orleans and Jacksonville, Fla., last month, Kirby flew to her hometown of Brookline, Mass. to attend the funeral of a family member.

“It’s been really hard, a real weight in the chest,” Kirby said. “The start of ’93 was a blow. It was disheartening.”

But good has come of the misfortunes. Kirby has teamed with Masakayan, a former UCLA All-American who is quick and powerful, to win five of this season’s six events. Masakayan, the most valuable player on last year’s tour, was in the same situation as Kirby. She refused the AVP’s offer but her partner, Linda Carrillo, accepted.

With several of the top players departed, Kirby and Masakayan have become the team to beat on the WPVA tour. Before the opener in Puerto Rico, there was talk that each woman should make room in her garage because this year’s top two finishers win sports cars.

“You have the two fastest, all-around players together,” WPVA veteran Elaine Roque said. “When you play them it’s like playing against guys. They’re that good.”

Marla O’Hara, in her fifth season on the tour, says Kirby and Masakayan complement each other so well, it appears they’ve been together for years.

“They’re both machines and their gears are running smooth,” O’Hara said. “Nobody else comes near them as far as serving goes.”

Masakayan says it wasn’t always that way. After playing with Carrillo for almost two seasons, adjusting to a new partner was difficult.

“You should have seen us when we first started training together,” she said. “We lost to everybody at practice and we would cover each other’s court. We looked like Siamese twins.”

Kirby and Masakayan are seeded No. 1 in this weekend’s $20,000 Hermosa Beach Open. The 32-team, double-elimination event begins on Saturday at 9 a.m. near the pier. Last year, Kirby placed fifth at Hermosa Beach with Angela Rock.

Kirby and Rock won a record 12 tournaments in 1991, but the ’92 Hermosa Beach Open was the beginning of the end for the most successful partnership in women’s pro beach volleyball. They parted two weeks later.

“We were a dynamic combo,” Kirby said. “We were both fast and quick and athletic and powerful. It was a model partnership.”

But Rock had knee problems and Kirby initiated the breakup when the team began struggling. Rock and Kirby were teammates on the U.S. National team and remained friends until earlier this year when Rock signed with the AVP. The two haven’t spoken since.

“I was very opinionated about trying to save the WPVA and some very harsh words were exchanged,” said Kirby, who will be 32 later this month. “We were good friends so it’s really sad. It’s tragic.”

Rock says her only regret in leaving the WPVA is her falling-out with Kirby. She thinks their time together made her a better player.

“She’s a demanding partner,” Rock said. “She demands perfection and I think that’s good. I think what happened is really sad and I feel a big void.”

Kirby’s success with Rock came in only her third season on the tour. An All-American at Utah State and the University of Kentucky, Kirby played professionally indoors in Italy, Brazil and for a defunct U.S. women’s league before migrating to the beach tour.

She also spent two seasons as a setter on the U.S. National team. That’s how she ended up in San Diego, where she has lived since 1985.

Her first victory on the beach came in 1990 with partner Patty Dodd in Huntington Beach. Kirby teamed with Jackie Silva to win seven other events that year.

This season, Kirby became the first player in women’s pro beach volleyball history to earn more than $200,000 in career earnings. A two-time MVP in the WPVA, Kirby’s 33 career tournament victories rank second to Silva’s 41.