• The NAIA school from Riverside, Calif., should be referred to as California Baptist, never Cal Baptist. "That's one of the things our president is particular about," CBU coach Ryan McGuyre said.

• The Lancers (16-2), ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, are very good, having won 16 in a row, including victories over defending NCAA champion Lewis and Southern California. This past Monday, they crushed UC Santa Barbara in three games.

"It's easy to get stuck in the mentality that just because we're (NCAA) Division I, we should be better than an NAIA team," UH opposite hitter Matt Bender said. "If you get caught up in that mentality, you'll end up losing on the court, and that's what happened to Santa Barbara."

An NAIA men's volleyball team, in fact, has an advantage over its NCAA Division I counterparts. NCAA rules limit Division I men's volleyball teams, like UH, to the financial equivalent of 4.5 scholarships. The NAIA allows unlimited scholarships in men's volleyball, although CBU is offering 5.5 scholarships this seasons.

Once enrolled full time at an NCAA university, a Division I player is permitted five consecutive years to play four seasons, although the eligibility window may expand if the player serves in the military or on a church mission. The NAIA does not have a time limit for using the four seasons of eligibility. That is how CBU opposite hitter Shaun Dyk, who was a student at North Carolina State in 1998, can be listed as a volleyball junior.

But as only one of two NAIA men's volleyball teams in the West, CBU has its share of obstacles. The Lancers, who compete as an independent, struggle to fill their schedule. They even petitioned to join the NCAA's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, of which UH is a member, as an associate that would play a full league schedule but not be eligible for the postseason.

Because of a modest budget, McGuyre coaches the men's and women's teams. His wife is an assistant coach for the women's team and a volunteer assistant for the men's. With only one gym, "we practice from 8:30 to 10:30 at night," he said. "A 6:45 a.m. practice is not uncommon."

But McGuyre, who traveled extensively as a player for Athletes in Action, has used his contacts to build a team that will represent the West in the NAIA championship tournament next month. He knew Dyk from North Carolina State, where he was an assistant, and after Seidu Ajanako transferred from an NAIA school, he brought along a fellow Ghana resident, Shamsu Awudu.

UH will start the same lineup it used against Brigham Young last week. Middle blocker Mauli'a LaBarre and outside hitter/passer Arri Jeschke have recovered from foot injuries.