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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, May 5, 2004

NCAA title brings out best, worst for Lewis

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Lewis University volleyball coach Dave Deuser has learned that not all storybooks end "happily ever after."

"Winning the championship was the best thing to happen to us," Flyers coach Dave Deuser said, "and the worst thing."
Last year, Deuser helped the aviation school from Romeoville, Ill., become the first Division II program to win the NCAA men's volleyball national title.

The Flyers received congratulatory letters from across the country. They were the guests of honor at a Chicago Cubs game, and were written up in Sports Illustrated. They received championship rings, and a banner was raised in their gym.

"Winning the championship was the best thing to happen to us," Deuser said, "and the worst thing."

The Flyers are in Honolulu, back in the NCAA final four. Tomorrow's semifinal against top-seeded Brigham Young is a rematch of last year's NCAA championship.

But the months have changed the Flyers. They have lost their innocence and underdog appeal.

"After we won the title, I got hundreds of e-mails and well wishes from people," Deuser said. "They gave a lot of positive feedback. They said we inspired them. Then you had a handful of people — some from our conference — who were not happy at all we won. They were not happy for our success."


• What: NCAA men's volleyball final four.

• Schedule:

  • Tomorrow—Penn State (23-6) vs. Long Beach State (27-6), 6 p.m.; Lewis (19-13) vs. Brigham Young (27-4), 8 p.m.

  • Saturday—championship, 4 p.m.

• Where: Stan Sheriff Center.

• Parking: $3.

• Tickets: Packages—$28 (lower level), $24 (upper level), $16 (upper level/senior citizens), $6 (UH students, ages 4-18). Individual—$15 (lower level), $13 (upper level), $9 (upper level/senior citizens), $3 (UH students, ages 4-18).

• Television: ESPN2 will show 6 p.m. semifinal live, 8 p.m. semifinal tape-delayed at 8 a.m. on Friday, and the championship live.

• Radio: None.

Things began unraveling last fall, when Lewis received an anonymous complaint questioning the eligibility of All-America outside hitter Gustavo Meyer. After an internal investigation, Lewis notified the NCAA that it used an ineligible player — Meyer — during the 2003 season.

"We haven't heard anything yet," Deuser said. Meyer has not played this season.

Neither has setter Jose Martins, whose eligibility also has been questioned. "With him, it was an interpretation of his academic background," Deuser said of Martins, who was raised in Brazil. "It was a matter of how many full-time semesters he attended before he came to Lewis."

The NCAA has not ruled on Martins' situation, although Deuser said the public perception is "you're guilty until proven innocent. It's very unfortunate."

Even if Martins is cleared, it probably won't extend his NCAA career. He is scheduled to earn his bachelor's degree this month.

The complaints against Meyer and Martins are serious. Hawai'i was stripped of its 2002 national championship after it was determined that two-time national Player of the Year Costas Theocharidis was a member of a professional team in Greece before enrolling at UH in August 1999. Lewis' 2003 title is in jeopardy with the admission that Meyer should have been ineligible last year.

"I couldn't even tell you what the NCAA is going to do," Deuser said. "I'm not going to speculate. Nobody has yet to inform us that we can't call ourselves the defending national champs or to take down our banner. We're proceeding as business as usual. It's not hard. We know what we've accomplished. They can take away a piece of wood or a banner, but nobody can take away a memory."

Last week, the Flyers, as the fifth seed, defeated Ball State to win the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championship in Columbus, Ohio.

This past Monday, the coach of a rival MIVA school filed a complaint with the league office, charging that the Flyers wore the wrong-colored uniforms during the title match. As the lower-seeded team, Lewis was supposed to wear the dark uniforms.

Deuser argued that his team brought only two sets of uniforms for the two-match trip. "We didn't have time to wash the white uniforms" after the semifinal match, Deuser said.

"It's this kind of nit-picky, immature, petty b.s. that is going on in the MIVA that is hard to put up with," Deuser said. "It comes out of bitterness over the success we're having. ... People are looking for any little excuse to cause us some kind of aggravation and disrupt our satisfaction of winning."

The Flyers' return to the final four has been remarkable. They lost five of their first seven games, and dropped to 8-10 following a four-game loss to California Baptist of the NAIA in March. Despite finishing fifth in the MIVA, the Flyers defeated IPFW, Ohio State and Ball State in the league's postseason tournament.

They succeeded despite relying on a one-handed setter. Brandon Sisk, the emergency replacement for Martins, suffered torn ligaments in his left thumb during the UH-hosted Outrigger Invitational in January.

Sisk's left thumb is heavily wrapped for matches. He will undergo surgery this summer.

"He continues to play with discomfort," Deuser said. "He's a tough kid. He's done a great job."

The Flyers also have received a boost from outside hitter Jeff Soler, opposite hitter Fabiano Barreto and libero Ryan Stuntz.

This season, they have been the frequent Flyers, spending $30,000 to travel to these locations: Honolulu; University Park, Pa.; Newark, N.J.; Fairfax, Va.; DuBuque, Iowa; Los Angeles, and Provo, Utah.

They have come full circle, ending the season where they started it.

"I don't think we'd be here if we didn't travel and play the teams we played," Deuser said. "Our tough schedule has really helped us."

Notes: The NCAA pays the expenses for each team's 18-member official traveling party. Coach Dave Deuser said he expects up to 75 Lewis fans from the Mainland to attend the final four. ... Three of the final four teams — Penn State, Lewis and Brigham Young — will be invited to participate in next year's Outrigger Invitational.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.