DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii libero Jake Muise turned down full scholarship offers to come to Hawaii. Above, Muise celebrated as the Warriors beat Lewis on Jan. 8.Muise plays Jake Muise is no stranger to strange.
inspired as the
Warriors’ libero
Hawaii is on a roll with the
Probable starters
Canadian starting, having won
nine straight matchesBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comHe has deer meat in his refrigerator. He routinely gets phone calls at 3 a.m. And when he sleeps in his dorm room, he is buried underneath a comforter 6 inches thick while four fans whirl around him.
Muise is not eccentric. His life happens to have a few peculiarities. Volleyball is one of his stories that seems average.
The Alberta native began playing after his older brother, Josh, an All-Canadian at Dalhousie University, picked up the sport first when the family was living in Alberta. Jake credits his intensity to Josh.
When: Today and tomorrow, 7 p.m. Hawaii vs. Santa Barbara
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: All matches live, KFVE, Ch. 5
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
"Me and Josh have always been competitive our whole lives," Muise said. "I was always the kid that would just come back for more and he would give it to me."
The Hawaii libero has the same approach in volleyball. He absorbs shots fired at point-blank range and doesn't flinch. Muise has been hampered by sprained fingers this season and a sprained wrist in recent weeks that makes passing painful. But none of his injuries has held him back on defense. There isn't an impossible dig or a ball he won't go after.
He has broken three Plexiglas covers in the Stan Sheriff Center, dove into countless chairs and tables and made an assault on the cement wall in Gym I. The wall won, but Muise managed to keep the ball in play.
"I'm suited to play defense. I love digging balls," Muise said. "My favorite thing in the whole world in the middle of the game is if our block gets beat and the guy bounces a ball off some part of your body. There's no better feeling than when the play is over and the hitter looks at you and goes, 'How did you get that ball up?' That's a discouraging thing as a hitter."
Muise's toughness and tenacity come from competing in other sports. He played hockey as a kid and earned a black belt in tae kwon do, which he said was the most physically demanding.
His perseverance was obvious when he and his younger brother, Chris, were learning to surf. The second day after his family moved from Alberta to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the brothers Muise saw the ocean for the first time. They spied what they thought was a family of seals in the water. But then the seal stood up on a surfboard and Muise realized they weren't watching creatures from the animal kingdom.
"When you surf in Canada you have a full wet suit. They cover your toes to your lips, and all it shows is your eyes and your nose," Muise explains. "Everything is black. We just saw these black things bobbing around. We just assumed they were seals.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Muise, who is known for his lack of restraint when chasing down balls, ended up on the officials table but couldn't make the save.
"Me and my younger brother were hooked. We couldn't believe it. A few days later, we went to a local hardware store and bought Styrofoam and duct-taped them together to make boogie boards because we couldn't afford any. We started with that."
They couldn't afford wet suits either and lasted about three minutes in the cold water before their numb feet told them it was time to get out. A year later, after saving up money, they would return with wet suits and real surfboards. Learning to surf in water that at its warmest is 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) strengthened Muise's toughness.
"On the way to the coast, we used to tell each other that if it's not perfect, we're not getting into the water," Muise said. "It's snowing outside. It's 15 degrees below zero. The lakes are frozen, kids are playing hockey outside. We would show up every time and it would be perfect. The waves at home are unbelievable."
It was surfing that made Muise welsh on a promise to himself. As a four-sport athlete (track, basketball, volleyball, badminton) in high school, Muise had a few options for college. He told himself that he wouldn't be another collegiate athlete that Canada lost to the United States, but that was before his recruiting trip to Hawaii.
"Me and (associate coach Tino Reyes) had an absolutely great time down here. Tino made it feel like home, and it really has ended up being like home," said Muise, who graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA and finished in the top 3 percent of his class. "I had tons and tons of offers to play in Canada with full (academic) scholarships. When I found out there were only 4 1/2 scholarships for 12 great athletes, it ended up being a tough decision. I talked to my parents about it and just followed what felt right. Surfing had a bit to do with it, too.
"Hawaii was just different. I don't really consider Hawaii a part of the U.S. It's amazing. The local people here are a lot like the local people in Canada. There's a value of looking out for others and making sure the people around you are taken care of. Everybody says hi to you on the street. Nobody minds if you ask directions on the street. No one gives you a rude comment."
No one was mean to him, but Muise was in for a rude awakening his first week on Oahu. His first days in Hawaii were some of the most miserable of his life between the culture shock and the sweltering heat.
There were challenges on the court, too. After starting exhibition matches in the fall, the former Canadian Youth National Team member lost his starting job to former all-conference libero Vernon Podlewski, who joined the team in January 2001. Muise patiently waited for his turn and tried to glean as much as he could from Podlewski.
This season, Muise started five matches before losing his spot while Hawaii struggled. He hasn't left the starting lineup since the Warriors revamped their lineup and leads the team in digs (2.02 per game).
It is not coincidence that Hawaii has won nine in row with Muise back in the lineup.
"He's a team player and he works hard. Those are two things all teams need," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "If you don't have people like that then you're in a lot of trouble.
"He works hard and sets a good example. He's always been a real good team guy. His passing numbers might be lower than other people's, but the team plays better with him out on the court, so he plays."
Muise never considered leaving Hawaii, though his education is costing him a fortune. The exchange rate doesn't work in his favor. He receives some assistance and his job as an RA (resident adviser) takes care of his housing fees.
Trips home for the holidays are usually out of the question, so most vacations are spent hunting and relaxing with his surrogate family on Molokai.
"I love hunting. We hunt as often as possible," Muise said. "The guys totally make fun of me all the time because I have deer meat in my fridge, but it's free food. I don't have to pay for it and it tastes way better than the cafeteria food.
"It's such a relief to go over there and have fun. With the cold air, you have the greatest sleep ever. It's like a home away from home."
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UCSB (9-17, 4-14) Probable starters
Ht. KPG Aces DPG S Kowalski (Fr.) 6-0 0.17 20 0.98 MB Kennedy (So.) 6-7 2.45 9 0.23 MB Adams (Jr.) 6-6 2.21 4 0.50 OH Wack (So.) 6-5 3.06 15 1.00 OH Busam (Sr.) 6-3 2.47 16 0.98 Opp Ulfers (So.) 6-3 3.56 6 0.89 L Mansfield (So.) 6-0 NA NA 2.44 Hawaii (19-5, 13-5)
Ht. KPG Aces DPG S Tuyay (Jr.) 6-2 0.42 4 1.19 MB Thomas (So.) 6-7 2.87 35 0.44 MB Nordberg (Sr.) 6-5 1.78 7 0.41 OH Theocharidis (Sr.) 6-3 5.60 20 1.70 OH Ching (Sr.) 6-2 3.54 22 1.96 Opp Zimet (Sr.) 6-2 2.27 15 1.80 L Muise (Jr.) 6-0 NA NA 2.02 Notes: Hawaii leads the series 33-19. The Warriors split the conference series last season against the Gauchos but took the rubber match in the MPSF tournament. Hawaii's victory over UCSB in the conference semifinals helped it earn the at-large berth to the NCAA championships after the Warriors lost to Pepperdine in the MPSF final. ... Freshman Kawika Burdine is the brother of USC's Keao Burdine. ... The first 500 UH students with ID will be admitted to the game for free tomorrow. Next Saturday's regular season finale will also be free for the first 500 UH students.
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