ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Rainbow Wahine player Jen Roberts McGuyre helps husband Ryan McGuyre coach the Cal Baptist men's team.
Former UH player
will miss trip to HawaiiThe assistant coach of a team
that was almost in the MPSF
can't travel because of a pregnancy
It all started as a way to bring Jen Roberts McGuyre back to Hawaii. Instead, the former Rainbow Wahine volleyball player will be waiting in California, hoping Cal Baptist will bring back a win or two to her.
McGuyre and her husband, Ryan, the Cal Baptist men's volleyball coach, are expecting their first child early next month. McGuyre was unable to fly this late in her pregnancy, but she did send the Lancers off on today's flight with tales of how great Hawaii volleyball fans are and how exciting it will be for CBU to play the Warriors this week at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"I've told them all about how supportive the fans are and how much fun they'll have playing in the area," said McGuyre, a middle blocker for the Wahine from 1996 to '99. "They're excited about playing in front of a big crowd. They average maybe 200 fans.
"But they're doing awesome this year. I'm excited for them. I just wish I could be there."
It will be the first appearance here for Cal Baptist, the top-ranked team in the NAIA. The Lancers dropped their first two matches of the year to NCAA Division I teams UC Irvine and Long Beach State, but have since won their last 16.
Last night, Cal Baptist defeated UC Santa Barbara 30-19, 30-27, 30-24. It was the Lancers' fourth victory over an NCAA team this season, having already defeated Lewis, USC and Princeton.
It is an ambitious schedule for a small school (2,359) in Riverside, Calif. But Ryan McGuyre has even bigger dreams ... joining the premier NCAA men's volleyball conference in the country, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Cal Baptist is a member of the NAIA's Golden State Athletic Conference, competing in baseball, basketball, cross country and soccer. In volleyball, the Lancers are independent.
Last year, there was much discussion by the GSAC schools to all move to NCAA Division II status. In anticipation of that happening, McGuyre approached the MPSF about membership.
The league, which includes Hawaii, fell to 12 schools after Loyola Marymount and San Diego State dropped their programs after the 2000 season. The additions of Cal Baptist and UC Davis would have brought the MPSF back to 14 schools.
The MPSF voted Cal Baptist in, but the school had to decline when the GSAC schools voted to remain in the NAIA. McGuyre said he's still pursuing the move, hoping that his administration would allow volleyball to go to NCAA D-II status.
"It's still a possibility," he said. "We're still looking at it. We'll have to see what direction this goes.
"For us (as an independent), scheduling is the hardest part. If we have any opportunity to play, we'll take it. Like the Hawaii trip. The idea was to bring Jen back home, but a little something got in the way of that. When Hawaii said yes (last year), we took whatever dates they had."
Which leaves Jen McGuyre at home, preparing for the birth of their son, Trystan Ryan McGuyre.
"Jen's my assistant and I'll miss her not being on the bench," Ryan McGuyre said. "She's my secret weapon. She knows all the frustrations about being a coach."
Jen McGuyre first met her husband when she was a freshman at UH. He was the assistant coach at Biola, where Jen's older sister Sara played.
After Jen's graduation, she moved back to California and worked out with Biola. She sent him a thank-you card, and it was six months before she heard from him.
"I had moved to Florida, was a cashier and coaching my little sister's club team," Jen McGuyre said. "We had established a good friendship and, when the assistant coach's position opened up at Biola, I moved back to California."
The pair began dating in June of 2000, got engaged on June 13, 2001, and married on July 13, 2002.
"Thirteen is his favorite number," she said. "It's fun being a volleyball family. We love it in the gym."
Trystan likely will become a gym rat as well, a big gym rat. Ryan is 6-foot-4 and Jen 6-2.
Their son will also have videotape of when his parents first met in the gym. Jen was playing for Calvary Chapel High School and Ryan was the coach of rival Whittier Christian.
"We have found the tapes of the games," she said. "It's pretty funny. He saw me play but neither of us remember it."
The trip to Hawaii won't be Ryan McGuire's first. He brought the Biola women's team here in the 1990s to play Brigham Young-Hawaii, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific.
"I'm definitely excited, especially for our guys," he said. "Just a couple of them have been there and we do have Brennan Velasco (a 1997 Pearl City graduate and ex-UH walk-on) on the team.
"I'm excited, too. Hawaii does volleyball (support) better than anyone in the country."
Jen McGuyre, who ranks 10th in career blocks at UH, knows that first-hand. The Wahine had three sellouts during her four years and set the NCAA average-attendance record of 8,378, when she was a freshman.
"I wish I could be there," she said. "And Ryan needs to get back here. He's my Lamaze coach."
Note: Hawaii remained ranked fifth in the AVCA Coaches Top 15 yesterday. The top six places remained unchanged, led by BYU, Long Beach State, UCLA and Cal State Northridge.
