Muise learned at
UH from the bench

The former Warriors libero hopes to
get on the court tonight in the alumni game

UH Volleyball When: Today Where: Stan Sheriff Center Who: Alumni vs. alumni, 4:30 p.m.; Alumni vs. varsity, 7 p.m. Radio/TV: None. Tickets: $3-$6.

The patience was honed by years of waiting for the perfect wave.

Every surfer worth his wax knows it, knows that no matter how good the last ride was, there's one coming that will be even better.

The persistence was polished by the realization that nothing worth having ever comes easy. Trudging through 5 feet of snow to get to the surf break in the Atlantic Ocean shows that, especially when the water temperature is minus-13 degrees.

"Oh, it's extremely cold," Jake Muise said of the conditions off Nova Scotia, Canada. "You have to put Vaseline on your eyebrows, eyelashes and nose so the hair doesn't fall off.

"But it's worth it to surf the perfect waves."

It was that combination of patience and persistence that kept Muise coming back every year to play volleyball at Hawaii. The 6-foot libero didn't see the court much during three of his four seasons; he was a backup to all-league libero Vernon Podlewski as a freshman and sophomore, then played behind Alfred Reft his senior year.

There was a lot of bench time, a lot of nights when he didn't even suit up. But Muise never saw it as a negative, as it has given him insights into the sport he might never have had otherwise.

"I'd much rather have had it happen the way it did than being spoiled by playing all the time," said Muise, a student-assistant coach with the Warriors this season. "What I got out of last year were life lessons, things I will apply to the rest of my life.

"Alfie (Reft) did a wonderful job last year. I can't take anything negative out of that. Last year was great."

Muise officially turns the page tonight when dressing for his first alumni match. At 22, he considers himself as already having gone "over the hill."

"I'm excited about being an alum," Muise said. "I got to practice with them (Tuesday) and they're awesome. Rick Tune missed a serve at a clutch time and he got really mad at himself. It was great to see the competitive spirit never dies.

"I'm hoping to see some court time. Since I just finished playing competitively, I should have some ball-control left. But I don't know if I'll see the front row."

During his four years at UH, Muise was considered a libero/defensive specialist, but he did get a few swings in as an outside hitter. He finished with eight career kills, as well as 190 digs, 173 of those in 22 matches as a junior.

A four-sport athlete in high school (volleyball, basketball, track and field and badminton), a junior-grade black belt in tae kwon do and a former youth hockey player, Muise continues in his utility-player mode. He is finishing his course work in a double major (business and marketing) this semester while assisting with the team, tutoring and being a resident advisor at a campus dorm.

Last semester, he also coached a boys junior varsity team at Iolani School.

"Life's busy and I wouldn't have it any other way," Muise said. "I really enjoy the coaching, and I know I'll be coaching the rest of my life. It's one of the greatest ways to give back.

"When you watch as many volleyball games from the bench as I have, you'd better learn something. I tell the guys (on the bench) to pay attention and learn. It's only going to help them.

"What I enjoy is the concept that if you can make it happen for anybody, nudge them in the right direction, it's worth everything."

Muise has begun marketing himself as a combo player-entrepreneur. When asked whether surfing or volleyball was his first love, "all I have to say is, I told my agent I'd only play pro volleyball if I could surf."

To wit, he's looking at playing for a team in the Azores, an island group in the Atlantic belonging to Portugal.

"I'd still be on an island, there is a theme here," Muise said. "And the Azores is an undiscovered market to be tapped, where I can take advantage of my international business background. If there's one thing that (former Warriors) Costas (Theocharidis) and Eyal (Zimet) told me, it's that I didn't come here to play volleyball, I came here to get an education and then use it."

Theocharidis, from Greece, and Zimet, from Israel, have graduated and are working in Hawaii.

Muise said he will return to Hawaii after taking a stab at playing professionally. His older brother Josh is playing in the Netherlands.

"This is home," Muise said. "I took a bunch of recruiting trips and I was here for all of 45 minutes when I could tell this was the place. Even my dad, when he first visited, stepped off the plane and said, 'I know why you're here.'

"My parents were so supportive and encouraging when others told me I should go somewhere else. They gave me the courage to follow my dream."

Muise became acquainted with Warrior associate head coach Tino Reyes through international competition. Muise played for Canada at several elite levels and sent a recruiting tape to UH; Reyes called him at 3:30 a.m. to discuss a trip to Hawaii.

"He knew that I surfed and he sent me a picture of a Stan Sheriff Center volleyball crowd," Muise said. "He said it was a mecca of volleyball."

Muise has taken the island ways to heart. He considers himself a hanai son of Moku and Lori Buchanan of Kalae, Molokai; his hanai brother is Aramis Buchanan, who "adopted" Muise when the two lived in Johnson Hall.

Muise surfs every day he can. The first time he witnessed the sport was magical and it continues to be so.

"My younger brother Chris and I were sitting on the beach the first time and it was mesmerizing," Muise said. "We saw a bunch of seals out in the water and then the seals stood up. They were surfers.

"Every time my brother and I would drive to the beach, we'd tell each other, 'If the waves aren't perfect, we're not going.' But every time they were perfect and we'd go."

Every time was worth it. Nothing worth having comes easy.