It’s Not The NCAAs, But ….

By Michael Rothstein, Daily News-Record

The old gym was packed. People lined the walls while Eastern Mennonite University freshman Jason Axford was going back to serve.

The noise: deafening. The opponent: insurmountable.

Yet there was tiny EMU on that April night in 1995, playing men’s volleyball against defending national champion Penn State – in a conference game.

Division I vs. Division III, both members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Before you adjust your eyes, consider this – according to Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, the Royals were up 8-0 in the first game.

"They could do nothing wrong," Pavlik said this week from his State College, Pa., office. "The crowd was crazy and it was as loud as it could get. …

"After the match, the crowd engulfed both teams. I’ve always had a soft spot for EMU."

Eastern Mennonite ended up losing that first game, 15-8, and the match, 3-0 – and the Royals later left the conference -- but it was the biggest men’s volleyball match at EMU in school history.

Until today.

For the first time since 1998, Eastern Mennonite will play in the semifinals of the Molten Division III Invitational Men’s Volleyball Championship this evening at University Commons, thanks to the automatic berth it received as the host.

The fourth-seeded Royals play No. 1 seed Juniata 32 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal between No. 2 Medaille (N.Y.) and No. 3 California-Santa Cruz at 5 p.m.

On Saturday, the championship game will follow the third-place game, scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

Springfield won the last three Molten Championships before failing to qualify this year.

"The Molten is an awesome thing for Division III volleyball," Juniata coach Ken Shibuya said. "It’s built the sport at that level and really encouraged a lot of people to play for something other than a season which they know they’ll never make the Final Four.

"Is it the NCAA tournament? No. But it’s the next best thing."

Men’s volleyball is one of 12 collegiate sports that have inter-divisional championships, meaning teams in Divisions I through III are eligible for the same tournament.

In volleyball, the NCAA tournament consists of four teams, including three automatic qualifiers from the EIVA, the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Juniata came the closest to qualifying for the four-team event last year, reaching the EIVA semifinals.

While a D-III basketball or football team would have no chance against most Division I schools, the level of competition in volleyball is more even.

"Compared to other D-III and D-I scenarios, it’s the closest," Springfield College coach Charlie Sullivan said. "Maybe men’s gymnastics is as close; they play some D-I schools and win some, too."

Springfield and Juniata both play in the Tait Division of the EIVA – along with Division I Penn State, George Mason, Princeton, Rutgers-Newark and St. Francis (Pa.).

That allows them to compete in the Division I EIVA tournament – and for a spot in the NCAA Final Four.

Last year, Lewis University, a Division II school in Romeoville, Ill., won the NCAA championship, the first time a Division II school has accomplished the feat.

Small-college men’s volleyball is competitive, in part, because the NCAA restricts each D-I program to 4½ scholarships, meaning some talented players trickle down to D-II and D-III.

Juniata (15-6) finished 6-5 against Division I teams this season, including a five-set loss to Penn State, and 2-0 against D-II schools.

Medaille (22-8) was 1-5 against D-II squads. UC-Santa Cruz (4-11) finished 0-9 against D-I opponents but beat UC-San Diego, the Banana Slugs’ lone D-II foe.

EMU (13-7) – like Medaille, a member of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association -- faced four D-II opponents, finishing 2-2.

The Molten invites the EIVA D-III champion (Juniata this year), the NECVA champ (Medaille), a representative from the Midwest/West region (UC-Santa Cruz) and the host school (EMU).

Even though the Slugs’ record was poor – thanks to the large number of D-I schools they played – Santa Cruz was ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Division III coaches’ poll.

Juniata was ranked No. 1, Medaille sixth and EMU 11th.

While the Molten is a prestigious event among the small-college set, nobody pretends it is equal to the cache of an NCAA tournament. As of now, Division III is seven schools short of the 50 the NCAA has said it needs to get a national tourney. (Of the 81 schools that sponsor the sport, 23 are Division I, 15 Division II and 43 Division III).

"I try to not let it bother me," said Axford, who has moved from star player to head coach at EMU. "You make out of it what you put into it. We are only a couple teams short of the 50.

"It’s only a matter of time. In the meantime, the tradition of the Molten Championships is strong."