COLLEGES:

The lineup at the four-team NCAA men’s volleyball championship, beginning Thursday at BYU, is reminiscent of those SAT questions that ask one to identify which of four elements doesn’t belong.

In volleyball circles, of course, UC Irvine has not only become a known entity, but with a third trip to the Final Four in four seasons, including the 2007 NCAA crown, it is now recognized as a perennial power.

However, lined up next to BCS football schools Penn State, Ohio State and USC, the annual athletics budgets of which exceed the gross national product of some developing countries, Coach John Speraw’s UCI squad is the equivalent of the mom-and-pop operation in an arena full of corporate giants.

“We’re going [to BYU] to win a national championship,” said Speraw, whose top-seeded ’Eaters (25-5) face No. 4-seeded Ohio State (17-10) in the second semifinal Thursday at 8 p.m. at Smith Fieldhouse. “But regardless of the final outcome, we have to be very proud of where we’re at.

“It has now been seven years [since he left UCLA, where he was a former standout player and assistant coach to become head coach] of the program that had no history or tradition, and to be ranked No. 1 in four of those seven years, to go to three final fours and even to have won one national championship ... that’s just a tremendous record of success,” Speraw said. “And those are BCS big-time schools that we’re competing against this week. There’s Ohio State, Penn State, USC and little ole UC Irvine. We’re going to try and keep it real for the mid-majors.”

The success Speraw has generated is nothing less than surreal.

Speraw, who was an assistant coach on the U.S. men’s national team that won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last summer, has gained widespread acclaim as a deft recruiter, a diligent and talented tactician, a charismatic leader and an outside-the-box visionary.

One of the first acts of business undertaken by Mike Izzi when he took over as athletic director in early 2008 was to extend and sweeten Speraw’s compensation package in order to insure he would remain at Irvine.

Speraw’s passion for knowledge and improvement as a coach has become one of his trademarks.

One example is bringing in a sleep expert to relay to players specific ways in which they can achieve deeper, more restorative rest. Another is sitting out the occasional timeout, allowing his players (sans assistant coaches as well) to work out their problems on their own.

He is also known to study more video than Roger Ebert, and the complexity and depth of his game plans sometimes provide his players the most challenging homework they receive.

With an engaging, friendly manner and a smile that can buckle the knees of most recruits’ mothers, Speraw can close the recruiting deal. What’s more, in addition to landing blue-chip prospects — happening with greater frequency on the heels of the watershed success — he has shown he can win by developing walk-ons and castoffs who are virtually ignored by recruiters from other programs.

Hugh McCutcheon, the men’s national team coach last summer who is now coaching the women’s national team, has seen Speraw’s talents in the practice gym, in the video room, and in the timeout huddle.

“First of all, he knows the game.” McCutcheon said. “Tactically, he is able to put together some good plans that define an opponent’s weaknesses, while also implementing systems that allow his players to exploit those weaknesses.

“And, he has a nice idea about developing a team culture with the athletes of today. He’s very tuned into that.”

His ability to foster selflessness, no small chore with a generation weaned on entitlement, has caught the attention of his peers at Crawford Hall.

“When a coach pulls a guy out of a match, because he’s not playing well, the player comes off the court upset, and he’s usually mad at the coach,” former UCI men’s and women’s coach Charlie Brande said. “But when John takes a guy out, he’s high-fiving the rest of the bench and cheering for his teammates.

“Those kids have all bought into the team thing and that’s unique. It’s not that way at UCLA.”

UCI women’s coach Paula Weishoff, on the job just a few months, has made a similar observation.

“His players have the utmost respect for him,” Weishoff said. “One key for any coach is to get the kids to buy in and he has that 100% from them. The players want to work hard for him and they have respect for what he wants the program to accomplish, which is winning a national championship. When you have that, I think you have it all.”

In Speraw, the Anteaters have exactly what they need.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.