Yesterday, the victorious Evil Tiki Doll made its way to New Orleans, where the 2002 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship opens Thursday. The Brady Bunch was canceled Saturday.

The Rainbow Wahine took the hard way to the Big Easy. Five, including associate coach Charlie Wade and "Bayou Basher" Kim Willoughby made an eight-hour trip —Êvia Minneapolis — Sunday. The rest came in two waves yesterday.

"Kim needed to get home and get it out of her system," UH coach Dave Shoji said.

The first five spent the night in Thibodaux, an hour east of New Orleans and next to Napoleonville, where Willoughby grew up. Named by a French settler who fought under the "Little Colonel," the city of 700 is known for a huge salt dome Mobil Oil uses to store natural-gas liquids.

They ate at the local restaurant where Willoughby used to serve Po' Boys yesterday. She went back to visit Assumption High School, where former coach Sandy Fussell promised to hang her jersey as soon as Willoughby gets her college degree. Last night Willoughby, Margaret Vakasausau and Nohea Tano attended Assumption's sports banquet.

Fussell's daughter, Lindsay, caught up to her former teammate in school. "She was really excited to be here and be near New Orleans," Lindsay said.

Napoleonville was excited, too.

"Wow, I think the whole parish is going to New Orleans," Lindsay said. "Everyone's really excited. We knew they'd beat Nebraska. We knew she was not going to let her team lose because we know how bad she wants to come home."

With one exception, the rest of the Rainbows relaxed in Lincoln Sunday, studying, doing laundry and getting together for their first good meal on the Mainland. Lily Kahumoku made her way to South Dakota to see her grandmother.

"She asked me if she could go a week ago," Shoji said. "I said if we won you can do anything you want to."

Kahumoku caught up with her teammates yesterday and they hit the swampy ground of New Orleans about noon. By 3 p.m., Shoji was eating in Acme Oyster House, on his way to Bourbon Street.

Tonight the team will reconvene at its tournament hotel. It will practice tomorrow and try to finish finals; the players will take 23 exams on this trip.

Wednesday, the Stanford semifinal will finally be the focus. It has been on Shoji's mind since the bracket was announced Dec. 1, three weeks after the defending NCAA champion handed UH its only loss this season.

"All along I thought we'd play them," Shoji said. "Once the pairings came out I've been thinking about Stanford. I haven't done any work on it, but in my mind I felt we needed to have thought about them before we got here."

His players share the same thought process. Soon after Saturday's exhilarating victory, the Cardinal came to mind.

"I really, really look forward to our matchup with Stanford," senior Jennifer Carey said. "I think it's a great matchup having seen them before and knowing that we did not play our best match and knowing they are one of the reasons our season turned around for the better.