Louisville managed to patch things up yesterday, upsetting Minnesota, 30-21, 30-24, 24-30, 30-27.

Today, the Cardinals close against UH. The match is scheduled to start at approximately 5 p.m., following the 3 o'clock UCLA-Minnesota match. The tournament ends tomorrow with the 'Bows playing the Bruins at 4.

By then, Hawai'i might have a handle on how this season will go. It has been a roller-coaster ride so far.

It started promisingly, with a remarkably easy victory over 15th-ranked Kansas State last weekend in the State Farm Classic. The promise was broken a night later, when top-ranked Southern California snuffed the 'Bows. Friday, Hawai'i hammered Minnesota, which has six starters back from last year's Sweet 16 team.

Louisville, the favorite to defend its Conference USA title, is at least as experienced. It has four starters back from last season and two more starters who were injured last year — setter Zoya Filippova and hitter Sonja Percan, who sparked the Cardinals' win over Minnesota with 19 kills, seven aces and 14 digs.

Meanwhile, the Rainbow Wahine's concern is with themselves. After a week of soul-searching since the USC debacle, they feel their never-ending quest for communication is paying dividends.

"The core group here, especially the seniors, care very much about what's going on," senior Lily Kahumoku said Friday, measuring every word. "Everyone wants to get the best out of everything and we're making the sacrifices we need to and communicating with each other. I really want to stress that because I don't think anyone else in the country is doing what we're doing — working with sports psychologists, working with our coaches, working with each other to go out there and be the best volleyball players we can be."