Second-seeded Hawai'i is fiercely focused — as only a team with seven seniors can be — on winning its first national title since 1987. Third-seeded Florida is here for the seventh time, all in the last 11 years, and still looking for its first final-four victory.

The Gators were swept the first five times they got here, with Hawai'i taking them out in 1996 on the way to its last NCAA final. Florida finally won its first game last year, but ultimately fell in four to Southern California.

The top-seeded Trojans open defense of their NCAA title in today's first match (2:30 HST) against 13th-seeded Minnesota. Then the twins take on each other at Reunion Arena.

Florida and Hawai'i both have 35-match winning streaks, with their only loss coming against USC in August. Both feature All-Americans (Aury Cruz, Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku) on the outside.

"The matchup between Aury and Kim Willoughby is going to be sensational, worth the price of admission," said Minnesota coach Mike Hebert, whose team lost to both Florida and Hawai'i this season. "I don't know if there are two other players in the country any better.

"All I remember about playing Hawai'i is Kim Willoughby, Kim Willoughby, Kim Willoughby, Kim Willoughby, and then more Kim Willoughby. You move your block around on her and she hits another shot. You decide to commit with her and she hits over the top of you. She's just a sensational player. And her defensive abilities make me think she sets the tone for that team, not only offensively but defensively. Her jump serve is a weapon, but then the same thing can be said about Aury Cruz. So that's a wash.

"I think that Florida might have an edge as far as overall team athletic index, but I like the experience level of the Hawai'i team better. I see that as a toss-up match."

Down to the health and relative athletic wealth of each position. The teams have similar right sides and setting. Each also has one second-team 2002 All-American in the middle (Sherri Williams and Lauren Duggins) and an injured middle (Benavia Jenkins and Maja Gustin).

Jenkins will not play while UH coach Dave Shoji is leaning toward starting Karin Lundqvist for the fourth consecutive match if Gustin is "not 100 percent."

Gustin has been practicing, but Kahumoku did not yesterday, taking most of the workout off with chronic back spasms. She will start tonight, in a match Shoji believes will come down to "whether we stop their attack or they stop ours."

Others are even less analytical.

Willoughby talked about the "luxury of losing a game" to Georgia Tech last Saturday, and how it helped Hawai'i realize just how close it was to the end. She also spoke of not only wanting to win for the seniors, but also to leave a legacy so the other Rainbow Wahine would have "the hunger to get back here again."

UH co-captain Melissa Villaroman spoke only of emotion.

"Having the desire and heart, that's what counts now," she said. "You can't do much about skills. It's about having the heart and desire and going for the ball, playing your best volleyball."

Florida coach Mary Wise, who could become the first woman to coach an NCAA championship volleyball team, focused on the work ethic her team has undertaken since losing Jenkins to a knee injury midway through the season. Williams called the team goal "90 points of execution" — the number it takes to win a match.

Final Four • Where: Dallas • Today: Southern California (33-0) vs. Minnesota (26-10); Florida (35-1) vs. Hawai'i (36-1) • TV: UH match on Oceanic 16, 4:30 p.m.

"This team has gotten better and better since we lost Benavia. We never asked anyone to be Benavia. We asked all our players to raise the level collectively to make up for Benavia's absence and that's exactly what happened."

Through it all, Florida never let an opponent get to 30. It comes in with an NCAA-record 103-game winning streak.

It means nothing at this point.

"It's so hard to win nowadays," Shoji says. "You have to have a great team. Other programs all have great players and coaches. I found when we won in 1987 we had to beat two or three teams. Now you have to beat 10 or 12 and it's very difficult to do.

"We intend to do it this weekend. We've got probably our greatest team ever and ... if this had happened 10 years ago it would have been easier. Now it's much harder."