The Shockers (2-2) were the first unranked team UH (5-1) faced this season. That was most obvious in the hitting statistics. Five nights after burying 22nd-ranked Louisville with a remarkable .486 showing, the 'Bows hit .488 against Wichita in a match all but void of rallies.

That was no shock to Shocker coach Chris Lamb, whose squad is picked to finish third in the unheralded Missouri Valley Conference.

"I think you have a team that sees great teams a lot," said Lamb, who started five sophomores. "I know there's a lull with the WAC, that's always an issue, but being in NACWAA and having the teams here last week — the kind of teams Hawai'i is expected to play and beat. ... One team showed up tonight expecting to win and the other showed up hoping to play well. That's a tough thing to overcome."

Tonight, the Shockers face Pacific (2-0) at 5 p.m. Hawai'i takes on Baylor (3-2) at approximately 7. In the Challenge opener last night, the Tigers outlasted the Bears, 32-30, 30-27, 24-30, 30-28.

Then, before 4,333 at Stan Sheriff Center, the Rainbow Wahine methodically mashed Wichita State in a match with little suspense but lots of short stories and one continuing saga: Hawai'i All-American Kim Willoughby was all but flawless with 22 kills, the first 15 before the Shockers finally forced her into an error.

By then, this one was decided.

Lily Kahumoku, Willoughby's All-American bookend on the left side, convinced UH coach Dave Shoji she should play despite a sore right quadricep and two hands battered from blocking. Her hitting was ineffective — a career-low three kills on .071 hitting — but she passed the majority of the serves before sitting in the third game.

While Wichita watched every move Willoughby and Kahumoku made, Nohea Tano and Maja Gustin ran free. Tano, in a wide-open race to win the right-side position, buried eight kills with only one error. Gustin drilled her first five swings.

NOHEA TANO

Gustin also sat in the third game, which provided a very different Hawai'i look. It turned out to be the most decisive part of the night, with Karin Lundqvist in the middle, Melody Eckmier and Susie Boogaard on the right, Cayley Thurlby sharing the setting and freshman Alicia Arnott in Kahumoku's place.

"We emphasized not having a drop-off," Shoji said. "Everyone that went in there has started and played a lot before. I didn't expect a drop-off."

That was Lamb's biggest disappointment. "I was a little disappointed that when Dave made those subs it didn't get better," Lamb said. "Arnott getting those serves set the stage. I think those girls were excited to get out there. They did a great job."

The reserves, along with Willoughby, Lauren Duggins and Kanoe Kamana'o, took off on a 13-3 surge to put the game away early. Arnott was in the middle of the first run, serving six straight, including two of her three aces.

Kamana'o, a 5-foot-8 setter, got Hawai'i's first block of 5-9 Sara Younes in that streak. Kamana'o was in the midst of serving five in a row — and boosting UH to a 20-7 advantage — when the Rainbow Wahine got Younes again. This time it was Willoughby and Lundqvist putting up the roof, a few seconds after Lundqvist had a solo stuff. Hawai'i had four of its seven blocks in Game 3.

QUICK SETS: Services for Dr. Allen Richardson, the Rainbow Wahine's team physician who passed away Monday, will be at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Kawaiaha'o Church. Family visitation has been moved from 4:30 to 5. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hawai'i Orthopedic Research & Education Foundation (HOREF), and sent to Tori Marciel at 1356 Lusitana St., 6th floor, Honolulu, 96813. ... The six hitting errors Hawai'i had against Louisville Sunday is a UH record for the rally-scoring era. The fewest errors in Rainbow Wahine history is five, against Rice in 2000 — before rally scoring.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043