"She has strep throat," said Shoji, who is expecting medical results on Prince today. "She's not well yet. We're hoping she can get better this week. She needs to rest. I'm assuming she's going to be all right and be able to play."

The Rainbow Wahine play No. 22 Wisconsin (23-9) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Regionals at the Resch Center. Sixth-ranked Stanford (26-6) and No. 10 Texas (26-4) are paired in the other regional match. The winners play Saturday.

Shoji said Prince played with her illness last week in Fort Collins, Colo., when Hawai'i eliminated Colorado and Purdue in the subregionals.

"I don't want to speculate on whether she's going to play or not," said Shoji, when asked if he had any contingency plan if Prince was too ill to play. "But we've got four middle blockers on the roster and they've all played quite a bit in the last few months. If she can't go, then someone will have to step up and play."

The Rainbow Wahine returned to Honolulu on Saturday to attend two days of classes. They are scheduled to leave tonight for Green Bay.

Shoji said the Rainbow Wahine were glad to be home, even though it was only for three nights.

"It's just hard being on the road," Shoji said. "Everybody feels better here. We can practice better here."

Shoji said the Rainbow Wahine would remain on the Mainland if they advance to the final four on Dec. 16 and 18 in Long Beach, Calif. The NCAA pays Hawai'i's airfare.

Hawai'i setter Kanoe Kamana'o said the few days spent in Hawai'i was worth the 3,300-mile journey from Colorado.

"You think about it, going back and forth, it just sounds tiring," Kamana'o said. "I think a lot of us are happy we were able to come back home on Saturday. Especially with school, just getting those two days in. It's getting close to finals week."

Yesterday, many of the Rainbow Wahine said they were excited about traveling to Green Bay, where the 20 to 40 degree temperature is actually warmer than the subfreezing climate in Colorado.

"I'm looking forward to it," libero Teisa Fotu said. "You're playing in an atmosphere where you really have to give it your all to win. We take it for granted when we're at home with the fans and the warm weather. It's good to be in a different atmosphere where we know mentally we have to push."

"As long as it's not freezing inside the gym," outside hitter Alicia Arnott said. "We're fine."

"She's a huge part of our team even if she can't play," outside hitter Susie Boogaard said of Watanabe. "We're going to pull through and do it for Ashley."

Watanabe said she won't need surgery on her hand, and doctors told her she would make a full recovery in four to six weeks — with eight weeks at the most.

"The healing process is going very well," said Watanabe, who broke the school digs per game record with a 4.22 average, beating Kim Willoughby's mark of 3.66 in 2001. "God is allowing it to heal and align quite fast."

Watanabe said she was thrilled that other players have taken on bigger roles with her injury.

"I think everyone is important to the team," Watanabe said. "Teisa and Kelly Ong have stepped it up. That was so nice to see."