It is much more than OK. With Prince a stable anchor, the Rainbow Wahine have risen to No. 3 in the country. They are unbeaten going into tomorrow's match against Rice, which is also unbeaten in the Western Athletic Conference.

1968 Leilehua yearbook photo

Brenda Prince (top) a 1968 Leilehua grad, says daughter Victoria (above) is "in the best place she could possibly be" for college volleyball. Advertiser photo library

But back to fate.

Prince's mother, Brenda, points to the plumeria tattoo on her daughter's ankle, a souvenir from her 2003 Maui vacation. She also believes Victoria's search for her ideal volleyball home has its roots in her roots.

The former Brenda Buckner is the daughter of a career military man and a 1968 Leilehua High graduate who attended UH. When she came from Washington to watch her daughter play last month, Brenda was greeted by a former Leilehua Spanish teacher at the boosters' post-match potluck.

It was a fitting end to a weekend that did wonders for easing the painful distance between a mother and daughter who call each other best friend.

Brenda rarely missed Victoria's games on the Mainland. They bonded over hours of driving to high school and club basketball and volleyball. WSU's Pullman campus was less than 2 hours from their Kennewick home.

Now, Brenda "watches" her daughter on the Internet, nervously pacing in her dining room.

Early in the season, Victoria tried to describe to her mother in a phone conversation her teammates, the respect and stunning success they have shared, and the fans' warm reaction. It wasn't until Brenda came here that she truly understood.

"I was overwhelmed," Brenda recalled. "She is in the best place she could possibly be for college women's volleyball. I was in awe of the fans. I've been to a lot of volleyball games, but nothing like this. It is so neat the way the fans embraced this team."

Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji found fate beyond the all-East Regional honors and eye-catching Pac-10 blocking statistics Prince collected her sophomore season at WSU in 2002.

Fate brought a coach who had just lost seven seniors off a final-four team a mature player who exuded confidence. He needed both. Prince's quick feet and let-it-rip attacking style also offered hope for an offense as formidable as her blocking.

"I was hoping for maturity and we got it," Shoji says. "She's a very confident person, confident in her game and she carries herself with confidence. We needed that. We really didn't have any proven players."

Prince was not all that confident when she came to Hawai'i in July. She had red-shirted last season after deciding to transfer, and suffering the fateful fracture in January 2003 that made her realize volleyball was no longer fun.

After sending her information to all the Top 25 teams, her choices were narrowed to Georgia Tech, Long Beach State and Hawai'i. She was headed to Long Beach, until she stepped off the plane in Hawai'i. Shoji's scholarship offer brought tears of joy.

"I was looking for a place to have fun when I played," Prince said. "I was looking for a place where, when I stepped on the court, everyone's eyes were full of hope and they want to play and are so happy with where they are. That's the way this team is. We want to play and we want to win and we work hard every day to do that."

Prince arrived here six weeks early, wondering how well she could still play and if she could fulfill Shoji's expectations.

"I wanted to make sure I was ready," Prince says. "I wanted the players and coaches to know it was important for me to be ready. And I didn't want to not know the team."

Maybe, fate had just filled her in on what was waiting. Volleyball is fun again. Her mother saw it the first match she watched here. When it was over, mother and daughter cried together in the locker room.

"I'm going to make it a point to see as many matches as I can next year, even if I have to go into debt to do it," Brenda says. "I'll never get another chance. I'm even thinking about it for this year."