The Rainbow Wahine became one of Hawai'i's best sports stories last season by winning their first 30 matches, earning a No. 1 ranking and advancing to the postseason before falling in five games to Wisconsin at the NCAA regionals in Green Bay, Wis., on Dec. 10.

"We're still hungry," Hawai'i setter Kanoe Kamana'o said. "The day that we lost, we knew the next day was the beginning of our new season. From that day, we started working hard with each other."

Hawai'i — which opens its 2005 home season Sept. 1 with the 18th Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic — will get an early test against Nebraska tonight. The Cornhuskers also return every starter from last year's 30-2 season when they were the NCAA Tournament's top seed. They advanced to the NCAA regional final before being upset by Southern California.

"Even though it's spring, it could be a great match, a fun one to watch," Nebraska coach John Cook said of tonight's exhibition. "I'm looking forward to it."

Also returning are all-Western Athletic Conference honorees: outside hitter Alicia Arnott (first team), outside hitter Susie Boogaard (second team), libero Ashley Watanabe (second team), outside hitter Tara Hittle (WAC Freshman of the Year) and middle blocker Juliana Sanders (all-freshman team).

In the past months, Shoji said the Rainbow Wahine have been doing a lot of work in the weightroom to improve performance.

"We've been training, and we've been lifting very hard," Shoji said. "We're trying to get our strength up ... trying to get the girls stronger than last year."

As for the Cornhuskers, they return three All-Americans in Melissa Elmer, Jennifer Saleaumua and Sarah Pavan, who was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year.

"They have a really good blocking team," Prince said of Nebraska. "We're going to see how our offense matches up against that. They have a great offense, too. So if our defense has improved a lot during the spring, it's going to show (tonight). It's going to let us see where we're really at."

This is the third time a Cook-coached team has trained in Hawai'i. Cook said he brought two of his Wisconsin teams to Hawai'i in the 1990s, the most recent in 1994, when the Stan Sheriff Center opened.

"For us, it's like a reward to go somewhere where it's warm and vacation-like," said Cook, whose team arrived Saturday night. "It's the only time of the year where we're together as a team, but they don't have school. It's just volleyball and they get to hang loose."

Yesterday, UH released a tentative 2005 Rainbow Wahine volleyball schedule which includes 14 matches against teams that were in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Note: Today's exhibition match will use experimental scoring with games scored to 25 points instead of the regular 30 points. Also, the match will last "at least four games." ... Newcomer Sarah Mason, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter and transfer from Oregon, has an injured hand and needs to clear some transfer paperwork, Shoji said. The St. Joseph's graduate could play tonight if she's cleared, he said. Mason will be a junior in the fall.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.

2005 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER

1-4—18th Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. 1—Southern California vs. Penn State, 4:30 p.m.; Hawai'i vs. Western Michigan, 7 p.m. 2—Southern California vs. Western Michigan, 4:30 p.m.; Hawai'i vs. Penn State, 7 p.m. 3—Penn State vs. Western Michigan, 2 p.m. 4—Hawai'i vs. Southern California, 5 p.m.

8-10—Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Volleyball Challenge. 8—Cal State Northridge vs. UCLA, 4:30 p.m.; Hawai'i vs. Cincinnati, 7 p.m. 9—Cincinnati vs. UCLA, 4:30 p.m.; Hawai'i vs. Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m. 10—Cincinnati vs. Cal State Northridge, 4:30 p.m.; Hawai'i vs. UCLA, 7 p.m.

16—Washington, 7 p.m. 17—Washington, 7 p.m. 22—Boise State*, 7 p.m. 23—Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m. 24—Alumnae match, 5 p.m.; Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m. 29—at Louisiana Tech*, 7 p.m.

OCTOBER

1—at New Mexico State*, 7 p.m. 7—Fresno State*, 7 p.m. 8—Nevada*, 7 p.m. 13—at Idaho*, 7 p.m. 15—at Boise State*, 7 p.m. 20—Utah State*, 7 p.m. 22—San Jose State*, 7 p.m. 27—at Nevada*, 7 p.m. 29—at Fresno State*, 7 p.m.

NOVEMBER

5—Idaho*, 7 p.m. 9—at Utah State*, 7 p.m. 12—at San Jose State*, 7 p.m. 17—New Mexico State*, 7 p.m. 19—Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m. 24-26—Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Reno, Nev., times to be announced.

DECEMBER

1-4—NCAA First & Second Rounds, sites and times to be announced. 8-11—NCAA Regionals, sites and times to be announced. 15 and 17—NCAA Championships at San Antonio times to be announced.

*—denotes Western Athletic Conference match.