Fourth-ranked Hawai'i swept its last six and Idaho just ended a six-match slide, but the Vandals should have no problem getting the Rainbow Wahine's attention when the teams meet tonight in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball match at Stan Sheriff Center.

Idaho ranks second nationally in blocking behind seniors Anna McKinney and Debbie Pederson. A third senior, outside hitter Sarah Conwell, nearly had a triple-double in Thursday's win at San Jose State, with 19 kills, 20 digs and seven stuffs.

"We'll have to hit smarter," UH coach Dave Shoji said immediately after his team took out Boise State in Thursday's WAC opener. "Idaho is a solid blocking team so our hitters will have to make some good decisions on where to hit and when to hit high or low. They will block us."

It could get messy offensively because the Vandals have had trouble keeping the ball in play. At .170, their hitting percentage is about 120 points below Hawai'i's. With nine freshmen, it could get worse before it gets better.

The Vandals' six-match losing streak was their worst since 2006. It was also an aberration. They were third in the conference last year, have never finished below .500 in the WAC and all their losses came in California, against high-level opponents. Idaho (5-7) won't even play in Idaho until next month, although it was just eight miles west at the Washington State Tournament.

"I don't have any regrets with how we scheduled," Vandals coach Debbie Buchanan said.

"We were so close in so many of our matches and from that the players can see we can play with almost anyone."

Particularly her seniors. McKinney and Peterson are among the school's Top 10 in career blocks and rank in the Top 20 nationally this year. Conwell is the only non-Hawai'i player to earn WAC Player of the Week honors this season. Senior libero Meredith Rice leads the team in aces and digs.

The Rainbow Wahine should be back to full speed tonight. Sophomore All-American Kanani Danielson, who missed Thursday's match with "flu-like symptoms," practiced yesterday and is expected to play.

Hawai'i (10-2) has never lost to Idaho and the 'Bows are trying to focus individually on ways to run that streak to 12-0.

Specifically, they talked about getting to the ball quicker and moving their feet faster after Thursday's win. More generally, they want to improve their discipline and "be more offensive than defensive."

"If you add that all up together ... ," UH captain Aneli Cubi-Otineru said, then looked to teammate Stephanie Ferrell for the right words.

Ferrell was on the same wave length: "We attain our goals and almost play a perfect match," the sophomore said without hesitation.

What impressed Boise State coach Shawn Garus most Thursday was the UH serving. The 'Bows have 70 aces this season, to their opponents' 19. It has become a huge weapon, with Cubi-Otineru blasting 24 aces, Amber Kaufman floating another 19 and reserve Stephanie Brandt dropping in 10.

"What I liked about Hawai'i's serve is the variety," Garus said. "You have a girl (Cubi-Otineru) that serves from right back with a real hard topspin jump serve, a girl (Kaufman) that serves from left back with a jump floater and a girl (Brandt) who toes the line and moves it around to different zones. So not only do they have tough servers, but they have great variety in their serves and that is hard to communicate about and have all the serve receivers on the same page."

This is the final match of Hawai'i's five-week season-opening homestand. It plays at Louisiana Tech Thursday and New Mexico State next Saturday before returning home to meet Nevada and San Jose State Oct. 8 and 9.