Hawai'i and Washington come into this weekend's volleyball series under mysterious circumstances.

It has been tough to get an accurate take on how good, or bad, the sixth-ranked Rainbow Wahine (5-3) are because they have been so battered physically. The second-ranked Huskies (7-0) are healthy, but their schedule has been weak.

Washington has blown its way by seven unimposing teams, starting with Gardner-Webb and ending with Sam Houston State. According to the Pablo Rankings, which rates teams on everything from results to strength-of-schedule and sites, the Huskies have played only one opponent in the top 140 — basically the top half — of the country.

That would be Montana State (74), which is the only team to hit as high as .165 against UW. Three teams have been harassed into negative percentages. The Huskies are out-hitting opponents .485 to .032, with twice as many kills.

They have won all 21 games this season. Opponents have scored more than 20 points just twice, and three have been held below 10.

It is not the usual challenge taken on by a program that returns six starters off its first final-four team. The Huskies return 2004 All-Americans Courtney Thompson, a first-team setter, and Christal Morrison, a second-team hitter.

Their best player might be Sanja Tomasevic, a 25-year-old from Serbia & Montenegro. She was a 2003 second-team All-American and led UW in kills last year, but sat out five weeks with a broken hand. She came back in time to be honored at Senior Night.

In May the NCAA, which originally granted her three years of eligibility because she enrolled after she was 21, surprisingly gave her a fourth year. It agreed with the school that the war going on in Yugoslavia when Tomasevic was graduating from high school delayed her college plans.

Tomasevic, one of six UW seniors this year, is now hitting an off-the-chart .509 and averaging 3 1/2 kills, 2 digs and more than a block a game.

Those numbers are normal in Seattle. The worst Huskie hitting percentage is .394 and it is owned by Brie Hagerty, who leads the team in kills (3.88).

Meanwhile, Hawai'i is trying to get healthy one player at a time. Sarah Mason (sprained ankle) returned and played a critical part in Saturday's victory over then-No. 10 UCLA. Tara Hittle (sprained ankle) might play front row for the first time this week, after working at libero the last few matches.

Alicia Arnott (flu-like symptoms) is also available, but middle blocker Kari Gregory has been out since "tweaking" her knee Friday. UH has kept her out of practice while it runs tests to be sure the injury is not serious.

Through all that, the Rainbow Wahine are one huge letdown from winning their last six. They were up two games against then-fifth-ranked Penn State 12 days ago and let it get away.

This weekend, Hawai'i and Washington could see precisely how far they have — or have not — come.

NOTES

Iolani graduate Ashley Aratani is a sophomore defensive specialist who has seen action in 10 games for Washington. Kalani graduate Tamari Miyashiro has not played and will probably be red-shirted, along with two other UW freshmen. Miyashiro, a two-time all-state first-team selection, is listed at libero and setter.

Hawai'i is 2-11 against teams ranked No. 2 in the poll, with both wins against Pacific in 1987. The last time the Rainbow Wahine faced a second-ranked opponent was in the 1996 NCAA Championship against Stanford, when UH was swept.

The Rainbow Wahine have a much better record — 7-11 — against top-ranked opponents. Hawai'i is 93-75 against Top-10 opponents, including 2-3 this season.

Hawai'i senior Victoria Prince has been named to all three all-tournament teams this year, including Most Outstanding at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Challenge. Prince is hitting .429, which is second in the Western Athletic Conference and 21st nationally. The WAC Player of the Week is also No. 2 in conference blocking, at 1.30 per game.

Hawai'i setter Kanoe Kamana'o leads the WAC with an average of 14.25 assists per game. That ranks seventh nationally.

The Rainbow Wahine again lead the country in attendance, averaging 7,115 per match. The crowd of 8,499 (tickets sold) for Saturday's UCLA match was fifth-highest this year. New Mexico State, which joined the WAC this season, is eighth nationally in attendance, at 1,848.

The WAC is 3-2 against Pac-10 opponents this year, with Hawai'i winning both its matches (USC and UCLA).

The Trojans (3-4) finally beat a ranked team last week, defeating then-No. 13 Texas A&M Sunday at the UTSA Dome Rally in San Antonio. USC lost to Florida in five to open the tournament, then was swept by No. 19 Notre Dame.

The Irish (6-0) moved up 11 spots to No. 8 in this week's poll after winning the Rally. They have three wins over top-15 teams, including a sweep of then-No. 6 Florida, which hadn't lost in three games in more than two years.

The Rainbow Wahine open the WAC season next Thursday (Sept. 22) against Boise State, then take on Loyola Marymount Sept. 23 and 24 in their final non-conference matches. Loyola Marymount (5-1) defeated Nevada last weekend in four games, winning 36-34 in the fourth, then lost to Sacramento State.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.