"Starter" is a term used loosely around the country's 15th-ranked volleyball team. Of the 16 Rainbow Wahine officially on the roster this season, just three have not started.

Injuries, discipline and early depth — dramatically depleted at this point by that first factor — have forced Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji into a mad scramble to scribble out a lineup nearly every night out.

Going into tonight's Western Athletic Conference match against Utah State, the 'Bows have utilized eight starting lineups in their first 13 matches. No one has started every match and everyone hopes the final months of the season will be infinitely more stable than the first six weeks.

Not that this is all a surprise.

"We knew from the beginning of the year that, having so many good players at so many positions, we weren't really set with a lineup," said junior Juliana Sanders. "You knew you had to work to earn your spot. Now, with the injuries, we're a different team. It makes you work even harder to get better because you don't have the options."

Shoji believes he has settled into "one lineup ... well, actually one or two." He is happy with the offense setter Kanoe Kamana'o can create with a good pass and Sarah Mason and Jamie Houston on the left, or Kari Gregory and Sanders in the middle.

He likes first-year starter Jessica Keefe on the right, particularly since her blocking has blossomed. He never hesitates to play senior co-captain Cayley Thurlby at any of three positions.

Shoji is also comfortable with freshman Amber Kaufman on the right or in the middle. She expected to redshirt this season before Rainbow body parts began breaking down.

He has also welcomed the increasingly large part defensive specialists Jayme Lee, Raeceen Woolford and Elise Duggins have played in the team's recent success.

Circumstances beyond anyone's control could still blow this lineup to bits. But, if nothing else, all the early-season experimentation and season-ending injuries to starters Tara Hittle and Nickie Thomas have forced the Rainbows to be adaptable.

Players are doing things well now that they probably never even imagined doing in August. People are playing with confidence that might not have expected to play at all this season.

Ball control is still a serious concern, but balls don't drop as often between players not used to playing together. Hawai'i has discovered a rhythm rarely intact even in the matches it won the first month of the season.

"We are at a point where people are playing to their strengths," Thurlby said. "We had a rough beginning of the season with injuries and overcoming all that stuff mentally, and re-forming roles for people."

While Shoji believes his team is "about as comfortable as it can be" after such an upheaval, Thurlby would not be surprised to see more changes before this is over. Both are relieved that last week's first road trip only solidified what had started to come together before the 'Bows left town.

"The trip was better than I expected and exactly what we needed," Thurlby said. "We obviously had a lot of different things going on leading up to that trip and things could have gotten really bad or taken a turn for the better. They took a turn for the better. A lot of people were willing to grow and put things behind them and that's exactly what our team needs."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.