On opening weekend, seventh-ranked Hawai'i erased more volleyball match points than it has faced in some seasons. The Rainbows' prize for persistence is fifth-ranked Florida tonight in the 19th Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic at Stan Sheriff Center.

Tenth-ranked UCLA, coming off a victory in Cincinnati's Bearcats Invitational, plays Colorado in the 5 p.m. opener. All the Classic teams went unbeaten in the first week of the season.

Some wins were easier than others. The Rainbow Wahine won a pair of frantic five-gamers over 19th-ranked Pepperdine by fighting off 10 match points over two nights. That puts Hawai'i's Dave Shoji a win away from becoming the second Division I women's volleyball coach — after UCLA's Andy Banachowski — to reach 900 victories.

To get it tonight would take an upset of a team that bears an eery resemblance to the Rainbows.

Hawai'i and Florida both lost an All-American (Victoria Prince and Jane Collymore) and two of their three passers from last season, including a libero. Both return All-American setters (Kanoe Kamana'o and Angie McGinnis).

Both hold a death grip on their conference championship, with the Gators grabbing the past 15 SEC titles and Hawai'i eight years and 125 matches from their last WAC loss.

Both will host an NCAA Regional in December. Both would dearly love to be in it, but are still searching for answers to basic questions such as, who can pass to those sensational setters?

"Yeah, Dave and I are a lot alike," jokes 16th-year Florida coach Mary Wise. "I'm only 400 wins behind him."

Florida went 33-3 last season, ultimately losing to Nebraska in the final of the Omaha Regional. Collymore, characterized by Wise as volleyball's version of an "NBA lottery pick," has taken her 535 kills to the next level.

Wise is finding a variety of ways to replace those points, including setting every player in the place. Six Gators — including McGinnis — average at least two kills a game so far this season.
"No one is going to make up all those points with one armswing," Wise said, "so we've got to do it with blocking and serving and more hitters."

She calls the Gators a "work in progress," as they were two years ago. In 2004, following their seventh final-four appearance, it took them almost the entire season to get their ballhandling skills down, according to Wise. The goal this year is to get there way before December.

Freshman libero Elyse Cusack eased some worries with a poised performance last week passing next to former high school teammate Marcie Hampton. Cusack averaged better than six digs a game and she and Hampton helped Florida hit nearly .300 in wins over South Florida and No. 24 Utah.

Five thousand miles away, Hawai'i's passing was painfully bad, particularly early in its opener. Somehow the 'Bows got past it, winning 17-15 in the fifth Friday after losing the first two games, and 21-19 in the fifth Saturday after winning the first two games.

"We beat Pepperdine five straight games," Shoji said. "It's not reasonable to think we can do it six straight games. The law of averages just caught up to us Saturday. I thought Pepperdine was a very good team and I didn't think we were that much better. If we were at all."

Shoji believes Florida could flatten the Waves. He calls the Gators more physical, with better foot speed and athletes. They are also bigger than the 'Bows, who out-blocked the tallest team in the country last week, 31-23.5.

Hawai'i also showed strange signs of firepower against Pepperdine. In the midst of getting aced nine times in the first two games of the season, they still hit .377 — with starters Nickie Thomas and Sarah Mason out with ankle injuries.

Neither will start tonight according to Shoji, though Mason has been cleared to practice. Jessica Keefe will again start on the right and Juliana Sanders in the middle. Walk-on freshman Jayme Lee will again start at libero.

For all the match-point madness going on last week, Shoji liked what he saw.
"We showed a lot of character by winning those matches," he said. "If we're in that position again we'll feel good about ourselves. When you lose those kind of games you always question yourself. I think if this happens again, we'll feel pretty good."

NOTES

• Hawai'i's left-side hitters had double-doubles in both last week's matches. WAC Player of the Week Jamie Houston is averaging 4.9 kills and 3.2 digs, with Tara Hittle at 3.2 kills and 3.8 digs.

• Colorado coach Pi'i Aiu is a Kamehameha Schools graduate from Kapa'a. He has taken the Buffs to eight NCAA Tournaments in his first nine years. They are picked sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll, behind top-ranked Nebraska, No. 8 Texas, No. 13 Missouri, No. 25 Kansas State and Texas A&M.

• Hawai'i has won half of the first 18 Hawaiian Airlines Classics, with UCLA capturing six titles. The Rainbow Wahine lead the series with the Bruins 34-28 after winning the last four. UCLA coach Andy Banachowski's record is 1,007-266.