Anita Manuma was glued to her cell phone waiting for updates all weekend.

Now, she's so sick of the calls, she turned off her phone.

"A lot of people are calling and say, 'Good luck, but I want you to know we're cheering for UH,' " Manuma said.

Manuma, a 2006 Campbell graduate and freshman utility player for the top-ranked and fifth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers softball team, is preparing to play older sister Valana, a shortstop for No. 15 University of Hawai'i, in this week's NCAA Super Regional.

Another sister, Malama, is sitting out this season at UH because of a shoulder injury, Anita said.

It will be a reunion between a successful Hawai'i team and two of the more successful players from Hawai'i at a Mainland college. Anita Manuma and sophomore shortstop Liane Horiuchi, a 2005 Kamehameha graduate, are the first from Hawai'i to play for a Southeastern Conference softball team.

"I think it goes to show Hawai'i players have a lot of talent, we just don't get the exposure and pitching," Horiuchi said.

The teams play one game Friday, with possibly two on Saturday in the best-of-three series.

Manuma was checking in constantly with her mother, who was in Los Angeles watching the Rainbow Wahine play at the UCLA regional. She knew if Hawai'i made it out of that regional, it would meet the winner of the Tennessee regional.

"Me and my friends were at the mall, and we were sitting in the chairs and I had my mom on the speaker phone," Manuma said. "She was giving us play-by-play from the sixth inning."

Tennessee did its part to get to the Super Regional, beating North Carolina, 2-0, and Winthrop, 7-0. Manuma was 3-for-4, with one run and an RBI. Horiuchi was 2-for-3 with two runs against Winthrop.

"Valana called me right after the UCLA game (won by UH 3-1), and again right after the LMU game (won by UH 9-0)," Manuma said. "She said she's excited to see us and everything.

"She asked us for pointers on UCLA and we left long messages on what to look out for. (Now) we talk and everything, but we just don't talk about the game. She'll ask, 'What do I have to look for?' And I just say, 'I don't know, good luck.' "

Like Manuma, Horiuchi turned off her cell phone yesterday.

"I have a lot of stuff to do, and I just want to concentrate on softball," she said. "(The amount of phone calls) wasn't that bad, but we had two-a-days, and you just need time to sleep and have some time off and relax."

Horiuchi said she spoke to Valana and former Kamehameha teammate Kaulana Gould, a center fielder for the 'Bows.

"We didn't talk long, just said we're excited and we talked about who is going to win," Horiuchi said. "Just a little friendly competition.

"It's always exciting to play your friends, and especially Hawai'i, where there's so many people I grew up with."

Manuma said she's "really good friends" with the UH players.

"When I was still in Hawai'i in December, I would go to my sister's dorm and spend the night and hang out with the softball girls, so I know all of them," Manuma said. "They're cool."

Although Manuma's parents have no plans to fly to Knoxville, Tenn., "I think they're trying to surprise us. Knowing them, they'll just show up," Manuma said. "I hope they're trying to surprise us."

If they do make it, Manuma said they shouldn't expect anything but top-notch softball.

"I love my sister and everything, but on the field they are just another team," Manuma said. "Hopefully, the best team wins.

"We just have to take it one pitch and one play at a time."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.