Words like "disturbing" and "breakdowns" and "finding a rhythm" littered Rainbow Wahine volleyball conversations.

The setter admitted, "We found that self-destruct button early and hit it."

The All-American hitter tried to grasp what was going on: "It wasn't like we were in sync. Our energy was shooting in different ways. It wasn't energy and being focused at the same time. It was just energy everywhere."

It was a year ago and Hawai'i had been blitzed by Florida, UCLA and Stanford. Fans were not happy, coaches were confused and players were searching for a unified personality.

Welcome to 2007, where deja vu is a downer. Rainbow Wahine volleyball started the season poorly, found optimism last weekend in wins over Kansas State and Louisville — and a breathtaking first-game rally to catch fifth-ranked UCLA Monday — then fell apart, again.

"I've got to look at the Louisville and Kansas State games and feel we made some progress," UH coach Dave Shoji said after his team's Monday breakdown. "Then again, after tonight, I'm not sure which is the real team here."

The real Rainbow Wahine need to show themselves soon. The Waikiki Beach Marriott Challenge begins tonight and 16th-ranked Hawai'i plays Eastern Washington, Wichita State and 19th-ranked Santa Clara. The Western Athletic Conference season starts next week.

Last year's team suffered through a discouraging start followed by three season-ending injuries, and didn't hit its stride until the WAC Tournament. The 'Bows ultimately advanced to the regional final behind a brilliant late-season blocking performance and an odd comfort zone induced by the realization they were out of healthy bodies.

It was an extremely difficult process Hawai'i never wants to duplicate. Shoji is still not sure what caused the meltdowns against UCLA and Oregon State. He doesn't believe it was tactical.

"The coaches have to give the players the best chance to win," Shoji said. "We have to give them an opportunity to utilize their skills in order to win. That's part of the puzzle and the other part is players having to execute, step up. ... We can tweak things here and there, but the other part of it is the players have to get tougher."

Players talked about needing more courage and communication when the destruction ended Monday. The coaches talked about getting them to "quiet their minds." They were shocked at the bad habits that returned under pressure — feet that didn't move or charged forward for no reason, focus that faded out for long periods, free-lancing within a structure that only works when every piece is in its proper place, hitters who couldn't find the court, missed blocks.

"I don't fault our effort out there," associate coach Kari Ambrozich said. "We have lots of effort. We just have six individuals, at times, free-lancing and we've never given them permission to do that. There's no balance to our court. It's just not the way we teach volleyball."

It was hard to find a bright spot Monday, after the remarkable rally that saw Hawai'i dig a deep early hole, then tie the first game at 27. Even during that surge, the 'Bows' passing and offense were ragged, but the defense was so good it forced UCLA to make errors. From Game 2 on, the Bruins were in complete control, exploiting every weakness Hawai'i showed.

"Athletically, I thought we were about equal with UCLA," Shoji said. "But they were just better volleyball players. They play well as a unit and made volleyball plays, where we were not able to do that."

Attitude is everything. Second-year associate coach Mike Sealy is trying to figure out if the problems are a mental breakdown, or the team is not capable of playing at UCLA's elite level. He recalled being "convinced" halfway through the first game that the Rainbows had finally learned to "compete and grovel." Within minutes, his conviction was gone.

"It was frustrating because we had good preparation and practice and we put a system in place, and errors were happening on the floor that were flat-out lack of concentration and not paying attention," Sealy said. "We were watching the video and people were playing defense out of bounds. We've got to go back to the drawing board and create a different environment to work. If that doesn't work, then we have to make changes."

NOTES

Santa Clara's only loss came Saturday at then-seventh-ranked Florida. Scores were 30-18, 30-16, 30-24. Bronco junior Michelle Luxton is a Punahou graduate. Eastern Washington's only win came Friday, in five games, against Colgate. Wichita State lost to Kansas State and Cal Poly before sweeping DePaul, Auburn and Denver last weekend.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.