Once Hawai'i found a ball and its passing, it showed flurries of the type of volleyball that frustrates teams deep into the postseason in last night's exhibition with Nebraska.

But what the Rainbow Wahine will remember when they return after spring break is that they could not close out the Huskers in their spring scrimmage.

Nebraska, which finished last season in the final four and ranked third nationally, refused to let UH finish, winning 25-23, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23 before 1,665 at Stan Sheriff Center. For all the good things they did — the 57 digs and 11 blocks and Amber Kaufman's stellar offense — the Rainbows will remember most how poorly they finished.

"That last game, after all that," said Kaufman, who buried 12 of 16 swings, "it was like 'Platter, game — here it is' at the end."

"It's a motivation for us," said UH coach Dave Shoji, who was so wrapped up in finally "coaching" after a three-month hiatus that he didn't even notice there was no volleyball on the court at the start of the match. "We didn't close games. Everybody has got to be a little more hungry when we come back from break.

"I think everybody can take some confidence out of the match, but we didn't close and that's disappointing. But that's what spring is for. You've got to find players to step up. Next time out we should be better."

He is no closer to finding a libero to replace Tara Hittle or a middle to insert in Nickie Thomas' slot. Jamie Houston, last fall's third starting senior and No. 2 on the career kill list, played last night because Stephanie Ferrell is in a cast and on crutches after breaking an ankle.

Houston was not a huge factor, which allowed a good look at everyone else. The consensus was, after two weeks of working together, that the passing was poor and the potential is great.

Passing was the first thing Ferrell talked about when it was over and she said she grew to like it, although "there were times we didn't move our feet." It improved immensely after Shoji chastised his team during the break after the second set. Hawai'i hammered the Huskers in the lopsided third.

With Jayme Lee, Emily Maeda and Kanani Danielson preventing most everything from hitting the floor, the 'Bows doubled their dig total for the match and hit .464 with a single error. Nebraska took nearly twice as many swings (44-28) in the third, but had three fewer kills.

But in the fourth set, Hawai'i's passing problems returned. It tied it at 16, when Stephanie Brandt's serves poked holes in the Huskers' passing, and the teams traded points to 20-all. Nebraska went ahead on a controversial kill, but the 'Bows stuffed the next two points, giving them a stunning 11-9 block advantage for the night over the much taller Huskers.

"I don't know how that happened, I really don't," the 6-foot-1 Ferrell said, grinning. "It must be because I wasn't in there."

Nebraska called time and Houston's 10th kill put UH up 23-21 after a remarkable dig by Danielson — her 16th. Then it all fell apart. Houston shanked a free ball, freshman Brittany Hewitt hit out and Husker freshman Hannah Werth blasted the final two of her 15 kills.

It was hard to take it too seriously in March, especially with Danielson as the only healthy hitter. Setter Brandt was surprisingly effective hitting and blocking on the right side in her first offensive appearance since her senior year in high school. Shoji also tried several lineups, which caused some ballhandling confusion.

UH was two or three shanks a set from winning. It took comfort in that, along with the blocking stat, their 57 digs and a nearly flawless third set. But Shoji would like to find a middle and a libero going into the fall.

"We've got four weeks left in the gym and that's something we're going to work on," he said. "No one can really win the job in the spring. You can advance yourself, but everything gets thrown open in fall."