For its second road trip of the season, third-ranked Hawai'i is taking the Western Athletic Conference tour of Nevada volleyball.

The Rainbow Wahine play tonight at Fresno State, which is coached by former Wolf Pack player Lauren Netherby-Sewell. They play Saturday at Nevada, then close the trip Monday at San Jose State, coached by former Nevada assistant Oscar Crespo.

Tonight's match will be shown live on ESPNU (Time Warner Cable Digital 219) at 5:30 p.m. Hawai'i time. All three matches will be broadcast live on ESPN 1420 radio.

The 'Bows (18-2, 8-0 WAC) have won their last 14 and are in the midst of a 20-match WAC win streak dating more than a year. They hold the NCAA record for consecutive victories over conference opponents, winning 132 in a row from 1998 to 2007.

Hawai'i is a combined 137-5 against these three teams, so it is focused as much on the future as the present. Sophomore Stephanie Ferrell sees staying disciplined defensively as crucial and coach Dave Shoji calls pushing the tempo offensively the priority.

Freshman Brittany Hewitt says the Rainbows have to be persistent about pushing themselves overall and preventing any slides. She insists playing at a high level is "entirely possible" on a court 2,500 miles from home, in front of a crowd much smaller than usual, against an opponent nothing like what Hawai'i will see in the NCAA Tournament.

"It's the same as any other game," Hewitt says. "It's definitely a different feeling, but no matter what court you're on, you can play your game."

Fresno is attempting to fill the fan void tonight, in its first televised home match. Athletes were out on campus Tuesday promoting the match against one of the country's best teams and giving away 250 tickets — to students who already get in free (Fresno residents are $2). Fresno State is giving away a flat screen TV, pizzas and "100 pairs of flip-flops."

The Save Mart Center, which holds 16,000-plus, will have a black curtain across it to create an intimate 2,500-seat bowl. And, though the late start for TV is a concern, FSU hopes to draw 2,000, including the 200-member marching band.

FSU (11-10, 4-5) has lost just once at home this year. In Netherby-Sewell's second season, the Bulldogs have 11 wins for the first time since Punahou graduate Lindy Vivas was still coaching, in 2004. They defeated Idaho for the first time in 22 years. The Bulldogs are fourth in the WAC despite getting swept at New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech last week.

They did not have an ace against LaTech and Netherby-Sewell is adamant about that not happening again.

"We have to try and get the serving game more assertive and aggressive," she said. "Not only is it the best way to dismantle opponents, but we're still rebuilding, obviously, and I want to see them have the ability and confidence to be aggressive in the easiest skill to perform in our sport."

Nevada (7-15, 3-6) has lost its last three going into tonight's match against SJSU. All coach Devin Scruggs wants to see from her Wolf Pack is the ability to compete.

"The team is starting to get a little down and second-guess themselves in terms of talent level," Scruggs said. "It's a tough time of year for us. I hope we can turn it around Thursday and go into the Hawai'i game on a positive note."

San Jose State (1-18, 1-7) took a set off New Mexico State last week and is getting stellar play from its Hawai'i trio — libero-turned-hitter Kristal Tsukano, setter Caitlin Andrade and hitter Alex Akana. Coach Crespo, who was Scruggs' assistant until 2007, is also looking for confidence from his team. He is thankful it wasn't the "victim" when Shoji hit 1,000.

"It's fantastic, huge, a milestone for coaches and a great achievement," Crespo said. "I'd say I wouldn't have liked to have played them in that situation, but would have liked to see that situation. I'm sure the fans and atmosphere were electrifying."

NOTES

The large crowds celebrating Dave Shoji's 1,000th win as UH coach pushed home attendance 500 ahead of where it was last year, which was the first season the 'Bows averaged less than 6,000 since moving into Stan Sheriff Center fulltime in 1995. Hawai'i is averaging 6,360 this year. Nationally, 53 schools average more than 800 in attendance, an unofficial record.

The Rainbow Wahine are up three spots in the latest national power index (RPI), to No. 22. There are three Big 12 teams in the top 12, including No. 1 Texas. Florida State is No. 2, followed by Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, all of the Big Ten. The Pac-10 has seven teams in the Top 25. New Mexico State (71) is the only other WAC team in the top 163.

In national statistics, UH senior Aneli Cubi-Otineru is fourth in aces (0.61) and senior teammate Amber Kaufman fourth in hitting (.456). Freshman Brittany Hewitt is 11th in blocks (1.44) and junior setter Dani Mafua 13th in aces (11.54). The 'Bows are among the top 26 in every team statistic but digs, where they are 238th among the 329 Division I teams, averaging seven less per set than dig leader New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Hawai'i plays six of its last eight on the road before the WAC Tournament at Las Vegas. Its final homestand is against Fresno State (Nov. 6) and Utah State (Nov. 8).