The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team hasn't cut it close in any of its Western Athletic Conference matches this season, having swept all six opponents.

The No. 11 Rainbow Wahine, however, will be cutting it fairly close travelwise for their match tonight at Louisiana Tech.

This is the travel itinerary: Left Honolulu at 7:25 p.m. last night; fly 6 hours and 40 minutes before arriving in Houston at 8:05 (Central time) this morning; after a two-hour layover, take a one-hour flight to Shreveport, La.; drive 1 hour and 15 minutes to their Ruston hotel.

If all goes well, Hawai'i (12-4, 6-0) should arrive in Ruston five or six hours before match time.

"I'm hoping they can sleep on the plane as much as possible," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "We'll have a few hours to rest (after arriving in Ruston). It'll probably hit us more on Thursday. We hope to get the match done as quickly as possible and rest for Friday's match."

That match will have the Rainbow Wahine facing No. 25 New Mexico State at Las Cruces High School gym. NMSU's Pan American Center is being renovated.

Hawai'i's rough travel schedule — especially for the first match — was the result of a couple schedule changes.

The Boise State-Hawai'i match Monday at Stan Sheriff Center was moved up from a later date at the request of the Broncos, to avoid additional missed class time, according to Shoji.

The match at Louisiana Tech was originally scheduled for Thursday, but a music concert featuring "Better Than Ezra," moved it up to tonight.

The end result is Hawai'i having to play two matches 4,000 miles apart in three days.

"We would not do this in a normal situation," Shoji said. "It's because of all the changes of games."

Prior to Monday's match against Boise State, the Rainbow Wahine also played home WAC matches Friday and Sunday.

"I know if we had to play five-game matches over the weekend it might have affected us, but we got out pretty easily so the players should be in good physical condition," Shoji said.

Shoji said he would have preferred to depart late Monday night or early yesterday morning, but the airlines couldn't accommodate the request.

The only break Hawai'i will get is Louisiana Tech (5-16, 0-5), one of two teams yet to win a conference match.

"I'm not quite sure what to expect," Shoji said. "I do know they are struggling and don't have a lot of players who played last year even. We'll study them (on film) in the next 24 hours."

New Mexico State (20-1, 4-1) lost two five-game matches against Hawai'i last season.

"We've expected New Mexico State to be one of the toughest teams," Shoji said. "It was a mild upset they lost in five in Nevada (Sept. 30)."

The Rainbow Wahine return home to face Notre Dame Monday and Tuesday to complete a run of seven matches in 11 days. That Tuesday match has been moved up to 6 p.m. to accommodate a flight change for the Irish.