Andy Banachowski has been hauling his UCLA volleyball team to Hawai'i for 30 years now. He is not about to stop.

The fifth-ranked Bruins, here to defend their Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic championship tonight through Monday, are the Rainbow Wahine's most long-running rival. UCLA started coming here in 1976, Hawai'i's third season, and have been back every year since, with the exception of 1979.

Banachowski is the winningest coach in the game with a 1,039-272 record in 40-plus years.

Those two facts are not mutually exclusive. The trip here not only is an annual showdown between perennial national contenders, it is recruiting magic.

"When we talk to recruits we start by telling them we're in the toughest conference in the country," Banachowski said. "One of the things we certainly include is that we also play against Hawai'i in Hawai'i every year. That always gets worked into the conversation."

A preseason in paradise feels like a natural. UCLA starts school late (Sept. 28 this year) so the Bruins miss no school despite the long trip. Banachowski has stayed as long as a week training here and fondly remembers the early days when Hawai'i and UCLA would "tour together" to Maui and the Big Island.

Hawai'i leads the long series, 34-30, but the Bruins won here twice last year, ending the 'Bows' season in a regional final. The teams play again Monday, in the Classic finale. Banachowski knows what to expect, and calls it an ideal warmup for the much less laid-back world of Pac-10 volleyball.

"It's a wonderful setting to be playing in," Banachowski said. "We're rivals, but we're friendly rivals. Sometimes the intensity of playing a conference opponent notches up rivalries a little bit. If I had to pick, I think playing in the Stan Sheriff Center is certainly one of the best places."

A look at Hawai'i' Classic opponents:

NO. 25 KANSAS ST. (4-0)

UH series: Hawai'i 3-0

Nataly Korobkova went from State Siberian Technological University and the Russian junior national team to the Wildcats' spring practice. The 6-foot-3 hitter has been dynamic on the right side so far, averaging 4 1/2 kills (25 percent of the team's offense) and adding a block a game. The junior is the Big 12's preseason Newcomer of the Year and K-State has six starters back. It was picked to finish seventh in the conference — after going 4-16 last year but before upsetting then-No. 14 Cal Poly to open this season. Korobkova was the Best Western Shocker Classic Most Outstanding Player last weekend. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Megan Farr and Angie Lastra.

And what's more: Kansas State's five-game upset of Cal Poly concluded a couple dubious streaks. The Wildcats lost all seven five-game matches last year, and their last 10 matches against ranked teams. They didn't let up against unranked teams, holding North Texas to six points in a game Saturday.

LOUISVILLE (3-0)

UH series: Hawai'i 3-0

Wins over lowly regarded Memphis, Coastal Carolina and Tennessee Tech at home nearly got the Cardinals a ranking this week. Imagine what a win in a tournament thousands of miles away, where they are the only unranked team, could do. Jana Matiasovska, a 6-6 junior from Slovakia, was the Louisville Marriott East Invitational MVP Saturday after averaging more than four kills. Freshman libero Lindsey Mango and Svetlana Dukule, a 6-3 middle blocker from Latvia who is hitting .452, also earned all-tournament honors.

And what's more: More than half the Louisville roster is made up of international players. They are led by 12th-year coach Leonid Yelin, who took them to the Sweet 16 in 2004 and 2005 and played on the Republic of Uzbekistan men's team.

NO. 5 UCLA (1-1)

UH series: Hawai'i 34-30

Juniors Nellie Spicer and Ali Daley were on the all-tournament team at last week's AVCA College Volleyball Showcase, where the Bruins swept Utah and fell to top-ranked Nebraska in four. Spicer was a first-team All-American last year, setting the Bruins to their first final four in 13 years. Daley, a 6-foot hitter, collected double-doubles in both matches last weekend and is averaging more than four kills and digs. UCLA was picked third in the Pac-10.

And what's more: Daley was the 2005 Big West Freshman of the Year while playing for Long Beach State. Her brother Gary is a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals organization and her uncle, Pete, was a major league catcher. She played Little League 10 years.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.