Hawai'i won four national volleyball championships in the span of a decade, but the last came in 1987. It has been shut out in four final fours since joining the Western Athletic Conference in 1996.

Has the WAC hurt the Rainbow Wahine?

Yes and no. Or, if you are UH coach Dave Shoji, no comment.

"It is a non-factor," insists Shoji, whose team arrives in Austin, Texas, today for its NCAA Championship first-round match against Texas State Friday. "All we can do is prepare and practice hard. People all have their opinions, but none of it matters. All that matters is if we can play up to our competition."

Hawai'i has not been able to do that for an entire season in nearly 20 years. Maybe the 'Bows simply haven't been good enough, or the 40,000-plus miles of travel each year have worn them down. Or maybe the conference season, and the dominance of their mind-blowing 125-match WAC winning streak, won't allow them to truly prepare for postseason.

"One of the challenges Dave can't control is the level of competition he sees in October and November in his conference," said Penn State coach Russ Rose, whose second-ranked team has a 23-match winning streak and a 29-2 record. "He is the cadillac of the conference. That doesn't mean he can't lose a match on the road or that those others aren't doing a great job, but people are not beating him.

"We can get beat every night in our conference (Big Ten) and sometimes you do. Even though it's a terrible, disappointing experience, the positive thing about that is your team gets a little more tested."

Shoji said if the Rainbows (25-6) get past Texas State (17-14) Friday, and Texas (23-4) takes out LSU (21-7), the Longhorns will be "better than anything we saw in the WAC." UH and Texas share the No. 7 ranking in this week's Coaches Top 25, making this subregional uncommonly loaded. Texas surged into the Top 10 after its upset of then-unbeaten Nebraska Saturday.

The Cornhuskers are still seeded No. 1 in the NCAA Championship, while Hawai'i is seventh. Texas is not seeded.

Shoji's WAC colleagues believe the 'Bows are up to the challenge. The conference has improved its ranking to No. 6 in one power index and got three teams into this year's NCAA Tournament, with Utah State and Nevada receiving at-large bids.

New Mexico State coach Mike Jordan, whose team was frustrated in its bid for an at-large berth, thinks Hawai'i needs tough matches "more often" and believes that time is coming. His team, USU and Nevada have each taken UH to five games twice over the past two seasons.

Nevada coach Devin Scruggs says flatly that the WAC is not hurting Hawai'i, and cites the sudden proliferation of five-game WAC matches as evidence. She and Shoji agree that the addition of Utah State and New Mexico State has made the WAC stronger. Both believe it is closing in on what they consider a good mix — somewhere between the nightly knock-down, drag-out battles of conferences full of ranked teams and the coast through conferences with the rare ranked team.

"I think we're getting closer to the ideal conference," Scruggs said. "We will only continue to get better with the recruiting classes coming in. Somebody will knock off Hawai'i one of these days. Hawai'i has never had this many close conference matches before and I think Hawai'i is better than last year. So for the matches to be closer and Hawai'i be a better team, that says a lot."

Scruggs thinks there is only one reason UH hasn't been home for the first two rounds the past two years: cold cash.

Shoji agrees. Even with UH guaranteeing a crowd of at least 7,000, he says the NCAA couldn't cover the costs of flying, housing and feeding 66 in Hawai'i (each team has a travel party of 22). The Rainbows' airline tickets this week are $800 apiece one way, because they will probably stay on the Mainland if they win. Tickets were bought just two days ahead.

Shoji feels lucky his team was able to stay home more than a day after returning from the WAC Tournament in Reno Sunday. Texas wanted to start this subregional tomorrow, but the NCAA thought the short turnaround time would put UH at a disadvantage.

Now, all Shoji can worry about is between the lines. His team won its eighth straight WAC Championship last week with a performance that might get it by Texas State, but won't be good enough beyond that, according to Shoji.

"If we can get to the match against Texas we will have to elevate our game," he said. "This is the time where all parts of your game have to be on. If they are not all on, then we're probably going to lose. Not one phase of our game can have a bad night."

NOTES

Sports Radio (1420 AM) will broadcast both matches live, if UH advances. TV coverage will be determined later this week after the NCAA considers bids.

Teams that win subregionals this weekend advance to regionals next weekend. Hawai'i is in the State College regional, hosted by Penn State. The other regionals are at Stanford, Calif., Omaha, Neb., and College Station, Texas.

Regional winners advance to the final four, hosted by the University of Texas at San Antonio at the Alamodome, Dec. 15 and 17.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.