Hawai'i will get an up-close and personal look at volleyball's poster child for parity this week in 23rd-ranked Cal Poly.

The San Luis Obispo school, unranked at the start of the season, has split four matches with Top-20 opponents.

It has gone the distance five times and won four, including the upsets of then-No. 8 Texas and then-No. 20 Louisville. The Mustangs' lone five-game loss came against then-No. 19 Pepperdine, which fell to the 12th-ranked Rainbow Wahine here twice — in five games both nights — to open the season.

The marathons against the 'Horns and Waves came on the same day in the Pepperdine Tournament for Cal Poly, which got a 2-hour break in between.

The Mustangs (6-3) will be no break for Hawai'i (5-3) tomorrow and Friday. The 'Bows are beat up and coming off their worst loss since rally scoring started in 2001.

They will be searching to find themselves against a team that found itself in a three-week blur of big-name opponents and pressure situations away from home.

"We could have come out of this 0-11 or 2-9, who knows?" says second-year Cal Poly coach Jon Stevenson, who was a fixture on the beach volleyball tour for 16 years before getting into coaching. "The fact that we have some of these really nice wins gives us more confidence.

"We have played some incredibly nice volleyball and we keep getting better as we go."

UH coach Dave Shoji, whose team's losses have all come against Top-10 opponents, would love to make the same statement Saturday morning. His team has ridden a roller coaster of bad ballhandling and bad health, gritty play, doubt and devastating offense all season.

At this point, Hawai'i has no idea where it stands.

"We're just trying to beat Cal Poly," Shoji says. "I don't know where we fit in the national picture. I look at teams like 23rd-ranked Cal Poly and clearly we're not a better team . We're probably even.

"I'd like to think we're competitive with Top-10 teams, but we're not now. But I notice we're ranked behind Wisconsin and we handled them pretty easily last spring. That gives you some kind of hope."

The 'Bows don't stand alone in a season where "upset" has lost all meaning. The preseason poll's Top-10 teams share 10 losses. Unranked BYU ambushed Stanford. Texas beat defending NCAA champion Washington before falling to Cal Poly. Hawai'i and Wisconsin have flopped out of the Top 10.

Shoji and Stanford's John Dunning, who have coached more than 50 years combined, believe their sport is being shaken to its foundation. Dunning goes so far as to call it the second generation of Title IX, with the most vivid examples all the players whose parents are coaches.

"It's amazing how many really good teams there are, how many teams can beat other teams," Dunning said. "This is probably the most even level and the highest level for all the teams. There are more good coaches everywhere and there are lots and lots of really well-trained players out there."

He backs his theory up with numbers. He remembers starting Northern California's second club volleyball team in 1976. Now there are nearly 1,000. He also recalls Terry Liskevych, his predecessor at Pacific, telling him there were only six teams on his schedule that could beat the Tigers in the mid-80's.

"He was right because there weren't many teams as good as UOP and Hawai'i and UCLA. Now there are 70," Dunning said. "Eight years ago, who knew Wichita State? And now Wichita State is just one of 60 teams that are really good that you wouldn't want to play on a long day.

"Cal Poly just beat Texas. It's crazy, but cool. If you're a coach making decent money now, you really have to sweat the money through your system."

Shoji and his team have sweated more than their share this season. The pressure is still on. Last year Stevenson inherited a 5-24 team and took it to 19-6.

In another 2006 rarity, the Mustangs are currently the only ranked team in the Big West. Their next goal is to get back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. Behind the setting of Chelsea Hayes and hitting of Kylie Atherstone and Alicia Waller, who both average better than four kills, they are on the way.

Stevenson is starting to like this parity thing.

"I view this as the ultimate opportunity," he said, "because a team that is prepared and trained well for a given match, and has the will to win, can always win. Especially with the advent of rally scoring."

NOTES

Information on tickets for the NCAA Honolulu Regional, Dec. 8 and 9 at Stan Sheriff Center, is being sent to season ticket holders. Ticket packages will go on sale to the public next month, according to a UH spokesperson.

Tomorrow's first match against Cal Poly is the second of three to be shown on Oceanic Pay-Per-View. The last is the Oct. 16 match against Notre Dame. All other matches are shown free on KFVE.

The Rainbow Wahine's WAC match at Louisiana Tech, originally scheduled for Oct. 12, has been moved to Oct. 11 because of a LaTech scheduling conflict. The 'Bows play at New Mexico State Oct. 13. The Aggies are currently 11-0.

Former Hawai'i All-American, and Kamehameha graduate, Lily Kahumoku is home before heading to Italy for her professional season. She was at practice Tuesday.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.