For all they have dealt with, and dedicated to University of Hawai'i volleyball, it is only natural to want to see this year's seniors close their careers with a season that conjures up smiles. That would bring most of them full circle.

Tara Hittle, Jessica Keefe and Nickie Thomas arrived in Hawai'i in the fall of 2004, just in time to take part in one of the most remarkable seasons in Rainbow Wahine history. With one starter back from a team that had just gone to its third final four in four years — and absolutely no expectations — the 'Bows won their first 30 and rose to No. 1 in the nation before their final frenetic comeback barely fell short in the NCAA's elite eight.

Keefe and Hittle were on the periphery as red-shirts but Hittle, with her huge grin and goofy good nature, was right in the middle of it all as a right-side starter and Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. All three remember precisely how sweet a ride it was.

"I think it was because we had a bunch of new people ..." Hittle said. "We loved being around each other, found ourselves hanging around outside of volleyball all the time. It was great team chemistry.

"Everyone thought it was a rebuilding year. We didn't care. We didn't know what to expect ourselves so we just went out and played and had fun. By just having fun we created a lot of good stuff, won a lot of close games, had a great season. We kept winning, it was exciting — really exciting to the fans. They were calling us "Cardiac Keiki," it was always unexpected. Just fun."

The search for a seriously fun sequel has stalled since. There were moments the last three seasons when it was all smiles, most memorably the end of the 2005 and 2006 seasons when the Rainbow Wahine peaked perfectly to wipe out the WAC and upset Texas and USC in the NCAAs.

Jamie Houston, the fourth senior this season and the only one who has not lost a year to injury, calls the close of her sophomore year the most fun she has had so far. Hawai'i hammered Oregon and Long Beach State in a California subregional, then stunned USC with Houston going off for 35 kills on .397 hitting.

She was a third-team All-American that year, and WAC Player of the Year last season. But Houston was still pounding volleyballs in Alabama when Thomas, Keefe and Hittle came to Manoa in 2004 and played roles in a living, breathing Cinderella story.

"It was a really cool atmosphere and team environment to be around," Keefe recalled. "In subsequent years you realized how great it was — not that it wasn't great the next years, but it is always different. Each team is a different dynamic."

The 'Bows, particularly after last season's disappointing conclusion, would like to recreate that quirky, upbeat atmosphere of 2004. Ranked 12th and with all but one starter back, they are not quite the underdogs they were, although they will be on opening night Friday when they face defending NCAA champion Penn State. But already they sense similar signals, which were only enhanced during team bonding exercises last week.

"The difference between last year and this year is just fun," Thomas said. "I don't think anybody had any fun last year. It makes a big difference. If you are miserable out there you are not going to do as well as when you are having a good time and enjoying the sport. It makes a big difference."

Thomas, as much as anyone, deserves an enjoyable senior season. She red-shirted her first year then, in a heart-wrenching twist, lost the last two seasons to knee injuries. What she wants most from her final year is simply "to play ... I just want to prove to myself that I can do it."

The others can afford to be more demonstrative. Hittle, a two-time all-WAC selection, lost her 2006 season to injury. Keefe was also out that year when she suffered a knee injury shortly after cementing her first starting position. Those two and Houston all say they want to leave here with friends they will see in the future, and rediscover the fun that has been so elusive lately.

With that, they agree, winning should take care of itself.

"This team now is probably as close to that 2004 team as we've been the years I've been here," Hittle said. "Just in the sense that our chemistry is a little better and we're getting to know each other. This summer quite a few of us were hanging out."

Now they just have to hang on — through the tough times and uncommon competition at every position — to find the fun again.