New Mexico volleyball has embarked on an enchanting adventure the past three years with Jeff Nelson as coach/tour guide. The Lobos only regret is that their first NCAA Championship appearance in 15 years does not begin in paradise.

Hawai'i can relate.

The third-ranked Rainbow Wahine (28-2), seeded 12th by the NCAA, play New Mexico (20-9) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at USC's Galen Center in Los Angeles. It is not what the Lobos envisioned when they heard their names called Sunday to take on the streaking 'Bows.

But at this point any place is fine, even a paved paradise.

Like UH coach Dave Shoji, Nelson thought Hawai'i would have a higher seed, but he did foresee playing the 'Bows in the opening round.

"When we saw we were playing Hawai'i, we thought we'd be in Hawai'i," he said. "A few seconds later we saw it was in Los Angeles.

"I had an opportunity to bring a team to Hawai'i when I was with Texas Tech and we had a great experience there. And part of being in the NCAA Tournament is having a great experience. It was really awesome, a great experience for the kids, and the fans in Hawai'i were great to us out there."

That was the only disappointment in Albuquerque Sunday, where the NCAA selection show inspired celebration and sobs of joy so spontaneous Nelson was moved to tears.

The third-year coach has earned a reputation for renovating programs. He took Tech to five NCAA Tournaments, then turned his attention to San Francisco. The Dons suffered through 15 straight losing seasons before he got there, then made their inaugural NCAA appearance in 2003.

Four years later, New Mexico lured him away with its financial commitment and location closer to home. After two seasons, UNM extended Nelson's contract through 2017. This first NCAA bid in 15 years, and Nelson's 300th coaching victory, closely followed.

His history with Hawai'i began before all that. Nelson was UH associate Kari Ambrozich's club coach when she was a high school senior in Minnesota. He is a major reason she has been in Hawai'i ever since.

"He was a hard-nosed coach, demanding," Ambrozich recalled. "He expected a lot, got a lot out of us. He was a setter himself so he was tough on me and I needed it. He's got enough charisma for players to like him and really play hard for him."

Which explains Nelson's success in New Mexico. He found a program that had been immensely popular under Laurel Brassey — a legendary player who now lives on Kaua'i — in the early 1990's. But it had gone through three coaches without a winning season the decade before he came.

"We had good players, but I felt they needed to understand their roles to compete better so people would come back to watch," Nelson said. "Fans want to know you will work hard and play your best every night. And at that point they were not doing that. We had to change the whole image."

Last year the Lobos went 22-7, more wins than any season since 1991. Senior Jeanne Fairchild was UNM's first All-American (third team) since 1992, and its first Mountain West Player of the Year ever.

Sophomore setter Jade Michaelson joined her on the all-conference team. This season, Michaelson repeated and was joined by senior hitter Rose Morris and junior middle blocker Taylor Hadfield.

Expectations are huge after a late-season surge that found the Lobos winning seven of their last eight. They finished third in the Mountain West behind Colorado State and Texas Christian.

"There have been changes in attitudes, the expectations of the players and people around us every day," Nelson said. "When you rebuild you have to change the whole culture, not just make the players better.

"The team made a commitment and did a really good job staying with it. Different people have stepped up every night. We've got good balance, but the best thing has been the players' effort and attitude and drive to get themselves in the place we are now."

Which would be facing Hawai'i, and its 24-match win streak, in the NCAA's first round. This is hardly the Tennessee and Texas States of NCAA opening rounds past.

The Lobos are balanced, with all five attackers averaging two-plus kills. Their fans are back, with 2,613 at Senior Night, when they swept BYU and the night ended with Morris accepting a marriage proposal.

The Lobos are loving volleyball life again. Hawai'i will have its hands full, but the 'Bows knew that the moment they were seeded 12th. They can get mad or they can get even, and clearly anger is a wasted emotion this late in the season.

"It's pointless to go down that road," Ambrozich said. "We've got a lot to prove. We have to beat good teams, it's a tough path. What are you going to do? We'll just do what we do best — play volleyball and create some havoc.

"The best thing about this is it will be a challenge every night. It helps us maintain our focus, doesn't let us get ahead of ourselves. Friday night it's New Mexico and should we win that we've got the winner of Oklahoma and USC. It's one step at a time. We don't have the luxury of looking ahead. We've just got to take care of ourselves."

NOTES

Rainbow Wahine volleyball's annual banquet will again be a brunch, Jan. 31, at Hale Koa Hotel at 10:30 a.m. Seating is limited and deadline for payment is Jan. 24. Cost is $50, or $45 for Wahine Volleyball Booster Club members. For more information, call 257-8863 (Maggie) or 521-1456 (Stanley).

All three USC subregional matches will be broadcast through a free live video webcast, on usctrojans.com. UH plays New Mexico at 3 p.m. HST Friday, followed by USC and Oklahoma at approximately 5 p.m. Saturday's subregional final now starts at 5 p.m. HST.

USC's Galen Center opened Oct. 12, 2006, and the Trojans have hosted the NCAA's first and second rounds since. The 10,258-seat arena is named after Lou and Helene Galen, who donated $50 million to the project. USC is 51-6 at the Galen Center.