Irvine, Calif., is a 15-minute drive from Disneyland.

But for the Hawai'i volleyball team, the Bren Events Center could be the "Happiest Place on Earth," particularly if the Warriors can manage some success against No. 1 UC Irvine tonight and tomorrow.

The Warriors, 6-13 overall and 3-11 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, believe they need to win seven of their final eight matches to qualify for the eight-team league playoffs.

The Warriors U-turn to California for two road matches against UCLA next weekend before closing the regular season with two-match series against Pacific and USC.

"We'll go in with as much fire as we can," UH outside hitter Sean Carney said.

Earlier this week, the only thing burning was Carney's forehead. He missed practices Monday and Tuesday because of flu-like symptoms. He participated in yesterday's 75-minute practice, then stuck around another 30 minutes to work on his serves and passes.

Carney made the 12-player travel roster. That meant Steven Hunt, who was the Warriors' leading attacker before suffering a fracture in his right (hitting) hand last month, was left behind. Hunt was cleared to pass last week and, after X-rays Monday, was allowed to participate in full workouts.

"Two days of practice were not enough body of work to supplant anybody," UH head coach Mike Wilton said of Hunt. "If he has a couple of good practices next week we might take him to UCLA."

Because of the missed practices, Carney will not start. Josh Walker and team captain Jim Clar will be the left-side hitters. Brennon Dyer will open at opposite.

But Carney, who is a skilled passer and effective hitter off pipe sets, is expected to provide a boost.

"I'm glad he's better, and he can be with us," Wilton said.

Carney said: "I wanted to go no matter what. It's good I was starting to feel better. This is a big match. It seems every time we're playing someone right off a hot streak. This is the No. 1 team, but playing a top team is nothing new for us.

"We've made it hard on ourselves this year," Carney added. "We gave away too many matches. The blame is on everybody's shoulder. It's everyone's fault we gave away too many matches we should have won. Now we have to try to beat the No. 1 team in the nation."