The biggest answer being sought is: Will the Outrigger Hotels Invitational again be the springboard to the NCAA men's volleyball championship? Last May, the Bruins, Rainbows and Nittany Lions found themselves reunited at the final four after competing in this event.
"We're certainly trying to get back there," said Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, who is eyeing a trip to Columbus, Ohio, for the May 1-3 national championship. "We're happy to again be in this tournament and face this kind of competition. Any time you can get on the court against the Bruins and the Rainbows it's a great opportunity."
Here's some questions the teams hope to answer.
CAN? Can No. 2 UCLA win a third straight national title for the fourth time in school history? The Bruins opened last season with a five-game loss to the Rainbows in the tournament title match but won the five-game match that counted most four months later for the NCAA title.
UCLA earned its 16th national championship by rallying past Hawaii. Bruin coach Al Scates called it one of his most satisfying in 34 seasons because "we had to work so hard for it."
Gone is All-American setter Stein Metzger, as well as his former Punahou teammate Brian Wells at hitter. Back are enough Hawaii connections for two scoops of a plate lunch: senior hitter Paul Nihipali and sophomore hitter Fred Robins.
The Bruins' fate is in the hands of freshman setter Brandon Taliaferro. His options are many and tall. The UCLA lineup averages 6-feet-6-1/2.
Clogging up the middle again is 6-8 Tom Stillwell, who led the country in blocks last year, along with 6-10 freshman Adam Naeve. One of the pleasant surprises may be BYU transfer Andor Gyulai, a 6-6 sophomore hitter, from South Africa.
HOW? How will third-ranked Hawaii earn its third straight trip to the final four after losing two All-Americans?
The Rainbows will have to do it with a balanced attack and a rotating star-system. One night it could be 6-1 senior hitter Aaron Wilton stepping up, on another it might be 6-9 freshman opposite Clay Stanley.
Regardless of who has the hot arm, Hawaii needs to make every swing count. The Rainbows are small, and will have to rely on crisp passing and a deceptively quick offense to overcome the literal shortcomings.
Senior Curt Vaughan is more than ready to take over the setting reins from graduated All-American Erik Pichel. Senior blocker Jason Ring and junior hitter Naveh Milo are a year stronger, and there's plenty of talent on the bench, including veterans Rick Tune and Sivan Leoni.
If the crowd becomes the "seventh man," this week may be a long one for the visitors. Sellouts are expected all three nights; Hawaii might need help defending its tournament title, especially Saturday against UCLA.
WHEN? When will another team outside of California win the NCAA championship?
Penn State did it in 1994, stunning UCLA. The Nittany Lions may not be ready to do it again.
Fifth-ranked Penn State returns senior blocker Ivan Contreras, one of the most dynamic hitters in the country. Also back is senior hitter Jason Kempner, who had 17 kills and hit .481 in the Nittany Lions' 3-1 loss to Hawaii in the NCAA semifinal.
"I'm not sure we can score points real well yet," Pavlik said. "It's going to hinge on our second-year players getting older in a hurry. I'm interested in seeing how our younger players are going to react in some tough situations this week."
Penn State lost a huge chunk of its offense with the graduation of All-American blocker Kevin Hourican. Expected to carry more of a load is 6-5 blocker Sergio Pampena, who was ninth in the nation last season in hitting.
WHO? Or is that, vous?
Laval, a three-time Canadian university champion from Quebec City, is in a rebuilding year. Le Rouge et Or (The Red and Gold) has one experienced player, setter Francis Morin, a former gymnast who is very athletic.
Morin's favorite target is 6-8 hitter Bruno Legace. Laval, with a tradition of being technically sound and scrappy on defense, lost three straight matches to Penn State in fall exhibition play.
"This will be good preparations for our playoffs in a few weeks," said graduate assistant coach Erick Bergeron. "We're a very young team and the big crowds will be another challenge for our young players. A big crowd for us is between 300 and 500, but volleyball is becoming more and more popular in Canada."