The Wahine (6-4) open Western Athletic Conference play this week against San Jose State (6-4) on Friday and then meet Fresno State (10-4) on Saturday.

Hawaii went 1-4 against ranked teams in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll released yesterday, while Fresno State was 0-2. Hawaii will be San Jose State's first ranked opponent.

"Am I ready for conference play?" asked Wahine coach Dave Shoji. "In the sense of us being favored against somebody, I'm ready for that."

The WAC is represented in the poll by Brigham Young (8), Hawaii (19) and Colorado State (22). The Cougars moved up a spot from last week, going 3-1, with a loss to Florida followed by three consecutive wins (Louisville, Kent, Utah State).

The Wahine slipped a notch following their split with new No. 17 Loyola Marymount last weekend. The Rams, whose 3-1 weekend record included an upset of Colorado, jumped two spots over their previous ranking.

As a conference, WAC teams are 4-21 against teams in the most recent poll.

Hawaii has a win over Loyola Marymount, Colorado State defeated Colorado and Brigham Young has beaten Texas A&M and Texas.

UNANIMOUS: For the first time this season, there was a consensus as to who is No. 1. Penn State (11-0) received all 60 first-place votes yesterday.

Both Long Beach State and Florida had been receiving votes for the top spot but the two split a series last weekend, resulting in the first loss of the year for both.

Four other ranked teams remain undefeated: Washington State (14-0), Southern Cal (9-0), Pepperdine (10-0) and Maryland (8-0).

Pepperdine, unranked two weeks ago, jumped from 19th to 12th yesterday. The Waves knocked off three Top 25 teams in five days, two at the Special Events Arena (Hawaii and Pacific) and UC Santa Barbara last Tuesday.

STILL THE ONE: With Brigham Young University-Hawaii looking unbeatable again this season, the victory for opponents may be in taking a game off the Seasiders. It didn't happen in the last two weeks as BYU-Hawaii won all nine of its road matches in straight sets.

The Seasiders (16-0) remain the top-ranked team in the NAIA, capturing all nine first-place votes. Hawaii Pacific (7-4), splitting its matches with NCAA Division II member Chaminade, dropped three spots to No. 15.

The Seasiders have defeated 14 of 16 opponents in straight sets this season (48-2 in games). Last season, BYU-Hawaii was 92-8 in games, defeating 27 opponents in straight sets during its 30-1 championship campaign.

PLAYER OF WEEK: For the second consecutive week, BYU-Hawaii's Arlete Silva was honored as the Hawaii Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the week.

Silva led the Seasiders to five road wins last week, three against NCAA Division III schools ranked in the top seven and was named MVP of the Washington University (Mo.) Invitational.

The 6-foot sophomore middle blocker had 15 kills in the victory over nine-time defending Division III champion Washington, which ended the host's record 102-match home win streak. For the week, Silva had 53 kills, 20 blocks and hit a phenomenal .607.

Also named to the all-tourney team were Seasiders setter Juliana Lima and hitter Vanessa Valansi.

ON TAP: The first of three NAIA Far West-Hawaii matches between BYUH and Hawaii Pacific is scheduled for Friday when the Seasiders host the Sea Warriors at the Cannon Activities Center.

BYU-Hawaii leads the series, 71-10, dating back to 1979. HPU has not defeated BYU-Hawaii since the 1993 season, a string of 15 consecutive setbacks.

COMING HOME: Punahou School graduate Lindy Vivas brings her Fresno State team to Hawaii for a match with the Wahine Saturday. Vivas earned her 200th career win last Friday in the Bulldogs' victory over Nevada.

Two island prep products will be in the Special Events Arena Friday competing for San Jose State. Tanya Kamau (Waiakea) and Sina Tautolo (McKinley) are junior transfers from South Mountain Community College.