UH hopes to jump out
of the ice, into the fire

Hawaii must win in Colorado
to reach Green Bay, Wis.

In the pastry shop of the NCAA volleyball tournament, this bracket is no cakewalk. And, according to the four coaches involved in this week's sub-regional at Fort Collins, Colo., there are no cream puffs.

"This is a very strong field, probably the toughest of them all," Purdue coach Dave Shondell said. "We look at this week's tournament just like another week in the Big Ten. We have road trips in our league that include Ohio State and Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State, and Illinois and Wisconsin. I think this type of schedule has prepared us well for the opening round of the 2004 NCAA tournament."

Purdue (16-14) was one of seven Big Ten schools to make the 64-team NCAA field. The Boilermakers finished tied for sixth in the conference ranked No. 1 by RichKern.com.

Colorado (14-13), Hawaii's opponent Thursday, was sixth in the Big 12, the other conference that got seven teams into the tournament. The Buffaloes were sixth in their league but "now that we're in, it's a clean slate," Colorado coach Pi'i Aiu said. "We're grateful to be a part of this and we're going to fight like hell to stay in."

For Purdue and Colorado, just making the NCAA tournament is the icing on their seasons.

For undefeated Hawaii (28-0), which fell to No. 2 in yesterday's poll, and ninth-ranked Colorado State (26-3), this draw is more like ice. Advancing to next week's regional in Green Bay will be a slippery undertaking; at least one conference champion -- Hawaii of the Western Athletic and Colorado State of the Mountain West -- will have to think about next year.

"Purdue has great balance and we expect the toughest opening match we have faced at home since I've been the coach here," said Tom Hilbert, in his seventh year as CSU coach.

The toughest part for Hawaii -- besides getting over the shock of not hosting -- was getting to the playing site. It was a scramble for the Rainbow Wahine to get a flight last night; they were scheduled to arrive in Denver this morning before making the 90-minute drive to Fort Collins.

"We have to get mentally ready to play and I think our mental outlook is good," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "The players got over the initial disappointment quickly and they were ready to go.

"This is definitely a challenge. We have to take care of Colorado first before we can think about anything else."

Shoji anticipates facing former WAC rival CSU on Friday (4 p.m. HST). Win or lose, the Wahine will come home Saturday.

"We're confident we'll win two games then go to Green Bay," Shoji said. "But we will come home first, let the players come back for two days of school. It's best for the team, rather than sitting around somewhere."