Rainbow Wahine facing
a quick turnaround

Hawaii will return to the mainland
tomorrow to compete in the regional
at Green Bay, Wis.

Dave Shoji barely has time to shake out his suitcases, much less prepare for his second Big Ten opponent in a week.

The University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine returned to the islands late Saturday night for a quick change and a chance to reacquaint themselves with their professors, before leaving tomorrow evening for Green Bay, Wis.

Shoji's 30-0 volleyball team dodged the home-town bullet after sub-regional host Colorado State so graciously lost to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Thursday. But no such luck for this Friday's Sweet 16 matchup with Wisconsin.

The Badgers knocked off Notre Dame on Saturday, and while this week's third-round game isn't in Madison, 14th-seeded Wisconsin figures to have a few more fans in the arena than Hawaii. The other matchup in that regional is between Stanford and Texas. Should Stanford and Hawaii advance, it would pit Shoji against his daughter, Cobey, who is an assistant coach for the Cardinal.

Wisconsin (21-9) easily advanced through the first two rounds by beating Loyola (Ill.) and Notre Dame in straight games. Purdue players and coaches predicted a tough match for the Rainbow Wahine after they lost to Hawaii in three games in last Friday's second-round meeting.

The Wahine are still stinging from having to go to Colorado, instead of hosting the first two rounds. It was the second time in four years that the Wahine have been shipped out, much to the chagrin of Shoji and his volleyball nation.

Hawaii survived the thin air of Colorado, but still must fight through the fatigue of the long trip to the frozen tundra of Green Bay. Prior to last week's trip to Fort Collins, Hawaii was already coming off a sojourn to Reno, Nev., for the WAC tournament and two road matches with Utah State and Utah.