Wahine warming
up for regional

GREEN BAY, Wis. » The tundra doesn't look as frozen as advertised. However, it doesn't mean that life is anything close to warm here.

Snow flurries are forecast for the weekend. Even the clouds look too cold to do anything but hover.

The 9,877-seat Resch Center was empty and cool when the Hawaii volleyball team took the court for practice yesterday afternoon.

It wasn't as cold as the Virginia Street Gym in Reno, Nev., last month, a facility with its own chilly tradewinds. The Rainbow Wahine brought their own heat then and won the Western Athletic Conference tournament title.

And it wasn't as cold as Colorado State's Moby Arena last week where the temperatures dropped below freezing outside and Hawaii dropped Purdue in an NCAA tournament second-round match.

It's downright balmy in Title Town U.S.A., with the natives considering anything above 32 degrees in December an early Christmas present. Texas freshman setter Michelle Moriarty, whose extended family is from nearby Appleton, was ready to give tours, if asked and if time and schedule permitted.

Moriarty might have the largest cheering section in Resch today when No. 10 Texas takes on No. 6 Stanford in the first semifinal (1 p.m. HST). She expected 17-20 relatives and, with ticket sales estimated at 1,200 yesterday, anything close to two dozen would be considered large.

No. 2 Hawaii expects a fair-sized contingent to attend its match with No. 22 Wisconsin.

"It won't be like we had last week," said Hawaii coach Dave Shoji of the some 250 Wahine fans at Fort Collins. "But we've already seen some fans from Hawaii here and I'm sure we'll have a good showing.

"I'm hoping there's a big crowd here. I think it's more of a neutral court."

"Our fans seem to come out of the woodwork wherever we play," said reserve setter Cayley Thurlby, whose family made the drive up from Chicago.

Wisconsin coach Pete Waite said he had no idea how many of the Badger faithful will make the 2 1/2-hour drive from Madison. The university was offering a $35 bus ride from campus, but that didn't include a ticket.

"We have one bus coming that I know of," said Waite, whose team has never played in the three-year-old Resch Center. "But it was expensive (by bus) and I know a number of people will drive up on their own. Plus, our summer camps are well-attended and I expect a lot of club players and high school players to come.

"It's practically home court for us. Obviously in-state is great."

"It's a big arena and we're used to that," Hawaii sophomore hitter Alicia Arnott said. "The colors are different but we feel right at home."

No cheesehead: The Wahine took a tour of the Packers' Lambeau Field yesterday. The stadium is a block from Resch.

Thurlby, a staunch Chicago Bears fan, refused to don a cheesehead hat but took a picture of her teammates who did. However, Thurlby was the only player to do a "Lambeau Leap," something offered to those on the tour wanting to mimic the Green Bay players' celebratory jump into the end zone.

"I really enjoyed the experience," Thurlby said. "It's really inspiring to see how the community supports the team and to hear about (Packer coaching legend) Vince Lombardi.

"You think about all the great athletes to come out of their arena. And it made me think about what we want to accomplish tomorrow."

Good to go: Junior All-America candidate Victoria Prince is still not 100 percent but the middle blocker assured Shoji she'd be ready by game time. Prince has been suffering from flu-like symptoms and strep throat.

Prince believes in omens and is taking the name of the team hotel's restaurant as a good sign. The Italian restaurant is called "Victoria's."

Historic month: Wednesday was the 25th anniversary of Hawaii's first national title. The Wahine rallied to beat Utah State 8-15, 7-15, 15-9, 16-14, 15-12 to claim the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championship in Carbondale, Ill.

On Dec. 19, 1982, the Wahine again had to rally for the title, defeating Southern California 14-15, 9-15, 15-13, 15-10, 15-12 for the NCAA championship in Stockton, Calif. Their second NCAA title came on Dec. 19, 1983, against UCLA in Lexington, Ky., a 15-13, 15-4, 15-10 victory.

Hawaii's last championship was on Dec. 19, 1987, when the Wahine topped Stanford 15-10, 15-10, 9-15, 15-1 in Indianapolis.