The guessing game begins.

Where in the world will the NCAA volleyball selection committee send sixth-ranked Hawaii this week?

Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji had 18 holes of mulling the possibilities during his round at Oahu Country Club yesterday. Trying to predict where his 28-3 team will land when the NCAA tournament pairings are announced today was like reading his putt at No. 17 ... the green of the par-4 hole is tricky with many subtle breaks.

Although Hawaii has put in a bid to host this week's first and second rounds, the cost-conscious selection committee may see traveling to the Stan Sheriff Center as a 2,500-mile water hazard. Even better economic times and higher rankings haven't been enough to keep the Wahine, the national attendance leaders 14 years running, home since 2003.

In the past four years, Hawaii has been sent to Colorado State, Texas, Long Beach State and Louisville the first week of NCAA tournament play. Coincidence or not, the road-tested Wahine haven't reached the final four since hosting the first two matches in 2003.

“;I'm not optimistic about it,”; Shoji said of hosting. “;We're planning on leaving, but if they want to award it to us, it would be nice. I'm not sure it would be cheaper for us not to host. It probably would be a wash to bring three teams here—it certainly wouldn't be a big loss ...

“;But it doesn't matter where we go. We just want the best draw. The only thing you can maybe hope for is to stay away from Penn State for as long as possible.”;

The top-ranked Nittany Lions (32-0) opened defense of their national title in the Hawaiian Airlines Classic, sweeping host Hawaii 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 on Aug. 29. Until Ohio State scored 60 points in Friday's 25-20, 25-12, 30-28 loss to Penn State, Hawaii had scored the most (59) against the Nittany Lions, who have yet to drop a set this season.

“;That 30-28 says something, that there's hope,”; Shoji said when asked if anyone could stop Penn State.

The selection committee has made statements regarding clustering teams regionally as well as putting new travel mandates into effect this year. Any team that is located less than 400 miles from a competition site is required to drive; the former distance was 350.

Also, sites for the first and second rounds “;will be selected that create the least number of flights,”; according to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship Handbook.

In Hawaii's case, most of the one-flight options get the Wahine to the West Coast. That may or may not be a good thing, given the number of Pac-10 teams currently ranked in the top 12 as of Nov. 24: Stanford (2), Washington (5), Cal (6), Oregon (8), UCLA (10) and USC (11).

“;Any team on the West Coast is capable of winning,”; Shoji said. “;It's a complete guess at this point.

“;We've been thinking about (going to) Long Beach State, USC, maybe St. Mary's, San Francisco, Santa Clara. If you can catch a break in the bracket ... but there are no easy games. Even some of those first-round matches could be very tough.”;

Those who survive to advance to the regionals likely will face the host team. The pre-determined sites are at top-ranked Penn State, No. 3 Texas, No. 5 Washington and No. 19 Colorado State.