Belief wasn't enough to carry the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team.

Kathyleen Paet wore a black shirt with the word “;believe”; yesterday at Murphy's Bar & Grill in Chinatown to watch the Rainbow Wahine play Penn State in the final four.

She hoped to see the Rainbow Wahine win their first national championship since the team her daughter played on won in 1987.

“;Penn State's got just too many guns,”; Paet, of Kaneohe, said after the loss. “;We had a good run. Nobody expected they would get this far.”;

Dozens filled the bar yesterday to watch the Rainbow Wahine, the first time Hawaii had made it into the final four since 2003. Had Hawaii won, they would have played Texas in the championship game tomorrow.

About 20 fans gathered at the bar to watch the game.

Among the fans was Butch Ramos, 61, who traveled to the Stanford Regional last week to watch Hawaii reach the final four by beating Illinois and Michigan.

“;We've been following them a long time,”; he said. “;It's a combination of a long, hard season that's finally paying off now.”;

Kelly Tani of Foster Village

said she hoped Hawaii would go at least four sets.

“;It's been a while, and we're so happy the girls made it,”; she said.

Eduardo Zabano, an attorney who works downtown, stopped in the bar with his 12-year-old son, Eduardo, to watch the game before driving home to Kapolei.

“;They're good,”; said the younger Eduardo, who plays volleyball at St. Theresa School. “;They know how to hit the ball good.”;

Jeannie Kim had a special kinship with the team because her daughter, who played on the 1999 Hawaii team, had coached both Elizabeth Ka'aihue and Kanani Danielson.

She said she and her husband would have gone to watch the game in Tampa, Fla., but tickets were too much at about $1,300 apiece.

“;We just did not bring our game,”; she said. “;The passing wasn't there. The blocking wasn't there.”;

“;We're still proud of them,”; she said. “;Now I guess I have to go for Texas because a local girl (Sydney Yogi) is libero there.”;