It's a series between two volleyball teams that feel they are much improved from last season but still need to prove it on the court.

Both No. 9 Hawaii and unranked Pacific are looking for that first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory after being swept in two road matches last week, the Warriors (2-3, 0-2) at No. 3 Stanford and the Tigers (4-2, 0-2) at No. 5 Brigham Young.

Hawaii holds a 34-1 edge in the series, winning the last 24. But the Warriors aren't looking past anyone.

After a day off Sunday, Hawaii was back at it hard yesterday in Stockton, Calif.

“;It was a good practice,”; Warriors associate head coach Dan Fisher said. “;The guys watched a lot of video and we focused on reading the game better.

“;They know how important these matches are, know that any win is good, but any road win is even better.”;

This road is very familiar to the Hawaii coaching staff. This time last year, head coach Charlie Wade was at UOP preparing for his fourth season as the head coach for the women's program.

Fisher will be coaching against his alma mater for the first time. The former UOP setter ranks second in the Tigers program in assists in his two seasons after transferring from UH, and also was a UOP men's assistant for three years.

“;Both Charlie and I have spent a lot of time up here; we know the good places to eat,”; Fisher said. “;It is interesting, walking back in ... but I'm a Warrior now.”;

It's still early in the season, but Hawaii would like to salvage the trip with wins tonight and tomorrow.

“;The things we did wrong (against Stanford) are fixable,”; Fisher said. “;It's not like we're asking them to jump 10 inches higher. We're working on things we know we can fix.

“;A big thing was getting down early every set that first night. It was a big hill to climb. At least night two it was more back and forth; we made better adjustments and were a little better on defense.”;

Both teams feature an international player who has made an instant impact. Hawaii has 6-foot-9 opposite Jonas Umlauft from Germany, second on the team in kills (3.83 kps) and blocks (10), while Pacific has 6-7 sophomore transfer Florian Gornik from Austria, an outside hitter who is second in kills (3.11 kps) and blocks (four).

Another impact player for UOP has been 6-7 freshman hitter Taylor Hughes (3.33 kps). Hughes and Gornik were the only Tigers in double-digit kills against BYU, Hughes with 10 on Friday and Gornik with 10 on Saturday.

Note

While the Warriors took Sunday off, Wade and Fisher flew to Anaheim, Calif., to scout the SCVA Junior Boys Invitational. “;It made for a long day, but you know how important recruiting is,”; Fisher said.