Back in 2004, Hawai'i won its first 28 volleyball matches, soared to the No. 1 ranking and found itself in frozen-solid Fort Collins, Colo., and the Ice Bowl of Green Bay, Wis., for the NCAA Tournament. Can you imagine what tundra the sixth-ranked Rainbow Wahine will be sent to if they lose to unranked Cal Poly this week?

The feel-good memories of winning their 11th consecutive Western Athletic Conference championship Sunday at home would be wiped out with a loss this week, and the Mustangs might be the best 16-11 team in the country.

Unlike UH, they reached the NCAA Regionals last season and finished the season No. 11 in the country — their best ranking in more than 20 years. They won their second straight Big West title and were ranked 10th in this year's preseason poll.

Despite starting three seniors, they are 16-11 and 0-4 against ranked opponents. They were beaten by St. Mary's and beaten up by Pacific. Their loss to UC-Irvine last week left them third in the Big West. Long Beach won the conference and the automatic NCAA bid that comes with it while Cal Poly, No. 51 in the current NCAA power rating, is playing for its postseason life.

"They are erratic, but I know they have a lot of talent," said UH coach Dave Shoji, whose team is No. 16 in the power rating. "They are going to be every bit as good as anybody we've seen the last two months. ... We know Cal Poly has a sense of urgency and we have to match that. We want to win out for more reasons than just the NCAAs. We just want to feel good about ourselves going into the playoffs."

Hawai'i (26-3) will find out its postseason fate Sunday night when the 64-team field is announced. It plays Cal Poly today and Friday at 7 p.m. (originally scheduled for 8 p.m.). UH seniors Jessica Keefe, Nickie Thomas, Jamie Houston and Tara Hittle will be honored after Friday's match.

The Mustangs bring many weapons. Kylie Atherstone, a 6-foot-1 opposite, was Cal Poly's first AVCA All-American (third team) in 18 years last season and is a two-time Big West Player of the Year (2006 and '07). Her kill numbers are down some, but she is seventh in the nation in aces (0.60) and just behind UH's Houston in kills (4.04 to 3.72).

Senior teammate Jaclyn Houston is in the top 35 nationally in blocking and hitting and so is Cal Poly as a team. The Mustangs are at least as talented as they were when they came here two years ago and split five-setters with the 'Bows.

"This is important for us because they have so much to gain from this match," UH assistant Ryan Tsuji said. "They're going to come out fired up. We may not have as much incentive because we have a bid, but on a national level we need to win to secure our position as a seeded team going into the tournament. A lot of people make comments about the WAC."

The players promise there will be no letdown and repeat their 2008 emphasis of staying at "a consistently high level." This week will give the Rainbows an opportunity to refine their skills and prepare for a postseason with either setter. Starting setter Dani Mafua has been out the last four matches with an injured hamstring, but participated in the last two practices; backup Stephanie Brandt, last year's starter, led Hawai'i to the WAC title and New Mexico State coach Mike Jordan characterized Brandt as "harder to read" than the quicker Mafua.

His assessment came after the Rainbow Wahine rolled to a 25-9 fourth-set victory in Sunday's championship. Thomas, who missed two seasons because of knee injuries, buried match point.

"It felt really, really awesome," Thomas said. "I didn't feel I'd contributed as much as I wanted during the game, but it was really nice Stephanie had enough confidence in me to feed me the last ball and I put it down. It felt so good."

NOTES

Cal Poly has two Hawai'i players signed and sealed for delivery next season. Punahou setter Anuhea Keanini and 'Iolani hitter Chelsea Hardin committed during last week's early signing period. Keanini was All-State first team last year and Hardin is a three-time all-ILH selection. This year's all-star teams have not been announced.

This year's WAC all-tournament team looked much like last year's, with NMSU's Amber Simpson and Krystal Torres repeating, along with Hawai'i's Stephanie Brandt, Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Jamie Houston. Houston was tournament MVP the last three years.

UH assistant Ryan Tsuji showed the team video of the final minutes of the 1998 WAC championship before Sunday's final. Hawai'i beat Brigham Young, 24-22, in the fifth in that match, which was the longest in women's collegiate history (3 hours, 38 minutes). Of the nine WAC Tournament offensive records, seven came that day in Las Vegas — which could again be the site of WAC Tournaments, according to conference officials.