Penn State's remarkable rally Friday at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic left fourth-ranked Hawai'i in a December-like volleyball depression. The Rainbow Wahine were shattered, from coach Dave Shoji on down.

The 'Bows knew they were better than their meltdown in the Midwest. As they were swept last week by top-ranked Nebraska and the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions it was tough to tell which was weaker — their talent or their will?

Friday it was all too obvious. They finally found a rhythm with an all but unrecognizable lineup, making Penn State look stupid for two games. But that and Thursday's sweep of seventh-ranked USC only made what happened next hurt more.

Hawai'i completely lost it in the final three games. The Nittany Lions roared back, as everyone in the Stan Sheriff Center knew they would, and the 'Bows froze.

"We came out with a chip on our shoulder," UH co-captain Cayley Thurlby said. "We wanted to bury 'em into the ground. We had something to prove. We came out in Games 1 and 2 playing our butts off. Worked hard at every position, every play, and had some great rhythm going on. We lost it. We lost focus. We weren't mentally tough enough."

This afternoon they have an opportunity to begin the long road back. The Classic closes with a 4 p.m. match between Western Michigan (2-2) and Hawai'i (1-3).

It is meaningless in tournament terms. Penn State (4-1) won the Classic by taking all three of its matches and is on its way back to Nebraska for another tournament.

But today Hawai'i must renew its search for ultimate 2005 success. Western Michigan sees one more chance to learn.

"We just don't want to see another missed opportunity to get better," says WMU coach Colleen Munson, whose team was swept by Penn State and USC. "We want to see ourselves competing at the level we know we're able to compete."

The first-year coach is so serious about allowing her unranked team to soak up all the Classic can offer she had them watch every minute of every match, including warmups. She wants her players to see the top-10 teams' "overall athleticism" and experience the rush of what the elite level is all about.

"We love to watch these teams warm up because their defense is tenacious," Munson says. "They go after everything. They've been trained at a very high level.

"You can be lulled and be in awe, but we need to just relax and compete."

After 31 years and four national championships, Shoji was starting to doubt his methods Friday. After losing his third starting hitter in three weeks when Alicia Arnott had to sit out with "flu-like symptoms," he improvised again. Backup setter Thurlby started on the right side to add ballhandling and "good energy," according to Shoji. Senior Susie Boogaard and freshman Jamie Houston were on the left.

Houston, with a team-high 23 kills, and Thurlby, with a .400 hitting percentage, 15 digs, five blocks and near-perfect passing, provided more than UH could have hoped. It wasn't enough, particularly in the final three games, in a match where the teams' statistics were almost identical down to the exorbitant number of digs; PSU had 88 and Hawai'i 91 — 25 from Ashley Watanabe.

"I can't fault Jamie," Shoji said. "She has done more than we ever thought she would this early. It's hard to sustain it against the good teams."

Thurlby's contribution was just as critical. "I thought she did a tremendous job," Shoji said. "Things were really clicking for a while. I didn't know if she could play that well for five games having not been there before."

The bottom line was, it wasn't enough. The 'Bows found no solace in coming close. They know that even with so many starters out, something else vital is missing, and it is nowhere to be found in a box score.

NOTES

UH junior Kanoe Kamana'o moved past Nikki Hubbert into fifth on the school's career assist list Thursday. Kamana'o, a two-time All-American, is No. 1 in assist-per-game average at 13.65. Hubbert is second (13.16).

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.