Dave Shoji brings his seventh-ranked Rainbow Wahine into the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge tonight with a losing record. He insists the 2-3 start is inspiration.

"It's been really good for our team to go through what we've gone through," Shoji says."You have to do a little soul searching when you lose and in the long run it will be better for us to have played tough competition and lost."

Hilo's Reed Sunahara brought his young Cincinnati team nine hours across the country, and Pacific Ocean, with a losing (1-2) record. A pair of Top-10 opponents are up next.

Sunahara insists the trip will soothe his soul: "It's always good to be home." He hopes his team feels as fulfilled by Saturday night.

"Our confidence level has to get better when we play teams like (10th-ranked) UCLA, Hawai'i and Northridge," Sunahara says. "It is scary. If we can play and compete it will be great."

Hawai'i needs the Bearcats to bring it. The 'Bows have no idea how good, or bad, they are at this point. And, for the third week in a row, Shoji has only an inkling of who will play tonight, and for how long.

His trio of injured left-side hitters has improved only marginally since Sunday. Shoji only hopes Tara Hittle (sprained ankle) can hit this week, for the first time all season. He is less optimistic about Sarah Mason (sprained ankle) returning to the lineup and is still waiting for Alicia Arnott (flu-like symptoms) to regain her strength.

Shoji is leaning toward last week's strange combination of starting hitters: Freshman Jamie Houston and senior Susie Boogaard on the left and backup setter Cayley Thurlby on the right.

It worked, with one disturbing lapse in the final three games against fourth-ranked Penn State. Houston averaged 4 1/2 kills a game. Boogaard is contributing three-plus kills and digs a game despite constantly getting jerked from side to side.

Thurlby, who hasn't hit since high school, might be the biggest surprise. Totally out of her element, she is hitting .364 and providing ballhandling few setters possess.

These are not the faces Sunahara expected to see. But he's seen Shoji win with stranger looks.

"We don't know who they're going to start," Sunahara says, "but whoever they throw in ... they're all good players so they find a way to win.

"Dave has been in the profession so long and this is not the first time this has happened. He gets the job done."

Shoji, in his 31st year at Hawai'i, has been in the profession so long he recruited Sunahara back in the '80s. Back then, Sunahara might have been Hawai'i's finest high school athlete. He dominated in volleyball, basketball and baseball at Hilo High.

Shoji, then coach of both UH volleyball teams, remembers talking to Sunahara after he had received an offer from UCLA, where he would go on to win three national championships.

Shoji knew there was little hope of keeping Sunahara home, but he still wonders how memorable the two-time All-American might have been in Manoa.

"He would have had people pay attention to us a little sooner," Shoji said. "He could dominate a game, and he would have got a lot more sets at UH."

Sunahara, who has guided Cincinnati to the NCAA Tournament four of his five years, wasn't ready to put down roots at UH then or now. His wife used to play for the Bearcats and he still believes he has lots to learn.

But he never lost his pidgin and has always wanted to navigate his way back to the islands, somehow, some way, some day.

"I'd like to live back here," Sunahara says."Eventually, my wife and I hope to come to a compromise. I really want to come back. At some point, if there's an opportunity at UH it would be great. I would jump on it in a heartbeat."

NOTES

Cincinnati is moving from Conference USA to the Big East this season. It was picked to finish fourth in its first year, behind Louisville, Notre Dame and Penn. ... Hawai'i is 29-1 in the Challenge and has won nine of the 10 tournaments. Its only loss came against USC in 2001. ... Junior setter Kanoe Kamana'o needs 16 assists to move into fourth on the UH career list, ahead of Jen Carey.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.