Their non-conference volleyball schedule was as tumultuous as it was tough. This week, the Rainbow Wahine will see first-hand how easy they have had it.

Eleventh-ranked Hawai'i (7-6) plays Louisiana Tech (12-4) at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Ruston, La. UH will be 233 miles northwest of New Orleans, in a place barely touched by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita physically, but rocked emotionally.

"We're going to get pretty personal with the hurricanes and all we have to do is play volleyball," said UH co-captain Cayley Thurlby, in awe of Louisiana's resilience. "If we can just concentrate on that, we'll be OK."

The devastation puts Hawai'i's start in perspective. To a much smaller degree, so did its five losses against top-five teams. This is the worst start in program history, but it came against the toughest opening schedule.

"Nobody expected the first leg of our season to be like this," Thurlby said. "I don't think we expected the disappointment, but we did expect to battle. We learned about the character of individuals and the character of the team from our losses. We've got to get stronger. We keep saying that, but it's still true. In the end, the goal is to look back and say it was all worth it."

All-American Kanoe Kamana'o said Saturday's sweep of Loyola Marymount gave her the opportunity to let go of Friday's painful loss to the Lions: "If we had just lost Friday, my mindset wouldn't be the same, definitely."

The Rainbows are now remembering how they hammered LMU in the first game, and pulled off a stunning rally — from 22-13 down — in Game 2. Mostly, what they recall was how they finished a talented team off, after failing to do the same earlier.

Their fans also warmed to the achievement. It brought back warm memories of last year's remarkable rallies and eased the frustration of what Thurlby called Friday's "butt-kicking."

"I thought the fans were really positive Saturday,"coach Dave Shoji said. "That was probably the loudest they've been in awhile when we won Game 2. People understand what we've been going through. It's not lack of effort or talent. A lot of things have happened to us and they're willing to stick with us."

This week, it will have to be by radio. Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State — Saturday's opponent — caught Shoji's eye with quick starts, but lost their opening WAC matches. Both were swept by Utah State and took Nevada to five while Hawai'i was blowing by Boise State and trying to rediscover its mojo against Loyola Marymount.

Shoji called Saturday "very, very encouraging," but hardly a remarkable turnaround. He believes his team was only a few plays away from winning Friday's five-gamer.

After that loss, he spoke at length on the benefits of last year's lineup, when he often did not have the option of replacing starters, and players never had to "look over their shoulder to keep their spot."

It is very different now, particularly among the hitters. They could go out at the drop of an errant pass and Shoji says that won't change, especially with Tara Hittle and Sarah Mason — who suffered sprained ankles last month — still not healthy enough to make a full-time statement.

"I'm going to make changes if we're floundering," he says. "I can't let it go.

"The good part is, it's not like someone strange is going in. They have all been in each of the positions. We've just got to find the right frontrow-backrow combination."

NOTES

Both road matches will be broadcast live on 1420 AM, beginning at approximately 1:45 p.m. tomorrow from LaTech and 2:45 p.m. Saturday from NMSU.

Raeceen Woolford's 14-point serving streak last week against Boise State ties her for the school rally-scoring record, and is ninth-best in NCAA rally-scoring history. Lily Kahumoku also served 14 straight in 2002. Susie Boogaard served 13 in a row against UCLA in 2002. Karolyn Kootnekoff served all 15 points in a 1984 match using conventional side-out scoring at Air Force. Records are not complete for matches before 1999. Rally scoring started in 2001.

Idaho, which beat Fresno State Saturday, was the only visiting team to win in the first week of WAC play.

Hawai'i continues to lead the country in attendance, averaging 7,385. New Mexico State is 10th, at 1,848.

Utah State's nine victories this season matches its total for all of last year. Louisiana Tech's 12 wins is twice as many as last year.

UH junior Kanoe Kamana'o is 10th nationally in assists, averaging 13.49. Victoria Prince is 22nd in hitting, at .400. The Rainbow Wahine rank 17th in blocking (3.08 per game).

Hawai'i has won its last 107 against conference opponents and its last 31 on an opponent's homecourt.

Ashley Watanabe averaged more than six digs a game for UH last week, including her career-high 31 on Friday.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.