Here's a Cosmopolitan Magazine quiz question: Which NCAA volleyball coach has more groupies than his players?

The answer is Loyola University of Chicago's Shane Davis, who was named Illinois' top bachelor in Cosmo's November 2005 edition.

"It was a surprise," said Davis, who was nominated by one of the school's sports interns last spring. "It's been pretty fun. Cosmo's a big magazine."

The drawback was that the photo shoot called for Davis to pose shirtless against a haystack.

"I have allergies," he said. "It was killing me. It was weird because I'm from the city, and I had to stand next to hay bales."

But Davis said the publicity has expanded his dating pool. "It definitely helps," he said.

The magazine posted an e-mail address for Davis. He received 1,400 responses.

He said he dated a few of them, even though they might not have fully understood the concept of "bachelor."

"They were planning out the rest of your life, like how many kids you were going to have," Davis said, laughing.

For now, the most important dates are Loyola's matches against Hawai'i tonight and tomorrow night in the Stan Sheriff Center. Both matches begin at 7:05 p.m.; tomorrow's match will be preceded by two UH alumni matches, with the first starting at 4 p.m.

This is the second extended road trip this month for the 10th-ranked Ramblers (16-4). Last week, they completed a three-match trip to California, during which they were swept by top-ranked UC Irvine and lost in five to UCLA.

They returned to Chicago to host Carthage before departing for Hawai'i. They arrived Wednesday night.

With college volleyball's best teams located in the West in general and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in particular, "we wanted to play these matches to prepare us for the (Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) tournament at the end of the season," Davis said. "The level of competition is pretty high (in the West). It's a good experience for our guys to play good teams."

To pay for the trips, the Ramblers received extra money from the school, and sold raffles and personalized clothes.

At 26, Davis is the youngest head coach in Division I and II volleyball. He took over the program when he was 23, soon after completing his playing career as Loyola's setter.

"That was a pretty tough adjustment," he said. "I had to separate myself in our personal lives. (The players) were my best buds. ... I was the team captain for three years. I kept a leadership role. I always had the respect of the guys."

The Ramblers, who are atop the MIVA, have relied on junior Brian Guntli's accurate sets and decisions, and middle blocker James Grunst's defense.

UH setter Brian Beckwith and reserve middle Jake Schkud were Grunst's Junior National teammates. Davis was an assistant coach on the team, which toured India last summer.

"We called (Grunst) 'Meat,' " Schkud said. "If you ever saw 'Porky's,' there's a big football guy. His nickname is 'Meat.' It's a good match. (Grunst) is a good player."

Schkud also praised Davis, saying, "He's a good guy to be around, a fun coach. He's a friend of mine."

Beckwith said Davis is "energetic" and "brings a lot of enthusiasm to the game."

From Davis, Beckwith learned his role as setter is "to stay relaxed and understand that it's my offense and my world out there."

The nonconference match comes at time when the Warriors have won nine MPSF matches in row and 10 of the last 11. UH coach Mike Wilton said playing top teams from different regions will boost the Warriors' resume when the NCAA selection committee considers candidates for the final four.

"This is not some kind of a midseason hiatus," Wilton said. "They're a very good volleyball team."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.