Similarities between last year's Rainbow Wahine volleyball team and this one are hard to ignore.

A year ago, with coach Dave Shoji sensing Hawai'i's season "hanging in the balance," his team clawed back to beat New Mexico State in Las Cruces. Three weeks ago, the now-No. 15 Rainbows desperately rallied to overtake No. 23 Cal Poly in a very similar scenario played out at Stan Sheriff Center.

They haven't lost since, going into a Western Athletic Conference tripleheader that starts tomorrow against Utah State and extends through a Sunday afternoon match with Nevada and Monday night match with Boise State.

Last year's team was dinged up from Day 1. This year's has two starters out for the season (Tara Hittle and Nickie Thomas) and a list of aches and pains longer than petite trainer Renae Shigemura.

Both teams opened with seven ranked opponents in their first 10 matches.

And both have been watched closely by Ashley Watanabe and Victoria Prince, seniors last year and very serious spectators now. Susie Boogaard Willett, last year's third senior, married in May and moved to San Diego with her husband in June. She hopes to make it to Reno for the WAC Tournament next month.

It was Watanabe who lamented at Hawai'i's lowest point last season that "we kick our own okoles." The 'Bows ultimately began to kick someone else's, won 21 of their last 22 and ended up in the NCAA Regionals.

That's a turnaround this team hopes to emulate. Prince and Watanabe believe the current four-match winning streak is imitation in its sincerest form.

"Every game they get better and better," says Prince, who is still at UH, helps with statistics and coaches volleyball at Word of Life. "They keep learning more about themselves and how to work together."

Watanabe, now working for the family real estate business, describes what she sees as "restless in a good way — they continue to show that they want it more and more.

"When they were being challenged earlier in the season, their faces looked like they were sick of whatever was going on," Watanabe said. "They just came up with an attitude. Not a cocky attitude, but they have a confidence. They need it. It's good."

She also sees a "rugged" exterior appearing after the health heartbreak they've been through, and figures they can "get through anything that gets in their way" at this point.

For the next two months that will be the WAC.

Utah State, which won the 1978 AIAW national championship, has more wins over Hawai'i — seven — than every other conference team combined. However, UH leads the series 31-7 and hasn't lost to the Aggies in nearly 25 years.

USU has been to the postseason three times in the past seven years, but returns less than a quarter of last year's offense and has a new coach in former Brigham Young men's assistant Grayson DuBose. He calls Hawai'i the "gold-medal standard in our league" and the 'Bows' 128-match WAC winning streak is compelling evidence.

Prince and Watanabe don't want to see that end, even as they sit high on the sidelines. If anybody on this team asked, they would tell them to enjoy their time together more, ignore the coaches less and not be afraid to be honest with each other.

"When you watch from an outsider's standpoint you see so much more," Prince said. "I used to never understand some things the coaches would say. Now I see it happening from a spectator's point of view and I totally understand. ... It's amazed me for the last three months. When I was playing, things are moving so fast you don't realize."

Watanabe is also just starting to understand some of the game's intricacies. But what she regrets most is not getting in a teammate's face more before — and she means that in the nicest possible way. Former associate coach Charlie Wade encouraged her to "get on people" as a senior. Her personality never allowed it.

"I wish I knew it was as simple as being honest with each other and trying to pull the best player out of each person," Watanabe said. "Don't take it personally. You're just trying to make the other person the best they can be. I never did it. I couldn't."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.