LINCOLN, Neb. — Ultimately, today's rare midseason meeting of volleyball titans will be all about just how far 11th-ranked Hawai'i has come and nothing about the 4,719 miles the Rainbow Wahine traveled the last two days to get to top-ranked Nebraska.

When the non-conference match begins at noon Hawai'i time, the 'Bows' priority will be to win their 14th straight match.

Nebraska (18-0), the defending national champion, has obliterated every opponent this season. UCLA was the only team to even get a game off the Huskers. Most are struggling to get to 20. Kansas (10-11) did it twice yesterday, but was still swept by the Huskers, 30-16, 30-25, 30-26. But really, if Hawai'i (16-3) is not here to win, why bother with the turbulent 8-hour flight to Chicago and the 3-hour odyssey from there to Lincoln?

"We can't be scared," UH senior Juliana Sanders said. "We have nothing to lose. It will be a great test for our team to see where we are right now.

"This is perfect timing. We're getting better competition in the WAC and we're getting better. I'd like to see where we're really at. I honestly believe our team can win. There's no doubt in my mind that our team can accomplish this. We're really excited. The energy level is so much higher."

This is a midterm without a down side for Hawai'i, according to coach Dave Shoji. He compares his team's self-imposed predicament today to the way Western Athletic Conference opponents feel against the 'Bows — with a soldout (13,136-plus) and somewhat chilled Bob Devaney Sports Center crowd masquerading as the slipper-clad Stan Sheriff Center regulars.

Shoji and Nebraska coach John Cook have been trying to put this match together since 2003 — not coincidentally the year after Hawai'i, behind Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku, became the first team ever to beat the Cornhuskers at the NU Coliseum in the postseason. UH team manager Ryan Tsuji brought that tape on this trip to prove what is possible.

"Everybody here remembers that 2002 match," Cook said. "Hawai'i played a great, great match. Our fans remember that.

"And, this is Hawai'i. Dave Shoji is one of the legends in coaching. And it's Nebraska, another program with lots of tradition. Two of the most successful programs in volleyball are playing on a Sunday when nobody else is playing."

Cook sees it as a postseason warmup and an opportunity for people to discover a sport that is largely undiscovered everywhere but Hawai'i and Nebraska. He compares it to ESPN's Monday night basketball games, which usually feature under-the-radar teams.

He has tried to get other teams, such as Washington and Florida, to come in midseason without success. Shoji has been interested from the start, but never had the time until this year, when consolidating conference trips left an open week.

Nebraska's guarantee is paying most of Hawai'i's expenses. All the Rainbow Wahine have to do is show up, and "play with perfection" according to sophomore Aneli Cubi-Otineru. That might be the only way to slow the Cornhuskers' five All-Americans.

"I think we can win," Shoji said. Then he tried to convince himself that more than his team's reinvigorated defense can halt the 'Huskers.

"We would have to serve the heck out of the ball and hope they don't have a lot of their options," Shoji added. "Obviously, we have to pass and get our middles involved. I think we can put the ball on the floor against them. They have a big block, maybe too big. Maybe we can go under the block.

"There is very little to lose here and a lot to gain. ... I want to learn how good a team we can become. We haven't been in this situation since the preseason and we didn't handle it very well early. I think we will respond better now. ... The goal is to be as good as we can in December."

When the NCAA Committee is all but a lock to send the Rainbow Wahine on another volleyball odyssey.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.