Hawai'i has reached the junction in its volleyball season where ranked opponents are either a memory or a far-off NCAA postseason prediction, and the next two months are about being self-absorbed and staying awake.

The Western Athletic Conference season starts this week, with winless Boise State here tomorrow and Idaho coming in Saturday. The Rainbow Wahine make their first trip of the season next week, going to Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State.

They have to get better in a two-month period that can lull a fourth-ranked team into a false sense of invincibility even while it tears it apart with insane travel. A trip to Louisiana Tech is 9 hours in the air followed by a 40-minute bus ride. NMSU is about the same — and that is the good connection. Boise State and Idaho are not much easier, and have the added challenge of the possibility of bad weather.

UH coach Dave Shoji calls WAC travel for Rainbow teams "horrendous," but characterizes the fear of failing in WAC volleyball as worse. Of his 993 career wins, 22 percent have come in WAC matches since his team joined the conference in 1996. The 'Bows are 219-6 in the WAC and have won the last 11 championships.

Hawai'i set the NCAA record with 132 straight conference wins from 1998 to 2006, but Aggies have altered that dominance the last three seasons. New Mexico State ended the streak at Las Cruces High School three years ago, Utah State became the first WAC team to win in the Stan Sheriff Center the next year and NMSU swept UH here again last year.

"Our fear now is that we fall asleep one night and take a bad loss," Shoji said. "Just about every year now somebody upsets us. It's mainly because we failed to prepare. ... There are upsets every week, it's just the nature of athletics. We don't want it to happen to us."

Shoji believes his five seniors will "keep the climate in the practice gym at a high level." In a strange twist, Hawai'i's regular season has become time for fine-tuning. It opened the year going 6-2 against ranked opponents, 9-2 overall. Now it will do more conditioning and practice longer, sometimes on game day. It is not preparing for the WAC as much as what lies beyond in the NCAA Tournament.

Until then, no one will know how motivated Hawai'i has been over the course of the conference season. "It won't be measurable until December," Shoji said. "We will have to play somebody really good in the (NCAA) second, third and fourth rounds. That's when we'll know."

Until December, the 'Bows will play teams searching to find themselves. Some looked harder than others in the preseason. Some were more successful.

San Jose State has played a tougher schedule than Hawai'i, based on the Pablo power ranking at richkern.com, but the Spartans are 0-10. In contrast, the average rating of a LaTech opponent is 236. Its record is 10-6, but when it comes against Arkansas-Pine-Bluff (twice) and Centenary, what does that mean? And Fresno State has already won as many matches as last year, but that's just seven.

The WAC's power ranking has dropped to an all-time low of 16th the past two seasons, among 32 conferences. It is currently ninth. The conference season could be a free-for-all among eight teams, with each one aiming at the bullseye worn by the Rainbow Wahine twice.

New Mexico State grabbed a share of the regular-season title last year for the first time, and junior college All-American Kayleigh Giddens has joined all-WAC hitter Krista Altermatt on the outside. But the Aggies lost three all-conference players to graduation and are dealing with injury and passing issues.

"We haven't lost to a bad team, we just don't have a significant win yet," coach Mike Jordan said. "We've learned we've got a lot of issues. Some we knew about because we have youth and inexperience. We'll take care of them. ... We'll figure out the things that are most important to fix as quickly as possible."

Utah State, the other Giant Killer, is picked to finish third this year by conference coaches. It has started to develop an identity, according to coach Grayson DuBose, and is off to its best start in six years.

Sophomore Liz McArthur is second to Hawai'i's Kanani Danielson in kills and three good middles are finally healthy. Juniors Chelsea Fowles and Christine Morrill could become career leaders at USU in assists and digs. Both vividly remember the magical night in Manoa two years ago.

"The only time we talk about that is when we talk about potential," DuBose said. "We are capable of being a good volleyball team and we've proven that we can compete well against certain teams — New Mexico State, Purdue, BYU, Utah and Hawai'i that one time. We always talk about building a legacy and what they will leave the program when they graduate.

"We are never going to catch up to Hawai'i athletically, but we can refine who we are."

"Refining" is pretty much what the Rainbow Wahine will be doing the next two months. It is what the WAC has become all about.

NOTES

Admission is $17 lower level, and $12 (adults), $10 (seniors 65-older) and $5 (students) upper level. Parking is $5

Active, reservists and retired members of the military get half off adult tickets (maximum of eight) to tomorrow's Boise match. A valid military identification card is required.

UH Alumni Association members get half off adult tickets (maximum of eight) to Saturday's Idaho match. A valid Alumni Association membership card is required.