RENO, Nev. — Following its finest week of volleyball, 12th-ranked Hawai'i has done all it can to earn the right to stay home for the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship, with one compelling exception. The Rainbow Wahine have not found a way to push O'ahu to the West Coast for a few days.

The 'Bows (26-5) have won their past 13. Their losses came against three top-10 teams, Cal Poly and New Mexico State. The Mustangs have moved up to 15th and the sting of the NMSU loss, which ended Hawai'i's eight-year conference winning streak, has been eased with a pair of lopsided victories over the No. 21 Aggies the last two weeks.

Hawai'i thinks it deserves one of the 16 seeds the NCAA committee will dole out during today's selection show, broadcast live on ESPN News at 10 a.m. HST. It will host a regional Dec. 8 and 9, whether it is in it or not. It is the one team guaranteed to make the NCAA money with a home match.

Even with all that, the committee's desire to "regionalize" this tournament and keep first-round opponents basically within "driving distance" all but assures the Rainbow Wahine will be on the road this week.

"We're prepared for the worst, prepared to go away, that's our mindset," senior co-captain Kanoe Kamana'o said after the 'Bows won their ninth straight Western Athletic Conference championship Saturday. "We're thinking we're going to get on a plane Monday night, just because of the past and what the NCAA has put us through."

UH coach Dave Shoji had two administrators at the tournament tell him his team would have to travel.

"If we get a true seed, we shouldn't see another top-16 team," Shoji said. "I think we're a top-16 team and they shouldn't put two top-16 teams in the same subregional. But it happened last year and the year before, so I'm not going to speculate on where we belong or who we're going to play. We're expecting to go away. If we stay home, it's great."

His players have accepted it and hope only that they won't have to travel much more than the 2,500 miles across the ocean. Two years ago they had to get to Fort Collins, Colo., and negotiate an icy place that apparently had never seen a snowplow. Last year, the Rainbow Wahine flew 4,000 miles to play at Texas, which had just upset top-ranked, previously unbeaten Nebraska.

Colorado just upset top-ranked, previously unbeaten Nebraska. Cayley Thurlby, the Rainbows' other co-captain, could see her team going there. The 'Bows also have a history with ninth-ranked Utah in the early rounds.

Cal, Cal Poly, San Diego, Brigham Young, Santa Clara and Pepperdine are all ranked below Hawai'i. Long Beach State, Arizona State, Oregon, Sacramento State, Arizona, UC-Santa Barbara, Colorado State, San Francisco, UNLV and St. Mary's are also inside the top 64 in this week's Pablo power Ranking. Any of those schools could host a subregional with Hawai'i in it.

What Hawai'i can control is its volleyball, which is how it won the WAC last week. After a season of turmoil, with three starters lost to injury, the 'Bows put together three of their most poised performances in Reno.

Left-side hitters Jamie Houston and Sarah Mason were true terminators. The block was remarkably disciplined and consistent. Passing and serving, often the bane of the 'Bows' existence, was beyond reproach. Freshman Amber Kaufman began to become a force offensively and as a blocker.

The loss at New Mexico State, and the Aggies' rise to national prominence, provided some inspiration.

"The loss was the turning point of our season," Thurlby said. "Knowing we hit rock bottom and having to turn it around ... it let us know what kind of character our team has, if we were going to bounce back or hang our heads. That was a lot to swallow. We've been through the wringer this year."

Somehow, the 'Bows have risen above it all, with a newfound focus and ability to channel their anger and frustration.

What they can't control comes today, from the NCAA.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.