With a starting foursome still recuperating and two Stephanies waiting in the California wings, what's left of the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine play Arizona in an exhibition volleyball match tonight at 7 at Stan Sheriff Center.

The 'Bows finished last season 29-6 and ranked ninth. They upset Southern California in a regional semifinal before UCLA ended their season here. The Wildcats were 13-17 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.

A big part of Arizona's downfall was the loss of senior Kristina Baum, who went out early in the season with injury and starts her second "senior" year tonight.

Hawai'i also had injury problems. Tara Hittle (ankle), Nickie Thomas (knee), Jessica Keefe (knee) and Juliana Sanders (legs) are not available tonight. The first three are recovering from surgery and missed most of last season. Sanders, an all-Western Athletic Conference middle blocker, is taking care of her chronically bad shins in the offseason. Thomas and Hittle were injured early enough that they can petition for medical hardships to get their year back.

UH coach Dave Shoji expects all four to be at full strength when he welcomes "the walking wounded" back to practice in August. But for now, the Rainbow Wahine are 10 deep. All-America setter Kanoe Kamana'o and all-region hitter Sarah Mason — who used up their eligibility last season — could make brief appearances tonight because of all the recuperating athletes.

Freshman Amber Kaufman, who started last year after the injuries piled up, decided not to travel with her track team this weekend and will play, which should keep freshman Dani Mafua at setter most of the match. Kaufman tied for second in the high jump at the WAC Indoor Championship.

"We need to see development (tonight), from Dani Mafua especially," Shoji said. "She's had a great spring so far and trained very hard, and physically she's much better than she's ever been.

"In the spring we're trying to get better individually. That's the main focus. We're not going to get better as a team because we don't have much team to put out on the court. We won't be working on systems, we're just working on skills."

Mafua, a Mid-Pacific graduate who red-shirted last season, is Kamana'o's heir apparent, but she will have company in the summer. Setter Stephanie Brandt, who started for UC Santa Barbara last season as a freshman, is transferring to UH. She obtained her release after the Gauchos lost in the NCAA first round and will immediately be eligible. Setter Dana Vargas, daughter of former Olympian Debbie Green, will join Santa Barbara as a freshman in the fall.

Brandt, an all-state player and student from Irvine, Calif., plans to be in Hawai'i in time to attend the second summer session. She said she committed to UH after visiting in January.

"I loved the atmosphere and support of the fans and the dedication of the team," said Brandt, who, at 5 feet 9, is an inch shorter than Mafua and an inch taller than Kamana'o. "It seemed like a perfect fit."

Stephanie Ferrell will commit to UH during the late signing period that begins April 11, according to Southern California Volleyball Club assistant director Carrie Haley, whose husband Mick Haley coaches USC and used to coach the U.S. national team. The 6-1 hitter/middle blocker from Locke High School in Los Angeles got into the game as a freshman with the Starlings, a national club geared to helping players from all socioeconomic backgrounds play volleyball.

SCVC saw her potential and invited her to join a year later. "She is an incredibly hard worker," Carrie Haley said. "I love this kid. We took her to the Vegas tournament and she played so hard she gave herself a concussion rolling for a ball. She didn't tell anyone."

Ferrell's progress was so quick she was selected to play at the national program's A2 camp as a junior, but couldn't afford to make the trip. Hawai'i was one of the first to recruit her and "kept after it," according to Haley.

Ferrell canceled her final two visits after seeing Hawai'i. "She was very comfortable in Hawai'i," Haley said. "She also knew, unfortunately, that Hawai'i had knocked USC out of the playoffs. She was kidding us, 'I know they have to be good because they knocked you out.'

"I'm sure fans will love her because she plays with a smile and she's dynamic. I see her as an Olympian. ... When she can get in a program where she's lifting and doing speed and agility work and getting coached year-round ... she's a Deitre Collins kind of kid, that kind of body. The sky is the limit for her. She hits the ball harder than any kid I've seen. She hits it harder than (No. 1 recruit) Alix Klineman — not as high, but harder."

Ferrell's reputation, like her game, has grown quickly. After hearing that Kamehameha Schools junior Kanani Herring and Ferrell had committed to UH, one Western Athletic Conference coach — who called Ferrell "a stud" — said Hawai'i had "solidified its dominance for a long time."

Shoji cannot talk about either hitter or Brandt yet because of NCAA rules. He also can't discuss Punahou graduate Aneli Cubi-Otineru. The Advertiser's 2003 State Player of the Year said she is interested in taking UH up on the playing offer she had to decline out of high school because she was ineligible.

Now, she wants to come home after she gets her associate degree from Southern Idaho. Cubi-Otineru helped that school win its eighth NJCAA championship in 2005 and red-shirted last year.

With what Shoji has now, and incoming freshmen Liz Ka'aihue (Punahou hitter/libero) and Amanda Simmons, he is optimistic about 2007. "I think we're going to be very good even with a new setter," he said. "We've got a lot of veteran people out there and should be very good."

The Rainbow Wahine schedule is being held hostage by the late release of the UH football schedule. Opponents are set, but match days and times will be affected by home football games. Last year, a late change forced the Rainbow Wahine to move their three most popular WAC matches to Sunday, costing the athletic department thousands.

A few things are finalized, including the season-opening ASICS Wahine Invitational, starting Aug. 24 with Michigan, Colorado State and Oregon. The WAC Tournament, which still does not have a site, will move back to the week before Thanksgiving. Loyola Marymount will play two matches here Thanksgiving week.

NOTES

Incoming freshman Liz Ka'aihue is 85th on the prepvolleyball.com Senior Aces list, which is precisely where UCSB transfer Stephanie Brandt was a year before. Amanda Simmons is 57th on this year's list.

Jamie Houston, Aneli Cubi-Otineru and UH-Hilo's Kahealani Silva were among the 110 invited to the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team tryouts last month. By all indications, Houston will be training with the program this summer.

Hawai'i's third senior last year, backup setter Cayley Thurlby, is playing professionally in Spain.

Punahou junior Sydney Yogi made the first team of prepvolleyball.com's "Gym Dandies," a list that honors defensive players. "One of the very best in the nation, Yogi ... was a key contributor on the U.S. Youth National Team last summer," the Web site wrote. "A first-team All-State performer in high school and all-tournament team pick at JO's, Yogi is an unparalleled physical talent in the back row with an equally impressive volleyball IQ." 'Iolani sophomore Kelly Pang was named to the third team.

Former Nevada associate coach Oscar Crespo is the new head coach at San Jose State. Crespo graduated from SJSU in 1990. His wife, Lisa Ice-Crespo, was a three-time All-American for the Spartans.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.