KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Hawai'i's journey deep into the NCAA Softball Tournament took a turn for the worse at a place known in the collegiate sports world as "Rocky Top.''

The No. 1-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols dealt the Rainbow Wahine a 9-0 setback in a game called after 4 1/2 innings in NCAA Super Regional play last night. Monica Abbott, the NCAA's all-time strikeouts leader, pitched her 22nd career no-hitter to push Hawai'i within one game of elimination entering today's action.

The Rainbow Wahine (49-12) must beat Tennessee (58-5) twice today to advance to the Women's College World Series. The first game starts at 10 a.m. (Hawai'i time) today with the if-necessary match up set for 6:30 p.m.

The Lady Vols are expected to throw the 6-foot-3 Abbott (45-3) again today while Hawai'i will counter with Kate Robinson (16-1).

The lei presented to the Rainbow Wahine after the game by Jesse Mahelona, a Hawai'i native who earned All-American football honors with Tennessee before moving on to play for the NFL's Tennessee Titans, served as little consolation.

"The score says it all,'' Hawai'i coach Bob Coolen said. "Monica was just bringing it. She moved the ball up, up and up.''

One by one, the Rainbow Wahine went down, down, down. Abbott struck out 10 and allowed only two to reach base; Tanisha Milca and Tyleen Tausaga drew walks.

It was the Rainbow Wahine's 17th day on the road, leaving Hawai'i for the WAC Tournament in Fresno, Calif., on May 8 before traveling to Los Angeles where they won the NCAA Regional with wins over UC Santa-Barbara, UCLA and Loyola Marymount.

"We're not going to make excuses,'' Coolen said. "We're used to the traveling.''

The Lady Vols are used to winning at home, having emerged victorious in all 27 of their home games this season counting yesterday's win before a sold-out crowd of 1,104 at Tyson Park.

With backs to the wall, Coolen said the Rainbow Wahine will come out swinging today.

"The hitters need to be more aggressive,'' Coolen said. "When it's a 3-2 or 3-1 count, as a hitter you need to be more aggressive.''

The Lady Vols were on the attack from the onset, striking for a run in the first inning, four in the second and four more in the fourth. All runs were charged to Hawai'i starter Justine Smethurst (19-9), though only five were earned.

UT's Tonya Callahan pushed the first run across with a double in the first, but Smethurst escaped further damage despite an error by third baseman Clare Warwick that put runners on second and third.

The Rainbow Wahine weren't as fortunate in the second inning. Kamehameha Schools alum Liane Horiuchi sparked the inning with a walk and a stolen base before another error by Warwick led to Lady Vols runners on second and third. Lillian Hammond and Tiffany Huff made Hawai'i pay with back-to-back RBI hits that made it 4-0. Callahan, batting .555 in the postseason, ripped a single to center that put Tennessee up 5-0.

Tennessee padded the lead with four runs in the fourth, Huff delivering a bases-loaded triple.

"I let a few too many walks go, and when that happened, they were able to move the runners,'' said Smethurst, who was lifted after Huff's triple made it 8-0. "I dug myself into a bit of a rut.''

Jessica Morton came on in relief, and three pitches into her appearance unleashed a wild pitch that allowed Huff to score the final run.

Abbott set the Rainbow Wahine down in order in the fifth to bring the mercy rule into effect.