It’s been a roller coaster of a season for the self-described biggest defensive specialist ever. Kalei Greeley has been a six-rotation player her entire volleyball career, but with recovery from offseason shoulder surgery slower than expected, the 6-foot-2 junior has been relegated to back-row duties, where her passing abilities have always been steady.

The role means in for three rotations, out for the next three, repeat as needed.

“Life as a DS is a lot harder than I thought it was,” Greeley said as No. 12 Hawaii prepared for its second road trip of the season. “It’s hard to get warmed back up after coming out.

“I do miss hitting in the front row — that’s every hitter’s favorite place. I think I’m the biggest DS ever. but I’m glad I’m still playing, helping the team however I can.”

Her range of motion is not there when it comes to attacking, but her range defensively has played a key part in the Rainbow Wahine’s 4-0 start to the Big West season. Hawaii (11-4) was to leave this afternoon for matches at two of the tougher places to play: Cal State Northridge on Thursday and Long Beach State on Saturday.

CSUN’s Matadome (2,000 capacity) has not been kind to Hawaii of late. The Wahine are 2-2 there since returning to the Big West in 2012, with losses in 2013 (3-2) and 2014 (3-0).

“I don’t know what it is, but we’ve always kind of struggled there,” said Greeley, who had eight kills and hit .467 in Hawaii’s sweep of host CSUN last season. “It feels like a high school gym.

“We know we need to start off strong. We’ve been a little slow starting. I hope we find ourselves.”

The Matadors (6-10, 2-2) are in search of their first home win, having opened with 14 straight road matches. Last week, CSUN went 0-2 at the Matadome, falling to UC Santa Barbara in four and Cal Poly in five.

It is the first time CSUN opened 0-2 at home since 2011. The Matadors gave up a combined 20 aces to the Gauchos and Mustangs. (The Wahine gave up a combined 12 to the same two teams when going 2-0 on the road).

“I think Northridge is vastly improved over where they were earlier in the year,” Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. “They look very athletic and they’ve got some weapons.

“It’s a tough place to play; we’ve dropped a few matches there. The crowd is right on you and it’s a pretty vocal crowd against you.”

Just like the Wahine, the Matadors have had their share of injuries. With junior Rachel Diaz out the past four matches with an injury, CSUN has gone with 6-3 true freshman Morgan Salone.

The other middle is 5-11 redshirt freshman Melissa Eaglin, who leads the team in blocks (62). Anchoring the defense is junior libero Katie Sato, who has had double-figure digs in 13 matches, including 34 in the five-set win over Rhode Island.

CSUN’s two conference wins also have gone five. The Matadors won on the road at UC Irvine and UC Davis.