Too big.

And too good.

Don’t let Mike Sealy fool you with his aw shucks routine.

UCLA is very big and very good, and that’s why the Bruins could dispose of Hawaii in four sets Saturday to win the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic. You’d call it an upset if the rankings were really valid at this point of the season, since UH was No. 10 and playing at home, and UCLA was No. 12 and playing on the road. But they’re not, so you don’t.

All you can really say from the Wahine perspective is that Hawaii absorbed its first loss against a pretty good team.

Sealy, the UCLA coach, tried to soft-sell the win. “We’re big and goofy and play a lot of big-girl volleyball,” he said.

There’s no gloating in volleyball. People like to talk about respect all the time in football and basketball, but volleyball is the sport where they live it. Especially if you’re Sealy, UH coach Dave Shoji’s former assistant, and you just beat the team of one of your mentors (for the first time).

HAWAII’S OVERALL lack of size was exploited fully. Shoji acknowledged the Bruins were simply too tall, with an average height of 6-feet-2, nearly 3 inches taller than the Wahine.

UH’s 6-4 middle, Brittany Hewitt, did all she could to try to negate UCLA’s length, but the Bruins towered over the Wahine. The visitors’ wall scored on six blocks compared to one for UH in the first set — which UCLA won 25-20.

Often, the Wahine find seams and use quickness to successfully attack a taller team, but they didn’t do so consistently against the Bruins.

WERE THEY spent from Friday’s five-set thriller in which they beat Long Beach State? Unlikely, with a day off in between. But Sealy did thank The Beach for making the Wahine work hard two nights prior. And UH’s do-it-all star, Kanani Danielson, seems to be doing even more than ever.

“I thought UCLA served her on purpose to try to tire her,” Shoji said. “But she’s a strong player with a lot of stamina.”

No one doubts she can handle. But by the time the Wahine start playing ranked teams again, Danielson’s going to need more help. The fact that that likely won’t be until December and the start of the NCAA tournament is a blessing and a curse.

Soon, Hawaii starts its last go-round in the WAC, where strength of schedule goes to die, and along with it good seeding for the NCAAs and quite possibly competitive edge.

These early-season matches aren’t crucial, and a loss gives Shoji and his team some ideas on what needs to be done. But for UH volleyball, losing is not expected or accepted, and UCLA is UCLA. The Stan Sheriff Center was rocking, especially when Hawaii was one point away from winning the second set. Take that one, and maybe things could’ve ended differently despite the Bruins’ size. For now, though, the only real consolation for UH is it didn’t give up and get swept at home by a rival — and that there is a lot more volleyball ahead.