No.10 seed HAWAII (29-1) RPI 7

Last loss was Sept. 4 … four wins over top-25 teams … 30th NCAA appearance … Rainbow Wahine rank in top 40 nationally in every statistic except digs, where they are 205th … three-time All-American Kanani Danielson ranks 44th in kills (4.04), with Brittany Hewitt 22nd in blocks (1.35) … Emily Hartong (.373) is 22nd and Chanteal Satele (.353) 44th in hitting … Mita Uiato is 32nd in assists (11.1) … all were All-WAC first-team picks with freshman Jane Croson (3.54 kills, 0.35 aces) on second team.

"I think we’re playing well," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "We’ve got our backcourt in order. ‘Griff’ (Alexis Griffiths) has really come in and settled us down. (Emily) Maeda is playing better. … Kanani is very determined. She knows she’s at the tail end of her career and she wants to go all the way. I think you can see she’s trying to put the team on her back, which we need."

NORTHERN COLORADO (21-8) RPI 108

Bears rank in the top 25 nationally in kills, assists and digs, but are not in the top 150 in aces or blocks … left-handed opposite Kelley Arnold has stats nearly identical to Danielson (3.87 kills, .296 hitting, 2.46 digs, 0.83 blocks) and was the Big Sky player of year … was also College Volleyball Update player of the week after averaging 5.0 kills and hitting .431 at Big Sky Tournament … Big Sky freshman of the year Andrea Spaustat leads the team in blocks (95) and hitting (.349) … Amanda Arterburn was conference libero of the year last two seasons and ranks 35th nationally with 5.21 digs per set.

"The serve-pass game is crucial," UNC coach Lyndsey Benson said. "If we don’t win that aspect, we don’t have a chance. … Our biggest advantage now is we are playing without fear, which is fun on the court.

COLORADO STATE (22-5) RPI 28

All-region middle Megan Plourde, who leads the country in blocking (1.68), had 19 stuffs in the first round last year … the Rams, whose attackers are 6 feet 1 and up, are second nationally in blocking (3.15) and eighth in hitting (.279) … captain Katelyn Steffan, the team’s only senior, was Mountain West player of the year … Steffan, Plourde, Canadian national player Dana Cranston and Brieon Paige, whose father is former NFL player Stephone Paige, all average 2-plus kills … the Rams are in their 17th straight NCAA tournament … postseason record is 21-22, with wins in last four first-round matches and five regional appearances … freshman setter Deedra Foss is MWC newcomer of the year.

"We don’t have a bunch of unforced errors," 15th year coach Tom Hilbert says. "We make other teams work to beat us. We’ve got to be in system.

OREGON (21-9) RPI 30

One of seven Pac-12 teams in postseason, the Ducks were 10-7 against NCAA tournament teams this season … among the nation’s top 15 in kills and assists, but outside the top 130 in digs, aces and blocks … sophomore setter Lauren Plum ranks 10th nationally in assists … junior hitter Alaina Bergsma — named Miss Oregon USA on Sunday — is among top 20 in kills (4.44) … freshman Liz Brenner buried 31 kills in win over Stanford … fifth NCAA in six years, with regional finishes in 2007 and ’08.

"I don’t think we’re a year away," coach Jim Moore says of his senior-less team. "We’re not inexperienced and we’re not young. We’ve proven we can compete with anybody."