Before the Rainbow Wahine departed Monday on their first Big West volleyball road trip in 17 years, Hawaii coach Dave Shoji left them with this thought:

"Typically all UH teams suck on the road," he said. "We’ve got to play better. … There are no excuses."

There really are none now. Altitude is out the window and, as Shoji put it, "our drive will be 45 minutes rather than four hours."

There is no Big West tournament, but because there are more teams in the conference Hawaii will again make four trips over the ocean. Still, it will travel 5,431 fewer miles than last season in the Western Athletic Conference, which stretched to Louisiana Tech.

That could be critical for a team that averaged more than 40,000 miles a year from 2003 to 2010. (Last year, Hawaii hosted a subregional and regional and cut its mileage by almost half.)

The seventh-ranked Wahine take the country’s longest active regular-season conference winning streak (55) into tonight’s Big West opener at Cal State Northridge. The trip concludes at UC Riverside on Friday and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. Hawaii is 50-0 against that trio.

All three matches begin at 4 p.m. Hawaii time. The conference will stream all matches free at BigWest.TV, with 1420-AM also carrying all matches live on radio.

While travel might take less time, Big West matches could take more.

The Wahine rocked the WAC, winning 13 of 16 titles and going 270-7. They set the NCAA record of 132 consecutive matches won against conference opponents in a remarkable run that started Oct. 17, 1998, and ended at Las Cruces, N.M., on Oct. 11, 2006.

The Big West is not what it used to be. From 1985 to 1998, the Wahine, Pacific and Long Beach State won six NCAA titles. The conference sent eight teams to the NCAA tournament in 1988, when Hawaii fell to Texas in the national championship.

It has sent only one or two the past four years and hasn’t won an NCAA match since 2008. Pacific is the only Big West team aside from Hawaii receiving votes in the poll and isn’t close to the Top 25.

But last year the Big West ranked seventh to the WAC’s 13th at the richkern.com volleyball website, with Long Beach, Santa Barbara, Pacific and Davis all in the Top 100. From Shoji down, the Wahine are sure this will be better postseason preparation than the WAC ever was.

"We’ll see more ball control and better ball control," Shoji said. "The hitters are about the same, but there will be more rallies because the bulk of them have California-type ball-control players."

The two backrow players Shoji took on the travel team of 13 are from Honolulu (Emily Maeda) and Colorado (Ali Longo), but he also has ball control from the Golden State. UH will take seven California players on this trip.

That could be cause for distraction with all the family and friends, but it saves on scouting.

"We know a lot of them," said backup setter Monica Stauber, from volleyball mecca Newport Beach. "We played with a lot of them and played against most of them, especially the SoCal schools in the conference."

Hawaii will also have to make itself at home in nine new gyms, in front of an average of 600 people — some 6,000 fewer than at home.

"The environment will be different and we’ve never been to most of the gyms," Maeda said. "We saw Fullerton last year and UC Davis is really small. I went there when I was little. We don’t know how rowdy the crowd will be. But you know it will be a gym and a net. We’ve just got to focus."

Shoji is planning new wrinkles to keep their concentration. Second-team All-American Emily Hartong could play lots of right side — her third position — this trip.

"We need to get production out of the right," he said. "I know we can get production out of Hartong. (Ashley) Kastl needs to step up and give us production on the left. That’s the way I’m leaning."

He also plans to use two setters more — rotating Stauber and Mita Uiato out of the front row — and is looking at two-person serve-receive with Longo and Maeda or Jane Croson.

Tonight could be the best look he will get.

"Northridge might be the best team in the conference other than us," he told his team.

Hawaii won its last 19 in the Big West along with the 1995 championship. Shoji, who still holds the conference’s highest winning percentage (.842), wants to pick up where he left off.

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BIG WEST CONFERENCE CAPSULES
In order of preseason coaches poll (Hawaii is No. 1):

2. Long Beach State (5-6)

Has won three of past four Big West titles and 12 overall …came into season with Haleigh Hampton, a 6-foot-6 middle who was third nationally in blocking last year, and setter Erin Juley "likely out for the year" with injuries … Delainey Aigner-Swesey (3.21 kills per set) and Janisa Johnson (3.1) both earned all-tournament honors in nonconference play …without Hampton, LBSU is being outblocked 3.08-2.05.

3. Cal State Northridge (9-3)

Captured Rice Invitational last weekend and has won seven of its past eight with only loss to San Francisco … picked to finish eighth last year and was third at 9-7 — most conference wins since 2004 … all seven starters back, including 2012 Big West Freshman of the Year Casey Hinger and first-team all-conference selections Natalie Allen and Sydney Gedryn, who earned three all-tournament honors in nonconference …lead conference in blocking with Hinger, Cieana Stinson and Gedryn ranked 5-6-7 … ‘Iolani graduate Mahina Haina is only non-Californian on roster and was all-tournament at USF after career-high 19 kills against Idaho.

T4. UC Santa Barbara (7-7)

Coming off losses to Fresno State and San Diego …Leah Sully earned three all-tournament honors in nonconference, has 10 double-doubles and is fifth in conference kills at 3.95 … freshman libero Taylor Formico also collected three all-tournament honors and leads Big West in digs at 5.41 … Punahou graduate Ali Santi starting at setter after transferring from Georgia Tech … Santi is only non-Californian on roster and there is only one senior.

T4. Pacific (11-1)

In final Big West season, Tigers are hottest team in conference with three tournament titles and best start since 1999 … only loss came against Stanford, UOP’s only ranked opponent … lead Big West in opponent hitting percentage (.151) and digs (18.52), where UOP is fourth nationally … Kamehameha graduate Koala Matsuoka is fifth in conference digs (4.35) … Megan Birch is current conference Player of the Week and averages 3.96 kps — fourth in Big West … all-conference selection Jennifer Sanders averages 2.74 kps … assistant coaches are both from Hawaii — Ray Batalon and Aven Lee, a former Wahine.

6. Cal State Fullerton (6-7)

Hawaii’s win at Titan Gym last season came in front of a record crowd of 1,026 … Fullerton has four starters back, including three-time all-conference pick Kayla Neto, who is fourth in Big West kills at 3.94 …that’s just ahead of teammate Bre Moreland (3.76), who leads conference in aces (0.48) … only one CSUF attacker is hitting over .200 and team is at .156.

7. Cal Poly (1-10)

Come into conference play with a seven-match losing streak … new coach Sam Crosson lost 2011 Big West Player of the Year Jennifer Keddy to shoulder injury … ‘Iolani graduate Chelsea Hardin is starting … last postseason appearance was in 2007 … getting outhit .260-.137 … last in every Big West statistic except digs … Holly Franks is only Mustang averaging better than three kills … won only home match, in five over Idaho, and has four losses to ranked teams.

8. UC Davis (6-7)

Has not played a ranked team and lost to San Francisco and Fresno State … Devon Damelio earned all-tournament honors four times this season and is averaging 3.27 kps …Allison Whitson is eighth in Big West kills at 3.65 and was all-tournament last week at Butler Invitational and MVP the week before at FSU Classic … Victoria Lee leads conference in blocking at 1.30.

9. UC Irvine (5-8)

Senior libero Kristin Winkler is 376 digs short of the Big West record (2,194) and second in conference at 5.09 dps … Aly Squires is second to Hawaii’s Emily Hartong in kills at 4.13 and teammate Marisa Bubica is averaging 3.09 kps … lost to 11th-ranked Kansas State to open season and also fell to third-ranked Nebraska.

10. UC Riverside (5-8)

Won three NCAA Division II titles before joining Big West in 2001 … has never won more than four conference matches since … best finish is sixth … home opener is Friday against Hawaii … senior Amanda Vialpando earned three all-tournament honors in nonconference and leads team at 3.24 kps … leads conference and is ranked eighth nationally in aces (1.77) … being outhit .214-.169 and outblocked 2.48-1.40.