History is all relative.

Hawaii vs. Long Beach State in volleyball dates to 1977, with Hawaii winning all three matches.

Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji vs. 49ers coach Brian Gimmillaro goes back to 1985, with the Rainbow Wahine winning both Pacific Coast Athletic Association contests.

But when it comes to UH middle Olivia Magill, the history with Long Beach State is short and anything but sweet. The junior transfer is 0-1 against the 49ers and, more frustrating for her, she had little impact on the five-set loss on Oct. 11 at The Walter Pyramid.

Magill went out with a lower leg injury early in Set 2. Her recovery has matched that of Hawaii, which has won its past four since falling to The Beach, a streak that included a dramatic five-set victory at UC Irvine last Friday.

"I understand there’s history with Hawaii and Long Beach State," said Magill, who had 17 kills and nine blocks against UCI. "It doesn’t hit home as hard for me but I pay attention to the record. They’re undefeated in the conference.

"I’m a competitor and I want to win against whoever we play."

The 49ers haven’t lost since conference play began, their last loss coming in five to Oregon State on Sept. 20 at the Cal State Bakersfield tournament. Their other defeats were sweeps on the road to Illinois and North Carolina to open the season at the Illini Invitational, and in four sets at Loyola Marymount.

"We were ambitious and tried to play above ourselves," Gimmillaro said. "We were not ready.

"I think we’ve improved since then and we’ve improved since Hawaii (five matches ago). We’re not a great team but we are getting better. What I know is Hawaii is good at home, the volleyball will be good and it’s nice that volleyball is appreciated here."

The two coaches have 70 years, six NCAA titles and 1,925 wins between them. There are no secrets, Gimmillaro said.

"Hawaii is good at a lot of positions, we’re good at a lot of positions," he said. "It’s still more about your side because we know what they’re going to do, and they know what we’re going to do."

It’s a matter of executing the game plan and stopping the opponent from executing theirs. One key for Hawaii is to slow senior opposite Bre Mackie, who went off for a career-high 20 kills against the Wahine last month.

"We need to put up a better block," said UH freshman middle Emily Maglio, who replaced Magill in the lineup against the 49ers.

Hawaii ranks seventh in the country in blocks (3.05 bps). The Wahine were outblocked 16.5-11 by the 49ers lin their last meeting, the first time Long Beach State had defeated Hawaii in eight matches.

"I think we’ve improved overall as a team since that match, especially in the way we fight back," said Magill, the conference leader in hitting percentage (.415). "The Irvine match showed how much the team has grown. Tai (junior hitter Manu-Olevao) and (senior middle Kalei) Adolpho have stepped up their leadership and we keep getting better as a team."

Win or lose, it will be a tough turnaround for the Wahine. Cal State Northridge, the first conference team to sweep Hawaii since 2010, has had the week off to prepare for its lone match of the week on Saturday.

The Matadors have lost three of their past five since the big win over the Wahine, including last Saturday’s four-setter to visiting Long Beach State. CSUN’s postseason hopes likely are on the line Saturday.

"We view this as a critical trip," Matadors coach Jeff Stork said. "Hawaii is ahead of us (in the Ratings Percentage Index) so a win Saturday would sure help us in that regard."

Hawaii is at 30 in the RPI, which is part of the formula used by the NCAA selection committee to seed the postseason tournament. Long Beach State is at 31 and CSUN is 36th.

Gimmillaro is on the regional committee that has some input. He feels the conference will get three teams into the postseason — Long Beach State, Hawaii and CSUN — but "there’s a lot of conference play left," he said. "A lot can happen in the next three weeks."

It’s unclear who will be setting for the Matadors. Freshman Lauren Conati set CSUN to the victory over Hawaii after junior Steffi Miller went down with a foot injury prior to the match.

Miller returned to the starting lineup against the 49ers last week but Stork eventually went to a 6-2 offense utilizing both setters for the first time this season.

"Steffi still has a little bit of soreness so we’re not sure what direction we’ll go this week," Stork said.