Trust and adjust.

That’s the mantra for Hawaii as the Rainbow Wahine conclude their spring volleyball season with tonight’s exhibition against Kansas.

Hawaii lost the serve-and-pass game in a major way while being swept by Minnesota last Thursday. Winning that will go a long way to defeating the Jayhawks, who return five starters from last year’s 27-3 squad.

“We were kind of flat against Minnesota,” Hawaii freshman defensive specialist Emma Smith said. “As long as we can pass, I think we can hang with anyone.

“It’s about sticking together, being mentally ready and getting our heads more focused. If we can stay in system, we’ll be fine.”

Hawaii was out of system for much of the exhibition against the Golden Gophers and their tough serving. It led to freshman setter Norene Iosia relying heavily on a high ball to the outside instead of the quicker offense that had been part of the game plan.

“We did a little bit of everything this morning,” Wahine associate coach Jeff Hall said of Monday’s practice. “Serve and pass was a priority, but we also did a lot of block defense.

“We want to try and stay with tempo, even if we’re slightly stressed. Because we aren’t going to have the big gun to get us out of jams, we have to try to speed up the offense. You have to have the setter to do it and Norene is more than capable. The tendency is to play safe, go to the high ball because it’s comfortable, but the hitters have to trust and adjust.”

The “big gun” the past few seasons has been opposite Nikki Taylor, who has exhausted her indoor eligibility. Getting a shot at that position is sophomore Casey Castillo, who has played left-side, middle and right (briefly) in her Wahine career.

“It’s a learning curve,” Castillo said, “but I’m excited to take on something new … again. I like to take on challenges.”

Hawaii expects to be challenged by Kansas, which features three All-America honorees, including first-team opposite Kelsie Payne. The reigning Big 12 player of the year led the conference in kills and kills per set as a sophomore, and will be one of six seniors on KU’s roster this fall.

The Jayhawks’ other returning All-America honorees are setter Anise Havill and hitter Madison Rigdon, both of whom will be seniors this fall. Kansas lost two starters in senior middle Tayler Souci and libero Cassie Wait, the latter the Big 12 libero of the year. The pair were part of a senior class that went 104-23 in their four years.

“We will give everyone who plays libero an opportunity and see who reacts the best,” reigning Big 12 coach of the year Ray Bechard said in a media release. “We hope to play a great match and expose our team to some really high-level competition on the road.”