All teams who travel to Hawaii can be considered “road warriors,” but No. 2 Florida and Eastern Washington have taken the term to a whole new level as they both play a third consecutive weekend away from home this week at the Outrigger Resorts Challenge.

With their O’Connell Center under renovation, the Gators (4-0) have been slowly making their way cross country, opening at James Madison (Harrisburg, Va.) and American (D.C.) the first weekend, then blowing into Austin, Texas, for two impressive victories over then-No. 11 Oregon and then-No. 3 Texas.

As for the Eagles, their trek went south beginning at the Molten Classic hosted, by Cal then literally went south at last weekend’s New Orleans Invitational. After 10 matches, EWU’s home opener is Sept. 17, four days before new students — including Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Ka’iulani Ahuna, a freshman hitter — “Pass Through The Pillars” and are officially welcomed on campus.

Having the easiest travel schedule but the hardest road on the court so far is San Diego State. The Aztecs’ lone win came in the final match of the USF Invitational against future Hawaii opponent Cal State Bakersfield. At home last week, the Aztecs played better hosts than they would have liked, losing all three, including Saturday’s finale against Oregon State, where Wahine great Deitre Collins-Parker lost to her former Olympic and national team coach Terry Liskevych.

And then there’s No. 16 Hawaii, the most-traveled team in NCAA volleyball with three round trips to the mainland scheduled during the regular season. Being able to stay at home for the first five weeks of the season “is a luxury that other teams don’t have,” Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. “But it’s also a necessity for us, we need the income. For us to spend $25,000 for a preseason trip and lose three home games just doesn’t work.

“It is getting harder and harder for us to schedule; sometimes it comes down to who is available. San Diego State was just here (last year), but they were available to come again, which almost came down to the last minute when we were filing the schedule. Next year, however, we’re almost done.”

A LOOK AT THE TEAMS

No. 2 Florida (4-0)

That Gators have dropped two sets this season and picked up two top-12 wins last week over Oregon and host Texas. Florida returns five starters from last year’s undefeated SEC championship team that lost in the NCAA regional final.

Among the All-Americans back for Mary Wise’s 25th year is 6-foot-5 middle Rhamat Alhassan, the reigning AVCA Freshman of the Year and reigning AVCA National Player of the Week, who turned 19 on Monday. Also returning are junior opposite Alex Holston, reigning SEC player of the year; and senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino. Senior middle Simone Antwi was an honorable mention All-American.

The Gators swept the Wahine en route to the 2006 Hawaiian Airlines Classic title, the last time the teams met. Florida is one of five programs to hold an edge in the series with Hawaii at 4-2, including a 3-1 win in the 2003 NCAA championship semifinal, a Wahine team with All-Americans Lily Kahumoku, Kanoe Kamana’o and Kim Willoughby.

While Florida hasn’t been in Hawaii in nine seasons, the Wahine did play against a Gator during their European training trip. Competing for the Slovenian junior national team was senior hitter Ziva Recek.

Wise is the third winningest active Division I coach, trailing Penn State’s Russ Rose (1,165-180) and Hawaii’s Dave Shoji (1,155-197), with an 827-151 record overall, 746-88 at Florida. At age 21, she became the youngest NCAA coach in history when she took her first head coach job at Iowa State immediately after graduating from Purdue.

No. 16 Hawaii (5-1)

The Rainbow Wahine returned to practice Tuesday with renewed purpose after Sunday’s loss to then-No. 25 UCLA. The Bruins had exposed several weaknesses that led to Hawaii’s eight-match home streak (dating back to last season) being snapped.

The main concern is to find a second steady outside hitter who would play all six rotations and could “pass, hit and block,” Shoji said. He’d prefer not to move junior Nikki Taylor to the left from the right-side position, where she had been doing so well — two consecutive Big West player of the week honors — which leaves senior Tai Manu-Olevao and freshmen McKenna Granato and Casey Castillo as options.

Also being considered is moving sophomore Megan Huff, a converted middle who has trained on the right-side since last season. Senior Olivia Magill appears entrenched at middle, but the second middle slot continues to be a battle between sophomore Emily Maglio and junior transfer Annie Mitchem, and “they’ll have to beat each other out,” Shoji said.

The setting position — junior setter Tayler Higgins and sophomore Kendra Koelsch — continues to be under a microscope, with neither being as consistent as Hawaii needs.

“The best thing about Sunday was the comeback in Game 4,” Shoji said. “And how we were able to close out Game 2. We were exposed but still came close to forcing a fifth game. Then who knows what would have happened?

“Florida will be a good test, but right now all I’m concerned with is San Diego State.“

Eastern Washington (4-3)

Changing latitude changed the attitude for the Eagles when it came to success. EWU left Berkeley, Calif., 0-3 but had an easier time in the Big Easy, going 3-0 to win the New Orleans Invitational.

Leading the way is senior hitter Allie Schumacher (3.14 kps), a former club teammate of Wahine senior Olivia Magill who is coming off a double-double (12 kills, career-high 19 digs) against Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday. Senior middle Alexis Wesley and freshman hitter Jessica Gilbert were named NOI all-tournament.

Fifteen Eagles have seen playing time as coach Wade Benson mixes six freshmen into the lineup, including Ahuna, the 2013 BIIF player of the year. Sophomore defensive specialist Ashlee Vaoifi (Mililani) injured her knee in preseason camp and is not expected to be cleared to play for a few more weeks. She did not make the trip.

Junior hitter Sophie Miller was a teammate of Wahine Megan Huff at Beamer High in Federal Way, Wash.

Benson is in his 10th season at EWU (168-76), a split career at the Cheney, Wash., school from 2000 to 2006 and back since 2013.

The Eagles’ last visit was in 2007. Picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky, they are 0-4 against Hawaii.

San Diego State (1-5)

Former Wahine All-American and two-time national player of the year Collins-Parker is in her seventh year on Montezuma Mesa. The Aztecs are 3-39 against the Rainbow Wahine all-time, but Collins-Parker has never beaten her alma mater, whether it was while coaching at UNLV, Cornell or now San Diego State.

The Aztecs were picked to finish sixth in the MWC but might struggle to reach that with junior setter Hailey Jones getting used to D-I. Jones was a teammate at Irvine Valley College with Wahine Annie Mitchem the past two seasons as the Lasers won consecutive state championships.

Already making an impact is Pepperdine transfer Emma Fuzie, a junior middle who had 11 kills against Oregon State and hit .562. Showing early promise as well is redshirt freshman middle Deja Harris, who put down a team-high 12 kills last Saturday against the Beavers.

Junior middle Baylee Little leads the team in kills (3.0 kps) and aces (5). Freshman hitter Alexandra Psoma, a Greek national, is second at 2.7 kps.

Sophomore hitter Alexis Cage didn’t play against Hawaii when the Aztecs visited last season, missing the first 10 matches with an injury. She is the daughter of former SDSU great Michael Cage, who went on to a 15-year career in the NBA.