Boulder, CO (U-WIRE) -- The opening match of the four-team sub-regional of the NCAA women's volleyball tournament in Fort Collins will pit two teams with antipodal feelings about their placement in the tourney.

Colorado will meet Hawaii, the tournament's overall No. 3 seed, at Moby Arena on Thursday at 5 p.m. It's the 13th time in 14 seasons the Buffs have made the NCAA tournament.

CU (14-13) is simply thrilled to be invited to the dance. Following the Buffs sweep of Iowa State last Wednesday, CU head coach Pi'i Aiu indicated to the media that he felt his team had to win its final match, at Kansas, to be considered for the postseason party.

CU dropped that match on Saturday, but still received the invitation on Sunday.

"I was surprised," said CU right-side hitter Allie Griffin, who was a first-team selection to the All-Big 12 team announced later that day. "We were really upset that our season had the potential to be over, but now that we have our senior [Allison Barnes] for another week it's an exciting time for us."

Griffin finished fifth in the conference, averaging 4.27 kills per game. CU setter Ashley Nu'u was named All-Big 12 honorable mention.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Rainbow Wahine, who will face CU in the first round. Hawaii finished the season undefeated at 28-0, and at the time the NCAA Selection Committee filled in their brackets they were ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Although Hawaii slipped to No. 2 in the AVCA rankings released Monday, the Wahine are understandably miffed at having to play their first-round match on the road.

"I talked to Dave Shoji, their coach, on Sunday and they're very upset, and probably rightly so," said Aiu. "They go undefeated in the season, and they get sent away from home for the first round."

Aiu suggested that he wouldn't have minded having to play the match in his home state of Hawaii. He said he has a lot of friends who are huge followers of the Rainbow Wahine.

"I've been getting calls from people back in Hawaii all day -- both supportive and non-supportive," said the coach.

Aiu feels his team has one clear advantage over Hawaii in that the Buffs have been playing Big 12 opponents while the Rainbow Wahine have played lesser competition in the Western Athletic Conference.

And while he expects Hawaii to arrive in Fort Collins smoking mad at their perceived snub, Aiu doesn't think that will play a major role in determining the outcome of the match.

"It doesn't bother or worry me at all," he said. "They're going to have to go out and play the match and we're going to have to go out there and play the match, and once the first ball is served all that stuff is behind you."

If anything, Aiu feels the circumstances of Hawaii's unexpected trip to Colorado could serve as a distraction that could potentially benefit his own team.

"They're upset that they have to come here -- it's cold, they're going to slip in the parking lot and fall -- they're not going to be happy," said Aiu. "I think it's a good situation for us."

Also participating in the sub-regional are host Colorado State (26-3) and Purdue (16-14) who will meet in Thursday's nightcap. Thursday's winners will meet on Friday at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the regional semifinals in Green Bay, Wis.

(C) 2004 Colorado Daily via U-WIRE