AUSTIN, Texas — Coming off its first losses of the season, the top-ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team left no doubt about its response on Day 1 of the First Point Collegiate Challenge.

UH swept Fairleigh Dickinson in a quick morning matchup at the Austin Convention Center, then did the same in the evening against Queens. In the latter, the Rainbow Warriors tied their program record of 17 aces set back in the sideout scoring era in 1995, and set a new Big West men’s volleyball record in the process.

What You Need To Know

  • The No. 1 Hawaii men's volleyball team swept Fairleigh Dickinson and Queens on Friday in a rare two-match day to improve to 6-2 on the season

  • Against Queens in the Austin Convention Center, UH tied its single-match record for service aces of 17, set in 1995 against UC Irvine back in the sideout scoring era

  • Friday's matches featured the return of setter Jakob Thelle and middle Guilherme Voss from COVID health and safety protocols

  • UH takes on No. 14 Stanford at 2 p.m. Hawaii time on Saturday to complete the tournament in a match televised on Spectrum Sports

Amazingly, UH had only three service errors to go with the 17 aces as they located their serves in play 96% of the time against the Royals, while still blistering the ball at full speed. Spyros Chakas dealt a Big West individual record of seven aces, while setter Jakob Thelle, who made a return from a two-match absence due to COVID health and safety protocols, added five.

“The three service errors (was more impressive than the aces), because that’s more in our control,” UH coach Charlie Wade said in a post-match interview with Hawaii media. “It was an impressive performance, for sure.”

When points lasted longer than the initial serve, opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias was UH’s go-to player. He had 19 kills on 26 swings without an error between the two matches on the day, hitting .731, and was in on eight blocks.

The Rainbows scored the first eight points of the match against Queens and never let up on the Royals (4-3), winning 25-10, 25-11, 25-8. UH led 19-3 in the third frame.

UH (6-2) faces No. 14 Stanford (6-2) at 2 p.m. Hawaii time Saturday in a matchup being televised on Spectrum Sports.

UH sorely missed Thelle, middle Guilherme Voss and hitter Chaz Galloway in losses on Saturday and Monday at undefeated Ball State. It now has Thelle, Voss, and hitter Filip Humler back, but Galloway is still out for an undetermined amount of time with a foot injury.

Thelle made a clear impact in his return between his serving, setting and attacking himself on second-touch balls. His trademark service runs were deadly in setting opponents back; he had nine aces on the day and forced many more out-of-system balls and overpasses.

“Today we executed at a high level,” Thelle said on Friday’s post-match interview televised on Spectrum Sports. “We’re not going for aces. We’re going for good runs and being efficient at the service line.”

UH surpassed the rally scoring record for serves in the game it set last month with 14 against Edward Waters.

In the morning matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson (0-3), UH stormed to a 25-10, 25-14, 25-14 sweep, hitting .403 to the Knights’ .038. Mouchlias put down eight kills on 12 swings with no errors to lead UH offensively. Spyros Chakas added 11 kills on 23 swings, with five errors.

The last time the Rainbow Warriors played two matches in one day was on Jan. 14, 2018, against Grand Canyon and Lincoln Memorial in the Grow the Game Challenge.

“No doubt,” Wade said on whether all of Friday’s quick points will help his team stay fresh for the Stanford matchup. “But I think these guys are conditioned enough that if the sets were more competitive, we’d be fine for tomorrow.

“I’ve never been opposed to playing two on the same day, especially if you can spread them out like this. It’s something we haven’t done very often, but I’m sure we will do again in the future.”