HONOLULU — Oahu’s North Shore, once a hotbed of high-level collegiate volleyball, did not pass up a rare opportunity to support the sport’s return.

Some 2,000 enthusiasts turned out last Friday to see the No. 4 Hawaii men’s volleyball team play a free intrasquad scrimmage at BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center in Laie.

“We don't get to see men's volleyball at that level for the community,” Brandyn Akana, BYUH’s campus director for sports and activities, told Spectrum News this week. “The North Shore, we love our volleyball. And so that was a big treat for the school, the community.”

BYUH was a power in women’s volleyball for decades. It won eight national titles in the NAIA in the 1980s and 1990s and two more after moving to NCAA Division II in the late 1990s. BYUH shut down its athletics programs in 2017, but has successfully maintained the 4,500-seat Cannon Center; it hosted the likes of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz there for training camp over the last two years.

“We tried to get them out (here) last fall,” Akana said of UH. “They were looking at maybe doing an exhibition game, but it kind of fell through. So Charlie (UH coach Wade) reached out and wanted to bring the guys out (during spring break).

“Man, those guys put on a show,” Akana added.

Wade’s Rainbow Warriors were on a bye week and had limited practice availability at the Stan Sheriff Center as the UH women’s volleyball team hosted spring matches. Wade decided to take the opportunity for an excursion.

“We didn't want to just beat on them the whole week,” Wade said on Tuesday. “So, (we) got a chance to … take a little time off and then go do something that was a little bit more relaxing. And, you know, still got some volleyball in.”

The Rainbow Warriors (19-2, 2-0 Big West) were coming off a loss to a top-five opponent in USC in the finale of the Outrigger Invitational on March 15. The team held a practice at the Cannon Center on Thursday and Friday hosted about 150 kids for a clinic on Friday morning.

“It was amazing,” setter Tread Rosenthal said. “It was good to just get a little time away from here and just get our minds reset a little bit. They got a beautiful house up there for us, and a lot of the fans from the North Shore got to see us play in person, which is pretty cool. So it was more of a mental break. And just now, we're now ready to work.”

UH, which got in an early Big West series with UC Irvine, is back in action in conference play against a frequently overlooked but dangerous opponent in No. 11 UC San Diego (16-4, 2-0).

The Tritons enter the Friday-Saturday series having won seven straight.

UH owns more wins against UCSD, 64, than any other opponent in a head-to-head series. But the Tritons have registered a win over UH in three of the last four years, including a split against the ‘Bows at LionTree Arena last spring.

Wade cautioned that UCSD, led by third-year coach Brad Rostratter, can play up and up with any of the nation’s elite. The Tritons took a set off defending national champion UCLA on Jan. 23 and won in five at then-No. 8 Stanford on March 1.

“They actually have a better setter. They picked up a transfer (Bryce Dvorak) from Pepperdine, who's a really good player, super aggressive, really tough serve,” Wade said. “So they'll be a handful, for sure.”

With a win in either match this weekend, UH can register its fourth straight 20-win season, and seventh under Wade.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.