Before heading back on the road, Hawaii took care of business on campus — on and off the court.

Now back in first place in the Big West women’s volleyball standings following a sweep of last week’s homestand, the Rainbow Wahine departed Tuesday for the third of five conference road trips with matches at UC Riverside on Thursday and UC Davis on Saturday.

A trip split between southern and northern California comes with its inherent challenges, but the Wahine are well versed in preparing for and dealing with the rigors of the road.

“Coming in, you know that part of Hawaii volleyball (is) you have to travel, usually more than other teams,” UH outside hitter Kendra Ham said. “Getting your academics down and getting as much sleep as you can on the road are crucial points in being able to play the way you want to play and just focus on the games.

“Taking care of everything at home before you even go on the road is really important.”

The Rainbow Wahine (12-6, 9-1 Big West) handled their on-court duties in impressive fashion last weekend with home wins over Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara to reclaim the solo lead in the Big West standings midway through the conference schedule.

They’ll get an earlier than usual start to the week when they face UC Riverside (4-16, 2-9) on Thursday at SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif. They’ll hop another flight on Friday in advance of Saturday’s game at UC Davis (9-12, 4-7).

The Wahine split their last California adventure two weeks ago, with lengthy bus rides between Los Angeles, Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo. They opened that weekend with a five-set win over CSU Bakersfield, then fell in four sets at Cal Poly about 24 hours later in their lone conference loss to date. This week’s trip is the only one of the five broken up by a travel day.

“It’s kind of similar to (the last) trip in the sense that we won’t be in the hotel much and it’s kind of mentally grueling because (we) won’t get as good a sleep just with the different traveling we have to do,” outside hitter Riley Wagoner said. “I think these are the two hardest and they’re back to back.”

Of course, making the round trip between Hawaii and California every other week isn’t without its benefits.

“I kind of like the flying,” said Ham, who began her career at Cal Poly, “and, hey, rack up your miles.”

The second half of the Big West schedule cycles back to the top with rematches of the opening weekend of conference play when UH swept UC Davis and UC Riverside at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center just over a month ago.

Wagoner paced a 25-22, 25-14, 25-21 win over UC Davis with 12 kills and 11 digs on Sept. 23. A night later, freshman Caylen Alexander put away 15 kills without an error in 27 attempts and UH hit a collective .414 in a 25-17, 25-23, 25-13 sweep of Riverside.

The Wahine would win the next five in a row as well before the streak ran out of steam on the back end of the last road trip.

Their stay out of first place lasted exactly a week with a quick sweep of Cal State Northridge and Saturday’s four-set win over UC Santa Barbara to break a tie atop the standings.

Wagoner rebounded from the rough finish to the last road trip by hitting a combined .359 against CSUN and UCSB with 33 kills against just five errors in 78 attempts. While the junior’s attacks usually come from the left pin, she attacked from the back row and the right side as well in Saturday’s win in working with setter Kate Lang, the Big West’s leader in assists per set (10.25).

“It’s just whatever is open, or however the play flows,” said Wagoner, who ranks second with 4.06 kills per set in conference matches.

UC Davis opened the week with a four-set win at UC Riverside on Tuesday. Outside hitters Jade Light and Demari Webb each had 10 kills for UC Davis in the 14-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 victory. Middle blocker Isabella Scarlett led UC Riverside with 12 kills on 19 attempts (.571).

Although the Wahine and Highlanders enter Thursday’s match on opposite ends of the standings, the Wahine are looking to carry the intensity that powered them through last week’s homestand into the road trip.

“It doesn’t matter where the (opponent) is in our conference,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said. “You have to respect every team.”

BIG WEST WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

At SRC Arena; Riverside, Calif.

Hawaii (12-6, 9-1 Big West) vs. UC Riverside (4-16, 2-9)

>> When: Thursday, 2 p.m.

>> TV: none

>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM