Hawaii’s first practice of the week included a Texas-sized welcome for two of the Rainbow Warriors volleyball team’s leaders.

The Warriors began preparations for the First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge on Wednesday with setter Jakob Thelle and middle blocker Guilherme Voss back on the court after the duo missed UH’s series at Ball State due to health and safety protocols.

“Just them walking back in our practice and being there, everybody plays better,” UH coach Charlie Wade said in a phone interview from Austin, Texas, site of the two-day event.

“Just having two of the best players in collegiate volleyball, everybody steps up their game and it’s just great them being there.”

Having Thelle and Voss back in the rotation brings the Warriors closer to full strength heading into today’s doubleheader at the Austin Convention Center.

UH (4-2) enters this weekend’s play at No. 1 in the NVA/AVCA Coaches poll and No. 2 in the Off the Block media poll after dropping both matches at Ball State and faces first-year program Fairleigh Dickinson (0-2) today at 7:30 a.m. in the first men’s collegiate event to be held in Texas. After a break, the Warriors return to take on Queens (4-3) at 3 p.m.

The Warriors close their 12-day road trip by taking on No. 14 Stanford (5-2) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

UH outside hitter Chaz Galloway, the team’s leader in kills per set prior to the trip, also sat out the Ball State series with a lower leg injury. Wade said Galloway is “making progress” but expects the sophomore will be out a while longer.

With the all three returning starters off last year’s NCAA title team out of action, the Warriors were swept in Saturday’s series opener at Ball State and dropped the rematch in five sets on Monday.

Wade saw potential long-term benefits in the series with some of the team’s younger players — including setter Jack Walmer and middle Cole Hogland — moving into the starting lineup and others taking on more prominent roles in the attack.

“It’s always different moving from being ‘a guy’ and being ‘The Guy,’ ” Wade said.

Sophomore opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias took a step in that direction on Monday when he put away a career-high 21 kills with no errors in 39 attempts.

“You can’t hit balls for that amount of time in warmups without making an error, let alone with a double- and triple-block in front of you all night,” Wade said. “For him to finish the match with no errors was impressive for sure.”

The Warriors saw a bit of home during their first practice in Austin, with Outrigger Hotels prominently featured in the convention center as a sponsor of the event, which brings men’s collegiate volleyball to Texas for the first time.

UH was initially scheduled to face Kentucky State in today’s opener, but the Thorobreds pulled out of the event due to COVID-19 protocols and were replaced by Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights lost to fellow newcomer Long Island in the program’s debut match on Jan. 25 and were swept by Sacred Heart on Wednesday.

“They’ve got some nice arms, they like to set the bic and it’s men’s volleyball, they’ve got guys that can hit the ball hard and score,” Wade said. “We’re going to have to play well and be more efficient to win.”

UH played Queens, based in Charlotte, N.C., in 2019 and 2020 and has swept all three matches against the Royals. The Warriors also swept two matches at Stanford in 2020 and have won the past six meetings with the Cardinal going back to 2017.

Simply having Stanford on the schedule is significant given that its men’s volleyball program was on the brink of being eliminated by the school last year. UH middle blocker Kyler Presho was a four-year starter at Stanford before joining the Warriors this season as a graduate transfer.

RAINBOW WARRIORS VOLLEYBALL

At Austin Convention Center; Austin, Texas

First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge

Hawaii schedule

>> Today: Hawaii (4-2) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (0-2), 7:30 a.m.; Hawaii vs. Queens (4-3), 3 p.m.

>> Saturday: Hawaii vs. Stanford (5-2), 2 p.m.

>> TV: Spectrum Sports

>> Radio: 1420-AM/92.7-FM (today), 1500-AM (Saturday)