COLLEGE STATION, Texas >> Dan Fisher could take satisfaction in sixth-ranked Pittsburgh’s production in several facets following the Panthers’ sweep of Hawaii on Saturday.

One number in particular jumped off the stat sheet for Pitt’s 10th-year coach.

Coming off a season-opening loss to No. 25 San Diego on Friday, the Panthers established control from the service line and at the net early in the matchup with the Rainbow Wahine on Day 2 of the Texas A&M Invitational.

But Fisher, who played for the Hawaii men’s program and later served as the Rainbow Warriors’ associate coach, made sure to note the Panthers’ back-row effort in their 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 win.

“Certainly losing a five-setter and with the way we played in the fifth set, we felt like had something to prove offensively. I challenged them offensively and I think we rose to the occasion,” Fisher said.

“But probably just because I know the history and I know how well trained the Hawaii team is, I was just very pleased we outdug them. I don’t think that’s an easy thing to do, ever.”

Pittsburgh’s service pressure kept the Rainbow Wahine offense out of rhythm for much of the match and contributed to a towering Panthers block sending back 12 UH attacks. The Panthers’ floor defense complemented the front line with 45 digs to UH’s 34.

The elements added up to a 93-minute victory for the Panthers and left the Wahine looking to regroup quickly for an early wake-up for the tournament finale today against San Diego.

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UH (0-2) closes the season’s opening weekend by taking on the Toreros (2-0) at 5 a.m. Hawaii time (10 a.m. local time) at Reed Arena.

“Quick turnaround, so we just have to flush it and wake up tomorrow at 5:30 a.m.,” UH middle blocker Amber Igiede said.

The Wahine will take on a sizable San Diego lineup a day after facing a Pitt attack led by heavy-hitting 6-foot-2 outside hitter Valeria Vazquez (12 kills) and 6-foot-5 pin hitters Courtney Buzzerio (nine kills, seven blocks, three aces) and Julianna Dalton (11 kills).

Libero Ashley Browske led Pitt’s defensive effort with 19 digs and middle Serena Gray was in on nine blocks.

“This is what you want, you want to play teams like this,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said of the early-season challenges.

“You want to play better teams that are outside of your conference and get the experience to go into (Big West) season play.”

Pittsburgh opened controlling leads early in all three sets, and the Panthers were able to side-out at a 70% pace (24-for-34) through two sets. UH threatened to extend the match late in the third set with a five-point run to close to 22-21 with freshman Caylen Alexander on the service line.

After a Pitt timeout, Alexander’s next serve landed inches to the wide of the right sideline to end the surge. The Panthers then capped the match with their 12th block and Dalton’s 11th kill, which came after the Pitt defense scrambled for three floor-burn digs to keep the play alive.

“I just think it comes down to consistency,” said UH middle blocker Tiffany Westerberg, who led the Wahine with nine kills. “We had good moments, but we also had bad moments. It’s coming back from the bad moments and tying plays together. Not going high and then a low, because you can’t build momentum like that. We just need to be consistent.”

Pitt hit .330 to UH’s .146 and Ah Mow went deeper into the bench than Friday’s five-set loss to Texas A&M to open the season.

Igiede finished with seven kills with no errors in 17 attempts. UH’s six pin hitters combined for 15 kills in 60 attempts against the sizable Pitt block.

Outside hitter Chandler Cowell and opposite Annika de Goede made their season debuts in the second set. Senior Mylana Byrd shared setting duties with Kate Lang in the third. Riley Wagoner, coming off a 21-kill performance against Texas A&M, finished with five kills and 11 digs.

“There’s just a lot of things we still need to work on collectively, “ Ah Mow said.

“Everybody has things that they’re doing that are helping, and they’re at different times. … It’s just putting all those different things together at one time.”

No. 25 San Diego 3, Texas A&M 0

Katie Lukes put away 12 kills in 17 swings, Breana Edwards added 11 kills and the Toreros held the host Aggies (1-1) to .051 hitting in the sweep.

USD and Hawaii meet in a neutral-site game for the second straight season. The Toreros swept the Wahine last year in the Utah Classic in Salt Lake City.

“We love playing against Hawaii, it’s always such an epic battle,” San Diego coach Jennifer Petrie said. “They’re so scrappy and defensive and relentless in their pursuit. We have to sustain a lot of long rallies.”

Texas A&M closes the tournament by taking on Pitt (1-1).