A volleyball goodwill tour that goes back 30-something years looked as good as new Wednesday when Hawaii beat up on Nittaidai, got beat badly in the third, then made a memorable rally to win their exhibition match.

The scores were 25-15, 25-21,14-25, 28-26, before a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,692 that never really got into it until Nittaidai put up some opposition.

The Rainbow Wahine had just three hitting errors after the first two sets. Left-side hitters Jane Croson, who finished with 18 kills, and Emily Hartong (15) were untouchable.

But in the third, Hawaii’s passing and poise took a dive and Nittaidai, particularly Nanami Wasai, found its rhythm. Celebrating wildly, it won going away in the third and erased big deficits twice in the fourth, when the Wahine began to crank up the volume.

The teams were tied at 21, 22 and 23. Nittaidai got to 24 first, and 25 and 26. Croson denied all three set points then, after a spectacular Mita Uiato dig, Hartong went over the block to get UH match point.

Kaela Goodman and Kristiana Tuaniga stuffed it. It was Goodman’s fifth block of the night. Tuaniga and Jade Vorster, the two new faces in the middle, combined for 15 kills and both hit better than .330, as did Hawaii as a team.

But it was the Wahine ballhandling that was surprisingly strong. With Hartong in the passing rotation for the first time, Hawaii more than held its own against Nittaidai’s wicked serves and the Wahine defense was every bit as good the vaunted Japanese team.

“Even though we hit very well, Hawaii dug everything,” Nittaidai coach Ken Nemoto said through an interpreter. “Hawaii did really well against all the fast balls.”

That was the night’s biggest surprise. With three new starters from the team ranked fifth in December’s final poll, the Wahine hit almost at will against a much smaller opponent. But, shockingly, Hawaii also won a bunch of the ballhandling battles.

Emily Maeda, who will be the lone senior in the fall, might have been the best defensive player on the floor and aced set point in the second. Uiato was right with her from the setting position, leaving Nemoto to say — in English — “she should be on the national team.”

The second set was much closer than the first, but mostly because Hawaii’s unfamiliar lineup flailed at times, letting four balls fall to the floor. Nittaidai still could not touch Hartong or Croson, who hit nearly .500 combined the first two sets.

None of it seemed to faze Nittaidai. Its players smiled all the way through the first two sets while their four assistants led cheers and did a group hug by the bench.

The smiles turned to shrieks of joy in the third. Hawaii tweaked its lineup, bringing in Kalei Adolpho — two days into practice after playing basketball. At the same time, Hawaii lost focus and Wasai buried eight kills as Nittaidai evaded the UH block the entire set.

The Wahine went back to their starters in the fourth, and talked themselves into having as much fun as Nittaidai.

“That was an intense game for the spring,” Maeda grinned. “They were really celebrating a lot, especially in the third game when we were down. We told ourselves we can’t let their celebrations get us down. In the fourth game we really tried to implement the energy and talking. I think that’s what carried us through.”

Associate coach Scott Wong led the Wahine, with head coach Dave Shoji in Germany watching son Kawika play for his professional volleyball team. Shoji texted congratulations moments after it was over.

Wong congratulated his team for winning, and especially for passing so well in its first try with a new rotation.

“I was surprised with our passing,” he said. “We passed really well. We weren’t really challenged by their block, but we hit the ball really well.

“The one thing we weren’t good at was the broken plays. That just comes with time together. Over passes and dropped balls, those are things you can train out, that’s real easy. I’d rather have trouble with that now than major things like passing.”

Hawaii plays another exhibition March 23 on Maui against Nebraska, ranked 12th last season. That match, at 2,000-seat War Memorial Gym is sold out. UH starts the season that counts Aug. 24 in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.