Fifteen months after departing, Hawaii’s Jace Olsen reintroduced himself to his former volleyball team with a career-best performance.

Olsen slammed a career-high 14 kills to power the Rainbow Warriors to a 20-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 victory over Penn State before 1,726 in the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday night.

The Warriors, who improved to 2-0, will meet UCLA tonight for the title in this Outrigger Volleyball Invitational. The Bruins also are unbeaten in this three-night round robin.

"It’s like a family reunion," said Olsen, who transferred from Penn State at the end of his sophomore season in the summer of 2012. "I played with five of the six (PSU) starters. It’s great they get to come out to my home now."

UH coach Charlie Wade designated Olsen as the Warriors’ floor captain for the match.

"I knew he was going to play well," Wade said.

Penn State defeated UH in last year’s Outrigger.

"For me to come out here and beat them on the home floor, it shows my loyalty to this crowd," Olsen said. "They back me up so much out here. It’s incredible. It’s a great feeling."

Through training camp, Olsen was among six players competing for one of the two left-side positions. He claimed a berth with powerful hitting and active defense in exhibition matches against Canada’s Thompson Rivers a week ago.

On Friday night, Olsen found points with a sinking 27-foot crossing shot that managed to land a foot in front of the right sideline.

His technique? "It’s a secret," Olsen said, smiling. "If that gets out, it’s not going to be my shot anymore."

He then offered credit to setter Joby Ramos.

"Joby is putting the ball up in a nice spot," Olsen said.

UH’s pin attackers also benefit from accurate passing, which makes quick middle sets an option. With opposing middles forced to stay put, the pin hitters often are facing single blocks.

"They’re getting so much commit in the middle, it opens it up on the outside," Olsen said. "I’m a pretty big boy. It opens it up for the cross-court (shot)."

UH’s other left-side hitter, Siki Zarkovic, also took advantage of the single coverage. Zarkovic pounded a career-high 22 kills in 38 swings and hit .421. Olsen, who committed only three attack errors, hit .400.

Wade also made several adjustments to create better matchups.

In the first set, Penn State’s best attacker, 6-foot-8 Aaron Russell, was hitting across from 6-foot Ramos.

Wade moved the rotation to change the faceoff, then used one turn to place 6-4 setter Jennings Franciskovic in the front row in place of Ramos.

In the fourth set, Wade moved the rotation three spots, with opposite Hendrik Mol facing Russell. Mol started that set in place of Brook Sedore.

"We spun it three times," Wade said, "and got totally different matchups in the fourth set."

Mol was able to tip several shots, and Zarkovic made some timely defensive plays. Zarkovic finished with six digs.

"The changes really worked out," Wade said.

UCLA sweeps Ohio State

A night after going the distance against Penn State, UCLA needed only 75 minutes to put away Ohio State 25-14, 25-23, 25-21.

Once again, 7-foot opposite Robert Page led the way, burying a match-high 12 kills. Page also collaborated on four of the Bruins’ seven blocks and produced four digs.

Andrew Lutz led the Buckeyes with nine kills, but hit only .208.

NO. 14 HAWAII DEF. NO. 11 PENN STATE, 20-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21

NITTANY LIONS (0-2, 0-2 OUTRIGGER)

WARRIORS (2-0, 2-0 OUTRIGGER)

Key — s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills plus blocks plus aces). Service Aces — Penn State 5 (A. Russell 4, Goodell). Hawaii 3 (Sedore 2, West). Service errors — Penn State 10 (Goodell 4, A.Russell 3, Hammond, P.Russell, Parik). Hawaii 10 (Sedore 4, Ramos 3, Olsen 3). Assists — Penn State 55 (Hammond 52, A.Russell 2, Curry). Hawaii 56 (Ramos 48, Kanetake 3, Zarkovic 2, Franciskovic 2, Averill). T — 2:13. Officials — Dickson Chun, Ernie Ho. A — 1,726.