The first three points scored in Game 1 of Wednesday night's match effectively set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Two consecutive Hawaii (2-1) kills, followed by a service ace from star Hawaii outside hitter, Lauri Hakala.

No. 7 Hawaii downed No. 11 Penn State, 3-0 (19-30, 21-30, 32-34) in the Nittany Lions' opening game of the Outrigger Invitational tournament, in Honolulu.

The match began at midnight on Wednesday.

"We have a tough time starting matches and whenever you set that tone, it's hard to pull out of it," senior co-captain Matt Proper said.

In the Hawaii match, the Warriors hit .433 with 18 kills in Game 1.

The Lions (1-2, 1-0 EIVA) were only able to muster half as many kills, 9, while hitting .292.

"The guys gotta understand that they have to be ready to play from the beginning of the match," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said.

Freshman middle hitter Max Holt had five blocks, but only had three kills.

Matt Anderson, a freshman outsider hitter, led the Lions with eight kills and hit .304.

Sophomore setter Luke Murray replaced senior Dan O'Dell in the middle of Game 1 and helped provide a much-needed boost in passing.

Murray had 33 assists and, by using a deceptive fake set, which he quickly turned into a spike, notched four kills.

"Hawaii is a very tough-serving team, and they have quick middles and a very balanced attack from all areas," Murray said.

With two back-to-back kills from junior middle hitter Alex Gutor and senior co-captain Nate Meerstein, Penn State took a 19-16 lead in Game 3, forcing a Warrior timeout.

Following the timeout and a service error on each team, Hawaii mounted a comeback, earning five of the next seven points to even the score, 22-22.

The teams would trade points until the Warriors reached "Aloha Ball" -- match point as it's known in Hawaii -- with the score at 28-29.

The Lions would go on to force five Aloha Balls before Hawaii finally put them away, 32-34.

The Lions hit a measly .234 for the match, while the Warriors hit .325 en route to tallying 61 kills.

"This match was a microcosm of our first three matches," Pavlik said. "I'm disappointed that we come out here to this prestigious tournament and this fantastic facility and crowd and look that bad."

Last night at 9 p.m. EST, the Lions faced No. 5 UCLA in their second contest of the Outrigger -- the game ended too late for this edition. The Bruins (2-3) were swept by No. 9 Ohio State, 3-0, (30-27, 32-30, 30-28) on Wednesday night.

The Lions take on Ohio State (6-0), a team they defeated twice last season, tonight at 9 EST, in their final game of the Outrigger.

"I know they're frustrated and their confidence isn't very high right now," Pavlik said.

"But hopefully they'll pull themselves out of it."