If the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team wishes to win the regular-season title, it will need to succeed at the next level.

The Warriors departed on Wednesday ahead of road matches against Brigham Young on Friday and Saturday nights. Smith Fieldhouse is 4,549 feet above sea level.

UH coach Charlie Wade downplayed the purported effects of high altitude’s thin air, such as dry skin and volleyballs that sail.

"The net’s the same height, the court’s the same size," Wade said.

Wade’s focus is on winning both matches to close the regular season. The Warriors are 18-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, a half-match ahead of second-place UC Irvine (18-3). With Irvine an overwhelming favorite against UC San Diego on Saturday, the Warriors will need to beat BYU twice to win the regular-season title and earn the home-court advantage through the MPSF playoffs. Irvine holds the tie-breaker advantage over UH.

The Warriors already have clinched at least second place. They hold the tie-breaker over third-place Pepperdine (17-4).

"We still control our own destiny," UH libero Kolby Kanetake said. "That’s really important. We don’t have to worry about anybody else. We know whatever we do is going to put us where we go."

Two years ago, BYU defeated UH in the MPSF quarterfinals at Smith, an outcome spiced with controversy.

"We kind of owe them," UH outside hitter Siki Zarkovic said. "Two years ago, we lost in five. We feel an urgency to win."

The Cougars are issuing an average 3,322 tickets per home match. The are 10-2 in Smith this season. A large turnout is expected for Saturday’s senior night.

"Sure, they’ll have a nice crowd," Wade said. "But we’ve played in front of some decent-sized crowds. That’s kind of fun. That’s part of being an athlete, playing in big matches in front of good crowds. There’s nothing wrong with that."

The Warriors will be without reserve outside hitter Hendrik Mol, who missed two matches the past weekend because of an eye infection. Mol is the serving specialist. Against Stanford last week, Scott Hartley was used as the serving specialist. When left-side hitter Kupono Fey struggled in the third set, Hartley, who already served in place of a middle, was not available to replace Fey. Wade said opposite Ryan Leung and Brandon Hiehle can be used as serving specialists.

"We’d love to have Hendrik available, but that’s not the case this week," Wade said.