Morning was broken with a thump-thump-thump.

"It was crazy," libero Kolby Kanetake said of the 5 a.m. awakening.

The Rainbow Warriors were roused from their sweet dreams to learn and perform marching drills in the chill of a Monday morning. It was a wipe-the-makapiapia start to the final day of training camp at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The Warriors open the season with Thursday’s exhibition against Canada’s Thompson River in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure," middle blocker Taylor Averill said of the rude awakening from Air Force drill instructors. "When I heard the banging, I thought, for sure, I was late for something. I was actually in a good dream. I was super deep in sleep. The next thing you know, you hear banging."

The players were ordered to stand at attention outside their apartment unit, then to go inside to change into workout clothes.

Outside hitter Johann Timmer wore rubber slippers. Middle blocker Zach Radner mixed-and-matched sliders with a hoodie. Outside hitter Scott Hartley wore sweat pants.

"I didn’t bring enough clothes," Hartley admitted. "I was sleeping in this."

Opposite attacker Brook Sedore, meanwhile, had to fully dress after spending the night in his birthday suit.

"I was the one who was told to put boxers on," Sedore said. "They told me: ‘I don’t want to see that white butt.’ "

For the next 30 minutes, they pirouetted and marched.

When Averill failed to click his heels, he had to do 10 push-ups. The punishments were eased because of Sunday’s strenuous workouts and the proximity of the opening match.

The session ended with a last-man-standing contest, a version of Simon Says, in which the winner is the one who performs the steps without a mistake.

Sedore, a Canadian, out-performed outside hitter Siki Zarkovic, a Serbian, in the final round.

After that, the Warriors performed 20 burpees — a combination of squat, push-up and vertical jump.

"I was happy that was the worst of the punishments," Hartley said.

UH coach Charlie Wade said: "You could tell they were taking it seriously and trying their best."

The morning routine is usually offered to visitors who want to experience a glimpse of military training.

Wade said his wish is the players will relate the exercise to the discipline needed in volleyball matches.

"I was listening to the drill instructor, and he was giving very specific instructions in how they should hold their hands and how they stand," Wade said. "That’s very similar to what we do. When we call a blocking scheme, you have to know what it is and how to execute. You just can’t go, ‘my bad,’ and get away from that. You have to pay attention to details and be personally responsible for your actions, for being in the right place, for being in the right moment to execute. We’re not asking them to line up and march. But we are asking them to be really disciplined in the moment."

Wade usually has a detailed itinerary for trips. For the stay on base, the schedule was vague, with ballpark times for meals and practices.

"We wanted to see who could handle without having all the information and everything perfect," Wade said.

"We wanted to see who could line up when they didn’t know what time the meals were or when there was less-than-perfect amount of rest. How many times are you stuck in traffic and trying to make it to the match on time, and you don’t have the full amount of time to work out? Can you still go in and make it happen and play your best? We wanted to see who can handle when you get thrown a curveball."

Wade added: "Our whole goal coming out of here is: How do we become a better team? I think we are."