There was so much riding on one serve. The individual dual. The team match. Hawaii’s lopsided history with USC in beach volleyball.

And, for Rainbow Wahine freshman Paige Dreeuws, a personal challenge to be tough mentally and be even tougher on serve on Saturday. Some of the pressure was off with Dreeuws and partner, fifth-year senior Hannah Zalopany, when gaining match point at 14-6 against USC seniors Jenna Belton-Jo Kremer in the Outrigger Resorts Invitational.

Still, with the match between the No. 5 SandBows and No. 3 Women of Troy knotted at 2-2, the crowd was able to focus solely on the Flight 5 court, and Hawaii seeking just its second win over USC in 14 tries, Dreeuws went for it. It was a walk-off ace, one that clinched the 3-2 victory for the SandBows and capped an impressive rally after they had dropped the first set at all five flights against the three-time defending national champions.

With the St. Patrick’s Day parade passing by on Kalakaua Avenue, Hawaii joined the celebration of ending an eight-match losing streak against USC. The SandBows gave fourth-year head coach Jeff Hall his first career win in six meetings with the Women of Troy and the program’s first win since 2012.

“We needed that,” said Zalopany, whose own tough serving dominated the 21-23, 21-14, 15-6 win. “It’s been so long since we beat them. SC is such a great team, but we had a little more in us at the end.

“I’m so proud of Paige, a true freshman. For her to go into that moment, be confident and go after it … she went back there and served like she wanted to win. It paid off.”

Hawaii (10-3) finished the first day of the weekend event the only undefeated team at 4-0. The SandBows, who opened with a 5-0 sweep of unranked Nebraska, capped it with a 4-1 victory over No. 12 Grand Canyon; the lone loss was by Dreeuws-Zalopany at No. 5.

USC (10-6) went 3-1, not dropping a set in sweeps of the Huskers (3-7) and Antelopes (6-7). Today’s competition includes a 9:45 a.m. rematch between Hawaii and USC.

“I’ll take any win, but it’s always special over a team of that caliber,” Hall said. “They’ve been what everybody is trying to achieve.

“For us to go down in all five (dropping the first set) is a testament to the resilience of this team. We got big wins from our rookies and we’re going to have to rely on them in key moments the rest of the season. Let’s do it again Sunday and then I can really enjoy the weekend.”

The dual was like a ping-pong match with USC winning at Flight 1, Hawaii answering at Flight 4, USC responding at Flight 2 and Hawaii at Flight 3, all within minutes of each other.

Right after freshman Lea Monkhouse’s cut shot gave her and sophomore Morgan Martin the 11-21, 21-16, 15-9 victory at Flight 3, they scurried to join the swelling crowd at Court 5 where Dreeuws-Zalopany were dominating Set 3.

“We were relaxed,” Dreeuws said. “The first game was really close and in Set 2 ‘Zap’ got a ton of aces and we were up 11-4, 20-10.

“The coaches have said for us to go for it, get the point and end it. I’m so excited that I did it.”

Of USC’s five losses, three have been 3-2. The Women of Troy have lost more this season than in the previous three years combined.

“I don’t really know what happened, especially since we won all five of the first sets,” USC coach Anna Collier said. “I thought we were in control of the match. Then we lost three of the second sets and it looked like the wheels fell off.

“It seemed like the energy wasn’t where it should be, that the communication wasn’t where it should be. Once that breaks down, it’s hard to get it back in the middle of a match. We get (Hawaii) again tomorrow and the focus really is on our side. I truly believe we’re one of the best teams in the country.”