ROMEOVILLE, Ill. >> When pushed to the limit, the No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team responded in a big way.

After suffering their first set loss and then trailing 16-9 in the third set, the Rainbow Warriors went on a rampage. Led by the veteran players, Hawaii outscored Lewis 17-8 to take the third set. This set the tone for the rest of the match and potentially the entire year.

The Rainbow Warriors (6-0) battled for a 20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23 victory over the No. 5 Lewis Flyers (3-2) at Neil Carey Arena, despite key outside hitter Colton Cowell did not play due to injury.

“I liked the way we battled back,” freshman outside hitter Chaz Galloway said. “In that third set when we were down, we came back, and that meant everything for everyone. We were able to see how good we are when pushed. Even with Colton out, other players came in and were ready to play. Guys can come off the bench and contribute.”

With Cowell out, the All-Americans stepped up to the plate.

Rado Parapunov had a match-high 22 kills, while adding 10 digs, four aces and four blocks. Throughout the match, the senior opposite was the most threatening player on the floor.

Not to be upstaged, redshirt senior Patrick Gasman added seven kills (.429 hitting percentage), four aces and six blocks (two solo) and junior libero Gage Worlsey had 13 digs and a .955 pass percentage.

Top performances from elite players are expected, but Hawaii’s depth also shined in the match. Multiple younger players exceeded expectations for their first time on the road.

“We had a lot of guys on the floor tonight that were playing in their first road match ever,” coach Charlie Wade said. “This team has not travelled. We have first-year, second-year guys who have never been on the road and never had to play good teams in an environment like this that is loud and kind of hostile.

“We’re thrilled with a number of performances. We had to go down the bench a little further than expected, but some guys really stepped up.”

Galloway tallied eight kills, five digs and three blocks in his first time on the road, while sophomore outside Filip Humler had six kills, a .923 pass percentage, five digs and three blocks.

Redshirt sophomore middle Max Rosenfeld added two kills, a .667 hitting percentage, an ace and two blocks. Setters Jakob Thelle and Brett Sheward dished out 20 and 18 assists.

These statistics do not show how composed the younger players stayed even though this was the closest match Hawaii has had all year.

Many teams would crumble when missing a top player, experiencing its first set loss and trailing throughout matches. The Rainbow Warriors played confident volleyball instead.

“We’re striving to be the type of team that brushes (losses) off, uses it as motivation for the next set and does not dwell on the past,” Rosenfeld said. “It’s great to see guys like James (Anastassiades) and (Brett) Sheward come in. It’s a testament to our offseason work. It’s important to use our depth.”

The Flyers did not give the match easily.

Junior Kyle Bugee (10 kills, five aces) ripped off four consecutive aces in the third set, which forced Hawaii to fight for the come-from-behind victory.

Redshirt senior outside hitter Ryan Coenen led the Flyers with 12 kills, six digs and five blocks, and Tyler Mitchem had seven kills and eight blocks.

Lewis made the Rainbow Warriors work to stay undefeated, but that was a welcome challenge. It may also be one they face at the end of the year.

“This is what we train for,” Galloway said. “We trust our training, trust our coaches, trust the players that are around us. We don’t worry about the crowd, the other team or the weather. We play our volleyball.

“We played (Lewis) last (year) in the national semifinal. If we’re fortunate enough, we’d like to see them back playing them at the end of the year,” Wade said.