The temperature for Provo, Utah, was the same as the Hawaii volleyball team Saturday night — 2 below — following the Warriors’ 25-21, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20 loss to host Brigham Young in the Smith Fieldhouse.

The Warriors lost both matches in this season-opening series between Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball teams.

But the Warriors played better in Saturday’s rematch against a BYU team that is expected to challenge for the national championship.

The Warriors were in control for most of the third set, and had late surges in the second and fourth sets. But the Warriors committed too many untimely mistakes. In the fourth set, the Warriors whittled a seven-point deficit to four three times. Four of the Cougars’ final seven points came on UH service errors.

"Overall, we played better," UH coach Charlie Wade said. "We had some good service turns that put some pressure on them."

For the second night in a row, the Warriors had few answers for BYU outside hitter Taylor Sander, who is considered the nation’s best attacker.

Sander hit .500, slamming 18 kills (against three errors) in 30 swings. He committed four errors during the two-match series for a hitting percentage of .519.

"Taylor Sander is legit," Wade said. "He’s certainly the front-runner for player of the year. When we get them out of system, a guy like Taylor Sander can bail them out. You can feed him the ball and he can do pretty much anything he wants. He’s got a lot of range. He has a lot of good shots. He’s a good player."

The Cougars’ success came from an ensemble cast. Middle blocker Russ Lavaja had his handprints on 11 blocks. Josue Rivera played only the final two sets, but finished with eight kills and no errors in 16 swings. Freshman opposite Ben Patch had nine kills.

The Warriors tried numerous combinations with limited success. Sophomore outside hitter Brook Sedore’s first career start resulted in three kills, six errors and negative-.250 hitting.

Johann Timmer came off the bench to serve four points in the third set, including two on aces.

JP Marks, who moved to opposite this season, led the Warriors with 14 kills. The Warriors also managed to develop a quick attack from middles Nick West (nine kills) and Davis Holt (five kills, .571 percentage).

"We’re still making too many unforced errors," Wade said. "Our defense has to get better. Our blocking has to get better. We’re a little streaky. But we’re getting better."