It seems fitting that a school known for its aviation program would be done in by the ace last night.

Spurred by opposite attacker Lauri Hakala's eight aces, the University of Hawai'i volleyball team put away Lewis (of Illinois), 30-18, 30-26, 30-23.

A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,675 saw Hakala produce the second-most aces in a match in the program's history. Costas Theocharidis slammed nine aces against UCLA in 2002.

"Sometimes it just goes your way," said Hakala, a third-year senior from Finland.

Hakala had five aces, including four in a row, during a six-serve run in Game 1.

In Game 2, after consecutive aces forced the Flyers to call a timeout, Hakala was replaced by Jim Clar when play resumed.

"That's what happens when you practice," Hakala said of his aces. "There's no magic. I served good the past few matches, and I'd get zero aces. The main thing is I didn't hit it into the net."

Hakala launched his serves off a four-step approach on the right side.

"He had that side-spin, right-to-left curl," UH setter Brian Beckwith said. "It looked like a flying saucer. It was like a knife slicing through. If you looked from behind, it looked like a curveball. It had that right-to-left break, just like a righty pitcher. It's a tough serve."

Lewis libero Myoklai Zerebeckyj had difficulty creating a straight platform with his forearms to pass Hakala's serves. Three of Hakala's aces caromed off of Zerebeckyj's forearms.

Hakala, whose serves can reach speeds of 70 mph, also used a cut serve that dropped in front of the back-row passers.

"Their eyes were kind of large," UH middle blocker Dio Dante said of the Lewis passers. "Lauri can serve it much tougher than that. He was trying to get it in. He ended up serving them off the court. Kudos to him."

Lewis coach Dan Friend said his passers were admittedly "tentative" in the first game.

"Lauri controls his jump serves," Friend said. "He's a guy who serves a ball that moves on you pretty well. He does a nice job of doing different things with the ball. It cuts through. He took a little off a couple of times, so it drops on you. A big difference is it's a little more humid here, so the ball drops a little more. We have to get used to it."

The Warriors scored 13 points on Hakala's 19 serves. Three of his serves resulted in overpasses.

In all, the Warriors scored on 42 of their 88 serves (47 percent). The Flyers scored on 20 of 69 serves (29 percent).

"We'll take that," Wilton said of his team's disruptive serves. "Of course, that's the easiest way to score. So mission accomplished."

The Warriors' tough serves led to erratic passes that kept the Flyers out of system early in the match. Lewis setter Jordan Vidobic often received passes behind the 3-meter line, making it easier for the Warriors to set up their block and back-row defense.

"Our offense struggled," Friend said, noting the Flyers gave away 21 points on attack errors and hit .128. "We passed a little erratic."

The Warriors dominated Game 1, and led 23-13 in Game 2 before calling in the reserves. Eleven Warriors played, and Sean Carney started Game 2 at left-side hitter and Game 3 at setter.

"It got ragged at times because someone kept subbing people in and out," Wilton said, smiling. "That would be me. I did want to get some guys out on the floor. We did play some guys, and we still got to win in three. That's a good thing."

The Warriors were able to create different options. Left-side hitter Eric Kalima and libero Ric Cervantes essentially gave the Warriors two defensive specialists in the same lineup.

When Carney played outside hitter, it led to a 6-2 scheme with two setters.

Jake Schkud was able to fill in for left-side hitter Matt Vanzant in Game 3, boosting the Warriors' front-left attack.

Steven Grgas, who moved from opposite attacker last week, had a chance to play in the middle. Unless he increases his arm strength, Grgas will remain in the middle next year.

The other backup middle blocker, Kyle Klinger, is on volleyball sabbatical this weekend.

"We played some pretty good volleyball at times," Wilton said. "It got a little sketchy at times, too. Maybe it was because there were a few new guys out there."

Hakala said: "The main thing is we beat them in three."

By winning their third in a row, the Warriors improved to 6-13 overall. The rematch is tonight.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.