The pillow was a little softer.

The sleep was a little more peaceful.

And the vog? What vog?

It was a perfect day as far as Charlie Wade was concerned. The Hawaii men's volleyball coach enjoyed a day off with his young family and savored the first landmark victory of his young head coaching career at Manoa.

Three matches into Wade's inaugural season, the Warriors (2-1) knocked off top-ranked USC in four sets on Saturday, keeping the Outrigger Hotels Invitational title at home for the first time since 2006. It was a victory that was both a validation and a throwing down of the gauntlet as Hawaii prepares to open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play Friday at Stanford.

“;No one would be surprised if Stanford takes over the No. 1 spot in this week's poll,”; Wade said of the Cardinal, No. 3 in the preseason poll. “;They're one of the premier teams in the league. This is how every night is going to be, playing against top-ranked teams.

“;We have to stay focused and do what we do. It's almost cliche to say it's all about serve and pass. But really it is that simple.”;

There is no argument from Trojans coach Bill Ferguson.

“;We weren't very good from the service line,”; he said after the 30-21, 24-30, 30-28, 30-23 loss. “;We didn't put any pressure on them.

“;They only dug two more balls than we did (UH 47, USC 45), but they were converting where we weren't. Their transition game was great. They converted when they needed to.

“;We didn't pass well and made it tough on ourselves. Hawaii played hard and never let up, not when we'd chip away after they jumped out to three-, four-point leads.

“;And Josh Walker is an entirely different player this year.”;

Indeed, Walker, the Warriors' junior hitter, was impressive for three matches en route to the Most Outstanding Player award. He finished with 63 kills, 24 coming in Saturday's win over USC.

Asked when he thought the Warriors would beat the Trojans, Walker said, “;The second after we lost to Penn State (Friday in five).

“;I think this makes a statement.”;

One that likely will be reflected in the next poll. The Warriors were No. 12 in the preseason rankings, but notched wins over Nos. 1 and 10 (Ohio State), with a five-set loss to No. 5 (Penn State).

Walker was joined on the all-tournament team by freshman opposite Jonas Umlauft, who had 47 kills, five aces, 19 digs and six blocks in three matches.

John Klanac of Ohio State, Max Lipsitz and Joe Sunder of Penn State, and Riley McKibbin and Murphy Troy of USC also made the all-tournament team.