Before every match, University of Hawai'i teammates implore opposite hitter Lauri Hakala to use voima — the Finnish word for "force" — when he strikes a volleyball.

Last night, the voima was with Finland-raised Hakala, who slammed 16 kills and hit .480 in the Warriors' 30-16, 30-18, 30-15 rout of Douglas College (Canada) in an exhibition before 1,644 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"It was a big turnaround," said setter Brian Beckwith, referring to Hakala's inconsistent hitting in UH's three-game sweep between the teams on Friday. "All we can hope is he can turn it around and not be so much of a roller-coaster ride. We need steadiness at that position."

Hakala is the front-runner to replace opposite hitter Matt Bender, who will not resume practicing for at least five weeks because of torn ligaments in his dislocated left ankle. After Friday's exhibition, UH coach Mike Wilton asked Hakala to not hit cautiously.

"He's a powerful kid," Wilton said. "We tell him: 'Use that blessing you have. Hit high, hard and smart, and you're going to bang a lot of balls off the block.' "

The opposite hitter attacks mostly from the right side, and Hakala, who is 6 feet 1, prefers a running start before hitting. "I don't have the luxury of being big," he said. "Because I'm shorter, I like to take a fast, quick approach and jump forward."

Beckwith said he tries to place sets a few feet in front of Hakala. "When the set gets behind, that's when you start having trouble," Beckwith said.

UH had 10 blocks. The Royals, whose tallest player is the same height as 6-foot-6 Beckwith, had no blocks.

UH middle blockers Dio Dante, Kyle Klinger and Mauli'a LaBarre credited their efficiency to not reaching (moving their arms to the side to deflect shots hit between the gaps). "When you reach, that sets up caroms and makes it difficult to play defense in the back row," Wilton said.

Klinger said: "We're not trying to do too much. We're having more confidence in the other players to be there to make digs."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.