HONOLULU — The University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team opens the 2024 season by playing host to the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine face SMU in the tournament opener on Friday at 7 p.m. On Saturday, SMU and San Diego meet at 7 p.m. The weekend concludes with UH taking on San Diego at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
OPENING SERVE
The Rainbow Wahine enter the 2024 season with seven returning letterwinners, including three starters, from last season’s 24-9 team that captured the Big West Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the program’s 30th straight appearance and 41st overall. Five newcomers — four freshmen and a transfer — join the roster this season.
All three teams in this week’s tournament received votes in the AVCA/Taraflex Preseason Division I Poll: SMU (76 points, 30th), Hawai’i (20, 38th), San Diego (19, 39th).
UH head coach Robyn Ah Mow is entering her seventh season and eighth year overall leading the Rainbow Wahine. She holds a career record of 132-45 (.746).
UH is 38-11 overall in season openers and 3-3 during Ah Mow’s tenure.
UH will open the season at home for the 43rd season and the 17th time in the last 18 seasons.
UH has gone to five sets four times in the last six openers including the last two in a row.
In last year’s opener, UH rallied past Northwestern, 18-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 15-7 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
UH was voted second in the Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, trailing Cal Poly. Senior setter Kate Lang and junior outside hitter Caylen Alexander were named to the preseason all-conference team.
The 2024 schedule features six opponents that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including three automatic qualifiers — SMU (AAC), Pepperdine (WCC) and Texas (Big 12). Texas State, Baylor, and UC Santa Barbara received at-large berths. Six of UH’s eight nonconference opponents received votes in the AVCA preseason poll, led by No. 1 Texas, the two-time defending national champion.
‘BOWS NOTES
New Look in the Middle
• Junior Jacyn Bamis is the lone returnee among the middle blockers after playing behind two-time All-American Amber Igiede and Kennedi Evans last season. Bamis appeared in nine matches last season after transferring from Clemson.
• Miliana Sylvester and Maddie Way join the middle rotation as freshmen. Sylvester was an All-State performer for University Lab School, which neighbors the UH-Mānoa campus. Way was an all-league middle for Sierra Canyon High School, which ranked fifth in Region 9 in the USA Today HHS/AVCA regional rankings.
• Morghn Monahan transferred to UH after playing two seasons at Hawai’i Pacific University and could also work on the outside as well.
On the Pins
• Caylen Alexander ranked second on the team with 3.10 kills per set and finished strong with 31 kills over two matches in the NCAA Tournament. She had 18 against Iowa State and 13 against Oregon, leading UH in both matches.
• Sophom*ore Tali Hakas played in 27 matches with 13 starts as a freshman. She earned a Big West Freshman of the Week award and finished with 1.71 kills per set. She spent most of August with Israel’s national team before rejoining the ‘Bows.
• Sophom*ore Stella Adeyemi will look to step into a larger role after seeing action in eight matches as a freshman. She received the team’s Coaches Award last season for her work ethic and energy.
• Tyla Reese Mane joins the mix after redshirting last year as a junior college transfer.
Setting the Tone
• Kate Lang returns for her fifth year in the program as a three-time All-Big West selection. Her first season at UH was wiped out when the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She earned the starting role midway through the 2021 season and was named to the All-Big West first team as a freshman. She won the inaugural Big West Setter of the Year award in 2022 then made the all-conference second team last year. She enters this season ninth in program history with 3,230 career assists.
• Jackie Matias played in 21 matches last season after redshirting her first year in the program. She had double-digit assists in three matches with a high of 17.
• Freshman Adrianna Arquette was the consensus Hawai’i high school Player of the Year and a second-team high school All-American at Kamehameha Schools-Kapālama. A versatile player, she also played outside and in the middle in high school.
Back Row Combo
• Tayli Ikenaga got the start on opening night as a freshman in 2021 and has played in 82 of UH’s 92 matches over her first three years. She has 866 career digs and led the team with 2.68 per set last season while sharing time with Talia Edmonds.
• Freshman Victoria Leyva enrolled at UH in January and took part in spring practice. She saw her first playing time in a Rainbow Wahine uniform in UH’s spring exhibition matches and had two aces in a win over UNLV and one against Notre Dame.
30 YEARS AT THE STAN
The 2024 season will mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine volleyball program was the first UH program to compete in the arena, then named the Special Events Arena, when they faced San Jose State on Oct. 21, 1994. The Rainbow Wahine led the NCAA in attendance for the first 15 years of the arena’s existence (1998-2012) and continues to rank among the national leaders. UH placed third in the country in average attendance in 2023, drawing 6,181 fans per match.
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