The 2023 women’s volleyball Big West champions come back with a bang, but did fans see any changes?
The University of Hawaiʻi Wāhine volleyball team returned to the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on March 13. The ‘Bows held their annual spring exhibition over three days, allowing fans and supporters to get a sneak peek at what the team will look like next Fall.
The exhibition hosted three teams: the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) on March 13; Colorado State University on March 14; and the University of Notre Dame on March 15. The team is allowed four “play dates” every year, typically used in the off-season to allow coaches and players to test new rotations and combinations.
“It’s really important too, for these games to get these players valuable game time experience,” Rainbow Wahine assistant coach Kaleo Baxter said. “To get [the new players] comfortable so their first time playing in the Stan isn’t [in August].”
The team had been preparing in practice for the last month with their weeks of 20-hour segments.
“It’s been a grind but I think we’re really excited to have some games to play,” redshirt freshman setter Jackie Matias said. “I hope a lot more fans come out because we are advertising it a little bit more this year and we’re really excited to play these teams.”
In the opening game against UNLV, the ‘Bows and Rebels fought through five sets with scores of 25-22, 18-25, 25-15, 22-25 and 15-13. UHM took the first and third sets but fell to UNLV in sets two and four. The Wāhine finally sealed the win in the fifth set. Sophomore outside hitter Caylen Alexander put down a double-double with 12 digs and a game-high number of kills, putting down 18. She also recorded an ace and assist for the ‘Bows. Alexander, along with junior setter Kate Lang, were invited to the US Women’s National Team Open Program in February, where they got to train with other high-level players from across the country.
Other high scorers for the ‘Bows included junior outside hitter Paula Guersching and freshman outside hitter Stella Adeyemi, who had a combined 13 kills. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jacyn Bamis put down ten kills. Guersching also brought up eight digs for the team, as well as Lang with seven and Bamis with three.
At the service line, both Adeyemi and junior libero Tayli Ikenaga had three aces. They were six of the team’s combined ten. At the setter position, Lang racked up 33 assists.
In game two against Colorado State, the Wāhine sealed their second win in three sets with scores of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-16. Once again, Bamis played the entire game, putting down 17 kills. She is the only middle blocker listed on the current Spring roster.
Finally, the ‘Bows closed out the exhibition with a 3-0 sweep against Notre Dame. For a third consecutive game, Bamis played throughout all three sets, putting down three blocks and seven kills. Alexander was the game leader in kills, coming in at 11, with Guersching at a close second with eight kills. Ikenaga was the game leader in digs and aces, bringing up 14 digs and three aces for the ‘Bows.
So, what changes did we see?
Over the three-day series, the ‘Bows sported a new lineup for fans and spectators to get to know. The team graduated six seniors at the end of the fall season, including middle blocker Amber Igiede; outside hitter Riley Wagoner; outside hitter Kendra Ham; middle blocker Kennedi Evans; outside hitter Chandler Cowell; and libero and defensive specialist Talia Edmonds.
“I think those seniors left, like, a really big mark on our program, so individually and collectively as a team we’re trying to, like, find those pieces,” Matias said. “Like who’s going to fill in those spots and also not, like, take over exactly what they left, put your own spin to it. We’re still working on it, we’re still early in the season.”
With the loss of six key players, spots in important positions have opened, bringing along opportunities for new faces to get more playing time.
“There’s different voices being heard,” Matias said, “so I think it’s really good to be able to have a team that we’re really comfortable with, like speaking to each other.”
Four new players will join the ‘Bows in the Fall, including middle blocker Madeline Way from Santa Clarita, CA; middle blocker Miliana Sylvester from Honolulu; opposite Malinah Purcell-Telefoni from Kapolei; and freshman libero Victoria Leyva from El Paso, Texas. Leyva is another outstanding student-athlete who graduated high school early and has been with the program since January. She made her Rainbow Wāhine debut on March 12 during the first spring game against UNLV.
Outside hitter Tyla ReeseMane also saw some playing time on March 14 after redshirting last season. The classified junior from ‘Aiea started her collegiate career by playing two seasons at Casper College in Casper, WY before transferring to UHM.
“I think what the seniors left was a solid foundation of what Wāhine volleyball is and the culture that we want our gym to be,” Baxter said. “Every single day someone else is stepping up so it’s very nice to see.”
While these spring games did provide an insightful opportunity for the ‘Bows, they were also an opportunity for the away teams to have necessary team bonding and preparation for the upcoming season.
“Just a really cool experience for them to come out here,” Baxter said, “team bond, play some high-level volleyball in front of the best fans in the nation.”
UNLV and Colorado State also have players from Hawaiʻi that were able to visit home and play in front of their families during these spring matches. From UNLV, the players in question are senior libero Alyssa Muraoka from Honolulu and senior libero Isha Knight from Mililani. Colorado State featured redshirt junior defensive specialist Kate Yoshimoto from Honolulu and redshirt freshman middle blocker Kekua Richards from Paʻia, Maui.
One thing that will not be very different for the ‘Bows is gameplay. Last month, NCAA announced some rule changes, including allowing double-touches on the second contact of play and allowing two liberos in rotation. Christopher “Tiff” Wells, ESPN play-by-play announcer and traffic manager, regularly attends and keeps up with games for ESPN. He says the NCAA releases one to two rules per year, but typically not as big as these changes.
“When I first initially saw it come through, I was more against it,” Wells said. “I just thought it kind of would make basically any second contact allowable and kind of make the game a lot uglier and nothing would be called. But I kind of thought more about it. I think it’s going to make the game a little bit better.”
With these new rules coming into effect for the upcoming season, referees will have to communicate through different viewpoints and different stances on what they consider allowable as a double contact.
In addition, the changes only apply to women’s NCAA collegiate play and not to the men’s league or younger forms of school and club volleyball. However, the double libero already exists in club volleyball at the junior level.
Regarding the double contact, however, players, fans and coaches will have to get used to seeing more of them.
“I think it does free up the game a little bit in, like, some crazy plays,” Matias said. “But it’s never really gonna be intentional.”
While the new rule does free up the game, it is not something the ‘Bows will be purposefully practicing.
“We’re just going to continue playing volleyball and it’s not really any different,” Baxter said. “Everyone still needs to serve, set, pass and hit at a high level so that’s what we’re doing in our gym, and yeah, at the end of the day, everyone still has to play volleyball.”
The Rainbow Wāhine will take the knowledge they gained from these spring games and continue to practice during the off-season to prepare for their regular season in late August.
