ESPN Honolulu Rainbow Wahine play-by-play voice Tiff Wells with his six biggest takeaways from the previous week for the Bows
1 – Hawaiian Time. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Both opening sets this past weekend were nearly mirror images of one another. Friday against SMU, UH hit -.138 and lost the set 25-7. On Sunday versus San Diego, the Bows managed just three kills en route to hitting -.200 and a 25-11 set loss. Against the Mustangs, UH was down in the match by a set two separate times, before taking set 4 25-21 and holding on for the 15-13 set 5 win. Caylen Alexander had two kills in the first set before accumulating 10 in Set 2. After dropping that opening set against the Toreros, UH responded in the final three sets, outhitting USD .320 to .143. Alexander added seven kills in Set 3 alone as UH took it 25-22 for the 2-1 match lead.
2 – Two Tunnel Talks. Two very slow starts this past weekend (25-7 vs SMU, 25-11 vs USD) meant two tunnel talks in between sets one and two. UH even received a team delay prior to the start of Set 2 against San Diego because they weren’t on the court and hadn’t handed in the lineup in time. The tunnel talks in between sets have been a thing during the Robyn Ah Mow coaching era and whatever was said worked as UH never trailed in the second set against SMU and led for the majority of set 2 versus San Diego. While the motivation was heard and the team played better, the Bows know they’ll need to come out at the beginning of matches with better starts.
3 – Leyva Shines. Last September, Victoria Leyva made the six-hour drive from El Paso to Fort Worth to watch her future team go 2-1 at the TCU Tournament and was excited to join the Bows the following season. Having graduated early from High School and enrolling at UH for the 2024 Spring Semester, Leyva not only got a semester of schooling under her belt, but she also got a head start in her collegiate volleyball training. A full spring that included playing in three exhibition matches, the 5’8” freshman played backrow and held her own. In her collegiate debut on Friday against SMU, she played backrow for Stella Adeyemi and dazzled. 10 digs, 3 assists and 18/19 on serve receive, she helped to shore up the backrow that held SMU to a combined .013 hitting percentage in the final two sets. 7 digs, 2 assists, 3 service aces while going 15/16 on serve receive against San Diego on Sunday, fans took notice of one of two Hawai`i “littles.” Key service runs in both Set 2 and 4 on Friday and then again in Set 2 on Sunday, Leyva showed why she needs to be in the rotation off the bench. Also taking notice was the selection committee for the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic as the defensive specialist was named to the All-Tournament Team (one of two liberos/defensive specialists named to the team. USD’s libero Madi Allen was the other).
4 – Jr. Bow to Rainbow Wahine. Hearing Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī is always special, but to hear it while in the starting lineup about to make your college debut as a true freshman representing the program you grew up watching makes for a full circle moment. For Miliana Sylvester, she admitted she got teary-eyed hearing the state song. The freshman out of University Lab, dreamed of playing for Hawai`i for as long as she could remember. The Aina Haina native was nervous in her debut against SMU but bounced back in a strong way versus San Diego. One of three players for UH with 10 or more kills, Sylvester had 10 kills and 2 blocks, hitting .400 in the process. It’s a steep learning curve to go from any high school level to Division I, but the 2023 ILH Division II Player of the Year solidified a middle position in a group where UH lost both of their starters from a year ago.
5 – Resume Building Weekend. In a conference that is more than likely a one-bid league (although 2023 the Big West saw two teams into the NCAA Championship), scheduling tough in the non-conference is a must. It’s one thing to schedule tough. It’s another thing to actually win those matches. In a tournament that featured all three teams receiving votes in the Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, the 34th Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic was a strong field. San Diego was picked to finish 2nd in the WCC, while SMU in year 1 as an ACC member is picked to finish 6th (in the upper third of a Power 4 conference). Both of those teams should do well this season and win a lot of matches. With RPI in mind as the Hawai`i coaches put together their non-conference schedule, week 1 proved to be successful as UH won both matches. Albeit in a non-traditional way of being outscored 50-18 in the first set, the Bows showed a lot of fight to finish the week undefeated. Two quality wins (one over a Power 4 Conference team in SMU) will go a long way towards helping UH’s RPI.
6 – Good, Bad, Ugly. The Good – starting the season 2-0; two quality wins over programs that should do quite well during their season; Caylen Alexander overcoming two slow Set 1 starts to record double-double performances; all hitters hit in the positive when only two (Stella Adeyemi and Alexander) were over .000 on Friday; two Rainbow Wahine were named to the All-Tournament Team (Adeyemi and Levya) while a third, Alexander was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament; the team being patient and showing a lot of fight as they bounced back from two opening set losses; Stella Adeyemi hitting .286 both nights and tallying 21 kills. The Bad – 61 hitting errors in nine sets played (17 of which were in the first set); 3 of the 5 hitters hitting negative on night one; losing nearly every statistical category against SMU except for the one that mattered, the match score; needing two tunnel talks in each of the first two matches. The Ugly – the set scores from the first both first sets (25-7, 25-11); three kills in Set 1 against San Diego; hitting -.138 in set one versus SMU and -.200 in the opening set against USD; a combined 9 kills and 17 hitting errors in the two opening sets over the weekend.
