HONOLULU — It was telling that on Day 1 of Hawaii women’s volleyball fall camp, the team veterans selected to speak to the media had all of two seasons of college volleyball under their combined belts.
“We don’t have a ton of upperclassmen, and so we are labeled as a young team this year,” acknowledged middle Miliana Sylvester, who by default is one of the most seasoned Rainbow Wahine after she started all 31 matches in 2024.
“But,” the sophomore added, “I think that I am thankful to have a little bit of extra experience that is built by maturity, and I’m trying to use that and channel it towards this new role.”
[Note: See below for more photos of Day 1 of Hawaii women’s volleyball 2025 practices.]
Coach Robyn Ah Mow challenged the team on their demeanor and “intent” in the afternoon practice of a two-a-day Monday as the legendary Dave Shoji — Ah Mow’s old coach at UH — observed silently, cross-legged at a table at the edge of the gym.
Ah Mow was clearly unmoved by the group’s relative youth. UH has eight returnees and eight newcomers. They will determine whether the proud program’s NCAA Tournament qualification streak endures to a 32nd season.
“They have potential,” the ninth-year coach said. “I think the year is going to come to what’s real mindset is with all these young girls. Is it, ‘Oh, I got a couple years to get better,’ or ‘I want to be better now.’”
Coach Robyn Ah Mow paused Monday’s afternoon practice to let the team hear it about a lackadaisical attitude in a drill. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Four-year setter Kate Lang exhausted her eligibility with UH’s NCAA first-round sweep loss to TCU, finishing No. 3 on the UH career assists charts at 4,544. She is a graduate assistant at Rice. Seasoned libero Tayli Ikenaga also wrapped up her college career.
The portal losses were big, too: Big West Player of the Year and NCAA total kills leader Caylen Alexander transferred to Missouri, starting middle Jacyn Bamis went to Michigan and backup setter Jackie Matias found a home at Oregon State.
UH (21-10) did what it could to recoup through the portal, pulling players from within the Big West as the Wahine prepare to play their final season in the conference before heading off to the Mountain West in 2026.
UC San Diego transfer Audrey Hollis is competing with fellow sophomore Adrianna Arquette for the starting setter job, though Ah Mow has not ruled out a 6-2 (double setter) offense.
“I think the role is just getting in and actually just like focusing just on setting,” Ah Mow said, noting both players were in hybrid hitting situations last season.
“Very athletic, they’re pushing the team and they’re going to push each other,” she added.
Former Cal State Fullerton defensive specialist Leilani Lopez was brought in to push Ikenaga’s presumed successor, sophomore Victoria Leyva.
“I’m kind of taking a little bit of what she (Ikenaga) did and what I really liked from her, and then kind of putting my own spin on that,” Leyva said. “So from her taking me as a newcomer and bringing me into the speed of the game, I’m kind of trying to do that with my own position as well as everybody else on the team.”
A third intra-Big West transfer, Lois Hansen of UC Santa Barbara, played for the Wahine in their spring exhibition matches but subsequently left the program.
Ah Mow added ex-Houston Christian hitter Ravyn Dash, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Agoura Hills, Calif., in Makena Biondi and a local libero in Punahou’s Kahea Moriwaki to supplement the roster over the summer.
While UH has plenty of options in the middle (five players), the situation at the pins could be interesting. Tali Hakas, the team’s total kills leader among returnees (259, 2.07 per set), is training with the Israeli national team and will join the Wahine later in camp. Stella Adeyemi (2.08 kps) could step into the lineup more consistently from last year’s bench role.
And freshman Cha’lei Reid, who graduated early from Kahuku to enroll at UH in the spring, looks to build on her fast-tracked college experience akin to what Leyva did last year en route to an eventual starting job.
As Monday’s practice progressed with a series of passing drills, Ah Mow appeared exasperated. It was not an unusual sight; she would let true veterans like Lang hear it even in the last years of their careers. The coach eventually paused practice to let the team know some players were merely going through the motions.
“What’s your intent of wearing the UH logo?” she asked aloud with the media about an hour earlier. “What’s your intent of being on this team every time you come to practice, or every time you do anything, go to school, whatever? You gotta have an intent.”
UH opens the season against Marquette in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic on Aug. 29.
Setter Adrianna Arquette passed the ball during a drill. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Middle Miliana Sylvester passed the ball. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Hitter Stella Adeyemi prepared to toss the ball to a teammate. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Adrianna Arquette, a Kamehameha alumna, is one of two players vying for the starting setter job. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Coach Robyn Ah Mow, right, was hands-on during Day 1 drills. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Stella Adeyemi could be counted on for a stepped-up role at the pins in 2025. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Kahuku graduate Cha’lei Reid got an early start on her Rainbow Wahine career in the spring. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
UC San Diego transfer Audrey Hollis is in the mix for the starting setter job. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Kahea Moriwaki, a Punahou alumna, passed a ball in a drill. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Hawaii legend Dave Shoji took in Monday’s practice. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Defensive specialist Victoria Leyva, middle, is the presumed successor to Tayli Ikenaga at libero, but has competition. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Victoria Leyva is one of the team’s de facto leaders as a sophomore. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Ravyn Dash, a Houston Christian transfer, was a summer pickup by coach Robyn Ah Mow. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
The 6-foot sophomore Ravyn Dash will compete at hitter. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Cha’lei Reid jumped into a pass. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
