Throughout the course of fall camp, HawaiiAthletics.com will provide a breakdown of the 2021 Rainbow Wahine volleyball team, position-by-position, as the team prepares for its season opener at Fairfield on Friday, Aug. 27. 

Two of the three liberos on the 2019 roster return with Kyra Hanawahine and Janelle Gong back for 2021. The two are joined by local prep standout Tayli Ikenaga who starred at Moanalua HS.

Returnees

Libero	HT	YR	Stats
Kyra Hanawahine	5-5	Jr.	35 digs, 0 reception errors, 12 aces, 12 ast, 1 kill
Janelle Gong	5-8	R-Jr.	0 reception errors

Newcomers

Libero	HT	YR	Hometown (previous school)
Tayli Ikenaga	5-5	Fr.	Honolulu, O'ahu (Moanalua HS)

Kyra Hanawahine – SR – 5-2 – Honolulu, O'ahu – Kamehameha-Kapalama/Oregon
The most experienced libero/defensive specialist on the 2021 roster, Hanawahine played in 28 matches in 2019 with a career-high seven digs against Cal State Fullerton (10/5/19) and career-high four aces against UC Irvine (10/26/19). Hanawahine played two seasons at Oregon before transferring to Manoa to play for the 'Bows.
 
Janelle Gong – R-JR – 5-9 – Moraga, Calif. – Campolindo HS
Gong played in three matches during the 2019 season but posted her best career numbers in 2018 as a redshirt freshman where she played in 29 sets over 10 matches. Gong tallied four aces and 13 digs with a kill.
 
Tayli Ikenaga – FR – 5-5 – Honolulu, O'ahu – Moanalua HS
An incoming true freshman, Ikenaga is one of three O'ahu high school graduates on the team.  Ikenaga is a three-time honor roll recipient and a Scholar Athlete award winner while at Moanalua HS. The 13th ranked recruit in the state in the Fab 15 list helped lead Na Menehune win the OIA East divsison before a quarterfinal upset of #4 King Kekaulike in the 2019 DI State Tournament. As a junior, recorded a season-high 28 kills against Kahuku and a season-high 18 digs against Mililani. 
 
From Coach Ah Mow: "Tayli is a local standout that possesses the type of work ethic, drive and volleyball IQ we want in our gym. She has the foundation and skill level to help our program throughout her years in Manoa and I am excited for her to grow into her own as a full-time back row player."