IRVINE, Calif.—The three-time defending Big West champion Univeristy of Hawai'i women's volleyball team was picked first in the 2023 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll as voted by the conference's 11 head coaches. Three Rainbow Wahine—Amber Igiede, Kate Lang and Caylen Alexander—earned spots on the Preseason All-Big West Team.
 
Hawai'i received 10 first place votes while garnering 100 total points. The teams ranked No.'s 2-4 were separated by just two points with UC Santa Barbara coming in second with 83, Long Beach State was voted third with 82 points and received the last first place vote. Cal Poly was picked fourth with 81 points.
 
The Big West's reigning Player of the Year (Igiede), Setter of the Year (Lang) and Freshman of the Year (Alexander) were selected to the BW Preseason Coaches' Team. Igiede, a senior middle blocker leads the Rainbow Wahine into the 2023 season. Last year, she led UH with 406 kills, 3.79 kills/set, and 138 total blocks. Lang dished out 1,102 assists while averaging 10.30 assists/set to lead the UH offense. Alexander, who was a true freshman last season, played in all 29 matches and put down 295 kills averaging 2.78 kills/set while leading the 'Bows with 33 service aces.
 
Hawai'i opens the 2023 season hosting the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic from August 25-27. UH opens with Northwestern on opening night then will take on 13^th-ranked San Diego on Saturday and No. 9 Oregon on Sunday. This Saturday, they will host their second annual "Open Practice/Green-White Scrimmage" beginning at 1:00 p.m. HT in the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Admission is FREE but fans must enter through the arena's security gate.

 
2023 Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank	Team	Points
1.	Hawai'i	100 (10)
2.	UC Santa Barbara	83
3.	Long Beach State	82 (1)
4.	Cal Poly	81
5.	UC Davis	61
6.	UC Irvine	54
7.	UC San Diego	42
8.	Cal State Bakersfield	33
9.	Cal State Fullerton	32
10.	CSUN	27
11.	UC Riverside	10

First-place votes in parentheses

2023 Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Team                                              

Student-Athlete	Year	Position	School	Hometown
Caylen Alexander	So.	Outside Hitter	Hawai'i	Alpharetta, Ga.
Amber Igiede	Sr.	Middle Blocker	Hawai'i	Baton Rouge, La.
Kate Lang	Jr.	Setter	Hawai'i	Keller, Texas
Zayna Meyer	R-So.	Setter	Long Beach State	Wheaton, Ill.
Michelle Ohwobete	Sr.	Outside Hitter	UC Santa Barbara	Oakland, Calif.
Macall Peed	Sr.	Libero	UC Santa Barbara	San Diego, Calif.
Tommi Stockham	R-Jr.	Outside Hitter	Cal Poly	Las Vegas, Nev.
Olivia Utterback	Jr.	Opposite	UC Davis	Plainfield, Ind.