NEWS & NOTESMaui Nō Ka 'Oi - In recognition of the devastating Maui wildfires earlier this month, the Rainbow Wahine will wear a special patch on their sleeves for this season. Our condolences and prayers go out to all a those affected in the tragic event on the Valley Isle. Many in our UH 'ohana, including current and past student-athletes, coaches, and staff have been personally affected. If you would like to help, go to HawaiiAthletics.com and click on the "Maui Strong" story to be connected with organizations who are making a direct impact on the recovery and rebuilding in both Lahaina and Upcountry Maui.

IGIEDE, LANG EARN BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS - Igiede earned her seventh career BW weekly honor and her fourth Offensive Player of the Week award after leading Hawai'i with team highs of 39 kills, a .337 hitting percentage, and 16.0 total blocks—including six solo. In the season opener against Northwestern, the Baton Rouge, La. native, put down a team-high 14 kills while recording a match-high nine blocks, finishing a block shy from recording a fourth career double-double. Against 13th-ranked San Diego, Igiede was dominant on both sides of the net, tallying a team-best 18 kills and .417 hitting percentage and was in on four blocks while altering Torero attacks. She finished the weekend with seven kills and three blocks in a loss against No. 9 Oregon. Igiede recorded two solo blocks in every match and closed the weekend with 50 total points to lead The Big West.

This marked Lang's sixth career Big West weekly honor and her fourth Setter of the Week award. The junior from Keller, Texas, recorded a Big West-best 120 assists (10.0 a/s) while scooping up 25 digs and adding six blocks in the Rainbow Wahine Classic. In UH's first two matches against Northwestern and No. 13 San Diego, Lang dished out 49 assists in both games and finished the week with 22 assists against No. 9 Oregon. Against the Toreros, Lang recorded her first double-double of the season with 49 assists and 10 digs to go with four blocks – one shy of her career high. Lang now has recorded 22 career double-doubles.

OFF-SEASON WORK PAYING OFF FOR ALEXANER - Sophomore pin-hitter Caylen Alexander was voted to the Rainbow Wahine Classic's all-tournament team after solid play in three matches. She was the only Rainbow Wahine to tally 10+ kills in all three matches last week and finished second on the team with 37 kills and 3.08 kills/set. She opened the tourney notching her first double-double of the season putting down 12 kills with 12 digs and she was also in on four total blocks against Northwestern. She recorded 9.0 blocks in the tourney, which is over a third of the total blocks that Alexander recorded all of last season.

EVANS PROVIDING STRENGTH IN THE MIDDLE - Senior Kennedi Evans made her first three starts for the Rainbow Wahine last week, after spending much of last season recovering from an injury suffered at her former school, Utah. Back to full strength now, Evans is proving to be a force at the net, recording 13.0 blocks and 20 kills. She is second on the squad in blocks and hitting percentage. She and Igiede combined account for 29 of UH's league-leading 30 blocks.

EDMONDS EARNS STARTS AT LIBERO - Senior Talia Edmonds earned the different colored jersey last week after a continuing battle between Tayli Ikenaga and Colby Lane. Edmonds leads UH with 39 digs and 3.25 digs/set and is second on the team with six assists. One of the undisputed vocal leaders of this year's team posted at team-high 18 digs in the season opener against Northwestern and 17 digs in UH's upset over USD.

WAGONER STEADY AT THE PIN - Senior Riley Wagoner recorded a pair of double-doubles to start the season. Against Northwestern, she buried 13 kills to go with 12 digs and three blocks. The following night, Wagoner tallied 10 kills and 10 digs against USD. She also tied her career-high with three service aces against the Toreros. Overall, she is third on the team with 26 kills and 2.17 kills/set. She is also tied for second place on the team with28 digs (2.33 digs/set).

HAKAS MAKES RAINBOW WAHINE DEBUT - True freshman Tali Hakas is UH's instant-energy source. In her UH debut, she recorded 10 kills and was a dig shy of a double-double with nine digs. She also was in on three blocks and had a service ace to fill her stat line. Overall, she is tied for second on the team with Wagoner with 28 digs (2.33 d/s) and has put down 21 kills with four total blocks. Hakas, who spent the last two years serving in the Israeli army, comes to Hawai'i after spending time on the Israeli national team and she has brought her international experience with her.

SOLID CORE - Hawai'i's starting seven played almost the entire three matches last week. Through the first two matches, only Tayli Ikenaga came off the bench as she helped to solidify the back-row defense. UH's Kendra Ham made her season debut against Oregon. Making their Rainbow Wahine debuts vs. the Ducks were redshirt freshman setter Jackie Matias and junior transfer outside hitter Paula Guersching who saw action in the last two sets.

PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN BIG WEST; THREE EARN PRESEASON HONORS - Hawai'i was picked to finish first in the 2023 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll as voted by the league'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. Since returning to the Big West in 2012, UH has been voted to finish first nine times—including the last three-straight.

UH IN MIDDLE OF TOUGH PRESEASON - Hawai'i enters the week just outside the Top 25 coming in at No. 26 with 162 votes after going 2-1 in the opening week. Oregon, who swept all three matches rose to No. 6, while San Diego who came into the tourney ranked No. 13, fell out of the Top 25 after dropping all three matches. This weeks opponent USC also fell out of the poll after going 1-2 last week. They are still receiving votes. Next week, UH hosts its final home preseason tournament - the OUTRIGGER Volleyball Challenge which will feature three tough opponents--Libery, Pepperdine and UCLA. Hawai'i will end their preseason slate on the road at the "Fight in the Fort" tournament. In Texas, the 'Bows will take on host TCU, Western Carolina and Florida State who is currently receiving votes in the AVCA poll.

'BOWS IN BRAZIL - The Rainbow Wahine traveled for a 13-day tour of Brazil where they played a series of matches in four different cities. The invaluable learning and bonding experience included cultural excursions and some sightseeing in addition to their matches in Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Saquarerma and Arraial do Cabo. Among the sights the 'Bows visited were the Fiera da Praca Benedicto Calixto (Open Market), Christ the Redeemer in Rio, Pao de Azucar (Sugarloaf Mountain), and the white sand beaches of Arraial do Cabo. Hawai'i won all of its matches—including a five set thriller over the U19 Brazil National team to end their trip. It marked the team's first international trip since former head coach Dave Shoji took the 'Bows on a four country, European tour in 2015.