HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team heads to Las Vegas for its first road trip of the season and will serve as the host team for the Lucky Aces Women's Volleyball Invitational set for Sept. 18-20 at the Orleans Arena.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on the opening day of the inaugural event. They'll take on Iowa State on Saturday and close the tournament on Sunday against longtime rival UCLA. UH is hosting the tournament in conjunction with the Orleans Arena and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

WEEK 4: LUCKY ACES WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL INVITATIONAL
Teams				Hawai'i, Iowa State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UCLA
Dates				Friday, Sept. 18 - Sunday, Sept. 20
Location				Las Vegas, Nev. | Orleans Arena
Television				K5 | Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play), Chris McLachlin (analyst) — UH matches only
Live Stream				MW+  — UH matches only
Radio				ESPN Honolulu (1500AM/92.7FM) | Tiff Wells (play-by-play) — UH matches only
Streaming Audio				ESPNHonolulu.com
Live Stats				Hawaii.Statbroadcast.com
Game Notes				Hawai'i | Iowa State | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | UCLA
Social Media				@HawaiiWVB  | #HawaiiWVB #GoBows #SISTAHHOOD | @HawaiiWVB  | Facebook

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, Sept. 18
Iowa State vs. UCLA 4:00 p.m. PT
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Hawai'i, 6:30 p.m. PT
 
Saturday, Sept. 19
UCLA vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 2:00 p.m. PT
Iowa State vs. Hawai'i, 4:30 p.m. PT
 
Sunday, Sept. 20
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Iowa State, 11:30 a.m. PT
UCLA vs. Hawai'i, 2:30 p.m. PT

'BOWS NOTES

• UH enters the Lucky Aces Invitational riding a five-match winning streak, the program's longest since a seven-game run late in the 2023 season.
• The 'Bows' 6-2 start in Joshua Walker's first season as head coach places them second among Mountain West teams, trailing only UTEP (7-1).
• The 'Bows closed their season-opening homestand by sweeping a two-match series with Central Arkansas last week, finishing off both wins in three sets.
• UH leads the Mountain West and enters the week 22^nd nationally in opponent hitting percentage at .151.
• Panna Ratkai leads UH and ranks fifth in the Mountain West with 3.23 kills per set. The senior put away 29 kills and averaged 4.83 kills per set in the series with Central Arkansas. Ratkai has posted double-digit kills in each of the last five matches.
• Middle blocker Miliana Sylvester ranks second in the Mountain West with 35 total blocks (1.13 blocks per set). The junior posted 20 kills on .469 hitting last week and surpassed the 500 kills mark for her career.
• Libero Victoria Leyva averaged 5.17 digs per set against Central Arkansas to raise her season average to 3.58 dps, good for third in the Mountain West.
• This week's trip will be a homecoming for freshman middle blocker Rachel Purser, who leads the 'Bows in hitting percentage at .328. Purser has hit over .300 in five consecutive matches.
• Setter Adrianna Arquette moved up to second in the Mountain West with 295 assists and 9.52 assists per set. The junior has tied her career high with 17 digs twice this season.
• In her return from an injury-shortened 2025 season, outside hitter Tali Hakas ranks third on the team with 66 total kills and averages 2.20 kills per set.
• The tournament marks the end of the nonconference portion of the schedule. UH opens its first Mountain West season against New Mexico on Sept. 25 and 26 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

THE MATCHUPS
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders
Series Record: First meeting

• The Rainbow Wahine and Islanders meet for the first time in Friday's matchup.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters the week at 2-5 and coming off a 2-1 showing in the Tarleton State Invitational. The Islanders picked up wins over Denver (3-2) and Tarleton State (3-0) and fell to San Houston (3-0).
• Head coach Steve Greene is in his 11^th season and has a record of 170-133.
• The Islanders went 13-17 last season and was voted third in the Southland Conference preseason poll.
• Ally Saleh leads TAMCC with 85 total kills and 3.27 kills per set, with a high of 19 against Denver.
• Ava Hight leads the team with 202 assists (7.48 per set) and posted a triple-double against Denver with 10 kills, 43 assists and 10 digs. Hight was named the Southland Conference Setter of the Week on Monday.

Iowa State Cyclones
Series Record: UH 1-0
Streak: UH won 1
Last Meeting: UH 3-1, Nov. 30, 2023

• UH and Iowa State meet for the second time. UH won the first meeting in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Eugene, Ore., 16-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-23.
• Christy Johnson-Lynch is in her 22^nd year as Iowa State's head coach and has a record of 408-230.
• The Cyclones went 23-8 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The Cyclones are off to a 5-3 start this season and split their matches last week in Washington D.C., with a sweep over Villanova and loss to host American.
• Junior Rachel Van Gorp was the AVCA National Libero of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2025. Van Gorp leads the Big 12 with 4.37 digs per set this season.
• Nayeli Tī'a leads the team in total kills (96) and Nayeli Gonzalez leads ISU with 3.63 kills per set.

UCLA Bruins
Series Record: UCLA 41-38
Streak: UCLA won 3
Last Meeting: UCLA 3-0, Sept. 20, 2025

• UH and UCLA meet for the 80th time. The series is the longest in UH program history.
• The series dates back to Dec. 14, 1974, with a meeting in the AIAW National Final.
• UCLA has won the last three meetings and seven of the last eight, including a sweep last year in Stanford, Calif.
• UH's last win over the Bruins came on Sept. 4, 2019 in Honolulu.
• Matt Werle is in his first season as UCLA's head coach. Werle was the Associate Head Coach at Kansas last year and previously served as head coach of the Grand Canyon men's program for 10 years.
• The Bruins enter the week at 6-2 and are coming off a 2-1 week in Utah. UCLA defeated Utah State (3-0) and Utah (3-1) and fell at BYU in five sets.
• Middle blocker Marianna Singletary leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally with 1.79 blocks per set. Singletary also leads the team with 2.89 kills per set, 4.00 points per set, and a .405 hitting percentage.

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