ESPN Honolulu Rainbow Wahine play-by-play voice Tiff Wells with his six biggest takeaways from the recently released 2025 Hawai`i schedule
1. Tested Right Away. For the 41st time in now this the 51st season of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball, UH will open the season on O`ahu. The island plays host to the 35th Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. Six matches over three days that includes Big East power Marquette (who has a new coach this season), San Diego (perennial top four team in the West Coast Conference) as well as Utah State (finished second in the Mountain West Conference last season). This marks the third time since 2017 that the Golden Eagles (coming off a 25-win season and an NCAA Regional appearance in 2024) will be an opening weekend opponent for UH. For a third straight season, the Toreros come to Honolulu as they have been a regular non-conference opponent on the Hawai`i schedule. The matchup against the Aggies (last year in the Mountain West as they move to the Pac-12 beginning with the 2026-27 athletic season) is the first since 2014.
2. Down On The Farm. With RPI in mind and a desire to play on the road during the non-conference, Hawai`i preps for Big West play with a big-time tournament at Stanford. The Cardinal were 14-0 at home a year ago; a year that saw them finish their first season in the ACC at 28-5 and end the 2024 campaign in a Regional Final. It’s the first trip for UH to Stanford since the 2022 D1 Women’s Volleyball Championship. Hawai`i and Stanford meet for the first time since 2012 and it’s the first matchup between the two on The Farm since 1997. Day 2 of the Tournament renews a long-time rivalry with UCLA. The 79th meeting between the Bows and Bruins is the first since 2023. For a second consecutive year, the Rainbow Wahine has perennial Sun Belt Conference power Texas State (2024 SBC Tournament champs) on the schedule. It’s also the seventh consecutive season that Hawai`i has played at least one non-conference match on the mainland (2018-Pepperdine. 2019-Baylor. 2021-Utah. 2022-Texas A&M. 2023-TCU. 2024-UNLV, Texas and Baylor).
3. The Unbalanced Big West. Due to the implementation of the Big West Championship in 2023, one week (and two matches) of conference play was wiped off the books. Each Big West Conference team will once again play an 18-match conference schedule that consists of eight home and home matchups in addition to playing the other two teams once (hosting one and travelling to the other). In 2023, UH hosted UC Riverside and travelled to UC Davis. Last season, the Bows played CSUN at home and went to Cal State Bakersfield. Here in 2025, Hawai`i travels to UC Irvine (tacked onto the Long Beach State/UC San Diego road-trip) and hosts Cal State Fullerton.
4. Non-Con RPI In Mind. Last year, SMU was the RPI gem on the Hawai`i schedule. UH’s season-opening win over the Mustangs buoyed UH’s RPI all throughout the 2024 season with a finish at 37. Stanford (RPI 5) and Marquette (RPI 16) were both in the Top 20 last year, while Texas State (52), San Diego (56) and St. John’s (60) were all inside the Top 61. Playing their second year in the Big Ten will again help UCLA (RPI 81 in 2024) in their overall RPI. Utah State (RPI 93 in 2024) makes it seven non-conference opponents that finished 2024 inside the RPI Top 100. Gone are the four straight non-conference weeks of Multi-Team Tournaments as UH hosts another two-match series, this time against WCC member Portland (12-16 in 2024, 265 RPI). As always, pull for the non-conference opponents to do well during their season.
5. Big West Swan Song. 2025 marks the 24th and final year for Hawai`i in the Big West Conference (two stints: 1985-1995, 2012-2025). As previously announced, UH is moving all but four of its sports into the Mountain West Conference beginning with the 2026-27 athletic season. As UH heads into their final season as a Big West member, they tout a conference record of 346-56. They’ve won 14 Big West Conference titles, including the last five. UH is also the two-time defending Big West Conference Tournament champ. Since re-entering the Big West Conference in the 2012 season, UH has finished the regular season in either first or second-place.
6. A Beachy Thanksgiving. For a second time in the last three years, Long Beach State is the host of the Big West Championship. Once again, the conference has scheduled its Conference Tournament during Thanksgiving Week (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). Just like 2023, Hawai`i will host Long Beach State for Senior Night before the Conference Tournament begins the following Wednesday.. The tournament field will consist of the top six teams in the standings, with the top two teams earning first-round byes into Semifinal Friday. Five matches over three days will determine the Automatic Qualifying recipient from the Big West Conference. The 2024 UH senior class featured the last two Big West Championship Most Outstanding Players (2024-Tayli Ikenaga, 2023-Kate Lang).
Notes and nuggets with the schedule:
-17 home matches.
-Three non-conference matches against ’24 NCAA tournament teams (Marquette, Stanford, Texas State.
-Two non-conference matches against ’24 National Invitational Volleyball Championship teams (Utah Valley, St. John’s).
-One three-match in five-day road-trip (Long Beach State, UC San Diego, UC Irvine).
-2024 records and postseason for 2025 non-conference opponents:
-Marquette (25-9, 16-2 Big East 2nd, NCAA Regional Semifinalist).
-Utah State (15-14, 12-6 MWC t-2nd).
-San Diego (19-9, 14-4 WCC t-2nd) .
-San Jose State (14-7, 12-6 Mountain West t-2nd).
-Utah Valley (21-11, 10-6, WAC 3rd).
-St. John’s (24-13, 10-8 Big East t-4th, NIVC National Semifinalist).
-Portland (12-16, 5-13 WCC 10th).
-Stanford (28-5, 17-3 ACC t-2nd, NCAA Regional Finalist).
–UCLA (14-15, 8-12 Big Ten t-10th).
-Texas State (22-8, 13-3 Sun Belt West 2nd, NCAA 1st Round).
Other offseason pertinent news:
-Head Coach Robyn Ah Mow with an extension. As announced on January 30th by Acting Athletics Director Lois Manin, Head Coach Robyn Ah Mow received a contract extension through the 2027 season. A three-time Big West Coach of the Year, Ah Mow is 153-55 overall and 106-18 in Big West play after seven completed seasons with the Rainbow Wahine. All seven completed seasons have each ended with a trip to the D1 Women’s Volleyball Championship.
-Bows sign four. This past January, UH Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Robyn Ah Mow announced the signing of four additions to the 2025 roster. Bri Gunderson (Ladera Ranch, Calif. / Eastern Washington), Audrey Hollis (Colorado Springs, Colo. / UC San Diego), Leilani Lopez (Torrance, Calif. / Cal State Fullerton) and Cha’Lei Reid (Lā`ie, O`ahu / Kahuku High). We later learned in Tuesday’s Honolulu Star Bulletin article by Billy Hull that UC Santa Barbara transfer Lois Hansen (who was announced with this group) is no longer on the roster after having played in the spring exhibition matches for UH.
Gunderson has one season of eligibility after playing her last four years at Eastern Washington and BYU. A 2024 All-Big Sky first team honoree, Gunderson led the conference and was fifth in nation averaging 1.54 blocks per set. Her 157 total blocks set a single-season EWU record. She started all 27 matches a year ago and averaged 2.83 kills per set, hitting .311.
Hollis was named a 2024 Big West All-Freshman team selection after averaging 8.86 assists per set, good for 5th the Big West. A two-time Big West Setter of the Week award winner, she helped the Tritons qualify for the Big West Championship in the Tritons’ first year of eligibility.
Lopez played in 51 matches over two seasons at Cal State Fullerton. In her two years, she had 118 digs and 39 service aces. She’ll be a second-generation Rainbow Wahine as her mom (Kristal Attwood) played for UH from 1990 to 1993.
Reid was an early enrollee after graduating from Kahuku High School this past fall. As a sophomore in 2022, she was No. 5 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s All-State Fab 15. She recorded 103 kills in her senior season, with 32 of them in two championship bracket matches in the HHSAA Division I Girls Volleyball Championship. As a senior, she was selected to the All-State Fab 15 team.
-Dash added. On May 16th, Ravyn Dash announced her commitment to play for Hawai`i. The 6’0” Outside Hitter from Benbrook, Texas played her freshman season for Houston Christian during the 2024 season and averaged 2.31 kills per set. Dash is expected to join the Bows in the fall, along with incoming freshmen Kahea Moriwaki (5’4” DS/L, Punahou School) and Makena Biondi (6’4” MB, Agoura High School)
-Three depart. 2024 Big West Conference Player of the Year and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Outside Hitter Caylen Alexander hit the transfer portal following the season and will play her senior season at Missouri. Backup setter and defensive specialist Jackie Matias transferred to Oregon State. Starting Middle Blocker Jacyn Bamis graduated this past spring and will play her final year at Michigan as a graduate student. @CVBTransfers on ‘X’ does list Morghn Monahan as in the portal and at this time, no mention of her new school has been made public.
-Hakas with Israel SNT. Incoming Junior Tali Hakas will play with the Israeli Senior National Team. One of 10 current and former NCAA players to compete in the CEV Silver League, Hakas and Israel begin competition this Saturday against Faroe Islands.
-Spring Prep. This past March, Hawai`i scheduled two, two-match series against Arizona State and Wisconsin. The reigning Big 12 champions and a 2024 NCAA 2nd Round participant won both matchups with UH, by 3-1 and 3-0 match scores respectively. 2024 NCAA Regional Finalist Wisconsin defeated Hawai`i 3-1 in both matchups. The second matchup with the Badgers was a treat for those on Kaua`i as UH and Wisconsin played in Lihue at Kauai High School, the alma mater of UH’s Associate Head Coach Kaleo Baxter. That day also included a Keiki clinic, which sold out.
-#PackTheStan. Season-ticket renewals will be sent out the first week of June with new season-ticket sales to begin July 21. More information on ticket sales will be announced in the coming weeks. Head to etickethawaii.com or hawaiiathletics.com to buy your tickets. Hope to see you both on the island and on the continent this season.