By: ESPN Honolulu Rainbow Wahine play-by-play voice, Tiff Wells
1 – Confirmation of #1. When Stella Adeyemi suffered a left knee injury early in the September 20th match against UCLA, both the program and fan base hoped for the best but also began to prepare themselves for the worst possible news. That news would come October 2nd when it was announced by UH that the Junior Outside Hitter would indeed miss the remainder of the 2025 season with that left knee injury. Not only is it another devastating blow to the OH depth chart but UH also loses one of their most experienced players. The season began so promising for Adeyemi, who had really worked hard in the offseason to improve both her passing and floor defense. Named to the Outrigger Invitational All-Tournament Team, she recorded three double-doubles while being one of the floor leaders on a relatively young and inexperienced team. She is now the second player to suffer a season-ending injury. We wish Adeyemi all the best in her road to a full and successful recovery ahead of the 2026 season.
2 – 1st full experience of the 6-2. With the status of Cha’Lei Reid up in the air ahead of Friday’s Cal State Bakersfield match, many wondered what the lineup would look like. A couple of practice days ahead of their travel day, the blue court in Bakersfield was the first time this season the Rainbow Wahine deployed a full-time 6-2 offensive look. Making her first career start at setter, Audrey Hollis recorded her first UH double-double (24 assists, 15 digs). She also had three kills and two blocks, while adding four kills. Her counterpart Adrianna Arquette scored her sixth double-double before the end of Set 2. After the two-hour and ten-minute match was complete, Arquette finished with 28 assists and new career-highs in both kills (14) and digs (17). The two setters helped UH hit .282 for the match as neither of them came off the floor. With three front row attackers at all times, everyone got into offense as five players put down nine or more kills (9-Dash and Mane, 11-Sylvester, 13-Way and 14-Arquette). As the 6-2 worked in the 4-set win over the Roadrunners, it was a much different story 24 hours later at Northridge as CSUN led UH 2-0 before a change back to the 5-1 with Arquette setting for the third and final set.
3 – The Walking Triple-Double. It’s been well documented that Hawai`i hadn’t had a triple-double since 2018. The walk-off ace from Adrianna Arquette capped a well-rounded individual (41 assists, 11 kills, 15 digs and two aces) performance in the 5-set win against UC Riverside on September 26th. Maybe Friday’s are for the triple-double because it happened again for the sophomore on October 3rd…and it almost did in just two sets played. Career-highs in kills (14) and digs (17), while adding 28 assists, the sophomore recorded her second triple-double in her last three match played. More impressive for UH was for this to happen without having both Cha’Lei Reid and Bri Gunderson on the floor. Both were cleared to play and were available if needed. With no true six-rotation opposite on the roster, the need for production on that right side is paramount and Arquette has proven time and time again that she can be relied upon to do a little bit of everything for this group.
4 – Welcome back 10. Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center went eerily silent in Set 4 on September 27th as Cha`Lei Reid went down with a lower left leg injury. Unable to put weight on it, she was carried off the floor and after the game was on crutches with the foot in a boot. Not only did everyone want to know the health of Reid’s ankle, but they also were curious of her status and if she’d be available to play on this road trip. Would she even be included on the travel roster? She went through warmups with the track jacket on but when it came to the announcement of the starting lineups, Reid was not in there. Tyla Reese Mane got the start on the outside and later, Ravyn Dash would come off the bench to be the other outside. Both would play well in the absence of Reid as each recorded nine kills and two blocks. Reid re-entered the starting lineup the following night at Northridge and produced six kills on 25 swings. In a season where UH has lost two pin hitters to season-ending injury, it was good news for the Bows to have someone return to the floor after being injured.
5 – Middles Not Feeling Blue. With the pin hitting depth being tested and needing the possibility to have Bri Gunderson be available on the right side, it’s allowed Maddie Way to slide into a middle position and she has flourished. With UH running a 6-2 against Cal State Bakersfield for the first time this season, Way went for a career-high 13 kills on 17 errorless swings, hitting .765 for the match. Not to be outdone, her Middle Blocker counterpart Miliana Sylvester put down her third straight double-digit kill match as she went for 11 kills on 25 swings with just one hitting error. The middles combined to hit .548 and recorded 24 of the team’s 60 kills. Not bad performances with this system. On a night where neither Gunderson nor Reid were used, Hawai`i finished the match hitting .282 en route to their 5th consecutive win at Bakersfield and remaining a perfect 10-0 against the Roadrunners all-time. UH has proven that when the passing is there, either setter can find the middle and that position continues to produce.
6 – Fightin Bows? In the 3-0 loss at then No. 4 Stanford, UH played the Cardinal close. The Bows nearly forced a fourth set against UCLA and almost took Texas State to five. Playing without arguably their top four offensive options at Cal State Bakersfield, UH earned their first road win of the season as they beat the Roadrunners in 4-sets. Two four-point set losses to CSUN saw UH looking at a 2-0 match deficit. An offensive change as UH went from a 6-2 to a 5-1 didn’t work as the Matadors snapped an 18-match losing streak in the series and beat Hawai`i for the first time since 2014. Not only was UH out-hit by 98 percentage points (.282 to .184), they also were out-blocked 13-2. To make matters more alarming, Head Coach Robyn Ah Mow was quoted by Honolulu Star Advertiser’s Billy Hull after the match saying “there was just no fight…usually there’s a fight at the end…but no fight at the end. That’s what I saw.” In what has resembled the injury-plagued 1992 season, this 2025 edition of Rainbow Wahine Volleyball is without the services of two pin hitters for the rest of the season. They also have seen a lingering knee issue come back for Bri Gunderson as well as Cha’Lei Reid coming off that left ankle injury. The loss of players can’t result in the loss of the season. The Bows sit at 6-9 overall and their only way into the NCAA Tournament is to qualify for and win the Big West Conference Tournament. In their final run through the Big West, UH is with three other teams at 2-2. As Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara come to the island this weekend, the opportunities are there for a signature win or two to right the ship as we near the halfway point of Big West Conference play. Five of the next eight matches are away from home. UH always gets their opponents’ A-game. It’s time for UH to bring their A-game from here on out and the fight from Hawai`i must be there the rest of the way as well.