As the Stan Sheriff Center rose to its feet, freshman outside hitter Cha’lei Reid stepped up to the service line with confidence in a dominant third set. The University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine Volleyball team had a commanding lead, already up 2-0 on the Utah Valley Wolverines.
Freshman defensive specialist Kahea Moriwaki received the following attack, digging the ball to sophomore libero Victoria Leyva, who set up Reid for a powerful cross-court kill.
Aloha ball.
The Wahine (1-4) had done it, completing the dominant sweep of the Wolverines (3-3) 27-25, 25-20, 25-17 getting their first win of the 2025 season.
“They played a pretty complete match from start to finish,” Associate Head Coach Kaleo Baxter said. “We knew this plane was ready to take off.”
Junior outside hitter Stella Adeyemi led the way with a career-high 17 kills, adding two aces, one block and seven digs.
“Stella had it going the whole game,” sophomore setter Adrianna Arquette said. “She was a great steady force for us.”
The connection between Arquette and Adeyemi fueled the offense all night.
“From the past games, what’s changed is our communication, it’s gotten a lot stronger,” Adeyemi said. “It has really helped the success of us and the rest of the team.”
The chemistry was evident late in the third. Up 13-9, Arquette delivered a perfectly placed ball to Adeyemi, who scored a thunderous kill to push the lead to 14-9. Just a few points later, the duo struck once more to make it 17-13, continuing the Wahine’s dominance.
Unlike previous nights where Hawai’i dwindled late in sets, the Wahine ended the third on a 6-0 run to seal the sweep.
“I think just not letting off the gas pedal coming into the 20-point area, we kept going until the finish,” Arquette said.
Adeyemi echoed the focus.
“We really emphasize that after 20, we really need to lock in and limit our errors,” Adeyemi said.
After starting 0-4 for the first time in program history, the Wahine turned things around with their best performance of the young season.
“We’ve faced some adversity these first four matches,” Baxter said. “But we know what this group is capable of. These ladies can play the game at a very high level.”
The Wahine look to carry that momentum into Sunday’s matchup with the St. John’s Red Storm, closing out the OUTRIGGER Invitational at 5 p.m. at the Bank of Hawai’i Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.