By: ESPN Honolulu Rainbow Wahine play-by-play voice, Tiff Wells

1 – A-Town Represent. One of just three third-year players on the roster, Tyla Reese Mane brings a lot to a team that features eight newcomers. In a day and age when most athletes hit the transfer portal if they aren’t getting the playing time right away that they feel they deserve, Mane continued to work hard and push the starting group. Finding her love for the sport again while giving back to her high school by helping out the Aiea High girls volleyball team, year three has been the charm for Mane. It took some time to climb the depth chart and in this her senior season, she’s seen extensive playing time. The Aiea native has started seven of the 17 matches this season and against two of the top teams in conference, Mane continued to prove to herself that she can get the job done. Against Cal Poly, she set a new career-high with 10 kills on 29 swings, hitting .345 in the process. Most importantly, she committed zero hitting errors. With Mane in the serve-receive formation she went 20-for-20. Playing “an efficient, but a safe match,” according to her Associate Head Coach Kaleo Baxter, TRM continued to provide offense from a position that’s been devastated by injuries. Facing the top blocking team in the conference on Sunday, Mane went for career-highs in both kills (11) and hitting percentage (.346) and recording just two errors on 26 swings. Served 34 times, she was aced just once. UH’s offense will continue to need the mix of efficiency and aggressiveness from Mane moving forward.

2 – BG Back To The Middle. She came in as one of the top middle blockers from the transfer portal and Hawai`i fans were excited to have Bri Gunderson on the roster, even if it was for one season. The Ladera Ranch, California native has been at the forefront of the Mānoa Roofing Company with her team leading 66 blocks as she currently sits tied for fourth in the conference with 1.14 blocks per set. During spring ball and in fall camp that saw many attacks coming from the middle, Gunderson did take a few swings on either pin. Not thinking it would be needed during the season, the starting middle was moved to the opposite as UH experimented with various lineups due to injury. Going from a 5-1 offense into the current 6-2 look, the Rainbow Wahine appear to have found the best system suited for who’s available. When the passing was there over the past weekend, UH was able to run the middle and found Gunderson 39 times, recording 20 kills in the process.

3 – Morghn Into The Mix. We’ve heard from Head Coach Robyn Ah Mow that at any time, a reserve might be needed to come in and put a serve in, block a ball or dig an attack. Her number was called just once last season and for the first two times in her career, she got some playing time here at home. Another of the seniors, Morghn Monahan was in the rotation against both Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. Two kills, two blocks and three digs against the Mustangs, she added a kill and a dig versus the Gauchos. For someone who’s provided the cheers to those that are on the floor and keeping the positive vibes with the rest of the bench mob, she saw the pendulum swing in her favor as she was the one scoring points for the team and celebrating on the floor. Standing at 6’3,” she is a presence at the net. In a season nearly unlike any other seen in the history of this program, it’s still very key to have those that are in a reserve role be engaged in the match, cheer for their teammates and provide feedback to those on the floor with what they see from the bench. With a roster of 15 active players, one must always be ready when their number is called and when #6 was called, Monahan didn’t shy away under the bright lights.

4 – BWC Parity. Just three weeks into conference play and the lone unbeaten is UC Davis (6-0). In the preseason poll, the Aggies were picked to finish third. Preseason fifth in the poll, Long Beach State currently is in second place at 5-1. Cal State Fullerton, who hadn’t won a conference game in two years, already has two league wins; both being 3-0 wins with one being at UC San Diego. Speaking of the Tritons, they also are 2-4. UCSD swept Cal Poly at home and three of their four conference losses have come in five sets. Maybe the biggest surprise has been CSUN as they currently are 3-3 overall, including a 3-0 win over Hawai`i. Five teams currently are 2-4 with Cal State Bakersfield right behind at 1-5. The Roadrunners win at UC Irvine and then the next night UC Irvine beats CSUN. UC Riverside has taken UH to five sets here in Honolulu. No match is a gimmie, there is no walkover. Only six qualify for the Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Big West Conference Championship in Long Beach during Thanksgiving weekend. More than likely the Big West is a one-bid league. If the first three weeks are any indication of what’s to happen over the final month and half of league play, continue to expect the unexpected.

5 – Sunday Fight Night. After suffering their third loss of conference, UH utilized the day in between by having a full two-hour practice session. Not only was UH swept by Cal Poly, the Rainbow Wahine lost nearly every single statistical category. When talking to the coaches, it also seemed as if the Bows had lost the fight, especially in the second set loss (25-14). UH went toe-to-toe with the Mustangs up until the 15-point media break in both sets 1 and 3. When you have a less than ideal match, more often than not the best remedy is to come back the next night. With football playing at home, that wasn’t the case. The Bows were right there with the Gauchos and led for the majority of the first set, where they would win it in extra time. Hawai`i couldn’t hold the match lead and despite giving up 13 of the final 16 points in the third set, UH got to within a point on a couple of instances in the fourth set but couldn’t force a fifth set. While the macro result is a 3-1 loss, the micro parts of the match had a lot of positives with some things to work on ahead of the extended road-trip. Yes the team is 2-4 in conference play and are at less than 100%. A couple of points here, maybe one fewer run given up there in a set and they go five sets against UC Davis or UCSB…maybe they aren’t down 0-2 at CSUN or trailing 0-2 at home against Cal Poly. All that’s asked of is to continue bringing your effort and hustle, to play as hard as you can and not quit. The fight was there against the Gauchos and it needs to continue to show the rest of the way.

6 – Far Far From Home. We hit that point in the season where the imbalanced scheduling comes into play. With the addition of the conference tournament two seasons ago, you now play eight teams twice and two teams once, with one of them coming to your place and the other hosting you. In the final year for UH in the Big West, Hawai`i travels to UC Irvine and will host Cal State Fullerton. Instead of making another road-trip for this one match, the Rainbow Wahine piggyback this one-off road-match onto another trip. Three matches in five days will have UH at rival Long Beach State on Friday, at UC San Diego on Saturday and at UC Irvine the following Tuesday. It also marks a stretch where five of the next six matches are away from Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. It’s a key portion in the schedule with teams looking to position themselves in the standings as we’re about to hit the halfway pole in conference play. Pack your bags real good because we’ll be gone for a while.