Tiff's takeaways for UH Women's Volleyball - Week 5

By Tiff Wells

1. #BuiltBold Homestand

Preseason picked to finish fifth in the 10-team Mountain West Conference, the way UH’s conference schedule was made, it just happened that teams below them would come to the island and they’d travel to the teams picked above them. Hawai`i controlled the two-match series with New Mexico and only needed to play the minimum six sets. The Rainbow Wahine held the Lobos under 20 points in four of the six sets. One of three Mountain West Conference debutants in 2026, UH needed just 96 minutes on night one for the 3-0 win and then played 99 minutes to record the 3-0 victory on night two. After one week of conference play, Hawai`i joins UTEP, Air Force and UC Davis as the four teams who are 2-0 and atop the league standings. UH was the only team to win both matches over the weekend by 3-0 set scores. While you’d like to see the offense be a little more efficient (.252 on night 1, .223 on night 2), the overall defense led the way to two wins. Two conference wins at home, both 3-0? You’ll take those results every, single, time. The Mountain West Conference will only have four teams qualify for the November conference tournament and to be among the top four that will head to Las Vegas, the math may seem quite simple: defend home court and at minimum split on the road. The motto of the Mountain West Conference is #BuiltBold and what better way to start in a new conference than to build back-to-back convincing victories en route to a 2-0 opening conference weekend.

2. Welcome Back CR10

A freshman season that included leading the team in kills and points per set, in addition to pacing the Big West in service aces per set, Cha’lei Reid received both Honorable Mention and All-Freshman accolades by the BWC. With UH entering a new conference in 2026, the Kahuku alumna was one of seven players named to the Mountain West Conference’s Preseason Team. One week and 115 swings into the season, Reid saw herself unable to participate as she was diagnosed with a right shoulder injury. With Panna Ratkai and Tali Hakas holding down the two left-side positions and Maëli Cormier starting at opposite, the Rainbow Wahine went 7-1. It was a day-to-day, week-to-week status for Reid. One of the most astute fan bases out there, those in the arena knew something was up on Friday when Reid was on the floor in warmups and taking swings on the starting side. When on the island, ovations during the starting lineups are quite loud for each of the seven UH starters…but the noise level was a little different on Friday when the Lāʻie native was announced. While there was a little bit of rust on Friday in getting acclimated to being back on the floor (3-5-16, -.125), you as fan liked the Saturday adjustments made by the Sophomore as she went for 10 kills on 18 swings to hit .333 on the evening. Following Saturday’s 3-0 win, she joined us for the post match interview and gave a lot of credit to Renae Shigemura (UH’s trainer) for helping her get cleared and ready to play. With a roster of just 15, it’s imperative for this group to have everyone healthy and UH is just that…healthy, as Reid and the Bows hit the road later this week for their ever MWC road-trip.

3. Defensive Stranglehold

Over the years, the fabric of this program has been ball control and floor defense. While both of those have continued here into year 52 of Rainbow Wahine volleyball, the overall defense is one of the main reasons why they are off to a 10-3 start. They are nationally ranked in opponents hitting percentage, as they came into the New Mexico series ranked 16th as opponents were hitting just .154 against them. Hawai`i had 17 total team blocks over the weekend as the Lobos had 30 hitting errors over the course of the two matches. When attacks were kept in play, UH’s backrow was right there to frustrate UNM. Led by Victoria Leyva’s 39 dig effort over the series, the Rainbow Wahine held the Lobos to hit .124 on night 1 and .109 on night 2. For now a 10th time in 13 matches this season, Hawai`i has held an opponent to under a .200 hitting percentage. As the say goes: offense wins games (or in this case, sets or matches) but defense wins championships. Might this be a championship level defense? Only time will tell but the Bows are off to a great start as they have won nine of their last 10 matches.

4. Leftside Tradeoff

With this analytical staff that takes into account so many numbers and stats, the two that pass the best will start as the Outside Hitters. Right now, that’s been Panna Ratkai and Tali Hakas. The Budapest, Hungary native has fit in nicely as the OH-1 for UH here in 2026 as she leads the team in both kills/set (3.49) and points/set (4.11); both of those numbers are top four in the Mountain West Conference. With that devastating jump serve, you’ll notice that UH lines up in a way so that she’s the first server for the Bows each set. Being that top Outside Hitter also means you’re at the top of the opponent’s scouting report. Ratkai was slowed down a bit on night 1 as she had just six kills on 26 swings. The senior didn’t let that affect other aspects of her game as she recorded a UH high of five aces (including four in a row) and picked up two blocks. While New Mexico kept her in check, her roommate was right there to produce. Tali Hakas put down seven of her career-high tying 17 kills in the opening frame and hit a season-high of .484. Those 17 kills led all attackers as each took a turn at being the match-high leader in both kills and points. As Hakas was then limited to seven kills on night two, Ratkai made the necessary adjustments as she led all attackers with 15 kills and hit .302. Also impressive was the fact that she had just three hitting errors in 69 swings. Defensively, the Israeli added 11 digs and three blocks. As the opponent, pick your poison with these two as when you’ve slowed down one, the other has picked it up offensively to beat you.

5. Roomies Shine

As the upperclassmen tandem of roomies have balled out through five weeks of play, the freshmen roommates have been two pleasant surprises. One has been a mainstay in the starting lineup and the other has seen increased playing time over the last couple of weeks. After a solid performance in her hometown the previous week, Rachel Purser remained steady in the series with New Mexico. Eight kills on 15 swings, she added three digs and a block on night one. A night later, she again scored eight kills on 15 attacks, while picking up four blocks. Three hitting errors on 30 swings is also pretty impressive, regardless of what year you are in college. Purser also was a main reason why on night two, UH held the league’s top hitter by percentage (Reagan Miller) to hitting just .167 (3-1-12). While the Las Vegas native has started all but one match, her roommate from San Diego has solidified herself as the defensive specialist to come in for the opposite when they go to the backrow. Cameron Holcomb picked up eight digs and added a career-high four service aces. A 5-0 run in Set 1 and a Set 2 4-0 run helped UH take a 2-0 match lead on night 1. It’s impressive to see a defensive specialist have 20 total serves in three sets as all 20 of them were put in play. Eight more digs and a pair of aces on night two helped the Rainbow Wahine complete the two-match sweep. The previous coaching staff really hit on these two freshmen who chose to honor their commitments and play for this new coaching staff and stay at UH.

6. 8th Man Showing Up

Sixth man is the term for the fans at a basketball game…12th man for those attending a football game. One could say the eighth man is the term reserved for those fans at a volleyball match. Hawai`i has been at or near the top in terms of total attendance year in and year out in Women’s Volleyball since they began playing in the Special Events Arena (now Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center) during the 1994 season. Averaging 5,440 over their first ten home matches, UH has fed off the crowd’s energy to a tune of an 8-2 record. In the few instances where the Lobos got it close in a set, the crowd got in the ear of the Lobo server to cause an error or pushed the Bows to their next point as “Let’s Go Bows” rang around the arena. Conference matches against the likes of Long Beach State, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara when in the Big West are now seeing new teams like New Mexico, Nevada, Air Force and UNLV. With the new conference scheduling where you see teams every two years, new rivalries are being formed and you the fan get to see what kind of adjustments are made over a two-match series instead of seeing two different teams in a weekend. Women’s Volleyball has its longtime season ticket holders and they show up, no matter what. Those that have come to Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center have made it a tough environment for opponents to play in. UH nearly had 9,000 (8,821 to be exact) in house against a team (New Mexico) they hadn’t played in 12 years and was 2-8 coming in. If this past weekend is an indicator, you keep winning and you’ll make a Rainbow Wahine match become the must see event anytime they are at home…no matter whom they are playing.