Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Volleyball

The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team is the NCAA Division I women's volleyball team for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. They are a member of the Big West Conference and are led by head coach, Robyn Ah Mow-Santos. The Rainbow Wahine volleyball program remains a large source of financial income for the University of Hawaii athletic department, notwithstanding even what FB and MBB generates.

Grandfathered in, and straddling the line between the two governing bodies of the AIAW and NCAA, Joyce Kapuaala-Kaapuni started with Hawaii in 1974 (alongside USAV's 1970 World's participant Beth McLachlin). She'd continue with her UH college career in 1982-83 forging first in the NCAA, winning back-to-back national championships.

As show, volleyball has always been a celebrated linchpin between islands. A token manifested, then, person being, Kawehi Ka'a'a (2x UHH First Team All-American) who'd participate in three Final Fours (AIAW, UHH, 1978 & 1979 and AIAW, UHM, 1980). The follow-up was a Regional Final versus USC in the inaugural NCAAs, 1981. The UHM WVB program moreover frequently pays visits to Hilo and Kahului in competition during the spring. In 1974, for back-to-back matches somewhere between Sept.–Nov., it all began coincidentally on the island of Kaua'i, the eldest of all major-islands in the Hawaiian archipelago.

The team has won four national championships: one AIAW title and three NCAA Division I titles. The Rainbow Wahine played in the Big West Conference from 1988 to 1995. They joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1996 and clinched at least a share of the regular-season conference title each year until 2012, when the Rainbow Wahine re-joined the Big West Conference. Hawaii won the WAC Tournament (and the WAC's automatic NCAA Tournament bid) in 1998 and every year between 2001 and 2011 except in 2010, when Hawaii lost in the tournament's final round to the Utah State Aggies. All four national championship squads have been team inducted into the UH Hall of Honor, of the Hawaii Athletics most prestigious, since 1981-82 (the NCAA's WVB birth).

Under the banner of 1987 Hawaiian Airlines, UH would capture the third placed Berkeley, CA, USAV Open Nationals title (of mid-May) this year. A Tita of UHM, being recognized as the consecutive all-tourney, had fallen to NorCal's Carlson Chrysler (1st place) and the American SW's Merrill Lynch (2nd).

In 1988 the USA's Major League Volleyball (MLV being first in the country, an all female league), they'd draft Wahine all-American (Swede) Vorwerk to the Los Angeles Starlites as the number one overall pick. She'd later compete on the international beach circuit in the following years with her native Sweden.

Non-existent (since 2017), ten-time National Champions (w the NCAA Division II most recently), Brigham Young Hawaii had been the only other university statewide to have ever beat the Rainbow Wahine (once, 1992). Current coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos would begin at UHM the following year in the re-establishment of order; she solidified the starting lineup in leading this team to the NCAA Regional Final, in Long Beach, CA (1993).

On 21 October 1994, the Rainbow Wahine played their first match in the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine led the nation in home game attendance from 1995 to 2014, with a cumulative average of more than 6,800 fans per match, until the Nebraska Cornhuskers moved into the Devaney Center and began averaging over 8,000 fans at each home match.

The 1996 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began with 48 teams (with a 12 team, six matches play-in meet) which ended on December 21, 1996, when Stanford defeated Hawaiʻi in the NCAA championship match. In the order of 3–0 sweeps, UH went over, routing, Colorado, Texas, BYU, Florida before succumbing 0–3, themselves, to the Cardinal. Retrospective this current 2017–present, Wahine-now leaders are the Head Coach, the Assistant Coach and the Director of Volleyball Operations (DoVO); perhaps not coincidentally they were the principled headwomen as athletes then.

Junior #2-Susie Boogaard (2002-2005), iffy, informally, has the best season of her UH career. Averaging approximately 15 home matches per year, the parents of Boogaard had purchased tickets for unlimited flights, on annual passes by ATA Airlines, out of Los Angeles into Honolulu. The Ahuna's (1984-1987), reflexive, went Honolulu to the Continental U.S.

It would be also that in 2006, former player Kari Anderson (1991–94) moved into the Associate Head Coach's position; she'd been an Assistant ever since '96-1997. She is still the longest tenured right-handed aide in UH WVB history. She'd retired from volleyball in early 2011.

UHM is a perfect 24–0 against UH Hilo in their own state turf series, dating back to the mid-1970s. On September 12, 2009, the program notched its 1,000th victory with a 3–0 win over Stanford; this series favors UH 19–13. On December 11, 2015, the Wahine defeated seven-time national champions Penn State 3–0. Rarefied, NU(s'), of the great state consequentially of Nebraska, archives presenting the 8-8 HI-NE tie makes for Hawaiian celebratory tenor; the Rainbow and Cornhuskers wahine (beginning with 1975), both showstoppers, they codify the winner's tradition(s).

On 1989 December 8, 1989, a number one ranked Rainbow Wahine, quite objectively, referenced through annals which show those (that) analyzed statistically (e.g. kills, digs and percentages); they'd beat another AVCA Top 25 program in Cal Poly SLO, at Stockton, California, in the regional semifinal 15–9, 15–17, 9–15, 15–12, 15–12. Others via the official NCAA's history might suggest that the longest game of hours, between the #6 BYU Cougars and #7 UH, this manages ''ensured'' the best match chronicled with a UH win 15–12, 21–19, 13–15, 16–18, 24–22. This latter mentioned match occurred in the 1998 Las Vegas WAC Championships final. Of that 1998 post–season ''blossomed'' run into the NCAA Elite Eight, having incidentally been 1996 sophomore understudy to Coach Ah Mow at setter, Nikki (sept Ivarie's) Hubbert would appear and win the Family Feud game show versus the Couchois clan (2007). Senior-Hubbert holds the all time UH record(s) for total assists and assists per set in a year: 1998.

To date the Rainbow Wahine are a perfect 4–0 against the U.S. Armed Services (Air Force, Navy, Army and Coast Guard). They are 1-0 versus the Ivy League ('W' on Brown, 12/98). They stand with HURCN Lane at 39?-38 along their long-time rival's side, UCLA of the robust Pac-12. Na Wahine is 1–0 versus U.S. International, now Alliant University; they are tied (at 0s) with Sul Ross State University Texas, being thee original AIAW power (then DGWS - Division of Girls and Women in Sport), who first sponsored women's intercollegiate volleyball beginning in 1970.

Crew 2008: Not since UH's AIAW days had a team been recognized with those assembled recipients, being called to be as it were, stacked with prominent national accolades. These individuals included, 1st Team AVCA all-American Kanani Danielson, 1st Team Volleyball Magazine all-Americans Amber Kaufman and Jamie Houston, 2nd Team AVCA all-American Brittany Hewitt, 3rd Team AVCA all-American Aneli Cubi-Otineru, 2xHM AVCA all-American Dani Mafua, The Elite 88 Award winner Stephanie Brandt, COBRA Mag. All-National Stephanie Ferrell. Additionally, TESL Certificate awardee Catherine Fowler-de Silva would promote English while, simultaneously, playing quasi-professionally: Thailand, Asia; England, UK; then later in El Molar, Madrid, Spain (with C.V. Torrejon). They were exclusive hosts to the WAC End-of-season Tournament; going 20–3 at home, 11–1 away, they finished with a common 30+ wins season.

2011

Senior Leader: Kanani Danielson

Returning (as sophomores): Prepvolleyball.com's #10 '10 Class (Top 100's Hartong, Uiato, Goodman, Waber)

Highlights: Early, September 1-4th, the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic again drew for one of the best preseason collegiate tournaments in the nation; advancements, daily, featured four AVCA Top 25s (UCLA, The Ohio State University, Long Beach State, at Manoa). AVCA #21 Pepperdine then came into Honolulu for back-to-back matches against the, timed, #11 ranked 'Bows two weeks later. Memorably the second September 17 game, preceding CBS's Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series, season 2) fifth episode airing 11 October, resulted in a second consecutive win for UH (twice–3-1). It was titled "Maʻemaʻe"/"Clean." The season would be the final one for UH in the WAC. The reigning Top 25, BWC Champions (14-2) Cal State Fullerton Titans, featuring eventual professional in two-time HM AVCA all-American Kayla Neto (2009-2012), they would succumb leadership to the upcoming and into Orange Co.-Wahine. Both teams would jointly wrangle to end their final regular seasons' schedule; the American NCAA collegiate women's volleyball league, annually, offering its ''Thanksgiving'' weekend matches. UH's post season Honolulu Regional would subsequently steal #25 Colorado State's victory in the second round thereafter. A tough loss to proceeding AVCA #1 USC (eventual NCAA third place–tied), 12–15 in the fifth, would end UHM's season heavily.

Contemporaneously, nascent-ly, perturbed in performance anxiety (at times), Los Angeles native TK was an aspiring actress at the age of 12. Measuring 1.12 meters, then 3'8", it was within a 10 years' moment which the former sought after 6'1' VB Magazine / Prepvolleyball.com Top-50 athlete left Manoa a graduate (2013–14). UHM-fulfilled, those believing, providing living verve with first-in-family college grads moreover.

2012 Prime Scholastic Season

The particular match of the year was played on Saturday, September 15 at 00:00 CDT. The auspicious headline thereafter read: Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Tops Alumnae In Four Sets.

2015 beginnings

This team was circumstantially given the entire Thanksgiving Day's weekend, at home (near and far), to spend gratefully with family and friends. It hadn't been since 1980 that this luxury was afforded this program. To be Sr. Volleyball Magazine HM All-American McKenna Granato earns valuable playing time in this season's Des Moines, IA Regional; the entire team consequently, having been accordingly empowered, subjectively quipped, post-Turkey Day.

''Five years in'', The Big West Conference with Ah Mow-starring, for Sheng Xiao's "Ox year" ('21 occurring), UHM, progressively, always competes well. Too, Ah Mow-Santos will also earn an extension of one year to her coaching contract to boot.

School's Year 2016-17

The 2016 season marked the end of an era for the AVCA Top-10 UHM program. Dave Shoji, with medical issues himself, retired at helm of Hawaiian VB trailblazer. Three all-Americans (Taylor, Mitchem, Maglio), six PrepVB Fab-50's (Iosia, Higgins, Kahakai, Granato, Castillo, Greeley) and the tallest 6'5" ever-Wahine (Burns) comprised the team that season. Prior, in 2015, as the Honolulu Star-Advertiser beat chronicled, a one Kalei Adolpho, hailing from nook Ho'olehua, Molokai, was also notably able to join these same; imposing as a Top-10 on UHM's international European multi-stop Summer Tour, atypical were all outside of the Orient comparatively.

Trivially, the incidental would further place Hawai'i at a 7-4 winning advantage against Florida schools (significant University of Florida and Florida State) within annals marked. As of 2016, both UF and UTAUS own their own 22 conference championships—in tie; they've managed to command their respective regions. Comparatively, the UH (with an 11-2 all-time-series advantage against UT Austin) owns outright its own 25 conference championships.

For the second consecutive year Thanksgiving was a bonus. Unfortunately, during the NCAA second round the team's star player went down—with injuries—of the first few points in Minneapolis. The twice AVCA Beach Volleyball all-American, consequently, wouldn't be the same.

2017

O Canada! Twin towers would aptly describe this season's anchored 6'3" and 6'5" middle blockers, long, lean and sky-high. The inner city of Honolulu would be well represented additionally in the back row by UH top three all-time digger, prodigious, Kanaka Maoli Hawai'ian libero. The Preseason/OOC gauntlet ran as follows: AVCA's #3 Minnesota (L, 0–3), #12 Kansas (W, 3–2), #22 San Diego (L, 0–3), #13 UCLA (L, 2–3), #22 Utah (L, 1–3), #10 BYU (L, 2–3). In conference UH subsequently encountered then ranked AVCA #23 Cal Poly SLO, twice (L, 2–3). 18 December 2017, Baylor University (24-7) ends at AVCA #21; the Wahine had beat them earlier, early (W, 3–2).

For this third season in a row, the last weekend of November, beginning with Thanksgiving Thursday, it gave the Wahine much in which to be thankful; R(est) & R(eflection) being key. Four matches scheduled, engaged in the season's last month of November (two at Home & on the road), it brought the uncertain.

This team also featured two seniors, who had been recruited as 2013-14 classmates out of Huntington Beach (HBHS, Ca.). One was a not so initial AVCA, inaugural, HS 1st Team Beach all-American. The other, initially recruited, a surfer, deferred on Minnesota's interest to make her a part of the B1G Conference; tutelage was to have been experienced by way of USA Olympics MVB and WVB coach Hugh McCutcheon (2008 gold and 2012 silver awardee) respectively.

Prismatic 2019

The year started with matches featuring a colorful, rainbow-esk, display of adversarial schools' colors: Burnt Orange, Cardinal, Navy, Purple, Bruin Blue, Maroon, Green, the ubiquitous Gold. UHM's primary school colors are the Green and White. Baylor University, themselves ranked as high as #2 this season in the AVCA Coaches Poll, they, possessing an also-Green-cast, had beat the 'Bows within the first month's competition this season. The 2019 WVB NCAAT, of December, for post regular-season play, is/was within fortunate grasps. After a mini gaffe in 2018, due to the inclement weather of Hurricane Lane, the Wahine would again return to a minimal 20+ wins season.

The Wahine would again be a historic part of Stan Sheriff Center

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