Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team will open the 2026 season Friday night against Georgia Southern in the first of three matches at the Rainbow Wahine’s season-opening tournament.
The tournament will mark the debut of first-year head coach Joshua Walker and will provide an early test for Hawaii, which will close the weekend against nationally ranked Baylor and defending West Coast Conference champion San Diego.
Walker said facing high-level competition early in the season can help the Rainbow Wahine identify areas for improvement before conference play begins.
“You’re going to want to get those games underneath your belt because you get a quicker fix to know what is real and what isn’t real,” Walker said. “That way you kind of have an idea of what you need to work on or what can improve as you head into conference play.”
Junior middle blocker Miliana Sylvester said early-season matches can be unpredictable as teams continue to develop their chemistry and consistency.
“Everyone in the beginning of the season is figuring it out,” Sylvester said. “Whoever shows up that night, whoever is kind of fine-tuning the quickness, I think can take the match.”
Sylvester said the Rainbow Wahine have used the offseason to build on last season and are eager to see that work translate to the court.
“I think we’ve definitely just put our head down and worked after the season that we had last season,” Sylvester said. “Just to come out on the court this weekend, I think it’s going to be so rewarding just for the work that we’ve put in in the offseason and the strides that we’ve made when nobody’s been watching.”
Hawaii will begin the tournament against Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Friday.
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The University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team will open the 2026 season Friday night against Georgia Southern in the first of three matches at the Rainbow Wahine’s season-opening tournament.
The tournament will mark the debut of first-year head coach Joshua Walker and will provide an early test for Hawaii, which will close the weekend against nationally ranked Baylor and defending West Coast Conference champion San Diego.
Walker said facing high-level competition early in the season can help the Rainbow Wahine identify areas for improvement before conference play begins.
“You’re going to want to get those games underneath your belt because you get a quicker fix to know what is real and what isn’t real,” Walker said. “That way you kind of have an idea of what you need to work on or what can improve as you head into conference play.”
Junior middle blocker Miliana Sylvester said early-season matches can be unpredictable as teams continue to develop their chemistry and consistency.
“Everyone in the beginning of the season is figuring it out,” Sylvester said. “Whoever shows up that night, whoever is kind of fine-tuning the quickness, I think can take the match.”
Sylvester said the Rainbow Wahine have used the offseason to build on last season and are eager to see that work translate to the court.
“I think we’ve definitely just put our head down and worked after the season that we had last season,” Sylvester said. “Just to come out on the court this weekend, I think it’s going to be so rewarding just for the work that we’ve put in in the offseason and the strides that we’ve made when nobody’s been watching.”
Hawaii will begin the tournament against Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Friday.
Hawaii News, Hawaii Weather, Hawaii Sports
See more of the team that is Working for Hawaii on our website: khon2.com
Stay informed about Hawaii news, weather, sports and entertainment, subscribe to the KHON2 YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/KHONNewsHawaii?sub_confirmation=1
Check out our morning news podcast: khon2.com/khon-2go
Sign up to receive the latest Hawaii news in your inbox: nxslink.khon2.com/join/6sd/signup
Stay informed about Hawaii news, weather, sports, and entertainment! Follow KHON2 on our social channels:
youtube.com/user/KHONNewsHawaii
facebook.com/khon2news
twitter.com/KHONnews
instagram.com/khonnews
