Calgary Tribune - Hawai‘i Women’s Volleyball Clinches Mountain West Regular Season Title

The University of Hawai‘i women’s volleyball team captured the Mountain West Conference regular season title on Thursday night, defeating Air Force in four sets at the Stan Sheriff Center. The victory also secured the Rainbow Wahine the top seed for the conference tournament.

Hawai‘i won with scores of 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, and 25-22. Following the match, the team was presented with a green banner declaring them champions, which they held aloft for impromptu photographs.

In their debut year in the Mountain West under first-year head coach Joshua Walker, the Rainbow Wahine have established themselves as the conference leader. The win improved Hawai‘i’s overall record to 22-4 and its conference record to 14-1. With three regular season matches remaining, the team has mathematically clinched the title over UC Davis and Grand Canyon, both of which held 10-5 conference records following Thursday’s action.

The victory marked a significant turnaround for a program that failed to qualify for the Big West tournament in 2025. Junior libero Victoria Leyva emphasized the team's focus on consistency and discipline rather than just the final outcome.

"When we started the season, we set our goals of what we wanted to accomplish, and it wasn't necessarily winning the Mountain West, but we also talked about the consistency and discipline that we wanted to do it with," Leyva said. "I think one of the biggest things has been relying on each other as a team, that cohesion factor, and then we've had the great coaching staff as well to support that."

Air Force challenged Hawai‘i in the third set, handing the Rainbow Wahine their first home set loss since Sept. 6 against UC San Diego. This ended a streak of 34 consecutive sets won on the Stan Sheriff Center teraflex floor.

In the fourth set, Air Force held a 13-10 lead before Hawai‘i rallied behind right-side hitter Cha’lei Reid. Reid finished with a match-high 20 kills, helping her team close out the victory.

"I'm just having fun out there," Reid said. "Definitely being able to connect with [setter Adrianna Arquette] and knowing that the back row and the cover is there for me. I think just being able to be comfortable and trusting my team and in my teammates, it's been pretty fun."

Head coach Joshua Walker highlighted the immediate impact of his staff and the players' dedication to their new conference environment.

"I had a lot of success as a [UH] player, and me coming as a coach, one of my biggest goals was to have them have a great experience," Walker said. "I do it because I want them to come to the University of Hawai‘i and just have a great experience playing here, playing for our fan base, playing for each other. So, I'm just really happy that the work they put in, they've been able to see the results right away."

The Rainbow Wahine will play one final home match against Air Force on Friday at 7 p.m. Following that contest, the team will honor seniors Leilani Lopez, Panna Ratkai, and Tali Hakas.

Hawai‘i concludes its regular season with two matches at UTEP on Nov. 18-19. The team will then advance to the Mountain West semifinals on Nov. 24 against an opponent to be determined.

R.Brown--CT