New era of Rainbow Wahine volleyball begins as ‘Bows open fall camp

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Thursday marked a significant step in the tenure of new University of Hawaii women’s volleyball head coach Joshua Walker.

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Walker opened fall training camp for the Rainbow Wahine with the team acronym: MAUNA (Mission, Attitude, Uniformity, No excuses, and Assimilate).

“As we put all this new stuff in place, we’re actually learning,” Walker said. “We’re actually improving, so that’s the focus for this year.”

Walker and the ‘Bows are preparing to climb the figurative mauna into the Mountain West Conference.

He’ll have a full coaching staff behind him, having recently finalized a lineup that includes fellow UH alum Kolby Kanetake, former BYU head coach Heather Olmstead, and Will McDonald.

“For me, it was just making sure that as we kind of get things going that we’re all on the same page,” Walker said. “We all have strengths that we know that we can balance off each other.”

With staff in place, the players have fully bought in, reaffirming their commitment to UH after sticking with the team during the coaching transition.

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“I think at the end of the day Hawaii volleyball has always been Hawaii volleyball regardless of who’s at the head of the program and so to stick with that,” returning player Miliana Sylvester said. “To stick with our fans and the people that stick by us, I think that’s something that hopefully people can cling to and look up to.”

Another key emphasis this camp will be health. The team was marred with injury last season, so Walker is making sure his players stay healthy throughout the year.

Junior outside hitter Tali Hakas is returning to the court after a season-ending shoulder injury.

“(My shoulder is) ready — I mean getting stronger,” Hakas said. “I’m getting that confidence back, but we’ll just make sure that I’m doing it in the right and smart ways.”

The team’s first test will be on the neighbor islands as the ‘Bows take on the University of Hawaii at Hilo Vulcans in an exhibition match.

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