Rainbow Wahine to take on Georgia Southern in volleyball season opener

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s opening night for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team.

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Earlier Friday, the Manoa faithful begin filling in for what’s expected to be a historic night for the Rainbow Wahine.

The University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team takes on Georgia Southern Friday to kick off the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic to start the highly anticipated Joshua Walker era.

Walker succeeds former head coach Robyn Ah Mow, who stepped down in April.

Walker, a UH All-American, signed on in June and is back home as the fourth head coach in program history.

It’s a beast of an opening weekend, playing three matches in three days as the ‘Bows take on Georgia Southern, nationally ranked Baylor and San Diego.

Saturday’s head-to-head with the Bears comes with a bit of nostalgia for Walker, who spent the last four years in Waco with the Baylor Bears.

Now, he’s coaching against the team he once helped shape.

“Got a lot of respect for everyone on that side of the net,” he said. “For us it’s gonna be a great test of one of the top teams in the country, right now the only ranked team on our schedule, so we know if we can play well against them, we can play well against anyone.”

The 2026-27 roster is made up of seven newcomers and eight returnees, including local standouts Chalei Reid, Adriana Arquette and Miliana Sylvester.

Fans got a chance to see this new-look team last week, in an exhibition match against Chaminade.

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“Our practice gym is very competitive, and so we are trying to up the standard just the errors [we] were making, trying to minimize our errors,” said UH middle blocker Miliana Sylvester. “I think we had like 12 or something in the first set against Chaminade, and that’s not gonna cut it against a better team.”

Even with the new-look roster, the ‘Bows have one constant and one player they’ll look to help lead the team this season: outside hitter Shala Reed.

Reed led the team in kills during her freshman year and will be looked to help carry the team this year.

The interesting thing is she’s been playing the opposite position during fall camp.

This week, the Rainbow Wahine welcomed Heather Olmstead to the coaching staff as associate head coach. She spent the summer as head coach for Team USA’s Under 17 before getting the call from Walker.

“We talked a lot about volleyball and what he wants to build here, and I believe in what he’s doing and with the players he has and those coming in, I think great things can happen with this program. He wants to win a National Championship, so if I can be a little part of that, that would be great,” Olmstead said.

The ‘Bows take to the court at 7 p.m. at the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Manoa.

Read more ‘Bows take home first win of Walker era, downing Georgia Southern 3-1

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