USA Volleyball Hall of Famer Robyn Ah Mow steps down after nine years with Hawai’i

HONOLULU – It’s always hard being the coach after the coach, but it’s even harder to ask for anything more than what Robyn Ah Mow gave the University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine volleyball program.

After nine years and eight seasons at the helm of one of the most notable women’s volleyball programs in the country, Ah Mow announced that she would be stepping down from the head coaching role at her alma mater on Wednesday.

“This decision was not easy,” Ah Mow said in a press release sent out by UH. “It came after a great deal of reflection and soul searching, but the time has come to focus on my family who have sacrificed so much time with me so I could fulfill my dream of being the head coach of this storied program.”

The Rainbow Wahine went 165-72 under the watch of Ah Mow, dominating Big West play to the tune of a 114-28 record since 2017. Hawai’i made the NCAA Tournament in seven of her eight campaigns leading the program, missing out on the national tournament last season after going 12-17 and 8-10 in conference play.

Ah Mow took over as the program’s third-ever head coach after legendary coach Dave Shoji’s retirement following the 2016 season. In 42 years under his watch, Hawai’i won four national titles and racked up four other national runner-up finishes while finishing with 20-plus victories in 38 of the 42 campaigns.

Shoji finished his career with a record of 1,202-204-1, the second-most wins of any coach in the history of collegiate women’s volleyball at the time of his retirement. Ah Mow was a two-time AVCA 1st-team All-American setter for Shoji, going 66-4 and finishing as the national runners-up once in their four years together.

Ah Mow went on to compete in three different Olympic Games for the U.S. Women’s National team, serving as a team captain in 2008 and helping guide the Stars and Stripes to a silver medal. At the time, it was the third-ever medal that the USA women’s volleyball team had earned and matched the 1984 group for the best finish in the nation’s history.

She was inducted into the University of Hawaii Sports Circle of Honor in 2005 and joined fellow Rainbow Wahine great Heather Bown as part of USA Volleyball’s Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

“Robyn Ah Mow is the epitome of what it means to be a Rainbow Wahine,” Hawaii’s director of athletics Matt Elliott said in a statement released by the school. “She is a fierce competitor, a dedicated mentor, and an undeniable legend in the state of Hawai’i and the global volleyball community. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and passion she poured into this program over the last nine years as the lead of Wahine Volleyball, and more than 30 years since she first stepped on campus. We will all miss her dearly as our head coach and wish her the absolute best in her next chapter.”

After her playing career concluded, Ah Mow joined the Rainbow Wahine coaching staff under Shoji and spent four seasons as an assistant from 2011 to 2015. She was officially tabbed as Shoji’s successor in 2017, becoming the first female head coach in the program’s illustrious history.

Her coaching career saw more success in the islands as she was named Big West Coach of the Year on three separate occasions (’19, ’21, ’22) while helping pilot the Rainbow Wahine to tournament appearances in all but one season.

“I gave everything I had to this team, pouring into each and every player with the goal of helping them become not only the best volleyball players they could be, but strong, successful women in life,” Ah Mow’s statement continued. “Playing for the ‘H’ was a privilege. Coaching this program has been an incredible honor.”

Photo Credit: HSRN

The consistent changes in collegiate athletics have accelerated the expiration date on a plethora of big-name coaches over the past half-decade with transfer portal madness, Name, Image and Likeness bidding wars and conference realignment as a few of the biggest reasons for early retirements and surprise new life ventures for coaches becoming more common.

Laura Beeman, who spent the previous 14 seasons leading the UH women’s basketball team to bundles of success in the Big West, stunned the local sports world as she announced her retirement from coaching at the end of March.

Bob Coolen, the winningest coach in UH softball history, called it a career last spring after 34 years as the head coach of the Rainbow Wahine.

Now, Ah Mow becomes the latest of the bunch to say “aloha” to the college coaching ranks as she focuses on spending time with her family.

“To the people of Hawai’i, thank you for your unwavering support and aloha throughout my time as both a player and a coach,” Ah Mow’s statement from UH closed with. “Mahalo and Aloha.”

Associate head coach Kaleo Baxter will serve as the interim head coach for UH, though a national search for a permanent head coach is set to begin immediately.