Walker wins debut as Hawai’i handles Georgia Southern

HONOLULU – The newest era of Rainbow Wahine volleyball is under way.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Joshua Walker, the University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team took care of business to begin the 2026 season with a four-set victory over Georgia Southern (0-1) on Friday night, (25-18, 25-20, 17-25, 25-18).

Tali Hakas led the way for the Rainbow Wahine (1-0) as she paced all players in the match with 15 kills on 42 swings, committing only two attacking errors while chipping in nine digs and a block in her first UH game action in nearly a year.

“It was beautiful,” Hakas said following the match when asked about her return from injury. “I don’t think I have enough words to describe the way I was feeling, even before the step out on the court.”

The junior outside hitter missed the majority of UH’s 2025 campaign with a shoulder injury, playing in the first three matches of the year before going on the shelf. While her on-court ability was sorely missed, the energy and emotion that comes with Hakas being active proved to be an even bigger hole for last season’s squad.

Miliana Sylvester followed closely behind Hakas for Hawai’i in the winning effort, chipping in 13 kills on 23 swings while Dayton transfer Panna Ratkai turned in a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs to go along with four service aces in her official Rainbow Wahine regular season debut.

Hawai’i started quickly, cruising to a 25-18 victory in the night’s opening stanza as the group hit .244 behind a bevy of different offensive options. Hakas had seven of her 15 kills in the first set, setting the tone with a fiery passion after every point.

Georgia Southern seemed to find a rhythm to begin the follow-up frame, but a 10-3 run by the Rainbow Wahine flipped the script of the set and pushed Hawai’i back towards a comfortable two sets to none lead over the Eagles.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Rainbow Wahine though, faltering in the third frame in a big way as Georgia Southern hit for their highest number of the night at .375 to force a fourth set.

Hawai’i would re-group heading into the night’s eventual final frame, seeing a slight lineup shift as Oregon State transfer Maëli Cormier came off the bench to provide a late lift. The sophomore OH/OPP tallied six of her seven kills in the fourth set and didn’t commit a single attacking error in the stanza.

The Rainbow Wahine also cleaned up the attack as a whole in the night’s final action, converting at a .419 hitting clip as a group to close out the victory.

Cormier completed her night with seven kills on just 10 attempts in a set and a half of work while Adrianna Arquette tied her career high of 17 digs to go along with 48 assists for Hawai’i.

Reagan Barth blasted down a team-high 14 kills in the loss for Georgia Southern while Beka Pfefferkorn closely trailed behind with 13 putdowns of her own for the Eagles.

Georgia Southern will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon against San Diego, who fell in straight sets to No. 21 Baylor earlier on Friday.

Hawai’i will wrap up the Saturday action with a date with No. 21 Baylor, setting up a fun showdown between head coach Joshua Walker’s old program and new program. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.