Internal focus remains for red-hot Hawai’i ahead of first Wyoming trip in 30 years

HONOLULU – The effects of elevation can take some people by surprise.

Look no further than the reaction to the University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team, who have already eclipsed their win total from a year ago after a pair of sweeps over San Jose State last weekend and currently sit above their predicted preseason finish by a pretty margin.

With help from a few other results in a crazy weekend of women’s volleyball, the Rainbow Wahine now stand alone atop the Mountain West Conference with a 14-3 overall record and flawless 6-0 mark since league play began at the end of September. All six of those victories have come in consecutive frames, the longest streak of set wins in a row for UH since the 2016 team recorded eight straight sweeps and 25 consecutive set victories.

People have started to take notice as more and more fans fill the seats inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for home matches. Hawai’i also continues to elevate higher within the national scope, checking in at 39th in the second NCAA Women’s Volleyball RPI rankings that came out on Monday – the highest mark in the Mountain West by nearly 70 spots.

Despite the growing noise and attention surrounding them ahead of the team’s first trip to Laramie since November 1996, the Rainbow Wahine remain focused on following the process that put them atop the conference totem pole to begin with.

“We have numbers and we have benchmarks that we’re going after, that we’re training for, regardless of who’s on the other side of the net,” first-year head coach Joshua Walker responded about the team’s continued hunger for success. “We’re not close to those numbers. Now defensively, we’ve done obviously pretty good. There’s some other parts of our game that’ve been pretty consistent and good, but as far as where we want to go and how good we want to get, we’re not there yet.”

Hawai’i entered the week as the best team in the Mountain West and the fourth-best unit nationally in limiting opponent hitting percentage (.141) and have held the other side’s hitting below .200 in 11 consecutive matches.

They’ll be tested again this weekend against Wyoming, who was picked just ahead of Hawai’i for fourth place in the Mountain West preseason poll and wield a weapon in senior outside hitter Paige Lauterwasser.

A two-time All-Mountain West honoree and 2026 preseason all-conference pick, Lauterwasser eclipsed the 1,000-kill mark for her career in the final weekend of September against UTEP and ranks among the top 10 players in the Mountain West in kills per set (3.05 in conference play).

The Cowgirls also enjoy home court advantage with familiarity playing at the 7,220-foot elevation. It’s something that Walker and the Rainbow Wahine have focused on preparing for.

“We know there’s altitude, we know the air is going to be drier, we know it’s going to be colder so we’re going to do things to make sure that we’re prepared for that environment,” Walker said ahead of his team’s trip to the highest elevation they’ll play at all year. “We can’t make too much out of it because in the end, you still have got to go out there and play volleyball.”

The status of junior outside hitter Tali Hakas will be up in the air for the Rainbow Wahine after she missed both matches against San Jose State with an injury to her lower left leg. Walker referred to her status as “day-to-day” ahead of the weekend while also noting that the ultra-competitive Hakas has been pushing to return as quick as possible.

Thankfully for Hawai’i, depth has been more than ready to dive headfirst into game action when called upon. Sophomore Maëli Cormier is coming off of her best weekend with the Rainbow Wahine, hitting .593 with 18 kills and two total attack errors across two matches against SJSU.

Fellow sophomore Cha’lei Reid also looks fully healthy again after missing eight matches with a shoulder injury earlier in the campaign. The lone preseason All-Mountain West selection for Hawai’i, Reid had herself a nice pair of outings against the Spartans, leading UH in kills on both nights while she moved herself into second place on the squad by upping her attack average to 2.83 kills per set so far this season.

“In our locker room, our quote is ‘it’s all mental’ so I think going to a different altitude, different place, different scenery and environment … nothing really gets in our way if we just really put our mind to it,” Reid said.

With or without Hakas, against altitude or not, Hawai’i remains focused on themselves first. It’s worked out for Walker and the Rainbow Wahine so far – and everyone knows the famous phrase.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Preparation and practice has been key for UH through a flawless beginning against Mountain West competition. There’s no reason to change the combination now.