Hawai’i win streak rolls to six straight behind Ratkai, efficient night of offense

Hawai’i win streak rolls to six straight behind Ratkai, efficient night of offense

Sep 18, 2026

Hawai’i win streak rolls to six straight behind Ratkai, efficient night of offense

The Rainbow Wahine celebrate a point against UC San Diego. | Photo: Riley Guillermo

Taking to the road for the first time this season, the University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team looked right at home.

The Rainbow Wahine (7-2) opened up the Lucky Aces Women’s Volleyball Invitational with a dominant victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2-6) on Friday night, hitting a season-high .471 as a group while sweeping through the Islanders in straight sets inside Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, (25-17, 25-13, 25-13).

Senior outside hitter Panna Ratkai continued her scorching-hot start to her UH career, leading the team in kills for the sixth straight match as she racked up 16 kills while hitting a season-best .556 against the Islanders.

Tali Hakas followed right behind her roommate as the junior outside hitter tallied eight kills and only one attacking error on the night. Hawai’i only recorded five attacking miscues as a team against TAMU-CC, the least amount of attack errors in a single match for the Rainbow Wahine since September of 2017 against Cal State Fullerton.

“Obviously, great performance overall,” head coach Joshua Walker said after the dominant win. “Started off a little slow from the service line but once that steadied out, I think we did a good job consistently throughout the night just executing what the scouting report was.”

The Rainbow Wahine seemingly got hands on every swing by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, posting 9.0 blocks while the Islanders managed just 2.0 through the three frames. Already ranked among the top 25 in the nation for opponent attack percentage entering the night (.151), Hawai’i held TAMU-CC to a .099 hitting clip across the sweep.

Hawai’i started off slow, allowing TAMU-CC to jump out to a 5-3 lead before rattling off five straight points to force a timeout from the Islanders. The stoppage did little to slow the Rainbow Wahine back down, rolling to a 25-17 victory in the opening frame behind Maëli Cormier’s perfect five kills on five swings.

“I think it’s that sense of urgency and that mentality in which you’re not letting somebody off the hook,” Walker said after his team broke out of the slow start on the way to their sixth straight victory. “We kind of got rid of the plays that we’re shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. So, when teams are struggling, we’ve been able to capitalize on it and we haven’t looked back.”

The Rainbow Wahine continued to push the throttle forward in the follow-up frame, jumping out to a 15-8 advantage by the media timeout in the second set. Ratkai moved into double figures in kills by the end of the stanza, sending down her 11th kill of the match to clinch a 2-0 lead over the Islanders for Hawai’i.

Well on their way to a third consecutive sweep, Hawai’i handled business again in the night’s final set as they raced to a nine-point advantage by the frame’s media timeout. The Rainbow Wahine pushed the advantage out to as large as 15 before taking five chances to wrap up the win.

Cormier closed out with seven kills on 10 swings for UH, adding a pair of blocks as she helped set the tone early for the tournament hosts. Miliani Sylvester continued her highly efficient start to her junior season, tacking on seven kills and three blocks of her own while hitting .455 for the Rainbow Wahine.

Freshman middle blocker Rachel Purser, who prepped at Coranado High School in Nevada before making her way to the islands, tallied five kills on six swings while recording a trio of digs and four blocks in her return to her home state.

TAMU-CC outside hitter Ally Saleh, who entered the weekend leading the team in kills (85), had a muted impact as the Rainbow Wahine defense held her to a season-low three kills on 13 attempts. Senior outside hitter Kenna Buchanan picked up the slack for the Islanders, hitting .500 while leading the way with eight kills on the night.

Hawai’i will be right back in action on Saturday afternoon, putting the six-match win streak on the line as they take on Iowa State at 1:30 p.m. HT. The Cyclones had a slow start of their own in the Lucky Aces Invitational, falling in straight sets in the day’s first match against UCLA.

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Moanalua Outlasts Kahuku in Five-Set OIA East Thriller

Moanalua Outlasts Kahuku in Five-Set OIA East Thriller

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Moanalua Outlasts Kahuku in Five-Set OIA East Thriller

Moanalua’s Kingston Auva’a celebrates with teammates after big play against Kahuku | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, Special to HSRN

HONOLULU — Moanalua and Kahuku needed five sets — and then some — to settle another chapter of their growing OIA Division I girls volleyball rivalry Wednesday night.

Nā Menehune survived a back-and-forth deciding set to defeat the defending OIA Division I champion Red Raiders, 25-18, 20-25, 15-25, 25-22, 21-19, improving to 5-0 in the OIA DI East.

LISTEN TO THE BROADCAST

Moanalua Forces a Fifth

Moanalua opened the match with a 25-18 first-set victory before Kahuku responded emphatically. The Red Raiders took the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-15, putting Nā Menehune on the brink.

Moanalua answered with a 25-22 win in the fourth to force a deciding fifth set between two teams already familiar with going the distance.

The matchup was a rematch of last year’s OIA Division I championship, when Kahuku defeated Moanalua in five sets, 24-26, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 15-12. Moanalua also won the teams’ first meeting this season on Aug. 31 in four sets.

Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo

Fifth Set Goes Beyond 15

Wednesday’s finale turned into a marathon.

Neither side could create separation late, with the teams tied at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. Kahuku’s Haley Kotobalavu and Makamae Schilling repeatedly delivered with the match hanging in the balance, while Moanalua leaned heavily on Surfia Grounds.

Grounds tied the set at 19 with her 19th kill of the night. Moanalua then moved ahead 20-19 before Hannah Leung and Alessandra Siazon combined for the match-ending block, finally giving Nā Menehune the 21-19 victory.

Grounds led Moanalua with 19 kills, while Nora Carey added 10 and Kingston Auva’a finished with nine. Setters Alea Chew and Rylie Ramones combined for 47 assists as Moanalua totaled 55 kills.

Kahuku was led by Kotobalavu’s 20 kills, 17 digs and seven aces. Schilling added 14 kills and 15 digs, while Anny Scott recorded 39 assists and 16 digs.

Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo

Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo

Fun Factory VIP of the Game: Kingston Auva’a

Kingston Auva’a was selected as the Fun Factory VIP of the Game after providing a major presence at the net for Moanalua.

Auva’a finished with nine kills, two solo blocks and four block assists, including a key block alongside Leung during the extended fifth set. Her work in the middle helped the Nā Menehune withstand Kahuku’s late push and remain unbeaten in league play.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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What’s Next

The victory keeps Moanalua atop the OIA Division I East at 5-0, while Kahuku falls to 3-2.

Both teams return to league action on Sept. 21, with Moanalua taking on Castle and Kahuku facing Kalaheo.

CLICK HERE for more OIA Girls Volleyball information.

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Hawai’i handles New Mexico State behind big nights from Uiliata, Harris

Hawai’i handles New Mexico State behind big nights from Uiliata, Harris

Sep 13, 2026

Hawai’i handles New Mexico State behind big nights from Uiliata, Harris

HONOLULU – It didn’t have to be perfect. Heck, it didn’t have to be pretty.

But it needed to be a win.

The University of Hawai’i football team bounced back from a slow start to the 2026 season on Saturday night, using contributions from all three phases to hold off New Mexico State for a 29-19 victory inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex and remain perfect all-time in the islands against the Aggies.

Sophomore QB Micah Alejado tallied his first 300-yard game of the year and sixth of his career, completing 33-of-45 passes for 346 yards in the win as the offense found a way to score in all four quarters on the way to posting season highs in points, yards and first downs.

“What you saw out there was the Run-N-Shoot,” Alejado said of the offensive success. “Guys being on their Ps and Qs and coming out being ready to play. We found out a lot about ourselves these past two weeks and I think that’s the result you get … When your back is against the wall, you have to figure out what you’re going to do.”

Micah Alejado rolls to his left while escaping a defender during Hawai’i’s 29-19 victory over New Mexico State. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Tama Uiliata and Audric Harris had breakout performances for the Rainbow Warriors as each wideout eclipsed the century mark in yards for the first time in their careers.

After being held without a catch last weekend and getting three total targets, Uiliata led the team with a career-high 10 receptions and 107 yards on 11 targets while also tossing a 7-yard touchdown to TE Frank Abreu late in the fourth quarter to help seal the win for Hawai’i.

“I think [Uiliata] is one of the best Waipahu football players that ever came out of that high school,” head coach Timmy Chang said after the sophomore’s big performance. “We fully trust him in all these positions because that’s what we saw when we recruited him … Tama is just a special player and we’re lucky he chose Hawai’i to be his home.”

Harris also had his best game of his college career, racking up multiple long receptions on the way to a 105-yard night on four catches in his first collegiate start. Reunited with his high school QB in Alejado, the transfer from Washington recorded the longest offensive play of the season for the Rainbow Warriors in the opening quarter as he took an Alejado pass 55 yards to set up a score.

WR Audric Harris celebrates after a big catch-and-run. | Photo credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

The defense set the tone early for the Rainbow Warriors, forcing a fumble on the game’s opening drive as Wynden Ho’ohuli punched the ball out and Jamih Otis hopped on top of it to secure the team’s first forced turnover of the season.

It was one of three turnovers by the New Mexico State offense, also seeing QB Trey Hedden toss a pair of interceptions after halftime as the Aggies failed to score a point on offense after the midway break.

The early takeaway by Hawai’i quickly turned into points as Alejado and the offense scored a touchdown on their game-opening drive for the first time this year. Alejado went 5-of-5 on the scoring drive, passing for 50 yards before RB DeVon Rice scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 7-yard scamper to the front right pylon.

“I think the biggest thing for the coaches was just re-evaluating and being very detailed in what we were doing out there,” Chang said. “We can give [our guys] a chance to execute. That’s what I think happened on the first drive was more execution happening consistently.”

Hawai’i added on four minutes later as the defense forced a quick punt and the offense glided back into the redzone before settling for a 32-yard field goal from Sean Olvera-Harle, giving a 9-0 lead to the Rainbow Warriors before the first quarter ended.

It didn’t stop there for the hosts after forcing another fast punt, taking the first possession of the second quarter back to paydirt as Rice hurdled a defender to cap off an 11-yard scoring run and 6-play, 71-yard scoring drive that made it a 16-0 lead for Hawai’i.

The defense bent briefly in the second quarter, allowing the Aggies to get on the board after a pair of third down conversions kept a possession alive. Senior RB James Jones capped off the scoring drive with a two-yard push, capitalizing on a defensive pass interference call against the Rainbow Warriors in the redzone.

New Mexico State drew within a field goal with just over a minute left in the first half after a beautiful throw from Hedden dropped directly into WR TK King’s hands for a 33-yard touchdown, bringing a slight level of uneasiness to the 11,807 fans taking in the game at T.C. Ching Complex.

Hawai’i did not flinch, buckling down to drive the field and tack on another three points before the break as Olvera-Harle hit on a career-long 42-yard field goal to send his team into the locker room with a 19-13 lead.

After Titan Lacaden returned the third quarter’s opening kickoff 69 yards to set up the offense inside NMSU territory, it looked like the Rainbow Warriors might roll over the Aggies.

The visitors had other plans, hammering Alejado on a third-down scramble to force a fumble that was scooped up for an 84-yard score by Aggies DB De’Marcus Peters to tie the game at 19.

QB Micah Alejado stays down in pain after getting his helmet knocked off and fumbling at the start of the 3rd quarter. | Photo credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i again responded as a banged-up Alejado trotted back onto the field and shook off the hit (and fumble) to lead a go-ahead scoring drive that ended in Olvera-Harle’s third made field goal of the night, giving the Rainbow Warriors a 22-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

DB Jaylon Edmond gave UH a boost to finish out the third quarter with his first interception as a Rainbow Warrior and the defense stepped up again at the start of the fourth as they forced a turnover-on-downs out at midfield.

Buoyed by the sturdy performance from the defense, Hawai’i’s offense bought some breathing room after starting in plus territory. After getting into the redzone and being faced with a 4th-and-5 decision, Chang and the Rainbow Warriors rolled the dice and went for the kill shot.

Coming out of a timeout by NMSU, Chang reached deep in the playbook and dialed up a direct snap to Uiliata, who rolled to his right and delivered UH’s lone touchdown pass of the night to Frank Abreu to put the Rainbow Warriors up by 10 with 5:41 left to play.

Chang pointed to analytics for his decision to go for a touchdown on fourth down rather than kicking a short field goal.

“Three points doesn’t really do anything for you,” Chang said about not kicking while up by three points with under six minutes to play. “A decision like that, you go for it [and] get it, we’re in a good position … and if you don’t get it, at least you’ve got them pinned down in that area, try to make it a long field to score.”

It didn’t matter anyway as LB Jamih Otis jumped another Hedden pass on the next drive for his second career interception, allowing Hawai’i to waste NMSU’s timeouts and drain the majority of the clock on the way to the team’s first win of the season.

Hedden finished the night completing 19-of-35 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown while tossing two interceptions. RB James Jones had the best showing for the Aggies, tallying 13 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown while forcing his own fair share of broken tackles throughout the loss.

DeVon Rice finished the night with 16 carries for 59 yards and two rushing touchdowns, becoming the first UH running back to have multiple rushing scores in the same game since Dedrick Parson had three against Nevada in 2022.

Kai Kai Carvalho also turned in a big night at the office as the redshirt freshman received his first career start, totaling nine catches for 82 yards in the victory for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawai’i now gets a chance to reset as the team enters a bye week for the first time this season, soaking in the win for an extra weekend before heading to Wyoming on September 26 to close out the first month of the season against the Cowboys.

“We’ll get these guys all healed up [and then] we’ve got a tough game ahead of us,” Chang closed out saying in his postgame press conference before the bye.

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Farrington’s Royalty Talamoa celebrates after making a play against Moanalua. | Photo: Adam Hufstetler

SALT LAKE — Farrington finally found its breakthrough.

The Governors relied on a dominant rushing attack and three defensive touchdowns to spoil Moanalua’s homecoming, pulling away for a 51-19 victory Friday night in an OIA Division I football game.

The win was Farrington’s first of the season and snapped a four-game losing streak. The Governors improved to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play, while Moanalua dropped to 2-2 and 1-1.

Farrington ran for 272 yards and attempted only two passes. Tabu-Rinthon Nathan carried the load with 205 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, including a 93-yard touchdown run with two minutes remaining that put the game out of reach.

“We really wanted to flip the switch and start showing everyone what we’ve been working hard on,” Farrington sophomore quarterback Kenzo Kawai said. “In the past few weeks, we’ve been trying to find the right offense that fits us. We finally found out that our run game is the most effective so we’ve been just pounding the ball on every play.”

Kawai helped establish that identity immediately, rushing for the first two touchdowns of the game.

Farrington opened with an 85-yard drive that consumed 17 plays, all on the ground. Kawai capped the possession with a 4-yard touchdown run.

“It was really big to score on the first drive because it sets the tone for the whole team and hypes up the defense to dominate,” Kawai said.

Farrington quarterback Kenzo Kawai scored the first two touchdowns for Farrington in the win over Moanalua. | Photo: Adam Hufstetler

The Governors then turned a strong special teams play into another touchdown.

Lexzyah Faumui’s 52-yard punt pinned Moanalua at its own 3-yard line. Farrington forced a strip sack on the ensuing possession, and Kawai scored on the next play. Faumui ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Governors a 16-0 lead.

Farrington’s defense continued to make the difference.

Kale Lundvall intercepted two passes and returned both for touchdowns, taking his first pick 62 yards to the end zone in the second quarter and his second 38 yards for a score in the third. Both interceptions came in the right flat.

The first pick-six helped Farrington take a 24-7 lead into halftime.

Linebacker Kale Lundvall scored two defensive touchdowns for the Governors. | Photo: Adam Hufstetler

“I’m really happy for our defense,” Kawai said. “They work really hard every day for it. I’m happy it paid off. I just thank them for putting the offense in a great position where we could score on almost every drive. Most of the props should go to our defense for that.”

Nathan added a 21-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to extend Farrington’s lead to 37-7 before Moanalua mounted a brief comeback.

Na Menehune quarterback Tyler Gines-Hufana completed 16 of 28 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Carson Hunnicutt for a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Isaiah Griffin for a 19-yard score in the third.

Gines-Hufana also added an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, cutting Farrington’s advantage to 37-19.

Nathan answered with his 93-yard touchdown run, his second score of the night, to halt any hopes of a Moanalua comeback.

Farrington RB Tabu Nathan was a workhorse for the Governors against Moanalua. | Photo: Adam Hufstetler

Farrington added one final defensive touchdown when Loverson Kerly returned a fumble 28 yards for the score.

Kawai finished with 53 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Titan Te‘o led Moanalua with 102 yards on 17 carries.

For senior left tackle Darrius Uperesa, the victory provided a much-needed boost after the Governors’ difficult start.

“Winning always feels great, but we needed this win for both the coaches and especially the players,” Uperesa said. “Team morale was at its highest I’ve ever seen this season. Great hustle on both sides of the ball. This was a great team win.”

Lundvall was selected as the Fun Factory VIP of the Game after his two interception returns for touchdowns helped spark Farrington’s first victory of the season.

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The Roosevelt girls volleyball team celebrates after defeating Kalaheo in four sets Wednesday night. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

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Roosevelt made sure the first contest in its new gymnasium was a victory as the Rough Riders came away with a four-set win over visiting Kalaheo Wednesday night in an OIA Division-I East matchup.

Set scores were 25-16, 25-20, 21-25 and 25-18.

“We were super excited for this game,” said junior outside hitter Kaycie Garnett, the Fun Factory Games ‘VIP of the Game.’

“We knew that it’s been three years since we’ve had a gym. We had a home crowd, we were lucky enough that we put together a student section. We had so many students, faculty and all of our families come out so that really made this first game really special for us.”

Garnett led the way with a match-highs in kills (21) and aces (6). She also did a little bit of everything with four digs, one assist and one block to help the Rough Riders improve to 3-0 in OIA play after winning the league’s Division II crown a season ago.

“Being an upperclassmen now, I have people that look up to me, but also as a team we work together,” said Garnett.

All smiles for junior outside hitter Kaycie Garnett. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

“We knew that now we’re in a different division. Last year, we were D2, this is D1. This is a whole different level of competition and we know every team is going to be tough so we are working on that mindset of being stronger, both mentally and physically.”

The Rough Riders as a whole totaled 16 aces in the match. Outside of Garnett’s six aces, setter Alana Lewis and libero Zaylee Hunziker each had four aces, with Hunziker getting three consecutive terminating serves to close out the opening set. Sanoe Holani-Frank and Makanani Campbell-Rodenhurst also registered an ace.

“Our serving game is one of our most important things for us,” said Garnett. “The fact that we could bring our service game tonight, that’s what helped us.”

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Hawai’i outlasts UC San Diego to claim 2026 OUTRIGGER Invitational crown

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The University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team poses after winning the 2026 OUTRIGGER Invitational. | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, HSRN

HONOLULU – It takes a team to bring home titles.

The University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team completed a perfect 2026 OUTRIGGER Invitational run on Sunday night, powering past UC San Diego (2-4) in five sets in front of an energetic Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd, (22-25, 25-15, 21-25, 26-24, 15-8).

Panna Ratkai turned in a team-best 19 kills for the Rainbow Wahine on her way to earning tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. The senior outside hitter notched double figures in the kill category all weekend, tallying 52 total putdowns over the course of the three matches.

Miliana Sylvester and Adrianna Arquette joined Ratkai on the All-Tournament team after helping power Hawai’i (4-2) to three straight wins over the weekend. Sylvester racked up seven kills and nine blocks on Sunday while Arquette tacked on four kills and 36 assists while tying a season high of 17 digs in the win over the Tritons.

Tali Hakas also did a little bit of everything on Sunday for UH, adding 12 kills, eight digs and a season-best seven blocks while registering her third service ace of the campaign. The Rainbow Wahine racked up 18.5 blocks as a group, by far the best blocking performance of the young season by UH.

UC San Diego, coming off a pair of tough losses against LMU and Utah Tech from the first two nights of the tournament, looked well rested and ready to play spoiler for the hosts as the Tritons took the opening set behind a balanced offensive attack. Five different UCSD players recorded multiple kills in the premier frame as the speedy offense of the Tritons presented early troubles for Hawai’i.

Hawai’i responded in a big way in the follow-up frame, racing out to a 10-point lead by the media timeout with a boost from Jaci Miyasaki, who came in and dished out a pair of aces as part of a run of seven straight serves to begin the second set.

The Rainbow Wahine wasted no time tying up the match, keeping the Tritons at a distance throughout the second set while finishing off the frame with Ratkai’s first ace of the night.

Another battle ensued in the third stanza, seeing the two squads swing back and forth within a point of each other until the Tritons got to 20 and sprinted away for a 25-21 win in the all-important swing set.

UC San Diego seemed to be well on the way to securing the fourth frame after a four-point run launched the Tritons ahead by a pair at the technical timeout, but Hawai’i rallied again with the help of an energetic Sunday evening crowd.

The raucous fanbase of the Rainbow Wahine made the environment untenable for the Tritons, rattling the confidence of the visitors behind the service line to the point of three of the final four serves not making it into play to begin with.

Lifted by cheers, Hawai’i hammered away at the late deficit to take the must-have fourth set, seeing Sylvester punctuate the comeback with a powerful putdown for set point.

The final winner-take-all frame felt like a formality from there as Hawai’i scored the first four points and on nine of the first 11 rallies, taking a 9-2 lead and forcing UC San Diego to burn through both timeouts.

Freshman Cameron Holcomb delivered the Rainbow Wahine on the doorstep of the comeback win over the Tritons with her lone ace of the night and the hosts shut the door after six match points to officially claim the outright OUTRIGGER Invitational title.

Rachel Purser added eight kills and eight blocks for the Rainbow Wahine while Maeli Cormier tacked on five kills, a trio of digs and five blocks herself.

Hawai’i will be right back in action on Thursday, September 10 as Central Arkansas comes to the islands for a two-match series. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.

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