Wahine volleyball team finishes road trip without a win

The 2025 Hawaii women’s volleyball season is quickly turning into the toughest puzzle head coach Robyn Ah Mow and her staff have tried to solve.

The Rainbow Wahine closed their nonconference schedule with a 25-16, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22 loss to Texas State on Sunday at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.

Playing without junior outside hitter Stella Adeyemi, who was injured in Saturday’s loss to UCLA, Hawaii tried all sorts of combinations on the floor, including putting middle Bri Gunderson outside as a pin hitter for much of the match.

UH managed to win a set for the first time on its season-opening road trip, but the end result left Hawaii at 4-7, marking the worst 11-match start to the season in school history.

With Tali Hakas already out for the season due to a shoulder injury, UH will now have to figure out how to move forward without Adeyemi, who suffered a lower left leg injury that had her wearing a brace and on crutches on Sunday.

No further information on her status was disclosed.

“Super bummed that it happened to Stella. We felt like she was playing some of her best volleyball,” associate coach Kaleo Baxter said in a phone interview Sunday. “From a team standpoint it was a super emotional moment. She, along with Tali, were really the heartbeat of this team. There were a lot of tears pretty instantly. You could hear a pin drop in the arena. Just feel for her.”

Now missing their top two leading returners in kills, Hawaii played 12 of 15 available players on Sunday.

Freshman outside hitter Cha’lei Reid had a match-high 16 kills and Gunderson added 12 kills and six blocks.

Sophomore middle blocker Miliana Sylvester added a career-high 10 blocks and eight kills, but the void on the outside proved too difficult to overcome.

Sophomore transfer Ravyn Dash got the start in Adeyemi’s place and had one kill in 14 swings. She combined with starting opposite Tyla Reese Mane for six errors and one kill in 18 swings.

“Texas State, they are a tournament good. They are a good team so we knew we were going to have our challenges,” Baxter said. “We thought our girls battled once we kind of settled into, again, what could be moving forward with the pieces that we have. Obviously not happy with the outcome but there’s some pieces that we still have and we’re going to coach these girls up to the very end.”

Hawaii avoided a third consecutive sweep when it scored the final nine points in the third set to keep the match going.

The Rainbow Wahine hit .556 in the third set with Gunderson converting six kills in eight swings without an error and Reid adding four kills in six swings without an error.

UH made only one hitting error in the set.

For the match, UH committed 30 hitting errors and 12 service errors. Sophomore Adrianna Arquette finished with a double-double of 25 assists and 12 digs and fellow sophomore Audrey Hollis added 13 assists and three digs.

Hawaii played much of the match with two setters on the court with Arquette also functioning as a hitter.

Sophomore Maddie Way filled in at middle with Gunderson playing at the pins and had five kills in nine swings with three blocks.

“It was nice to see (Gunderson) step up in that moment and want to be that player who wants the ball,” Baxter said. “We joked about it even in spring of her playing on the end and we see these players in practice every single day and we know what she is comfortable doing. We feel good putting her in that position and Maddie has been steady for us.”

Hawaii flew home Sunday night and will have the week to prepare for Friday’s Big West Conference opener at home against UC Riverside.

The lineup won’t be what UH expected to have to start the season, but they still feel they can put a contending team on the floor.

“Moving forward with this new grip of girls, they just need a bit more time to gel,” Baxter said.