Rainbow Wahine’s Mylana Byrd hoping to set the table in return to home state

Mylana Byrd got a little taste of home earlier this month.

The University of Hawaii setter will get the full serving this week when the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team lands in Texas.

Byrd heads back to her home state today when the Rainbow Wahine depart for Houston on their way to College Station to play in the season-opening Texas A&M Invitational.

A visit from her father before training camp provided something of an appetizer for the trip.

“Tex-Mex is my most favorite food. That’s the first thing I’m missing,” Byrd said before a practice last week. “My dad came (in early August) and he brought me some queso in a little (cooler). So I’m already on it.”

The Wahine closed camp on Saturday and returned to the gym on Monday with the start of fall semester classes. They’re scheduled to practice on campus this morning before departing on the program’s first season-opening road trip since 2005.

They’ll take on host Texas A&M on Friday and face No. 6 Pittsburgh on Saturday and No. 25 San Diego on Sunday.

The trip will mark a full-circle moment for Byrd, a 2018 graduate of Episcopal High School in Houston and the lone senior on this season’s Wahine roster.

The 6-foot-2 Byrd began her college career at Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide pull out a five-set win over Texas A&M in her first visit to Reed Arena in 2018. She notched 16 assists while splitting time at setter, put away three kills on five attempts and posted two blocks in the Southeastern Conference win.

“Honestly, the atmosphere was amazing and that was, I think, my favorite game when I played (at Alabama),” Byrd said. “So I’m very excited to come in Hawaii gear with my team and my coaches. I think it’s going to be really exciting.”

Byrd transferred to UH after her sophomore season and had her Wahine debut delayed by the pandemic. She started UH’s eight nonconference matches last season, including a Wahine sweep of Texas A&M in which she contributed 34 assists, four kills and nine digs.

Kate Lang, a fellow Texan, took over the starting job in Big West play and went on to earn All-Big West honors as a freshman. The duo return to a setter group that added Punahou graduate Jackie Matias to the mix this summer.

“It’s very important to have that competitiveness (in practice),” Byrd said. “So (the players) push each other each and every day so you get better, because no team is going to win staying the same.”

Along with working in the same position group during practice, Byrd and Lang, who grew up in Keller, Texas, have been collaborating on the team’s dining plans for the week.

“I (told Byrd), ‘We have to choose some good restaurants,” Lang said. “We’re telling the team where to eat, we’re not letting people choose for us.”

The presence of Byrd and Lang on the roster should give the Wahine some crowd support during their stay in College Station. Lang said she’s set up a group chat inviting her friends in the area to the matches. Byrd said she’ll have her family in the arena, “and I’ve also got some random reachouts. Just people (saying), ‘I want to bring my club team.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, come on, we welcome it.’”

Individual match tickets on sale

Tickets for individual home matches went on sale on Monday.

The Wahine make their home debut Sept. 1 against Texas State in the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge. UH will also face West Virginia and No. 12 UCLA in the event at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Wahine close their nonconference schedule with a two-match series with No. 24 USC on Sept. 9 and 10 and will have 10 home dates in Big West play.

Season ticket packages also remain on sale. Tickets are available at etickethawaii.com and at the SSC box office.

UH tops Big West preseason poll

The two-time defending Big West champion University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team will enter the season as the conference’s preseason favorite in voting of the leagues coaches.

The Rainbow Wahine topped the preseason coaches poll released Monday, holding a slim edge over UC Santa Barbara. UH received six first-place votes and 96 points in the poll. The remaining five first-place votes went to UCSB, which received 94 points.

Cal Poly placed third in the voting followed by Long Beach State and UC Irvine.

UH placed two players on the eight-member preseason coaches’ team in junior middle blocker Amber Igiede and sophomore setter Kate Lang. Both were first-team All-Big West selections last season.

UH went 18-2 in Big West play last year, with both losses coming against UC Santa Barbara.

2022 Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

(first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Hawaii (6), 96

2. UC Santa Barbara (5), 94

3. Cal Poly, 79

4. Long Beach State, 75

5. UC Irvine, 61

6. CSU Bakersfield, 47

7. UC Davis, 46

8. UC San Diego, 37

9. Cal State Fullerton, 36

10. Cal State Northridge, 24

11. UC Riverside, 10

Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team

Maia Dvoracek, RS, Cal Poly

Amber Igeide, MB, Hawaii

Katie Kennedy, OH/OPP, Long Beach State

Kate Lang, S, Hawaii

Zayna Meyer, S, Long Beach State

Onye Ofoegbu, MB, UC Irvine

Tommi Stockham, OH, Cal Poly

Deni Wilson, MB, UC Santa Barbara

Texas A&M Invitational

At Reed Arena; College Station, Texas

>> When: Friday-Sunday

>> Radio: UH matches on 1420-AM/92.7-FM or 1500-AM

>> Online: Friday UH match on SEC Network+/ ESPN+

>> UH schedule: Friday—Texas A&M, 6 a.m. Saturday—No. 6 Pittsburgh, 11 a.m. Sunday—No. 25 San Diego, 5 a.m.