Posted with permission, article and pictures, courtesy of University of Hawaii Manoa

HONOLULU–The University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team held their first practices on Tuesday as they begin the quest to defend their back-to-back Big West titles.

The Rainbow Wahine return eight letterwinners and a redshirt freshman are led by all-Big West first teamers Amber Igiede (Jr., 6-3, MB, Baton Rouge, La.) and Kate Lang (Soph., 5-10, S, Keller, Texas). UH welcomes four newcomers into the fold this season with two freshmen, Caylen Alexander (6-0, OH, Alpharetta, Ga.) and Jackie Matias (5-9, S, Honolulu, O’ahu) and two junior transfers, Chandler Cowell (5-10, OH, Kula, Maui) and Talia Edmonds (5-7, L/DS, Kalamazoo, Mich.).

The 2022 roster is one of the most geographically diverse teams that Hawai’i has had. The squad had players from seven states (Hawai’i, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas) plus three foreign countries (Canada, Hungary, and the Netherlands).