Shayla Hoeft

Playing at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawai'i has always been a dream of mine. Even more so, playing against three really high-level teams was an even bigger dream come true. I grew up watching Rainbow Wahine volleyball on television and idolized the players as a kid. It was surreal to have most of my hanai (distant / adoptive) relatives, some of my best friends from high school and my parents there. To hear Kayla's name called and mine right after, and the response we both got from the audience, made my eyes water and gave me goosebumps. I have never smiled harder at the simple gesture of someone calling our name and hometowns. It's a hard feeling to describe. Both Kayla and I are so proud to be from Hawai'i, but we are also so incredibly proud that we were able to leave and experience something new. Going to Hawai'i to play volleyball, a sport we love, in a place we love, surrounded by our people and culture, made the results of the games not matter as much. To be able to share a piece of our culture with our teammates, especially the food at coach Burton's house, was something that I had always hoped to be able to do. This tournament was a great experience, playing in a state in which the volleyball culture is so present and strong. I am so happy and so incredibly grateful that we were able to have this amazing opportunity and I am excited for the weeks to come!

Kayla Afoa
 
This past weekend, the Wolf Pack volleyball team got to travel to Hawai'i for a tournament, where we faced three great teams in Baylor, BYU and Hawai'i. We began the tournament against Baylor where our nerves took over us in the first and second sets, but we came back with a "nothing to lose" mentality and played a great third set to force the game to a fourth. Unfortunately, we came up short in that fourth set, giving Baylor a 3-1 win. Next was BYU, who was ranked No. 10 in the nation! We played a tremendous three sets against them, having a lead many times in each set, but we weren't able to close out on top in any of those sets, giving them a 3-0 win. Lastly, was Hawai'i. It was a dream come true to play in front of family and 6,000 other people in the Stan Sheriff. We fought and battled hard in sets one and two but couldn't pull through in the third, as they took the 3-0 win. Although we didn't come out with a win this weekend, we grew as a team in knowing what specific things we need to work on. As a team, we will continue to grow and gain trust in each other in order to be successful this season. We also got to see many great things and eat a lot of great local food that I haven't had in four months! Overall, it was an amazing experience with the Pack!