It’s been official in her mind ever since March of her sophomore year. Kate Lang was committed to playing volleyball for Hawaii, giving her oral commit not long after being named the District 6A Setter of the Year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
On Wednesday, Lang made it paperwork official, signing her National Letter of Intent at a ceremony at Keller (Texas) High. The 5-foot-10 setter is one of two players that the 18th-ranked Rainbow Wahine are expected to announce today as part of the incoming class of 2020.
“The main reason I chose Hawaii as my future college was because of the coaches,” Lang said in a text. “Robyn (head coach Ah Mow) and Angelica (associate coach Ljungqvist) are both such family-oriented people and that was a main priority on my list while in the recruitment process.
“It’s crazy to think about how I’m going to be coached by two Olympians, especially Robyn since we share the same position as setter. I am counting down the days until I can finally be under their wings.”
Lang will get a taste of it on Nov. 22 when making her official visit to the Stan Sheriff Center, attending Hawaii’s senior night against Long Beach State. She made an earlier unofficial visit and “I was definitely overwhelmed by how gorgeous the island is,” Lang said. “Hawaii is called paradise and to be honest, it exceeded my already high expectations.
“Meeting some of my future teammates was so cool, too, and being able to live the Hawaiian life for a few days was amazing. After my unofficial visit, I was totally sold.”
Lang is ranked No. 53 among PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces and was named an elite honorable mention for the Class of 2020. She missed the first 34 matches for the Indians when recovering from July knee surgery, then helped Keller to one of the state’s biggest upsets on Oct. 1
Lang had 39 assists and 23 digs — her third double-double in as many matches — as the Indians defeated Byron Nelson, the No. 1 team in the state’s 6A poll, 26-24, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21. It snapped Nelson’s 27-match winning streak.
Keller finished 24-22 overall. Lang played in the final 12 matches, with 430 assists and 150 digs.
Lang currently is the only setter on the 2020 roster for Hawaii, which loses senior Norene Iosia and graduate student Bailey Choy after this season. The Wahine also graduate three others in hitters McKenna Ross and Kirsten Sibley, and libero Rika Okino.
The Rainbow Wahine (22-3, 12-2 Big West) close out the regular season with home matches on Nov. 21 against Cal State Northridge and Nov. 22 against Long Beach State.
Notes
Several daughters of former Hawaii players also signed NLIs on Wednesday.
Kamehameha’s Keonilei Akana, daughter of Joselyn Robins Akana (Wahine 1993-96), signed with USC. Keonilei’s older sister, Braelyn, is a current freshman middle for the Wahine.
South (Calif.) High’s Kai Lopez, daughter of Kristal Attwood (Wahine 1990-93) signed with Long Beach State; Kamehameha’s Maluhia Ma’a, daughter of Lisa Strand-Ma’a (Wahine 1981-84) and Pono Ma’a (Warriors 1983-86), committed to Kent, and Westlake (Texas) High’s Lexi Poppinga, daughter of Karrie Trieschman Poppinga (1987-90) and Brian Poppinga (Warriors 1987-90) signed with Santa Clara.
