The court was empty save for two young children running around on the Taraflex.

Behind them strolled their father, his work duties for the night complete, breathing in a few quiet moments in the arena where he, in a sense, had grown up.

A little more than an hour earlier, a jubilant roar filled SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, accompanying Hawaii’s final kill to punctuate the Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship.

Joshua Walker had watched the taut duel between the Rainbow Warriors and Long Beach State from the bench and aloha ball on April 23 marked a farewell for the former UH outside hitter and now seventh-year assistant coach.

Walker accepted a coaching position with the Baylor women’s volleyball program in March and is preparing to make the move to Waco, Texas, later this month; just part of a momentous May for his family.

Even so, his occupational focus has remained firmly founded on preparing the Warriors in their season-long pursuit of a second straight national championship. Now with the conference title and a berth in the NCAA tournament secure, Walker made sure to savor the delicious combination of the victory amid a raucous championship atmosphere against the program’s fiercest rival.

“Considering the stakes, I was at peace with the preparation for the game, and just playing at a high level, that’s all you want,” Walker said a few days later. “We had a chance to win and we were able to capitalize on it. There’s not a much better way to go out.”

Of course, Walker still has some work to do before making his final exit from the program.

He spent last week compiling scouting reports on the top-ranked Warriors’ potential opponents in the opening round of the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. The North Greenville document will be the relevant file after the Crusaders swept Princeton 25-21, 25-18, 40-38 on Sunday to set up Tuesday’s matchup with UH at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.

All the while, every chirp of his phone draws a swift reaction as he checks for updates from his wife, Tehane, as they await the arrival of their fourth child at any moment.

“One day at a time,” Walker said of his approach to handling the week ahead.

As his family continues to grow, Walker can reflect on his progression since deciding to make the move from Virginia Beach, Va., to Manoa back in 2006.

As an East Coast volleyball prospect, Walker considered walking on at either Penn State or Hawaii and chose the 10-hour flight over the 10-hour drive.

While Walker’s aversion to the cold contributed to his decision, the warmth of the crowd in the Sheriff Center affirmed his choice.

“The fan base is what caught my eye the most,” he said. “Just seeing how much the fans cared about everything in the volleyball world was very appealing to me.”

Walker was officially introduced on Jan. 3, 2008, when he entered the Warriors’ season opener against, of course, Penn State. But his true “welcome to Hawaii volleyball” moment had come on a trip to the store shortly after his arrival for the Fall 2006 semester.

“I hadn’t played a play yet, there weren’t any games, and somebody recognized me just from the roster on the website that I was on the men’s volleyball team,” Walker recalled.

“I’m like, ‘How crazy is that? That someone knows I’m on the team and I haven’t done anything yet.’ From that moment on I really knew how special it was.”

Walker would become a familiar figure while amassing 1,428 kills, good for fifth in program history, from 2008 to ’11 and was named a second-team AVCA All-American in 2010. After playing professionally in Greece, Denmark, Finland and United Arab Emirates, he returned to UH in 2016 to join Charlie Wade’s coaching staff and in 2019 was named the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year.

Over the course of his playing and coaching careers, he drew motivation from the buzz of a crowd leaving the arena after a victory.

“That’s what I would think about after games, ‘OK, we won this game and people are going home happy,” he said. “That really motivated me in the offseason … to make sure that they’re proud.

“That really drove my career. Just how much the people of Hawaii follow the team and how much they appreciate everything we do, regardless of the wins and losses is truly unique.”

The foundation for his family was also set in Walker’s time in Hawaii. Tehane is a former co-captain for the UH soccer team and “she’s absolutely the rock of the family for sure,” Walker said.

“It was her strengths really filling the blanks with my weaknesses,” Walker said. “I think we complement each other very well and she is absolutely my rock when it comes to everything with the family and making sure whatever the kids need is taken care of regardless of if I’m traveling or if I’m here.”

May will be a time to welcome a new member to the family while bidding farewell to the UH program.

For now, Walker is making sure to stay in the moment while taking the time to appreciate the blending of his families at home, on the court and in the stands.

“It’s 16 years going on 17 years that I’ve been part of this program and it’s almost like another lifetime in which I’ve grown up,” Walker said. “For (his family) to see the fans and know the fans the way I’ve known them over the past decade and a half and for them to build those relationships, (leaving is) bittersweet for sure, but I think they appreciate the moment just as much as I do now.”