Over two years in Hawaii, Mylana Byrd has cultivated a leadership role grounded in her attention to preparation.

As the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team’s backup setter, Byrd spends most of her game nights keeping ready for her on-court opportunities while reminding her teammates to stay engaged as well.

“That’s a big thing I always stress,” Byrd said. “Stay warm, stay loose, stay ready.”

In the practices leading up to the matches, she directs the “B side” in pushing the starters toward the challenges awaiting on the weekend.

Even before the Rainbow Wahine report to the gym, she takes the lead in keeping the group organized and on track for the day’s tasks.

“She’s like the mom of the group,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said. “She always asks me the questions in our group text, ‘Hey, Coach, just want to make sure this is what we’re doing.’ That’s what’s keeping the girls in line and doing what they need to to do.”

That said, preparing for the solo spotlight on senior day is another matter.

Byrd will be honored after UH’s home finale against Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

A transfer from Alabama, Byrd experienced her first Hawaii senior night a year ago when Brooke Van Sickle, Skyler Williams and Janelle Gong were given the traditional sendoff. She’ll have the stage to herself on Sunday, with her family making the trip from Texas for the festivities.

“That does feel like a very emotional moment,” Byrd told local media on Tuesday. “Seeing Brooke, Sky and Janelle was already emotional. So seeing myself just sounds like a lot, but it sounds exciting.”

Last year, the Rainbow Wahine had clinched the Big West championship the day before the senior night match. This time, the ceremony will be held within the context of a tight chase for the title.

The Rainbow Wahine (18-6, 15-1 BWC) open the homestand today against third-place Cal Poly (16-11, 13-4), the team that handed UH its lone loss in conference play to date. After a break on Saturday, they’ll take on CSU Bakersfield in their final appearance on their home court.

“This is an important weekend — not just for me, but we’ve had Cal Poly circled since we lost to them’” Byrd said. “So we’re all excited and we’re all ready to get up for this weekend.”

Byrd is nearing the end of a collegiate volleyball journey that began with two seasons at Alabama after graduating from Episcopal High School in Houston. She played in 32 matches with the Crimson Tide before entering the transfer portal after the 2019 season.

After a “roller-coaster” recruitment and commitment to UH (“It happened in like 24 hours,” she said), Byrd had to wait through the 2020 pandemic shutdown before making her Rainbow Wahine debut last season.

“You feel the aloha spirit and the calmness, but there’s also an intensity once you get in the volleyball gym,” Byrd said of the transition to the islands. “I think that’s a big thing that I learned here, just to have patience and have confidence that things are going to work o ut but still going and pursuing your goals.”

Byrd started the first eight matches of the 2021 season before Kate Lang took over setting duties. Lang has held the starting job ever since, with Byrd continuing to support her fellow Texan.

“I feel like our connection as two setters just really helps,” Byrd said. “I trust her and she trusts me, and we have the back and forth communication always going.”

That includes game nights, when Byrd will relay information she picks up during the match to the group on the floor.

“In the little meeting before the game starts, I always say, ‘Stay engaged, stay focused, be ready to go in,’” she said. “It’s only watching the game, but it’s watching your position. If you’re called in, what’s that special thing that they need, what’s that spark?”

The 6-foot-2 Byrd grew up as a middle blocker, and several of her appearances in 18 sets this season have come with the Wahine in need of a block or a touch at the net late in a tight game.

“Obviously, everybody wants to play. My heart goes out to her, she’s not getting in that many games,” Ah Mow said. “But the person she is, the hard worker she is, the teammate that she is, I think speaks for itself. And when she’s called upon to come and play, she does what she needs to do.”

While staying warm on the sideline, she also helps keep the group loose in coordinating the bench celebrations between points and after aloha ball. Byrd said the celebrations come “honestly out of thin air,” although she credited Kendra Ham with the team’s Jack Sparrow-esque prance across the court after a recent match.

“I don’t know what happens in the back when they’re celebrating for points, but I have been privileged to some video,” Ah Mow said. “Apparently she’s the one that’s coordinating all of that, so it comes to show she’s definitely a team player and cheering on her teammates.

As the volleyball season nears its conclusion, Byrd is also preparing for post-college life. Her interests growing up tilted toward math and science, and she is on track to graduate in December with a degree in bioengineering.

She’s plans to stick around through the summer and explore her options to continue playing overseas and will take with her the experience of serving in a leadership role and providing an example of the value of staying ready.

“Looking back, I feel really grateful to have been recruited … to spend my two years here,” Byrd said. “I feel like I’ve grown not only as a volleyball player, but as a person, and I’m happy with the people I’ve surrounded myself with.”

White out and food drive tonight

Along with tonight’s match being designated a “white out,” UH will also hold a food and toiletry drive in partnership with the Hawaii Food Vault.

The HFV is an on-campus organization that helps UH-Manoa students who are in need of basic necessities. Fans are encouraged to donate non-perishable, unopened, unexpired food and toiletry items at Gate 1 from 6 to 7 p.m.

HFV does not accept cash. Monetary donations can be made through the UH Foundation.

Additional information on the drive, including a list of suggested items to donate, is available at hawaiiathletics.com.

—

Big West women’s volleyball

At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center

Cal Poly (16-11, 13-4 BWC) vs. Hawaii (18-6, 15-1)

>> When: Today, 7 p.m.

>> TV: Spectrum Sports

>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM