Braelyn Akana has announced she will not return to the University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team next season.

Akana, who started 24 matches at opposite this season, announced her decision in an Instagram post on Tuesday, saying she “will be looking at options to pursue my Master’s Degree and/or start my career.”

Akana, a fourth-year junior this season, wrote that being a Rainbow Wahine “has always been a life long dream of mine since the very first time I touched a volleyball. I had the opportunity to turn my dreams and goals into reality playing in front of my home and people I love.”

Akana, a three-time Star-Advertiser Fab 15 pick as a middle blocker at Kamehameha, joined the program in 2019 and saw increasing playing time and production each of her three seasons at UH.

The 6-foot Akana played in 92 of UH’s 107 sets this season and finished fourth on the team with 1.60 kills per set and third in blocks per set at 0.49 (41 total).

She helped power UH’s run to the Big West title with 1.89 kills per set on .304 hitting over the final 13 matches of the regular season. She had five matches with double-digit kills this season and set career highs of 11 kills and four blocks in a five-set loss to UCLA on Sept. 4.

Akana’s mother, Joselyn (Robins), played for the Wahine from 1993 to ’96, and her father, Brandyn, is a former UH assistant basketball coach and current Kahuku coach. Her sister, Keonilei, is a defensive specialist at Texas.

Setter Mylana Byrd was the lone senior on this season’s roster and Akana was one of eight juniors. UH signed two outside hitters last month in Stella Adeyemi and Tali Hakas, both 5 feet 11.