While Kylin Loker is nearing the end of her fifth season competing for the University of Hawaii beach volleyball program, her connection with the Rainbow Wahine stretches back nearly nine years.
Loker made her first contact with UH coach Evan Silberstein during her freshman year at Carlsbad High School in the San Diego area and committed to the BeachBows as a 15-year-old sophomore.
So with senior night coming up on Sunday in Manoa and the Big West Tournament to follow next week in Waikiki — with hopes of a trip to Alabama for the NCAA Tournament in May — Loker is savoring her remaining opportunities to hit the sand in a UH uniform.
“Having those three years in high school bearing able to wear the ‘H’ and know I was coming here and being able to show my support for the team whenever they came to California, I felt so a part of the program before I was part of the program,” Loker said this week.
“This place, the people, everything about Hawaii has been the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.”
The eighth-ranked BeachBows (22-6) will close the regular season with matches against No. 20 Arizona (18-6) and No. 14 Georgia State (15-13) in doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex. The senior night ceremony will follow UH’s match against Arizona set for 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
UH will then host the Big West Championship at Queen’s Beach next week, but this weekend marks the final on-campus competitions for Loker and fellow seniors Chandler Cowell, Ilihia Huddleston, Lea Kruse, Sofia Russo and Brooke Van Sickle.
“Each one of (the senior) in their own right have taken on different roles and responsibilities in helping to push the program forward,” Silberstein said. “I’ve certainly relied on them, I’ve leaned into them, and they’ve stepped up again and again. I trust them and I’m excited for them and I want to honor them this weekend.”
Silberstein had just joined the UH program as an assistant coach in the 2014-15 school year when he first connected with Loker (when recruiting rules still allowed contact with high school freshmen).
“So it’s been a really long road for us,” Silberstein said. “So to have her around for five years and watch her mature as a person, to get her academic goals and her career goals in line, and then also just to be a fantastic player and a great leader for our program … it’s special to watch the way she’s grown and everything she’s doing for the program.”
Loker and Russo are the longest tenured members of the program as fifth-year players and helped the BeachBows to two appearances in the NCAA Championships in 2019 and again last season.
UH is targeting a return to the NCAA Tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala., with a lineup that has included Loker partnering with junior Riley Wagoner, an All-Big West outside hitter with the UH indoor program. The duo enters the weekend 17-9 overall this season, including 13-8 at the No. 2 flight.
“It’s really fun to have that indoor super-aggressive blocking style that she brings to the court,” said Loker, who ranks in the top 10 in UH history with 72 career dual wins. “When we’re on a roll and we’re playing our best volleyball, it’s together and we’re just having fun.”
Although Loker has a few weeks left on the court for UH, her family’s association with UH will continue through her sister, Cami, a redshirt freshman with the team.
“It’s been so fun having her on the team,” Loker said. “And I’ll definitely be back visiting her and the team. So I’ll be around.”
Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball
At Clarence T.C. Ching Complex
>> When: Saturday and Sunday
>> Schedule: Saturday—No. 20 Arizona vs. No. 14 Georgia State, 8 a.m.; Arizona vs. No. 8 Hawaii, 10:15 a.m.; Georgia State vs. Hawaii, 12:30 p.m. Sunday—Georgia State vs. Hawaii, noon; Georgia State vs. Arizona, 2:30 p.m.; Arizona vs. Hawaii, 6:30 p.m. (Spectrum Sports)
