Hawaii women’s volleyball senior middle blocker Amber Igiede was named to the AVCA All-America third team for the second straight season after helping lead Hawaii to its fourth straight Big West title and 30th straight NCAA Tournament berth.
The Big West Championship MVP from Baton Rouge, La., becomes the 18th Rainbow Wahine to win multiple All-American honors.
Igiede will be honored along with the other 42 All- Americans on the first, second and third teams at the 2023 AVCA All-America Banquet at the Tampa Convention Center on Friday. Fifty-six players were named honorable mentions.
Igiede became the third Rainbow Wahine to earn All-Big West first-team honors in all four seasons after finishing second in the NCAA among middle blockers with 540 points at 4.62 points per set. She also led the conference with a career-high 435 kills at 3.72 kills per set and hit .396 percent. Igiede led the team with 127 blocks at 1.09 blocks per set and 28 service aces while adding a career-best 117 digs. In each of her four seasons at UH, Igiede led the team in solo blocks, block assists and total blocks. She finishes her UH career as the fourth Rainbow Wahine with more than 1,000 career kills and 500 career blocks. Her 1,371 total kills places her third among all-time middle blockers in the NCAA career active record rankings, while her 528 career blocks is ranked 11th.
UH baseball to host preseason celebration
The Hawaii baseball team will host its third annual For The Love of The Game Celebration at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Jan. 23, 2024. The event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The kickoff event for the upcoming baseball season will provide an opportunity for fans to interact with athletes and coaches of the Rainbow Warrior baseball team. The event will also feature live and silent auctions, with food and beverage provided by popular local restaurants.
Current MLB staffers and Hawaii natives Keoni DeRenne (Kansas City Royals hitting coach) and 2023 World Series Champion Brendan Sagara (Texas Rangers coach) will make an appearance for a Q&A session.
Individual tickets are available for $125, while tables of 10 can be purchased for $2,000. Fans can also purchase a table of 10 plus a skybox for home conference games for $5,000.
UH water polo announces 2024 schedule
The Hawaii women’s water polo team released its 2024 regular season schedule on Wednesday. The Rainbow Wahine will play 22 games, including eight home matches and matchups with six of the nine teams in last year’s National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship.
After announcing her impending retirement at the end of the 2024 season, head coach Maureen Cole will open her 13th and final season at the helm on Jan. 20 against Michigan at the Polo-Palooza hosted by Fresno State at Clovis West High School in Fresno, Calif. UH will take on defending national champion Stanford later that day at the Fresno State Athletics Center. The Wahine will finish the opening weekend against NCAA tournament qualifier Cal on Jan. 21.
The team also will face 2023 runner-up USC and NCAA Tournament qualifiers Princeton, Fresno State and UC Irvine. Hawaii opens its home slate against Princeton in the Rainbow Invitational at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex on Jan. 26.
UH will play eight straight road matches in February at UC San Diego’s Triton Invitational on Feb. 2-4 and UC Irvine’s Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Feb. 23-25, before beginning Big West play on March 8 at UC Davis.
