Austin, TEXAS >> Hawaii’s quick trip to the Lone Star State is a homecoming for senior Kate Lang and freshman Victoria Leyva, but in name only.
Both are from Texas, but Lang, who is playing in her home state for a third consecutive season, is from Keller, which is more than a three-hour drive away from Austin.
Leyva, who is playing in her home state for the first time in her young UH career, is from El Paso, which is nearly a nine-hour drive.
Some of her family is flying in for the game, which might seem strange. To put how big Texas is in Hawaii terms, the flight distance from El Paso to Austin is more than 50 percent longer than the longest interisland flight Hawaii has, from Lihue to Hilo.
“I’ve watched a bunch of (Texas) games online and all that, but I’ve never physically come to Austin to watch a match,” Leyva said. “It’s going to be my first time here, but from what I have heard from people who have come to the matches and my friends, it’s going to be crazy.”
The Rainbow Wahine conclude their first road trip of the season at No. 8 Texas tonight and at No. 20 Baylor on Saturday night in Waco, which is roughly a 90-minute drive from Austin.
Lang, who said her true homecoming came last season when UH played at TCU, admitted it’s still a big deal playing against the Longhorns.
“It’s UT, so it’s just where everybody goes in high school. Everybody wants to get into UT,” Lang said. “I have a lot of friends who go here currently, some who just graduated … one of my first volleyball camps I ever went to was here so I started here at 12, kind of.”
The Longhorns are the two-time defending national champions, but are off to a 4-3 start with losses to No. 17 Minnesota and unranked Miami in five sets. They were also swept by No. 2 Stanford.
Hawaii’s only match against a ranked opponent was a five-set victory over No. 22 SMU in the season opener.
The Longhorns and the Bears provide the biggest test to date for a young Rainbow Wahine squad, who at 6-2, have surpassed many expectations for the start of the season.
“I hope we have that same fight that we’ve had in the Stan every weekend,” Lang said. “I hope my younger hitters get a lot of experience in these games and get to play against some girls that can play big-girl ball. I’m excited to see what it brings out of other players and what it brings out of myself and how we can grow as a team playing big teams who are good with good volleyball players.”
Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow is taking her team to Texas for the third year in a row.
The Rainbow Wahine played in the Texas A&M Invitational to open the 2022 season and went 0-3 before winning 22 of its next 25 matches to win the Big West and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, UH was 5-3 when it played in the Fight in the Fort tournament at TCU, losing to the host Horned Frogs before closing with victories over Western Carolina and Florida State.
Ah Mow said before practice Thursday they have scheduled trips to Texas to allow some of their players from nearby to play as close to home as possible.
“It’s amazing. Austin is so very much like home. I think I still see spots of it that remind me of back home,” Leyva said. “I’m super excited to be back in Texas, especially the weather. It’s super hot. We went out to the field today, and the girls are like, ‘oh my gosh, it’s so hot,’ and I was like, ‘it is, it is,’ but it feels so good.”
Highs have ranged in the upper 90s since UH arrived on Wednesday and it is expected to hit 100 today.
Fortunately the Rainbow Wahine are playing indoors in what should be the 32nd consecutive sellout at Gregory Gymnasium for a Texas home game.
The Longhorns have three players who graduated from high school in Hawaii. Senior Keonilei Akana and junior Devin Kahahawai, who both went to Kamehameha, have played on both of Texas’ national championship teams in the last two years.
Freshman setter Rella Binney, a Punahou alumna, has appeared in five matches this season.
Lang, who is the only player left on the UH roster from the 2020 season, is currently third in the Big West averaging 9.66 assists per set.
Six of Hawaii’s eight matches have gone five sets with UH posting a 4-2 record, including a five-set loss to UNLV on Tuesday.
No team has been able to beat Hawaii in less than five, which is a stat Lang takes some pride in, even though she knows UH needs to get off to much better starts.
“I think that leadership wise, I have kind of put it on myself that we are going five sets a lot. What can I change in my own mind? How can I lead these girls into turning it on a little bit earlier?” Lang said. “I’m just rolling with it. If we go five sets, we said it the last game. We’re going to be sore tomorrow. If you’re not sore now, be sore tomorrow. We’re trying to get wins, and if it takes us five sets, it takes us five sets.”
RAINBOW WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
Tonight
Hawaii (6-2) vs. No. 8 Texas (4-3), 1:30 p.m.
Gregory Gymnasium, Austin Tex.
Stream: SECN+
Radio: KKEA 1420-AM / 97.5 FM
Saturday
Hawaii vs. No. 20 Baylor (7-3), 2 p.m.
Ferrell Center, Waco, Tex.
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: KHKA 1500-AM
