Outside hitter Caylen Alexander of the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team repeated as the Big West Offensive Player of the Week after strong performances against two national powerhouses over the weekend.
Alexander had 23 kills against UNLV, then logged 20 against No. 8 Texas. She narrowly missed making it three straight matches with at least 20, putting down 18 against Baylor. The junior is currently fourth in the nation in kills per set (4.98) and sixth in points per set (5.51). She’s second nationally in total kills (229) and total points (253.5). She also leads the Big West in all of those categories.
Damacion earns third Freshman honors
Midfielder Nalani Damacion was named the Big West Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row, and for the third time this season, announced on Monday.
Damacion was pivotal in Hawaii’s win over UC Davis, scoring the go-ahead goal in the 51st minute off a penalty kick in Hawaii’s 2-1 victory. The freshman has been clutch for the Rainbow Wahine (5-6, 1-0), leading all freshmen nationally with four game-winning goals this season, and scored the winning goal in four of Hawaii’s five wins. She also leads the Big West and is fourth nationally in game-winning goals.
Damacion is the first Big West player since 2021 to earn freshman of the week honors three times in a season (Deisree Mendoza, UC Irvine) and the first UH player ever to take home the award in back-to-back weeks.
Hilo to host UH in basketball event
The University of Hawaii at Hilo will host the University of Hawaii at Manoa in a three-day event for the men’s and women’s basketball programs from Oct. 25-27.
The Rainbow Warriors will face the Vulcans in an exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. The men’s and women’s progams for both schools will then host a Keiki Clinic on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. Exhibition games between both the men and women programs will wrap up the weekend on Sunday at 2 p.m. All three events will be held at Hilo’s Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The event is organized by Kawazoe Sports and Entertainment with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Hilo Charities and Motiv8.
Tickets range for as little as $5 for students to $150 for VIP sections. Tickets are available online at athleticsadmin.org/HiloMBB and athleticsadmin.org/UHWBB. Signup information for the keiki clinic will be announced at a later date.
This will be the first time the Rainbow Warriors will play in Hilo since 2011. For the Rainbow Wahine, this will be their first trip to Hilo since 2010.
Chaminade rises to No. 6 in AVCA poll
The Chaminade women’s volleyball team moved up one spot to No. 6 in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll released Monday.
This is the highest ranking for the Silverswords (9-3) in program history. It is also the highest ranking for a PacWest team since California Baptist was ranked No. 1 in the final poll of 2017.
The University of Tampa remains the top-ranked squad in D-II followed by MSU Denver, Nebraska-Kearney, Southwest Minnesota State and Missouri-St. Louis.
