New leadership comes with a familiar face for the University of Hawaii beach volleyball program.
Over seven years as an assistant coach, Evan Silberstein handled myriad responsibilities for the Rainbow Wahine.
When Angelica Ljungqvist returned to Sweden over the summer after her lone season leading the BeachBows, Silberstein was elevated to interim head coach, a title he carries into today’s season-opening matches in Waikiki.
“It’s an exciting responsibility for me,” Silberstein said. “It’s been an exciting transition and it feels inspiring to lead the program and just continue to create opportunities for the athletes.”
Silberstein’s head coaching debut will coincide with the 10th-ranked BeachBows’ return to Queen’s Beach for the Heineken Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic.
Queen’s Beach had been a regular spot for UH matches until last season, when all of the BeachBows’ home matches were played on campus at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us to play a full season, and to compete down at Queen’s Beach is going to be amazing,” Silberstein said
The BeachBows open the season against Saint Mary’s today at 8 a.m. and face No. 7 Stanford at noon. They’ll take on No. 2 UCLA, last year’s NCAA Tournament runner up, at 8 a.m. Saturday, with the tournament semifinals scheduled for noon and 2 p.m. The title match is set for 4 p.m.
The soft sand that makes Waikiki one of the world’s most famous shorelines makes for a tough challenge for volleyball players, and the BeachBows have devoted two to three sessions per week to practicing and training.
“The sand’s just really deep,” said UH senior Brooke Van Sickle, the Big West Player of the Year during the indoor season in the fall. “It’s really hard to move. The coaches always say you have to keep taking extra steps when you’re at Queen’s. There’s a lot of sand sharks, so when you try to jump you kind of just don’t.”
UH went 17-10 last season and finished the season ranked 13th in the nation after missing the NCAA championship for the first time since the tournament was established in 2016. The NCAA expanded the field to 16 teams for this season, with the Big West champion earning an automatic bid.
“I definitely think we have something to prove,” UH junior Kylin Loker said. “We’ve always kind of had this underdog feel to us and I feel we come out with the confidence of being a Top 5 team. Being ranked a little bit lower gives us more fire to push these teams and show what we’ve got.”
UH returns four All-Big West first-team selections in Van Sickle and sophomores Jaime Santer, Kaylee Glagau and Ilihia Huddleston. The team of sophomore Anna Maidment and junior Sofia Russo went a team-best 16-5 at the No. 5 flight last year.
The class of newcomers includes Megan Widener, an AVCA High School All-American, and transfers Sarah Penner (Gonzaga) and Calista Wright (Pepperdine).
“We have grad transfers who have been in game-like situations and they’re great additions and the freshmen have really adapted … to the competition because we’re always applying pressure to each other and from the coaches in practice,” Loker said. “The pressure is kind of normal at this point, but I’m excited to see how everyone does once we’re in-game.”
Heineken Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic
At Queen’s Beach, Waikiki
>> When: Today and Saturday
>> Schedule: Today — No. 10 Hawaii vs. Saint Mary’s, 8 a.m.; No. 7 Stanford vs. No. 2 UCLA, 10 a.m.; Hawaii vs. Stanford, noon; UCLA vs. Saint Mary’s, 2 p.m. Saturday — Hawaii vs. UCLA, 8 a.m.; Stanford vs. Saint Mary’s, 10 a.m.; Semifinals, noon, 2 p.m.; Final, 4 p.m.
