After sitting out the first two days of camp, Hawaii middle blocker Kennedi Evans was cleared to practice with the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team on Thursday.
Evans committed to join the UH program as a transfer from Utah earlier in the summer and had to wait a bit while her paperwork was processed before being officially added to the roster.
The 6-foot-2 Evans earned a degree in business administration at Utah and will have two seasons of eligibility at UH as she pursues a master’s degree in the international business administration program at the Shidler College of Business.
“The team has been really amazing through everything, so I’m super excited and super stoked to get to play with these girls and I think it’s going to be a really fun season,” Evans said Thursday.
Evans played in 57 matches with 54 starts in three seasons at Utah. She posted 100 blocks in 24 matches as a freshman in 2018, including a 15-block performance against California. She redshirted in 2019 and ranked second on the team with 59 blocks over 17 matches in the abbreviated 2020 season.
Evans led the Utes with 59 blocks through 16 matches last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
She contributed four kills and five blocks in Utah’s four-set win over UH last September in Salt Lake City and was averaging 1.17 kills and 1.11 blocks per set prior to her injury.
“I was just looking for something new, something a little different,” Evans said of her decision to transfer. “I had done my four years at Utah and had a great experience, but just wanted something else and was looking for a program that had a really good team culture and a really good environment for me to grow as a volleyball player and as a person.
“It just seemed like the right fit. They had goals for me that matched up with goals for myself, so I really liked that.”
Evans adds experience and depth to a middle blocker group led by junior Amber Igiede, UH’s top returnee in kills (2.95 per set) and blocks (1.27). Junior Tiffany Westerberg is also working in the middle after making seven starts at outside hitter last season.
“We are very excited to have Kennedi join our program to finish out her volleyball career,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said in a release from the school. “Kennedi had a great career at Utah and adds valuable experience and maturity to our middle blocker position. She is a standout student in the classroom and will add to the culture of our program.”
Evans, originally from Twin Falls, Idaho, is one of three graduate transfers on the UH roster. Libero/defensive specialist Talia Edmonds transferred from Michigan State in the spring and outside hitter Chandler Cowell joined the Wahine after graduating from Saint Mary’s.
While much of Evans’ recruiting process was done virtually or over the phone, she visited Hawaii last year with former Utah teammate and Kahuku graduate Phoebe Grace.
”We’re really great friends and had a great time at Utah together,” Evans said. “So she was really excited and her family was really great in helping me with whatever I need.”
She also played with ‘Iolani alumna Bailey Choy in her freshman year at Utah. Choy similarly finished her college career at UH after graduating from Utah.
“Lots of connections with Utah and Hawaii, so it was always an option that I had in the back of my mind once I decided that I wanted to transfer,” Evans said.
