Long after Kate Lang’s Hawaii volleyball career is over, she will still have something handy to take her back to her collegiate playing days.
For many practices, including every two-a-day session she has been through since joining the team during the pandemic in 2020, the Texas native has kept a journal in which she writes down her most honest feelings.
“I go back and read all of the tough practice days, because those are really big motivators,” Lang said. “They show me how much I’ve grown and how my mindset has grown. I have my 2022 journal in my locker right now and I was reading one of the days which was a double day and was a really hard day for me. Now, I know why I play this sport. I know that I love this place and I can’t wait to go practice and I can see how my mind has changed throughout the years.”
The fifth-year senior opens her final season riding a streak of 84 matches started at setter.
She’s been on three Big West championship teams, made the All-Big West first team twice and was named the conference’s Setter of the Year in 2022.
There has been much to celebrate during her time at UH, even though it hasn’t always been easy.
It’s why when she opens those journals from years past, it is almost always in search of a day where things were the most tough.
“You’re trying to take things in and make changes when I can, but I’m not always successful with that even though I’m trying to,” Lang said. “It’s not just always physical growth. This was a long process and I’ve felt every day of it. I feel like when people say, ‘Oh, (college) goes by so fast,’ it doesn’t always. It’s good to sit there and process things day by day.”
She has spent five years playing for one of the most decorated United States women’s volleyball players of all time in coach Robyn Ah Mow, a silver medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics who was inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame this year.
As intense as Ah Mow was on the court, she has taken that into her coaching career, resulting in NCAA Tournament appearances every season she has been at UH, with four connective Big West championships in six seasons.
The setter-coach relationship has evolved over the years, with both player and coach learning to trust one another.
That wasn’t always the case when Lang first earned the starting setter job as a freshman in 2021.
“There has been different chapters in our relationship over the years,” Lang said. “She and I didn’t really see eye-to-eye on things, which was really hard (in 2021). We still respected each other, but sometimes it was just frustrating because we didn’t understand what each other was saying. Throughout the years I have been able to grow out of that and we’ve started to speak the same language slowly.”
Last season, in a tougher Big West Conference than in the past, UH uncharacteristically struggled at times with a senior-heavy roster.
The four conference losses heading into the conference tournament were twice as many as any other season they’ve had under Ah Mow.
This wasn’t supposed to be the case. There was too much talent to struggle for such extended periods of time on the court.
When Lang looks back on her career through her journals one day, some of those entries in the middle of the 2023 season might be the toughest to read.
Through it all, however, Lang knew she was in it for the long haul no matter the outcome.
“I honestly never considered leaving,” she said. “It’s super easy (to transfer), which I think is important and I think it’s a great accessory for athletes to have if they need it, but I’m really happy here. I love Coach Rob, I love Coach Nick (Castello), I love Coach Kaleo (Baxter), I love Hawaii. The team changes every year and I’ve had a good team. I’ve just never truly had a reason to leave.”
Setters
Kate Lang 5-10 Sr. Keller, Texas
>> The only returning player to start every match last season, Lang gives the Rainbow Wahine a leader at the most important position on the court once again for her fifth and final year. Two-time All-Big first-team setter with a little extra motivation after making the second team last season.
Jackie Matias 5-9 So. Honolulu
>> Now in her third year with the program, Matias brings a smart mind and a capable player to insert in the lineup if the team needs a boost. A great complementary player to Lang at the position who can keep her coaches’ minds at ease if needed to run the offense full-time.
Adrianna Arquette 5-10 Fr. Kailua
>> Recruited to Hawaii as a setter, Arquette’s resume includes playing everywhere in high school, a role she will find himself in again at the Division I level. With two setters in front of her, her immediate impact may be felt at other positions.
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