A trio of imposing prospects and Hawaii’s first recruit out of Farrington will have Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji deep into skill development next season.

UH received the last of its four letters of intent Friday. That allowed Shoji to talk about the 2014 class while his 12th-ranked Wahine have a week off.

Hawaii (20-4, 9-3 Big West) closes its home schedule this weekend, playing UC Davis on Friday and 21st-ranked Cal State Northridge on Saturday, UH’s Senior Night. The Wahine lost to both of those teams on the road.

Shoji compared recruit Savanah Kahakai, a 5-foot-8 Farrington hitter slotted for libero in college, to Elizabeth Ka‘aihue, the UH libero from 2007 to 2010.

"They were both hitters in high school and club," Shoji said. "Savanah is very, very aggressive. She covers a lot of court. But she has to come in and earn the spot. We’ve got a lot of players returning and it will be wide open next season."

Hawaii could have as many as four "invited walk-ons" joining its back-row specialists when it opens practice in August. For sure, it will have three 6-2 freshman attackers — middle blockers Megan Huff and Emily Maglio and hitter Kalei Greeley.

Maglio is the first Canadian on the team since Sue Hlavenka and Karolyn Kootnekoff in 1985.

"Those three coming in are all what we call prospects," says Shoji, who will probably redshirt one of the middles. "I’m not sure any will be able to contribute right away. These are the kinds of players we like because they have a lot of upside. They are not as good as they are going to be. I like the class, but it’s going to take some time."

After saying that, Shoji drew another comparison that was more encouraging. He described all of them as early in their volleyball careers and a "sturdy 6-2, solid and fairly strong at this point already.

"The major focus won’t be gaining strength," Shoji said. "It will be gaining skill."