UH Hilo women’s volleyball unveils 29-match 2026 schedule on Big Island
UH Hilo’s 29-match volleyball slate put 12 home nights on the Big Island, opening with a Hawaii-Alaska Challenge that should fill Hilo arenas.
UH Hilo women’s volleyball unveiled a 29-match 2026 schedule that gives the Big Island 12 home dates, a fall run that should keep Hilo’s campus busy and send steady traffic to nearby restaurants and shops. The home slate opens with the Hawaii-Alaska Challenge, bringing Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Anchorage, Hawaii Pacific University and Chaminade to the island for an early-season showcase.
The Vulcans enter 2026 with real momentum after a 20-9 season that left them tied for third in the Pacific West Conference at 9-3 and sent them to the PacWest postseason tournament. Their 2025 run ended in the semifinals against Point Loma on Oahu, one game short of the NCAA tournament, but the roster still carried major individual honors, with Kamaluhia “Malu” Garcia named PacWest Newcomer of the Year and earning AVCA All-America recognition and Isabella Freeman landing first-team all-conference honors.
Reed Sunahara, who returned home in March 2025 as UH Hilo’s eighth head coach, enters his second season with more than 400 career wins. The Hilo native, former UCLA player, two-time All-American and three-time NCAA champion will open the team’s on-court work with first official practice Aug. 10. UH Hilo also set volleyball camps for Aug. 1-2 and Aug. 8, giving the program a tight buildup before the first serve of the fall.
The schedule spreads the Vulcans’ home matches between Vulcan Gymnasium and Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, with PacWest play opening Sept. 12 at home against Chaminade. Other Big Island home dates include Hawaii Pacific, Dominican, Jessup, Biola, Vanguard, Westmont, Concordia and Point Loma, a lineup that gives Hilo fans a chance to see both conference rivals and nonconference visitors without leaving the island. The road slate includes a trip to California and another round of Hawaii Challenge matches on Oahu.
The timing matters in Hilo, where the Vulcans already proved they can draw like one of the Division II’s top programs. UH Hilo finished 2025 with an average home attendance of 1,007, the best mark in NCAA Division II women’s volleyball, and also ranked No. 3 nationally in venue percent capacity. That level of support makes every home match part of the island’s sports calendar, not just the university’s.
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