Sports briefs for July 23: Pre-season volleyball exhibition, women’s soccer schedule, academic honors and more

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Athletics builds momentum under Elliott

Matt Elliott on June 30 completed his first year as athletics director at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; one of the most successful years in the university’s history. Championship victories, record fundraising and major milestones — including expanding access for fans, eliminating pay-per-view, joining the Mountain West Conference and reshaping department leadership — highlighted the year, all while creating new opportunities for nearly 500 student-athletes to succeed academically, athletically and personally.

Looking ahead, Elliott said enhancing the student-athlete experience, strengthening community partnerships and continuing to grow support for University of Hawaiʻi Athletics remain his top priorities.

“We’ve made real progress over the past year, but we’re just getting started to navigate a new era of college athletics,” Elliott said in a university release. “As we begin this chapter in the Mountain West, we’re focused on creating even more opportunities for our student-athletes and our fans. ‘Our Team, Hawaiʻi’s Team’ is more than a slogan. It’s a commitment to bringing our community together and building a program the entire state can be proud of.”

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Vulcans volleyball to host University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for pre-season exhibition

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo women’s volleyball will host University of Hawai’i at Manoa at 2 p.m. Aug. 15 for an exhibition match at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo.

The pre-season contest marks the Rainbow Wahine’s first trip to Hilo since the 1980s. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 years old and older, $10 for middle and high school students and $5 for keiki ages 12 years old and younger.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo officially opens its season Aug. 10, with first official matchups Aug. 20-22 hosting the Hawai’i-Alaska Challenge at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

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2026 schedule: Vulcans women’s soccer

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo women’s soccer takes on a gauntlet of conference champions as part of a 15-match slate this upcoming fall culminating in hosting the 2026 Pacific West Championships at Vulcan Soccer Field.

The 2026 lineup will have all three of last season’s NCAA West Region conference champions on the docket: Great Northeast Athletic Conference champion Simon Fraser (Aug. 29 in Bellingham, Wash.), California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Cal Poly Humboldt (Sept. 4 at home) and PacWest champion Point Loma (Oct. 3 in San Diego, Calif.). The Vulcans are one of two teams who will play all three in the regular season.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo opens the season with a two-match trip to Bellingham against GNAC foes Western Washington (Aug. 27) and Simon Fraser before returning home.The women will play a total of 15 matches, including 6 non-conference and 9 conference matches. The four-team PacWest Championships postseason tournament is set for Nov. 5 and 7 at Vulcan Soccer Field.

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Vulcans men’s basketball lands National Association of Basketball Coaches academic awards

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo men’s basketball placed six student-athletes on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, along with earning the association’s Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2025-26 season.

Student-athletes named to the 2025-26 Honors Court were juniors Charles Higby Jr., Fabio Da Rocha, Jamal Entezami and Telryn Villa, plus seniors Isaiah Hinds and Julio Montes II. The Team Academic Excellence Award honors programs that completed the 2025-26 academic year with a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, while Honors Court includes junior, senior and graduate student players who finished the year with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher.

More than 2,300 total student-athletes earned Honors Court recognition and 400-plus programs received Team Academic Excellence Awards.

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Maui’s Padilla is first Hawaiian to win Amateur Athletic Union Beach Volleyball Player of the Year

Milaniakai Padilla of Maui was chosen as the first Hawaiian athlete to win the prestigious Amateur Athletic Union Beach Volleyball Player of the Year. The incoming high school junior at Seabury Hall, who was born and raised on the Valley Isle, recently committed to Stanford University beginning in fall 2028.

The announcement was made during the 33rd Amateur Athletic Union Hermosa Beach National Championships. She joins surfing legend Carissa Moore in blazing new trails for Hawaiian women in sports. Both have now been honored with Amateur Athletic Union national awards. Moore is the 2022 AAU Sullivan Award recipient, which is presented to the nation’s top Olympic or collegiate athlete.

Padilla also joins elite company as Amateur Athletic Union Beach Volleyball Player of the Year. Three previous honorees represented Team USA at the Olympics, including Paris Games silver medalist and 2018 Amateur Athletic Union Sullivan Award winner Kathryn Plummer.

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Five Vulcans earn Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American scholar honors

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo women’s golf placed five student-athletes on the 2025-26 Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team, honoring collegiate golfers for achieving a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 and higher.

Golfers honored were seniors Trinity Ledgerwood, Elle Otani and Kiersten Saludares, sophomore Kailee McKee and freshman Jaylen Wan. Along with a grade-point average of 3.50 or higher, student-athletes must have amateur status and be on the team’s roster through the conclusion of the season as well as played in 50% of the team’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year, through the team’s conference championship

The five Vulcans were among the 1,551 women’s collegiate golfers nationwide who were named to the 2025-26 All-American Scholar Team.