Hakas gives Wahine a boost with her skill, abundance of energy

Tali Hakas ended a long rally against Southern California on Saturday with a block and then turned toward her teammates and dove headfirst like she was sliding into home plate in a baseball game.

The freshman from Israel is quickly compiling an impressive list of energetic celebration moves after points, but this one might have had her coach worried for a slight second.

“I didn’t know what happened. I thought she hurt herself,” Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow said with a little smile after the match. “I was like, ‘how did you get hurt on the block?’ And then I found out she was healthy.”

It drew many laughs in the postgame press conference for a team that has given its fans a lot to smile about over the first two weeks of the season.

The Rainbow Wahine enter the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge today ranked for the first time in four years at No. 23 in this week’s AVCA/Taraflex Top 25.

Hakas has brought more than just energy to the starting lineup as the only freshman in the group.

Her all-around play has her as the only Rainbow Wahine in the top four on the team in kills, digs and blocks.

She’s coming off her best offensive game of the season in the four-set win over USC, hitting .368 with 11 kills. She’s also hit double figures in digs three times already with a career-high 18 in a five-set win over the Women of Troy last Thursday.

Her 59 total digs trails only starting libero Talia Edmonds.

“I just try to bring a little bit of everything,” Hakas said earlier this season. “I’m an energy person first. I just love the energy of playing here and try to bring that to the team.”

Some Rainbow Wahine will still say senior middle Amber Igiede, who notched her 1,000th career kill on Sunday, is the most energetic teammate on the court. It’s an interesting debate, for sure, but even Igiede admits Hakas’ energy is next level.

“I absolutely love that. I genuinely love Tali’s fire and I know that she celebrates for herself just as hard as she celebrates for everyone else and it just means the world and it gets people going,” Igiede said. “It’s definitely every time we speak or how the team huddles, Tali is always the one to say, ‘make sure we bring the energy’ and she backs that up no matter how her night is going.”

Hawaii’s final home nonconference tournament is this week beginning with Liberty (6-0), which has dropped only three sets to start the season.

The Lady Flames are one of 33 unbeaten teams left in Division I and are in their first season in Conference USA after competing in the Atlantic Sun.

Pepperdine, which UH plays Friday, is off to a 1-4 start under Punahou alum Scott Wong, who brings his team to Hawaii coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 6 Oregon, which is the only team to beat UH this season.

The Waves took Big West member UC Santa Barbara to five sets before losing and have also been swept by Kansas and Texas A&M.

Hawaii will close out the tournament against UCLA and former UH men’s team libero Alfee Reft, who 17 years after his senior season at Hawaii returns as the first-year head coach of the Bruins.

UCLA split two matches in five sets against LSU to start the season and is coming off a four-set win over Big West member Long Beach State on Saturday.

Middle blocker Desiree Becker, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, is tied for the Pac-12 lead in total blocks with 29.

UH WOMEN’S OUTRIGGER VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE

Simplifi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center

Today: UCLA (4-1) vs. Pepperdine (1-4), 4:45 p.m. Hawaii (4-1) vs. Liberty (6-0), 7 p.m.

Friday: Liberty vs. UCLA, 4:45 p.m. Hawaii vs. Pepperdine, 7 p.m.

Sunday: Pepperdine vs. Liberty, 2:45 p.m. Hawaii vs. UCLA, 5 p.m.

>> TV: Spectrum OC16 (Ch. 1016, UH games only)

>> Radio: KKEA 1420-AM / 97.5-FM (UH games only)