The 2026 ProspectsHI Preseason Top 10: Hawaii Girls Volleyball

Published August 2026

Tryouts open across the state on Monday. Before a single ball goes up, here is where Hawaii girls volleyball stands: who returns, who graduated, who is coaching where, and how the top of the state stacks up on paper. These rankings will move the moment real matches get played, and they should. This is the starting line, not a prediction of November.

A quick word on method, because we intend to earn your arguments. Every ranking in this piece is built on the official 2025 HHSAA brackets, the published All-Hawaii and all-league selections, confirmed coaching changes, and direct reporting. Where something could not be verified, it is not here. Each team gets a justification and an honest confidence level. When we are guessing, we will say so.

And one point of philosophy that shapes everything below: this is a ranking of how good teams are, not a prediction of how their seasons end. The distinction matters in Hawaii more than almost anywhere. The state tournament allocates berths to each league by ratio, and the ILH's Division I, which houses arguably the three best programs in the state, typically receives just two of them. That means one of Hawaii's top teams routinely stays home in late October and early November. It also means a team can be the third best in the state and finish with a losing league record. The record book tells you why we rank this way: Punahou, Iolani, and Kamehameha have won every Division I state championship since Kahuku broke through in 2002. Strength of schedule is not a tiebreaker here. It is the whole context. Later this season, once the league races take shape, we will publish a separate state tournament projection, the how-it-ends list. This one is the how-good-they-are list.

Disclosure: ProspectsHI operates a recruiting platform, and our founder runs the Ka Ulukoa volleyball club. Some athletes in these rankings train with Ka Ulukoa or appear on the ProspectsHI platform. A player's status as a ProspectsHI client, or a family's decision not to become one, never affects a ranking in either direction. This disclosure runs with every rankings piece we publish.

Division I Top 10

1. Iolani

The defending champions did not drop a set in the state tournament and closed the year with a sweep of Kahuku at the Stan Sheriff Center. They graduate All-Hawaii Player of the Year Bailey Nakanelua, now at Ohio State, and First Team libero Maddix Taniguchi, now at Temple. That would sink most programs. Iolani returns three First Team All-Hawaii players anyway: junior Taimane Ainu'u, senior Poema Kalama-Kingma, and junior middle Annaura Reid-Gillet, plus Second Team middle Georgie Lee. Ainu'u is the reigning Gatorade Hawaii Player of the Year, a Texas commit, and fresh off her second straight gold medal with the U.S. U19 national team. The Raiders are the team to beat until someone beats them. Confidence: High.

2. Kahuku

The OIA champions and state runners-up graduate both Lauhingoa sisters, First Team selections who powered the entire run, with Lamona headed to Cal State East Bay and Elenoa to Snow College. That is a massive loss, and the reload just answered it twice over. The program confirms a returning core of junior outsides Makamae Schilling, a Third Team All-Hawaii pick, and Haley Kotobalavu, a BYU commit, plus senior middles Talia Soliai-Tui, a Second Team selection, and Ana Kaufusi. And now the addition: Anny Scott, the Third Team All-Hawaii setter and opposite who ran West champion Kapolei, has transferred to Kahuku, her family confirmed to ProspectsHI. Three returning or incoming All-Hawaii players, a committed Power-conference outside, and Lesina Manutai, the reigning Coach of the Year, on the bench. The gap to Iolani just got a lot smaller. Confidence: High.

3. Kamehameha-Kapalama

Read past the 13-7 record and the 7-6 ILH mark, earned in the hardest league in the state. The Warriors finished third at the HHSAA State Championships, sweeping the No. 3 seed, pushing Kahuku to 29-27 in the semifinal's opening set, and beating Moanalua head to head for third place. Gatorade POY Kalaweloilehua Chock (Portland), setter Bella Amey (Cal beach), and libero Ashli Lum (Saint Martin's) are all gone, but senior middle Kealoha Lyons and senior pin Ayva-Ray Malepeai anchor a deep returning group, 6-foot-1 sophomore Emilynn Won adds size, and sophomore outside Sauimoana Purcell, an official ILH all-star honoree as a freshman alongside setter Alayah Wilson, headlines the next wave. Most state titles in Hawaii history, including three of the last five. Confidence: Medium.

4. Moanalua

Na Menehune took Kahuku to five in the OIA final, survived KS-Maui in five in the state quarterfinals, and reached the semifinals before Iolani ended it; the third place loss to Kamehameha is the head to head that sorts these two spots. Now the case for October: nearly everyone returns. Junior Surfia Grounds, the 6-foot-5 Third Team All-Hawaii pick and Baylor commit, headlines, joined by junior Nora Carey (Hawaii beach commit), seniors Miya Waikiki and 6-foot-2 middle Kingston Auvaa, who combined for 16 kills in the OIA final, junior Alessandra Siazon, and both setters, senior Rylie Ramones and junior Faleaka Fonua. Only four seniors graduated. This is the deepest returning attack in the OIA. Confidence: Medium-High.

5. Mililani

The Trojans finished sixth at the state tournament and return the reigning All-OIA West Player of the Year, junior setter Kealananea Stephens, who won the award as a sophomore. First team all-West outside Ivy Taylor is expected back as a senior, and ProspectsHI has confirmed that middle Iwa Lau, who started for ILH D2 champion University Lab, has transferred in. They lose libero Kadence Wilson to UNLV. With Anny Scott's departure resetting Kapolei, the West race is suddenly wide open, and the best setter in the division plus an incoming all-league-caliber middle gives Mililani the most complete claim to it. Confidence: Medium.

6. Kamehameha-Maui

The MIL champions and No. 4 state seed came within 15-13 in the fifth of knocking out Moanalua. The losses are real: MIL Player of the Year Archer Fabrao graduated, and setter Hi'ilei Alo, who ran the offense, is now at Linfield. Returning all-MIL first teamer Uilani Ahana keeps them the league favorite, but replacing that much production, especially at setter, is the question hanging over Kula. Confidence: Medium.

7. Punahou

Here is news: Brandon Kikuchi is Punahou's new Varsity 1 head coach and girls program head, ProspectsHI has confirmed, a change the school has not yet publicly announced. He inherits a program that graduated seven from last year's varsity, including Second Team All-Hawaii outside Kealoha Cox (Florida Tech) and setter Makenna Mello (Menlo College). With Mello gone, the setter position is the fall's defining competition, and we expect sophomore Taj Davidson and junior Kiele Tachibana to battle for it. The returning core is young and talented: junior Zoe Keaney, a 6-foot-3 Northwestern commit, and senior Evelyn Kilisi, a Saint Martin's commit, both ILH all-star honorable mentions last fall, lead it, alongside junior Carmen Lo, a UC Davis beach commit, and a deep 2028 group. A settled staff plus Punahou's athlete pool is a dangerous combination, even in a reset year. Confidence: Medium.

8. Kamehameha-Hawaii

The BIIF champion entered the state tournament as the No. 3 seed, ran into a locked-in Kamehameha-Kapalama in the quarterfinals, then won two consolation matches to finish fifth. Shay Beals, the Third Team All-Hawaii outside and setter who anchored four league titles in her tenure, graduates to CSUN beach volleyball. The program's league standard says they reload; the state seed says respect them until proven otherwise. Confidence: Low-Medium.

9. Kapolei

No team's offseason changed more. The West champions already lost Third Team middle Asa Parks to graduation (Pacific Lutheran), and now Anny Scott, the Third Team All-Hawaii setter and opposite who made the whole operation go, has transferred to Kahuku, her family confirmed to ProspectsHI. What remains is real: an 11-3 West title core and Naidah Gamurot, the reigning All-OIA West Coach of the Year. But the engine is gone, and this ranking now rests on program and coaching rather than a star. Confidence: Low.

10. Mid-Pacific

Graduation took Second Team All-Hawaii outside Khanzas Tuisamatatele and middle Destiny Look, but the cupboard is not bare: ILH second team setter Milan Scanlan returns as a senior, junior Tatiana Taylor is a UNLV commit and ILH honorable mention, and seniors Mia Furoyama and Maia Hu round out a real core. The program's ILH schedule means they will be battle-tested by October regardless. Confidence: Low.

The Next Five

11. Campbell. A state quarterfinalist that rallied from two sets down in the first round. Returning production is unproven on paper, which is the only thing keeping the Sabers out of the ten.

12. Baldwin. Circle this one. The record says 6-7 in the MIL last year. The roster says something else: ProspectsHI has confirmed that Baldwin returns five starters from last year's third place MIL team, none of them rising seniors, led by all-MIL second team setter Elizabeth Ganer, a junior this fall. The Bears also return two more all-league honorees in Gabriella Tito and Iliana Correa, both underclassmen, after falling one playoff short of the MIL's second state berth. Young teams that just missed are how breakout seasons happen, and we would rather be early on this one than late.

13. King Kekaulike. The MIL runner-up led Campbell two sets to none in the state tournament before losing in five, but graduation took key starters. The early-season Baldwin rematch will sort out the league's second tier fast.

14. Konawaena. Took Mililani to five in the state first round and leads the BIIF chase pack.

15. Hilo. The third member of the BIIF's state tournament contingent alongside KS-Hawaii and Konawaena, with Castle and the OIA East's second tier also worth watching. One name conspicuously absent from this list: Kalaheo, which graduated seventeen seniors, including all-league honoree Jadalynn Satele-Filifili, and starts this season nearly from scratch.

Division II Top 5

1. Seabury Hall. Yes, ahead of the defending champions, and here is the case. Seabury went 16-0 in league and placed five players on the all-MIL Division II first team. Two of them, Clia Kafka and Delaney Tauaese, have graduated, but the other three are back: Milaniakai Padilla, Dillon McLellan, and Destiny Keomaka-Wood, joined by returning starter Tulsi Erlemann. Padilla, the reigning MIL D2 Player of the Year, this month became the first athlete from Hawaii ever named AAU beach volleyball national Player of the Year, and she is a Stanford beach commit. The Spartans had the title match at 15-13 in the fifth last November. The team that lost that final returns its core. The team that won it returns almost nothing.

2. Maryknoll. The team nobody saw coming keeps its whole engine. Unseeded, the Spartans beat Leilehua, knocked out the No. 2 seed, and finished fourth in the state while their only All-Hawaii recognition, honorable mention middle Puaena Herrington, has since moved on. The league grapevine says they return their pins and their setters, and rival ILH coaches consider them the favorite for the league crown. The honors lists overlooked this group last year. Nobody will this year.

3. Roosevelt. The OIA D2 champions ended a 14-year league title drought and return all-league picks Kaycie Garnett and Hilinai Kahawai. They also add Sanoe Holani-Frank, the starting libero from ILH champion University Lab, a transfer ProspectsHI has confirmed. The steadiest returning core in the OIA's division just got a proven back row anchor.

4. Le Jardin. A rebuild with a fast floor. Head coach Taylor Souza returns Point Loma commit Summer Flores, a 6-foot 2028 who moves back to the pin now that a freshman class with three true setters arrives, and Nine Swigart, who slides back to her natural libero spot after playing out of position all last season. A young roster with two proven pieces and real setting depth for the first time in years: judge the Bulldogs in October, not August.

5. Kapaa. The defending champions made history as the first Kauai school to win a girls volleyball state title, and nothing changes that. But the graduation bill is the steepest in the division: eight of the thirteen players on the title roster were seniors, including tournament MOP Carlyn Kamoku-Rapozo (Eastern Washington), setter Kanani Silva, and both all-tournament picks. Senior outside Mehana Guy and junior setter Welina Carvalho-Brede lead what returns. The banner is forever. The team that hung it has largely moved on, and this ranking respects the program while being honest about the roster.

Watch: University Lab, the top state seed a year ago, graduates ILH D2 Player of the Year Mayah Nakasato and has been hit by significant roster departures, so their hold on the ILH is genuinely open for the first time in years. Hawaii Baptist and BIIF champion Parker (16-0 in league) round out the field, and Leilehua returns the OIA D2 Player of the Year, senior Cali Moniz-Kealoha.

The Power 10: Hawaii's Best, Regardless of Division

Divisions decide brackets. They do not decide who would actually win on a neutral floor. Once a week we will publish this list too, the ten best teams in the state with the division labels peeled off.

1. Iolani (D1). The champs until further notice.
2. Kahuku (D1). Three All-Hawaii players in the gym, a BYU commit on the pin, and the reigning Coach of the Year.
3. Kamehameha-Kapalama (D1). Third at state, won the head to head with Moanalua, and a freshman wave loading behind Lyons.
4. Moanalua (D1). Two committed D1 juniors and a semifinal pedigree.
5. Mililani (D1). The reigning OIA West POY runs the show as a junior, and an all-league middle just transferred in.
6. Kamehameha-Maui (D1). League favorites on Maui with a setter question to answer.
7. Punahou (D1). New coach, new energy, a Northwestern commit in the middle, deep athlete pool.
8. Seabury Hall (D2). A national player of the year and a nearly intact all-league core. We think they beat several teams above this line on the right night, and the season will give them chances to prove us right or wrong.
9. Kamehameha-Hawaii (D1). The BIIF standard-bearer until someone on that island says otherwise.
10. Kapolei (D1). The West title pedigree survives the offseason. The star did not.

First team out: Mid-Pacific. And if Seabury at eight strikes you as disrespectful in either direction, good. Argue with us. That is what this list is for.

Preseason Players to Watch

Taimane Ainu'u (Iolani, Jr, S/OH) is the headliner and it is not close: Gatorade Hawaii Player of the Year as a sophomore, two-time U19 gold medalist, Texas commit. One genuine early-season question is her availability, since the U23 Pan American Cup runs Aug. 30 through Sept. 7 and overlaps the opening weeks.

The rest of the returning All-Hawaii core: Poema Kalama-Kingma (Iolani, Sr, OH), Annaura Reid-Gillet (Iolani, Jr, MB), Georgie Lee (Iolani, Sr, MB/OPP), Talia Soliai-Tui (Kahuku, Sr, MB), Makamae Schilling (Kahuku, Jr, OH), Surfia Grounds (Moanalua, Jr, OH), Kealoha Lyons (Kamehameha, Sr, MB), Anny Scott (now at Kahuku, Sr, S/OPP), Kealananea Stephens (Mililani, Jr, S), and Milaniakai Padilla (Seabury Hall, Jr, OH/OPP).

And keep a young name in mind: Kamehameha sophomore Sauimoana Purcell earned ILH all-star recognition as a freshman and headlines the Warriors' next wave.

Five Storylines Heading Into the Season

1. The Ainu'u season. The state's best player is a junior with a national team schedule. How Iolani balances her setting duties with her attacking now that Nakanelua's role is open, and whether the U23 window costs the Raiders early matches, are the two biggest variables at the top of the state.

2. New voices on the bench. Kikuchi's arrival at Punahou, reported here first, is the biggest coaching move in the ILH, handing a proven program voice a young roster and an open setter competition. He is not alone: Fulton Dela Cruz takes over at Waianae, and Kalaheo opens the season under a new staff led by Geno Hawkins after that seventeen-senior graduation wave. Amber Tai, a Kailua alumna and first-year head coach who has worked with Le Jardin Academy, adds another new voice to the OIA. Four programs, four resets, four stories worth following.

3. The reload in Laie. Kahuku lost two First Team players from one family in one graduating class, and answered by returning two All-Hawaii picks, a BYU commit, and adding Anny Scott, the All-Hawaii setter and opposite who transferred in from West champion Kapolei, her family confirmed to ProspectsHI. The question is no longer whether Kahuku reloads. It is whether the new pieces jell fast enough to catch Iolani.

4. Kamehameha's youth wave. Two freshmen on the official ILH all-star list is not a rebuilding story, it is a loading story. The third place finish already showed the floor.

5. The neighbor islands push back. KS-Maui came a whisker from the semifinals, Kapaa is the defending D2 champ, and Baldwin might be the most complete returning roster in the MIL. The days of Oahu sweeping every meaningful trophy are not guaranteed.

What Comes Next

The Top 10 publishes every week during the season, with movement notes and a game of the week. A full report on where Hawaii's 2026 seniors landed in college, and the 2028 class already making verbal commitments, follows this week.

Coaches: we want your results, your rosters, and your arguments. If we got something wrong, tell us and we will fix it visibly. That is the standard this operation runs on.

Rankings are based on results against quality opponents, strength of schedule, statistical profile where available, roster context, and live or film evaluation, in that order. Corrections run promptly and visibly. Reach ProspectsHI with results, rosters, or corrections at any time.