With the University of Hawaii volleyball team down three starters down, Tai Manu-Olevao stepped up.
The Hilo native was honored as the Big West Player of the Week on Monday after leading the short-handed No. 8 Rainbow Wahine with a team-high 27 kills in victories Friday and Saturday in Honolulu, helping them reach the bye week on a 13-match unbeaten streak.
“It was going to be a struggle, I knew that all the way,” coach Dave Shoji said on the OCSports postgame Saturday after a four-set victory against UC Irvine. “It was bound to be a little ragged.