Baxter elevated to Wahine volleyball assistant

With Hawaii coach Dave Shoji on medical leave and his return date uncertain, the program made a move to continue stability, elevating Kaleo Baxter to assistant coach for the Rainbow Wahine.

Baxter, who was Hawaii’s first director of volleyball operations for both the indoor and beach teams, replaces Lindsey Berg, who was on a one-season contract. Previously the Kauai High graduate was a volunteer coach for the Wahine (2011-14) and the U.S. women’s national team (2014) and an assistant at both Irvine Valley College (2014) and UC Irvine (2015).

Associate head coach Jeff Hall, the interim head indoor coach, is the head beach coach and “with Jeff being in the swing of beach season, I’ll focus a lot on the office work and we’ll be hitting the recruiting trail pretty hard,” said Baxter, who was an all-conference libero at IVC and also played two seasons at was a libero at Cal State Northridge (2009-11).

“I’ve been around the program for four years total now, working with Dave and everyone in the athletic department … it’s seamless. There won’t be much of a transition.”

Shoji, 70, announced last month that he has prostate cancer and began treatment earlier this month. The AVCA Hall of Fame coach has not said whether he will return this fall for a 43rd season.