It was Dec. 8, 1979, in Carbondale, Ill., and it was cold. Not the severe weather that had hit the area the previous three Decembers — with record snowfalls and average temperatures of 14 degrees — but still … it was cold outside and inside the SIU Arena on the Southern Illinois campus, where the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s national volleyball championship was taking place.

The conditions seemed apropos for Hawaii since most gave the Rainbow Wahine the same chances of defeating defending champion Utah State as a snowball on Waikiki Beach some 4,200 miles away. But, for one night, the snowball survived, as did Hawaii, pulling a reverse sweep on Utah State, 8-15, 7-15, 15-9, 16-14, 15-12, to win the program’s first championship.

Four decades later, several members from that inaugural title team will be in the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday for the annual alumnae match (4:30 p.m. start). Only a few have committed to playing — “Not enough Bengay,” said one non-playing attendee — but they will be there, able to look at their banner hanging from the catwalk and appreciate the accomplishment of then and the legacy of now.

“Unbelievable that it’s been 40 years,” said retired coach Dave Shoji, who was in his fifth season with the Wahine in 1979. “I didn’t start thinking about how long it had been until (wife) Mary and I started counting the decades.

“We had come so close the previous years and it wasn’t looking great this time. But we had seven seniors out there (eight counting injured All-America setter Rocky Elias) and this was their last shot.”

They made it their best. With hundreds of ti leaves being waved on the fifth match point, senior Waynette Mitchell served what would be the final aloha ball, with senior Bonnie Gouveia “tooling the block” when putting down the match-ending kill.

Seniors Angie Andrade, Terry Malterre and Mitchell, along with sophomore Diane Sebastian — UH’s tallest player at 6 feet — were named all-tournament. It was the final time in a Wahine uniform for the six who had been a part of the program since freshmen in 1976 — Cheryl Grimm, Paula Gusman, Elias, Gouveia, Malterre and Mitchell — as well as Diana McInerny, who had transferred after two seasons at UC Santa Barbara, and Andrade, back home after a junior season at BYU.

The AIAW tournament format was drastically different from the current NCAA. Competition was held over three consecutive days, with pool play on the first two and the quarterfinals on Day 2. Hawaii had never finished lower than third in its first five years of the program’s existence and, in 1979, advanced to its sixth straight semifinal, defeating Pacific in four.

It set up the third appearance in the final for the Wahine, this time against the Aggies, who had handed Hawaii two of the season’s five losses. The teams had met five times earlier, going to five sets twice and each winning 3-2 on their home court.

Dec. 8 was just Round 6 of the contentious rivalry.

“What I remember was their air of arrogance,” Diana McInerny McKibbin said of the Aggies. “They had beaten us before and there was this feeling of ‘Wrap it up, no problem.’ It was a tough match.

“The first thing I remember is it was freezing cold and I was wearing three layers going into the gym and warming up with a sweatshirt under a sweatshirt. The second is seeing my family and all the fans with the ti leafs. It was a pretty amazing time.”

McKibbin, who had been used as a defensive specialist, ended up replacing Elias at setter after the latter re-aggravated an ankle injury during the regionals the previous week. The Wahine went to a 6-2 offense (two setters, six hitters), with Andrade the other setter.

The rest is history. And legacy.

“It’s such an honor being a part of what they started, to be following in their footsteps,” said graduating Wahine libero Rika Okino.

“It’s a lot easier for us women to play sports these days,” senior hitter McKenna Ross said. “Looking at everything they went through, how hard it was … it’s a huge honor to be part of it.”

Okino and Ross will be eligible to play in next year’s alumnae match. Head coach Robyn Ah Mow and associate head coach Angelica Ljungqvist may make cameo appearances prior to the Big West match with Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.

Angie Andrade S 5-6 Sr.

Kyra Bjornsson MB 5-10 Fr.

Nahaku Brown S 5-9 So.

Rocky Elia S/OH 5-8 Sr.

Bonnie Gouveia OH 5-8 Sr.

Cheryl Grimm OH 5-5 Sr.

Paula Gusman OH 5-9 Sr.

Candy Kane OH 5-9 Fr.

Terry Malterre MB 5-10 Sr.

Diana McInerny S 5-6 Sr.

Waynette Mitchell OH 5-8 Sr.

Diane Sebastian MB 6-0 So.