The University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team returns from a 20-month hiatus with a 28-match regular-season schedule starting Aug. 27 against Fairfield at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

After having the 2020 season canceled due to the pandemic, the 2021 schedule was released today with the Rainbow Wahine set to play eight nonconference matches, followed by a 20-match Big West schedule.

UH faces Fairfield, Marquette and Texas A&M in a season-opening tournament Aug. 27-29 in Manoa. The Wahine then embark on their first road trip for a match at Utah Valley on Sept. 2 and meetings with San Diego and host Utah in the Utah Classic Sept. 3 and 4.

The Wahine close the nonconference schedule with a home series against USC on Sept. 10 and 11. The Wahine have their alumni and Green and White matches scheduled for Sept. 17.

The Big West schedule increased to 20 matches with the additions of CSU Bakersfield and UC San Diego. The conference season opens Sept. 23 at UC Riverside and ends on Nov. 27 with a senior night match against UC Santa Barbara. The NCAA Tournament is set to begin on Dec. 2.

The opener against Fairfield will be UH’s first match since a loss to Nebraska in the NCAA regionals on Dec. 13, 2019 to cap a 26-4 season.

The Rainbow Wahine went 14-2 in Big West play in 2019 and will enter the 2021 season as the reigning conference champions. The conference initially postponed the 2020 fall sports schedule last July, then canceled the season in December.