Thoughts of going home drive Riley Wagoner through the rigors of two-a-day practices with the Hawaii women’s volleyball team.

As the Rainbow Wahine continue to prepare for the Aug. 27 season opener, Wagoner hopes to close her sophomore season with a December trip back to Ohio, site of the final rounds of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

“That’s definitely a big motivation for me and I know the team wants to help me get back home so my family can see me play in person,” said Wagoner, an outside hitter from Dublin, Ohio.

As with men’s volleyball this past spring, Columbus represents the ultimate goal for NCAA women’s programs heading into the fall season as host of the national semifinals and championship set for Dec. 16-18.

It’s a setting Wagoner is well familiar with, having grown up about a 20-minute drive from Columbus, where she played most of her club tournaments.

The road to Nationwide Arena is long and arduous and the first steps are planted in the practice gym.

For Wagoner and the Rainbow Wahine, the opportunity to simply compete for a place in the tournament is not one taken for granted.

After Big West teams sat out the fall of 2020, then the spring as most of the other Division I conferences played their delayed schedules, Wagoner said the Wahine returned to team workouts, “definitely a lot more motivated just because we know that it can be taken away from us at any point.”

When Wagoner was back home last year, she said, she didn’t have much access to a gym, but looked for ways to continue to prepare for an eventual return to the game.

“I really just pushed myself doing all the things that I could do working out and running and being in shape for when I came back,” Wagoner said.

“It was kind of frustrating not having that, but it also gave me a different outlook. I found some different things that I like to do outside of volleyball.”

Now that she’s back in the gym, “I appreciate it because I know that not everyone gets this chance and I just am grateful that I got it all the time.”

Wagoner — whose parents watched the UH men’s team win the national title at Ohio State in May — returned to a crowded competition for the outside hitter spots after earning 14 starts as a freshman in 2019. She averaged 1.31 kills per set in her introduction to college volleyball and is looking to build on and share her experience within a roster with nine players making their on-court debuts.

“We’ve got a lot of new faces and a lot of freshmen, (and) COVID freshmen, so my class, the class above me are really just gonna have to lead by example,” Wagoner said.

RAINBOW WAHINE TOP BIG WEST POLL

Defending Big West women’s volleyball champion Hawaii will enter the season as the favorite to claim the conference title.

The Rainbow Wahine placed first in the Big West’s preseason coaches poll released Tuesday. The Wahine received seven of 11 first-place votes and had 117 points in the poll.

Cal Poly drew the remaining four first-place votes and ranked second with 111 points, followed by UC Santa Barbara (90 points) and Long Beach State (88).

UH returns eight letterwinners from a 2019 team that went 26-4 overall and 14-2 Big West play to capture the conference championship and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wahine returnees include two All-Big West first-team selections in middle blockers Amber Igiede and Skyler Williams and outside hitter Brooke Van Sickle, an honorable mention pick.

UH opens the season against Fairfield on Aug. 27 in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Wahine also face Marquette and Texas A&M on the opening weekend.

BIG WEST PRESEASON COACHES POLL

(first-place votes)

1. Hawaii (7) 117 points

2. Cal Poly (4) 111

3. UC Santa Barbara 90

4. Long Beach State 88

5. UC Davis 83

6. UC Irvine 57

T7. CS Northridge 50

T7. UC San Diego 50

9. CSU Bakersfield 35

10. CS Fullerton 25

11. UC Riverside 20

BIG WEST WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL

(first-place votes)

1. Hawaii (7), 117 points

2. Cal Poly (4), 111

3. UC Santa Barbara, 90

4. Long Beach State, 88

5. UC Davis, 83

6. UC Irvine, 57

T7. Cal State Northridge, 50

T7. UC San Diego, 50

9. CSU Bakersfield, 35

10. Cal State Fullerton, 25

11. UC Riverside, 20