As Martyna Leoniak prepared for her trek from Poland to Hawaii, her strongest connection to the islands was headed back to Europe.
Conversations with former University of Hawaii associate coach Angelica Ljungqvist convinced Leoniak to pursue collegiate volleyball with the Rainbow Wahine. But before they could make an on-court connection, Ljungqvist left Manoa to return to Sweden to be close to her family shortly before the start of camp.
“I was so sad because she was the first person I talked to about Hawaii,” Leoniak said.
Once she arrived on campus, her teammates and coaches helped in her transition while she also received encouragement from Ljungqvist from afar.
“It’s been nice I can contact with her,” Leoniak said. “She’s watching our games. … She’s helping after games and (giving the team) good words after our matches, so that’s really nice.”
Leoniak will be among the UH freshmen introduced to the intensity of conference play this week when the Rainbow Wahine (3-5) open the Big West season in California with matches at UC Riverside (4-7) on Thursday and at UC Davis (5-7) on Saturday.
After a rocky nonconference schedule, Leoniak said a bye week helped the Wahine “clear our minds” prior to conference play.
Although UH again carries high expectations as the Big West’s preseason favorite, the Wahine approach the league schedule looking to “not feel pressure, but we have to get tough in every single game and just do our best,” Leoniak said.
Leoniak began the season in the starting lineup for UH and came off the bench in recent matches as the Wahine coaches evaluated various combinations on the floor. She enters this week’s matches with a .192 attack percentage, and her eight kills and 26 attempts against Utah Valley on Sept. 2 are her season highs to date.
At 6-foot-3, Leoniak’s flexibility and agility helped her post double-digit digs in four of her first six matches. She is fourth on the team with 2.48 per set and her potential from the service line was evident in her first start of the season.
Leoniak went back for a four-point serving run and another six-point turn in UH’s opening-night sweep of Fairfield. She was also on the line for seven straight serves in a win against Texas A&M to close the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.
“She’s a tremendous server,” UH assistant coach Kaleo Baxter said following her debut weekend. “She hits her targets and she plays really good defense. She’s a good size block and she’s going to come into her own.”
Leoniak’s five aces rank second on the team, trailing senior Brooke Van Sickle’s 11, with just two errors. She came off the bench late in UH’s second match against Southern Cal and promptly fired an ace to fuel hopes of a comeback before the Women of Troy put the match away with a block on their third shot at match point.
Leoniak said her serve was “always pretty good,” and her move to the U.S. enhanced the movement on her deliveries.
“When I came here it’s a different ball and my serve changed a little better,” she said. “It’s (lighter) with Molten or Mikasa (balls) than back in Europe. I had to change my movements to the ball.”
As she continues to go through the growth process on the court, Leoniak has embraced her new surroundings, although there are still some painful lessons now and then.
“It’s a paradise,” she said. “I was on the beach (Sunday) and I got sunburn. I forgot my sunscreen. But the place and people are so helpful and open.”
BIG WEST VOLLEYBALL
At Riverside, Calif.
>> Hawaii (3-5, 0-0 BWC) vs. UC Riverside (4-7, 0-1)
>> When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
>> TV: none
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
>> Online: gohighlanders.com
