Tiffany Westerberg is right back where she started in terms of her on-court role.

A middle blocker as a University of Hawaii freshman in 2019, Westerberg shifted to outside hitter a year ago and made seven starts for the the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team.

Now entering her junior season, the 6-foot-3 Canadian is again working extensively in the middle as the Wahine prepare for Friday’s season opener at Texas A&M.

While Westerberg has circled back to her original position, UH coach Robyn Ah Mow marvels at the distance she’s covered since joining the program.

“She’s definitely grown to be a great young woman in every aspect, not only volleyball-wise but as a person,” Ah Mow said after Friday’s practice. “She got it. She figured it out.”

Westerberg appeared in 21 matches as a freshman playing in the middle and on the right side. After the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, she moved outside full-time last season and provided a spark in the second half of the Big West schedule in UH’s run to the conference title.

Going into the summer, she focused on preparing for the possibility of playing a dual role and worked with All-Big West middle Amber Igiede for much of UH’s two-week training camp.

“I’m still trying to pick up on things because I had a season off,” Westerberg said. “So I’m watching Amber a lot and trying to get back in the swing of things.

“Coach’s thing is you always have to be ready for whatever. So I was always ready to back in the middle, but I wasn’t necessarily expecting to go back in the middle. I’m fine with wherever Coach Rob tells me to go.”

Staying ready included adjusting her summer training program “because (playing middle) requires a little bit different conditioning with the quick bursts,” Westerberg said. “Our strength coaches really helped us with that during the summer.”

Westerberg posted 10 kills through UH’s first 20 matches last season before working her way into the starting lineup as the Wahine cycled through a series of right-side hitters. She then put away 53 over the last eight regular-season contests to help the Wahine retain the Big West championship.

Westerberg said playing and practicing on the outside helped develop her ball-control skills, and her versatility adds to the depth at both positions for Ah Mow and the UH coaches.

“Tiff slid right back in there,” Ah Mow said. “Going from middle to outside is a lot easier than going from outside back to middle, the whole game is different. But she’s taking it like a champ.”

Westerberg saw time in the middle and on the right side during Saturday’s open practice at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center that marked the end of camp. As such, when the Wahine players and coaches introduced themselves to the fans after the practice session, Westerberg classified her position as “hitter.”

“I like being the player that I am now and how I developed from freshman year,” she said.

A fresh face shines

Freshman Caylen Alexander made quite an impression in her first appearance with fans in the arena on Saturday.

With close to 300 in attendance, the 6-foot outside hitter/opposite from Georgia powered kills from both pins throughout the six-on-six periods of the open practice.

“I was kind of struggling in the first week (of camp) — it was kind of hard transitioning from club to college,” Alexander said. “But I’ve been looking up to some of the older hitters like Riley (Wagoner) and Tiff and all of them and really taking high, aggressive, deep swings and aiming for tips with hands, and that’s really been helping.”

Along with showing off an array of shots, Alexander was a defensive presence at the net and Ah Mow noted her play in the back row as the coaches freely shuffled the combinations on both sides of the court.

“We’re moving everybody around, that’s the whole point,” Ah Mow said. “Move everybody around and see what they can do and how good we can be.”

After completing two weeks of two-a-day practices, the Wahine will take today off and return to the gym on Monday with the start of the fall semester on the Manoa campus. They’re scheduled to depart for Texas on Tuesday.