Inspiration walked through the door for Kendra Ham.

The University of Hawaii outside hitter routinely keeps watch for family members prior to Rainbow Wahine volleyball matches. But she noticed they were a few minutes later than usual during warm ups before UH’s match at UC San Diego last Friday.

Ham’s father has undergone treatment for cancer since July and the San Diego product wasn’t sure he would be able to attend her homecoming match in nearby La Jolla, Calif.

So when Mike Ham accompanied her mother, Melanie, and brothers into LionTree Arena, Kendra was understandably emotional in the moments leading up to first serve.

“This was the first game he was able to come see,” Ham said. “It was hit-or-miss if he was going to be able to go. So just seeing him there, it was hard not to cry when I saw him walk in.”

Having her family in the stands provided “a calming effect,” Ham said, and the junior defensive and serving specialist focused in on her on-court duties to contribute eight digs, an ace and a kill to UH’s 25-14, 25-19, 25-15 sweep of the Tritons.

Ham was able to meet up with her family following the 80-minute victory, and “I wasn’t able to give him a hug at the game, but just seeing him was really cool,” she said. “Just knowing he was there watching me, how proud he is of me, it meant a little more.”

The Rainbow Wahine (18-6, 15-1 Big West) return to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the final homestand of the regular season and Friday’s showdown with third-place Cal Poly (16-11, 13-4) also holds special meaning for Ham.

She began her college career with the Mustangs in 2019 and transferred to UH last year. Her connections across the net include former Cal Poly teammates in opposite Maia Dvoracek, middle blocker Meredith Phillips and outside hitter Amy Hiatt. She attended Torrey Pines High School with freshman setter Brooklyn Burns and played club volleyball with libero/DS Layla Haberfield from “11s to 16s (age groups).”

“It was three years ago now and I was at a different point in my life,” Ham said of her season in San Luis Obispo. “So it’s actually crazy just to see how much I’ve grown from that point and how much has changed.”

One factor that has endured since then is the significance of Hawaii-Cal Poly matchups. The Wahine and Mustangs split their meetings in 2019, when UH finished a game ahead of the Mustangs to claim the Big West championship. After the 2020 season was canceled, UH swept both matchups last year on the way to a repeat title.

This season, Cal Poly is responsible for UH’s lone loss in conference play to date, a four-set win in the Mott Athletic Complex on Oct. 15. Dvoracek led Cal Poly with 21 kills on .514 hitting, served up four aces and had 14 digs that night.

The senior enters Friday’s match as the reigning Big West offensive player of the week and averages 3.64 kills per set, good for second on the team behind Big West leader Tommi Stockham (3.78). Emme Bullis is a four-time BWC setter of the week honoree and averages 10.11 assists per set, just behind UH’s Kate Lang (10.36).

The Wahine have won their eight matches since the loss to the Mustangs to remain a game ahead of second-place UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 14-2) with four matches left in the regular season.

UH’s loss to the Mustangs came a night after a five-set duel at CSU Bakersfield and a 2 1/2-hour drive to SLO. The Wahine were also without libero Tayli Ikenaga, who remained in Hawaii recovering from an ankle injury.

“Bringing Tayli back in it stabilizes our back row, the passing lanes, defensive lanes,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said of the Moanalua alumna’s presence for the last eight matches.

“(Defensive specialist Talia Edmonds) definitely held her own … but within the games since then, I think our team is definitely getting better, especially with those two in the back working together.”

Ham has also served as a steady performer in the back row with 190 digs (2.26 per set), and has a family presence in the stands for matches in Manoa as well as trips back to San Diego. Her grandmother coincidentally moved to Kailua shortly before Ham committed to transfer to UH and is a regular at UH’s home matches.

Ham keeps in daily contact with her parents, and has the assurance of their mutual support back home as she helps the Wahine pursue a third straight conference crown.

“(Melanie) has been an absolute warrior through this entire thing. It’s amazing,” Ham said of her mother. “If I can have a relationship like theirs when I’m older, I would be happy. They have been the best parents and model for love that I can ever say.”

White Out, part II

UH has designated Friday’s match as a “White Out.” The Rainbow Wahine previously called for a white out for the match against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 22 and pulled out a four-set win to take sole possession of first place in the Big West race.