Losing a starting position is no fun for any player in any sport.

Tayli Ikenaga had started 56 matches at libero in her first two seasons with the Hawaii women’s volleyball team. When the starting lineup was announced for UH’s season opener against Northwestern two months ago, Ikenaga was standing on the sideline as senior Talia Edmonds donned the libero jersey for the first of 18 consecutive matches.

It was a surprise to many, including the Moanalua alumna, who admitted it was “a bit hard.” At the same time, she knows, like everybody who plays for head coach Robyn Ah Mow does, that nothing is given, and everything is earned, beginning in practice.

It’s why when the call came between sets 1 and 2 in Friday’s showdown with league-leading UC Santa Barbara, Ikenaga was ready to put that libero jersey back on.

After nearly fueling a five-set comeback against the Gauchos with 17 digs, Ikenaga has kept that jersey and helped Hawaii notch back-to-back wins with double-figure digs in road wins at Cal Poly and UC Davis.

“It was so fun to be out there,” Ikenaga said before practice Thursday. “I just really enjoyed being back out on the court — just kind of having that mindset that I’m doing my job and I’m there for a reason and the coaches trust me. I just try to continue having that type of mindset.”

Ikenaga not only stabilized the Rainbow Wahine defensively, her serve receive also helped UH get into a better offensive flow in its past two matches.

Hawaii hit .333 in the sweep of UC Davis, which was one of UH’s better performances of the season.

Ah Mow said after the game she thought UH’s setting was a lot better, but also that it begins with the defense behind setters Kate Lang and Jackie Matias.

“(Talia) was doing a good job, but it’s just who is hot right now,” Ah Mow said after Tuesday’s win. “Tayli being the hot hand right now is why she’s in there. I think she’s a bit calmer on the court against some of the faster teams.”

With Hawaii (14-6, 7-2 Big West) set to play UC Riverside (4-16, 3-5) in a one-match homestead on Saturday, Ikenaga is the first to understand her spot isn’t guaranteed, even this weekend.

Because every day in the practice gym is a chance for someone to win a starting spot, it also means it could be a day someone loses a spot.

“Practice is always an opportunity to show what you can do in a game,” Ikenaga said. “It’s just like a trial every single day to show (Coach) everybody is ready no matter who you’re playing. It keeps up the intensity.”

That’s important for days like Thursday, as UH returned Wednesday from a season-long road trip that saw Hawaii play three matches in five days.

This weekend is the rare one-match home swing to start the second half of conference play. Hawaii will then go back out on the road on Wednesday to play at Cal State Northridge and Cal State Bakersfield next week.

“This is one time in a long, long time I think that we’ve ever done this,” Ah Mow said Thursday. “A game is a game and I think the girls are doing well with this. The girls are adjusting to it and it is what it is.”

Ikenaga, who has 50 digs in her past three matches, said it’s all a part of playing sports at the University of Hawaii.

“It was quite a long trip … and we usually don’t have that long of a road trip throughout the year, so that was really tough,” Ikenaga said. “Just sticking together as a team and just trying to fight through it — Hawaii’s not like other schools where we get privileges, but that’s just a part of it and that just makes us better players.”

Hawaii has not dropped a set at home since losing to UCLA in four sets on Sept. 10. The Rainbow Wahine play just three home matches in the entire month of October.