As much as the University of Hawaii has given her over the past four years, Tali Hakas is ready to chase her dreams.
The Rainbow Wahine outside hitter, who has one year of eligibility remaining after this season, made the announcement Tuesday that she will forgo her final year at UH and instead work toward playing professionally.
Hakas, who is 5-foot-11 and from Kfar Saba, Israel, where she served in the military before coming to UH, said she told the coaching staff of her decision a couple of weeks ago.
“It took me a lot to understand that I still have a lot to give to this game and I am very excited and looking forward to the next challenge,” Hakas said. “I know there is a lot of me that I can give to this game beyond college, and I am very excited about that, but I think I’m ready. I know that Hawaii has been my home for the last four years and know that this is a season that I could have grown more. I could still give another year to this beautiful place, but I am ready for the next year.”
Hakas has played in 68 matches over four seasons, which included a third year that was cut short to three matches due to a shoulder injury.
She has rebounded this season to average 2.40 kills per set and is hitting .218, surpassed only — and barely — by her three-match season a year ago.
She’a also averaging a career-best 0.45 blocks per set.
“She is a great competitor. I think everyone knows that if you’re in the practice gym with her,” junior middle blocker Miliana Sylvester said. “She just has an excellent work ethic and so it’s something to look up to. I think she’s a good leader for our team in the way that she plays and in the way that she carries herself. It’s been super cool to play with her the last three years and it’s sad to see her go.”
Hakas missed Hawaii’s two home matches two weeks ago with a lower leg injury suffered during serve and pass receive before Friday’s match.
She returned to the floor Thursday against Wyoming and came off the bench to play in the back row.
In Saturday’s four-set win, she also got some run in the front row in the fourth set.
“Honestly, as soon as I got the result of the X-ray that it wasn’t broken, it was like, ‘OK, let’s go’,” Hakas said. “I’ve learned to trust the people around me and understand they want the best for me and knowing the season is still going I need to be patient.”
Just one year after Hawaii suffered through its first losing season in program history, new Rainbow Wahine coach Joshua Walker has watched his team go 16-3 in its opening 19 matches and 8-0 in Mountain West Conference play entering this weekend’s matches against UNLV.
In this new world of name, image and likeness in college athletics, Walker said it’s already time to start having conversations with each individual player about their future despite Hawaii being on a hot streak that hasn’t really stopped since opening weekend.
“We’re getting close to kind of having those conversations with everybody,” Walker said. “(Hakas) said she’s interested in trying to play professionally sooner than later, so the whole point for me coming in this year is making sure she is healthy as possible to be able to do whatever she wants. Excited for every opportunity she has to continue to play.”
Despite missing the toughest season in UH history, Hakas was there on the sidelines with her teammates.
Although she knew she would likely give up her final year of eligibility, it has only added to her motivation to return to the court and give the fans a volleyball team that they could be proud of.
“Honestly this was always an option that this could be my last year,” Hakas said. “The first game in the Stan, I was like, ‘Well, I am going to give this season the best I have.’ That was the mindset, so I was going to go full, see where it takes me, and if I felt confident and ready enough, I would pursue my dream. If I thought I needed another year and see how it goes I would probably stay.”
Hakas said she will play beach volleyball in the spring for UH before leaving to go back to her home country.
She will be honored on senior night with teammates Leilani Lopez and Panna Ratkai.
Ratkai, her roommate and best friend, was also a part of the decision.
“My parents were involved. My best friend was involved and it was something that in some way I had to be a little more selfish and think about what is best for me in terms of my career,” Hakas said. “When I had the conversation with the coaches, the only thing I got back was support and encouragement and all of the love I could ask for. I was scared at first to put it out there, but once it was done, it was very well taken.”
Hawaii, which is No. 29 in the latest NCAA volleyball RPI rankings, is now the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference and get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Hakas, who is one of eight returnees was was there for the difficult decision of Robyn Ah Mow stepping down in the offseason as head coach, admitted it’s a big goal of the returnees to see the program get back to the high standard it has set for so long.
In its previous two home matches, Hawaii sold 6,000 tickets for the first match against San Jose State, and then topped 7,000 sold tickets for the rematch on a Saturday.
“It makes me very happy. It’s something that was one of our goals at the beginning of the season to bring back the pride to Hawaii and making the state proud,” Hakas said. “Coming from last season, we know that there was so much more to give and being able to do that and see the results is very heartwarming, but this is just the beginning of it all. This is Year 1 of many.”
Name: Tali Hakas
Class: Senior
Height: 5-foot-11
Position: OH
Hometown: Kfar Saba, Israel
CAREER STATISTICS
Year SP-MP K K/S Pct. A SA DIG D/S TB B/S
2023 43-17 70 1.63 .144 8 7 86 2.00 16 0.37
2024 125-31 259 2.07 .195 30 26 364 2.91 62 0.50
2025 9-3 26 2.89 .222 0 1 22 2.91 3 0.33
2026 62-17 149 240 .218 13 6 114 1.84 28 0.45
TOT. 239-68 504 2.11 .196 51 40 586 2.45 109 0.46
