Products of the Texas club volleyball circuit, Mylana Byrd and Kate Lang didn’t cross paths until they met up in Manoa last year.
Their shared Lone Star State upbringing provided the Hawaii setters a conversation starter, leading to a connection off the court even as they compete in the practice gym for the pivotal role of running the Rainbow Wahine attack.
“She’s from Dallas, I’m from Houston, there’s some rivalry there, which is fun,” Byrd said. “I knew her club and I knew some girls that she knew and that was really cool and nice that we come from the same background and we have the same lingo. Some people think we have an accent, but I don’t hear it.”
Byrd, a 6-foot-2 junior, arrived in the spring of 2020 as a transfer from Alabama, and Lang, a 5-10 freshman, followed in the fall in advance of a season that would eventually be wiped out when the Big West canceled fall sports.
The extended offseason heightened their anticipation for their UH debuts this weekend when the Rainbow Wahine return to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to face Fairfield in Friday’s season opener.
They won’t get the full Wahine volleyball experience over the three-day Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic, with fans barred from attending for at least the opening tournament. But even their first opportunity to practice in the arena last weekend injected energy into the routine of camp.
“We were yelling and screaming, we were so happy to be back in the Stan. It felt so good,” Lang said before Monday’s practice in the arena. “I have never played in the Stan before because all offseason we were in Gym 1. So it was just crazy.
“It’s a lot to get used to, because (of the) high ceilings and everything being a setter. After that first practice, I was like, ‘OK, I’m in it. Let’s go.’ ”
Both have worked to make the adjustments to coach Robyn Ah Mow’s system since arriving on campus and spent the past two weeks honing their connections with the Wahine hitters as they compete for the roles vacated when four-year All-Big West honoree Norene Iosia and Bailey Choy completed their careers in the 2019 NCAA tournament.
“I think we work well together and we’re really learning off each other,” Byrd said. “It’s also a big thing in our gym (that) we want to create consistent sets even though I’m taking it from a higher point and she’s taking it from a lower point, but we want to create the same rhythm for our (middle) hitters and our outsides.
“Everyone wants a different ball and learning to know which ball they want has really been important these last two weeks.”
Given her height, Byrd spent much of her club career as a middle blocker before making the full-time transition to setter late in high school, then at Alabama. She played in all 32 matches as a freshman and 16 in 2019, posting a career-high 38 assists in a win over North Carolina State, before transferring to UH.
Lang put together a decorated prep career at Keller High School and led her club program, Texas Advantage Volleyball, to national titles in 2017 and ’19.
“They both work hard, they have different ways of setting and they have different thinking of setting, definitely, which could be good,” said Ah Mow, a Wahine All-American and two-time U.S. Olympian at the position.
The duel for the starting job remains tight and Ah Mow indicated the decision on a starting lineup would come down to the week of practice leading into Friday’s opener.
“Mylana and I are great competitors but we’re also really great friends,” Lang said. “I actually was able to live with her this summer, so we got so close and it’s so hard to compete against such a great friend. But we definitely push each other in the right directions at all times. I love the energy I get from her and I hope she loves the energy she gets from me.”
Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic
SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
>>When: Friday-Sunday
>> TV: UH matches on Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: UH matches on 1420-AM/92.7-FM
Schedule
Friday: Marquette vs. Texas A&M, 4:45 p.m.; Fairfield vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Texas A&M vs. Fairfield, 4:45 p.m.; Marquette vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Marquette vs. Fairfield, 2:45 p.m.; Texas A&M vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m.
