The spotlight is bright, sometimes harshly so, when playing volleyball for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine. And the wattage — and expectations — are amped up for local high school products.

So remarkable is the character of Tayler Higgins that the senior setter out of Punahou School has held up under it. After starting for the majority of the past two seasons, after setting Hawaii to an NCAA tournament run to the elite eight in 2015, Higgins has found herself playing behind freshman Norene Iosia.

It has been hard to go from running the offense to running the reserves. Obviously.

But the way Higgins, voted a team captain, has handled it has impacted who the 14th-ranked Wahine are this season. Resilient, adaptable and able to handle adversity.

“It’s difficult, obviously, but it’s what you make of the situation,” said Higgins, one of four seniors playing their last match at the Stan Sheriff Center tonight. “Coming off the bench is hard — you’re coming in cold, but it’s a matter of being ready to do whatever is asked.

“I’m happy where the team is at. It’s exciting, but I don’t think we expected anything less.”

After a rough start with injuries to several key players, Hawaii (21-5, 14-1) has won its last nine, the last eight in straight sets. With Thursday’s sweep of Cal Poly, the Wahine clinched their second consecutive Big West title, 25th conference crown in program history and 21st in the past 22 seasons.

Higgins has set the tone for the success, according to Wahine coaches and teammates.

“I’ve always told my teams that you find out the most about people when things aren’t going well,” said first-year volunteer coach Tom Pestolesi, on sabbatical from his successful coaching job at Irvine Valley College. “That’s when you find out someone’s true character.

“‘Higs’ has been unbelievable. The seniors tell me that this is the best team cohesion they’ve had in their four years. For me as a coach, that is important. It’s awesome that we’re playing well, but the team vibe is even more awesome. ‘Higs’ has been the main reason for that.”

Higgins started 26 of 27 matches as a sophomore and all 29 as a junior, all while sharing some time with current junior Kendra Koelsch. Now the two are sharing time on the sidelines after Iosia became the permanent starter eight matches in on Sept. 9 against Northern Illinois.

“It is a difficult thing, but it doesn’t stop us from motivating each other to get better, from pushing each other to be as good as we can be as players,” said Koelsch, Higgins’ roommate on road trips the past three seasons. “We’ve been peppering partners forever and she has made me so much better. She is someone I could be coached by.

“She is one of the biggest reasons that volleyball is so fun for me. It would be easy to think negative when you’re on the bench, but I have someone who is pushing me to be the best no matter what the outcome is. She is one of those people who’ll be a lifelong friend. I want her to be a bridesmaid. And I don’t want to think about what it’s going to be like without her next season.”

Head coach Dave Shoji has been impressed.

“She’s overcome a lot, she’s undersized (5 feet 9), not a big jumper, but she’s a really heady kid,” he said. ““I keep telling everyone we were a couple of points away from a final four with her as a setter and that tells you something.

“I’m sure she’s disappointed she hasn’t played more, but she’s a mature person and understands the nature of the game. She’s a tough kid and has never backed down in a match.”

That should come as no surprise, given that she grew up in a football-playing and -coaching family, where she was surrounded by three older brothers and one younger one. Dad James played at UH (linebacker), as did brother Jeremy (quarterback), while Cameron was a third-team FCS All-America quarterback at Weber State.

After so many years in the sport, the 21-year-old Higgins said she isn’t sure what life direction she’ll take after finishing her degree in business finance.

“It’s not that I’m done (with volleyball), but I don’t know if it’s the path I want to take,” she said. “It’s weird to think about this last home match. But I’ve definitely enjoyed myself. My family has been really supportive and they’re happy that I’m out here doing what I love.

“Has it been worth it? Yes. I thought about going away to play but decided right before my junior year I’d stay. Everything about it — the atmosphere, the community, the support. You have to be here to experience being a Wahine.”

Note

Tom Pestolesi will not be at senior night. He returned to California on Friday for the funeral of mother-in-law Mary Sebastian, who died on Nov. 12. Pestolesi is married to Wahine All-American Diane Sebastian Pestolesi.