EUGENE, Ore. >> Bambi on ice.

That is how Natasha Burns describes herself on ice skates. One long leg going one way, another going the other way, all of a sudden “boom” just as in the Disney movie about a young mule deer who eventually finds his balance and grace.

Burns can relate to the early awkwardness. The 21-year-old has been tall all her life, really tall for a lot of it.

Being 6-foot-5 is a challenge, particularly during those teen-angst time. But the Canadian national has learned to embrace it since arriving on the Manoa campus four years ago.

“I’ve felt confident about my height since I’ve been here,” Burns said. “What I have become is more volleyball aware with what I can do with my height, more volleyball IQ and be more skilled in what I do.”

The redshirt junior middle blocker has decided to forego her final season of eligibility to graduate in spring with a degree in biology, looking at the many paths ahead of her. Travel, study abroad, pro ball, animal conservation (lions, tigers and orcas) and perhaps modeling.

But first things first. Today’s NCAA volleyball tournament first-round match against Baylor (19-9) at the Matthew Knight Arena on the University of Oregon campus.

Burns had a then-career high nine kills the last time the Rainbow Wahine (18-8) played the Bears, a five-set victory by Hawaii in the Outrigger Resorts Challenge at the Stan Sheriff Center last season. The teams are different from the ones that saw each other over 15 months ago, especially Hawaii with major changes in the lineup and a hybrid offense using two setters.

What remains the same is how much the Wahine will rely on Burns’ presence in the middle to keep the Baylor block honest as she channels her inner James van Riemsdyk. “JVR” as the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman is known in the hockey-loving world is Burns’ favorite NHL player … even if he no longer plays for her beloved Toronto Maple Leafs.

“When I started watching hockey seriously he was the first player I connected with because of what he did with his position,” Burns said. “He’ll be in front of the net, showing how to be big. It was like a basketball post (player) and I thought, ‘Cool. Kind of like a middle.’ It clicked.”

What has clicked, Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos said, is how Burns has connected with her potential.

“We’ve always known the player that she could be,” Ah Mow-Santos said. “I”m real happy for her. She’s done an awesome job this year, I tell her whatever changed for you, keep doing it. All the way to the end.”

Burns came up big in last year’s NCAA first-round match with Illinois, putting down a career-high 13 kills as the Wahine fell in five. Her progress carried over to this year where she has a team-high 88 blocks — 14 solo, 74 block assists — with 177 kills and hitting .311.

It earned Burns her first All-Big West honor, a first-team selection announced last week. Senior libero Tita Akiu, who transferred in last spring from Texas Tech, said she’s seen the improvement daily.

“She was working hard every day, working on the player she could be,” said Akiu, at the other end of the UH height spectrum at 5-foot-3. “Once that clicked, her progression has increased every day. She’s come a long way.

‘What I’ll miss about her is her positivity. She always has a positive outlook. She moves on quickly during a match, it’s about the next play. She inspires you.”

Akiu has been one of many trying to convince Burns to stay one more season.

“I tell her, ‘Come on, people would give anything to have one more year,’ ‘” Akiu said. “But she’s ready to go for something new.”

It is much like what happened with Burns growing up, moving from Vancouver east to Toronto, and then the opposite direction in her recruiting process. She originally signed with West Virginia but, when the coach left, she reconnected with the Hawaii coaches and went from East Coast to across the Pacific.

She said she has missed the changing seasons in Canada but not the cold.

“When it’s winter back home, I may regret my decision about leaving,” she said. “But I try to live my life without regrets.

“I will miss Hawaii, the fans, being in Gym I with my teammates, playing in the ‘Stan’ (Stan Sheriff Center). My experience her has been amazing.”

She’ll remember the random recognition when being out in Honolulu. One of her favorite stories?

“I was leaving Walgreen’s when this guy called out my name,” Burns said. “He said his 94-year-old mother was huge volleyball fan and asked if I’d go say hello. I went back inside to meet her.

“It’s one of the best things about playing here.”