HONOLULU – Chaminade University women's volleyball head coach
Kahala Kabalis Hoke announced Wednesday the 11-member recruiting class that will join the two-time defending Pacific West Conference champions for the 2023 season with five collegiate transfers and six freshmen.
The transfers:
Lizanyela Lopez is a 6-foot-1 middle blocker and a transfer from Trinity Valley Community College from Athens, Texas. A native of Lima, Peru, Lopez was named a NJCAA Division I First Team All-American by the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine after guiding the Cardinals to the program's first-ever Region XIV Conference title and an eighth-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Championship Tournament. She hit .352 in 2022, averaging 2.84 kills and 0.98 blocks per set. Lopez is already enrolled at Chaminade and attended classes this past spring semester.
Hula Crisostomo comes to Chaminade as a graduate transfer from the University of Texas at El Paso after having played the majority of the 2022 season as the Miners' starting libero. A Moanalua High School graduate, Crisostomo saw action in all 30 matches, leading UTEP with a team-leading 3.63 digs average which ranked eighth in Conference USA while her 41 service aces also led the team. Like Lopez, Crisostomo began taking classes at CUH this past spring.
Brooklyn Poling is a transfer from Western Carolina University where she played for three seasons. The 6-1 opposite from Gilbert, Arizona, was a key member off the bench, totaling 178 kills and 59 blocks in helping the Catamounts to a 20-13 finish, the program's first 20-win season in two decades. Poling will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Grace Talpash is a transfer from the University of Oklahoma where she played for three seasons as a setter and libero. A native of Temecula, California, Talpash logged 38 digs and nine aces for the Sooners in 2022. After arriving to OU from the University of San Francisco, she was a part-time starter at setter during the COVID-19-shortened fall 2020 season, registering 285 assists including a career-high 48 in a five-set win over Kansas on Oct. 17. Talpash will have two years of eligibility at CUH.
Waialua native
Heavenly Campbell returns home after spending the past two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho. A graduate of Damien Memorial School, the 5-10 outside hitter averaged 1.96 kills and 1.72 digs for the Golden Eagles in 2022.
The incoming freshmen:
Tabitha Allen is from Rouse High School in Leander, Texas, where she earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) High School All-American Honorable Mention honors this past season, one of only 300 high school seniors named to the AVCA High School All-America Teams. The 6-1 outside hitter also earned All-District 25-5A Second Team honors and was the only volleyball player in the district with 290 kills, 400 digs, 50 blocks and 50 aces.
Leilani Ama earned Class 3A Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association All-State First Team honors for Mt. Spokane High School in Spokane, Washington. The 6-1 setter was named the Greater Spokane League Most Valuable Player during her senior year.
Mykelle Brainard is a 5-11 outside hitter from Carlsbad, California, where she was a four-year varsity starter and a two-time all-conference selection at Pacific Ridge High School. As a member of the Wave Volleyball Club, she helped the squad to a fifth-place finish at the 2022 Girls Junior Nationals.
Reina Krueger is a 6-1 middle blocker from Liberty Common High School in Fort Collins, Colorado. Krueger earned Class 3A All-State Second Team honors after helping the Eagles pull off two upsets in the Region 10 playoffs to capture the regional championship and secure a bid to Colorado High School Activities Association state tournament this past season.
Kyra Pagud is a 2023 graduate from Moanalua High School where she helped Na Menehune to two Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I Championship tournament berths and O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up showings in 2021 and '22. Pagud earned All-OIA East Division honorable mention honors her senior season.
Rounding out the recruiting class is
Tiana Simmons, a 6-foot middle blocker from Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, Kansas. Simmons helped the Tigers finish as the Kansas state 6A runners-up while earning All-Eastern Kansas League honorable mention honors. A multi-sport athlete, she also earned all-league honors in basketball and track & field.
The Silverswords return eight veterans from the 2022 season as they look to become the first team to win three consecutive PacWest titles since BYU-Hawai'i won five straight from 2010-14.
