New University of Hawai‘i beach volleyball head coach Danny Alvarez has decided to throw himself and his team into the fire immediately.
The Rainbow Wahine will begin their 2026 season, as well as the Alvarez era, at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic at Queen's Beach in Waikīkī. The 'Bows will play two contests a day from Thursday to Saturday. All six of their opponents are ranked in the AVCA Collegiate Beach preseason poll top 10, including No. 1 UCLA, their second opponent on Thursday, as well as No. 2 Stanford, the team's second opponent on Friday. Hawai‘i, by comparison, is currently No. 16.
"For us as a coaching staff and as players, I mean, this is why you play collegiate sports, is to play this (caliber of competition)," Alvarez said. "All in one weekend I think is going to be a bear, but I think for us, I wouldn't want it any different.
"We already have scheduled 2027 and it's the same event because we have the best weather. People want to play at Queen's, so we're always going to have this kind of event. So, it's up to us to kind of rise to the occasion. I know we will. And I think through the years, Hawai‘i is always going to be a destination for beach programs to come. We want to be at the level where we can compete against them. And through my years here, we've had great success. ... We're hoping to continue that."
Beach volleyball is a relatively new sport in the collegiate realm. The NCAA has only held championships for the sport since 2016. With its natural association with beaches and love for volleyball as a state, Alvarez believes there is unlimited potential for the University of Hawai‘i to thrive in the sport. Yet, the Rainbow Wahine have never won a national championship, though they have made seven of nine NCAA Tournaments.
In 2025, the Rainbow Wahine went 14-21, missing the NCAA Tournament, leading the school to move on from former coach Evan Silberstein.
When the University of Hawai‘i selected Matt Elliott as its next athletics director, the beach volleyball head coach post was still vacant. Elliott was tasked with making his first hire and chose Alvarez, a 1993 graduate of the school who was also the first assistant coach in program history from 2011 to 2019.
"Obviously it's an honor. I guess, a little bit of pressure, too, to be his first hire," Alvarez said with a laugh. "Want to do great, but really, the relationship's been great. They've been open. We're fighting in a world of NIL, a lot of the teams are adding scholarships. He's been real open to us trying to get a little more money, trying to add scholarships, being very supportive of some of the things we want to do. He's been great. I mean, the nice thing about it is that I can go right into his office or text him and get a response, and he also just really believes in the program."
Alvarez, an O‘ahu native, returned to his alma mater because he wanted to bring the program back to being one of the country's top teams. After the first weekend, he'll get a sense of how close to the Rainbow Wahine are.
"We got a great group, a lot of seniors and redshirt juniors, a lot of grad students, very veteran group," Alvarez said. "It's been kind of a long training process, but I think we're ready to play other people than ourselves.
"You come to University of Hawai‘i to win championships. We're trying to be as good as we can be. We have talent. I've coached here for nine years in the past, and the talent is very similar to what we've had. But we got to put it together. We got to play well. I've got to do a little bit of coaching. The players have to come together. But very excited about the team."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
