MĀNOA — The emotion was still fresh on Kaleo Baxter's face when asked to recall the program-altering announcement made less than 24 hours before he spoke to local media on Thursday afternoon.
Citing a desire to spend more time with her family, Robyn Ah Mow announced she was stepping down as the program's head coach after nine years at the helm late Wednesday afternoon. In doing so, Ah Mow had to say goodbye to her other family — the same UH women's volleyball program where she was a two-time All-American setter after joining the 'Bows out of McKinley High School.
Ah Mow elevated in the sport even further, becoming a three-time Olympian with the U.S. national team. After a handful of years as an assistant coach under former UH head coach Dave Shoji, she was named the program's head coach following his retirement, beginning in 2017. Ah Mow led the Rainbow Wahine to seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year three times.
The Rainbow Wahine went 165-78 under Ah Mow, missing the Big West Tournament in what turned out to be her final season in 2025. Once Ah Mow decided volleyball was taking a backseat, the team was notified in an emotional meeting.
Baxter, Ah Mow's former associate head coach, is now the program's interim head coach. As he discussed Wednesday's events, as well as what Ah Mow means to him, his eyes began to water and his nose reddened.
"I think a lot of people's hearts are heavy right now," Baxter said on Thursday. "We've had a lot of conversations, a lot of tough conversations, over the course of the last couple weeks. I'm happy that she's choosing family for the first time in a very long time, because she's chosen this sport her entire life. What an icon, a complete legend, and what she's given to this university and to this sport is immeasurable."
Baxter's appointment of interim head coach comes during a hectic time in the calendar. The transfer portal for women's volleyball reopens on Friday, while the UH-Mānoa spring semester ends two weeks later on May 15, where players on the current roster are expected to disperse for the summer.
"My priorities right now are making sure that this team stays unified and together, and just making sure that I'm taking care of all the logistics moving forward, so that whoever is named the next head coach can come in here with a seamless transition, and they can make tweaks to what they need but for the most part, that everything's kind of set and set in place so that they can hit the ground running the day step on campus," Baxter said.
Shortly after Ah Mow's resignation announcement, the school announced a national search for the program's next head coach was imminent. The search is already underway.
When asked if he has applied for the job or is planning to, Baxter said he preferred to play things close to the vest publicly.
"I'll keep this decision close to my heart," Baxter said. "The people who I consider my inner circle, I'll let them know my decision on that, but I just know this program deserves a phenomenal coach, and I know that the administration is going to get one with whoever they hire."
Baxter, a 2005 graduate of Kaua‘i High School, was a volunteer assistant coach under Shoji from 2011 to 2014. After two years away in California, Baxter returned home in 2016 as the program's director of operations. When Ah Mow got the head job in 2017, she made Baxter one of the team's assistant coaches. Baxter and Ah Mow stayed loyal to each other over the years. Regardless of where the sport takes both of them next, they know they can lean on each other each step of the way.
"I see her as mom, friend, family, sister, we've coached club together," Baxter said of Ah Mow. "It comes with a heavy heart knowing she's not going to be the head coach of the Rainbow Wahine, but the legacy she left here in this in this community, at this university and for this program, it's not anything that anyone's going to be able to match."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
