Amber Igiede understands she doesn’t get to just write the perfect ending to her career.
She can only control what she can control, and that’s the work she has put in from Day 1 in becoming an American Volleyball Coaches Association third-team All-American and reigning Big West Player of the Year.
As the 6-foot-3 middle blocker from Baton Rouge, La., prepares to begin her final season in the green and white, she’s met with a vibe of passion from her teammates.
Whether it’s fellow middles Jacyn Bamis, a Clemson transfer originally from Spokane, Wash., and Kennedi Evans, a redshirt senior from Twin Falls, Idaho, or teammates from Germany, Israel or right here in Hawaii, the personalities are as different as they are fun.
Everybody has a voice, everybody has a role, and like Hawaii, a melting pot of cultures from around the world, this volleyball team is an embodiment of exactly that, with Igiede right there in the middle leading the way.
“Crazy, cool, quiet, all across the spectrum, all across the board personalities we have on this team and I feel like we all accept those personalities, which is why we function so well,” Igiede said. “It started years ago when I was a freshman and we’ve kept building that culture and we love spending time together.”
Hawaii had gone consecutive seasons without winning a Big West championship until Igiede arrived from Louisiana ready to contribute from the very first day.
The Rainbow Wahine have held that conference trophy at the end of every season since as Igiede has put together an impressive resume of achievements.
The three-time All-Big West first-team selection has taken Hawaii into the NCAA Tournament every season, reaching a regional semifinal her freshman year in 2019.
She leads an experienced bunch of six players who played in every match last season returning, and with a couple of fresh faces added to the mix, the vibe around the gyms on campus in Manoa is something a bit different in 2023.
“It’s just passion. We’ve been through this so many times. We’ve been through the, ‘wish we did this, wish we did that’ stage and I think now everybody is being straight up with the way we speak to each other on and off the court,” Igiede said. “I think that’s a beautiful thing because we all have in common that we all to want to play. We’ve been through a lot together and it’s brought us closer for this season.”
As Igiede ends her final set of two-a-day practices, she admits that the realization this is her final season is beginning to creep into the mind.
She made a leap of faith as a 19-year-old coming all the way out to an island from five time zones away.
Her faith then is what helps her again today.
“I’ve changed so much. Definitely as a person I’m more patient on and off the court,” Igiede said.
“Also embracing who I am as a person and that’s from the state of Hawaii giving me a chance. They took a chance on me and they took a chance on our team and have given us continued support, which is all you can ask, especially coming in as a young person.”
Through this journey that has seen so many ups, and admittedly a few downs, a motto her club coach told her has always stayed in the back of her mind.
“You haven’t arrived yet,” are the words she hears over and over as she pursues her volleyball dreams to the next level of playing professionally and even nationally.
“The sky is the limit,” Igiede said.
“A perfect world ends with having an amazing season with my team.
Obviously winning a national championship is the ultimate goal — a perfect season — but I think being happy with the way we go out and reaching the goals I want to accomplish is good enough for me.”