HONOLULU — Bernadette Doyle earned her rare second chance to be piled high with lei and jump in the pool.

The Hawaii water polo senior attacker from Auckland will complete a belated chapter of her unconventional college career when the No. 3 Rainbow Wahine host No. 7 UC Irvine on senior night Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

Doyle was an up-and-comer with the program, in the second year of her Wahine career when COVID hit and canceled the second half of the 2020 season. Her version of the pandemic pivot was a trip home to attend school in New Zealand to get an undergraduate degree in photo media while also competing prominently for her national team.

She would move to Greece to play a season for a club. That experience, along with a timely push from her family, made her decide she had some unfinished business in the islands.

Three-plus years after her UH career appeared to be over, she decided to give it another shot.

“(It was) not knowing the language and the facilities and the community and the sun and all these things that I maybe took for granted the first time around,” Doyle said this week of her European experience, “and then also my dad, he really encouraged me to come back.” Maureen Cole, who retired as UH coach after last season, also pushed for her to return, she said.

“I think it’s been the best decision for me for water polo and just in general, for my life moving forward,” Doyle said.

Doyle, whose 5-foot-6 stature belies her status as a two-way threat in the pool, was a key player in UH’s run to the national semifinals in 2024 and is one reason the Wahine think they can make another postseason push.

Under first-year head coach James Robinson, UH (15-3, 4-0 Big West) enters senior night against its chief conference rival Irvine (13-9, 4-0) having won 14 straight league games dating to last season. The Wahine have also registered marquee wins over the likes of Cal and UCLA this year.

Doyle is one of four players who will be traditionally honored Saturday, along with Jordan Wedderburn, Morgan Rios and Stevilyn Griffin.

“They have been a part of the most successful stretch of Wahine water polo, really, in history,” Robinson said. “And so for them to be a part of this transition, this new season has been super helpful that they understand the standards, the expectations of what our program wants to achieve and what we hope to achieve every time we jump into a pool.”

Doyle is celebrated by teammates a cerebral player with a hard-nosed work ethic to match. She was the MVP of last spring’s Big West tournament, when she scored four goals with four steals in the final against Long Beach State, and went on to be named a ACWPC second-team All-American.

She surpassed 100 career goals this season, but some of her biggest impact has come on the defensive end.

A major unintended benefit of her decision to finish out a college career that has spanned seven years was the opportunity to play with her sister, Gabrielle, a Wahine freshman who is five and a half years younger.

“I never thought that this would happen,” Doyle said. “I think I had half a year in primary school with her, which was also obviously a great experience, like 15 years ago. … I think everything happens for a reason. Obviously, this is it.”

The Doyle sisters have teamed to record 54 steals this season, with Bernadette leading the team with 30 and Gabrielle tied for second at 24.

Bernadette’s pair of swipes in overtime keyed the Wahine to an overtime win over Long Beach State two weeks ago. Despite her compact frame, she also leads the team in field blocks, with 10.

UH’s other seniors have been impactful, as well.

Wedderburn, of Johannesburg, South Africa, served as a captain for her country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Like Doyle, she surpassed 100 career goals this season; Wedderburn has 47 this year.

“We just want to do everyone Hawaii proud,” Wedderburn said. “We want to do our families proud. We want to do each other proud. We want to do James proud. So, yeah, it’s, it’s a lot riding on Saturday night.”

Rios, a five-year UH player from Santa Ana, Calif., has a career-high 11 goals this season.

Griffin, of Upland, Calif., came over from Arizona State for her last two years of eligibility. She has 14 goals this season, including two hat tricks.

UH and UCI have combined for 10 of the last 11 Big West regular-season championships.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.