Na Ali‘i Girls Volleyball Gets Colorful About Winning
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usShould the Aiea girls volleyball team make a third straight appearance in the upcoming Nissan Volleyball state championships, it will mean a little extra work for Clinton Kaneshiro of Hair Candy Salon on University Avenue, but the 1987 Aiea graduate wouldn’t have it any other way.
As was the case the past two seasons, Na Ali’i coach Blythe Yamamoto has challenged her team to make the state tournament by promising her players that she and her assistant coaches will color their hair green.
“Every year I have to come up with something different,” said Kaneshiro, who is a friend of Yamamoto.“Last year, for one of the assistants (Travis Higa), we did a Mohawk with a green theme. You name it, and I’ve done it, but this is a little more dear to me since they’re from Aiea. I like to help out.”
The Aiea girls team took a 10-1 regular-season mark into last Thursday’s Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division match with Kapolei, so their prospects for continuing their season into the state tournament are good.As part of the deal, in the event that Aiea should stumble in this week’s OIA playoffs (they must win two OIA Tournament games to ensure a state tournament berth), Na Ali’i players will be required to color their eyebrows the shade of their choice.
In the past two years,Aiea’s players also chose to dye their hair green, and a number of their parents followed suit. Kaneshiro had just arrived back in Honolulu last week from a trip to the Mainland when he was informed that the bet was once again on.
As for Na Ali’i, their stellar 2006 season has been nothing less than a total team effort to date. A year after former team catalyst and current University of Nevada stand-out Lelani Kleman-Maeva led Aiea to a West title, Na Ali’i have recharged their batteries behind a solid senior class that includes four third-year performers in Rachel Purcell, Brandi PascuaAita, Tasha Johnson and Michelle Shiroma. Fellow seniors Jem Roto and Sara Watanabe are two-year players in the program.
“Lelani was recruited by every top (volleyball) program, so it was inevitable that she would get so much exposure,” Yamamoto said. “But we’re a harder team to defend this year because when you try and stop one, somebody else will step up. It’s rare that we have the same kill leader two games in a row.”
Ironically, a driving force behind Aiea’s run was the memory of the one game they didn’t win - a 29-27,25-21 setback to Mililani on Sept. 2 in their second regular-season match of the year.
“Lelani had taken on a lot of the load last year, and these kids had always been role players,“Yamamoto said. “They were kind of looking around at each other (for someone to step up and make a play). We weren’t sure how to finish a game. After that game, we discussed it, and it’s been amazing (since).
“They’ve gained more confidence in themselves and in each other as we’ve gone along,” she added.“Their leadership and tenacity have pushed us further and further ahead. No one likes to lose a game, but I’m not sure we’d be in this position if we had won that game. A lot of teams didn’t think we’d be back, but our seniors had something to prove, I guess.”
Tough defense and cohesiveness have been Na Ali’i's strengths to date. Yamamoto’s assistant coaches (Nicole Yanaga, Shannon Tamaru, Kailey Reyes, Jacelyn Reyes, Jordan Sasaki and Higa) all played at Aiea, making for an equally cohesive coaching staff.
“I have good kids,” Yamamoto said.“They listen. That’s the key in high school (athletics).You have to have everyone on the same page and working toward the same goal.”
Na Ali’i were to learn their first-round opponent for this week’s Oahu Interscholastic Association Tournament on Sunday. The Division I state volleyball championships are set to run Nov. 6-9 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Should all go according to plan, Yamamoto will be sporting green hair into December.
“It’s not an easy process,” she laughed.
“He has to bleach our hair first before he puts the color in.”
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