ESPNHS Volleyball

By Walter Villa

VIDEO: Misty Ma'a at Durango Classic

When it comes to volleyball, Misty Ma’a comes from Hawaiian royalty.

The 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter at Kamehameha (Honolulu, Hawaii) is the daughter of former pro volleyball players Pono Ma’a and Lisa Strand. Pono was a two-time All-American at the University of Hawaii. Strand led UH to its first two NCAA national titles.

Pono, who set the school record for kills while at Hawaii, has remained in the game, coaching a highly successful junior volleyball program. Strand has also stayed active, serving as a TV analyst for UH volleyball games.

Not only is the Ma’a moniker special on the island, the name “Misty” has obvious volleyball significance as well. Misty May-Treanor is one-half of perhaps the greatest beach volleyball team ever, along with Kerri Walsh.

Given all that, was there any doubt Misty Ma’a would play volleyball?

“I was raised around the game, and it became a part of me whether I wanted it or not,” said Ma’a, Hawaii’s Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2010 and one of the nation’s top college prospects. “As time went on, I became more passionate about volleyball.”

In a sense, the Ma’a family story is all about passion. Pono, a native Hawaiian, was a standout high school athlete when he took a recruiting visit to UH. On his first day on campus, he spotted the 6-foot blonde who would become his wife.

Strand, from Santa Barbara, Calif., was a freshman on the UH team at the time. Pono, who is 6-4, was so smitten that he turned down a baseball scholarship to Southern Cal and decided that his destiny included volleyball at UH … and Strand.

Pono and Strand have been together for 30 years, but it nearly never happened. On the day they met, a homesick Strand had made plans to transfer out of Hawaii and head back to Santa Barbara, where her family includes her identical twin sister, Kelly.

“But after three weeks at home, I realized I had made a mistake,” she said. “I had made a commitment to the team, and I knew I had to return to Hawaii.”

Pono and Strand eventually married, and when it came time for the couple to name their first child, they argued about the decision for months. Strand’s hospital bed overlooked the mountains, and there was a mist emanating from those peaks on the day of their daughter’s birth.

That’s where Misty got her name, and the fact that Pono knew May-Treanor’s family and played volleyball against her father was just a happy coincidence.

Misty Ma’a’s three siblings -- brother Micah and sisters Mehana and Maluhia – have mostly followed the family tradition of volleyball.

Micah, a 5-11 setter, is 14 and has played on four straight national champion youth volleyball teams. Mehana, 11, has also taken to the game. Maluhia, 9, has shown more of an interest in fashion design and hip-hop dancing but is starting to play the sport as well.

“It’s natural that when we are all playing in the backyard,” Pono said, “that she wants to join in, too.”

The intensity of those backyard games is the stuff of legend. The kids often bring friends over to play, and that just ramps up the competition level even further.

Pono and Strand have tried to get their children to tone it down and play without keeping score, but the kids always find a way to determine a winner.

“Whoever loses is really upset,” Misty Ma’a said. “It’s pretty typical for someone to leave the house and go for a walk to cool off. Sometimes we wouldn’t talk too much at dinner.”

Fortunately for Ma’a, she doesn’t lose often. Kamehameha has won six straight state titles and is a strong contender for seven in a row this fall.

But Ma’a has other interests beyond volleyball. She wants to study communications and has also done modeling for Project Runway -- even if it’s a subject she doesn’t like talking about too much.

“You just sound so conceited when you say you are modeling,” Ma’a said. “It’s not like I always wanted to be a model. It just came up.”

Still, Ma’a is serious enough about the potential career that she is considering playing volleyball for the University of Miami, in part because she can escape the spotlight of her family name in Hawaii but also for the vibrant modeling scene in that city.

Her parents were initially against her modeling.

“We always told her that beauty comes from within,” Strand said. “But she kept asking. She kept getting stopped and asked to do photo shoots. She does stand out – she’s 6-1 and a beautiful girl with a unique look.

“She said, ‘Mom, I really want to do this.’ So we went over some rules, what was acceptable and what was not.”

Pono marvels at his daughter’s maturity and independence. He said she’s handled her college recruitment as if she had been doing it all her life.

“I ask her if she needs help sending her transcripts to a college, and she will say, ‘No, Dad, I got it,’ “ Pono said. “When she’s had her modeling gigs, she takes the bus and gets there on her own. It’s kind of scary how little she needs us.”

Ma’a has been flooded with college offers, and each time a big batch of letters arrives from major universities, her siblings draw inspiration.

“The younger ones want to be recruited like that, too,” Pono said. “They say, ‘Come on, Dad, let’s go to the backyard. I want to hit 100 more serves.’ ”

By Walter Villa

Hawaii is comprised of eight major islands.

The ninth part of the state, some joke, is Las Vegas.

That may seem especially true this weekend, when thousands of Hawaiians are expected to travel to the Nevada desert for two of their favorite pastimes: sports and sightseeing.

As part of the former, they’ll watch the University of Hawaii football team play Nevada-Las Vegas Saturday night.

In addition, Kamehameha (Honolulu, Hawaii), which has won six straight girls’ volleyball state titles and 17 overall, will make the 3,000-mile trek to participate in the 17th annual Durango Fall Classic.

This is the fourth straight year Kamehameha has entered the prestigious Fall Classic, a 48-team tournament that runs Friday and Saturday and includes teams from 10 states and Canada.

This year, though, getting to Vegas was trickier.

“Because of the football game, it was hard to get flights out of Hawaii to Vegas this week,” said ninth-year Kamehameha coach Chris Blake.

“Many people from the mainland love to vacation in Hawaii. But Hawaiians love to come to Vegas. And when you add the football game, there will probably be about 10,000 Hawaiians in Vegas this week.”

Blake is hoping a large portion of those islanders continue to show their love for volleyball and come support his team this weekend.

“Women’s volleyball is a big deal in Hawaii, and the fans are very savvy,” Blake said. “All the UH women’s volleyball games are on TV, but they still draw over 5,000 fans. Some teams on the mainland are lucky to get that for an entire year.”

Only football is a more popular team sport on the island than volleyball. The high school girls’ volleyball state finals average about 3,500 fans, and Kamehameha is almost always there when it’s winning time.

Kamehameha, currently ranked 41st in the POWERADE FAB 50 national rankings, has also had success in Vegas, winning the Durango tournament in 1999 and becoming the first non-California team to hoist the trophy.

The only other team to accomplish the feat was Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), which won it in 2005 and finished second the next three years.

Assumption, ranked 13th in the FAB 50 poll, is among this year’s favorites. But there will be a total of 11 teams from the FAB 50 competing in Vegas this weekend.

“We like the challenge,” said coach Ron Kordes, who is in his 24th year at Assumption. “This tournament gives us that underdog mentality, which we don’t get a lot of in our neighborhood. We’ll get to play teams we don’t usually see.”

Most of those teams are from California and Nevada, but –- in addition to the aforementioned Hawaii and Kentucky -- there are also schools here from Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Among the other ranked teams entered are:

-- No. 7 Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, Calif.), which has North Carolina recruit JoJo Schnabl, a 5-foot-9 senior setter, is the highest-ranked team at the tournament.

-- No. 18 Marymount (Los Angeles, Calif.), which won Durango in 2003, has 5-11 setter Lauren Fuller.

-- No. 30 Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) stars Michigan recruit Tiffany Morales, a 5-6 senior libero.

-- No. 35 Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.) is among the top teams outside of California in this year’s field.

-- No. 36 Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) stars Washington recruit Cassie Strickland, a 5-7 senior libero.

-- No. 40 Xavier Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.), a 2010 state champ, has Tennessee recruit and 5-8 setter Bianca Arellano.

-- No. 44 Walton (Marietta, Ga.), which won the 2010 Class 5A state title, looks to carry the flag for Georgia.

-- No. 46 Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.) is the third team from Kentucky with a shot to make waves in the desert.

-- No. 48 Thousand Oaks (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) is the fifth California team in the FAB 50 entered in the tournament.

Here are some other top contenders:

-- Lakewood (Lakewood, Calif.), which has 5-6 junior libero Heather Eggers, was ranked as high as No. 29 this year.

-- Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), which lost in the 2010 Division I state final, has been ranked as high as No. 35 this year.

-- La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), which finished second at Durango in 2010, won it in 2008 and has 6-2 junior Cosy Burnett, was among the FAB 50 teams earlier this season.

-- Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), which has won Durango three times but not since 2001, also was ranked among the nation’s 50 best earlier this season.

-- Saint Mary’s (Stockton, Calif.), which won Durango in 2000, is on the verge of breaking into the FAB 50 poll.

-- Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) is the reigning Durango champion.

-- Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) was in four straight Durango finals between 2004 and 2007, winning three titles. Mira Costa is led by UCLA recruit Maddy Klineman, a 6-1 outside hitter.

-- Wilson Classical (Long Beach, Calif.) has top talent in 5-11 setter and UCLA recruit Rebecca Strehlow.

Kamehameha, meanwhile, has two premier seniors in Chelsey Keoho and Misty Ma’a.

Keoho, a 5-2 libero, is a Colorado recruit. Ma’a, a 6-1 outside hitter, has yet to commit but is planning a visit to the University of Miami.

Other Kamehameha standouts are sophomore setter Alohi Robins-Hardy, senior middle blocker Haley Pa’akaula and senior outside hitter Brit Kalepa.

“This will be a great test for us,” said Blake, whose team finished 13th at Vegas last season. “This will tell us where we’re at on a national level, and it’s a great springboard for the rest of our season.”

By Walter Villa

There is such a thing as being too good a host, and that, in essence, is what has happened to Las Vegas girls volleyball teams at the annual power-packed Durango Fall Classic.

No Nevada team has won the tournament, which returns to Las Vegas for the 17th year this Friday and Saturday.

Last year, the best finish for a Vegas-area school was by Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), which came in 23rd in the 48-team tournament.


The other area teams were Centennial (Las Vegas, Nev.), which finished 36th; Green Valley (Henderson, Nev.) at 37th; Silverado (Las Vegas, Nev.) at 43rd; Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) at 45th; Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) at 46th; Foothill (Henderson, Nev.) at 47th; and host Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.), which finished in last place.

The best ever finish by a Vegas team was in 2003, when Durango placed fifth under coach Bob Kelly, who now serves only as tournament director.

“Usually a good Vegas team will finish between 17th and 32nd,” Kelly said. “They rarely get into championship contention.”

That’s OK, according to Bishop Gorman coach Ed Van Meetren, who said where you finish this week is not the only thing that matters.

“All we are looking to do is get better coming out of it,” said Van Meetren, who returns four starters from a 31-9 team that made the 2010 state semifinals.

Van Meetren said he is concerned about his team because his star setter, Kylee Chun, is recovering from a concussion and is questionable for the tournament.

Van Meetren said Green Valley is probably the top team in Vegas at the moment. The Gators return four starters from a 29-9 team that lost in the Class 4A state final for the second year in a row.

“They are well coached,” he said. “I just don’t know if they have enough size to compete against the big teams coming here.”

Among those “big teams” are 11 that are nationally ranked.

Among the other Vegas teams entered, Centennial returns five starters from a 29-8 club and Coronado has two starters back from a 28-6 squad.

Four other Vegas teams are entered in this year’s tournament: Bonanza, which went 15-10 a year ago; Shadow Ridge (17-16 in 2010); Foothill (13-18 last year); Durango (9-23 in 2010).

Hawaii team set for Vegas
While the Vegas teams are playing, virtually, in their backyards, Kamehameha (Honolulu, Hawaii) is making a 4,000-mile trip to compete against the elite field.

“It’s a great bonding trip for us,” said Kamehameha senior Chelsey Keoho, a 5-foot-2 libero who has committed to Colorado.

“I remember the first time I came here as a sophomore. I was a bit intimidated because the girls we played against were so tall and jumped higher. I remember all these big, tall seniors trying to kill me with the ball.”

Leigh Andrew recovering
Leigh Andrew, a 6-0 left side hitter at Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), has missed the start of the season due to mononucleosis. But the North Carolina recruit is expected to return to action later this week.

In mid-August, Andrew said she started feeling tired “for no reason.” A blood test finally confirmed she had mono, and doctors told her to refrain from playing sports for one month or she’d be risking a ruptured spleen.

Andrew has made peace with her upcoming time on the sidelines.

“The positive is that this could have happened two months from now, which would have kept me from the playoffs,” she said. “At least this way, my goal is still on – winning state.”