By DennisOda, Star-Bulletin
Kamehameha's Lily Kahumoku (right center) is
surrounded by her teammates during a break
in practice last week.

---

Waiting to blossom

Lily Kahumoku finds her roots
playing volleyball for Warriors

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

If Lily Kahumoku's potential as a volleyball player matches her fascination for her ancestral land, there will be a lot of colleges offering her scholarships next year.

"Hawaii is paradise," said the 6-foot-2 Kahumoku, who transferred to Kamehameha from Texas during the summer.

It was in Texas that she earned all-state honors at the 5-A (large-school) level as a sophomore.

Her other honors last year while attending Coronado High in Lubbock included Newcomer of the Year, all-district 3-5A and team MVP.

Kahumoku, whose father is 98 percent Hawaiian and a graduate of Aiea High School, said she had never visited the state for more than a week with her parents and had never known very much about day-to-day life here.

Since arriving in Honolulu to attend the school on the hill, Kahumoku has been a wide-eyed, awe-stricken newcomer.

"I'm so proud to be Hawaiian. It's so cool. There's not very many of us left."

She's a dream come true for head coach Dan Kitashima, who's already got four state titles under his belt.

"I like her attitude," said Kitashima. "She has a great work ethic and she can put the ball down. She plays front row, and she's a big blocker. She has different shots and she's not afraid to hit from the back row. What's more, for a big girl, she's not afraid to pass."

Through her first four games of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season, Kahumoku averaged seven kills and 14 assists. In runaway victories for Kamehameha (6-1), she has not played a full game.

"She is still adjusting to the girls here and sometimes I think she's holding back just trying to find out how the kids in Hawaii play," said Kitashima. "We can see in spurts that she can go to a much higher level than she has."

In a loss to undefeated Punahou (7-0), Kahumoku had nine kills and 23 assists.

"I think volleyball is better in Hawaii, that it's faster and quicker," she said. "They focus more on technique than they do on strength and power. It's more advanced."

Kahumoku said she was especially impressed with Punahou's Lindsey Berg, who recently committed to Minnesota.

"She's such a good setter and good jump-server," she said.

Kahumoku appears to be modest to a fault. She is concerned that her teammates not think of her as any different than them, despite her size and obvious abilities.

She is too busy marveling at the Hawaii she has never known up close before.

"When we went to the Waimea tournament on Kauai, she was winding down the window and sticking her head out and was totally amazed to see mountains -- green mountains," said Kitashima.

"I remember when we got up and ran and walked back down the beach and she said, 'Man, this is where I'm going to retire.' "

It's a memory Kahumoku treasures.

"I was just going so crazy because it was so beautiful," she said. "I was like, 'Wow!' People here take it for granted how beautiful Hawaii is. I think they're just used to it."

Kitashima said Kahumoku has done everything to assimilate to island style.

"She went out and bought rubber slippers," said Kitashima, smiling.

"That was the first thing she did on Kauai."

Kahumoku, who boards in the Kamehameha dormitories, compared her Texas home to Hawaii.

"In Texas, I live on the edge of the Great Plains, and it's hot, dry and windy. There are oil rigs there and we don't have any green mountains. No ocean. We hardly have any trees."

But while she revels in her newfound culture, she admits to a homesickness for her family.

"She has the skills, she has the knowledge," said Kitashima. "The local girls are a little quicker but she's not far behind for a girl her size.

"She's not afraid to go after balls near the net. She knows what to do with the ball and she has a variety of shots. She's not all power, although she can be. She has real nice control of the ball near the net."

Kahumoku is now recovering from a training accident but she is expected to be ready for future battles with Berg and Punahou.

Her senior year should be even better as she further matures physically and acquires more knowledge of the game.