Tuesday, September 22, 1998

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Lily Kahumoku earned second team All-America
honors as a junior last season.

---

Kahumoku
picks UH

The Kamehameha star
is called a 'franchise player'
by her coach

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Chalk up one for Dave Shoji.

His University of Hawaii Wahine will keep home the state's most recruited volleyball athlete.

Lily Kahumoku, the 6-foot-2 outside hitter who led Kamehameha Schools to the 1997 state girls' championship and earned All-American recognition, said she has committed to the University of Hawaii.

Kahumoku said she made her decision after a visit to the UH campus last weekend.

In recent years, several top local recruits like Punahou's Lindsey Berg (Minnesota) and Debbie Lambert (Stanford), University High's Fiona Nepo (Nebraska), and Kamehameha's Rachel Watson ( Syracuse) have found scholarship offers from mainland schools more appealing.

At least 26 mainland schools had shown an interest in Kahumoku. She made a visit to Colorado last week and had other trips planned after her UH visit.

Kahumoku was named a second-team All-American in the February issue of Volleyball Magazine.

Kamehameha head coach Dan Kitashima called Kahumoku's hitting ability "far beyond anything we ever expected."

But Kitashima said what impresses him even more is Kahumoku's passing and her willingness to run and dive for balls.

"She has great height, great mobility on the front court, she hits the ball really well, she sees blocks," said Kitashima.

"You have your good players and your franchise players. Lily is definitely a franchise player."

Kahumoku came to Hawaii last year after earning all-state honors at Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, as a sophomore.

In 1997, she averaged 6.5 kills and 4.3 digs per game.

http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu