FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH setter Kanoe Kamana'o is happy for the chance to play in front of her family and friends.
A freshman setter? No sweat
The genteel deodorant commercial tries to sell the notion that, "Men sweat. Women perspire."
The Kamana'o File
>> Kanoe Kamana'o, Hawaii's 5-8 freshman setter
>> Iolani School 2003 graduate
>> Two-time ILH Player of the Year
>> Four-time all-state and all-ILH selection
>> Star-Bulletin State Player of the Year, 2001
>> Junior Olympics MVP, 2003
>> U.S. youth and junior national team member
>> Volleyball magazine Fab 50 pick
Kanoe Kamana'o isn't buying it. She is very familiar with sweat, the kind that hard work brings, the kind that inevitably falls on the court at the Stan Sheriff Center.
She's had personal relationships with it, recalling times she mopped up after current Hawaii teammate Lily Kahumoku slid across the floor in 1999. A 6-foot-2 body leaves a long skid.
There are even pictures to prove it. Fans have shown Kamana'o photos of her previous life as a floor-wiper at Rainbow Wahine volleyball matches.
Those days are behind her, but the starting freshman setter for No. 2 Hawaii hasn't forgotten. Sweat equals hard work.
It's paid off, earning the 5-foot-8 Kamana'o a scholarship, a starting role and the dream-come-true to play in front of family and friends. When other schools -- including top-ranked Southern California -- tried to convince Kamana'o that her college future was as a libero/setter, she didn't listen. She was literally born to be a setter, courtesy of genes from father Dal, who set for Kalani High in the 1970s under the direction of Hall of Famer Jon Stanley.
"I wanted to set in college," said Kamana'o, a former member of the U.S. youth and junior national teams. "The thinking for being a libero is so different, you're only touching the ball in the back. I'd rather be controlling the front and back. Setting is what I've done since I was little."
She grew up around the game, going to her father's club practices with sisters Ku'ulei (who played at Kamehameha) and Kapua (a freshman on the Iolani varsity). Kamana'o first played organized volleyball at age 6, and spent a number of years in the Asics Rainbows club system affiliated with UH.
At 13, she was one of 24 players chosen out of 640 to attend the Olympic Training Center's developmental camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. It was the stepping stone to her first international competition.
That same summer, she set the Asics 14s to the title at the Junior Olympics, going 10-1. In one match, Kamana'o served 15 consecutive points.
That tough serve -- a long floater with movement -- has become one of Kamana'o's trademarks. She is second on the team in aces (22) and "she can get a pretty pop on it," said Wahine coach Dave Shoji. "It's like (Boston Red Sox knuckleball pitcher) Tim Wakefield. The ball is moving and, with her standing far back to serve, (the opposing player) has a lot of time to think about it. It does move."
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
One reason Kanoe Kamana'o chose Hawaii was the chance to play strictly setter.
Kamana'o will be nominated for national Freshman of the Year. Shoji already ranks her alongside Wahine greats Nahaku Brown, Joyce Kaapuni and Robyn Ah Mow.
"Yes, she is in that category," said Shoji, a former All-American setter at UC Santa Barbara. "The first thing you notice about Kanoe is her delivery, her touch on the ball, the way the ball comes out nice.
"A lot of it is natural talent, but it's also a lot of hard work. She's worked hard on her delivery, worked hard on her defense and blocking. Her numbers nationally are decent and I don't know of another freshman who's made such an impact."
Kamana'o is No. 10 nationally in assists per game (13.17) and has helped the Wahine to a .348 hitting percentage, fourth-best nationally.
She is already 10th on the UH career charts with 764 assists and should pass the 1,000-assist mark before the end of the season.
Few who have watched Kamana'o over the years are surprised with the Iolani School all-star. But for mother Marsha, the icing is getting a chance to see her middle daughter play at home.
"My oldest daughter played at Massachusetts and we could only make one trip," said Marsha Kamana'o. "Now, the family and her friends can all go. We told her that, wherever she'd go, we'd support her. But we are happy she stayed home."
The extended ohana includes those from Marsha's employer, House of Finance, Inc. Her co-workers have become members of the Wahine booster club and, headed by boss Roland Casamina, will be going to Las Vegas for Hawaii's two matches during Thanksgiving week.
Kanoe Kamana'o was courted by USC, Long Beach State and the Wahine's opponent this Sunday, Arizona. Home was where she decided to stay.
"People always ask me, 'Why Hawaii?' " said Kamana'o, who still lives at home. "No other school can beat the fans, the community support. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a Wahine."
It was an easy choice, about as easy as who she needs to set for a critical point. Being surrounded by senior All-Americans Kim Willoughby, Lauren Duggins and Kahumoku has taken off the pressure that a freshman running a high-profile team might feel.
"It does make it easy with all the great players we have," said Kamana'o, who beat out redshirt freshman Cayley Thurlby for the starting job. "They're just killing the ball out there."
"Obviously, her decision-making has been fairly easy this year," said Shoji. "We've asked her to be as simple as she can. The thing that's taken pressure off her is she can set the left (Willoughby and Kahumoku) and it's very rare that setting left is not a good option.
"Next year, she'll have to be more creative. This year, our offense is not complicated. It's hard to tell how much she's taken charge this year and how much is the seniors. Obviously, that will come. We expect a lot of her."
It's no more than Kamana'o expects of herself. Hard work, she's always been told, will get her what she wants.
There's been times this season that Kamana'o has forgotten that she no longer is a floor-wiper and has helped those who have replaced her.
"People laugh, but I feel bad for them," she said. "I know how it is to do their job. Sure, it's a little dirty work but it needs to get done. You need to wipe up the sweat."
But setting for the Wahine? It appears that it's no sweat at all.
