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In the spotlight
Robello and Rigg are two reasons
the Buffanblu are the team to watch
» Honors and statistics
School is done. The homework comes later.
The uniforms are on. The Punahou Buffanblu are tying their shoelaces. Thirty-five minutes of warm-ups are literally right around the corner, through the Ewa side door of Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
It's a routine the No. 1 team in the Star-Bulletin girls volleyball poll has grown into, calmly, methodically.
Well, except for one player. Kaui Robello isn't exactly in meditative mode while hip-hop is streaming through her headphones. "I'm more behind the scenes. I don't make the points and big plays," the 5-foot-6 Robello said.
Still, the jack-of-all-trades is in Jekyll-and-Hyde transition moments before warm-ups.
"She starts getting nuts in the locker room," senior Pohai Nu'uhiwa said. "She's mellow, but when she starts getting warmed up, she's intense."
Robello sometimes turns to Spenser Rigg, one of the team's seven seniors.
"She always grabs me and says, 'I'm so pumped! Are you pumped?' It's so funny," said Rigg.
"Spenser is crazy," Nu'uhiwa said. "She likes to dance, and she thinks she's the best dancer in the world."
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Between Nu'uhiwa, one of the top setters in the state, and hard hitters like Larissa Nordyke and Liz Ka'aihue, the spotlight is already bright on Punahou, 8-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
The backbone of the squad, however, is with defensive specialists like Sydney Yogi and Kathi Kobasyashi, and multi-taskers Robello and Rigg.
"In high school volleyball, it's who controls the ball best, who circulates the ball," longtime coach Scott Rigg said. "That's where we win. Larissa will be an All-American one day. But these guys are our ballhandlers. They're leading us in digs, passing, and when they're in the service box, that's when we score the most points."
Nu'uhiwa agreed.
"Passing is crucial to anything we do. It's the most important part of the game, along with serving. Both of them are very good position servers," she said, noting Robello's accuracy in a comeback win at Hawaii Baptist two weeks ago.
Rigg, a senior listed as a middle hitter, considers herself a work in progress.
"We work on serving every day. We keep serving percentages. Some days, we hit 75 percent. Other days, 40," she said. "I never considered myself good at serving, so I worked on it in the off-season."
The same goes with passing.
"I struggle with passing to this day. I couldn't pass to save my life last year," said Rigg, who challenged herself to improve.
"We've done a lot of core stuff, working with the Tactical, Strength and Conditioning program," she said. "That's been the difference."
Maybe it comes with being the daughter of a volleyball coach. Or perhaps it's all the hard work that helps Rigg play with purpose, instilling conviction in her words.
Her teammates consider her rock-steady.
"She's more of a leader. She gets the team focused," Robello said. "I confide in her. If I'm not playing well, she pulls me out of my shell."
Robello and Rigg. It certainly has that prime-time TV detective-buddies ring.
"She's a surfer girl, not really girlie. Kinda laid back. I'm high intensity. I don't get frustrated that easy, so I keep it orderly and fun," Rigg said.
For Robello, finding her niche has been quite a ride.
"When I was younger, I wanted to be an outside hitter, and then a setter. But I know I'm not going to play there in college," said Robello, who trains to play back row. She dreams of playing for Pepperdine, USC or Washington.
They also keep it real in the classroom, where Robello carries a 3.0 grade-point average and Rigg has a 3.2.
"They're really studs, winners and stabilizers. They're always consistent and give 100-percent effort," Nu'uhiwa said. "And they're fun people to be around."
The fun off the court translates to focus on the court, where the Buffanblu forget rankings and hype.
"We put aside everything else and take care of what we have to do," Robello said.
Rigg agreed. "There are tons and tons of good teams out there. Nobody's going to remember who was No. 1 during the regular season," she said.
Well put.
After all, whoever wins the state title will have their chance to dance.
