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Champs still making noise

IT was loud, so loud. And the noise was coming from around the corner and down the hall. You could hear it as soon as you stepped off the elevator at the downtown Bank of Hawaii building's staid, exclusive sixth floor.

Inductions into the University of Hawaii Sports Circle of Honor are usually quiet, dignified, placid affairs, a nice meal and a short speech. This one wasn't. This one had passion. This one had laughter. This one was a party.

This was something special.

There were so many hugs. It was like a TV show, the end of one of those episodes on TLC. They kept hugging and talking and smiling and laughing and hugging again.

This was the reunion of the 1987 Rainbow Wahine national championship volleyball team.

And the hugs and the smiles and the shouts and the emotion started up all over again, anew, as each one came through that door.

They hadn't seen each other in so long, many of them.

"Things come flooding back that you've forgotten," Suzanne Eagye Cox said.

Another rush of memories, another joyful reunion, as each new face came through that door.

Many had picked up a third name along the way, through the years. Diana Jessie Nunn. Mahina Eleneki Hugo. Jamie Paet Apo. Karrie Trieschman Poppinga. Suzanne Eagye Cox. Dede Dunstone Angel.

"I love my teammates," Tita Ahuna would say, "even 'till today."

She was still the team captain. Even 'till today.

They were grown women now, and it fit them. It seemed perfect, that every one of them was right where she should be. "Everybody looks great!" Eagye Cox said. "Healthy," she said. Vibrant. Content. The years had been good.

You could hear snatches of conversation as the old friends caught up. "Husband." "Baby."

It seemed perfect, that they were together again.

Not everyone could make it, of course. But all were remembered in trainer Melody Toth's tear-jerking introduction of the new honorees, a blow-by-blow account of the win over Pacific that sent the Rainbow Wahine to the final four. She told of the double rainbow, and the rivalry, and the hard work, and the fans who waited outside Klum Gym, just to be a part of it all. She went on for 13 minutes, 33 seconds, and captured the emotion of the moment -- then and now.

And then it was time for more pictures, more hugs, more camaraderie. For more laughter, more love. They were a team. They will always be a team.

"You miss that," Eagye Cox said. "You miss that when you get away from it all."