LOS ANGELES » The athletic DNA is irrefutable, coming from both sides of her family tree.

The Nakoa volleyball branch includes tutu Rose Nakoa, still successful at the national senior level; mom Cookie, who played at Kamehameha; and cousin Adam Tuifagu, a former all-state player, also for the Warriors.

The Ka'aihue branch appears to be made more of ash, the preferred wood in baseball, where father Kala and brothers Kila and Kala Jr. all have played baseball professionally.

Elizabeth Ka'aihue had no choice but to follow the bouncing ball, over the Pali from Kailua and to Manoa. Her “;family first”; mantra guided her decision to stay home and play for Hawaii, where Ka'aihue anchored the Rainbow Wahine defense as an all-conference freshman libero last season.

A knee injury in fall camp forced her to the sidelines and required senior libero Tara Hittle into the position. Hawaii coach Dave Shoji, not one to fool around with success, has kept Hittle as the main defensive player, but Ka'aihue has been a presence in 24 of the 31 matches for sixth-ranked Hawaii (28-3), which opened today against Belmont in the NCAA women's volleyball tournament.

Many players wouldn't have handled the setback as well as Ka'aihue. It was her first injury in a long and active athletic career that began officially at age 5 with park league basketball and youth soccer in Kailua.

“;I thought I could play through it,”; Ka'aihue said. “;I figured I'd be out for a little while, but I think I pushed to come back too soon.

“;I could do everything ... walk ... jump ... but not what I needed to do as a defensive player, all the lateral movement. It was a learning experience. I never gave up on being back in the spot.”;

Instead, she found herself in a new position as a college player. An injury to sophomore setter Dani Mafua had Ka'aihue taking reps as the reserve setter, where she played during club season.

“;I was glad I could help my team in that way,”; the Punahou all-state performer said. “;I like setting. You're the quarterback, get to control everything. It's a tough spot, but I like being able to have fun with the ball.

“;After taking the reps, I have even more respect for Mafua and (junior setter Stephanie) Brandt.”;

“;We had actually looked at Liz as a setter when we were recruiting her,”; Shoji said. “;We knew she could do it. She's very versatile.

“;There's nothing negative about Liz's game. It's just we've had the success with Hittle and it's just the way the team has worked out. Liz has met every expectation that we've had for her, but we know she has room to grow. How good is she? She was the first scholarship back-row player we recruited. That says a lot.”;

Matching her sweet hands is her disposition. The self-described “;princess of the family”; lives her middle name: Kahoaloha (loving companion.)

“;She is very much our 'loving companion,'”; Cookie Ka'aihue said while watching yesterday's practice at USC's Galen Center. “;She is a ray of sunlight in our home, just sweet all the time, every day.

“;We actually thought she'd be our best athlete. She had a chance to watch her older brothers play. We also thought her spot was going to be basketball, but once she got on the volleyball court, she knew that volleyball was going to be what she desired to play.”;

It is Elizabeth's passion, with the desire to keep the season going beyond this week. Last season's upset loss to Middle Tennessee State in the second round has stayed with her for a year.

“;Losing was pretty hard,”; Ka'aihue said. “;But we learned from it, that you can't take anyone lightly. Everyone is out to win.

“;There are no junk teams in the tournament. We have to focus on what we can do individually and it will come together as a team. We just have to be ready.”;