“Now it’s serious,” he said. “We can be great.”
By MATT GERHART
Tribune-Herald sports writer
KAPAAU — Kohala boys volleyball coach Chai Wilson has a nickname for everyone.
Standout outside hitter DJ Wong is The Prodigy. Senior middle blocker Christopher Roxburgh goes by Popo.
And then there’s Keoki. That’s the moniker that Wilson has given to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II volleyball championship trophy.
“I want to bring Keoki back to the Big Island,” the second-year coach said.
Kohala has never won a state team title in any sport, but the Cowboys were in the hunt last season and finished third in volleyball. They were the only team to win a set against Hawaii Baptist, the eventual champion, before falling in four games in the semifinals. The competitive nature of that match made Wilson and Wong feel like Kohala was the true No. 2 — and there’s only one way to go up from there.
“This year we want to try and go for that No. 1,” said Wong, last season’s Big Island Interscholastic Federation West player of the year.
Before it thinks about the state tournament, Kohala’s first order of business is to try and defend its BIIF title. The Cowboys went undefeated in league play last year after playing only westside teams during the regular season. This season they’re in a Blue Division that includes Division I teams such as Waiakea, Kamehameha and Hilo as well as Division II contenders Hawaii Prep and Pahoa.
Wilson will gladly take a few more losses if it means his team becomes battle-tested.
“I’d rather them learn pressure then to know the feeling of domination,” he said.
The lessons start tonight when the Cowboys visit Kamehameha in their opener. On Saturday, Kohala hosts the Ka Makani, last year’s Division II runner-up.
“I can’t wait,” Wong said. “To be the best, you have to beat the best.”
Wong sat out the fall and winter BIIF sports seasons, putting his sole athletic focus on volleyball. To prepare for his senior campaign, he raised money so that he could travel to play club volleyball on Oahu.
“It was hard. A lot of donations,” he said. “I think it will help me a lot. Touching the ball. My mentality got better, seeing the court. It was a good experience.”
That’s music to Wilson’s ears. He’s coached Wong in volleyball since he was in the sixth grade, but that’s the exception rather than the rule at Kohala. Wilson is a 1998 Cowboys graduate who played basketball and volleyball in high school, and he’s well aware of the school’s propensity toward hoops and the difficulty in getting basketball players to play club volleyball.
“Kohala is a basketball town,” he said. “The reason why most basketball players come out to volleyball is to work on their jumping. That’s the reason I played. That’s the reason I tell these boys to come out, and then you tend to fall in love with the game.”
Such was the case for Roxburgh, who took part in his first practice Monday after finishing a state run with the basketball team.
He came out for volleyball to improve his leaping ability, started at outside hitter and has progressed to the point that his coach considers him the best middle blocker in the state.
While the 6-foot-1 Wong and 6-0 Roxburgh give the Cowboys one of the best hitting tandems around, Wilson calls senior Kulia Aveiro-Kalaniopio the team’s X-factor.
“We know Chris is going to get his hits and we know (Wong) is going to get his hits and digs and stuff, but Kulia is the one who can take this team to a championship,” Wilson said.
After spending last year at libero, Aveiro-Kalaniopio will take over some of the setter duties after Mano Thomson transferred to Waiakea. As one of Kohala’s best defensive players, Aveiro-Kalaniopio also will spend time at outside hitter. Whatever position he plays, he cherishes the chance to live up to his coach’s label.
“I guess it means when we have a crucial point that the team believes that I can put it away,” said Aveiro-Kalaniopio, who plays club volleyball with Pilipaa in Hilo. “Play every point likes it’s the last point, and bring the team together. When it comes to leadership, I can be the difference between winning and losing a game.”
Senior Elias Hood also will see some time at setter, while senior Kekoa Werner will move from opposite hitter to middle blocker. Hood made all-BIIF last year, along with Thomson and Johnny Hiraoka, who graduated.
With Kohala’s last basketball game being last Friday, Roxburgh hardly had time to catch his breath before partaking in his first practice. He didn’t mind, however. For him, volleyball has become much more than a hobby.
“Now it’s serious,” he said. “We can be great.”