Josh Mason has a Macbook memory about the history of Big Island teams in the men’s AA championships at the Haili Volleyball Tournament.
He graduated from Christian Liberty in 2001, kept playing in every edition and reached the top division finale four times.
Aloha Days outlasted Big Island Boys 25-18, 17-25, 15-13 for the men’s AA title on Saturday at the 60th annual Haili Tournament at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, where fans needed their own pen and paper to keep track of the score or a good memory because the scoreboard wasn’t working.
“It’s the first time I’ve been in the championship and lost,” Mason said. “I remember them all, even Phantom point. You can’t forget that one.”
That was in 2009 with Big Island Roots. The homegrown team had a hitting error for a 14-14 tie in Game 2. But a phantom point showed up on the scoreboard with Kailua Volleyball Club ahead 15-14 and later the Oahu team, stacked with old Rainbow Warriors, closed out the match.
Later after video review, Big Island Roots was rewarded the championship. So to his credit, Mason has three AA titles, including in 2012 with Hilo’s Hemolele and 2014 with Culture Club. Although, those two teams featured at least one player from Oahu.
The Big Island Boys weren’t 100 percent homegrown either. Also, Kailua didn’t participate in the 60th Haili edition.
Besides Mason, the other local boys were brothers Peter and Chad Pua, and Wendell Kaehuaea, who was also on Big Island Roots. Vernon Podlewski, a former Rainbow Warrior libero, is from Maui. Brothers Nainoa and Kealii Frank are from Oahu.
Mason owns BlueSky Energy Advisors, a solar consulting and engineering company. But that’s to pay the bills.
In his spare time, he’s coaching volleyball as an assistant to the Christian Liberty boys and girls teams and the intermediate program.
Last year, Lil Braddahs defeated Kailua to become the second 100 percent homegrown to win the AA title. But Mason wasn’t on it. Still, he enjoys playing at the Haili, which is the Super Bowl of local volleyball.
“It’s the just the atmosphere and the energy the crowd has,” Mason said. “The locals cheer all the Hilo teams, and we appreciate the high level of competition and the camaraderie among the players. After it’s over, there’s aloha everywhere and a lot of fun.”
Kanani’s pro life
After her UH-Manoa playing days ended in a five-set loss to USC in the NCAA regional semifinal at the Stan Sheriff Center in 2011, Kanani Danielson played pro ball in Japan for three years. Last year, she played in Azerbaijan, a country near Turkey.
“I’m going to keep playing until my body says ‘No.’ I’m at home and will wait for my next opportunity,” she said.
Danielson, 27, enjoyed being on Teine Samoa Moni, which featured several All-Americans, including Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson, Nia Tuitele, and Edna Walker.
“The tourney was a great experience and I got to pick their brains and ask questions and learned a lot from them,” Danielson said.
