Chaminade coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke was named West Region coach of the year, producing appreciation and reflection from one of Hilo’s own.
Kabalis Hoke, the daughter of UH-Hilo and NAIA Hall of Famer Carla Carpenter-Kabalis, was selected the top coach for the PacWest, California Collegiate Athletic Association, and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which comprises the West Region, one step down from All-America status.
In her 10th year, Kabalis Hoke coached the Silverswords to their first PacWest championship since 1996, a record 27 wins, and the program’s fourth postseason appearance.
“First and foremost, I’m blessed to have this career,” she said. “I’m surprised and grateful. We have an amazing Ohana at Chaminade. Everyone supports each other, the athletic director, the Dean of students, the president, the other coaches.
“I’m grateful to our former athletic director, Bill Villa. He was the one who hired me and gave my first shot at coaching in college. I promised him I’d win a conference championship, and he believed in me. I’m so grateful to have this career. It’s all due to him.”
PacWest player of the year and outside hitter Brooklyn Pe’a and setter Alexia Byrnes, both Division I transfers from Youngstown State (Ohio), were named to the All-West Region first team. Senior libero Anna Dalla Vecchia, a Division I transfer from San Francisco, received honorable mention.
UH-Hilo outside hitter Bria Beale was selected to the All-West Region second team for the second straight time after she led the PacWest in kills per set and points.
Kabalis Hoke played for the Silverswords and was an All-PacWest first-team pick in 2003 and 2004. She graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor’s in criminal justice and earned a master’s in criminal justice administration in 2007.
But the lure of volleyball pulled her back. Everyone in her life has been involved with volleyball from her parents, Sodie and Carla, to her four siblings, Kamalu, Kekoa, Kaleinani, and Kuulei. Even her husband, David Hoke, played volleyball at Kamehameha-Kapalama.
“After my collegiate athletic career, I was ready to hang up volleyball, but nine months later I was asked by my former high school coach to take over her team at Radford,” Kabalis Hoke said. “I walked into practice, and in my heart I knew this is what I should do. The feeling for the game came back. Little did I know that it would turn into a career.
“I started my club HI Intensity in 2006 to coach my sisters Kaleinani, who was a junior, and Kuulei, who was a sophomore. I love that we created that Hilo branch.”
Club ball was allowed to start in August, a surprise because the start is usually in late October. The PacWest season runs from September through November.
“We started in August, and we have caring families and made it work,” Kabalis Hoke said. “We have six teams this year.”
Most people thought the Silverswords used the NCAA transfer portal to land Pe’a, Byrnes, and Dalla Vecchia. That’s not the case at all. Kabalis Hoke had the right connections to secure the Division I transfers.
“It was all just word of mouth and through friends and connections,” she said. “It was a stroke of luck from reaching out to me as well. Kolby Kanetake coached at San Francisco, so he had a connection there. A friend of mine is a friend of Pe’a’s mom. Everyone fell into place this year. It was really wonderful to see the stars align.”
Chaminade’s season ended with a first-round loss to Central Washington at the West Regional. But it’s more likely than not that the Silverswords will be back. Pe’a and Byrnes are juniors.
At least now, Kabalis Hoke can spend more time with her 5-year-old son Kia’ikaiola, who’s taken up soccer.
“With no college season, it’s club three days a week, and I have more of a home life,” she said. “I can pick my son up and cook dinner.
“We talk a lot of volleyball in our house. My husband offers good insight that I find beneficial in addition to my mother and sisters and father, of course.”
It’s been a long journey for Kabalis Hoke since she left Hilo to play volleyball for Moanalua on Oahu, where she lived with her grandparents Dante and Olan Carpenter.
“He turned 87 the other day and is looking good and sharp,” she said. “Except for COVID restrictions, they’ve been at all my games at Chaminade to support us getting back to the conference championship.”
Kabalis Hoke, Kanetake, and assistant Amanda Vazquez are all Moanalua graduates, and so is her sister Kaleinani, who’s the Hilo High coach.
When Kabalis Hoke mentioned the Na Menehune connection, she reflected back on all the old Silverswords.
“Everyone who says congratulations, I want them to know all the former players and coaches helped level the program up,” she said. “I have to give them credit for the constant builds. Everyone helped us on the way. I went to Moanalua, Amanda went to Moanalua, and Kolby went to Moanalua. It’s always been fun.”
Kabalis Hoke has always followed mom’s advice.
“She said never stop learning, never stop growing as a volleyball coach, mentor or player,” she said.
