Just a couple of years ago, Pa‘u Spencer was the little brother on the sidelines of Kamehameha Maui football games, watching his older brother play.

Now, he’s a 6-foot-4, 290-pound senior offensive lineman and captain for the Warriors who has about 70 pounds on his older brother.

Spencer hopes to continue growing in his athletic journey as he commits to attend Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., to continue his football and academic career. 

“They can make me a lot better as not only a player, but as a person, too,” Spencer said. “The school is gonna push me in my faith. They also came up a lot financially, which really helped.”

Spencer opened holes and provided protection for a voracious offense for the Warriors as they won the last two First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II state football championships. 

Spencer will join current freshmen Duane Peneku, an offensive lineman, and Rusty Ako-Nataniela, a defensive lineman, and sophomore linebacker Ronin Souza as Kamehameha Maui graduates on the Whitworth roster.

“I’ve got some boys up there, which I know that’s not a huge reason for going to college, but it’s gonna help me,” Spencer said.

He’ll also have the help of his sister Logan Spencer, the oldest of the Spencer children. She was a four-year standout volleyball player at Whitworth before graduating in 2024, and she still lives in the Spokane area. She’s looking forward to helping her youngest brother transition to college life.

“I try my best to help and support him. And he takes everything in stride, which is really cool to see from such a young person,” Logan Spencer said of Pa‘u. “I’m super proud of him and everything that he’s done and accomplished and being … I don’t even know how many times state champion at this point.”

Pa‘u Spencer is finishing his time at Kamehameha Maui by doing two sports in the spring — volleyball and track — for the fourth straight year. He was one of the leaders of a Maui Interscholastic League championship boys volleyball team in 2024 and last spring he was third in the state discus with a mark of 166 feet, 4 inches, and ninth in the shot put at 48-1, all while splitting time in practices between the two sports.

Following two older siblings into college athletics is something Pa‘u Spencer has been aiming at for seemingly his entire life. His older brother Kale Spencer is currently a senior standout volleyball player at Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“It gave me a standard to live up to … (and) also showed me just how to act and how to perform on and off the field,” Pa‘u Spencer said.

While he’s the youngest sibling, he’s by no means the smallest. When he was in fifth grade, he was already bigger than his older brother Kale Spencer.

“He’s always been bigger than me, really,” Kale Spencer said.

Kale Spencer was a first team all-Northeast Conference selection last season and second team all-NEC as a sophomore. For the 9-9 Sharks this season, he is second on the team with 189.5 points.

Kale Spencer, who is 6-5, 220 pounds, smiles when he thinks of his younger brother.

“Super proud,” Kale said. “Just a couple of years ago, I was playing and he was on the (Kamehameha Maui) sideline, just itching to get on the field and show what he has. I’m just super proud of where he has come and how much he’s grown. Even though we didn’t think he could grow much more.”

Logan Spencer is 24 years old, Kale Spencer is 22, and Pa‘u Spencer is 18. They were 14, 12 and 8 when their father, Charles “Bala” Spencer, suffered a serious stroke following open heart surgery 10 years ago, a mishap that has left Bala Spencer in a wheelchair.

Charles Spencer was an offensive lineman at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash., and mom Lisa Spencer ran track and played volleyball at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore. 

“He was so young when it happened and he was so clueless to what was happening,” Kale Spencer said Pa‘u immediately after their father’s stroke. “And I think even for myself, like it didn’t really hit me until a couple of years after.”

Kale Spencer, a captain on the LIU volleyball team, has watched his younger brother grow into his role as a dominant lineman and a captain on the KSM football team.

“It’s really special how he’s grown up and how he’s stepped into some roles that we didn’t expect to see a young guy like him take,” Kale Spencer said of his brother. “I can’t wait to see what is next for him.”

Lisa Spencer is overjoyed for her youngest son and all of her children. She is often seen in the corner of the Kaulaheanuiokamoku Gym on the Kamehameha Maui campus with Charles Spencer next to her watching volleyball matches. 

The Kamehameha Schools community from around the state stepped up to help the Spencers immediately after Charles Spencer’s stroke, from fixing casseroles for the family dinners to making sure Charles made it all of his medical appointments and as many of his children’s sports contests as possible.

“They’re all great humans,” Lisa Spencer said of her children in a text message. “God has a great plan for them. I’m truly thankful for the Maui community and Kamehameha ‘Ohana. It takes a village and this village here is amazing.”

That was again on display when Charles Spencer had another hospital stay in August 2025 when he had his gall bladder removed and then had to have an emergency surgery to stop bleeding.

“That was so scary,” Lisa Spencer said. “He lost a lot of strength.”

Pa‘u Spencer knows that beginning at an NCAA Division III school like Whitworth could lead to bigger things down the line. He was recruited by both the University of Hawai‘i and Eastern Washington, where his father played the same offensive line position his youngest son will play at Whitworth.

“That’s always going to be a possibility in this day and age of recruiting,” Pa‘u Spencer said.

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COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: Clinic on April 3, matches on April 4 at Jon Garcia Gym

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Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club will host a volleyball clinic for players 12-18 years old on April 3 featuring Chaminade University women’s head coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke and assistant coach Kolby Kanetake.

The clinic for players will take place at the Jon Garcia Gym on the Baldwin High School campus. Cost is $25.

On April 4, also at the Baldwin gym, three college women’s volleyball matches will take place. The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo will take on Hawai‘i Pacific University at 10 a.m.; Chaminade will play UH Hilo at 1 p.m.; and Chaminade will face HPU at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are good for all three matches.

More information for the clinic and day of matches is available at hawaiianstylevolleyball.com.

“Monday Morning Maui Sports” columns appear weekly on Monday mornings with updates on local sports in the Maui Interscholastic League and elsewhere around Maui County. Please send column ideas — anything having to do with sports in Maui County — as well as results and photos to rob@hjinow.org.