Youth volleyball team from Maui wins national championship in Minneapolis; returns home to heroes’ welcome

After United Airlines Flight 1736 landed at Kahului Airport on Monday, two fire trucks showered it with water as it taxied to Gate 1, as downstairs dozens of family and friends cheered loudly, waved signs and prepared to drape the young passengers with lei.

The celebration was for the Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club boys 15-under team, which was returning from Minneapolis as USA Volleyball national champions.

“This is a pretty special occasion,” said Al Paschoal, the owner and club director who has coached volleyball on Maui for more than three decades.

It was the first time a volleyball team from Maui had won a national championship, according to Paschoal.

The team, coached by married couple Kalae and Kau‘ilaniku‘ulei Tanaka, won the USA Volleyball Gold Open Division, the highest level in the 15-under age group. They went 7-0 in the tournament, dropping just one set along the way. To clinch the national championship, they beat Diablo Volleyball Club of Northern California in the final, 27-25, 25-14.

“Words can’t even express,” said head coach Kalae Tanaka, who has been coaching in the club for 10 years. “It’s literally hard work, dedication, a family-oriented club.”

The national champions include the Tanakas’ son, Kazu. Their older daughter Tamiko also played for the club before she graduated from Baldwin High School in 2021.

During the three-day tournament July 3-5, the team faced its biggest challenge when falling behind 23-20 in the first set of the final.

Kalae Tanaka called timeout and told them: “Go back to what we know how to do.”

He said the team does drills “all the time” to work on playing from behind, “where we’re down 23-21, and we got to come back and win. So, we said: ʻThis is not anything different. This is just like one of those drills that we always run. We practice for this.’ “

At that point, Kalae Tanaka decided to make a switch, moving Kazu Tanaka from setter to an attack position and inserting Ryder Tokuoka at setter.

“And we got an inch away, one point at a time, and we went on our own run, tied it up at 23, and then it went back and forth, and the boys got to that point where they basically were too strong for the other side to deal with it,” Kalae Tanaka said.

There were 11 teams in the boys 15 division in Minnespolis and the Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club 15s earned their way into the Open Gold Division by running up a 5-0 record over the first two days of competition. They beat Lakas Volleyball Club of Northern California in the semifinals 25-20, 25-12. Teams reach the national tournament by qualifying through regional tournaments.

“We all stay together like a huge family, as you can see,” Kalae Tanaka said as he received hug after hug after coming down the escalator to the throng of family, friends and well-wishers. “So, that has a lot to do with where all the success comes from. It takes a village.”

The 11 members of the championship team are: Rylan Ching, Kamakana Ferreira and Quinn Sardine, who all attend Kamehameha Schools Maui; Baldwin High School’s Tu‘i Ika, Kazu Tanaka, Keanu Torres-Estores, Ryder Tokuoka, Asher Tokuoka and Kamaha‘o Nobriga; and Noah Feiteira and Hawana Ka‘aihue of King Kekaulike High School.

Paschoal, who coaches the Baldwin High School boys and girls varsity volleyball teams in addition to several levels for the Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club, said he hopes this group stays together as they progress through high school. Eight of the 11 players will be sophomores in the fall, while Sardine, Nobriga and Tanaka will be freshmen.

“They can do anything if they stay together,” Paschoal said. “I think they’ve proven that already.”

Ika, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, was named the tournament Most Valuable Player, while teammates Tanaka and Asher Tokuoka joined Ika on the all-tournament team.

“It feels really good,” Ika said of the welcome home celebration. “This is a very special moment.”

Paschoal said this team reminds him of his Baldwin girls team that just graduated eight seniors, seven of whom are set to play college volleyball this fall.

“So the strength and the bonds that these boys are building at this young age reminds me of our girls team that just graduated,” Paschoal said. “They can do that, go through the thick and the thin of things, and grow to become better teammates, better players, and push each other. Man, it’s going to be exciting to see what these kids can do in a year or two.”

Ika was a standout on the Baldwin boys varsity team as a freshman and was a co-caption for the national championship club team with Tanaka and Asher Tokuoka. 

“I took it a lot to heart,” Ika said. “Whenever we have a low play or we’re not doing as well as we should, it takes a lot for someone to step up and be able to bring your whole team up.”

After receiving their gold medals at the tournament, Asher Tokuoka, the team’s libero (defensive specialist), received a special treat when the team met two-time Olympic medalist Erick Shoji, a libero for Team USA.

When Shoji, who is from Oʻahu, learned the team was from Hawai‘i, he sought out Asher Tokuoka. Moments later, Shoji gave Asher Tokuoka a national team Shoji jersey.

“We were getting signatures from him at his booth,” Asher Tokuoka said. “He said that he wanted to give me something after we were all done. And then he gave me his jersey. And then I said, ‘thank you.’ It was really cool because I look up to him so much.”

As the son of the coaches, Kazu Tanaka epitomizes the family aspect of this team.

“Sometimes it can be a little frustrating because they’re my parents, but at the same time, it’s how you learn the game,” Kazu Tanaka said. “You can see from this reception that everybody at this club is like family to everybody.”