Confident Hawaiian Style 16s head to USAV junior nationals | News, Sports, Jobs (2024)

Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club’s Lilinoe Paschoal sets the ball as her father, coach Al Paschoal, looks on during a practice Tuesday night at Baldwin High School’s Jon Garcia Gym. The HSVC 16s team — made up of five players from Baldwin, one from Maui Prep, two from Kamehameha Maui, one from King Kekaulike and one from Lahainaluna — will compete in the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships in Chicago starting Sunday. The Maui News / ROBERT COLLIAS photos

WAILUKU — The enthusiasm inside the Jon Garcia Gym on Tuesday night was all over the place as the Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club 16-year-old team battled its 18-year-old counterparts, most of whom were there to stay sharp for their upcoming college assignments.

After a final practice Wednesday evening in the facility on the Baldwin High School campus, the HSVC 16s are headed to the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships in Chicago — they travel Friday and begin play Sunday.

Ironically, the HSVC 16s qualified for the event twice.

“There’s a couple of different ways you can get there, one is by qualifying in your region, which is called the Aloha Region out of Hawaii and then there’s winning a national qualifier, and there’s several national qualifiers around the country,” explained HSVC coach Al Paschoal. “We actually were fortunate to qualify out of Oahu, beating Aloha State Volleyball Club (in the final).

“We actually qualified two weeks prior to going to a Mainland qualifier in Utah, so we felt good about going up there knowing our ticket was already punched. It was kind of nice, you know, and the girls played amazing volleyball in Utah, never dropped a set. The closest someone got was 22 and there were some good teams. … We were excited about that win.”

Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club assistant coach Chino Dadez helps warm up the team during Tuesday’s practice.

Since the regional win in April, the HSVC 16s — made up of five players from Baldwin, one from Maui Prep, two from Kamehameha Maui, one from King Kekaulike and one from Lahainaluna — have been practicing as much as possible and have managed to keep the fire burning.

“It was interesting to see how the girls were going to respond, so we went to kind of a friendship tournament on Oahu a couple weeks ago — that was with other teams that had qualified out of the region,” Paschoal said. “There were 17s teams, 18s teams there, and the girls did well, they ended up winning that tournament, too.”

HSVC is traveling to nationals full of confidence.

“It was kind of nice seeing that (win) because we’re so far removed from the competition — that’s always one of the setbacks for the Hawaii teams, we don’t have as many tournaments as the Mainland does,” Paschoal said. “By the time they get to the nationals, they all have 15 tournaments under their belts and we’re coming in with four.”

To have players from all over the island — including 2022 Maui Interscholastic League Division I first-team All-Stars Lilinoe Paschoal, Ariana Naipo, Amanda Naipo and Natronai Anana of Baldwin and Archer Fabrao of Kamehameha Maui; and second-teamers Haven DeSilva of Kamehameha Maui, and Lauren Brown of Maui Prep — is a point of pride for the club.

“It’s always special to see that the girls, they battle in a long season against each other, but because the duration of the high school season is short compared to the club season, they really build those bonds over the club season and I think it’s really enjoyable when they get to compete against each other,” Al Paschoal said.

Lilinoe Paschoal, the team’s setter and the MIL D-I Player of the Year as a sophom*ore at Baldwin, said this team is traveling with a bunch of confidence.

“I think we’re feeling pretty good about it, but you know, we never know what’s going to happen, so we’re all just preparing ourselves,” she said. “So, we’re just trying to play our hardest and see where it takes us.”

If they arrive on time, the HSVC team will get to see a NASCAR race through the streets of Chicago from their hotel rooms.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool, and considering that Chicago is one of the places that I haven’t been, which is surprising, it’s pretty cool that we get to witness that when we’re there,” Lilinoe Paschoal said.

The standout setter said that it is all about Maui when they travel for HSVC.

“It’s always going to be about representing our island, so I think we’re just going to go up there and play our hardest and keep our heads up, no matter what,” she said.

Paschoal, the Naipo twins, Anana and teammate Keirah Kusunoki are all rising juniors at Baldwin.

“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” Anana said. “I believe in ourselves and I don’t know, this team is tight, we’re really close.”

Anana is the vibrant libero for the team and she is not holding back any excitement as the team prepares to leave for the Windy City.

“Oh definitely, the best memories are off the court,” she said. “It’s amazing, I feel like outer islands are always underappreciated and like kind of disregarded. So, it’s amazing, the environment here is amazing. There’s great players here, it’s amazing.

“These girls shape me who I am on and off the court. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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