It wasn’t the kind of day that Pilipaa coach Chris Leonard was looking for, yet in someways it was. ADVERTISING It wasn’t the kind of day that Pilipaa coach Chris Leonard was looking for, yet in someways it was. The
It wasn’t the kind of day that Pilipaa coach Chris Leonard was looking for, yet in someways it was.
The 14-under-and-under girls team stumbled to losses in all three of its matches on the opening day of the USA Volleyball Junior national championships, finally winning a set in its third match Tuesday in New Orleans.
“We struggled with our consistency,” Leonard said. “They were nervous and made a lot of unforced errors.
“By the third match we were serving better and playing pretty nice volleyball.”
One of his primary messages to his team – Keani Akui, Tiani Bello, Amber Eakins, Taina Leao, Makenna Mahuna, Laurie McGrath, Siena Mizuno, Naniloa Spaar, Makalei Watson – after play finished for the day was that he’s seen these struggles before on this stage from a group that went on to enjoy its fair share of success.
A few years ago, Leonard’s Pilipaa 14s included a host of players who would go on to become all-BIIF performers, including future Kamehameha standouts Kaiu Ahuna and Zoe Leonard.
“That group was a lot like this one,” Leonard said. “We wanted to bring a younger age group and give them this experience.”
The Pilipaa 14s qualified for nationals advancing out of the 48-team Moku O Keawe Region, and they also won their age group title at the Haili Tournament in March.
Pilipaa has two games on tap Wednesday.
