Tai Manu-Olevao put on a highlight show at the 59th annual Haili Tournament, displaying the versatile hitting skills that made her a first team All-Big West player.
The 6-foot Rainbow Wahine expired her eligibility last December in a four-set loss to Minnesota in the NCAA Regional.
At UH (29-2), she was the sidekick behind Nikki Taylor, a 6-4 second team All-American, who was 16th in the nation with 4.46 kills per set.
Take heart local fans while Manu-Olevao’s UH career is finished, Taylor will be back for her senior season.
The 6-4 opposite didn’t play in the Haili, so Manu-Olevao was the big gun for A Mothers Prayer, and she blasted 14 kills and was named the women’s AA Most Valuable Player.
Manu-Olevao smashed cross-court screamers, line rockets, and tool shots off high hands. She also hit with finesse, dropping in well-placed tip shots.
Unfortunately, HI Intensity had much better depth and swept A Mothers Prayer 26-24, 25-23 to repeat as the women’s AA champion on Saturday.
HI Intensity is coached by Kahala Hoke, also Chaminade’s coach. Her sister Kuulei Kabalis-Bianconi was the setter.
They are the daughters of UH-Hilo and NAIA Hall of Famer Carla Carpenter-Kabalis, whose youth club team is called HI Intensity.
Manu-Olevao’s teammate was Olivia Magill, another UH senior who expired her eligibility. She was a third team All-American and first team All-Big West.
Setting for A Mothers Prayer was Dartmouth freshman Zoe Leonard, who was on the Pilipaa team last year trying to make history.
Pilipaa hoped to be the first group of high school players to capture the women’s AA championship. But HI Intensity swept with a deep roster of old college players, who haven’t forgotten how to play clean ball.
Kuulei Kabalis-Bianconi, a 2009 Kamehameha, graduate, played at Kansas State. Other old college stars are Alex Akana (San Jose State), Rebekah Torres (University of Pacific) and Deven Bukoski (Cal State Fullerton).
Bukoski slammed 12 kills and was named the AA’s Most Outstanding Player. Torres added seven kills and Akana had four kills.
For all the local fans who watch the Rainbow Wahine on OC16 Sports, they were vividly entertained seeing Manu-Olevao in person.
Down 24-22 in the first set, Manu-Olevao made her presence felt with booming impact. She nuked a cross-court shot that jolted the sizable crowd.
Then she soared skyward and ripped a shot off the high hands of HI Intensity’s formidable block.
For those who followed her UH career on channel 16, Manu-Olevao has done that shot a million times.
Kuulei Kabalis-Bianconi stands 5 feet 6 and was a libero in college. Like her sister Kahala Hoke, a 5-9 outside hitter for the Silverswords back in the day, she’s just as crafty.
Kabalis-Bianconi put down a perfect dump shot to give HI Intensity a 25-24 lead. Then the Oahu club recorded a block to extinguish AMP’s comeback attempt.
In the second set, Manu-Olevao had a pair of big kills late to force ties, at 21-21 and 22-22. Tai and Co. cheered loudly. A Mothers Prayer grabbed momentum.
But HI Intensity took it right back.
Torres, a 2008 Kamehameha-Kapalama graduate, showed why her ILH Warriors won three straight HHSAA state titles (2005 to ’07) during her career.
The former Warrior hitter, who became a libero as a UOP Tiger senior, drilled a pair of line shots for a 24-23 lead.
Manu-Olevao took the match’s final swing. She didn’t have clean liftoff (though she’s done that a thousand times at UH and produced a kill) and hit long.
The nice thing about the Haili is there’s no expired eligibility for the AA top division.
If Manu-Olevao and A Mothers Prayer reach the AA final again, there’s a good chance HI Intensity will be waiting and telling her, “Welcome, home.”
Haili honoree
The Haili Tournament honored Zelda Lainaholo Kelson, who played club ball for the Keaukaha Surfettes, coached by the late Raymond Rowe Sr.
She was instrumental in Hilo High’s 1972 HHSAA championship, the BIIF’s first state title in girls volleyball.
She received a scholarship to play for the Rainbow Wahine, and later came home and married Kendal Kelson. They have three children: Ashford, JR, and Anela.
The Kelsons formed the Keaukaha Cuzins club team and have junior teams in every age group and a women’s team.
In 2013, Zelda was diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing her second round of chemotherapy.
She hasn’t let cancer stop her from coaching.
To make a donation, visit hailivolleyball.com or call 896-3358.
