Kaliko Kealoha — a Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u Charter senior who played sports for Hilo High — signed a letter of intent earlier this month to play volleyball for Saint Mary’s College.
Kealoha was a powerhouse for the Vikings’ as their leading hitter. Her offensive prowess helped lead Hilo to an 8-3 regular season record, going 3-0 in regular season play against Waiakea High, Kea‘au High and Kealakehe High.
SMC is a NCAA Division I school, playing in the West Coast Conference against rivals such as Pepperdine, Santa Clara and Gonzaga.
“Kaliko is a fabulous addition to our team,” said 19-season head coach Rob Browning in a SMC press release. “She’s got a cannon of an arm and she knows how to use it to score points. She can play multiple positions for us and I’m excited to see the different ways she will contribute to our future success.
“In terms of intangibles, Kaliko is the consummate team player. She’s eager to learn and become the best player she can be for us. Kaliko is tough and a hard-worker. She has the character traits we always look for in a Gael.
“We have a storied history of Hawaiian players in our SMCVB family. Kaliko is proud of her Hawaiian heritage and I’m thrilled to add another exceptional Hawaiian player and her family to our SMCVB family.”
In the same SMC press release, Kealoha stated that she chose Saint Mary’s “because it offers a fantastic volleyball program with great team chemistry, and coaches who are welcoming and supportive of each and every player. Saint Marys is also an academically driven school, which I found to be a perfect fit for me, knowing that I am both driven on and off the court. Overall, I fell in love with the school, team and environment. I look forward to my future endeavors at Saint Mary’s, go Gaels!”
This fall season, the Gaels went 16-12 overall (.571), 10-6 in WCC play and 7-4 at home. SMC’s women’s volleyball team has made five NCAA tournament appearances in the last 20 years.
SMC is located in Moraga, Calif. — in the hills of the eastern Bay Area, about 15 miles driving distance from Oakland.