Kahumoku anxious to return to volleyball court

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The five-month search for the Garbo-esque women's volleyball player led, quite naturally, to a volleyball court, where Lily Kahumoku appeared to be most at ease yesterday afternoon.

Lily Kahumoku apologized if she "traumatized" fans for her five-month break. She's fine and focused on next season. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I'm very happy to be back," said Kahumoku, an All-American who took a break from volleyball for the fall semester to spend time with her family on the Mainland.

"I'm looking forward to getting in the gym, getting on the track, getting in the weight room, and rejoining the team and working hard for next season," said Kahumoku, who resumed taking classes at UH Monday.

Last August, when it was announced Kahumoku would take a hiatus, reporters were told it was because of "personal reasons."

Yesterday, she declined to speak about the specifics of those reasons. But she offered some hints, describing her time away as a "journey I needed to take. ... I needed to think."

She said she has no regrets about her decision.

"I really got to enjoy my loved ones," she said. "It was time worth spent."

She declined requests for interviews last semester, fueling speculation from worried fans. Yesterday, she offered an apology to the people who were concerned about her well-being. She said she is fine, and her time off was not preceded by major problems.

"I feel like I traumatized a lot of people, like I really affected their lives somehow," Kahumoku said. "It's almost like I physically hurt them or caused them some kind of stress. But it's like, 'you don't understand.' Sometimes you need time by yourself."

She said she found support from teammates and coaches.

"They're not just teammates, they're friends," Kahumoku said. "They're like sisters. They're family. They understand you need time for introspect and to reprioritize what's important in life."

Returning to UH, she said, "is another journey that needs to be taken. Life is a series of journeys. There are some journeys I need to start working on, and that's why I came back."

Kahumoku, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, will be a junior next season. She said she is on track to earn a bachelor's degree in December, although she would prefer to space her course load and graduate in May 2003.

Either scenario would arm her with a degree entering her senior season. She said she is strongly considering pursuing a master's. The volleyball scholarship would cover her post-graduate studies.

But those concerns are for another time, and Kahumoku said she is not looking back or too far ahead.

"My time (last semester) expired, and I'm here and I'm ready to take care of things here," she said. "All of my focus is for this team and this program. I'm taking each journey one step at a time."

She said she will not compete in national tournaments. At most, Kahumoku said, she might play volleyball "on the beach for fun on the weekends, but not in any other outside competition; no, most likely not."

The Wahine return every starter from last season's 29-6 team. Outside hitters Maja Gustin, who moved from middle blocker to replace Kahumoku, and Kim Willoughby greatly improved their games and confidence last season. Both will be juniors in the fall.

Kahumoku, refreshed and no longer bothered by injuries, should further improve the Wahine's offense.

"I'm very thankful for my teammates," she said. "I'm very fortunate there are so many beautiful people surrounding this program."