St. Joseph small, but success is no surprise

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

The St. Joseph girls volleyball team won the school's first girls BIIF title in any sport by going 15-0 this season. Team members are, from left, Ku'uipo Hayes, Lindsey Lee, assistant coach Marie Stiles, Duchess Kama, Lisha Natividad, Sarah Mason, Jazmin Pa'akaula, Ashley Hanohano, Chelsey Riviera, Christina Kahapea, Jessi Mau, co-coach Rachelle Hanohano and co-coach Tommy Hanohano. Wes Nakama • The Honolulu Advertiser

Even bags of cinder at $2 apiece.

But for St. Joseph's undefeated girls volleyball team, none of the attractions could take their mind off the one thing that has dominated their thoughts for the past two weeks.

That would be the Nissan State Championship tournament, which begins tomorrow just a few minutes away at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

"Especially last night, watching the boys (tournament) ... I wanted to play so bad," said junior middle blocker Lindsey Lee. "We can't wait, we're just counting the days."

Senior middle blocker Sarah Mason echoed those feelings.

"I'm so anxious to play already," Mason said. "We can't wait to see what happens."

Neither, it seems, can much of the prep volleyball community. St. Joseph is seeded No. 1, a rarity for any Neighbor Island team in any state tournament. The Cardinals earned the seed based on their 15-0 record in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation in addition to preseason victories over O'ahu powers Kamehameha, Kahuku and Moanalua.

"I thought the preseason was very crucial," St. Joseph co-coach Rachelle Hanohano said. "We got to play in the Iolani tournament, and (Raiders coach) Ann Kang does a superb job bringing in the elite teams from the Mainland and O'ahu. It really helped us rise to the level of competition we'll be seeing this week."

The Cardinals reached the finals of the Iolani tournament, losing only to Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), one of the top programs in the nation.

The Cardinals then went on to run the table in the BIIF, with only Hawai'i Prep taking the Cardinals to three games. St. Joseph later defeated HPA 15-0, 15-0 to win the league championship.

Making history

It has been quite a journey for the Cardinals, who went 1-10 as recently as 1999. This year's team began to materialize soon after, and the group grew and strengthened in the offseason with six of the girls playing together at the YMCA/Na Opi'o Volleyball Club.

The pieces really started to fall into place after Lee transferred from Waiakea two summers ago and Mason enrolled in January after playing for Hilo the previous three seasons.

"It's a big, big difference here," said Lee. "At Waiakea, I was playing with a lot of girls I had never played with before. With these girls, we've been playing together forever (with Na Opi'o). We have good chemistry, so much energy on the court. It's like a burst."

St. Joseph was the BIIF runner-up in 2000 and again in 2001, when it upset Kahuku in the state tournament and eventually finished third.

Then Mason arrived, and the Cardinals proceeded to win the school's first girls BIIF title in any sport. Mason, at 6 feet 2, was named to The Advertiser's All-State first team last year and signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of Oregon next fall.

"She was the exclamation point," Hanohano said. "She's really strong at the net, and she's become our go-to person."

For Mason's part, St. Joseph was a good fit off the court as well.

"This school is really challenging," Mason said. "It gives you room to grow and really prepares you for college. And in volleyball, my personality type is outgoing, and the rest of these girls are like that, too. I play with them in the offseason, and I feel more comfortable with these girls. We have good team chemistry."

No place like home

St. Joseph is not your typical powerhouse. The school has only 220 students in grades 7-12, and besides Mason, the Cardinals have only two other players over 5-8.

Lee, at 5-4, is one of the tiniest middle blockers in the tournament.

"I used to play right side hitter, but I begged (Hanohano) to play middle," Lee said. "I wanted to be involved, and in the middle you're always in the play."

Even St. Joseph's humble, rustic gymnasium is not what you would expect from a No. 1 seed. Hanohano, an alumnus, likes playing in the gym but because of larger crowds this season the Cardinals had to move some matches to Hilo Armory and Kamehameha's new campus in Kea'au.

They expect to play before a packed house this week at Afook-Chinen, which seats about 3,000.

"I not going lie, there is pressure on us," said junior setter Ashley Hanohano, Rachelle's daughter. "But we have confidence."

With teams like Moanalua, Iolani and Kamehameha potentially standing in the way of the title, St. Joseph knows it won't be easy.

But junior outside hitter Jazmin Pa'akaula said playing in their hometown will help.

"The place will be rocking," Pa'akaula said. "We'll have a lot of people behind our backs."