Lily the candidate
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| There are many facets to Lily Kahumoku, but one constant is her ability to hit a volleyball. The two-time All-American is among UH's career kills leaders.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser WAC Volleyball WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center WHEN: Tonight at 7, No. 2 Hawai'i (23-1, 9-0 WAC) vs. Boise State (5-19, 1-8 WAC) TV/RADIO: Live on KFVE (5) and 1420 AM TICKETS: $12 lower level, $9 upper, $8 senior citizens (65-older), $5 students 4-18, $3 UH system students. PARKING: $3 |
You get what Kahumoku wants you to get, whether she's approaching a serious conversation, casual gathering or a volleyball: Her right arm is here and the ball is there, so surely it has to end up ... how did she do that?
"I think, 'Did she really just do that?' " muses Kim Willoughby, the Rainbow Wahine's alter-ego senior All-American. "All the time, not just on the court. That's just the person she is. She is a very unique person. I know I won't meet another person like Lily in my life. I can positively say that. It's not going to happen."
How many 20-year-olds have the guts to start a celebrated collegiate career with two superb seasons, then take one off to try and resolve the emotional turmoil that prompted her to leave.
How many college seniors see this in their future?
"I'm really interested in local politics and indigenous issues. Not just indigenous to Hawai'i, but the world," Kahumoku says. "Things are OK now, but they certainly could be better. I suppose I'd like to be a revolutionary in the sense of reform for betterment, not for chaos."
Kahumoku dreams of politics, after "the volleyball thing" ends. She has put 15 years of her life into the sport and sees a few more on the beach or in the professional leagues overseas. "I owe it to myself," she says.
She has the gift, honed over the years she moved around with her family. Her father retired from the Air Force when she was 11, but the family kept moving. She soaked in her surroundings at every stop. She eventually came to board at Kamehameha Schools her last two years of high school.
"I will never forget the day I met Lily," recalls then-and-now teammate Nohea Tano. "I was in awe. It was seven years ago on a Kamehameha court. We were told a new girl from Texas would be joining our team. From the first moment we practiced with her, I remember not only myself but our whole team and Coach (Dan) Kitashima's mouth dropping."
The surprises never stopped as Tano got to know Kahumoku. The day Tano gave birth to her son, Koby, Kahumoku and three other friends showed up to cheer her through the pain.
"I love children, but I think it's important that children get every opportunity to excel," says Kahumoku, who also witnessed the birth of her sister, Kelly. "Kids are so smart. Much smarter than we give them credit for."
Kahumoku is quite smart herself. Ask anyone she has welcomed into her unique world. She will graduate soon in political science and figures an advanced degree or two, or possibly law school — "It's good to know the law if you're going to make some" — is in her future.
She ponders professions as varied as being a principal or Kamehameha trustee — "minor things, nothing too important," she jokes.
"I really want to get involved in Hawai'i politics," she says. "I would do anything — OHA trustee, governor, mayor, I don't care. I haven't made an actual plan of attack yet because I'm a little busy with other things now."
UH coach Dave Shoji admits he is "very fond" of his unpredictable All-American, who calls him "Davy Baby" simply to see his reaction.
He is one of the people Kahumoku has allowed in. He stood by her, as did all her teammates, when she took the 2001 season off to find her "lost spirit."
"I think everybody that really knew her, knew she had to do that," Shoji says.
When she returned, he saw a "more critical thinker" focused on a future he believes is infinite.
"Her mind is always exploring different options for herself," Shoji says. "She can do pretty much anything she wants to do. She's very intelligent. She talks about law quite a bit. She's been around politics and met influential people that maybe inspire her.
"She wants to make a difference. Her mind thinks differently from a lot of people. Money does come into the picture, but mostly she just wants to feel she's doing something important."
Kahumoku's dreams go far beyond the final four and finishing those final credits before graduation, though fulfilling those goals is a crucial step in her life.
She speaks of advancing the cause of world peace and inspiring people who are "alienated and apathetic to causes." Kahumoku wants to make a difference globally.
"There are too many things going on as far as national security issues and foreign policies and treaties we're trying to establish all over the world," she says. "Special interests have taken over to a large degree, especially in this country. I'd like to see things be a little better for everyone as a whole."
In that, she has a kindred spirit in serene teammate Maja Gustin, whose quest for peace has taken her 7,800 miles — the distance from Slovenia to Manoa.
The first teammate Gustin met when she arrived was Kahumoku, who says now that Gustin is the one person who truly knows her.
"Out of everyone I'm close to here, I'm probably the most honest with her because she expects nothing of me," Kahumoku says of Gustin, who believes "karma" dictated their friendship.
"Lily has helped me with a million things," Gustin says. "Her presence in my life means a lot to me. ... I feel her so much that when she's happy I can feel it so strongly. When she's sad, I can feel that too. ... The way we look at life is very, very similar."
Kahumoku often is extremely happy and extremely sad. Along with the other distinctive aspects of her personality, she is Hawai'i's most emotional player. She is also the Rainbow Wahine with the most on her mind.
Kahumoku and a few of her friends, including Gustin, talk of "taking over" when they have their lives in order. Gustin says they can make a difference because "our intention is so pure."
"Not exactly taking over," Kahumoku explains, "but helping Hawai'i. But first we have to make a lot of money and put ourselves in positions of power."
If that sounds too serious for a 22-year-old, there is a softer side. Kahumoku has an offbeat sense of humor and a penchant for riding the luggage carousel at airports.
Volleyball is her release in many ways, when she can break free of her notoriety. Her dream of winning a national championship has never wavered through all the distractions. She wants to win friends in the process.
"It's just a game," she says. "There's no reason to hate anyone or have rivalries because we're playing a game with each other. Hating opponents is the most ridiculous thing."
On the contrary, she actively seeks out ways to socialize with opponents. In New Orleans last year, she, Willoughby and national player of the year Logan Tom bopped around together on Bourbon Street at the final four.
At Nevada, Kahumoku kept smiling at then-freshman Salaia Salave'a under the net. "I kept wondering, 'Why is she smiling?' " Salave'a recalls. "We were losing, so I thought she was making fun of us because we'd get one block in five points and jump out of the gym in celebration."
Turns out, Kahumoku remembered Salave'a from when she came to the Iolani tournament as a high school freshman in American Samoa. When the Wolf Pack was here this season, a few of the players got together at the beach after the game.
"It was a team-bonding thing," Salave'a said. "I took some of our players and she brought some of theirs. They were all like her. Lily is such a sweet person on the court and off, so humble and nice and easy to get along with. ... We just tried to get to know each other a little better."
And what does Salave'a think is in Kahumoku's future?
"I think she would do good at politics," she says. "I could see her in an office too, with a suit. She'd be a supervisor in a big company. Or run a big company."
Or a small state.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525.8043
• • •
LILY KAHUMOKU
Lily Kapiolanimalamalama'ohawai'ineiku'uipo'okeali'iinulama'okapa'ak-
eahemakua'okawikakealohapumehana'okailaamomiakonialapauilanui-
malamalama'okoulahanau'o'oeu'ilaniku'uleiku'umilimiliealohanokoma-
kouiakapualiliakekuinilapauila Kahumoku
6-2 senior left-side hitter
Father Roscoe is 100 percent Hawaiian ... "we think, but there was all that hanai stuff going on back then."
Born: June 24, 1981
High school: Kamehameha Schools 1999
Graduation: May 2004, Political Science
Homes: South Carolina, Portugal, California, South Dakota, Illinois, Texas, Hawai'i, Colorado, Florida and Alabama
Hobbies: Dancing and going out with friends
Kahumoku-isms:
- Describing Kim Willoughby — "A genetic masterpiece"
- On freshman setter Kanoe Kamana'o — "Ah Mow-esque"
Volleyball Honors
- Needs 262 kills to move into second on UH career kills list
- First-team All-American (2000, 2002)
- WAC Player of the Year (2000)
- All-WAC first team (1999, 2000, 2002)
- U.S. National Team (2001)
- District VII and WAC Freshman of the Year (1999)
- State Player of the Year in 1997 and '98 when she led Kamehameha Schools to state championships
