Poema K. ’27 is a vital player for ‘Iolani and won a state championship this year. She was also cited as an “impact player” in ‘Iolani’s win of an ILH Girls Volleyball Championship, contributing 13 kills. She committed to University of Oregon for beach volleyball this most recent summer, a prestigious D1 school with a developing beach program ranked in the top ten after starting in 2014. She discovered beach in addition to indoor, two different forms of the sport that complement each other. Poema’s volleyball journey took many defining turns, including whether to play beach or indoor volleyball collegiately. Choosing between the two did not just mean picking which she enjoyed more, but instead decided what her future will look like.
Last year’s loss to Kamehameha in the state finals devastated the team. However, they took last year’s failure as motivation and perseverance to succeed this season. “We were super motivated from the beginning, we already knew we were going to that championship match,” Poema said. The team finished the season with a final record of 17-1 and swept Kahuku in state finals, where Poema contributed 11 kills and four service aces, the most out of either team. Coach Kainoa Obrey ’99, the varsity head coach said, “Coming off the loss, obviously maybe a little bit more motivation to finish this season in a different way. Poema has always been a fluid athlete with a good understanding of the game and talent at a young age. Definitely a good character kid that we didn’t have to worry about.”
After last year’s season, Poema looked to her future and where she wanted to commit. One of Poema’s hard decisions was choosing the right college, but picking whether to play beach, which is on the sand and 2 on 2, versus indoor, on the court and 6 on 6. Poema explained how her decision to choose beach was bound to get mixed reactions from her family. “I think they were definitely confused on [me] picking beach because we were focusing on indoor,” she added, “but they saw I love[d] both and would be fine with either.” Choosing beach over indoor to Poema revolved around proximity and connection to family, especially with her Dad’s roots in Oregon.
Poema has had experience playing at different schools including Kamehameha until 8th grade, and then ‘Iolani, and many clubs like Lanikai, SAS, and Ku‘ikahi. When asked about how playing at such an advanced level is to her, she responded, “I think it’s definitely eye-opening because the game is so much faster.” Playing now at Ku‘ikahi, she has most of the same coaches as her school season. She explained, “They’re great coaches, all our coaching staff, especially, the four coaches, Coach Kainoa, Coach Jared, Coach Kelli and Coach Kyle. There’s no better coaching here. Everybody knows that.” Ku’ikahi has been known for the past few years as a dominating club that creates a lot of talent throughout the ILH.
Choosing the right college as a student-athlete is more than just being good at your sport and having decent grades. Poema and other athletes looking to play at the next level deal with the stress and load of finding the right college for themselves and their family. Besides college, she’s had an amazing high school career and looks forward to playing during her senior year and in college.