There is a reason Mary Fonoimoana has a 4.0 grade-point average.
“I feel like sports motivate me to do better in school,” the Kahuku volleyball standout said.
Fonoimoana committed to play volleyball at Nevada last week. She plans to continue playing her second sport, basketball, if and when the abbreviated sports season begins in January. The 6-foot senior also has offers from New Mexico State, New Mexico, Dixie State, Eastern Washington and Fairfield.
At Nevada, she is expected to play in the middle.
“But if they think I can do more outside, I would redshirt and play on the pin,” Fonoimoana said.
The connection with Nevada started e-mails to the Wolf Pack staff, including head coach Lee Nelson.
“They emailed me after we had these combines here in Hawaii and a tournament on the mainland in Kansas. The head coach reached out to me and the assistant coach came and watched me. I would send them highlights. We’ve been emailing for like, a year,” Fonoimoana said.
The process in a year rendered dysfunctional by the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop her.
“I went on one official visit (before the lockdown) to Eastern Washington. I had all my other ones set up, but COVID happened and we couldn’t go on any trips. Then we had a dead period for volleyball (recruiting), and it keeps getting pushed back. It’s pushed back to April, so an official visit is not going to happen,” she said. “I had to depend on coaches checking on me, talk to girls on the team, seeing if I had family in the area. Nevada always checked on me.”
Another island standout, Sia Liilii of Punahou, has also committed to Nevada, Fonoimoana said.
For all her prowess in academics and athletics, the current distance learning format is not what Fonoimoana envisioned.
"I do not like distance learning at all. This is the worst senior year," she said, noting that she's half-joking. "It is a plus that I get to sleep in another hour. It seems like my senior year hasn't started yet, but once we go back in January, half of my senior year will have already been gone."
The daily routine, five times per week, has involved weight training and running in her neighborhood. It also entails rides to the newly-christened Spike and Serve Volleyball Club facility in Kakaako. Fonoimoana plays both indoor and beach volleyball, which means double workouts on Saturdays.
“Coach Kevin (Wong) and Coach Sherry (Wong) have helped me so much. They've paved the way for me to get better,” she said. “(The club) is planning for a trip in March, which is when we have school (league). I would like to go as long as it doesn’t conflict with school.”
Wong, the former Olympian, credited the dedication of Fonoimoana.
“I’m not sure if I can take any of the credit for Mary’s success. She had the opportunity to work with great coaches at Spike and Serve like Fred Robins, Danielle Kaalele, Mounia Tachibana. She worked hard in the weight room, on the beach and at indoor practice,” Wong said. “Her parents made a lot of sacrifices driving to town as much as they did. Mary has talent off the charts but it takes a village!”
The versatility of Fonoimoana is practically a genetic marker among island volleyball standouts.
“Reno is a great school with a beautiful campus, and has had a pipeline of local players, including Kayla Afoa. Mary’s versatility is off the charts. She can play middle, opposite, even outside because of her mix of skills and physicality. She’s humble and keeps working hard That’s super rare to find and a big testament to her family,” Wong added. “I can’t wait to follow her career and will definitely be paying close attention to the Mountain West Conference.”
The MWC now has former Spike and Serve players at Nevada, San Jose State, San Diego State and Boise State, Wong noted.
Fonoimoana endures the training, and the grind of being a 4.0 student. She is the oldest of six children. Her father, Vic Fonoimoana, played football at Hawaii. Rebekah Cravens was a volleyball player for the Rainbow Wahine. Younger brother Brock Fonoimoana is a sophomore who already has a football scholarship offer.
This nine-month stretch without competitive sports on Oahu has been a test.
“That’s the hard thing. We’ve been training for so long, but there’s nothing to put it toward. I practice with S&S five times a week, on the beach, too. It takes me an hour-and-half to get there. We’ve done indoor and beach since volleyball opened. I get my lifting done before practice,” she said.
Her age-group team works out in the evenings. The facility is busy the moment school lets out in mid-afternoon.
“Especially on Mondays and Wednesdays, I don’t get home until 11 at night,” she said.
Saturday’s double workouts are at 7 and 10 a.m.
“We don’t do a lot of running for club because we only have those two hours, but I do a lot of running with my family. My mom outruns all of us. She’s crazy. She’s one of those who thinks running is fun. My dad doesn’t run except when he does his jog walk with my mom,” Fonoimoana said. “Temple Hill. It’s not a crazy hill, a gradual incline.”
The diligence and discipline of studying remotely and training constantly hasn’t been so smooth for some student-athletes. She keeps raising the ceiling.
“I can grab the rim with one hand. The most I’ve done is dunk a tennis ball. I think in college, I think my vertical will get higher,” said Fonoimoana, who might dunk a basketball eventually. “If I really push myself harder in the weight room, yeah.”
The Fonoimoana ohana has a spacious weight-training area at home.
“My family has been working out, lifting five times a week together. My mom is my lifting partner and all the way to the youngest, we all lift together. They do pushups, lunges, box jumps (in our yard). I do all those — bench press, squats, military press — and power cleans, hang cleans,” she said. “My dad has been lifting since college. He’s definitely not a normal dad. He hardly sleeps. He’s up before us and he’s with us late at night making sure we do our homework.”
Dad is the unofficial DJ in the weight room. Fonoimoana sometimes talks her way into playing her music selections. It is always temporary.
“The local jams, my dad and I both like. He likes the local remixes of country music. Both my parents like a lot of Tupac. It’s all right,” she said. “We always have arguments about the music. My dad likes a slower pace. I like something a little faster and we bump heads about it. He just has a weird taste in music when we work out. He has the same 10 songs he listens to when he lifts. I usually get to listen to my music for the first 10 minutes and then he complains and changes. It’s never emotional.”
The daily cycle of work all leads back to the classroom and the commitment to studying. Without volleyball and basketball, Fonoimoana believes her GPA would take a hit.
“I definitely think it would be lower, probably like a 3.5 or something. If I was more into school, then I would probably have a higher GPA, but it’s because of sports that shows me how important school is. Playing on the court is a privilege,” she said.
She noted that brother Brock, who has an offer from Utah, “is starting to get a 4.0, too.”
“My parents really support us. They don’t accept B’s, so I kind of don’t either.”
The Lady Raiders volleyball team has big goals when the season starts, fingers crossed, in March.
"Our expectation for each other is always high because we have so much talent in our community. We live in a community like no other, with so much pride and support, it's hard not to keep pushing for them," Fonoimoana said. "The Red Raider village is something different. We lost a lot of girls (to graduation) last year, but that just means we have to work a little harder this year."
Along with Fonoimoana, the key returnees include setter Jannie Blake, Kalamela Liua, MaKayla Fonoimoana and Emmalei Mapu.
As for hoops, the Kahuku squad has already seen senior Leiah Naeata depart. The two-time Star-Advertiser All-State selection transferred to Las Vegas in July to further her exposure to colleges.
“When Leiah left, I was really bummed she was leaving, but it was good for her. I wasn’t super shocked because she definitely has that talent that could be highlighted more somewhere,” Fonoimoana said. “I don’t want to take basketball any further (than high school). Basketball is a family sport kind of thing. My mom’s family would kill me if I didn’t play.”
Volleyball is one of the sports that hasn’t experienced significant departures by island players, at least not until post-graduation. Former Kamehameha player Kayla Afoa is a senior outside hitter for Nevada.
Lockdown staples
Top 3 movies/shows
1. Grey’s Anatomy. “I’ve been watching it since March. I’m on season 11, episode 5. There’s always new things going on. I have a healthy interest. I have a couple of cousins who watch it, too. If something goes on, we talk about it. I like the drama a lot, but the hospital part is super cool. My favorite character is Cristina (Yang, played by Sandra Oh.”
2. Hercules. “My favorite Disney show. I like singing along to all the songs. I like the story.”
3. The Notebook. “I’ve seen it twice. It just never gets old. The story’s so good.”
Top 3 food/snack/drink
1. Garlic chicken. “I love garlic chicken. I think Zippy’s or KJ’s (Local Grindz in Kaneohe) makes the best.”
2. Chocolate milk. “It has to be whole milk. I only like whole milk. The other ones are disgusting. I love milk. I don’t drink school milk. Our family goes through a whole gallon every day. We go to Foodland every other day and get two. The best brand is Darigold.”
3. Salt and vinegar potato chips. “I’m obsessed with salt and vinegar. The past couple of months that’s all I’ve been craving every day. I’ve tried a few brands, but the Lay’s one is still my favorite.”
Top 3 music artists
1. Ariana Grande, “The Way.”
2. Morgan Wallen, “More Than My Hometown.”
“Not a lot of people like country music, not at Kahuku, but growing up and going to the beach every day, my mom had this country CD and she would play it.”
3. KC & Jojo, “Tell Me It’s Real.”
Favorite class: AVID. "With Auntie Lori Vimahi."
New life skill
“I don’t really have any new skills, but I’m looking for some.”
Shout outs
“My parents and Brock for pushing me. Our family is very competitive and I’ve always been the tallest, but he’s 6-1 now. It’s hard to accept that. And I’m not the strongest anymore. I lift because in volleyball I want to get stronger. Since we were 5, we always had to work out, and I was always stronger than him, but now he’s definitely a lot stronger. My upstairs family, Uncle Eric Loo. My boys, Braxton Cravens and Toa (Saletoa) Moeai, Taele Ah You, Anuhea Anderson. And my Uncle Max (Fairclough). And my grandma (Tooa Brock).”
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