Chanelle Molina is well known for her basketball skills, but volleyball always has been much more than just a second sport for her.
Likewise, the 5-foot-7 Konawaena senior was more than just an athletic outside hitter or middle blocker, soaring high and hitting over roofs.
Blessed with soft hands and years of work with coach Ainsley Keawekane’s club team, Molina was the top ball-handler in the back row, either dishing balls on serve-receive or defending attacks for digs.
Molina was named the BIIF Player of the Year for the talent-packed Red division, in a vote by the league’s coaches.
The Red division included all the Division I teams and everyone that advanced to the HHSAA state tournaments: Waiakea, Kamehameha, and Kona, Hawaii Prep and Pahoa from Division II.
“It feels amazing. Like how I say, hard work pays off,” Molina said. “It feels great to be honored with that title again.”
She’s joined on the first team by her sister and setter Celena Molina and teammate McKenna Ventura.
Kamehameha’s Kamalu Makekau-Whittaker, Hilo’s Kawai Ua, Kealakehe’s Nika Paogofie-Buyten, Pahoa’s Jordyn Tagalicod and Waiakea’s Kadara Marshall round out the first team.
Molina touched all the bases in her achievement lists: twice the BIIF player of the year, first team as a sophomore, and second team as a freshman.
The Wildcats won HHSAA Division II state titles last season and in 2013 and the last two BIIF crowns. They qualified for states in Molina’s four years.
For Molina, the best thing about volleyball wasn’t the chase for championships, but the community gathering of her inner circle.
She always had her sisters, junior Celena and sophomore Cherilyn, as teammates for both sports. But she also grew up with McKenna and McKayla Ventura and their parents, Hamana and Lovey.
“Not a lot of people know this but the Venturas are the reason we played volleyball,” Molina said. “McKenna’s dad was our coach when we played soccer when were 8 years old. He’s the one who introduced us to volleyball. That’s how we got started.
“One of my favorite memories is that I used to sleep over at their house a lot. We used to play video games, make S’mores, eat a whole bunch of junk food. I really miss those times.”
Hamana and Lovey Ventura were also Kona assistant coaches. The Ventura sisters don’t play basketball, neither do soccer standouts Taiana Tolleson and Alissa Nahale-Blanco, two other key parts for the volleyball team.
Tolleson, at opposite, and libero Haena Keawekane received honorable mention. Like the Ventura sisters, Keawekane’s main focus is volleyball.
That comfortable community gathering had to end someday.
“That’s what I enjoyed, playing with nice, loving people,” Molina said. “I grew up with them. We played club volleyball together and some girls played soccer.
“It’s really sad now that it’s all gone. We’re all close, and I’ve known them for a long time. We got together for that one sport, which was amazing.”
Of course, there was no happy ending. In the state quarterfinals, Le Jardin, a small private school on Oahu, upset the Wildcats, who later finished fifth.
Kona had to wave goodbye to eight seniors: Molina, Ventura, Tolleson, Nahale-Blanco, Rashai Kailiwai, Ihi Victor, Tahia Gomes and Jenny Fong.
In that Le Jardin loss, Molina had a whopper of a match: 25 kills, a .246 hitting clip, and 25 digs. But it wasn’t enough.
Sometimes, an opponent plays better.
Through the rubble of disappointment, Molina remembered the good times, rebounded and looked forward to her next journey.
“A lot of people asked me what happened in that game. There’s no answer to that. Things happen,” she said. “You win some, you lose some.
“There’s a point in life where you can’t have everything you want. You have to use it as motivation, to pick yourself up and keep going through life.
“It’s the same thing as my freshman year in basketball (overtime loss to Kamehameha-Kapalama for state title). Look at us now. We won the state championship last season. To know we’re going back is just motivation.”
Molina will always be remembered more for basketball. She signed with Washington State, and will stick to only one sport.
She’s also the two-time BIIF Division I Player of the Year, and a first-team selection as a freshman, though she led the league in scoring.
Molina is part of coach Bobbie Awa’s growing legacy: seven consecutive BIIF Division I championships and a league-record 80-game winning streak.
Still, volleyball was more than a second sport for Molina, who listed one of her all-time favorites memories being Senior night.
“We beat Kamehameha and you could feel the energy of the whole community,” Molina said. “Everyone came to that game. The stands were packed. It was super fun.
“Afterward, we were dancing with the people in the community who came to watch. I’m really going to miss the volleyball community.”
