Milaniakai Padilla won the AAU National Volleyball Championship for two-player girls beach volleyball in her age category, along with Lia Ray of Florida. Photo courtesy Padilla family.

At 15 years old, Milaniakai Padilla of Maui has already won two national beach volleyball titles in two-player women’s competition for her age group — a gold in the AAU National Championships and an AVP National Championship in 2025.

“She understands what it takes, and her goal is to be in the Olympics,” said her mother, Melissa Padilla.

Milaniakai Padilla is a student at Seabury Hall who carries a 4.0 grade-point average as she continues to train for volleyball.

On Aug. 15-17, she will be playing with Seabury Hall at a preseason Pride of the Windward Side Volleyball Tournament at Les Jardin Academy in Kailua, Oahu, a competition that attracts top high school girls varsity teams in the United States.

At 5 feet, 9 inches tall, she plays outside hitter in indoor volleyball competition and also competes in track and field for Seabury. She was also on the Maui Interscholastic League All-Star Division II team.

Melissa said Milaniakai enjoys studying engineering and is also a four-year student in Hawaiian language.

Padilla showed versatility in her game partnering with different players in national championships, winning the AAU title with Florida-based Lia Ray and then the championship in the AVP with Virginia Beach standout Saddie Stafford.

In a third competition for AAU National Queen of the Court tournament, she earned a silver medal with Sage Illion of Wichita, Kansas.

Milaniakai Padilla has won two national championships in beach volleyball for girls age 15 group in 2025 and has been selected among a special group of athletes to undergo national training. Photo courtesy Padilla family

Padilla, who started playing beach volleyball during COVID, credits her coaches, including Scotty Zucco of the Aloha Volleyball Association and Danny Alvares, the University of Hawaii head volleyball coach, for training her.

She said she learned the basics from Zucco, including daily training, and Alvarez has taught her beach strategy and a higher skill level of playing.

She has been flying on weekends to training at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki, with Alvarez’s help and training with an elite group of athletes.

She’s been training also with Rebecca Jakeway of OM Maui Health & Fitness in Kula.

Padilla also hopes to continue her training with AVP professionals Bill and Kelly Kolinske.

She was selected to participate in the volleyball training program for the National Team Development Program for the United States a year ago and hopes to return this year.

Her mother Melissa Padilla said Milaniakai is good at what she does and has been willing to forego some of her social activities to further her training in volleyball.

Milaniakai admires and respects Kristen Nuss, the all-time winningest college beach volleyball player in NCAA history, her mother said.

Milaniakai also has been following the Crabb brothers, Trevor and Taylor, professional beach volleyball players out of Honolulu.

Milaniakai comes from an athletic family. Her mother played college soccer for Virginia Wesleyan. Her grandfather played basketball at King’s College at Briarcliff Manor in New York.

She said her volleyball activities have been made possible because of her family.

“I am grateful to my family for their unlimited support and sacrifices,” she said.

Milaniakai Padilla. Courtesy photo