Kale Spencer’s journey to Long Island University, where among many other things he plays for the men’s volleyball team, started on a trip to Honolulu just about a year ago.

Then a Kamehameha Schools Maui senior, Spencer was on an unofficial recruiting visit last February to explore his possibilities of playing for top-ranked University of Hawaii.

“That’s kind of a funny story, it was right after basketball season and I was on an unofficial visit to UH,” Spencer said via phone recently. “I went over and we were at our aunty and uncle’s place. And on the TV, it was a rerun of UH versus LIU and I was, like, ‘Oh, wow. There’s a school that’s playing UH.’

“And I thought to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to send the coach an email. It’s a first-year program, let’s see where this goes.’ I sent coach Coach (Shawn) Patchell an email and it just started from there. I just kept in touch. It’s crazy.”

Spencer turns 19 years old on Saturday. He is helping to start the LIU program get off the ground, now in its second season of existence — “That’s one of the reasons why I chose to come to LIU,” Spencer said — and the Sharks will play No. 1-ranked UH in matches at the Stan Sheriff Center on Wednesday and Friday this week.

“We have the opportunity to build something bigger than just LIU men’s volleyball, we have the opportunity to start a new culture here in New York and kind of build this team to compete with the highest level of college volleyball,” Spencer said. “I think that’s super cool, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. … What I can do and the rest of us can do is continue to work and continue to build a positive culture.

“That’s what we’re doing so far and I hope to continue it.”

Of course, there is so much more to this young man who was nearly one of a kind when he left the Maui Interscholastic League.

He was The Maui News MIL Boys Athlete of the Year in 2021-22, the first for Kamehameha Maui.

He was a standout, MIL All-Star football player for KSM’s first team to reach the state title game in 2021; was a first-team MIL All-Star in basketball; was the MIL Player of the Year in boys volleyball; and was one of 12 seniors in the state named to the 2022 Hawaii Hall of Honor.

Outside of athletics, he was the KSM student body president and was highly active in Native Hawaiian issues, including filming public service announcements encouraging Native Hawaiians to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Now, he is spreading Aloha and his culture in New York City. Not surprisingly, he is fitting in immediately.

“I’m loving it, I’m majoring in sports management in the Roc Nation school, and yeah, it’s super cool,” Spencer said. “I’m liking the classes that are being provided and, yeah, I’m liking it right now.

“Roc Nation, it’s Jay-Z’s brand, the rap artist, so it’s his, like, brand — he bought out our school of music, sports management and I believe medicine administration.”

Spencer has played in 19 of the Sharks’ 36 sets this season and has started the last two matches after appearing in just 11 of the team’s first 28 sets.

He has accumulated 39 kills–33 in the last two matches while starting in wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Francis–and 48 points while hitting a robust .325.

On Tuesday, Spencer was named National Co-Opposite of the Week by Off The Block after collecting 17 kills against Fairleigh Dickinson and 16 more against Saint Francis in his first two starts as the Sharks improved to 6-4.

His thoughts on playing time included a little bit of lingo from the “Seinfeld” television series, showing he is already fitting in quite well in New York City.

“It’s been great, like you said, I know I’m a freshman, I know I may not start and yada, yada, yada, but I’ve taken it with a grain of salt knowing that I know these guys that are in the gym with me and are on the court for us are going to battle for us,” Spencer said before earning his first two starts last weekend. “And, for me, it’s taking pride in them and helping them from the bench and helping them during timeouts. Seeing what we’re seeing from the bench, helping them when they serve.

“And bringing energy to a lot of the games because we’ve played seven away games so far out of eight. We’ve played in some hostile environments–it’s hard getting some energy when the crowd is all rooting for the other team.”

When reminded that his “yada, yada, yada” phrase was straight out of “Seinfeld,” Spencer injected, “Oh yes, I grew up on that.”

Practices are also a key place for Spencer, a 6-foot-5, 240-pounder who is listed as an opposite and outside hitter, to contribute.

“I think that’s something that we’re building here for our culture at LIU, is iron is just going to sharpen iron,” Spencer said. “If we’re using everyone in the gym then the people that are playing are just going to be that much better. And that reflects on the way our practices go.”

Kai Dugquem was thrust into the head coaching chair in November 2022 when Patchell, the original coach left the program abruptly due to family concerns.

Dugquem finished his college playing career for Ohio State in 2015 and is fully versed on the impressive resume Spencer brings to his team.

Lisa Spencer, Kale’s mother and a former college player at Eastern Washington, will be in the Stan Sheriff Center this week. His father Charles, who has made remarkable progress from a 2016 stroke, is still not quite ready for plane trips.

Charles Spencer was the longtime volleyball coach for the Kamehameha Maui girls volleyball team, and his sister Logan will enter her senior season as a player at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., this fall.

Kale has a remarkable volleyball IQ due to his days watching the sport growing up and soaking in all the knowledge from his immediate family.

“His actions speak louder than his words, I will tell you that much,” Dugquem said. “I’m close with a lot of the coaches here and they all compliment him. Even when no one is around, he’s nice to the other players. You know, the women’s basketball coach speaks highly of Kale.

“It’s something special that you want on your team. If I can have a roster of 20 people with the same mindset and attitude, our culture on this team would be phenomenal. I am grateful to have him and I think he’s going to shock a lot of people this season.”

Dugquem added that he is seeing Spencer’s ability to play all over the court. He has considered throwing him in the middle blocker spot and Spencer is also a sublime setter when called on to do that.

“As Kale has been talking about playing time and everything, us as coaches have really seen the hard work that he is putting in,” Dugquem said. “He’s earning playing time and I’m a coach that doesn’t promise anyone playing time, but if you’re earning it, you’ll get it. He’s working hard–this week in practice, Kale’s been really putting things together.

“He excels at every position. He’s an asset that any coach would be grateful for and love to have.”

Working with Dugquem–Spencer never met Patchell in person before he left–in a program that is still in its infancy is something that has helped Spencer with his acclimation to the demands of college athletics.

“It’s great, I think it’s another opportunity that not a lot of athletes get to experience and it’s very cool,” Spencer said. “He’s learning and we’re all learning and we’re all building this team and this culture and all of our skills together.

“One day when we look back on it, we’re going to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, we were like that?’ It’s going to be an especially cool thing to look back on.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.