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Aiu, Adolpho are kings of the courts

The Maui News 2023 MIL Boys Volleyball All-Stars

By Robert Collias 5 min read

Basketball is the top sport on the list for Po'o Aiu and Jericho Adolpho, but both have found success on the volleyball court.

Neither have been playing volleyball very long, but they both led their teams to Maui Interscholastic League titles this season.

In just his second season playing the sport, Aiu guided Kamehameha Schools Maui to its fifth straight MIL Division I title as the Warriors setter during his senior year a few months after being named the MIL D-I Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the KSM championship team in that sport.

Adolpho, a 6-foot-4 junior outside hitter, played five sports for the Farmers during the 2022-23 school year, including splitting time between track and field and volleyball during the spring -- he was still the unquestioned leader of the best team in the MIL D-II volleyball ranks.

The pair of standouts are the choices of their respective division coaches as The Maui News MIL Players of the Year, Aiu emerging from a crowded field while Adolpho was a unanimous choice.

"You know, it's unbelievable, I couldn't have done it without my team -- this truly was a team effort," Aiu said Monday. "And I'm just so thankful that they put me in the positions that they put me in to succeed. They were there for me every step of the way, so I'd like to give this award to them as well. Yeah, it feels great."

Aiu is joined on the MIL D-I first team by Warriors teammates Dylan Schnitzer and Jai Viela; Lahainaluna's Kuha'o Murray and Noa Gordon; King Kekaulike's Tai Wittenberg; and Baldwin's Avery Pauole.

After leading Lahainaluna to the state tournament after an 0-3 league start, the MIL D-I Coach of the Year is Marc Watasaki.

Aiu will graduate on Friday with an impressive resume for the Warriors. He was a second-team MIL All-Star in football in 2022 -- and he was an integral part of the school's first football team to appear in the state championship game in 2021 -- while also standing out on the basketball and volleyball squads.

"I remember going into spring break my freshman year and they were like, 'You've got an extra two weeks of spring break,' and I was like, 'Whoa, that's cool,' " Aiu said, recalling the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, "and now all of a sudden I'm a senior graduating. You know, it's bittersweet, but I'm happy with the legacy I left and I think that school's going to be doing well for a long time."

Both players of the year learned a lot about the game from other standout players close to them.

Kale Spencer, who recently finished a stellar freshman volleyball season at Long Island University, begged his best friend to join the KSM volleyball team last year when there were only three returnees.

"I was supposed to run track last year, but my boy needed me and I could not say no," Aiu said. "Now, I'm very glad I did."

Adolpho is the younger brother of Molokai legend and University of Hawaii two-sport standout Kalei (Adolpho) Parker, now his basketball coach at Molokai High.

"It's super cool, I'm glad to see that the work I put in kind of pays off with some recognition," Jericho Adolpho said Sunday.

Like his sister, Adolpho does several events in track and field as well as other sports -- he played eight-player football in the fall along with running cross country, and in the winter he was a first team MIL All-Star in basketball.

"Well, my volleyball practice starts around 2:30 and track practice starts right after school," Adolpho said. "So, I would go out, just get ready, put on shoes for track and I would just go and try to get my runs done as fast as possible, get some throws in and then I'd ask my coaches if I may leave and when they gave me the OK, I would put on my volleyball shoes and go practice with the volleyball boys."

Adolpho is joined on the MIL D-II first team by fellow Farmers Drayden Garces, Logan Horner, Wesley Dela Cruz and Kinohi Kaupu; and Seabury Hall's Ethan Palmer and Jack Bendon.

"Oh man, it was super fun," Adolpho said of the spring sport double. "Seeing something different, being around different athletes. I like them both, but I think if I had to choose I'd probably choose volleyball. It's a little more enjoyable for me."

Molokai’s Hale Domingo is the MIL D-II Coach of the Year.

Adolpho leaned on his AVCA All-American volleyball sister heavily for advice on how to handle the busy schedule. Like Kalei, Jericho did not start playing volleyball until high school.

"Often, for sure," Adolpho said of the sibling talks. "We only had two home games this season, but my sister attended both weekends that we played. When I talk to her she'd just tell me things I have to improve on and ways to improve my game."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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