Moanalua wins match dedicated to its coach

At first, Alyson Rod didn’t want the attention.

The Moanalua High School teacher had been through this before. When cancer first reared its head 13 years ago, she was 11, and after a long process that left heavy scarring on her knee, Rod was the victor over bone cancer.

But this time, stomach cancer struck Rod, who would’ve been in her second year of teaching Spanish this fall. Her boyfriend, Austin Zavala, calls her an inspiration, someone who keeps on smiling and enjoying life even through a second round of chemotherapy. Zavala, an English and journalism teacher at the school, calls her his role model.

She calls him "my strength."

"I don’t know what I would do without him," she said.

Still, Zavala wanted to do more. As Moanalua’s white-division girls volleyball coach, he discussed an idea with varsity coach Alan Cabanting. On Thursday night, the idea became reality with the Spike for a Cause exhibition series between No. 3-ranked ‘Iolani and No. 4 Moanalua.

"We didn’t really want to publicize it," Zavala said.

Still, the white, JV and varsity matches drew roughly 800 fans to Moanalua’s gym on a humid night.

Rod spoke to the crowd before the varsity match.

"I didn’t expect this to be this big," she said, revealing that she is in Stage IV cancer but has an improved prognosis now that her stomach has been removed.

The big crowd stunned her.

"It’s overwhelming. I’ve had so much support. So many people have wanted to help, donate money, bringing food to my house," Rod said.

Moanalua’s varsity came back for a 12-25, 25-23, 17-15 win. Johanna Kruize had 13 kills and Lia Gaogao added seven kills, including back-to-back points to give Na Menehune the lead for good in the final set. ‘Iolani, led by Sierra Buscher’s 14 kills, had an 8-0 edge in aces, but Moanalua rallied at the net. Moanalua outblocked ‘Iolani 7-3, getting five blocks from Cassady Teixeira.

Bailey Choy had 23 assists for ‘Iolani, which is 3-2 in ILH play.

Moanalua is 6-0 in OIA play, but rarely does it get a challenge like this.

"‘Iolani’s a great team. Their defense is crazy. They were digging up any kind of balls," Kruize said.

All proceeds — gate, concession stand and T-shirt sales — were donated to the cause. Health insurance alone isn’t enough to cover the cost of treatment, especially since Rod is technically on leave, limiting her benefits.

"She’s so positive. I see her and I feel like I can never have a bad day," Zavala said. "She’s been a real inspiration to a lot of people."