Somebody wise once said of parent-child tendencies, "The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree." In the Ma’a family, the volleyball doesn’t land far from the net.

Kamehameha junior Misty Ma’a, the daughter of former University of Hawaii volleyball standouts Pono Ma’a and Lisa Strand, has become a leader for the top-ranked Warriors as they seek a sixth straight state title.

That’s not to say the 6-foot-1 hitter’s growth into an all-around threat on the court was given or came without hard work. Ma’a is well aware of her family history, but her status as a tri-captain was earned on the court, in the weight room and on the track.

Pono was recruited by Dave Shoji and went on to play professionally on the AVP men’s circuit. Lisa was on Shoji’s UH national championship teams of 1982 and ’83.

The Ma’as made it a point not to pressure their eldest of four children into volleyball. But inevitably, Misty was bonded by osmosis, as were her younger siblings.

"Once the ball started rolling around, they pick it up and go ‘OK, how do we do this?’ And from there it just kind of happens," Pono said with a laugh.

"It goes back pretty far," Misty said of her volleyball memory. "I was raised around the sport, you know? It’s kind of hard not to love the game when you’re constantly around it. It’s never really been put upon me, like, ‘You have to play volleyball.’ It’s something that I opted for."

The Warriors (11-0 Interscholastic League of Honolulu) are a balanced team, thanks in part to coach Chris Blake’s freedom to slot Ma’a where she’s needed, which lately has been on the right (opposite) side.

A three-year varsity player, Ma’a is a deadly weapon — averaging 3.6 kills per game while hitting .350 — not through brute force, but via versatility and finesse. She’s evolved into a capable passer and attacker from the back row. In the past, Blake would have to substitute her out instead of letting teams home in on her with serves and swings. Not so this year.

"(The Ma’as) are perfectionists. Misty too," Blake said. "She’s always trying to improve everything that she’s doing. Not satisfied with where she’s at, which I think is a great quality to have if you want to be successful in anything. Definitely trying to find that edge and do what it takes. She’s always looking for more information. What she can do, whether it’s technical or tactical."

She’s using that mentality in choosing her college, with visits to Stanford, UCLA, USC and Pepperdine, among others, already taken. Ma’a wants to go somewhere on the West Coast and will decide by the end of the calendar year.

That and a recent turn at modeling — she participated in a "Project Runway" event — have taken some of her time, but volleyball remains at the top of her priorities list.

How could it not with nonstop competitions to look forward to at home, with her parents and brother Micah, especially, out on the court in the backyard?

"There’s always a game going on. Always," Misty said. "And it gets REALLY competitive. Like, we won’t talk at dinner, because it’s really competitive. It’s really bad."

It was a big day in the Ma’a household around the end of Misty’s sophomore year when she surpassed her mother’s 6-foot height measurement on the wall.

Misty paid attention to her father’s game, too, adopting his trademark spin away from the net after putting down a kill.

"A lot of her play reminds me of Lisa," said Pono, who, in a strange circle, coached Blake for a year on the Kamehameha boys intermediate team. "But the only difference is my wife was super competitive. Really, over-the-top competitive. … Misty wants it her way, her style."

Ma’a’s friend and teammate, senior middle Talia Jardin-Fermantez, thinks she’s done just fine in bringing that level-headed leadership to the team.

"She’s really strong (emotionally)," Jardin-Fermantez said. "I know she has a lot of pressure on her for who her parents are. But you never see her bragging about it, never see her try to be in the spotlight. Very humble. Despite all that pressure, she just stays together and does what she has to do."