Hawaii’s Bunn refuses to let impaired hearing slow her roll

It is about removing the “dis” from the word “disability. ” About leaving just “ability” standing alone in the sand.

That’s the mentality that has led Cali Bunn — wearing hearing aids since age 2 — to a successful volleyball career, both indoor and beach. The 6-footer from Encinitas, Calif., learned about overcoming challenges early, confidence-building that enabled her decision to transfer from up-and-coming beach program Tulane to beach power Hawaii.

The sophomore sat out last spring season at UH when the Green Wave refused to grant her a release after she attended the New Orleans school the fall semester of 2016. Bunn saw it more as an opportunity than an obstacle, the chance to improve her game in order to break into the lineup for the Rainbow Wahine, who are coming off a third-place finish at the 2017 NCAA championships.

“I think I never gave myself enough credit, never thought I could hang with the big girls,” said Bunn as the fifth-ranked SandBows prepared to open the season Saturday with No. 3 UCLA and No. 17 Stanford in the Rainbow Wahine Classic. “I chose Tulane in part because I wanted to get away from home.

“But growing up in Southern California, growing up on the beach, it wasn’t the same in New Orleans. Seeing the atmosphere here, being in a really competitive environment, being surrounded by really amazing players has improved my game.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot.”

So has the Hawaii coaching staff, a process that has included learning a new language: American Sign Language, using universal hand gestures for basics such as “jump” and “communicate.” It’s been a challenge, both sides agree.

“The way we coach, we don’t realize how verbal it is,” SandBows coach Jeff Hall said. “We bark, we communicate from a distance, and Cali can’t hear that. We’ve had to work on where we stand, making eye contact.

“At first I was a little skeptical that I and my staff had to change. But it’s great growth for all of us, learning a different way to communicate. She can’t change her situation, but we can. Sure, there will be more struggles, but there will be more victories, too.”

The wins might not be this year for Bunn. Hawaii returns 13 players, including eight starters who helped win a school-record 29 matches, and she was not in Saturday’s projected lineup of the five competition pairs.

“She’s right on the bubble,” Hall said. “She’s a smooth beach player.”

Bunn also is an accomplished one. An AVCA high school beach honorable mention All-American, she and UH teammate Sydney Kidd won an AAU junior title.

Bunn was part of the U.S. women’s national team that took gold at the 2016 World Deaf Games in Washington, D.C., and took bronze at the Deaf Olympics last summer in Turkey.

“Those were amazing experiences,” she said. “Turkey was cool.

“But I’m really pumped that our season is starting. We’re opening with some great teams — my dad went to UCLA — and I’m excited to see it all come together.

“There were times that I’ve struggled with my confidence, questioned my ability. But my coaches have been so supportive, I sometimes forget that I’m wearing hearing aids. I’ve never seen this as a disability, it’s adversity that I have to work hard to overcome.”