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Nive Tuileta and her Le Jardin teammates are soaking up a rewarding season of firsts.
The Bulldogs checked off another breakthrough for the school Monday night on Maui in a 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14 win over Kamehameha-Maui in the Division I first round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.
The hope for fans and well-wishers at the Kailua campus is that these new accomplishments keep coming.
Next up is a quarterfinal match against OIA champion Mililani. Then, if things go well, the semifinals and/or final are possible. It’s a grueling road, but just a few years ago, one that wasn’t possible. This year, the Bulldogs opted to play up with the big guns in D-I and have since shown they belong.
Tuileta, a junior setter and the youngest from a long line of volleyball players in her family, has the ball on her fingertips — so to speak — as the leader of the squad from the small private school trying to make history. Two years ago, as a freshman, she led the Bulldogs to their second straight D-II state banner.
“I would say that the favorite moment of my career here so far is my first year when we won the D-II state championship,” Tuileta said during a practice Thursday. “It was a really good starting point and I got to play with some of the best players in the state, so it was really fun.”
With Tuileta in place, Le Jardin coach Lee Lamb hasn’t had to worry about solidifying that setter spot. And he won’t have to make a change there until after the 2020 season, when Tuileta is off to college.
“We’re excited about that,” Lamb said. “We’re junior-heavy. We have five of them and that’s a lot for us.”
That bodes very well for the Bulldogs, who gave it their best shot against the perennial iron of the ILH — Kamehameha, Punahou and ‘Iolani — in regular-season losses, but eventually want to be running with that pack at the very top of the food chain.
“That’s the end goal,” Lamb said. “Everybody is so stoked about where we are headed. We took a vote of the players and it was basically unanimous that we were going up. A lot of kids set the bar in years past and bought into the vision.
“Nive (pronounced nee-VAY) handles the pressure (of being a leader) so well. She does what we ask. We asked her to hit in the state final (a loss to Sacred Hearts) last year because we were thin. For her, it was never a question. She just goes in and does it. Even as a freshman in big matches, she didn’t get flustered. She never cracks or has emotional drains.”
That could be because volleyball is such a big part of her family life and she’s seen her siblings go through the tense moments.
Her mom Maile and dad Larry were active in beach and adult league volleyball.
“My mom tells the me the story about how she was diving for balls on the beach, pregnant with me,” Nive said.
Brother Larry Jr. (also known as Tui) was a star volleyball player and football quarterback at Punahou. He played college volleyball at USC, volleyball and football at the University of Hawaii and worked out with the U.S. national volleyball team last summer. Sister Kiani (married name Moea’i) played at Punahou and is a senior setter at BYU. Two other sisters played in high school and college — Kylee (Sacred Hearts, Norfolk State) and Keila (Sacred Hearts and Clarendon).
Nive has a lot of time to think about where she wants to play in college. She has an offer to walk on at Wisconsin and has an offer to Santa Clara. According to Lamb, the Badgers are already deep at the setter position.
“I’ve been to Wisconsin and it’s basically my dream school,” Tuileta said. “I’ve been in talks with Santa Clara since the summer and the coach, Erin Lindsey, is from Hawaii and is such an easy person to connect with. She also coached at Stanford and is a setter. Playing under her, I would love that.”
UCLA and Florida have also showed interest.
During this year’s NCAA final four, Tuileta will participate in the Phenom college prep combine for the second year in a row. Many D-I college coaches will be there, taking a look at invited uncommitted prospects.
Lamb has seen Tuileta flourish at Le Jardin.
“Her contact has always been really good,” he said. “Over time, her ability to manage the game has grown exponentially. Her touch and her understanding of the game has always been there. She has a soft touch and delivers the ball with consistency, accuracy and she can run the offense at different tempos.”
Tuileta’s ability could be the key ingredient in the Bulldogs’ next run of school firsts.
NIVE TUILETA
>> School: Le Jardin
>> Sport: Volleyball
>> Grade: Junior
>> Position: Setter
>> Height: 5 feet 10
>> Favorite subjects: Math, English
>> Possible career path: Entrepreneurship, nursing
>> Favorite movie: “Aquaman”
>> Favorite book: “Persepolis” by Marjne Satrapi
>> Video-game fun: “Temple Run,” “Mario Kart”
>> Parents: Larry and Maile Tuileta of Kaimuki
>> Siblings: Sisters Keila, Beenie, Kylee, Kiani and Larae; brothers Tui and Larson
>> Done that: 2017 D-II state championship with Le Jardin; 2018 national title with Aloha Region team at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships
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