HONOLULU — Spike and Serve continues to grow from its humble beginnings as a Hawaii-based volleyball club.
What was once a free program for fourth and fifth graders at Ala Wai Elementary’s field has continued to expand — most recently into a second warehouse at its Kapalama Kai headquarters. Club founder Kevin Wong showed off the $200,000 worth of upgrades in the adjacent space this week that raised Spike and Serve’s space to 14,000 square feet from 10,000.
The club added a third volleyball court, a weight room, a study area and a Hawaii Move Lab for athletic performance recovery for the club’s 14- to 18-year-old teams.
“It’s a big undertaking for a small group,” said Wong, a former Olympian and standout at Punahou and UCLA, who is an analyst on Spectrum OC16 high school volleyball broadcasts. “We’re finally getting to the finish line and we’re just excited to have that platform to help more people.”
Spike and Serve, which according to Wong has 144 club alumni actively part of collegiate women’s and men’s volleyball, is just off of Dillingham Boulevard, at 1366 Colburn St. The club moved there four years ago and began the expansion work one year ago — work that has coincided with heavy construction for the Skyline rail system along Dillingham.
Sometimes, the renovation called for the gym to be shut down. Parents of club members have been understanding and helpful, Wong said, with as many as 300 people volunteering to help on special days.
“It was empty for a while and I’ve always kind of been eyeing it,” Wong said of the adjacent space. “It’s scary to be a small nonprofit, but at the same time we’ve been growing and there’s so much demand in the state. I feel like (Hawaii) is … the center of the volleyball world in a lot of ways.”
The main priority was the additional court, for which Wong thanked partner Kamehameha Schools.
The $200,000 came from a “war chest” Spike and Serve has saved, plus some funds from Wong and his wife Sherry, Wong said.
Kamehameha Schools owns 104 acres of commercial space adjacent to Kalihi, an area known as Kapalama Kai.
"Collaboration with our Kapalama Kai tenants and the community is essential to create opportunities that strengthen community connections, promote growth, and nurture a stronger sense of community," said Jeffrey Mau, director of asset management at Kamehameha Schools, in a statement to Spectrum News. "We are fortunate to have tenant partners in Kapalama Kai like Spike and Serve, who champion both academic and athletic aspirations while prioritizing the health of our keiki. Mahalo to Kevin and Sherry from Spike and Serve, and all of their coaches for supporting local student-athletes!"
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.