HONOLULU — Makena Tong glanced skyward as she stood behind the service line. As luck would have it, a group of people clad in blue and yellow were displayed with grins and shakas on the Stan Sheriff Center video screen overhead at that moment.
It was a group of about 20 of Tong’s friends and family on hand Saturday night to support the UC Riverside setter from behind the Highlanders bench for Saturday night’s Big West women’s volleyball match against Hawaii.
Tong found herself smiling at the image late. Then it changed – she was suddenly looking at herself in real time, at the arena she grew up attending Rainbow Wahine games across the street from her alma mater University Lab School.
She couldn’t help but crack up as she bounced the ball for her serve.
“They caught me,” she recalled afterward of her thoughts in that moment late in Set 2.
It was an all-around memorable night for the sophomore from Honolulu – even in a 25-19, 25-18, 25-11 sweep loss to the Wahine. She was cheered by the crowd of 4,560 (5,903 tickets issued) upon her introduction as a setter in the starting lineup.
“It was crazy. I mean, I tell my teammates every single year, this is a big thing for me,” Tong told Spectrum News. “Because as a little girl, I would be sitting in the stands watching the Wahine. So, you know, this is a big thing for me to play on the court, and represent my home from a different school. And you know, it's just the atmosphere here. It's so it's so nice. It's just it's so welcoming. And I love it.”
Tong split time at setter with usual starter Beatriz Silva in an experimental 6-2 offense, and she responded by tallying a team-high 14 assists with eight digs and an ace for UCR.
While Tong had opportunities to set a few matches during nonconference play, it was the first time this season that the Highlanders committed to the 6-2 for an entire match.
UCR (4-18, 3-7 Big West) got off to a 3-1 start in conference play under first-year coach Nicky Cannon, but has dropped six straight since, and she was looking to energize her right-side hitters with the shift from a 5-1.
Though the change didn’t result in a victory, cheers emerged from the visitors’ locker room in the Sheriff as the Highlanders went over five goals they’d set for the match pregame. Tong said they attained four of them, including, for example, getting the Wahine out of system on five of their serve-receives.
“I feel like we kept Hawaii on their toes a little bit, because I don't think they were expecting us to fight back,” Tong said.
Riverside kept the first two sets competitive before falling off in the third. UH middle Amber Igiede was at her most dominant with 18 kills on 27 swings on a .556 hitting night.
Cannon said Tong benefited from learning from BYU transfer Taylor Hifo last season and it carried into the spring and summer. The coach had a feeling the local girl would be full of emotions for her latest team trip home from the Inland Empire.
Cannon, a former assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, said she told Tong, ‘It's gonna go one of two ways, Kena. The nerves are gonna kick in (and) it's gonna be a little rattle, or you're gonna come in here and you ball out.’ And I think she definitely balled out she did a great job sticking with the game plan.”
When Tong played at the SSC last year, she did so as a defensive specialist. But she is a natural setter; she had the keys to University Lab’s offense her senior year as the Junior Bows, led by Most Outstanding Player Milan Ah Yat, won the 2021 HHSAA Division II championship at the Blaisdell Arena.
The Wahine tested her early with some serves directed her way.
“I loved it,” Cannon said. “I mean, even the defense like in the beginning, they got her on a couple and she punched back. She's like, ‘nope, not again,’ and she was getting big digs. I love Makena’s energy on the court. She is that servant leader that really pours into her teammates and makes them better and gives them the confidence, like ‘even if she blocks you, I'm going to give it to you again, let's go.’ You know, I love that about her.”
UH (15-6, 8-2) remained in a second-place tie with Long Beach State with eight games to play before the Big West tournament. Saturday was the only meeting between UH and UCR in the BWC’s new 18-game regular-season format. UH heads to Cal State Northridge and Cal State Bakersfield for matches Friday and Saturday and UCR will open a six-game homestand against LBSU on Thursday.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.