Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jordan Murph Rainbow Wahine volleyball player Aneli Cubi-Otineru comes from a family centered around volleyball.

Some athletes have sport in their blood. With her volleyball gene tracing back three generations, Rainbow Wahine outside hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru has it down to the last blood cell.

"I grew up in the gym," Cubi-Otineru said. "I have four sisters who all play. I remember begging to get in the games at family gatherings when I was little."

Cubi-Otineru, from Hale‘iwa, O‘ahu, has a family tree that includes her father, Joseph, a club coach for Quick Sets, and older sister Babes Kalulu, a former Rainbow Wahine setter. After graduating from Punahou School in 2005 with 2003 state player of the year honors and state and league championships in 2003 and 2004, Cubi-Otineru joined Kalulu, who is the assistant coach of the College of Southern Idaho volleyball team, to play for the Golden Eagles.

"(Cubi-Otineru) knows the game so well," Kalulu said. "She wants to win and will do anything to get it."

In 2005, Cubi-Otineru led the Golden Eagles to an NJCAA national championship and earned NJCAA and AVCA All-America honors. She redshirted the 2006 season in which the Golden Eagles were ineligible for postseason play due to seven violations of NJCAA eligibility rules.

"It was hard, but it was just something that happened," Cubi-Otineru said. "I didn't dwell on it and other doors were opened to me."

One of those opportunities included playing for the Rainbow Wahine, a team that had been scouting Cubi-Otineru since 2003.

"We wanted her out of high school," said UH head coach Dave Shoji. "She's one of those kids who can play the entire game, who knows the game. She has a very high volleyball IQ."

When Cubi-Otineru signed on to the 2007 Rainbow Wahine squad, she not only fulfilled a childhood dream of playing at home, but she was also given another opportunity to honor her mother and grandfather. Cubi is her mother's maiden name, and the 5-foot-11 outside hitter adopted it so that her mother and grandfather would be honored during the lineup announcements.

"They come to all my games and I want them to know how much that means to me," Cubi-Otineru said. "When my grandfather heard his name announced, he was very excited."

Though she initially came off the bench, Cubi-Otineru quickly earned a starting position after subbing in for Amber Kaufman in a match against Michigan in which she threw down 16 kills. With the regular season more than halfway through, the sophomore has now grown comfortable with a starting position and even more comfortable with her teammates.

"She's a sister I can turn to on and off the court," said freshman setter Dani Mafua. "We're really close as friends and teammates. She has my back and she knows I have her back. That's comfortable to know."

Cubi-Otineru's ambitions include playing for the U.S. national team, which she tried out for as a libero during the summer. However, with two and a half seasons left as a Rainbow Wahine, Cubi-Otineru isn't looking too far ahead.

"It's like I've made the journey and have reached my destination," she said. "But still there's more work to do."

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