Hawaii to have heavy presence in Olympic volleyball

Hawaii has once again proven to be one of the country’s volleyball hot spots, with multiple players from the islands representing the United States in the Olympic Games.

Four players with Hawaii ties made the men’s national team roster. Erik Shoji and Micah Christenson are repeat selections and are joined by a pair of first-timers in Taylor Averill and Micah Ma’a.

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Additionally, former Olympian Kevin Wong will again serve as a color commentator during NBC’s coverage in Paris, providing a voice for the game he loves.

“I’m so stoked. I’m so fired up,” Wong told KHON2 sports director Rob DeMello. “It’s the most iconic location ever. It’s one of my favorite countries in the world, and it’s the highest level of the game. So, super excited. I feel like I should be paying NBC to do this job. To be honest, it’s just me as a fan and I get to see like who plays their best under the brightest lights.

“It’s crazy. I’m a math guy. And if you put some of those probabilities and statistics up there on a board, it never happens, right? It never happens. You don’t have both setters and the libero all from the same state, all from the same time. It’s just like so crazy. And it tells you how much volleyball wisdom there is in Hawaii and how it’s been passed on through the generations.”

Team USA will take on Argentina on Saturday for its first match at 9 a.m. HST.