Volleyball player takes the next step in her athletic career overseas
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Chloe Kaahanui is just 23 years old, but she has been playing volleyball for most of her life.
Whether she was joining her older sisters for drills or participating in community leagues, Kaahanui has been on the court since she was just 5 years old. The 2016 graduate of St. Theresa School in Honolulu honed her skills and became a standout athlete at Punahou School and at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, earning accolades as a setter.
Kaahanui is now taking her talent overseas, embarking on a professional volleyball career in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. She departed earlier this month to join the Kosovo Pristina 75 squad, playing at the highest level of competition.
She told the Hawaii Catholic Herald she is “thrilled” and “excited” to begin her professional career, a milestone she called “both an incredible challenge and a responsibility I embrace fully.”
“I’ve always been passionate about the game of volleyball,” she said. “I thought to myself that since I love and give myself to this sport so much that I should take it as far as I can go — professionally.
“Volleyball has been a key to opening many opportunities in my life,” she continued. “It has brought me places that I never thought I’d travel to. It has brought me so many amazing people and friendships that will last a lifetime.”
One of the people important to her growth was Kathi Kobayashi, coach of the junior varsity team at Punahou and Kaahanui’s coach when she joined the squad as a freshman in 2016.
They’ve remained close throughout Kaahanui’s career, and Kaahanui even returned to Punahou this year as an assistant coach to Kobayashi. (The JV Gold team captured the Interscholastic League of Honolulu’s Division I championship this season.)
“I am beyond proud of Chloe’s continued success both on and off the court,” Kobayashi said. “Her journey is a true reflection of her dedication, resilience and love for the game.”
Kaahanui is not just a standout athlete — she also did well in the classroom, earning both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree at Quinnipiac while also playing Division I volleyball for the Bobcats in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
She said she hopes to continue to play professionally in Europe, and that when her career wraps up she aims to pursue a career in the travel/airline industry. She added that she “will always hope to continue playing and training and helping Hawaii’s youth.”
Kobayashi also noted Kaahanui’s coaching skill and her “deep passion for giving back and inspiring the next generation … She has a rare gift for teaching, connecting with others and leading with both heart and purpose.”
Kaahanui’s mother, Gisele Kaahanui, said the whole family is “so happy” for her. While she admitted being nervous as a parent seeing her child off to a different country, she said that “this is the challenge — to experience life and various cultures, meet new people and proudly represent Hawaii.”
Gisele Kaahanui said Chloe and her four siblings all grew up playing sports, and two are also playing volleyball at the collegiate level. (Chloe and her younger sister Paisley, a junior setter at Niagara University in Lewiston, New York, returned to St. Theresa this past January to lead a volleyball clinic for the student-athletes there.) All five children attended St. Theresa from kindergarten through eighth grade.
“These childhood years gave them a solid foundation with Catholic values and core beliefs,” Gisele Kaahanui said, “(as well as) a quality education with a high level of expectation and standards. This has made all the difference!”
Chloe Kaahanui expressed her gratitude for her family, friends, coaches, teammates and others who supported her through her life and volleyball career.
She is especially grateful for her family, which has provided “unwavering support, love and guidance — always reminding me to stay humble and grounded in my Hawaiian values, no matter the stage I play on.”
At top: Chloe Kaahanui (12) was a star setter for the Quinnipiac (Hamden, Connecticut) Bobcats during her collegiate career, which wrapped up this year. She is now playing professionally in Kosovo. (Courtesy Chloe Kaahanui)