SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 29, 2019) – Beach or indoor volleyball? In most players’ careers, there comes a time when they must focus on one or the other if they hope to reach their goals.
Kyleene Filimaua (left in photo) is hoping that she is an exception to the rule.
Filimaua of Bothell, Wash., has verbally committed to play both indoor and beach volleyball at Florida State University after she graduates from high school in 2023.
“I am so excited,” Filimaua said Monday at the USA Volleyball Beach High Performance Championships. “That was my dream. I always wanted to play beach and indoor.”
A week ago, at the USAV Indoor High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Filimaua played setter for the Girls Select A1 Stars team that finished third in the Girls National Youth Division. The tournament caused Filimaua to miss several big beach events in California.
“I was OK with that because indoor was a blast,” she said.
This week, Filimaua and partner Jenna Colligan (right in photo) of Manhattan Beach, Calif., are competing in the Girls Under-17 Division of the Beach HP Championships. The pair went 3-0 in pool play on Monday.
Filimaua credited Paula Schwan, her coach with the Kent Juniors Volleyball Club out of the Puget Sound Region, with helping her make the decision to commit.
“We would talk about everything,” Filimaua said. “We would talk about what it’s like as an athlete there; how my day would turn out… what the university is like.”
It took Filimaua another month of working with her parents and Schwan to decide on Florida State. Though she has plenty of time to decide, Filimaua is leaning toward majoring in either marine biology or sports medicine.
“I love the ocean, but I also love learning about everything I guess,” she said.
And as for choosing between indoor and beach volleyball?
“I’m being hopeful that I won’t have to,” she said. “I want to do both. I want to be like Karch Kiraly and get an Olympic gold medal in both indoor and beach. That would be really cool.”