After graduating from Hilo High School in 1981, Reed Sunahara never envisioned himself coming back to the Big Island. With dreams of a volleyball coaching career and opportunities abound on the Mainland, there was no reason for Sunahara to do so.
But on Monday, Sunahara was named the head coach of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo women's volleyball team, bringing his journey full circle back home 44 years later.
"It's exciting, it's scary, it's all the above," Sunahara said. "There's a lot of things going on right now in my head, but I'm excited. The bottom line is, I'm here, and I'm appreciative of (UHH athletics director) Pat Guillen trusting that I can lead this program. I'm ready to start."
Once he left Hilo High, Sunahara went on to star at UCLA, where he was an All-American and won three consecutive national titles with the Bruins. He stayed with the men's team as a graduate assistant and assistant coach.
The 1995 season was Sunahara's first season as a college women's head coach, taking over at Toledo. For the next three decades, he stayed in the Division I women's game, where he was also the head coach at Cincinnati, Buffalo and West Virginia. He was most recently an assistant coach with the Vegas Thrill of the Pro Volleyball Federation.
At UH-Hilo, Sunahara takes over for Chris Leonard, who was not retained following a 16-14 season.
The 2025 season, which begins in the fall, will be Sunahara's first coaching at the NCAA Division II level.
"After high school, I never thought I would come back. But as I went through my career, or have gone through my career, and the older I got, I was like, 'Hey, it would be really cool to be back home and coach somewhere in Hawai‘i,'" Sunahara said. "When this opened up, I talked to Pat and I was like, 'This is the perfect fit for me.'
"It's home. It's where I grew up. Yeah, I left Hilo, but Hilo never left me. I'm glad to be back."
Hawai‘i-Hilo had a rich history as an NAIA program, winning four straight national titles from 1981 to 1984. Since transitions to the NCAA Division II level, the Vulcans have made six NCAA Tournament appearances, but none since 2019.
"There's a lot of pride. I'm the head coach here now and we want to do the best we can," Sunahara said. "We want to recruit the best. We want great fan support. And I know Hilo fans are really good, and we want to create that interaction with the fans, the players, the coaches, and all that stuff. I have a lot of family and friends that are going to come to the games, and it's an exciting time for Vulcan volleyball. I'm super excited. I'm super stoked, and I can't wait to start."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
