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Athlete of the Week: Del Norte’s Kay following trail blazed by brother

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Malia Kay has followed nearly every step her older brother Jonah has taken since they were kids.

He played soccer at a young age, so she played soccer. When he gave volleyball a try in high school, Malia gave it a whirl.

Turns out the latter move was best for both of them.

Jonah, a 2014 graduate of Rancho Bernardo High, developed into one of the top prospects in the country while playing middle blocker for the Broncos. He ended up earning a volleyball scholarship to UCLA, where he is currently a freshman.

And now it’s Malia’s turn to follow down Jonah’s trail of success.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter for Del Norte doesn’t have any official scholarship offers yet, but she is being recruited by prestigious schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Brown and Boston College.

“I have followed in (Jonah’s) footsteps,” said Malia, who posted 16 kills in a 3-1 loss to Canyon Crest Academy on Sept. 17 and 18 kills in a 3-2 in over Carlsbad last week. “We both were playing soccer and then we both moved to volleyball at the same time. We would play pepper together and I would always watch him play and he would give me tips. Watching him has helped me a lot.”

Malia, who carries a 4.00 GPA and a schedule full of honors classes, has a standing reach of 7 feet, 7 inches. Her blocking jump is 9 feet and her approach jump is 9 feet, 6 inches.

“She has a great volleyball makeup,” Del Norte coach Nathan Rendon said. “She is a little on the shorter side, but she is very athletic, very quick and very powerful.”

And she has just one year of experience playing outside hitter. Malia, who dropped soccer for good to concentrate on volleyball when she was 12, entered the Del Norte program as a middle blocker. She had spent two years playing that position for the San Diego Volleyball Club.

“It was weird at first when they switched me,” she said. “But as soon as I started playing there I knew I liked it better than playing middle. You get to play around the court more, serve and pass more. After a few weeks, I stuck with it and haven’t played middle since.”

Said Rendon: “She was one of the strongest hitters in our program last year. But we had the middle position solidified and we wanted her to grow at the outside position. We felt it was better for her high school career and potential college career.”

One of the reasons Malia has been able to pick up the position so quickly is because of her training with Poway native Cassidy Lichtman, a member of the USA National Team. Cassidy’s mother, Julie Lichtman, is a coach for San Diego Volleyball Club and helped make the connection.

“I wanted to work with Cassidy because I know how good she is,” Malia said. “She helped me work a lot on my line shot and my passing. I am more comfortable and confident in both now.”

Malia tried out for the USA Volleyball High Performance A1 Select National Team in Reno, Nevada over the summer. There are tryouts all over the nation and then the top 50 players are selected. Malia was named an alternate.

“There were a lot of good players out there,” she said. “But I think that if I keep on working hard I can hold my own and play with them.”

Malia has helped the Nighthawks get off to a 6-3 start, with their only losses coming against San Diego Section powerhouses Cathedral Catholic, Canyon Crest Academy and Westview.

“I think we have a super strong team this year,” Malia said. “Our setters, Grace Rickard and Jordyn Schuette, are really consistent and the team overall just gets along really well.”

The Nighthawks travel to La Costa Canyon for a non-league match today (Thursday) before beginning their Avocado East League title defense at Escondido on Oct. 6. Malia is thrilled to be part of the journey to the postseason with the varsity team.

“I was pulled up last year for the playoffs and it was good, but it is so much more exciting this year to be able to be part of it all,” she said. “It is going to be really fun.”

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