Thursday, February 17, 2022
by Western Oregon Athletic Communications

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University athletic department is pleased to introduce Kaiao Nahale-a as the next head volleyball coach. 

"I'm beaming with joy and aloha! I am humbled to be a part of the greater Western Oregon University Athletic staff, but more importantly, I am honored to be the next head coach of the Western Oregon volleyball team," Nahale-a said. "The opportunity to work with incredible student-athletes, at an amazing institution, in one of the best volleyball conferences in all of NCAA Division II, is a dream come true. I'm grateful to everyone who connected with me and engaged thoughtfully during this process. I could tell from the moment I got on campus something special is happening here in Monmouth!"

"I am pleased to welcome Kaiao Nahale-a to WOU as our new head volleyball coach. He brings multiple years of coaching experience within the region and in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. As a former assistant coach at Concordia, he understands that the GNAC is one of the premier conferences in NCAA Division II. I believe he can lead our team back to a place of prominence within our conference and region," stated Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randi Lydum.

Most recently, Nahale-a was the interim head coach at Lewis & Clark. He spent nearly five years as the assistant volleyball coach at Concordia-Portland, each season reaching double-digits in wins. He also spent time in the GNAC as an assistant coach at Saint Martin's.

"When I had the opportunity to speak to the team, I shared a vision of honoring and being inspired by the WOU volleyball legacy that's come before them. Getting the program to a place our current student-athletes can come in and be proud of every day, and ultimately making this a program that they can look back on and know they strengthened the legacy of WOU volleyball because they were a part of it," Nahale-a said. "The work that will be done here will always be a reflection of the things I prioritize in my coaching; good people first, good volleyball second. I am a believer in and have seen the success that comes when we take care of the "people stuff" first.

Nahale-a is the former high school head coach at Beaverton (Oregon) High School where he was named league co-coach of the year in 2015 after leading the Beavers to the state tournament for the first time since 2004. The founder of Live Aloha Volleyball Academy, Nahale-a coached youth/high school volleyball with Guy Enriques Volleyball Team Camps. He competed in varsity volleyball and graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 2010, and received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Concordia in 2015.

"Aloha and thank you to everyone who has been a part of my volleyball journey. You know who you are and I will work every day to make you proud. Thank you especially to Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randi Lydum, Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and Student Services Jasmine Miller and the search committee for this opportunity," Nahale-a said. "I'm excited to play my part in helping our team win at the game of volleyball. However, the true honor will be helping these student-athletes, and this team, win at the game of life. I'm excited to fan this flame that's within this program and see how bright we can burn this spring and keep that momentum going into the fall of 2022!"