Surfia Grounds isn't one to take herself too seriously.

Grounds, a sophomore outside hitter for the Moanalua girls volleyball team, is described as a "happy-go-lucky" type by her coach, Alan Cabanting, who isn't quite sure how to feel about it.

"When she makes mistakes she's laughing about it – it drives me nuts," Cabanting laughed, "but the players gravitate toward her because there's not that feeling of nervousness or anxiousness because she's feeling happy. You know it's killing her inside, but she's laughing about it so the girls, instead of blaming each other, that smile kind of relaxes the girls, so it's a good kind of balance."

Standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall, Grounds can present quite the formidable presence at the net, but her demeanor is rather unassuming.

"I tell you, she just laughs and giggles at everything, so she's really easy to get along with and she pretty much just goes with the flow," Cabanting described.

Grounds, who goes by the nickname "Fia," has gone with the flow on the court as well, where she has transitioned seamlessly from coming off the bench as a freshman a year ago to the much more prominent role of go-to hitter as a sophomore this fall.

"We definitely lost a lot with our senior group from last year and so we needed somebody to come in to be our go-to (hitter) and when we're at our best, all of our hitters need to be hitting, but in a lot of the situations we've had – especially that Kahuku five-setter match – it was Fia that was always leading the way," Cabanting said.

Moanalua graduated 10 players from their 2024 team that compiled a 15-1 record between regular- and post-season play, including five All-OIA East First Team selections. Arguably its biggest loss was outside hitter Zaria Queen, who was selected OIA East Player of the Year and is now a member of the Stanford Cardinal.

Although Grounds has stepped up to help fill the void left behind with Queen's graduation, she has done it in her own way.

"Zaria, on the one hand, the team looked up to her to be the captain, to be the go-to. Fia is a little bit different in the sense that although she's not vocal – her leadership is not one of Zaria's where it's vocal – Fia just is a go-to player so all the players respect her, but at the same time she's just happy go lucky, which is great for this team because they're looking for someone to look up to and Fia is it," Cabanting said.

Grounds, for her part, has risen to the occasion and never more so than in the aforementioned five-set win over previously-undefeated Kahuku back on Sept. 22. Grounds took a staggering 68 swings and tallied 23 kills against four errors for a .279 hitting percentage.

The key to Grounds' continued improvement has been her backrow defense. Cabanting noted that when Na Menehune were swept by the Red Raiders in their first meeting back on Sept. 9, he had no choice but to relegate Grounds to the bench due to a lack of consistency in serve-receive.

"She had a bad match and I did have to bench her for one of the sets, but with that happy-go-lucky personality, the next match she's just killing it, so when she has bad days and rough days, it's not for long," Cabanting said.

Grounds has truly developed into a six-rotation player for Na Menehune.

"It's great that she's our kill leader, but also blocking wise, if we need to, we can match her up with the outside and put her at the opposite, so we keep her in for the six rotations and we tell fia that as long as it's not an overpass and it's not an ace, that's good enough – we can deal with everything else – but lately it's coming up a two-point or three-point pass, so as the season has progressed her passing and her confidence has gotten better and we know that in crucial games we can set her, like the 68 times against Kahuku," Cabanting noted.

In addition to her nearly two dozen kills, Grounds also came up with 19 digs, three aces and one-half block. She converted 35 of 40 opportunities in serve-receive for a respectable .889 percentage.

"Yeah, I think the big thing was the passing. That first time we played Kahuku, her passing was really bad and of course, Kahuku really pressed us on the serve, but this time around no matter how much Kahuku pressed on the serve, she held the passing and we were able to set all three of our pin hitters, so that passing was definitely crucial for us to win," Cabanting said.

The Red Raiders took the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-23, but Na Menehune stormed back to even the match by winning sets 3 and 4, 25-14 and 25-21, respectively. In the fifth and final set, Grounds took her level of production to another level. She reeled off seven kills, including match point and did not commit a single attack error.

"As that fifth set went on and we set her more and more, she was hitting that ball harder and harder so that surprised me that her fitness was that good as we went through that fifth set. You could kind of see in that fifth set, she was still able to hit that sharp cross-court attack, hit that over-the-top attack and that last kill was off the block," Cabanting recalled.

Cabanting shared part of the conversation he had with Grounds after the final point was recorded.

"I asked her if that last kill was on purpose, if she meant to use the block and she was like, ‘Yeah, was I not supposed to?,' and I said ‘No, I was just trying to figure out that's what you were trying to do,' " Cabanting laughed. "She said she saw the block and was trying to tool it and I said, ‘OK, great, that's awesome,' so that's kind of where we're at. Her passing has continued to improve and so she's starting to get used to having to receive all these passes, she's starting to get used to having to be available every single time and she's starting to get used to her role as an outside hitter because in club she's an opposite and comes off the bench," Cabanting said.

With more than two full seasons ahead of her, the sky is the limit for Grounds, who received All-OIA East Honorable Mention last season.

"I think  she has the potential to be one of the really, really good hitters in the line of hitters we've had at Moanalua. With her height she's very versatile and it's uncanny how good her accuracy is. At the same time, as tall of a player she is, her passing can continue to improve but I think that will come as she matures. With her background – her mom is also a beach player – the potential is there to be very high. Her defense still needs a little bit of work but she's our go-to and she's leading us in kills so she's in there doing it for us," Cabanting affirmed.

Moanalua, which moved up a spot to No. 6 in this week's ScoringLive Power Rankings, is tied with Kahuku at 7-1 atop the OIA D1 East standings.

Grounds and Na Menehune close out the regular season against Farrington Thursday at 7 p.m.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Emily Aikau, University Lab — Had 17 set assists, 11 digs, one kill and a solo block in a four-set win over Damien 

Shay Beals, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 16 kills in a three-set win over Hilo 

Rylee Carvalho, Aiea — Had 14 set assists, 11 digs, four kills, one solo block and an ace in a four-set loss to Waipahu 

Melina Cudiamat, Sacred Hearts — Had 16 set assists, 12 digs, 11 kills and one block assist in a four-set loss to Le Jardin 

Summer Flores, Le Jardin — Had 18 kills, 16 set assists, 11 digs, three block assists, three aces and one solo block in a four-set win over Sacred Hearts 

Tatum Frias, Kalani — Had 12 set assists and 10 digs in a three-set loss to Moanalua 

Harley Gaud, Damien — Had 12 kills, 12 digs, two aces and one block assist in a four-set loss to University Lab 

Kalanianaole Hoapili, Castle — Had 17 kills, one solo block and a block assist in a five-set win over Kalani 

Trinytee Kalaola, Damien — Had 39 set assists, 15 digs, three kills, two block assists and one ace in a four-set loss to University Lab 

Kiliohu Kopa-Kaawalauole, Kapolei — Had 15 kills and two digs in a three-set win over Pearl City 

Haley Kotobalavu, Kahuku — Had 12 kills, 19 digs and two aces in a five-set loss to Moanalua 

Zsiare Lakalo, Campbell — Had 38 set assists, six digs and two kills in a five-set loss to Kapolei 

Sienna Lee, Moanalua — Had 40 digs, seven set assists and four aces in a five-set win over Kahuku 

Sofia Mallari, Maui Prep — Had 18 kills, 10 digs and three aces in a five-set loss to Molokai 

Rylie Matsuda, Castle — Had 20 digs, five set assists, four aces and two kills in a five-set win over Kalani

Cali Moniz-Kealoha, Leilehua — Had 17 kills and 10 digs in a three-set win over Kaimuki 

Mayah Nakasato, University Lab — Had 16 digs, nine kills, four aces and two set assists in a four-set win over Damien 

Milaniakai Padilla, Seabury Hall — Had 18 kills, 11 digs and three aces in a three-set win over Lanai and had 15 kills, five digs and two aces in a three-set win over Lanai 

Asa Parks, Kapolei — Had 17 kills, three digs, two block assists, two aces and one solo block in a five-set win over Campbell 

Tiani Pitt, Damien — Had 21 kills, 17 digs, three set assists, two block assists and two aces in a four-set loss to University Lab 

Ciara Pope, Kamehameha-Maui — Had 39 set assists, three kills and one ace in a four-set win over Lahainaluna 

Jadalynn Satele-Filifili, Kalaheo — Had 18 kills, eight digs and one block assist in a three-set win over Castle 

Makamae Schilling, Kahuku — Had 26 digs, eight kills, six aces and two set assists in a five-set loss to Moanalua 

Anny Scott, Kapolei — Had 43 set assists, seven digs, five kills, one block assist and one ace in a five-set win over Campbell and had 28 set assist, 14 digs, five kills and one ace in a three-set win over Pearl City 

Ayla Surina, Le Jardin — Had 15 digs, four aces and one set assist in a four-set win over Sacred Hearts 

Kailie Theler, Campbell — Had 18 kills and seven digs in a five-set loss to Kapolei 

Tilauana Tonga, Kahuku — Had 14 set assists, 16 digs and one kill in a five-set loss to Moanalua 

Aliyah Torres, Damien — Had 15 digs, three set assists and three aces in a four-set loss to University 

Cami Watanabe, Leilehua — Had 16 digs, five aces and three set assists in a three-set win over Kaimuki 

Chandy-Lee Westbrook, Nanakuli — Had 32 set assists, four digs, three kills, two aces and one block assist in a three-set win over Waialua 

FOOTBALL

Keenan Alani, Konawaena — Threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-33 passing without an interception in a win over Keaau 

Kainalu Alves, Konawaena — Ran 14 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Keaau 

Ezekiel Anahu, Konawaena — Scored on a 23-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Keaau 

Jacob Ballesteros, Kapolei — Threw for 370 yards and six touchdowns on 23-of-28 passing without an interception in a win over Farrington 

Jhayean Baptista, Waipahu — Intercepted two passes and broke up another in a win over Waianae 

Bless Cabrera-Hopkins, Mililani — Caught seven passes for 143 yards and a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass in a win over Campbell 

Zedekaiah Campbell, Kamehameha-Maui — Ran 17 times for 174 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Baldwin 

Champ Colburn, Aiea — Caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Radford 

Elijah Connell-Chavez, PAC-5 — Scored on a 90-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a loss to Iolani 

Keoki Cypriano, Kailua — Made four tackles for losses in a win over Nanakuli

Zak Davis, Kalaheo — Caught seven passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Waialua 

Haa Felipe, Castle — Caught eight passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Kalani 

Titan Figueroa, Waipahu — Caught a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown in a win over Waianae 

Jayboy Ganiron, Waipahu — Intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in a win over Waianae 

Tyler Gines-Hufana, Moanalua — Threw two touchdown passes and ran in three other touchdowns in a win over Kaiser 

Caizel Jesus-Kapesi, Aiea — Threw for 269 yards and five touchdowns on 17-of-25 passing with one interception in a win over Radford 

Kael Johnson, Konawaena — Caught fi280ve passes fro 136 yards in a win over Keaau 

Josiah Kahue-Antone, Moanalua — Scored on a 20-yard fumble return for touchdown in a win over Kaiser 

Nai Kalauokaaea, Kalaheo — Threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns on 27-of-35 passing with one interception in a win over Waialua 

Draven Kalawa, Castle — Threw for 353 yards and six touchdowns on 19-of-24 passing with one interception in a win over Kalani 

Storm Kane, Castle — Caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kalani 

Chazz-Michael Kapahu, Kapolei — Ran eight times for 112 yards and a touchdown in a win over Farrington

Kekoa Keau-Davis, Kamehameha-Maui — Threw for 146 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-11 passing without an interception and ran five times for 198 yards and a touchdown in a win over Baldwin 

Isaiah Keaunui-Demello, Kailua — Threw for 268 yards and four touchdowns on 13-of-20 passing with one interception in a win over Nanakuli 

Shaison Kupukaa, Campbell — Caught a touchdown pass and intercepted two passes in a loss to Mililani 

Marquez Mellor, Kailua — Ran 12 times for 159 yards and a touchdown in a win over Nanakuli 

Shawdan Pacheco, Waianae — Scored on a 74-yard interception return for touchdown in a loss to Waipahu 

Tristan Pacheco, Waipahu — Ran 21 times for 150 yards and a touchdown in a win over Waianae

Adrian Perkins, Iolani — Threw for 172 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-22 passing without an interception and ran for another touchdown in a win over PAC-5

Maui Remigio, Kapolei — Caught four passes for 110 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Farrington

Gabe Smith, Moanalua — Scored on a 20-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Kaiser 

Ezra Spencer, Aiea — Scored on a 77-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Radford 

Ayden Teranishi, Iolani — Ran 20 times for 163 yards and a touchdown in a win over PAC-5

Kaiea Thomas, Konawaena — Caught six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in a win over Keaau 

Afi Togafau, Radford — Threw for 184 yards and a touchdown on 19-of-32 passing without an interception and ran 14 times for 158 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Aiea 

Mission Uperesa-Thomas, PAC-5 — Caught nine passes for 158 yards in a loss to Iolani 

Jaidon Vidad, Lanai — Scored on a 36-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Hana 

Chase Yamashita, Campbell — Scored on a 90-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a loss to Mililani