The start to Kalei Mau's college career wasn't the most eventful.
The outside hitter began her career at the University of Minnesota where she only appeared in two sets the entire season with the Golden Gophers. She then transferred to Arizona for her sophomore season, and saw more time, but still wasn't a major factor for the Wildcats.
But in 2015, the 6-1 senior from Kahaluu, Hawaii had a breakout season. She was named All-Pac-12 team, AVCA All-Region, Blackbird Invitational All-Tournament Team and Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team.
The pride of Henry Kaiser High School had 27 kills at Arizona State last season, the most recorded by any Wildcat last season. She finished the year third in the Pac-12 with 4.33 kills/set and 4.67 points/set and second on the team with 11 double-doubles on the season.
The outside hitter was honored as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week in the opening week of the 2015 season. Mau dug 31 balls on August 28, which is the second-most in a four-set match in school history.
Back home, Mau is a local celebrity for her ukulele and singing talents and was also an accomplished soccer player before choosing to pursue volleyball collegiately.
ArizonaWildcats.com recently sat down with Mau to talk about her Arizona career, her role models and her favorite off-court activities.
What is your favorite part of playing volleyball at Arizona?
"My favorite part of playing volleyball at Arizona is being able to compete at such a high level every week. It makes me better as a player and it makes my team better every day we step in the gym."
What are some of your favorite things to do off the court?
"My favorite thing to do off the court is cook, eat, play music, sing, and FaceTime my family. I am able to balance out my busy days by doing the things that I enjoy as much as I can."
What is your pregame ritual? (personal and/or team)
"My pregame ritual is to listen to the songs I have on my 'pregame' playlist and say a prayer to myself to help me focus and prepare myself mentally for the game."
What is your favorite volleyball memory?
"I have a lot of favorite volleyball memories but my most recent favorite happened this past weekend, we were down 2 sets against UCLA at UCLA and came back and beat them in 5 sets. It was such an amazing feeling."
Who is your role model? Why?
"I have many role models for different aspects in my life but for life in general my grandad has always been someone I look up to and aspire to be. My volleyball role model, on the other hand, is Coach Dave Rubio. I want to know the sport as well as he does one day."
