It was a dark and stormy night on the Ewa plain. After a typically warm day with temperatures in the upper 80s, the thermometer dipped to the low 70s as the clock ticked past midnight. Tradewinds were a modest 5 mph.
The morning of April 5, 2007, could have been ordinary for Keli Mousser and Scott Goldstein in their condo. Instead, it was extraordinary in all the best ways. She was six weeks away from giving birth to their first child together.
Mousser had already picked out a name: Kamana‘o. “When I was pregnant with her, we used to watch a lot of UH volleyball. On Kanoe Kamana‘o’s senior night, Jim Leahey was talking about her and her name, and what it means.
I was like, I’m going to name my daughter Kamana‘o,” she said. Mousser grew up in Waianae, where her mother, Walterbea Aldeguer, was a historian and activist. Often, she would upkeep a local heiau, bring groups to learn about native foliage.
Born to be a tutu. “I told my mom about the name, and she said, ’Something keeps whispering to me, Kamana‘o‘okalani.’ “ On that night of April 5, no whispers.
Nothing was ordinary. “I got up and just felt like I had to go to the bathroom. I’m not in pain, but I notice that I’m spotting.
Scott called the nurse. I wasn’t having any contractions. The nurse is (saying), ‘Drink some water, it might be false contractions,’ ” Mousser recalled.
Turns out Mousser is one of the rare women who actually don’t feel those painful contractions. The family wanted Kamana‘o to begin hula, but at 4, it was too early. “Around 1 o’clock (in the morning) I could feel it.
He saw me pushing, called 911. I laid down and she literally kicked and just went booomp, right out. Scott tried to catch her and she hit the bed.
I didn’t even have to push or anything. She came right out.” Relief.
Total relief. The 911 operator heard a baby’s scream. “OK, she’s OK,” the woman said.
“Go find something to tie off the umbilical.” Scott found a shoelace and quickly tied the cord off. Firefighters arrived, then EMTs.
“They cut her umbilical cord. ‘Are you OK?’ We lived in a condo on the second floor. ‘Can you walk?’ Scott had her wrapped up in his shirt.
I scooped her up and walked, and they said, get on the gurney,” she said. “No pain. No anything.
Kind of like Kamana‘o has been for 17 years since then. She doesn’t complain, really, really mellow kid. Doesn’t cause any excess drama,” Mousser said.
“Humble. Composed the majority of the time. Everything is on her time.
You can’t rush her.” Kamana‘o didn’t hear the story of her birth night until she was well into school. “Well, I was very surprised first hearing about it.
I think my mom told me first. I was in fifth or sixth grade,” she said. “Now I just think of it as a normal thing.
” Walterbea passed on in 2023, but in those first two years, she left a deep imprint on her grand-daughter. “Kamana‘o grew up in Waianae until she was 2, then we came to town. My mom would take her and her cousins everywhere.
To the beach. Take care of the heiau,” Mousser said. Scott Goldstein was a football and baseball player at Kamehameha.
He met Mousser at her company. The athlete and, as Mousser says, the non-athlete. “I was the nerdy one,” Mousser said.
Kamana‘o Goldstein draws the best from her parents. She has a 3.7 grade-point average and brings the heat with her powerful spike.
It is a classic heavy ball reminiscent of a legendary Kamehameha outside hitter: Tita Ahuna. The family wanted Kamana‘o to begin hula, but at 4, it was too early. “Tita said she would start Toddler Tots,” Mousser said.
“Scott took her there, and at first, Kamana‘o cried. Tita came and picked her up and was carrying her. ‘She’s going to be fine.
She’s going to be OK.’” Kamana‘o calmed down and returned to volleyball clinics with Ahuna. At 5, Kamana‘o began hula with Halau O Kamuela.
A year later, she learned just about every position on the baseball field with her dad as coach. “I loved baseball. I loved playing shortstop, anywhere my dad put me.
I stopped when I was 12,” she said. “I don’t know why I said I didn’t want to play softball. I think I should have.
” Softball’s loss was volleyball’s gain. The sport has allowed Goldstein to travel often with her club teams. She became a Star-Advertiser All-State Fab 15 selection as a junior.
Playing at the next level is her dream. At 5 feet, 7 inches, the odds may be stacked against her, but Goldstein knows there is a route. Her favorite athlete is Jill Gillen, a 5-7 outside hitter who is the all-time aces leader and ranks No.
2 in all-time kills at Arkansas. “I like to watch her because she jumps really high. She’s kind of my inspiration as a smaller outside in college,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein’s path at Kapalama followed a transfer from Damien. When she became eligible, she was in the running to make the varsity roster as a freshman. “The beauty of Kamana‘o is watching her progress.
From her freshman year, she was one of our last cuts,” Warriors coach Chris Blake recalled. Goldstein made the most of her season on the JV squad, getting a ton of game reps. There was a bit of an edge that was undeniable.
“There was the slightest bit of bitterness, but that fueled me and motivated me to use that JV season to train for varsity. I hit the ball a little bit harder,” she said. In her sophomore season, Kamehameha’s run of 20 state-tournament appearances came to a halt.
The senior-heavy Warriors then rebounded with a state championship last year. Goldstein had 13 digs in a quarterfinal win over Moanalua, then had seven kills in a semifinal sweep of Baldwin. In the state final, Goldstein had nine kills to help the Warriors overcome Punahou in four sets.
The program’s tradition of senior leadership puts Goldstein in a crucial role this fall. “It drove her. She came back hungrier.
We saw the desire, and it’s been a beauty to watch her mature. The thing that she has now is a lot more confidence and understanding. From her sophomore year to her junior year, she made a big turn.
The thing I really like this year is she’s come back with a lot more tools and a little more confidence,” Blake said. “She’s mainly left side, but she can play right side, plays a lot of back row. She’s one of our primary defenders.
” The team includes libero Ashli Lum, who led the team in digs last year. Kalaweloilehua Chock had a strong finish to her sophomore season in 2023 and returns. “Her humor, her personality, when she walks through the door she’s already making people happy and laughing,” Goldstein said.
“She always cheers us up.” Goldstein observes, absorbs — journals, as all of Blake’s teams do, at each practice, after each game. Laughter occasionally fills the gym and interrupts the endless work on the track.
As usual, at least one Warrior regurgitates during the workout, teammates cringe and giggle, and they keep moving forward. “As a returning senior, as a returning starter, Kamana‘o understands her role, how it continues to shift,” Blake said. “She’s been in the gym with a lot of great leaders.
Last year with Adri (Arquette), Emma (Lilo), all of them were really great. Kamana‘o is not necessarily put into that leadership position — she understands the things she has to do to make sure we’re progressing at the right pace.” Goldstein is ready to lead her younger teammates in her own way — Kamana‘o‘okalani, wisdom from heaven.
“The process, as Coach calls it, it’ll be hard in the beginning, but as they catch on it’ll get easier. It’ll be a great learning process for them especially because they’re young,” she said. “It’ll help them for next year and the year after.
I feel more confident this year. I feel a lot of responsibility, especially as a senior. My role model was Adri.
Watching her play, seeing how she’s very calm and collected, but also still having fun, made me feel way more relaxed. I wanted to be like her on the court.” Kamana‘o‘okalani Goldstein Kamehameha volleyball senior Top 3 movies/shows 1.
“Law & Order” “I like it because I like to watch a lot of crime shows, so I end up binge watching a lot.” 2. “Haikyuu” “It’s an anime about volleyball.
I watched it during quarantine.” 3. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Top 3 foods/drinks 1.
Shirley Temple 2. Arizona Green Tea 3. Brisk Raspberry Iced Tea Top 3 homemade foods 1.
Ox tail soup “My dad (Scott) makes it once or twice a month. He knows me and my mom (Keli) like it.” 2.
Jook with turkey “My grandma (Ruth Goldstein) makes it, but my dad and mom also make it. I like my grandma’s the best.” 3.
Corn chowder “My mom makes it not that often. My dad does most of the cooking, so when he’s not home, my mom makes that.” Top 3 music artists/favorite song 1.
Ateez — “Wave” 2. Victoria Monét — “On My Mama” 3. Maoli — “A Little More Tequila” Favorite athlete/team: Jill Gillen “She was an outside hitter at Arkansas.
She’s 5-7 and I like to watch her because she jumps really high. She’s kind of my inspiration as a smaller outside in college.” Funniest teammate: Kala Chock “Her humor, her personality, when she walks through the door she’s already making people happy and laughing.
She always cheers us up.” Smartest teammate: Bella Amey “She’s taking a whole bunch of AP classes and I could never do that. She manages it really well.
” GPA: 3.7 Favorite teacher: Kumu (Cris) Pasquil Favorite class: Athletic training Favorite motto/scripture: “Practice makes permanent” — Coach Chris Blake Hidden talent: hula “Some people don’t know I dance hula. I’m taking a break now, but I started dancing when I was 5 (Hula Halau ‘O Kamuela).
I stopped during COVID, and after that I was playing volleyball.” New life skill: “Getting better at time management.” Bucket list: “Travel to Japan, South Korea, Greece, England, Canada, Italy.
Learn Japanese. Watch the Olympics in person. That’s what I have so far.
” Time machine: When and where would you travel? “I like to learn about ancient Greece, so I would go back there to look at all the buildings and statues in their full glory.” Youth sports: Baseball and volleyball “I was 5 years old when I started playing baseball. I stopped when I was 12.
I kind of miss it, throwing ball. I played shortstop, first base, anywhere my dad put me. I don’t know why I said I didn’t want to play softball, but now I think I should have.
” If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self? “Cherish all the good times you have and the people that create them. You never know when that could disappear. I miss my grandpa (Hiram Goldstein Jr.
) and grandma (Walterbea Aldeguer). It’s been about a year for both of them. They used to support me a lot.
My grandpa, I miss talking to him about how I’m doing. I miss staying with my grandma, going around the island with her. She used to take me almost everywhere with her even though I didn’t want to sometimes.
Some of my cousins would come along.” Shout-outs “My family, teammates, and coaches who have gotten me where I am today.”.
