The day came when 11-year-old Maddix Taniguchi had words of finality.

Her mother, then Charise Fujimoto, was a three-sport athlete at Mid-Pacific, playing softball, basketball and volleyball. Lance Taniguchi played football and baseball at ‘Iolani.

Young Maddix was compelled to think about all the sports she tried. Basketball. Tennis. Soccer. Baseball. Softball. Volleyball was one of those later sports, something she didn’t realize she loved until the question surfaced.

“It was a choice out of passion. One of my softball practices, one of my coaches said, ‘Raise your hand if you want to play in college.’ I was the only kid who didn’t raise her hand. I just remember saying, I want to play volleyball,” said Taniguchi, now a senior libero for the No. 1-ranked ‘Iolani Raiders. “I didn’t thi

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