The Lady Lunas will play all of their home games on Tuesdays and away games on Thursdays.

LAHAINA — Guided by the dedicated leadership of the Ganer ohana here on the West Side, the youth and high school volleyball programs are pushing through the pandemic restrictions to regain the competitive form of previous years.

Trixy Nuesca Ganer enters her 15th year with the Lahainaluna High School girls program, while dad Hano Ganer works with the junior varsity team. Rounding out the coaching staffs are Taylor Ganer, Leimomi Kaita and Jordan Saribay.

While the pandemic shut down the 2020 season and limited the ’21 schedule, Nuesca Ganer sees positive potential for the Lady Lunas to compete at the top levels of the Maui Interscholastic League standings in the current campaign.

“We have six returning players from last year — three seniors and three juniors — and four new players on the varsity,” said Coach Trixy last week before practice at the Jimmie H. Greig Gymnasium on the Lahainaluna campus.

“We don’t have much height, so we’re disadvantaged at the net, but we play tough defense and pass the ball well. This team has a lot of hustle and fight in them as well.”

Senior returnees are Makenzie Alexander, Malika Viela, Keana Medeiros Sodetani and Kalei Medeiros Sodetani, along with Lacey Phillips. Returning juniors include Kathleen Baniqued, Sophie Abut, Ileana Bush and Jazmin Mathias. Sophomores Imani Hargis and Natalie Sa round out the Lady Luna varsity roster.

The Lahainaluna junior varsity team is made up of eight first-year players and one sophomore. Shansi Vazquez, a tenth-grader, is joined by Maile Mullen, Samantha Abut, Whitney DeGama, Kalei Laborte, Lilly Kauvaka, Cora Gruber, Taylor Afua and Kamalani Kaili.

Coach Trixy added that the volleyball programs here on the West Side have gotten better with more involvement with the club teams and the Parks and Recreation leagues.

“There is a lot more exposure to the game at younger ages with the club programs and youth leagues,” she explained.

The MIL opened up the 12-game 2022 season — that will include three games each against Baldwin, Maui High, Kamehameha Maui, and King Kekaulike — last week with Lahainaluna facing Maui High in the opener at the Sabers’ gym.