By By Alana Pelosi, Sports Editor
While Kylee Maneja and Ashley Asing were battling on the court, there families were battling it out in a living room back home in Kapolei, HI. And while sides wore their respective colors and rooted for their respective teams, at the end of the match there were sure to be plenty of hugs and good feelings.
Kylee is one of the many freshman athletes at Hofstra who left home and travelled thousands of miles to come to Long Island- an culture much of its own. “It was really different from Hawaii and I wanted a new experience,” said Maneja of her drastic relocation.
On Wednesday night against St. John’s University, Maneja regained a little bit of her island when she faced off against her long-time friend and teammate, Ashley Asing. At the end of Maneja’s record-notching match they reunited with a hug and in between bouts of laughter explained that their families were home together watching the match from the online feed. “Usually they watch movies or games together but tonight they were watching the game,” said Asigh.
“They wore their Hofstra shirts,” Maneja beamed.
While both families are resigned to watching the games at home in Hawaii, the Manejas will be here to cheer their daughter on in October, as she continues to make her impact.
Even as a freshman Maneja has gained significant time on as an outside hitter and libero. While at Sacred Hearts Academy the freshman helped her team to a Division II state championship and garnered first team All-State honors twice. With natural talent she has settled in on the court easily, but that may be due to the fact she has been quick to adjust to the area.
Maneja said that since joining the team the transition to east coast life has been surprisingly smooth, but that could change any day now. As Maneja explained, “it’s getting colder now and we don’t have any winter clothes.”
While Maneja never made such a drastic leap from home before, the lifestyle is somewhat similar. For the past few years she been coached by the coaches from the University of Hawaii and travelled around the country with her club team.
Also making the transition to Long Island life easy is fellow freshman Maile Scarpino. While the two girls never knew each other on a personal level before Hofstra, they often played against each other and trained together. As Kylee explained, now that they are on the same team they become much closer