Sarah Palmer knows how to win

As Texas celebrated after winning the NCAA volleyball championship last December, Kailua’s Sarah Palmer looked up — far up — at her teammates and grinned.

"We freaking did it," the 5-foot-10 libero screamed.

For Palmer, a major part of Hawaii Baptist Academy’s three consecutive state Division II titles, it was deja vu. For Texas, not so much.

The Longhorns played in three of the previous four final fours, but couldn’t claim their second NCAA championship (the first came against Hawaii in 1988).

"It was really surreal," Palmer said. "I couldn’t believe our team had finally done it. We’d been through that process over and over, been so close and not finished strong. When we finally won, it was such an incredible feeling, knowing the hard work of the last three years and high school and middle school paid off. It was a dream come true for all 14 us."

The top-ranked Longhorns open defense of their title Friday against 11th-ranked Hawaii in the season-opening Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational. With Palmer, Rainbow Wahine defensive specialist Kayla Kawamura and San Diego libero C’era Oliveira, there will be three HBA alums on the court, and probably some 200 HBA fans in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I’m trying to figure out if I should wear burnt orange or UH green," HBA athletic director Deren Oshiro joked.

The Longhorns, who also have Punahou graduate Kat Brooks on the roster, lost just one utility player from last year, when they obliterated Oregon in the final. They hit an NCAA championship-match record .438 that night, outblocked the Ducks 15-1 and won the opening set 25-11. Two nights earlier, Palmer collected 31 digs in a semifinal win over Michigan.

"She has really developed," Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. "Sometimes it takes a little longer because she was a hitter and not a back-row specialist. She really came along. At the end of last season, she was one of the best liberos in the country, I thought.

"Her passing is really steady, her defense solid, she is making great reads. She has become a leader. She was very aggressive when she played attacker. In the back row, she was quiet at first. We pushed her and pushed her and now she’s loud and aggressive. That’s what it took to become great."

Palmer was HBA’s tallest player and a two-time state Player of the Year at hitter. UH coach Dave Shoji saw potential as a "high-level" setter. At Texas, she is a smurf. Returning All-Americans Haley Eckerman and Bailey Webster are both 6-3 and pretty much every Longhorn attacker touches more than 10 feet.

Elliott was the first coach to recruit Palmer. She knew when she committed — as a sophomore — that her hitting days were numbered.

"Coach Elliott was straight up with that," Palmer said. "He told me they were looking at me more as a back-row player. He told me if I was willing to give up hitting for that and be on a better team, Texas was the right place for me. I loved the girls and the program, so I was willing to retire my outside-hitter days.

"At first I had a hard time accepting my role, but now it’s a lot better. A lot of our hitters are really athletic and hit over me and block me … I accepted that."

Palmer, one of four seniors on the team, was a part-time starter her first two seasons, with Punahou graduate Sydney Yogi. Last season she blossomed, athletically and academically.

"I think it’s great that girls can play D-I and come out of such a small school," said Kawamura, who has known Palmer and Oliveira since kindergarten — and set for them nearly as long. "It shows you don’t have to go to a big school. You can go to a small school, work on yourself, work on the little things and go for your goals and your dreams."

Palmer and her teammates achieved that last year. Their search for a sequel begins here.