It takes guts to drop everything you’ve known for 11 years. Mililani’s Sarah Liva took a chance when she decided to transfer from Hanalani for her senior year.

But the gamble paid off for the 17-year-old, who has already won an OIA volleyball title, placed third in the state tournament and finished in the top 10 of the Star-Advertiser Fab 15 within the first few months of enrollment.

"It’s different not walking around and knowing everyone. It’s been a big change, obviously, coming from a small school, but it’s been an awesome experience making new friends and meeting new people," Liva said. "I was scared I was going to get lost, I wasn’t going to make new friends, but when I got here, there’s so many people who were ready to help."

Now it’s Liva’s turn to help the Trojans’ girls basketball team, with her 6-foot-1 frame and natural athleticism.

Mililani coach Patrick Basilio had heard of Liva from Hanalani, but said he never saw her play until tryouts.

"She brings a totally different dimension to our team. We’ve never been dominant in the post before," Basilio said. "I changed a lot to our offense to capitalize on her strengths."

One of Basilio’s concerns was that throwing a new player into the mix might throw off the team’s chemistry, but Liva’s humble demeanor made it an easy transition.

"When I first came, I was kind of nervous ’cause you’re the new person and you’re on this team who’s been together for a little while, but it was amazing how they just welcomed me from the very first practice and tryout," Liva said.

The team also shared a house for five days each on Maui and the Big Island for two preseason tournaments. The Trojans bonded and pulled off a winning record with just one loss to the host school of each tourney.

"We call ourselves a family. If anyone says ‘team,’ then we stop and we’re like, ‘What’d you say?’ We make them say we’re family," Liva said. "From the very beginning we just had this connection between all of us and it shows on the court too."

Because volleyball season overlaps with the basketball preseason, Liva wasn’t able to practice with the team until she returned from the state volleyball tournament in Hilo. Once back on Oahu, she immediately returned to the daily grind of balancing schoolwork, sports and her hobby of hula and Tahitian dancing.

"Not many people know about it, but it has a huge impact on how I play," Liva said. "Dancing has definitely helped my footwork to be quicker and my legs to be stronger."

Some days Liva can be seen sleeping in the car on her way to the second practice of the evening, whether it be volleyball, basketball or dancing. Between maintaining a cumulative 3.8 GPA and her extracurricular activities, she can occasionally feel smothered, but she turns to her family and faith to guide her through trying times.

"It can get overwhelming every now and then, and that’s when I have my family to calm me down and refocus and just keep pushing me," Liva said. "Hard times and good times, you always come out a better person than you were from when you started."

Her parents have always stressed academics before athletics and never pushed Liva or her two younger siblings into sports, with college as the ultimate goal.

She grew up playing basketball and volleyball and got pulled up to Hanalani’s varsity basketball team her freshman year. Her high school performances resulted in invitations to play on prestigious teams, such as Team Aloha and Hawaii Select, and recently she joined her first club team with the Islanders.

"As a parent, she’s amazingly driven on her own," said Sarah’s mother, Cathy. "We are there to support her, but she sets goals for herself and that’s her. I leave that to her. The goals have realized themselves in the offers that she’s received."

Liva drew interest from several colleges after playing in a Florida tournament over the summer.

"The competition up there is like no other. Our coach told us most of these kids already signed with D-I schools all over the country," Liva said. "The best in the nation was there and it was amazing to have the opportunity to play against people like that. You don’t get that experience every day."

The Mililani center has made a verbal commitment to Portland State, which offered her a full volleyball scholarship, plus the opportunity to play basketball if she chooses.

When asked which sport she prefers, Liva said she can’t pick one.

"It’s nice to get some contact in (basketball) since you have to stay on your side of the net the whole time in volleyball," Liva said. "But they each overlap into helping each other. Some people say when they watch me, some things I do in volleyball looks like how I play basketball. My serve routine is almost exactly like my free-throw routine."

Since Portland State made her a scholarship offer for volleyball, playing collegiate basketball is still a question mark in Liva’s future.

"Volleyball was already amazing. But for basketball, especially since this is my last year playing, I just want to leave it all on the court, ’cause if I don’t end up playing in college I can’t imagine how much I’m going to miss it.

"So I’m just going to get as much as I can out of it now and go 110 percent every practice, every game."