Lion on the Court : When It’s Loyola Volleyball Time, Sweet-Singing Sio Saipaia Roars

Sio Saipaia strolled casually into Gersten Pavilion for volleyball practice this week. Most of his teammates were already warming up when he strutted into the Loyola Marymount gym in a pair of sweats and thongs.

Saipaia threw down his red gym bag and sat on the shiny floor to put on his shoes. Then he seemed to strip off his laid-back demeanor along with his sweats. Suddenly, he changed from happy-go-lucky islander to spunky, charismatic volleyball player.

Loyola’s junior outside hitter always undergoes a transformation before competing. He says he has to in order to succeed. On the court, the 22-year-old former Hawaiian prep star pumps up his teammates with his ardent performances.

“Everyone knows I’m mellow,” Saipaia said, laughing, “but I’m not supposed to act like it. I’m supposed to be intense and into the game.”

That has never been a problem for the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder. Opponents know of Saipaia’s easygoing personality only by hearsay. On the court, he is all business.

“He’s a great player,” said Stanford Coach Fred Sturm. “He’s the most physically gifted left-side hitter in our league this season, and our league has the top 10 teams in the nation. To be in that position is incredible.”

Saipaia helped lead the underdog Lions to a 16-4, 15-12, 5-15, 15-4 win over the fifth-ranked Cardinals on March 28. It was Loyola’s first-ever victory over Stanford, an NCAA powerhouse in men’s volleyball. Saipaia’s performance is still fresh in Sturm’s head.

“The most difficult situation (for) an outside hitter,” the Stanford coach said, “is to spike against two blockers and four defenders, and Sio does that better than anyone. He did it against us.”

Saipaia has done it all season while helping Loyola to its best record in school history (9-10). The Lions, ranked eighth nationally, finished with a 6-10 mark in the 12-member Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn., the nation’s toughest league.

Saipaia, named WIVA player of the week earlier this season, ended the year with 437 kills, second in the nation behind USC’s Bryan Ivie. He led the Lions with a 6.2 kill average. In Wednesday’s season finale against Cal State Long Beach, he had 13 kills, though Loyola lost to the third-ranked 49ers in four games.

“He’s amazing,” said Loyola junior defensive specialist Steve McGreevy. “At any point in a game, he can turn the game around.”

Saipaia credits his teammates for his success. “These guys really make me look good,” he said, pointing to midcourt where they were warming up. “I really have great passers.”

But perhaps he’s the one who makes setters look good. Mike Normand, Loyola’s second-year coach, says Saipaia can pound the ball from anywhere on the court.

“He’s a tremendous player who has lots of potential,” said Normand, a strict disciplinarian who doesn’t hand out compliments easily. “He’s a very strong kid, and he’s quick.”

Despite that, Normand, an all-American outside hitter at UCLA in the mid-1970s, says Saipaia has yet to reach his peak.

“He’s still just learning the game,” the coach said. “He’s not even close to his potential. He improved 25% from last year, and he still has 25% (to go) to get to 90% of his ability.

“His blocking has improved tremendously, and (blocking is) what’s going to make him better. There’s already a lot of good hitters out there. I think after next season he’ll be ready to try for the Olympic team.”

That is Saipaia’s goal, and it’s not far-fetched, considering his background. Until coming to Loyola, he was always on championship volleyball teams.

At Punahou High School in Honolulu he was a three-time all-state player for a powerhouse program that won three state titles while he was there.

Saipaia, the youngest of 11 children, also competed in track and basketball at the prep school. In the off season he played for Kamalii Manaloa, a volleyball club for all-star players in their teens.

In 1985 Saipaia was a member of the South team that won a gold medal at the Olympic Festival in Louisiana. In 1987 he was on the North squad that won the gold in North Carolina.

His outstanding play, both nationally and in high school, attracted scouts from top collegiate programs such as USC, Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara. Saipaia, however, didn’t want to compete for a top-notch team, so he chose a small-time volleyball school with a struggling program.

“I wouldn’t have fit in the big-time program,” Saipaia said. “I couldn’t deal with that whole ‘volleyball live or die’ the first couple of years.

“Loyola was like an escape. I knew I could come here and play as hard as I wanted to. I could come here and do basically what I wanted. I could work one hour a day or three hours a day.”

He learned in 1987, during his first year at Loyola, that it wasn’t all that easy. Saipaia says he had a terrible freshman season because he didn’t play at his normal position. The struggling Lions didn’t have a middle blocker, and former Loyola Coach Rich Rosales asked him to fill that spot.

“I couldn’t hit from there,” Saipaia said. “I blocked well, but I couldn’t hit, and hitting is a major part of my game. It was really frustrating.”

Saipaia took the 1988 season off because he was disappointed with the program (Rosales compiled a 3-33 WIVA record in his two seasons). He says the team was unorganized and lacked discipline.

Also, Saipaia’s grades dropped considerably, so he attended El Camino College in an attempt to raise his grade-point average.

“I thought of transferring,” Saipaia said, “but I wanted to prove that I could come back here and we could do something as a team. Now we have new players, a new attitude and a great coach. I’m more focused now.”

Doing well on the court means that Saipaia is more relaxed away from it.

According to teammate McGreevy, he is “the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s always happy, and he’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s also a great singer.”

True, Saipaia is also known for his voice, but he’s reluctant to speak about it. He sang the National Anthem at both Olympic Sports Festivals and sings regularly at friends’ weddings and parties.

“I used to sing during practice,” Saipaia said, “and Mike (Normand) said: ‘If this was singing practice, I’d expect you to sing, but it’s not.’ So I’m not allowed to sing anymore. It’s Mike’s rule. He says I have to be serious and I have to concentrate.”

Saipaia started singing in seventh grade when he got the lead role in a musical. In high school he performed in various musicals as part of the school’s chorus. Two years ago he made his nightclub debut.

“I was in Chicago visiting friends,” Saipaia said, giggling, “and we were out at a bar. I spent all the money I had saved for the week’s visit that night, but there was a nightly talent contest where you could win $110. I got up and sang, and I won it.”

Saipaia and his friends, who served as the chorus, won the contest five consecutive nights.

The last evening was the most challenging for the lead vocalist and his humming backups.

“It was Friday night and the competition was tough,” Saipaia said, “so we had to come up with something new and different. We sang ‘Under the Boardwalk’ in our underwear, and we won again.”

Winning, you see, may be new to Loyola’s volleyball team, but not to its star hitter. He’ll be back in full force next year, but in the meantime he’ll kick back and sing a few tunes.