El Camino College freshman Libero Rikki Garma returned to Kaua‘i earlier this week after completing a personally successful volleyball season that landed him First-Team All-Western State Conference honors. The announcement came as a big surprise for the 5-foot-8-inches-tall, 2005 Kaua‘i
El Camino College freshman Libero Rikki Garma returned to Kaua‘i earlier this week after completing a personally successful volleyball season that landed him First-Team All-Western State Conference honors.
The announcement came as a big surprise for the 5-foot-8-inches-tall, 2005 Kaua‘i High School graduate from Hanama‘ulu because it came when he was watching his high school teammate, Kaleo Baxter, play in this year’s Men’s Junior College State Volleyball Championship.
“I was in shock,” he said. “The made the announcement at the game. I was with my former coach and when it was announced he said ‘Did you just hear that?’ And I was just shocked. All my friends were giving me high fives. I wasn’t expecting it that night.”
Garma led the conference and team in digs (240), almost 80 more than the closest competitor, and digs per game (3.69/gm). He was the only player to start every game and match for El Camino and was tied for second on the team for aces (10) and third and ninth on the team and in conference for assists (78).
Garma, who played the whole pre-season as the projected setter for the Warriors, made the switch to libero during the second match of the season.
“They wanted me to come in (to the season) for dual position training, as the setter and libero,” Garma said. “The first game we played against Grossmont College we got killed and that was the first game I played as setter. My coaches told me basically for the next match against Orange Coast College to be ready to switch shirts.”
He made the shirt switch from setter to libero that match and posted a season-high 23 digs in a 5-game loss.
Throughout the season he had 12 double-digit dig matches, three of which were 20 or more dig matches, including a 21-dig performance in a five-game win against the returning and previously undefeated state champion, Long Beach City College, giving the Vikings their first loss in 30 matches spanning two seasons.
Garma played for the Hokuao Volleyball Club, run by the Kealalio family, and has helped coach the junior levels for Po‘okela Volleyball Club and the Kaua‘i High junior varsity boy’s program.
Fellow graduate and 2005 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation All-Star, Kevin Downing of Po‘ipu, also plays for El Camino as an outside/opposite hitter and has led the team in kills (225), kills per game (3.57) as well as aces (19).
Brad Sato, of Wailua, is also on the Warrior’s squad. Baxter of Kapa‘a, who was also a 2005 KIF All-Star, plays for Irvine Valley College, which won the championship game Garma was attending.
Garma is the son of Rick Garma, of Hanama‘ulu, and Nani Anderson, of Arlington, Va. He is taking his time back on Kaua‘i to work at Ali‘i Kayaks and continue his volleyball training. He has one more year at El Camino and hopes to get picked up by a bigger volleyball program. Garma plans on majoring in health science and nursing.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
