Sasha Solomona | Sport

Kia Orana, my name is Sasha Solomona.

I am a proud 18-year-old Cook Island Māori and New Zealand Māori Wāhine who has an immense passion for sport! However, after years of high level competition in Basketball, Netball and Sevens, I found Volleyball to be my true passion. Within the past few years, I have been lucky enough to be highly involved within both the Regional and National Programmes with the chance to compete internationally. Representing the Bay of Plenty, I have had multiple successes resulting in Medals, the most recent being selection in the U21A Women’s team where we placed second at Inter-Provincial Champs. Within the National Women’s Programme I have been involved in both the Youth and Junior Programmes. Unfortunately due to the recent Pandemic, multiple Youth International Tournaments such as Asian Champs in Thailand were cancelled. Thankfully though I was able to compete in Sydney at the 2022 Australian Champs with the NZL Development Team. Being named Captain was a highlight, and being able to lead my team to a third-place medal against the USA made the experience unbeatable. Another international opportunity I have been selected for the NZL Women’s U23 Māori Team. In November we will be travelling to Rarotonga to play in a three-match test series against the Cook Islands. However, the trip I am most excited about is playing for the Western Bay Phoenix in Hawaii this coming December! We will be facing off against many high-level club and university teams, and also in front of scouts looking to offer scholarships to future colleges. Overall, throughout all my recent endeavours I represent my Anau (family), my Iwi and my Island of Mangaia, holding my culture and identity close. Having faced multiple challenges and taking as many lessons as I can, I am more than determined to keep working for my sport, and to push myself both physically and mentally to see how far I can go!