Kind like Keiko: Pleasant Grove girls volleyball dealing with loss of biggest fan
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- The family of KeikoTakahashi, mother of Pleasant Grove girls volleyball coach Isa Takahashi, wear t-shirts that say “Kind like Keiko” during a match against Mountain VIew on August 20, 2024. Keiko Takahashi passed away unexpectedly earlier this month.
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- Pleasant Grove coach Isa Takahashi wears a t-shirt reading “Kind like Keiko” in a match against Mountain View on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, to honor is mother, Keiko, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this month.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Avrie Valgardson serves the ball during a girls high school volleyball match against Mountain View on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
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- Mountain View’s Keilani Wesley (13) tips the ball over the block of Pleasant Grove’s Aleah McDaniel (17) and Taytum Nelson during a girls high school volleyball match on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
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- The Pleasant Grove girls volleyball team celebrates a point during a match against Mountain View on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
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- The Mountain View girls volleyball team celebrates a point during match against Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove students react during a girls high school volleyball match against Mountain View on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Eli Carver serves the ball during a girls high school volleyball match against Mountain View on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
Pleasant Grove’s colors have forever been blue and white, but the girls volleyball team has added a touch of purple this year to remember its biggest supporter.
Vikings coach Isa Takahashi’s mother, Keiko, passed away unexpectedly earlier this month, Before Tuesday’s match against Mountain View the family was honored with flowers while they and others wore t-shirts of her favorite color, purple, that read “Kind like Keiko.”
“She was someone who loved people,” junior outside hitter Addisyn Beck said. “She was so supportive and we always want to strive to be like her. She was so spiritual and kind, and Christ-like in that way. Very kind, very giving. She loved volleyball. She always came to our games to support us. She would always ask about the girls and how they were playing. She always wanted updates on every player.
“A lot of the girls have known Isa for so many years, so all of us have felt this deeply. We went to the funeral and it was a very heartfelt and spiritual experience for all of us. It’s made us that much closer. We’ll be wearing purple ribbons all season long for her.”
Isa Takahashi stepped away from the team for a few days to take care of family matters and mourn his mother, but he’s glad to be back with his team.
“There’s a culture being taught in our program,” Isa Takahashi said. “I want to try and help create wonderful kids and a lot of stuff I teach is from my mom. I’m just proud of the girls. They’re learning how to be good kids and they’re great volleyball players, so they’re a team. They play for each other. They’re working things out and it’s fun to see them come together when things get tough. I think that’s one of the strengths of this team.
“They’ve been awesome and very understanding. They said, ‘trust us. You can trust us. We’ll do our part.’ I’m happy to be back. I missed them.”
Pleasant Grove, which finished 26-6 last season and lost in the 6A quarterfinals, started 2024 with a big win against 5A No. 1 Bountiful and on Tuesday swept Mountain View 25-19, 25-17, 25-15. The Vikings have some strong hitters in Beck, Aleah McDaniel and Taytum Nelson and an experienced libero in senior Cassidy Brinton. The offense runs through returning setter Avrie Valgardson, whose playmaking and powerful serves kept Mountain View on its heels all night.
“We are very athletic and talented this year,” Isa Takahashi said. “We don’t have many holes. We’ve got depth, so as long as we stay healthy, we’re going to do well. Building chemistry is all about understanding the offensive and defensive systems and buying into it. It’s not always going to be comfortable, because sometimes it’s different than what they’ve been doing on their club teams. But as long as they understand our ‘whys’ they can make adjustments. They’re great volleyball players and really smart. It’s fun to see them all have their moments of success.”
Beck said team activities and their recent emotional experiences are bringing the players closer as a team.
“We have really good bonds on and off the court,” Beck said. “We’ve been working a lot on serve receive and free ball passes, and I think we’ve implemented that a lot in the past two games. We have a good offensive side and a good defensive side.”
Pleasant Grove (2-0) will host Herriman on Thursday, Mountain View (0-2), which dropped 3-2 decision to the Mustangs last week, plays on August 28 at Bingham.
