Mahonri Sunnex
In just his second year involved, Te Awamutu 17-year-old Mahonri Sunnex is chasing his volleyball dreams in the USA.
Mahonri Sunnex, 17, is reaching his volleyball dreams in the USA.
The 1.95 former Pekapekarau Primary School, Te Awamutu Intermediate and Te Awamutu College student is finishing his schooling in Arlington, Washington and staying with his grandparents.
As a dual citizen there’s the option of playing for the United States or New Zealand if he heads down the Olympic route.
“It all happened so fast,” mum Kira Krieg said “This humble, gentle giant child of mine is out there chasing his dreams. All of this is him.”
“I’m incredibly proud of him. Not because of just volleyball, but because he is chasing dreams and watching them unfold before his eyes. The kid just stepped off the plane and within a matter of a few weeks is now signed to a travelling club team – Blue Royals.”
Kira said Mahonri had sworn off sports, so she was taken back when he came home one day saying he was going to play volleyball.
After only taking up volleyball in 2024, Mahonri Sunnex has proven to be a natural.
“Volleyball is what brought him out of his shell and made him stay in school. It really brought him to life. He found his passion,” Kira said. “I fully supported him wanting to play. It’s been full steam ahead since then. He played for Te Awamutu College for two years.
“He also coached a junior team last year along with a teammate Sterling Te Huia. The team went undefeated and won their Waikato provincial division.”
This year Mahonri made the Waikato Representative reserve under-19 team.
Kira, Mahonri and younger brother Zion arrived in the US on July 17.
“The following day, we went to an open gym at the local high school. The organisers questioned the boys’ ability to play,” Kira said.
“I just said ‘They will be fine’. Within a few minutes, Mahonri jumped up with height and hit the ball down hard. There was a collective ‘woah’ in the gym.
“Next thing we knew, we were getting phone numbers and emails and wondering where Mahonri came from. We received an invite to an exclusive invite only play night.”
Mahonri Sunnex in action for Te Awamutu College
On July 23, Mahonri attended the event with his mum and grandfather.
“The invite only night was with professional, university and high-level club players. A coach excitedly ran over to Mahonri and asked, ‘where do you live?’,” Kira said.
“Mahonri turned and looked at us with a panic and said, ‘I don’t know’, pointing to my dad and I.”
The coach’s team was based a few hours away from Kira’s parents’ place.
“The coach broke down the different teams in the area for us and who might be a good fit. He introduced Mahonri to one of the young men from Blue Royals and wished him luck,” Kira said.
“Mahonri got followed that night by other Blue Royals players and coach Tommy Sudiartate before receiving an invite to trial for their team.”
Six days later, Mahonri attended a Blue Royals open gym night, meeting the rest of the squad.
He trialled the next day and was picked for their travelling side.
“One of the tournaments will be right by his dream university, Long Beach,” Kira said.
“He will be travelling to California twice, around Washington State, Salt Lake City, nationals in Florida and possibly other tournaments such as Chicago.
“Had we arrived a few weeks later, this opportunity would not have been available.
The family is helping the youngster by raising funds towards through a garage sale this month. Funds will go towards Mahonri’s tournament fees and costs for the September 2025 to June 2026 season.
“We thought as he was Year 13 here, he would do a senior year there. With the credit transfers confirmed at the beginning of September, he’s come in as a junior at Arlington High School, allowing him to play for two years and potential to be scouted for a university team,” Kira said.
“If he grows another inch to 6-foot-5, the division one universities could put him on their recruitment roster for class of 2026.
“The best part for me, was when I said to Mahonri, ‘do you know how big this is?’, he responded ‘no, I just want to play volleyball’.”
Mahonri Sunnex is a 6-foot-4 “humble, gentle giant”.
