TOWSON, Md. – A journey that began five years ago culminated with a gold medal for recent Towson volleyball graduate Saitaua Iosia at the 2015 Pacific Games.

In December of 2010, Iosia was part of a Southern California team that traveled to American Samoa to compete in the Samoa Bowl, a yearly event.

Iosia explains, "The Samoa Bowl takes place every winter and consists of high school athletes of Samoan decent from Samoa, Hawaii, Australia and California who compete in football and volleyball. Our California team won the entire volleyball tournament and the Governor of Samoa asked us to come back in 2015 and represent American Samoa in the Pacific Games."

The Pacific Games is a multi-sport event, with participation exclusively from countries around the South Pacific. It is held every four years. Iosia had a chance to compete with the delegation from American Samoa, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa. American Samoa consists of five main islands and two coral atolls.

The 2015 Pacific Games were held in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and featured 24 nations competing in 28 sports.

Iosia was on a team that consisted mostly of college-age girls plus two high school athletes.

"All ages are allowed to participate," said Iosia. "We actually had one of the youngest teams playing this year. The average age of the ladies who participated was about 25."

Towson fans know Iosia for her strength and power at the net, she led the squad in kills (459) as a senior. However for the Pacific Games, she had to make adjustments to her game as she served as American Samoa's libero.

"The adjustment to playing libero was difficult for me in the beginning of training," admits Iosia. "Defense in the back row was never consistent for me in my volleyball career. My strengths were always in the front row as a hitter."

She added, "Not only did I have to step up my defensive skills but I also had to change my entire mentality to fit the position. I was no longer a hitter, I had to own the back row and be responsible for every ball that came over the net. I had to control the flow of each play because everything starts off with the pass. It took a while to get the hang of the libero rules but the more I trained and practiced, the easier it was for me to adjust."

In her preparation for the games, Iosia realized one of her biggest adjustments between playing for Towson and American Samoa was not having a set schedule for preparation.

"At Towson, you have set times for practice, lifting, study hall, etc.," said Iosia. "With American Samoa you have to really take the initiative yourself to create that daily or weekly routine. We had set practice times and dates but overall everyone was responsible for their own self (working on a specific skill, building up fitness, knowing what to eat or drink). It was all about managing your own personal time."

American Samoa battled throughout the tournament before facing Tahiti in the gold medal match. American Samoa jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-23 first set win. Tahiti battled back to took the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. American Samoa used a 25-19 win in the fourth set to send the match to a fifth and deciding set. A back-and-forth battle ensued before American Samoa earned a 17-15 set win and clinched the match.

"There were definitely challenges for us having to deal with international rules," said Iosia. "There were a lot of times we lost a number of single points because of rules that were different from the NCAA."

"Capturing the gold medal meant everything to me," said Iosia. "My intention going into the game was to get the gold and it really happened. It's unbelievable because we dreamed about this and it really happened!"
She went on to add, "My favorite memory other than receiving the gold was seeing how happy and proud my dad was when we won. Traveling to Papua New Guinea meant the world to my dad because it holds a lot of my family's history. He has cheered me on through many wins and losses and continues to support me any way he can. Seeing him run down the stands and to the court to cheer for us was a moment I will never forget."

Iosia credits her time at Towson for helping teach her that hard work is key and can really pay off.

"My first season at Towson (2013) wasn't what we all expected to be which drove us to work really hard through the spring and summer of 2014," said Iosia. "Our team stayed committed and dedicated to becoming a better team than the year before and that's what I took into preparing for these games. I knew training wasn't going to be easy but if I kept working hard, committed myself and stayed dedicated, it would pay off."

 "Although my volleyball career at Towson is done, I'm not quite ready to close the volleyball chapter of my life," said Iosia. "Volleyball has taken me places I never thought I'd ever visit and it has allowed me to represent my own country. I'm excited to see where I can go, even if it's coaching or assisting, I hope to be involved in more events like this."

Wherever life takes her next, Iosia will be able to take her gold medal with her.