‘Iolani sweeps Maryknoll

The Raiders squad may have new members, but its winning tradition continues.

The No. 3 ‘Iolani girls volleyball team swept No. 4 Maryknoll 25-23, 25-19 on Tuesday at ‘Iolani’s lower gym. ‘Iolani outside hitter Saige Ka‘aha‘aina-Torres posted a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 12 digs, while Maryknoll’s Rhyenne Filisi recorded a team-high seven kills.

The reigning ILH champions (6-1) squeaked out a three-set victory over the Spartans (2-4) five days earlier, but ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey credited the home-court advantage and the Raiders’ improved ball-handling for Tuesday’s sweep.

“That definitely helps the offense. When we pass like that we have hitters that can put the ball away, then we don’t get so left-side dependent, which we kind of were last time we played them,” Obrey said. “(Maryknoll) played tough; they dig the ball and get it back over to put some pressure on you to score some points, and I think tonight we were able to score more points against their defense than we did the other night.”

The first set was tightly contested, with 11 ties and four lead changes. Maryknoll’s Bella Cravens put down a kill from the middle to mark the final tie of the set at 21-21 before the Raiders pulled away. Back-to-back kills gave ‘Iolani the edge and a Spartan service error gave the Raiders game ball at 24-22. ‘Iolani’s Sasha Petticord and Kristen McDaniel stuffed Tasha McClendon’s left-side attack to take Set 1.

The Raiders continued their momentum into Set 2 and jumped to an early 9-3 lead after a five-point scoring run. Ka‘aha‘aina-Torres hammered an overpass off the block to earn ‘Iolani’s match point and its largest lead at 24-14. But it didn’t deter Maryknoll, which continued to chip away at the lead with a hard-driven kill by junior Dakota Viena, an ‘Iolani net violation, and back-to-back aces by McClendon to make the score 24-18. After an ‘Iolani timeout, Filisi put down her final kill before middle Halia Hogan delivered an attack that the Spartans couldn’t return.

‘Iolani, the 2015 state runner-up, lost all but two starters from last year’s team, and the two returnees have switched to different positions this season. One of the new faces on the court is freshman attacker Elena Oglivie, who connected with sister and senior setter Ana Oglivie for 10 kills and a .200 hitting percentage.

“Every game I get nervous, but it’s really good to have a familiar face in there,” Elena Oglivie said. “All the girls really just want you to succeed on the court and it just makes it so much more comfortable to play. We just talked about playing one point at a time, and I feel that really helped us close out the game and finish.”