The Le Jardin girls volleyball team is all about checking off the boxes this season.
Le Jardin won its first Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II title with a 25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 25-21 victory over host Damien on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs didn’t win the ILH title last season, but went on to claim their first Division II state title.
“Another first for us, right?” said Le Jardin coach Lee Lamb of the ILH championship. “We’re just trying to check off the boxes.”
Natalie Piper, who had 17 kills, echoed his sentiments following the final of the ILH D-II tournament.
“We won states last year, but we didn’t win ILH,” she said. “So here we’re making history and checking all the boxes.”
Julia Fisher added 14 kills and Nive Tuileta recorded 42 assists for the No. 7 Bulldogs (13-1).
“Honestly, this is the end of our journey. We were meant to be here,” Fisher said. “This is something we work hard for every day and our girls, we don’t give up, we’re relentless. That’s why we’re here.”
Le Jardin will be the league’s No. 1 seed for the state tournament, which is Oct. 25-28.
“Everyone said winning a championship is easy, but defending one is hard,” Fisher said. “We found that to be really true. We have a target on our back every game and I think every game we come out there and play our best.”
Tuileta, a freshman, showed great poise in getting favorable matchups for her hitters.
“Being a freshman, as a setter, it kind of put a lot of pressure on me,” Tuileta said. “But the seniors and all the other people really helped me feel comfortable in my situation and made my job a lot easier.”
It appeared Le Jardin was going to record the sweep, but Damien fought back from a 24-21 deficit in the third set. The Monarchs scored the final five points on a pair of kills by Shelby Capllonch, an ace by Rayne Pactol, a double-block by Julia Tilton and Ilana Sagapolutele and a hitting error.
“It was all character. I told them, ‘Your backs are against the wall and this is where you show what a championship team looks like,’ ” Damien coach Don Faumuina said. “They fought really hard in that third set and we had the momentum, and we thought we had the momentum in that fourth set.”
In the fourth, the Monarchs got out to a 4-0 lead, but the Bulldogs quickly made up the difference, with Piper going for seven kills in the set. Seven of her kills for the night came from the back row, including match point.
“I really like hitting from the back row,” Piper said. “It’s fun especially with our setter, Nive. She’s amazing and she puts the ball in the exact spot that I like it.”
Capllonch finished with 22 kills and Heavenly Campbell added 11 for Damien.
Faumuina said Capllonch’s “court IQ is phenomenal” and Campbell is a freshman, who is “just learning the sport.”
The Monarchs (11-5) forced the rematch by winning a five-setter Tuesday night in the double-elimination tournament.
“Damien, they deserved that win,” Fisher said. “They played great. Shelby is an awesome player. But today we were just like, ‘This is ours, this is our game. We’re not going to let them take it from us.’ ”
The Monarchs will play at Hawaii Baptist today. The winner will be the ILH’s No. 2 team in states and the loser will be No. 3. Sacred Hearts will be No. 4.
“We’ll do our best. It’s for 2 and 3. This is more about getting ready for states, whether we’re the second or third (team),” Faumuina said.
