Kahuku volleyball on course

For Phoebe Grace, it’s clearly better late than never.

The 6-foot-1 junior clubbed seven kills in the middle and classmate Cheyenne Te’o had a team-high 12 as unseeded Kahuku overwhelmed fourth-seeded Waiakea 25-18, 25-20, 25-13 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.

"Phoebe was out from preseason until two weeks before OIAs," Tachibana said of Grace’s toe injury. "She’s back at square one and right now, it’s just about confidence."

A crowd of about 500 watched at sultry McKinley Student Council Gymnasium. Kahuku (13-2), the Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up, will meet top-seeded ‘Iolani in a 5 p.m. semifinal matchup at McKinley today.

Carey Williams added 11 kills, mostly from the right side, and eight digs. Puao Sao led the back row with a team-high 13 digs. ShaRae Niu had 24 assists and Laken Te’o tallied 18.

Waiakea stayed close for a while, but the taller, athletic Red Raiders dominated despite occasional miscues.

"The positive is that we are going to the semifinals, but we have a lot of things to work on. It’s up to them to do it. The girls know what to do," Kahuku coach Mounia Tachibana said.

Grace and Jasmine Niutupuivaha were dominant in the middle for Kahuku. Grace finished with 2.5 blocks.

Niutupuivaha added six kills, while left-hander Shali Niu pounded eight kills, mostly from the right side. Te’o’s blasts came mostly from the left, as the Red Raiders showed balance in their attack.

Middle Kadara Marshall had six kills to pace Waiakea (15-4), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion. Lindsey Maikui (seven assists) and Brianna Ridgway added four kills each. Jordyn Hayashi had a team-high 14 assists.

"Our blocking and overall defense could’ve been a little better, but our girls did a good job. I’m proud of them," Warriors coach Ashley Hanohano said of her young team, which has just four seniors. "They did a good job trying to play their hardest. Kahuku’s a great team and I have a lot of respect for them and their coaches."

The opening set was 11-9 after a kill by Cassie Emnase, but Kahuku never let Waiakea get closer. The Red Raiders got kills from Cheyenne Te’o and Shali Niu, and an ace by Te’o ended the game.

The second set was tied four times before Waiakea took a 14-13 lead. Kahuku then regained control and surged to a 21-16 lead, thanks to a string of hitting errors by the Warriors.

The third set was close at 10-8 before Kahuku went on a 10-1 run with Grace dominating at the net.

No public-school program has won the Division I state title since Kahuku did it in 2002 under coach Mona Ah-Hoy.

‘Iolani 3, Kalaheo 0

Moea Kekauoha slammed 17 kills as the top-seeded Raiders swept the Mustangs 25-10, 25-16, 25-15 in quarterfinal action at McKinley.

Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion ‘Iolani (16-2) will meet OIA runner-up Kahuku in the semifinals.

Sierra Buscher tallied 10 kills and Bailey Choy dished 40 assists. Ana Oglivie hustled for 13 digs and Buscher added 12.

Syenna Masaki and Siani Yamaguchi led Kalaheo (12-5), the OIA’s third-place team, with seven kills apiece.

Yamaguchi had a team-high 11 assists and Riley Lynch had 11 digs. ‘Iolani hit .367 and Kalaheo hit .068.