Short-handed Kamehameha sweeps past ‘Iolani at home

Kamehameha’s depth helped the Warriors survive a test Friday night.

That attribute should also come in handy over the grind to come.

Missing two regulars, the second-ranked Warriors had enough firepower to fend off No. 6 ‘Iolani 25-23, 25-22 at Kekuhaupio Gym. The win gave Kamehameha sole possession of second place to close the first half of the ILH Division I girls volleyball season.

With seniors Misty Ma‘a and Chelsey Keoho away on recruiting trips, the Warriors (6-2) got eight kills from Amanda Wasko and six each from Haley Paakaula and Kawai Robins-Hardy in their second win over ‘Iolani (4-4) this season.

“When some of our team isn’t there we expect other members of our team to step up, and the ones we put in did an excellent job,” said Kamehameha coach Chris Blake, who pointed to the performances of Robins-Hardy and junior libero Kalehua Katagiri as keys in making up for the absences.

“The depth we have on our team from one to 15 is great; there isn’t much dropoff between players. A lot of different girls did a lot of different things for us today, so it was a great W for us.”

Kamehameha’s depth and conditioning figure to factor into their fortunes in the ILH’s second half, when the matches go to a best-of-five format.

“We know we can get through it physically and we just have to focus mentally throughout the match,” Paakaula said after the Warriors finished a set of post-match crunches.

The team also has weight training three times a week, including before Friday’s match, and runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“We train for three out of five,” Blake said, “to make sure when the time is right we’re at our best.”

Kamehameha was able to pull out critical points in both sets of Friday’s match.

Kamehameha trailed 23-21 in the first set, when sophomore setter Faith Maafala got a tip to drop to bring the Warriors within a point. ‘Iolani hit long on their next two swings and another went into the net to close the set.

‘Iolani took a four-point lead early in the second set before Kamehameha rallied and a 6-1 run gave the Warriors a 21-18 lead. Blake called a timeout after ‘Iolani closed to 23-22 and Robins-Hardy and Pikake Laumauna combined on a block to force match point. A tough serve by Maafala forced an overpass and Laumauna hammered it down at the net to end the match.

‘Iolani sophomore outside hitter Sara Watanabe led the Raiders with nine kills and junior middle Haley Robinson contributed seven kills and four blocks.

“We stepped up from the first time we played them,” ‘Iolani coach Jenic Tumaneng said, referring to a 25-14, 25-23 loss on Sept. 13. “We know there’s still a lot to work on.”

Punahou clinched one of the ILH’s state tournament berths by winning the first half. If the Buffanblu win the second half as well, Kamehameha would at least have a playoff for the second state berth. If a team other than Punahou wins the second half, that team gets the spot.