St. Francis returns to top

In the world of 16- and 17-year-olds, six years is practically a lifetime.

For the Saints of St. Francis, they made memories to last forever this week. Kalei Mau pounded 10 kills and Angel Savea added eight as the Saints captured their first state championship since 2005 with a 25-17, 25-23, 25-11 win over Leilehua in the Division II final of the HHSAA/New City Nissan Girls Volleyball State Championships at Blaisdell Center.

Harlee Meyers added seven kills and five aces, Kololia Atoia-Williams tallied five kills, and setter Lexis Satele dished out 31 assists for St. Francis (13-2), which was the third-place team from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and won four matches in four nights en route to the crown.

"We made an impact and a statement, definitely, by sweeping them in three," Saints coach Sonja Samsonas said. "The girls turned the switch on this whole tournament. Everything we talked about, our discipline, showed this whole tournament."

Jedidah Hanakahi had a team-high 12 digs and added three of her team’s 11 aces. Leila Matsumoto also had three aces.

Alea Hamm, a 6-foot-1 senior, led Leilehua with 10 kills and sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi added nine with 14 digs. Krystin Kubo had 25 assists and Elizabeth Dumlao had a team-high 18 digs.

Leilehua (7-7) was the runner-up from the Oahu Interscholastic Association and surprised by reaching the final, knocking out top-seeded Hawaii Baptist in the semifinals.

"Tonight wasn’t our best night. St. Francis just played better," Mules coach Larry Cantero said. "They took us out of our system most of the time. Today, in the second game, things changed when we lost the lead. If we took that one, it might have been a different story. Morale would’ve been better."

St. Francis, with a balance of strong back-row defense and big blockers such as Mau (6-1), Savea (5-10) and Atoia-Williams (5-10), hardly looked like an unseeded team.

"I’m so happy, I don’t know what to say," Satele said. "We played for each other instead of ourselves."

The Saints took control early in the opening set with a 9-4 lead and were never really threatened, even after the Mules cut the lead to 12-9. A pair of aces by Meyers, one of just five seniors on the team, helped push St. Francis to a 20-15 lead en route to a Game 1 win.

Leilehua found its momentum in the second set and led 16-11 after a kill by middle blocker Mariessa Carrasco. However, Leilehua errors and St. Francis’ resilience turned the tide. The Saints bolted ahead 22-21 on a kill by Mau, a junior who was a hammer from the right side all night.

A kill by Atoia-Williams closed out that second set, and Leilehua was never in it the rest of the way.

For the match, St. Francis hit .183 and Leilehua hit .096. The Mules had two aces to the Saints’ 11.

"Ever since Day 1 of the state tournament, we realized to win a championship takes everybody," said Savea, a junior outside hitter.

"We started playing as a team and we got redemption in the tournament," added Atoia-Williams, another junior outside hitter.

Hanakahi, a senior middle blocker/outside hitter, flashed the biggest smile. She transferred to St. Francis after her previous school closed its doors — and its prominent volleyball program — two years ago.

"I came over from Word of Life and we never actually won it, so it feels good," she said.

Samsonas kept her team busy and focused by scheduling some of the top D-I teams during the Saints’ off-time.

"In between games, we scrimmaged Kamehameha, Punahou, Mid-Pacific and Moanalua, and that really helped. The level of play is a little bit higher, so thank you to all those schools. We really appreciate it," she said.