When a dynasty is about to crumble, the signs are visible.
Complacency. Inconsistency. A lack of toughness. Hawaii Baptist set out to overcome any external or internal obstacle in a quest for another state championship.
They got it with another dominant performance in a 25-19, 25-14, 25-22 sweep of Seabury Hall in the Division II final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships on Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena. That makes it four state crowns in the past five seasons for coach Teoni Obrey’s program.
"We came out with the mind-set of winning another banner for our gym, playing for each other, for our seniors," said outside hitter Michael Fisher, who led the Eagles with 23 kills. The
6-foot-6 junior also had two blocks and three aces.
"It’s been a great season. We really stuck to our goals. We’ve been working on that all year, consistency in intensity," said senior Chad Barretta. The 6-4 outside hitter finished with 14 kills as HBA’s attack found holes against Seabury’s big block.
"We have been working on getting better every time we step on the court," Barretta added.
Junior middle Kaimana Triska had four blocks and setter B.J. Hosaka dished 38 assists for HBA (16-0).
"I think we were a little lucky," Obrey said. "We didn’t play our best match."
Seabury Hall (13-3) had played some of its best volleyball this week, knocking out Kohala and McKinley. HBA, however, proved to be too constant defensively and too much at the net with Fisher (two blocks), Barretta and Triska. Senior libero Kalei Hosaka amassed a team-high 16 digs.
Sophomore Blake Rizzo, a 6-3 middle, led the Spartans with nine kills. Senior Rocky DeLyon added seven kills and two blocks, and senior Sage Trudeau chipped in four kills and a block. Junior Max DeLyon had 28 assists and Travis Taylor had a team-high nine digs.
"We knew we had to be on Rocky DeLyon. We had to be on him wherever he went. We were concerned because we do have a bit of a small right block," Obrey said. "We had to control him. We had our two big guys on him."
Coach Caleb Palmer’s Spartans led the opening set 16-15 before Fisher tied it with a kill. Fisher then had five kills and two aces as the Eagles closed it with a 9-4 run.
Seabury Hall, a small private school in Olinda, Maui, saw the second set unfurl in similar fashion. HBA went on a 9-0 run, benefiting from four Seabury hitting and setting errors, to take a 19-10 lead. HBA stretched the lead to 11 before coasting to a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Spartans had a shot to avert a sweep, pulling within 17-all in the third set after kills by Taylor and Shane Jacob, and a block by Max DeLyon.
But HBA reeled off four points in a row, including one on a spectacular dig by Kalei Hosaka. Seabury got no closer than two the rest of the way.
Hawaii Baptist def. Seabury Hall 25-19, 25-14, 25-22
Leaders–Hawaii Baptist: Michael Fisher 6 digs, 27 assists, 2 blocks, 3 aces; Chad Barretta 2 digs, 14 kills, 2 blocks; BJ Hosaka 2 digs, 1 block, 2 aces, 38 assists; Kalei Hosaka 16 digs, 1 assist. Seabury Hall: Max DeLyon 2 blocks, 1 ace, 28 assists; Shane Jacob 2 digs, 9 kills, 1 block; Travis Taylor 9 digs, 4 kills, 1 block; Sage Trudeau 2 digs, 4 kills, 1 block, 1 ace; Rocky DeLyon 4 digs, 7 kills, 2 blocks; Blake Rizzo 4 kills, 4 blocks.
THIRD PLACE
Hawaii Prep def. McKinley 25-13, 25-14, 25-23
Leaders–McKinley: Devin Lee 1 kill, 1 block, 24 assists; Devin Smith 8 kills, 1 block, 1 ace, 1 assist; Meng Yuan Wu 13 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace. Hawaii Prep: Zeke Chong 15 assists, 1 kill; Kainoa Tanoai 2 kills, 10 blocks, 22 assists; Keanu Yamamoto 13 kills, 5 blocks, 2 aces; Jevin Ching 12 kills, 2 blocks; Tyler Van Kirk 17 kills, 7 blocks; Ka’i Bernier-Chen 1 kill.
FIFTH PLACE
Waimea def. Kohala 25-21, 25-18, 17-25, 5-5
Leaders–Waimea: Kailikea Shumacher-Lagundino 16 kills; Mark Kanahele 6 kills; Koa Luce-Yamamoto 5 kills; Jonathon Tangalin 27 assists; Chase Parongao 2 aces. Kohala: Donald Wong 14 kills, 2 blocks; Christopher Roxburgh 7 kills, 3 blocks; Kekoa Werner 4 blocks, 3 kills; Kulia Aveiro-Kalaniopio 25 assists.
ALL-TOURNAENT TEAM
OH — Chad Barretta (Hawaii Baptist)
OH — Keanu Yamamoto (Hawaii Prep)
OH — Rocky DeLyon (Seabury Hall)
MB — Shane Jacob (Seabury Hall)
MB — Tyler Van Kirk (Hawaii Prep)
S — BJ Hosaka (Hawaii Baptist)
L — Kalei Hosaka (Hawaii Baptist)
Most Outstanding Player: Michael Fisher (OH; Hawaii Baptist)