In the chilly confines of ‘Iolani’s air-conditioned gym, coach Kainoa Obrey was right about the way momentum can "snowball."
No. 2-ranked Kamehameha used that to its advantage to fend off an upset bid by the fourth-ranked Raiders in a 25-15, 10-25, 25-14 girls volleyball win Tuesday night.
Kamehameha improved to 2-1 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play. ‘Iolani took its first loss after two wins in a match of wide, wild swings in momentum.
Tiyana Hallums, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, pounded nine kills and Alohi Robins-Hardy brought a versatile package of gifts: eight kills, 11 assists and an ace for the Warriors. Combining with another junior, Faith Ma‘afala (14 assists, two kills, one ace), Robins-Hardy makes Kamehameha’s 6-2 offense one of great potential.
"We’re still trying to find ourselves as a team," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "It’s a great win against a great team. Faith and Alohi did a great job. Mia (Heirakuji) served a bunch of points. Pomai (Recca) did a lot of good things in the back row."
It wasn’t perfect for the Warriors, especially in the second set. After dominating most of the opening set, the visitors got into a rut midway through the second. A series of hitting errors in the middle, brought on by tough Raiders serves, turned the momentum.
"We served well in that set and they struggled with their passing," Obrey said. "In volleyball, things can snowball. It went the other way after that."
‘Iolani’s Loxley Keala (10 kills) had four kills, two aces and one of her two blocks in the second game. Haley Robinson’s kill and Hoakalei Dawson’s ace fueled a stunning run, turning a 7-6 lead into a 21-7 score.
"It was a great feeling," Keala said of the second set. "Everybody was cohesive. Everything was working for us and going bad for them."
But the Raiders couldn’t sustain the wave of success into the final set. They got a kill from the right side by Keala, a 6-1 senior, but Kamehameha went on a 9-0 run. Heirakuji provided a spark off the bench with two aces, and after blocks by Robins-Hardy, a 6-1 junior, and Kea Browne, the Warriors were completely in control.
‘Iolani got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
"They came out really strong and caught us," Keala said. "Kudos to them."
Pikake Laumauna finished with six kills and Browne tallied four.
Dawson and Robinson chipped in with three kills apiece for ‘Iolani, and freshman Bailey Choy had 20 assists.
