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The Mid-Pacific girls volleyball team gave Kamehameha a nice little workout on Saturday, but it’s not like anything the Warriors haven’t seen all week.
"We have a long way to go; we have seen a lot of things so far this year, but we are still looking to improve," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "We have had some great practices this week, especially yesterday. We have a very deep team and it allows us to practice like we play."
The second-ranked Warriors beat No. 5 Mid-Pacific 25-20, 25-22 at the Owls’ gym, getting eight kills from Alohi Robins-Hardy and kills from seven other players. Mid-Pacific senior outside hitter Michelle Robinson led all scorers with 10 kills, eight of them in the second set.
Mid-Pacific was within one point in the first set at 21-20 and two points in the second set at 22-20 before Kamehameha’s experience took over. The Owls led the early part of both sets, but that is not enough for Mid-Pacific coach Luis Ramirez.
"This team can do better than hanging around," Ramirez said. "That’s not good enough for us. We are very young. They are going to improve, and when they improve they are going to be great."
The Owls gave the first game away with three consecutive errors at the end of the first set and let the second set slip away with a lift and another error. A lot of the errors were forced by Kamehameha’s intensity, which seems to grow as a match evolves.
"We had a little bit of trouble at first," Kamehameha senior outside hitter Pomai Recca said. "But I feel like the end game is our game, we always push back. Mid-Pacific did very well, but it was team against team and one person had to win."
While Mid-Pacific looks to improve against No. 1 Punahou on Tuesday and next Saturday, Kamehameha might have an even taller task ahead of it. The Warriors play Sacred Hearts on Tuesday before heading to Las Vegas for the Durango Fall Classic with No. 4 ‘Iolani against 46 of the best teams in the nation. The Warriors finished sixth in the tournament last year despite losing Misty Ma‘a to a bruised forearm early on. The experience still helped the Warriors to the state final, where they lost to Punahou.
"The team is so looking forward to Durango," Recca said. "We are ready for this; we have been preparing for this. This trip will only help us this season. I feel like practices have stepped up as it gets closer, in practice we play like it’s a game and it makes it way easier for us when we do get into a game."