Nobody wanted to go home.
Match points were fended off like unwelcome guests at Kekuhaupio Gym on Tuesday night, until Kamehameha finally put away ‘Iolani in a 24-26, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 24-22 girls volleyball marathon. When the match decider — an ace by Faith Ma‘afala — finally arrived nine points over the standard 15 to win a fifth set, the Warriors stormed their court like a state tournament title was on the line.
In many ways, it was. Second-ranked Kamehameha earned some valuable separation from the No. 3 Raiders to determine which of these teams emerges from the ILH to play in the state tournament. Top-ranked Punahou is already in.
"It was a rush," Ma‘afala said.
Senior hitter Pomai Recca stepped up big for the Warriors when it mattered, helping Kamehameha overcome a monster night — 21 kills and 22 assists — by ‘Iolani senior Loxley Keala. Recca pounded nine of her 21 kills in the deciding frame, and was the emotional outlet her team needed with the stakes so high.
"The emotions, you could see it on both sides of the net," Recca said. "I had to pick it up, because that easily could have been us walking out the door with our heads down."
Kamehameha (3-0 ILH second round), which led 14-12 in the fifth, needed seven match points to get it done. ‘Iolani (2-1) had four chances to end the match, but came up empty each time.
"We gave nothing up. We made them work for every single point that they got," Keala said. "It could have gone either way, and they worked for it. We could get ahead, they would get back at us."
All is not lost for ‘Iolani, even after twice going up by a set and twice failing to protect its lead. It has two more matches, including one at home against Punahou next Tuesday, to make up ground. Kamehameha plays at Punahou on Saturday.
"Three teams battling it out, and I guess it makes it even more fun when you only get two teams to come out of it," ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey said.
"Our kids left everything out there," Obrey said. "It was good to see us battle and not give up, and we really pushed through. … We had our opportunities as well, but I just really like how we played."
Kamehameha coach Chris Blake rated the match pretty high in craziness on the regular-season scale; it was the first five-setter for both teams this season.
"Definitely," he said. "We were able to make some adjustments and be able to play, and our girls persevered in terms of that. That was going both ways. … We’re up, we’re down. Proud of the work they did; it was a big team win for us."
He credited ‘Iolani for continuing to tweak its modified 6-2 offense to provide new looks.
Warriors junior hitter/setter Alohi Robins-Hardy had 10 kills and 38 assists in splitting time distributing with Ma‘afala, who had 29 helpers. Senior middle Pikake Laumauna had 14 kills and seven blocks for Kamehameha. Four other Warriors had eight or more kills.
