Hawaii Baptist claims third straight D-II title

Life couldn’t be better for Hawaii Baptist Academy.

The Eagles maintained an undefeated 15-0 record and won the Division II ILH boys volleyball title, their third straight D-II crown.

HBA made quick work of Pahoa on Saturday in a 25-20, 25-20, 25-23 sweep in the 2013 New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball Championships at the Blaisdell Arena.

"It’s surreal," HBA head coach Teoni Obrey said. "We’re very humbled by this, and it’s great to send off our seniors with a championship."

Top seed HBA did not drop a set throughout the state tournament, sweeping Hawaii Prep and Kauai in its first two games to advance to the final. No. 3 seed Pahoa (12-6) upset second-seeded Seabury Hall on Friday in an effort to win its first Division II crown.

The Daggers started the match strong, keeping up with the taller Eagles at 10-9. With more experience on the big stage, the Eagles strung together a five-point run with defensive specialist Joshua Kishaba at the service line.

HBA held a four-point lead at 17-13, but three consecutive hitting errors by senior Michael Fisher brought the Daggers within two. Fisher’s seventh kill gave the Eagles game point and Pahoa handed HBA the first set with a hitting error into the middle of the net.

Set 2 played out similarly to the first, with the score tied at 10. Fisher unleashed three spikes from the outside, along with Micah Aweau’s fifth kill from the right side to jump ahead at 15-11. Pahoa’s Caleb Woo O’Brien and Isaac Ekau tried to contain Fisher from right front, blocking him once and forcing a hitting error into the antenna. Fisher took advantage of his 6-foot-7 height to put down a well-placed tip over the block, and ended the set with a jump serve ricocheting off the Daggers.

It seemed like another simple sweep when HBA jumped to an

18-14 lead in the third, but Pahoa kept fighting.

Two HBA hitting errors and an ace by Anthony Mesa-Serrano gave the Daggers new life. Middle blocker Jarrett Kamaka stuffed an HBA spike and the Eagles’ Kaimana Triska missed the back line on a deep hit to give Pahoa its first lead of Set 3 at 20-19.

"I was just telling BJ we just gotta sideout. Just set me a high ball and I’ll try and do something with it," Fisher said. "I was just telling the guys just pass high and off and we’ll be fine."

The Eagles did what they do best and set up Fisher with a back-row kill to sideout. He followed it up with his hardest hit of the night just beyond the 10-meter line. Kishaba served up HBA’s fourth ace for a 22-20 advantage, forcing Pahoa to call its second and final timeout.

"We just wanted them to settle down and understand that we want to swing long, make sure we cover," Obrey said. "We were hoping to serve them out of the middle because that setter does a great job of setting them from any position."

The 24th point of the set was a battle, with the scrappy Daggers sprinting to the edges of the court to return a hard-hit ball. But once again, it was Fisher’s time to shine as he launched another kill into the stands. Pahoa knew what was coming on game ball, but a triple block couldn’t stop the two-time Division II MVP, as he punctuated the win with his 27th kill of the night.

"It’s a great feeling, it’s a great way to end the year," Fisher said. "It’s been the best season we’ve ever had. Pahoa’s a great team, they have a great community behind them, so we knew they were going to play hard. We tried to make them play our style of play instead of us trying to adjust to them."

Fisher also added nine digs, three blocks and two aces. Fellow senior outside hitter Aweau added 11 kills and five digs, while setter BJ Hosaka dished out a match-high 37 assists.

Pahoa’s Nicklas Fisher recorded a team-high 10 kills. Joseph Lefiti finished with 31 assists.

"We were focusing on Michael Fisher. He’s the leader on the team and he’s the one that controls the offense," said first-year Pahoa head coach Wayne Bidal. "It was a tough game. We went down fighting, but we just never get the breaks that we needed. It was a good ride."