Kahuku dominates McKinley in opener

Kahuku girls volleyball coach Tehani Miyashiro is probably not going to need to remind her girls what they need to work on: Take care of business on our own side of the net.

It was pretty obvious in the Red Raiders’ OIA opener at McKinley on Tuesday night as No. 3 Kahuku pounded down 30 kills but committed 12 errors in a 25-14, 25-12 win over the Tigers.

Adora Anae led the way with seven kills, but made five mistakes and eight other Kahuku players had kills. Only five of McKinley’s points came off kills.

The one-sided show wasn’t limited to dig-set-spike, the Red Raiders also had seven aces and four service errors.

"I’m pretty happy," Miyashiro said. "Some of the things we worked on in practice we were able to do very well. We are going to work on service errors and help them understand the importance of getting the serve over."

Kahuku started the match with unopposed kills by Brittany Waite, Anae, Sina Tonga and Mariah Kamakeeaina, but those were followed by a net violation and unforced errors by Talia Brown and Anae to tie the match at 5-all. Anae took over after that, burying successive kills and Kahuku never trailed again.

The second set was much like the first, with Anae committing a pair of errors and McKinley jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Kahuku tied it on a McKinley error and took off from there, going up 15-8 before putting the second team in.

The Red Raiders then showed off their depth, with Sofia Tonga, Nuu Coleman, Jasmine Niutupuivaha and Thea Leitaua combining for eight kills with only one error.

Sina Tonga and Kamakeeaina each contributed five kills to the victory. Jazmayne Williams led McKinley with three kills and only one error.

Freshman setter Sharae Niu ran the offense in the first set, but she is still in a battle for the starting job. Libero Olivia Wallace had two aces and was steady at her position despite transferring from Baldwin just a week before school started.

Kahuku, which won the OIA and made it to the state semifinals last season, scrimmaged No. 1 Punahou and No. 2 Kamehameha in the preseason and held its own.

Senior transfer Talia Afalava sat out of Tuesday night’s match while she waits for her transcripts from her previous school in Utah.

"She brings really good energy," Miyashiro said. "I think she will make an awesome addition to our team."

Kahuku hosts Kaimuki on Thursday, while McKinley gets a visit from No. 10 Farrington the same day.