‘Iolani sweeps past Mid-Pacific

In a battle of youth and talent, No. 4 ‘Iolani trumped No. 8 Mid-Pacific in a 25-19, 25-15 sweep at the Owls gym on Saturday.

Both teams featured four sophomores in the starting lineup of their ILH season opener. The Raiders graduated nine players from last year’s roster and return just three athletes with significant playing time.

Mid-Pacific is trying to replace six seniors.

"Even though we’re a young team we don’t really play like it," ‘Iolani captain Sara Watanabe said. "The way we get together, we get along really well. I thought that was what we didn’t really have last year that we have this year. So I think us being able to get along well on and off the court really helps to make us play better as a team."

‘Iolani used that cohesiveness to earn a 5-1 lead in Set 1, boasting a quick offense that balances its sets between front-row and back-row players. Watanabe earned four of her match-high 12 kills out of the back row.

On the other side of the net, Mid-Pacific’s hitters struggled to put the ball awa, and the Owls didn’t score their first earned point until they trailed at 12-8 from a kill by senior Jamie Hirai. Two points later, the Owls lost libero Lacie Choy to a knee injury from a collision in the back row.

The Raiders maintained a consistent five-point lead and earned game point on a Mid-Pacific net violation. Senior Hoakalei Dawson made the most of a tight pass and shot a deep volley into the right corner to end the set.

The Owls picked up the intensity in Set 2 and kept the game close with five ties before ‘Iolani gained a 10-8 lead. Mid-Pacific coach Luis Ramirez called a timeout, but it was the Raiders who regrouped with a 7-0 run. ‘Iolani’s second string entered the game at 18-10 and finished off the match.

Hirai and Lekaleka Kiner-Falefa led the Owls with four kills each, while libero substitute Kayla Muraoka picked up six digs. ‘Iolani’s Dawson added five kills, two blocks and 10 assists for the Raiders.

‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey seemed satisfied with his alma mater’s season-opening performance but noted that the Raiders still have room to improve.

"We didn’t execute hitting-wise, mostly because of our passing. We were out of system a lot," Obrey said. "We try to work a lot out of system in taking quality swings, but we’ll get better."

He believes that ‘Iolani’s tough preseason helped the Raiders prepare for their match and the season ahead.

"We had a good opportunity to play some good teams, especially at the Ann Kang," he said. "Especially with the young group, to get them playing better teams and higher level teams at the faster speed will get them prepared for our league. Our league is tough."