Kealani Browne, Tiyana Hallums and Kayla Afoa combined for 21 kills as No. 1 Kamehameha outlasted No. 4 ‘Iolani 25-21, 25-23 on Tuesday night at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.
The Warriors improved to 8-0 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play, while the visiting Raiders dropped to 5-3.
‘Iolani couldn’t overcome Kamehameha’s edge at the net. The Warriors outblocked ‘Iolani 6-3 in a defensive battle.
"Kamehameha’s back-row defense, they’re laying out, digging everything," ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey said.
Libero Mia Heirakuji and Kamalani Akeo had 13 digs apiece for Kamehameha. Hallums hustled for nine digs and Sarah Lau added eight.
"We played pretty good ‘D.’ ‘Iolani played really well. They’re well-coached and they executed really well," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "’Iolani did a good job of limiting Tiyana’s swings today, but as a good team win, a lot of our other players stepped it up."
Browne, a 6-foot senior middle, had a team-high eight kills along with two blocks. Hallums tallied seven kills and Afoa, a 5-9 sophomore, chipped in six. Akeo dished 20 assists. Lau added two aces and two assists.
Senior Anna Uhr, recuperating from a bad cold, led the Raiders with 13 kills. Sierra Buscher, their talented freshman outside hitter, managed five kills and two blocks. Bailey Choy had 23 assists and one of ‘Iolani’s three aces.
"They’ve definitely improved a lot," Hallums said. "They put our hitters in bad positions. They got us out of system a lot. Our passing was off today, especially me."
With Uhr on fire, the Raiders led for nearly the entire opening set. She had five kills in her first eight swings. But Kamehameha went on a 5-0 run to take a 24-20 lead, benefiting from key plays by Afoa. She had a block and two kills during the run.
The Raiders never led in the second set, but tied it at 5-all, 16-all, 19-all, 20-all and 22-all. Kamehameha led 23-22 when an apparent double-hit on the Warriors’ side of the net off a partial block was not called. After Kamehameha got the point on an ‘Iolani hitting error, Obrey questioned one of the officials, but to no avail.
"From my vantage point, it looked like a double hit," he said. "But I’m proud of our kids. They won that next point."
A kill by Uhr on a left-handed tip brought the visitors within 24-23, but Afoa ended the match with her final kill.
"We expect everybody’s best match. We got it from Punahou and we got it from ‘Iolani. But we’re proud of our girls, how resilient they are. They found a way to win," Blake said.
