Kahiau Machado and Naone Cannon drilled eight kills apiece as No. 3 Kamehameha swept No. 4 Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-15, 25-16 on Saturday night in pool play of the Kamehameha Cup Invitational at Kekuhaupio Gym.
Elijah Hew Len delivered 16 assists as Kamehameha’s balanced attack overwhelmed their cousins from the Big Island. It was the first loss in pool play for KS-Hawaii (3-1), allowing Kamehameha (3-1) to move into a tie for first place. With two more pool-play matches scheduled for Saturday morning, both teams are a lock to qualify for the championship bracket. Four of the six teams in the tourney will reach the semifinals.
Middle blocker Kobe Young added four kills and Kamoku Panee chipped in six assists. Hew Len had two of his team’s four aces as the Warriors rebounded from a loss to King Kekaulike on Thursday. Moanalua, which is also 3-1 in pool play, lost to KS-Hawaii earlier on Friday.
"We need to play mentally consistent. If we do that, we’re very good," Kamehameha coach Kainoa Downing said. "If we don’t, then we’re average or even below average."
It wasn’t quite as close as the last matchup between the teams at the Hawaii Invitational, when Kamehameha downed KS-Hawaii 25-19, 26-24 in the third-place match.
"I thought it would be a lot closer. We had lots of rest, but we looked like we were tired," KS-Hawaii coach Guy Enriques said. "Even when we beat Moanalua, we played well in the first set, then we had a letdown. We played well again in the third set. Kamehameha can be a really good team, but they’re like us, up and down. They always seem to be up for us."
Emmett Enriques hammered six kills and Isaiah Laeha tallied four for KS-Hawaii, which is 8-0 in BIIF play. Addison Enriques had 10 assists and a kill, and Nala Makuakane added six assists.
Chase Carter, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, had two blocks. The visitors hit .113 and didn’t have an ace.
Kamehameha hit .288. David Kaaa had three blocks and a kill to spark the Warriors in the middle.
The opening set was close at 6-all before the home team went on an 11-2 run, including seven points in a row with Chris Wise at serve.
Hew Len had both of his aces during the tail end of the run to give the Warriors a 17-8 lead.
KS-Hawaii got within 19-13 after a roll shot by Emmett Enriques, but got no closer. Kahiau Machado had two kills and Kalawaia Fano had an ace to thwart the Big Islanders.
The second set was tied at 1-all and 3-all, but again, the visitors never led. Young and Kaaa had blocks to spark a 15-7 run. That included three kills in a row by Machado.
KS-Hawaii got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Pool play and playoff action resumes at 8:30 a.m. The finals are set for 11:30 a.m.
POOL PLAY STANDINGS
Kamehameha 3-1, Kamehameha-Hawaii 3-1, Moanalua 3-1, King Kekaulike 2-2, Santa Barbara 1-3, Westwood 0-4.
FRIDAY
Pool play
Santa Barbara def. King Kekaulike 25-16, 25-19
Moanalua def. Westwood 25-14, 25-10
Kamehameha def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-15, 25-16
Kamehameha def. Westwood 25-8, 25-15
Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Santa Barbara 25-17, 25-16
Moanalua def. King Kekaulike 25-18, 25-21
