Isaiah La‘eha took a signal from his coach on the sideline and served the ball that rose over the net and somehow found an opening on the floor for an ace.
That type of play happens occasionally, but rarely does it happen on the final point of a match.
La‘eha’s serve gave Kamehameha-Hawaii a 25-22, 26-24 victory over Moanalua for the Kamehameha Cup Boys Volleyball Invitational title Saturday at Kekuhaupio Gym.
"Not very often," La‘eha said, when asked if he had ever seen an ace find such a space to win a match. "When I got to the line, I thought about how the coaches stress to get the serve in, especially on the (potential) last point. Secondly, I was visualizing. I saw the serve go in. Coach gave me the signal — 5 — for the back right of the court and I let it go. We’re pretty excited. This is a big step for us."
Indeed, it is. The Warriors from the Big Island — ranked fourth in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Top 10 — knocked off the third-ranked team, their Kamehameha brethren from Oahu, in the semifinals Saturday morning before upending second-ranked Na Menehune.
"Kamehameha-Hawaii was digging balls like crazy all match," Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said. "We made errors we don’t usually make, with a lot of mental errors. Usually, if we don’t make a play, you make the next play. That wasn’t the case at times today. Also, balls were dropping because players weren’t communicating.
"In competition like this, one or two mental errors will make the final difference, so we’re glad to have matches like this where we get tested now rather than the state tournament."
Emmett Enriques led the offensive charge for the Warriors with 11 kills, mostly on sets from Addie Enriques and Avery Enriques.
"The three Enriques know how to play," Cabanting said. "They’re steady and confident and the others on the team know their roles."
Both teams were missing key players. The Warriors were without middle blocker Hanalē Lee Loy, who has a torn ligament in his ankle. Na Menehune played without Noah Marasco-Ayau, a setter in their 6-2 system who is on a recruiting trip to Iowa.
The first set was close the whole way. The Warriors’ biggest lead was four points, but Na Menehune whittled it to one, 22-21, on a kill by Austin Matautia.
La‘eha was instrumental in finishing it off for Kamehameha-Hawaii. He had three kills and an ace the rest of the way, including a kill for the winning point.
"We’ve overcome so many things," La‘eha said. "And we’re way better since the beginning of the season. We have the best chance to take it (states). As long as everyone brings it, we can do anything we put our minds to."
Matautia put down a match-high 12 kills, including many of the thundering variety. Kamalu Kaaa added six kills and Karson Kruz had five.
"They (the Warriors) are a team that easily sides out," Matautia said. "Everyone does anything it takes to get the ball in. They have a passion, a drive to win. We had some miscommunication and we’re constantly working on fixing that."
In the second set, Na Menehune had a 21-19 lead, but Kamehameha-Hawaii plugged away for seven of the next 10 points and clinched it on La‘eha’s hot-potato serve.
