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Hawaii Baptist is back on top in Division II.
The Eagles won their fourth New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Championships and first since 2009 with a 25-17, 25-23, 25-16 sweep of Le Jardin on Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena.
Right after getting victory lei from her parents, Hawaii Baptist setter Ally Wada summed it up: "We hadn’t won it in so long, so to finally do it, it feels great."
Wada finished with 37 assists, setting up her teammates smoothly all night.
"All of our hitters were on," Wada said. "I felt like I could go to the outside, middle or opposite and they would put it away."
Eagles coach Myles Shioji — who also led the team to D-II state titles from 2007 to ’09 — reflected on the accomplishment.
"We played a really complete match, not our best, but pretty close," he said. "This means a lot for the school. This is something the kids can build on and it bonds the school together. For me, I look at it as a team thing. For me as an alumnus, I think of it as giving back for what was provided me when I went there to school."
Eagles junior outside hitter Keri Lum fired away for 18 kills, Kallie Langford added 17, and opposite Brienna Nishimura had eight. Libero Kailey Young had 29 digs.
"Ally (Wada) really progressed this year and was one of our most consistent players," Shioji said. "She’s only a sophomore and already one of the best setters in the state. Keri (Lum) was our go-to hitter and really brought it the last three nights. She was saddled with leadership this year and she really stepped up with that."
For Le Jardin, making the final was a major accomplishment. It was the Bulldogs’ first appearance in the tournament and they won three matches to get to the final, including victories over top-seeded Konawaena and fourth seed Farrington.
"This is so good for our confidence," said Le Jardin junior outside hitter Kassidy Naone, who put down 13 kills. "It’s such a reward just to get here, especially since we only had seven girls when the season started (before others were brought up from the JV team to fill out the roster). Of course, this loss stings, but it will give us incentive to work harder next year."
Julia Fisher added nine kills for Le Jardin, and Nina Krupe dished 22 assists.
Lee Lamb, the Bulldogs’ first-year coach who came over from Kahuku, said the team wasn’t ready for the defense Hawaii Baptist had in store.
"Their defense was just so good," he said. "We’re used to seeing more balls going down and hitting the floor. It was great for us to make it here. It’s a milestone. We lose only one senior, so maybe we’ll have the opportunity to do it again."
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