No. 1 Kamehameha swept No. 2 ‘Iolani in three sets Thursday night, but the back-and-forth war they waged proved that there is very little separation between the two ILH girls volleyball teams.
An ultra-close first set bled into a Warriors comeback in the middle frame and a massive Raiders rally in the third. Kamehameha, though, came out on top each time — 25-22, 25-23, 28-26.
“For us to come out with a three-set win was a big deal for us,” Warriors coach Chris Blake said. “We executed when we needed to. ‘Iolani put us into a lot of tight, bad spots, but the girls stayed resilient, got after it and we were able to pull it out in the end.”
The opening set had 11 ties, the last at 22, and five lead changes. The Raiders hit wide for a 23-22 Warriors edge and then Kamehameha middle Braelyn Akana got the next two points to finish it.
In the second set, ‘Iolani (4-2) led by as many as five, 11-6, before the Warriors (6-0) worked to tie it at 17. The score was knotted at 19, 20 and 21 before Akana got three of her team’s final four points with a block and two kills for the 2-0 edge.
In the third, Kamehameha took a 21-16 lead, but ‘Iolani got six points in a row and seven of the next eight, including Elena Oglivie’s two kills and a block, to take a 23-22 lead. There were deadlocks at 21, 23, 24, 25 and 26 before a Raiders mistake allowed Kalina Obrey to put down the match-winner for the Warriors.
“Our team did a great job coming back and executing and staying with every point,” said ‘Iolani setter Kristen McDaniel, who finished with 32 assists.
Akana finished with 15 kills and three blocks for Kamehameha, and Malie McClure added 13 kills, with Chloe Akiona-Bannan putting down eight. Setter Lexis Akeo came through with 40 assists.
Oglivie had a match-high 20 kills, and McDaniel and Sasha Petticord had six each for the Raiders.
“I’m really proud of our girls that they stuck with the process,” Kamehameha’s Blake said. “We did a lot of great things at the end part of the match, even after ‘Iolani took the lead. We know to expect everybody’s best match. Our back row and defense did a lot of wonderful things to make bad things happen (for the Raiders) and Lexis did a great job with distribution.
“Kristen (McDaniel) set her (‘Iolani) offense very, very well, too. It came down to a lot of defense and a few little things here and there, and we were lucky to get a three-set win.”
Raiders coach Kainoa Obrey did not want to comment after the loss.
Blake mentioned that Kamehameha is No. 10 and ‘Iolani No. 11 in the USA Today Super 25.
“It’s a great feeling to know we’re being recognized along with some of the best volleyball programs in the nation,” he said.
