Sacred Hearts rallies past Le Jardin to claim 2nd D-II state crown

1/3

Swipe or click to see more

JAY METZGER / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Le Jardin’s Alishya Roman hits Sacred Hearts’ triple block in the second set on Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena.

2/3

Swipe or click to see more

JAY METZGER / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Sacred Hearts celebrates after the final point to beat Le Jardin’s in the fourth set.

3/3

Swipe or click to see more

JAY METZGER / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Sacred Hearts celebrated after clinching a four-set win over Le Jardin in Saturday’s final.

Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.

Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.

Get unlimited access

From as low as $12.95 /mo.

Subscribe Now

The changing of the guard in Division II volleyball took a circuitous path, and it ended with Sacred Hearts’ astonishing victory over Le Jardin on Saturday night in the final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships at Blaisdell Arena.

The Lancers (13-4) shook off a loss in the first set and rallied to bring the school its second D-II state crown, 19-25, 26-24, 25-13, 25-16.

Sacred Hearts worked its way all the way up from a fourth-place finish in the ILH standings and an early exit in the league tournament. On top of that, the Lancers vanquished the two-time defending state champion Bulldogs (14-3), who climbed into the finale from a lower-than-usual third-place ILH finish.

“Sacred Hearts, they outplayed and outhustled us tonight,” Le Jardin coach Lee Lamb said. “They were digging everything. We tried to mix it up, but no matter where we went on the court, they found a way.”

It was the first state title for the Lancers since 2006, and it was fueled by the steady setting hands and fiery leadership of Makenzie Faamausili-Cacoulidis, who ran a smooth offense and dished out 43 assists.

Ryanne Burnett put down 15 kills for Sacred Hearts and teammate Kayla Murray had 12. Shaydee Afoa delivered six kills and four block assists, and Alissa Bautista had 24 digs.

“We’ve come so far from the beginning of the season,” Faamausili-Cacoulidis said. “We worked on our passing and siding out quickly and this is what we accomplished. Our school is not really known for sports, so to have this championship is just amazing.”

Nive Tuileta powered the Bulldogs with 14 kills and 19 assists, and Ellie Diersbock pounded 16 kills. Teammates Alishya Roman was in on five blocks, and Teia Piette had a match-high 26 digs.

Asked for his thoughts on knocking off the two-time defending champions, Sacred Hearts coach Raymond Patcho said, “It’s wonderful. They (the Bulldogs) are a great team. All we had to do was tell our girls, ‘Hey, we’re the best team here and we’re going to play like the best team here.’ ”

This is the fourth year in a row Le Jardin made the final. In 2015, the Bulldogs finished runners-up to Hawaii Baptist.

“I think our team did a good job,” Tuileta said about Le Jardin. “Sacred Hearts was really pushing us over and beyond what we’re used to. They really outworked us. It was a good game. We never really had competition like that. Our energy was a little down tonight. We tried to pick it up. Sacred Hearts just kept on coming back at us and we couldn’t stop that.”