The timing could not have been better for the Huntington Beach (Calif.) Oilers.
As they swept through the Clash of the Titans boys volleyball tournament on Friday, the Oilers also had players on both sides of the net thousands of miles away as Hawaii played Long Beach State. Huntington Beach closed out the tourney at Punahou’s Hemmeter Fieldhouse with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 victory over Kamehameha. Then head coach Craig Pazanti turned his iPad on outside the gym and tuned in to the big UH-LBSU match.
“We’ve got James Anastassiades (playing) for Hawaii, and TJ DeFalco and Josh Tuaniga starting for Long Beach, and a few other players on the bench,” Pazanti said, noting that UH led 2-1, but that LBSU was rallying. “It’s great. (Head coaches) Charlie Wade and Alan Knipe are friends of mine.”
(The second-ranked 49ers would rally for a five-set win over No. 1 Hawaii).
Another friend would be Oilers setter Aidan Knipe, son of Alan, who dished out 31 assists in a near-flawless performance.
While Huntington Beach sent reserves into the match early on — matching Kamehameha’s move to the 2s — Knipe stayed on the hardwood and was on point with a variety of feeds to Niko Colburn (five kills), Cayman LaFontaine (five), Trent Douphner (five), Sinjin Choi (four, one ace) and Jack Baker (four).
“We got a chance to rest Trent, Niko, Sinjin,” Pazanti said.
Co-captain Nathan Goode led Huntington Beach with seven kills and three aces. The Oilers defeated Corona Del Mar, a rival from the California Interscholastic Federation’s Sunset Surf League, in four sets on Wednesday. They toppled host Punahou in four sets on Thursday.
Though No. 9 Huntington Beach (23-6) entered the Clash ranked ahead of No. 12 CDM in the MaxPreps national rankings, beating the Vikings here means something. CDM is 6-1 in their league. The Oilers are 2-2.
“Beating Corona Del Mar only counts in our heads,” Goode said. “But now we know we can beat them.”
Josiah Kaaa, Gannon Chinen and Aiden Koanui had four kills each to lead Kamehameha, which hasn’t had a day off since Monday. The Warriors upset Punahou on Tuesday to end the first round of Interscholastic League of Honolulu play. The teams meet again today to determine the first-round (regular-season) winner, which will merit an automatic state-tournament berth.
“I talked to (Pazanti) about our situation,” Kamehameha coach Randy Nako said. “As soon as I put in our 2s, he put in his 2s.”
Punahou 3, Corona Del Mar (Calif.) 0
The Buffanblu swept the Sea Kings 25-22, 25-16, 31-29, playing the match of their season by stunning the Sea Kings, who are ranked No. 12 nationally by MaxPreps.
Jack Deuchar had 17 kills and three blocks, and Kawai Hong tallied 12 kills, three blocks and a kill for Punahou. Jakob Kimura and Braxdon Simmons added four kills each.
“It was their senior night, so that’s to be expected, just like we would of our team,” Corona Del Mar coach Sam Stafford said.
A raucous crowd, including a large student following, fueled the Buffanblu. So did a pre-match meeting that was a major turning point, according to coach Rick Tune, who was visibly emotional.
“I’ve never been as proud of a team as I am right here,” Tune said. “This team had some major challenges for the last month-and-a-half. It took a pretty heartfelt meeting before this match, and these guys really bought it.
“It’s less to do with winning the match, and more to do with the way they played. They played the way we always knew they could play, but they had been getting in the way of themselves. This is why we all coach. It’s not for the wins and losses. It’s for the huge growth moments like this. The guys … I’m really proud of these guys.”
