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The Damien Monarchs sent their Don out with flying colors.
Don Faumuina, their fifth-year head coach, completed his final season with the ultimate prize, Damien’s first volleyball state title. Damien (16-1) swept previously unbeaten Waimea 25-19, 25-11, 25-14 in the D-II final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships on Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena.
All through it, Faumuina was calm as he stood near the bench; lollipop and hat in place, stoic game face on.
“I was just enjoying the moment. Sometimes, you’ve got to sit there and enjoy the moment, no matter what happens. It was in our favor and one of those things I’ll never forget,” he said. “What a way to go out.”
>> Click here to see photos of the match between Damien and Waimea.
Damien seniors, including outside hitter Kaira Wengler, enjoyed every moment of the journey with their head coach, who announced his retirement from coaching after the Monarchs won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu D-II crown.
“It was a very surreal moment. I love Coach Don. To see him leave, it’s a hard decision. He’s a very good coach,” Wengler said. “My senior year, we finally made it to the championship. It’s Coach Don’s last year. We did it for him.”
Rayne Pactol, a junior, led Damien with 10 kills and tallied 11 digs. Heavenly Campbell added six kills, and Aiyani Park had a team-high 22 digs.
“We finally made it. It feels unreal,” said Wengler, who had eight kills and seven digs. “Waimea is definitely a good team, but I feel like we played together and we just balled out tonight.”
Pili Kekipi-Nuuanu added six kills from the middle, and setter/opposite Kaulana Kalulu-Sugai was the glue with 22 assists, 16 digs and three kills.
“Our coaches said trust the system, believe in each other, and keep working hard, one point at a time,” Kalulu-Sugai said.
The Monarchs were aware that Waimea (14-1), the KIF champion, was coming off back-to-back five-set wins over University and Hawaii Prep. Fatigue may have factored into Waimea’s struggles.
The Menehunes committed 10 hitting errors in the first set and eight more in the second. They finished the match with 29 hitting errors and a negative .067 hitting percentage.
In the quarterfinal, Waimea edged Hawaii Prep in five, and then went to the max five in a semifinal win over University.
“They really played with a lot of hustle and heart, coming back from games, reverse sweeps,” Waimea coach Brandi Hori Moises said. “It might have taken a toll on them, but they did put a lot of effort into that first set. I just don’t know what happened after that.”
Waimea gritted it out and rallied from a four-point deficit for a 12-11 lead in the first set on a block by Makeyah Wisneski. Waimea was up 18-16 after a kill by Kepler Niccore, but Damien closed the opening set with a 9-1 run. That included four consecutive hitting errors by Waimea, a kill by Pactol, and a net violation on game point.
Damien’s serve was a big advantage in Set 2. Kalulu-Sugai and Wengler delivered aces during a 7-2 run.
Waimea got within 9-7 after back-to-back kills by Titi Alquiza, and was still within 13-9 after Isabella Bateman and Raelee Samio (eight kills) teamed up for a roof.
With Julia Tilton at serve, Damien went on a 9-0 run.
The avalanche continued in the third set. Another ace by Kalulu-Sugai triggered a 13-4 run to begin the game.
Waimea got within 18-13, but Campbell hammered a kill, then a roll shot for another point and Damien regained momentum en route to the sweep.
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