Maui Robins’ 19 kills power No. 3 Kamehameha over No. 1 ‘Iolani

Maui Robins smoked 19 kills as No. 3 Kamehameha rallied for a 12-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-16 win over No. 1 ‘Iolani on Tuesday night at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.

Kamehameha (2-1) used a balanced attack to battle back against the visiting Raiders. Robins also had a team-high 19 digs. Nadia Koanui tallied 12 kills, middle Adrianna Arquette had nine, Moana Peaua had six and Marley Roe had five kills plus 25 assists. Sierra Scanlan dished out 33 assists.

“‘Iolani is really well coached. They came out on fire and put us into some spots. We didn’t match their energy or intensity,” Warriors coach Chris Blake said. “We’re happy how we battled back. Pretty much, they took it to us hard, but what was great was listening to what happened in between sets one and two. It wasn’t too much of the coaches. It was a lot of our players, the captains, were able to settle them down.”

Mari Lawton paced ‘Iolani (2-1) with 10 kills. Brooke Naniseni had nine kills and 2.5 blocks, and Malenaite Sake also had nine kills. Anuhea Hauanio-Lore chipped in five kills and setter Ambri Hanohano finished with 31 assists and 1.5 blocks.

The visitors came in red hot, bolting to an 8-0 lead with two aces by Elizabeth Asada. The home team got within 8-4, but never got closer for the rest of the opening set.

Blake gave his team some space between sets to discuss.

“We talked about just flushing the first set. We knew that wasn’t us, that wasn’t our game. We knew we have the ability to come back,” said Robins, the returning Gatorade Player of the Year.

Libero Payton Oliveira was a constant stopper in the back row.

“We reminded the team to stay connected because that’s the most important thing. One play, flush, and not to blame one another,” Oliveira said.

The Warriors took control in the second set behind Robins. The senior had only one kill in the first game, but had six in the second as Kamehameha roared to a 24-17 lead. ‘Iolani then scored the next five points, pulling within 24-22 on a block by Naniseni.

However, Arquette’s kill closed the set.

The third game was almost a duplicate of the second. ‘Iolani took a quick lead, and Kamehameha gradually took the lead and opened it to 24-17. The Raiders again cut the lead with five points in a row, getting consecutive blocks from Lawton.

Robins then two-handed the ball to the right corner of ‘Iolani’s court to end the set and give Kamehameha a 2-1 lead.

Kamehameha rolled that momentum into set four, using a 16-7 run to open a 22-13 lead en route to the match win.

Kamehameha will visit No. 2 Punahou on Friday. ‘Iolani will host Mid-Pacific, also on Friday.