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Janeen Waialae has one wish for her Kalani Falcons girls volleyball team.
“I just hope we go far so we can spend more time together,” the Falcons coach said during the postgame senior celebration.
The Lady Falcons looked like a team ready for the OIA playoffs and more after sweeping a hustling Kaiser squad 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 on Thursday night. Senior-night Falcons fans roared, as did visiting Cougars fans, on a night when the inside of Kalani’s gym was covered with posters and player portraits.
Sophomore Haylee Lyons and junior Raymie Lum pounded 10 kills each for Kalani, which improved to 4-3 in OIA East play. Lyons had a team-high four aces.
“We had a rough start, not because of a lack of desire or want, but just kind of getting back into the groove of it all, meshing and jelling as a team,” Waialae said. “It’s been upward. The girls are really working hard. They’re a really good bunch of kids. I really appreciate them.”
Kaiser dropped to 4-3 despite 11 kills by junior Valo Sopoaga, daughter of former Hawaii and San Francisco 49ers football player Issac Sopoaga.
The bleachers on the mauka side were fairly crowded with a maximum (restricted) capacity of 250.
“It did feel crowded. This is one of our more crowded games and it pumps the girls up,” said Waialae, a former Kalani standout player. “I’m just happy they can have their family and friends watching, especially my seniors. It’s a good feeling.”
Kalani’s balanced attack was difficult to stop, as setter Arye Takamoto delivered with consistency. The sophomore finished with 25 assists, three aces and one kill. Tayler Gomes, a senior co-captain, added five kills and two aces, and Ami Evans tallied four kills and two aces.
Kaiser struggled at times with Kalani’s serve, but made a run in the third set before succumbing. Macy Matsushima added five kills, and Sanaia Kipapa tallied four kills and two blocks. Kaylie Yoshinaga had 15 assists, and Hiwa Agbayani chipped in six assists and one ace.
The opening set was tied at 3 when the home team went on a 14-2 run to seize control. Lum had three kills and Lyons had three aces.
Sopoaga had two kills as Kaiser opened the second set with a 3-0 lead, but again, the Falcons went on a tear and opened a 17-7 lead. Lum had three more kills and Gomes tallied two aces as Kalani took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Kaiser got five kills from Sopoaga in the third set and scored five points in a row to tie it at 17. Blocks by Bray Keliihoomalu and Luna Ann Brown gave the Lady Cougars a jolt.
However, a kill by Lyons and an ace by Takamoto stymied the Cougars. Kalani closed out the match with a 5-0 run, getting two aces from Evans.
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