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Kailana Andrade had six kills and sophomore Myah Feliciano had five of her team’s 15 aces as No. 6 Kapolei swept previously
unbeaten Waianae 25-21,
25-20, 25-20 on Wednesday night.
A raucous senior-night crowd at Waianae’s gym had an effect on both teams as restrictions are eased throughout the OIA. Kapolei’s serve, however, stymied the home team from start to finish.
To thwart Waianae’s powerful outside hitter, Nicanora Clarke, and Pitt-bound setter Haiti Tautua‘a, Kapolei put some extra preparation into serve placement this week, coach Naidah Gamurot said.
“They executed that part. That was good,” she said.
It was far from easy for the visiting Hurricanes, who saw middle Maya Saole-Su‘e suffer with an ankle injury during the second set.
“When Maya went down, our middle, you never know what your team’s going to do when your middle goes down,” Gamurot said. “But you know what? They all rallied. They refused to quit. That was good to see because we haven’t had a lot of situations where we’ve been pressed up against a wall.”
Marley Hartley and Henua Moefu added four kills and three aces each for Kapolei (8-0), now in sole possession of first place in the OIA West. Kilinahe Andrade had three kills, one ace and dished 14 assists for the visiting Hurricanes. Saole-Su‘e returned in the third set and finished with four kills and two blocks, returning from an ankle
injury in mid-match.
Alizaysha Sopi chipped in two aces, two blocks and one kill.
Nicanora Clarke led Waianae (7-1) with 13 kills and Lele Krug tallied eight kills and two aces. Tautua‘a had four kills, three aces and 20 assists. Leicey Caspino chipped in two aces.
“I only saw film of the (Waianae vs.) Pearl City game, so I only knew a little bit. You know Haiti is there and the setting is going to be excellent,” Gamurot said. “You know every time Nicos goes up, she’s going to be pounding the ball.”
Despite the largest home crowd of the season, the Seariders didn’t get going until they were down 18-11 in the opening set.
“It wasn’t the serving. It wasn’t anything. I believe the hype of senior night got to them,” Waianae coach Ka‘ena Keiki said. “Every game is a new game, we move forward.”
Aces by Azariah Nunuha, Sopi and Feliciano sparked the Kapolei run in game one.
Two kills and an ace by Clarke plus a kill by Larrynn Jose-Rodrig pulled the Seariders within 19-18. Kapolei then closed the opening game with a 6-3 run.
Waianae opened the second set with a 6-2 lead, but the ‘Canes chipped away and took a 12-11 lead on a Seariders hitting error. Waianae was still within
18-17 after an ace by Shyla Wagner, but three hitting errors and a service error by the Seariders gave the visitors a clear path to a 2-0 lead in the match.
Game three was similar to the second. After a kill and a block by Tautua‘a, and a back row kill by Clarke, the Seariders had an 8-4 lead. Kapolei was resilient and took the lead for good, 17-16, after another Waianae hitting error.
Down 19-16, Waianae got a kill by Krug and an ace by Tautua‘a to get within one point, but Kapolei got a block by Kilinahe Andrade, a kill by Kailana Andrade and consecutive aces by Feliciano to open a 23-18 lead.
Nunuha and Kailana Andrade closed the match out with kills.
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