Devin Kahahawai had 22 kills as Kamehameha ousted Kapolei 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17 on Monday night in the opening round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.
A boisterous crowd of roughly 300 watched at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium. ILH runner-up Kamehameha (9-5) will meet MIL champion Baldwin on Thursday. The quarterfinal match at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium will begin at 7 p.m.
“We knew that Kapolei was going to be a very tough team to beat. The top teams in the OIA are always really tough,” Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. “We were focusing on our service pressure. We were able to scout a little bit of what their tendencies are and I think we executed it as the game went along.”
Maui Robins tallied 11 kills and amassed a team-high 27 digs. Adrianna Arquette and Tia Kapihe had 10 kills each, while Nadia Koanui had seven kills. Marley Roe (34 assists) and Sierra Scanlan (27) made use of their weapons against a resilient Kapolei defense.
Kamehameha libero Payton Oliveira finished with 16 digs. The senior had a message for her teammates after Kapolei dug deep to win set three.
“I told our team that we had to get a fast start. We gave up a lot of points toward the end of that (third) game. We had to just focus on what we are doing because we were just giving them point after point. We had to control what we could control. I think that really showed during the fourth set,” Oliveira said. “We were able to get a fast start and control where we were putting the ball.”
Kapolei (11-3) was the unbeaten top finisher in the OIA West during the regular season, but finished fourth in the playoffs. The visiting Hurricanes have qualified for the state championships six years in a row. This is the fourth time during this span that Kamehameha has ended Kapolei’s title dreams.
“We lost. It was a tough job, but we got one (set),” longtime Hurricanes coach Naidah Gamurot said. “Kamehameha was really consistent and steady the whole time.”
Inclement weather across Oahu had an effect. Kapolei’s bus arrived behind schedule due to slow traffic, and the Hurricanes started slowly before battling the Warriors in the opening set.
The second set was 15-all before Kamehameha scored three of the next four points. Kills by Robins and Kapihe opened the Warriors’ lead to 19-16.
A block by Kapihe, a 6-foot sophomore, widened the margin to 21-17. After Arquette’s smash over the middle, the lead was five. A hitting error by the ’Canes plus a right-side kill by Kapihe stretched the lead to 24-17, and a net violation by Kapolei ended the second set.
Kapolei bounced back and took an 8-3 lead in set three. Not long after a block by Hurricane middle Maya Saole-Su‘e, Blake called time out with the Warriors down 10-5.
Kamehameha was revitalized. Scanlan’s right-side kill tied it at 12. After a roof and a kill by Kahahawai, the Warriors had a 17-14 lead.
Robins’ kill off a double block extended the cushion to 20-16. With Kahahawai resting, Kapolei took advantage.
A kill by Saole-Su‘e and Kamehameha hitting errors pushed the Hurricanes ahead 21-20.
A crosscourt kill by Nadia Koanui pushed Kamehameha ahead, 22-21, but the ’Canes regained the lead, 23-22, moments later on a hitting error by Koanui. An ace by Marley Hartley and a dig by Kilinahe Andrade landed on Kamehameha’s side of the net to give Kapolei set three.
Kamehameha has won four of the past seven state championships. Under Blake, the Warriors have won 10 state titles since 2005. The program has 22 championships since the inaugural girls volleyball state tourney in 1969.
Moanalua 3, Kaiser 0
Na Menehune made short work of the Cougars, winning 25-14, 25-11, 25-18 at Moanalua.
Moanalua will meet the tournament’s fourth seed, Kamehameha-Hawaii, on Thursday at Moanalua. Kaiser’s season is over.
Hilo 3, Waianae 2
The host Vikings rallied from two sets down to pull out a 15-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-11 victory over the Seariders.
Hilo advances to play OIA champion Kahuku. Waianae’s season is over.
