Le Jardin capped a perfect season Friday in dramatic and exciting fashion.
Reese Diersbock had 31 kills and Sydnee Walker added 27 as top-seeded Le Jardin beat Hawaii Baptist 25-17, 25-16, 25-27, 19-25, 15-8 in the final of the HHSAA/New City Nissan Girls Division II Volleyball Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 6, finished 17-0 in capturing their third state title, all under coach Lee Lamb. The Bulldogs’ previous crowns came in 2016 and 2017.
“We’re the first team at LJA to go undefeated and win states,” said Diersbock, who took 75 swings and hit .293. “That’s what our goal was the entire season. We wanted our names on the wall and that’s our legacy as we leave Le Jardin.”
Lamb received the championship trophy and immediately handed it to Diersbock, one of the senior tri-captains along with Walker and Gennezia Hawkins, who finished with 57 assists.
“They’re definitely key hitters for us,” Hawkins said of Diersbock and Walker. “They are really strong and powerful and it’s really cool because I’ve played with them before, so that connection is there.”
Le Jardin cruised during the first two sets but struggled in the third and fourth against an Eagles team that displayed improved passing and serving.
“We know that HBA was going to be there till the end, they were going to fight till the end,” Lamb said. “We’ve played them four times in the championships, so it’s always a dog fight. We told the kids after the fourth set, never mind the pressure, winning a championship and an undefeated season, just go out there and have fun, support each other and go hard.”
Marisa Nakata had 30 kills on 73 attempts for Hawaii Baptist, which has a state-high four Division II championships. Nakata took 92 swings in a semifinal victory over Damien the previous day.
“Going in we knew that she was going to take a lot of swings and we were going to do our best to slow her down and camp on her, but she did great,” Walker said.
In the fifth, Diersbock recorded five kills during the Bulldogs’ 9-4 start. Le Jardin was able to maintain a comfortable lead before Diersbock ended the match with a kill from the left side.
“I knew right when I turned around my team was coming for me,” she said. “It was a breath of fresh air — we were done and we did what we were meant to do.”
Walked added: “We’ve been working on this for a really long time. This team is close. This is the closest I’ve ever been on a volleyball team, and so to have that and play together, we have that really good connection and that shows in the way that we play.”
The Bulldogs’ only previous five-set match this season was Sept. 8 against Maryknoll.
Le Jardin swept both matches against Hawaii Baptist during the ILH season, with the Eagles reaching at least 20 points in all six sets.
“This year’s group, they’re incredible,” said Hawaii Baptist coach Myles Shioji of his team. “While it’s disappointing, it’s competition. You have to be able to compete and perform and they did a great job of doing that this year.”
In the first set, the Bulldogs got separation with a 5-0 run, which put them up 20-13. The Eagles scored the next three points, but Le Jardin closed out the set with a 5-1 run, including three kills from Diersbock.
Le Jardin took an 8-3 lead in the second set, with Walker recording five kills. Hawaii Baptist (11-8) got within 18-15 before Le Jardin pulled away with tough serving and accurate hitting. The Bulldogs had 15 kills and three hitting errors in the set.
Walker had seven kills without an error and Diersbock added five in the set, including a couple from the back row.
The Eagles jumped out to a 14-4 advantage in the third set behind Nakata’s four kills and a suddenly effective block. Hawaii Baptist had three blocks during the surge after having only one in the first two sets.
Le Jardin got within 19-17 after a 5-0 run with Walker serving. A lift and mishandled set gave the Eagles set point at 24-20, but the Bulldogs scored the next four to tie it. The teams traded sideouts before Hawaii Baptist ended it with Nakata’s kill and a hitting error.
Nakata had nine kills for the Eagles in the set, while Walker and Diersbock each had seven for the Bulldogs.
Hawaii Baptist got out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set, but the buzzer went off, the referees huddled and a substitution infraction was assessed, which reduced the Eagles’ lead to 4-3.
“We were out of rotation on the wrong server,” Shioji said. “The scorer had something and we had something different.”
The Bulldogs were within 15-14 after Hawkins’ kill, but a 4-0 run by the Eagles gave them the momentum back. Hawkins moved from setter to left-side hitter midway through the set to try to spark Le Jardin.
—
Third-Place Game
Maryknoll def. Damien 25-23, 25-16
Fifth-Place Game
Konawaena def. Hawaii Prep 25-22,
18-25, 15-13
