The Kamehameha Warriors returned from the Best of the West tournament with a little more edge.
A little more terminator mode.
Kainoa Wade led the way on Tuesday night, smashing 22 kills in just 39 attempts as Kamehameha swept Hawaii Baptist 25-18, 25-20, 25-15 at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.
“It’s great. It’s good to be back. Last year got cut short because the back injury, but this year, I’m looking forward to the full year,” said Wade, a 6-foot-8 sophomore and son of University of Hawaii coach Charlie Wade. “Today was good. Game plan going in was keep serves in and keep the pressure on, and I thought we did a great job of that. We were scoring pretty much at will today.”
The past week has been busy for the Warriors. They won their ILH regular-season opener against Mid-Pacific, then traveled to Best of the West. By Tuesday night, they were just two days removed from their flight home.
“Yesterday, we had a pretty good practice,” Warriors coach Sava Agpoon said. “I have some support from the athletic directors. They see the talent and talked to the boys and made sure they’re in the right mindset. Oh man, we had probably one of our best practices.”
Among those who fell to Kamehameha in San Diego was the tournament’s top seed, Mater Dei (Calif.).
“We had a pretty good showing up there, but it’s good to back here. Practice (Monday) was good,” Wade said.
Heston Cabinian added five kills and six digs, while Sean Friedl and Kaupo Hoopai-Waikoloa chipped in three kills each. Brayden Van Kuren dished 29 assists.
Kamehameha’s defense was stifling for an HBA team that stunned nine-time defending state champion Punahou last week. Jared Cruz had nine kills and Matthew Mokan tallied seven for the Eagles. Caleb Nishimura had a team-high nine digs.
“We didn’t pass very well. Kamehameha played very well. They played very clean. We’ve got to get to that level in order for us to compete,” HBA coach Teoni Obrey said. “Kainoa is a special player. We’ve got to figure out a way to defend him. He pretty much single-handedly took us out.”
Wade’s growth and development has come with a certain razor-sharp edge.
“Coming off that win (by HBA over Punahou) we knew their spirits would be high,” Wade said. “So it’s good to take it to them.”
Returning starter Harryzen Soares led the back row with eight digs.
“Last year, we were a little bit less terminal and we had good chemistry, but this year we have better chemistry. Our practices are more competitive,” Soares said.
Momentum and a little luck were on Kamehameha’s side to close the first set. A right-side hit caromed off Wade’s shoulder in the back row, and landed in HBA’s back row for a 24-18 lead.
The Eagles chipped away and got within 24-22 before Wade ended the set with a right-side kill.
HBA couldn’t sustain any runs in the second and third sets, falling to 1-1 in league play. The chase for the title appears to be wide open.
“I think we’ve got a great run at it this year. I think we’ve got as much talent as anybody. To see Punahou fall, they’re human,” Wade said. “Those are all my guys at Outrigger Canoe Club. Don’t sleep on us. Defense, we can score. We’ve got everything. We’re the whole deal this year.”
Agpoon sees room for improvement.
“I don’t think we’ve peaked yet. We are getting up there right now. They’re always willing to learn and get better. Every practice, we have a goal and we have some goals to fix on our setting and blocking,” he said. “The high-level play, every team we played against (at Best of the West). We had to go hard every time and now they want to travel every year.”
Kamehameha’s next match is next Tuesday at ‘Iolani. Hawaii Baptist will host ‘Iolani on Friday. The Raiders lost to Punahou in five sets on Tuesday, 27-29, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17, 15-12.
