Junior Kaycie Garnett pounded 18 kills and three aces, and freshman Tayliah Tanuvasa hammered 13 kills as Roosevelt rallied past Kapolei 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 15-9 in a thriller Wednesday night to open the OIA Division I girls volleyball playoffs.
“I’m tired. We really had to come together. We had a couple of rough practices, but we did the best we could. To pull off a five-set win is not easy,” Garnett said. “It’s whoever wants it more.”
Roosevelt broke an 8-all tie with a 4-0 run in the final set to escape. The Rough Riders (14-6-1 overall) were the third seed in the East with a 6-4 record. They will visit the West’s second seed, Campbell at 6 tonight.
Both teams are loaded with young talent. Roosevelt has only one senior with four juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. Kapolei has six freshmen and struggled in a tough OIA West with an 0-10 mark. However, the last time the Hurricanes won, they beat Roosevelt 22-25, 25-18, 15-12 in the KSA Oahu Classic at Radford on Sept. 5.
“We knew their record didn’t matter. We had to keep firing,” Garnett said.
Middle Hilina‘i Kahawai added seven kills and four aces. Sanoe Holani-Frank dished a team-high 27 assists, adding two aces.
Sophomore Jerae-honey Gonzales led Kapolei with 21 kills, adding one ace. Sophomore Aria Tolentino added five kills and four aces, while freshman Aryanna Westbrook tallied five kills. Senior Macy MacCarley had seven blocks to go with three kills, while freshman Raina Pacheco dished 26 assists and had four kills.
Senior Anela Filisi had five huge aces to help Kapolei nearly pull off the upset.
“I feel good about the way we played here. We finally had a chance to play with our full team,” Kapolei coach Naidah Gamurot said. “Roosevelt did well.
Roosevelt coach Jarin Lubong’s squad opened well with a 5-0 lead, getting two aces from Sanoe Holani-Frank. Then the anxiety set in as the Rough Riders committed four hitting errors while Kapolei rallied for a 10-9 lead. The Hurricanes were scrappy on every ball, getting a miraculous diving, one-haded dig from Pacheco. She landed near the scorer’s table as the ball landed in the middle of Roosevelt’s side of the court for a point.
The home team opened well with a 5-0 lead, getting two aces from Sanoe Holani-Frank. Then the anxiety set in as the Rough Riders committed four hitting errors while Kapolei rallied for a 10-9 lead. The Hurricanes were scrappy on every ball, getting a miraculous diving, one-haded dig from Pacheco. She landed near the scorer’s table as the ball landed in the middle of Roosevelt’s side of the court for a point.
Battle-tested by the stronger West Division, Kapolei handled Roosevelt’s serve and continued on a resounding 22-6 run. Tolentino had three aces along the way.
Roosevelt finally found its footing and rallied within 23-18, but got no closer, shocking a large pro-Rough Rider home crowd.
In set two, Roosevelt again opened a 5-0 lead, and extended it to 12-4. Kapolei chipped away and got within 17-16 on an ace by Alyza Luceno. When Gonzales’ tip kill landed, the set was tied at 17.
Down 19-17, Kapolei came back to tie it at 19. Roosevelt then had a 4-1 mini-run with kills from middle Aiyana Itoga and Hilina‘i Kahawai and tied the match at 1.
Roosevelt rode momentum into game three with a 4-0 lead, stretching it to 9-3 after two aces by Kahawai. Kapolei pulled within 11-8, but Tanuvasa was electric. Her fifth kill of the set opened the lead to 15-9.
Kapolei made one more push with Tolentino at serve. She added one more ace, and after her back row kill, the Hurricanes were within 16-15.
A rare hitting error by Tanuvasa allowed Kapolei to tie it at 16.
Kapolei came all the way back.
After another back row kill by Tolentino, the team in teal led 17-16.
An ace and a kill by Tanuvasa helped bring Roosevelt back for a 19-17 edge.
Kapolei went ahead, 23-20, on back-to-back-to-back aces by Anela Filisi. The lead was 24-22 when middle Macy McCarley roofed Tatiana Pale to give Kapolei a 2-1 match lead.
The longest rally of the match ended with a roof by McCarley on Kaycie Garnett, and after another ace by Filisi, Kapolei led game four 10-6.
Down 13-12 in set four and 2-1 in sets, Roosevelt went on a 9-3 run to take command and even the match at 2-all.
Pearl City 3, Castle 0
Junior Isabella-Rose Bayani had 13 kills and one block while Macie Tailo drilled 11 kills and added two aces as the Chargers swept the Knights 25-9, 25-16, 25-16 at Roosevelt.
“It’s nice to get everybody in. We executed the game plan. Sometimes it doesn’t go our way. We were able to do the simple things. Serve well, serve receive,” Chargers coach Jonah Reyes said.
Pearl City, the fourth seed in the West, will play at the East’s top seed, Moanalua, at 6 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.
“Doesn’t matter the score, we’ve got to take care of our side of the net. Moanalua’s a really good team, but everyone’s beatable,” Reyes said. “We’ve got to play our best volleyball. The score will take care of itself.”
Peyton Kamekona tallied four kills and one block, and Alina Felipe and Tegan Shadwick chipped in three kills each for Pearl City (15-12-3 overall). Hina Rowe (21 assists, one kill) and Emma Foumai (16 assists) directed the offense.
Haylo Daniels led fifth-seeded Castle (2-19 overall) with six kills and two aces. Hailey Broadbent added five kills.
“They worked really hard all season. I wish them the best. I’m going to miss them. This is a good bunch of kids,” Castle coach George Ehia said. “Pearl City is a well-oiled machine.”
The Chargers jolted the Knights in set one, surging to a 12-2 lead. Kamekona led the way with four kills while Saydee Vera Cruz and Rowe had one ace each.
Castle battled in set two and was within 5-4. Tailo had back-to-back aces and Bayani had one of her six kills in the set as the Chargers went on an 11-5 run. Tailo had four kills and two aces for Pearl City opened a 2-0 lead in the match
