Back in their days in the Oahu Interscholastic Association White division, volleyball rivals Kaiser and Castle knew how far they would go based on their success against the other.
Two years and a division upgrade since, not much has changed.
The sixth-ranked Cougars owned the last of several wild momentum swings to top the Knights 25-23, 22-25, 16-14 and remain unbeaten in an OIA Red match on Thursday night at Castle’s gym.
“We knew this would be our test match to see if we could compete (with OIA powers Kahuku and Moanalua) and I’m pretty sure we can now,” Kaiser hitter Kayla Nihipali said. “We got confirmation.”
Narrowly. The unranked Knights almost pulled off the upset after senior hitter Joshell Lilio put down her sixth kill for a 14-12 lead in Game 3, but Kaiser fought off two match points during a 4-0 spurt to close out the deciding frame.
Junior middle Annika Rigterink (team-high six kills) put down the last two points on quick sets down the middle for the Cougars, who mobbed each other like a championship was on the line. It felt like it to both parties, just as it did in the 2009 OIA White title match that went to Kaiser.
“Every time we meet Kaiser, we know it’s going to be a battle,” Castle coach Grant Tolentino said. “Last year they beat us twice in the regular season, then we came back and beat them in the playoffs. … You just gotta keep on attacking, but I think we couldn’t get a good attack just due to the passing, it wasn’t there.”
The offense was also far from pretty for the Cougars (5-0 OIA), but they made up for it with some stellar defensive pick-ups and size at the net. Six-foot senior hitters Haley Durham and Courtney Phillips combined on four blocks.
Kaiser started the third frame with a 5-1 lead, only to see it wilt under an 8-1 Knights run that put the hosts up 9-6. The Cougars responded with a 6-1 run to go ahead again, but they would need a final string of points to steal the match.
Kaiser came all the way back from a 14-7 deficit in Game 2 to go ahead 21-19, only to have Castle (3-2) even the match with a flurry of points in a 6-1 run.
It was the first time Kaiser was pushed to a third game this season.
“Castle played a great game. Pushed us to the limit,” Kaiser coach Ernest Noborikawa said. “(Late in the match) we moved our block to try and take away their angle shots. Told our girls to make smarter shots. Luckily it worked out.”
Castle has played well even without starting setter Jessica Lauaki, who is out with a season-ending injury. Its only losses so far are against Star-Advertiser Top 10 teams.
