Thursday, November 5, 1998

And the finalists are . . .

Kaimuki, Farrington
to meet for OIA
girls’ volleyball title
By Catherine Toth
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Kaimuki got exactly what it wanted -- a chance at redemption.

The Bulldogs defeated defending Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Pearl City, 15-8, 14-16, 15-9, last night in the OIA girls' volleyball semifinals at McKinley High School, handing the Chargers their first loss of the season.

Then they waited to see who they would meet in Saturday's OIA championship at the Blaisdell Center. Because Kaimuki lost to Farrington earlier this season, the Bulldogs were hoping the Governors would upset Kaiser to set up a rematch.

"It was nice to beat Pearl City," said junior Chantilly Maiava, who led the Bulldogs in kills (nine). "But we want to beat Farrington on Saturday."

The Governors (9-3) didn't disappoint, taking out Kaiser (9-3) in three, 15-8, 6-15, 15-12.

"We knew we were going to win," said junior Robynn Afe, who put down 11 kills, including the game-winner. "We lost the last time (in the semifinals), but we came back and won. We're going to give it all we've got against Kaimuki. We need to play defense and stick together. That's it. We're just happy right now. We've waited for this for a long time."

Coming into last night's game as underdogs, Kaimuki channeled its nervousness into positive energy.

"We had our spirits up," said outside hitter Jaime Reyes, the only sophomore on Kaimuki's varsity team. "We practiced hard to get here . . . and we just had to show our stuff. We just thought we had to win, that we wanted to be number one."

Thanks to outside hitter Lorraine Pascua, Pearl City jumped to a 3-0 lead in Game 1. But the Bulldogs rallied to even the score. Then, with the help of senior Kym Ingano's jump serve, the Chargers racked up five unanswered points. That's when Reyes stepped up.

"Coach (Toni Chock) said I needed to get the serve in to score and win," said Reyes, who had nine consecutive serves to put Kaimuki up, 12-8. "We needed those points to win the game."

Reyes added four kills and three blocks. Teammate Cheriesse Shirome led the Bulldogs in blocks with seven.

"I don't think we could've played a better team," Chock said. "They gave us a good game and we expected a really hard, long game. I think everybody did well. It was a total team effort. It was something they knew they couldn't do by themselves."

Farrington upset Aiea and Roosevelt to get to the semifinals.

Last night, the Governors jumped out early in every set. The Cougars rallied behind the net play of 5-foot-10 senior Jennifer Lee, who ended with four kills and three blocks.

But Farrington, with three players over six feet in height, proved to be too big for the Cougars.

"I knew that Robynn would put down the ball when we needed her to," Farrington head coach Jenic Tumaneng said, "but her supporting cast helped. When she didn't get the sets, the other girls got it and got the sideout. And we served pretty well."

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Pearl City and
Waianae again advance
to the OIA boys’
volleyball championship

Jerry Campany
Special to the Star-Bulletin

The Oahu Interscholastic Association boys' volleyball championship has come down to Pearl City and Waianae -- again.

Pearl City swept Nanakuli, 15-5, 15-10, and Waianae squeaked by Kalaheo, 15-13, 4-15, 15-10, in the OIA semifinals last night at Moanalua.

Waianae overcame a horrendous passing game to win the first game, 15-13. But the Mustangs stormed back to win the second. 15-4.

"We weren't passing," Waianae head coach Michellene Nua said. "We took it too easy and suffered a letdown in the second set."

The Seariders' passing game was as good late in the game as it was horrible early.

The final game was a seesaw affair until Kainoa Akana took the serve and led his team to the final three points. The Seariders matched Kalaheo point for point despite being dominated by Chris Hatori early in rally scoring.

"We gave the first game away," Mustang head coach Mel Furtado said. "Part of it was mental, and we didn't play well from the start."

Unlike Waianae, an undersized Pearl City team used sharp passing and fundamentals to down Nanakuli. The Hawks controlled the net, but their back line wasn't quick enough to track down the accurate shots the Chargers repeatedly put down.

"We are a small team every year," Pearl City coach Reid Shigemasa said. "But we make up for it with passing, setting, and serving."

Waianae meets Pearl City in the championship Saturday at the Blaisdell Center.

"We hope that history will repeat itself," Nua said. "Every year, the loser of the round-robin has gone on to win this tournament, and Pearl City beat us earlier. It is our turn."