[ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ]
The Kamehameha boys volleyball team defended its Interscholastic League of Honolulu title yesterday, beating Iolani 12-15, 15-13, 15-12, 15-10 at Mid-Pacific gym. Warrior boys beat
Kamehameha girls win ILH
Raiders for ILH title
By Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comDefending state champion Kamehameha (15-1) has won three consecutive league titles.
Iolani dropped to 14-2, with both losses coming at the hands of the Warriors, but the Raiders will join Kamehameha at the state tournament in Hilo because they won the ILH's first round.
Iolani might want to come up with an antidote to Kamehameha middle blocker Willy Melemai before taking flight.
The match looked destined to go the full five games, but the 6-foot-6 senior had other plans. With the score tied at 3 in the fourth game, Melemai scored points on four of six possessions to run the Warriors' advantage to 8-3.
"It was a big difference, a huge momentum swing," Kamehameha coach Pono Maa said. "We spread out their offense a little bit, but mostly it was just a good blocking effort."
Melemai came in for his second shift of the fourth game and made a difference immediately, stuffing Chad Miller to earn the serve back for outside hitter Adam Tuifagu. Melemai got his hands on five different shots on a long rally in the next possession, which ended when Isaac Kneubuhl beat Miller from the left side for a kill. Melemai earned points with solo blocks on the next two plays, then had another to prolong another rally that Kneubuhl ended with a spike.
Melemai teamed with Kneubuhl on another block of Miller before Miller ended the run with a spike off the left arm of Casey Brede. Because Melemai was ranging from sideline to sideline to get his blocks, Iolani's only recourse was to try to hit it through him. And they kept trying, hitting the ball harder and harder with each successive block.
"That's the kind of guys we have," Iolani coach Luis Ramirez said. "It is our game to win or lose, we get blocked, but just come back hitting even harder."
Maa agreed that his team had the momentum but never scared the athletic Raiders.
"I don't think you can intimidate them," Maa said. "We were making a run and they did the same. It was just two great teams playing great volleyball."
Melemai sat down and the Raiders closed it to 8-6, but the Warriors picked up three more points in his next shift. Iolani had the serve nine times before scoring its next point, but by then it was 14-7.
The game ended when Todd Blankenship knocked one long, giving Kamehameha its third straight ILH title.
Hawaii School Web Sites