HILO, Hawaii >> Pearl City and Kealakehe are in the same boat at the Nissan Boys State Volleyball Tournament -- trying to keep alive their leagues' hopes for a state title. Kamehameha,
Iolani on trackStar-Bulletin staff
Top-seeded Kamehameha and Iolani breezed through their quarterfinal matches yesterday in Hilo, giving the Interscholastic League of Honolulu a chance for a 13th consecutive all-ILH state final.
No. 2 seed Pearl City, the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion, and fourth-seeded Kealakehe, the winner of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, stand in the way of Iolani and Kamehameha meeting for the fourth time this season.
Pearl City downed Waiakea 15-4, 15-9 and Kealakehe closed out the quarterfinal round last night with a 15-7, 15-10 win over OIA runner-up Mililani.
"We kinda knew what Waiakea was going to come out with," Chargers coach Reid Shigemasa said. "We did a good job in the first set. The second set was a little closer."
Elsworth Kaanaana led Pearl City with 11 kills and Michael Adams chipped in eight kills and a pair of blocks. Jonathan Charette added two aces.
"Our game isn't up to par yet," said Shigemasa, a 1988 Pearl City graduate. "Tomorrow we're going to have to be hitting on all cylinders."
The Chargers face Iolani in tonight's first semifinal at 6:30 at Afook-Chinen Auditorium.
"They have (middle) Chad Miller, (setter) Sean Carney and (outside hitter) Derrick Low," Shigemasa said. "Those three guys alone can demolish a lot of teams.
"We're excited to play Iolani. We want to make history for the OIA."
An OIA team hasn't won a state championship since 1979, when Roosevelt won the last of its three straight titles. Since then, Punahou has won 19 times and Kamehameha three times, including last year.
The ILH improved to 3-0 in the state tournament yesterday as Kamehameha routed Kau 15-3, 15-3 and Iolani rolled past No. 3 seed Seabury Hall 15-7, 15-7.
The Raiders have rebounded strongly after losing twice last week to Kamehameha. Iolani has won its four games in the tournament by an average score of 15-7.
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