[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
Pearl City in final HILO >> For one magical night, the Oahu Interscholastic Association was on top of the world.
after upset of Iolani
The Chargers get the OIA
a big win in the state tourneyBy Tim Crouse
tcrouse@starbulletin.comPearl City outlasted Iolani in a marathon semifinal match at the Nissan State Boys Volleyball Tournament at the Afook-Chinen Auditorium -- becoming the first OIA team to reach the state finals in 13 years.
The Chargers won 15-8, 11-15, 15-5 in a match that lasted just under two hours. They will face defending state champion Kamehameha today at 8 p.m. The Warriors defeated Kealakehe 15-5, 15-9 last night to reach the title game for the third straight year. Isaac Kneubuhl had 13 kills, and Jarett Day added eight kills, two blocks and two aces for Kamehameha.
The championship game will be hard pressed to match the emotionally charged atmosphere of the first semifinal. As Pearl City neared the 15-point mark in the deciding third game, chants of "OIA! OIA!" drowned out all other noise, as the Campbell and Mililani teams led the cheers from the stands for the public school league.
After Pearl City senior Jonathan Charette finally ended the match with an emphatic spike at the net, a jubilant Chargers team piled up on the court.
Pearl City coach Reid Shigemasa -- a Chargers alumnus who is coaching his final season at the school -- was overcome with emotion as players, coaches and fans celebrated.
"To do this for the public schools ... I told the guys, 'We're making history,' " Shigemasa said.
Included in those congratulating Shigemasa was Chris McLachlin, a former Punahou coach who led the Buffanblu to 11 state titles and will call the championship match tonight on TV.
"They're a really good team and they played great," Pearl City senior middle Michael Adams said. "But we're so excited, so pumped. We waited our entire lives for this.
"Our season, everything came down to this one game, and we played with heart. They're a great team, we just wanted to win," he said.
Pearl City played nearly perfect in winning the first game, only to see almost nothing go right in Game 2.
After the Chargers lost the second game, Shigemasa could tell his players were down as they walked to the bench. He used the three-minute break to exhort his team.
"I just told them, 'Do not give up.' I told them, 'We have nothing to lose,' " Shigemasa said.
A rejuvenated Chargers squad responded by jumping out to an 8-1 lead in the deciding Game 3.
Though almost nothing had gone Pearl City's way in a Game 2 that lasted nearly an hour, absolutely nothing went right for Iolani in the opening moments of Game 3.
"(Shigemasa) told us to keep our composure, play smart and just play the game," senior outside hitter Elsworth Kaanaana said.
Charette blasted a pair of kills and senior outside hitter Kapena Wong added two more and teamed with Michael Hardy for a block that put Pearl City up 6-1.
Moments later Iolani's Chad Miller put down what appeared to be a kill for sideout, but was called for stepping over the center line, giving the Chargers another point. Then Pearl City was awarded another point when the officials carded the Iolani coaches for arguing the call.
The Raiders made a game of it after that -- it lasted more than a half-hour -- but could not generate any points, couldn't string together any kills.
Sean Carney's ace brought Iolani within 11-4, and that was as close as the Raiders got the rest of the way.
Charette 19th kill of the night trickled through the Iolani block to give Pearl City a 13-4 lead. The Chargers reached match point moments later when Hardy blasted down an overpass. After Kaanaana put down a kill for sideout, the Chargers finished off the win on a final Charette kill.
Charette, a transfer from California, led Pearl City with 20 kills.
Iolani's Derrick Low played outstanding in the loss, pacing the Raiders with 24 kills.
"We're not going to hold our heads down," Low said. "We went out there and played our hardest and just fell a little short. Pearl City is a great squad. They have a great program."
The last time an OIA team won the state title was in 1979, when Roosevelt won its third straight championship. Since then, Punahou and Kamehameha have won every crown, with the Warriors winning last year.
Pearl City will need to play just as well tonight to win the championship. Will they have anything left after such an emotional match?
"We'll be ready," Adams said.
Said Shigemasa: "Tonight, we'll go to sleep early, and hope that this happens again tomorrow, that we make (more) history."
La Pietra wins: La Pietra defeated Punahou 15-13, 8-15, 16-14 yesterday at Kamehameha to keep alive its shot at a state tournament berth. La Pietra will play Iolani at 1 p.m. today at Kamehameha for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's second spot in next week's girls state tourney. Kamehameha earned the league's first berth by winning the ILH.
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