Kamehameha makes
quick work of MPI

In the rankings, Kamehameha and Mid-Pacific are separated by three spots. But the Warriors made it seem as if these two teams were worlds apart, easily sweeping past the Lady Owls yesterday at Mid-Pacific's home gym.

Outside hitter Kaui Todd led the Warriors with five kills as Kamehameha coach Chris Blake emptied his bench in the 25-16, 25-16 win. Senior Tehane Kahalehau got all four of her kills in the first game, and was able to sit out the rest of the night as her teammates controlled Game 2.

"We have a lot of depth, so if someone's not performing, we can make the switch," Blake said. "It was good for us to have the chance to get everybody in today, to get the first-game jitters out of the way."

The Warriors, ranked No. 4 in this week's Star-Bulletin poll, took advantage of a No. 7 Mid-Pacific squad that made do without outside hitter Crisi Nihipali, who was on the mainland visiting a college.

"The team was a little off-kilter," Mid-Pacific coach Lia Young-Hunt said. Because of the hole at outside hitter, usual setter Dani Mafua filled in and slammed down a team-high five kills.

The match started close, with the Warriors leading by three or fewer points for most of the early points. But the Lady Owls closed to within 12-11 following back-to-back double blocks. Morgen Sullivan was in on both blocks, and led Mid-Pacific with three blocks for the night. She also tallied three kills, all in Game 1, as the Lady Owls were able to pass well and set up the middle attack.

But Kamehameha reeled of four straight points following the Mid-Pacific blocks, capped off by a kill by Alexis Robins.

"Our girls played well," Blake said. "We still got a lot more to work on over the season. But where we are now in the beginning of the season, it's acceptable."

The Warriors then pulled away with another 4-0 run later in the game that included three hitting errors by Mid-Pacific.

"I think it's always disappointing when you're the opponents' best player," Young-Hunt said. "I told (the team) it's OK to lose the match, but let's not forget the lesson."

It was the first regular-season match not only for both squads, but the Mid-Pacific coaching staff. Young-Hunt said that inexperience may have accounted for some of the Lady Owls' serving woes, because she did not allow any serving practice in the warm-ups before the match. Mid-Pacific committed six service errors, three in each game.

The beginning of Game 2 included sloppy play by both teams, with three service errors in the first seven points. But tougher serving by the Warriors proved to be the difference, as they forced bad passing by the Lady Owls. Added to that, the Lady Owls found it difficult to set the middle with their new lineup. Already down by three, Mid-Pacific gave away two more points by having miscommunication between the setter and middle hitter.

At 11-6, Deven Bukoski hammered down two kills to start off a 6-0 run as Kamehameha locked up their first win of the season.

"What it comes down to is that our practices will become elevated," Young-Hunt said. "It's going to be a lot of hard work, because we do have the potential to be in a high caliber of play. But we need to train for that."