HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
Red Raiders still in thick of things
In their own division, the Lady Raiders of Kahuku shared the spotlight
After four Oahu Interscholastic Association championships in five years, Kahuku has yielded, to an extent, as Moanalua and Roosevelt have surged into the higher echelon of girls volleyball.
DIVISION I PLAYOFFS
ILH GIRLS
TODAY
» HBA at Kamehameha, 6:30 p.m.
» Iolani at Punahou, 6:30 p.m.
OIA GIRLS
THURSDAY
At McKinley
>>Kalani vs. Roosevelt, 6 p.m.
» Kahuku vs. Moanalua, 7:30 p.m.
OIA BOYS
TODAY
At Pearl City
» Roosevelt vs. Mililani, 5 p.m.
» Leilehua vs. Radford, 5 p.m.
» Pearl City vs. McKinley, 6 p.m.
» Kalaheo vs. Kahuku, 6 p.m.
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Kahuku, back in the playoffs in Year 1 of the post-Camilla Ah-Hoy era, is the sleeping giant of the OIA playoffs.
Coach Mona Ah-Hoy, Camilla's mother, has seen her team endure injuries and some inexperience to surface in the postseason with a shot at the league title.
"We've needed leadership, and we got it," she said, referring to 5-foot-11 Lei Tafuna, Keisha Moeai and setter Lenora Nauahi.
"It's nice to have Lei back. She was out for a month, but she's 100 percent now," Ah-Hoy said of Tafuna's back spasms.
Kahuku, like their East rivals Moanalua and Roosevelt, have already qualified for the state tournament. Pride, though, is immeasurable.
With a healthy team, the Lady Raiders upended then-unbeaten Moanalua late in the regular season.
"That was a good confidence builder," Ah-Hoy said.
Na Menehune feature powerful outside hitter Kaleinani Kabalis and senior Brianna Amian. That loss to Kahuku was their lone blemish in OIA play.
Veteran coach Thomas Lake sees a hot team in Kahuku.
"They are playing solid ball. They crushed Mililani," he said. "Everything is centered on their two outside hitters. Hopefully, we can slow them down."
Lake isn't lacking confidence in his team by any means. If anything, he expects more. Much more.
"We've looked a little sloppy lately. I hope we can clean up against Kahuku," he said.