Andrade steps in to pace Warriors

Depth at the setter position is apparently not an issue for top-ranked Kamehameha.

Backup Caitlin Andrade filled in admirably for starter Tatiana Santiago (away on a college recruiting trip) and the Warriors didn't lose a step in a 25-16, 25-15 winning effort over No. 10 Hawaii Baptist Academy yesterday at Kekuhaupio Gym.

Andrade, a junior, had 18 assists on the Warriors' 22 kills and fed outside hitter Kanani Herring for a match-high nine.

The Division II Eagles (4-3 Interscholastic League of Honolulu) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in Game 1, but quickly saw their momentum wither as unbeaten Kamehameha (7-0 ILH) settled in. Andrade began delivering balls on target to the high-flying Herring, junior Alex Akana and senior Jordan Meredith. As the gathering of about 75 blinked, the Warriors (ranked No. 3 nationally by Prepvolleyball.com) went on a 14-3 spurt and earned a comfortable 15-8 lead.

Middle blocker Bekah Torres took a pair of backsets from Andrade for kills and Herring elevated over a block to close out the first game.

"Caitlin did a great job in there, more than adequate distributing our ball," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "She's a real great setter. (I'm) real happy with what she did today, as far as making sure she got us into spots that we isolate our hitters."

Andrade, in her second year at the varsity level, was pleased to get the experience of running the offense for a day.

"I was just going to try my best and distribute the ball to my team," Andrade said. "We had really good passing today, I thought. We all miss Tati, though."

Cassidee Young, seeing the floor from the libero position, didn't notice much of a drop-off in the Warrior offense and described the transition as "smooth."

"It wasn't too big of a difference; we just have to constantly play our own game," said Young, a senior. "She did fine, though. She turned on her game as she went."

Defensively, Kamehameha was as dominant as ever, allowing just 10 kills for the match. Sarah Palmer led the Eagles with four kills, but seven service errors as a team hurt.

The Warriors took commanding leads of 8-0 and 16-4 in the second game, then seemed to relax a bit as the Eagles stormed back to 17-11 on several Kamehameha attack errors.

"I was pleased that we were able to get a small run against such a powerful team," HBA coach Myles Shioji said. "They're ranked (No. 3) in the nation for a reason. I'm pleased by the way we played today."