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Thursday, November 9, 2000
Familiar foes Variety may be the spice of life, but matchups between familiar foes in the girls' bracket of the state volleyball championships are creating plenty of excitement.
will play again
It will be deja vu for
Moanalua, McKinley in
the girls' quarterfinals of
state volleyball tourneyBy Tim Crouse
Special to the Star-BulletinMoanalua blew past St. Joseph yesterday in pool play to set up a quarterfinal match with McKinley tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center -- a replay of last Saturday's Oahu Interscholastic Association championship contest, which the Menehunes won in straight sets.
Moanalua also defeated McKinley in a regular-season match.
The Menehunes jumped out quickly against the Cardinals, with the help of three consecutive aces by Kahala Kabalis.
Kabalis finished the match with five aces, and the team served nine overall.Hilo and King Kekaulike met in the state tournament for the second consecutive season -- with the same result.
The Vikings and Na Alii both lost in the semifinals in 1999, and then Hilo topped King Kekaulike in the third-place game.
Yesterday, the second-seeded Vikings ousted Na Alii in two games to set up a meeting with another common foe -- Big Island Interscholastic Federation rival Waiakea.
"They are a very scrappy defensive team," Hilo coach Carla Carpenter-Kabalis said of the Warriors.
"They're good servers and they work well together. They're a great cohesive team."
The Vikings topped the Warriors in three games in September en route to an unbeaten regular season and BIIF crown.
Kamehameha, the boys' Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, knocked out Waipahu yesterday in straight sets.
The Warriors, who have yet to be tested in the tournament, tangle with Seabury Hall today.
The Pearl City and Roosevelt boys, who both completed pool play Tuesday, face off today.
The two OIA teams are in different divisions, but were just one Rough Rider win away from meeting in the finals of the OIA Tournament last weekend.
The Punahou boys eliminated Waiakea in yesterday's final match. The Buffanblu also beat the Warriors in pool play in last season's tournament.
Punahou plays Kauai tonight. The Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion toppled Maui in three games to advance.
The fourth boys' quarterfinal game today features OIA champion Kalaheo and first-year tournament participant Kealakehe.
Kalaheo smoked Seabury Hall yesterday, after struggling against Hilo on Tuesday. The Mustangs have won 14 consecutive games.
"We're still making too many mental errors," Kalaheo coach Mel Furtado said.
"A lot of it is simple stuff, like serving. We are putting too much importance on a simple job, feeling like we've got to serve so tough.
"When the competition is tighter we play up to it, but I'm trying to get us to play soundly all the time," he added. "Hopefully we'll get it cleaned up with a good night's sleep."
The St. Francis girls played their second strong match of the tournament, blitzing past a St. Joseph team that started four freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.
Troubadour senior setter Deeann Nahale is getting back into the swing of things after missing two months because of a broken finger.
"She's a little rusty but she brings a lot of vocal leadership, which really helps us," St. Francis coach Sean Maskell said.
Top girls' seed Punahou battles Radford in tonight's final match. The Buffanblu smashed Waianae in two games behind Puna Richardson's 15 kills.
The semifinals and finals of the state tournament are set for tomorrow at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The boys' semis are scheduled for noon and 1:30 p.m., with the championship match at 6:35 p.m.
The girls' semifinals are 3 and 4 p.m., with the final set for 8 p.m.