Thursday, September 20, 2001
Volleyball savvy won out over athleticism last night as Kamehameha handed Iolani its first loss of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys volleyball season. Kneubuhl, Kamehameha
halt IolaniBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comKamehameha improved to 4-0 with the 15-10, 15-5 win at the Raiders' gym. Iolani fell to 3-1.
The Raiders, who feature several multi-sport standouts, took an 8-4 lead in the first game against the defending ILH champions. But the Warriors eventually caught them and never looked back.
"I have great athletes on my team, but only two guys play volleyball all year round," said Iolani coach Luis Ramirez. "(Kamehameha) is composed of volleyball players, with the exception of one or two. And in situations like this, it comes out."
Isaac Kneubuhl and David Hoke led the Kamehameha attack with six kills each. Ricky Estrada and Willy Melemai pounded five kills each. Melemai also registered five blocks, while Estrada had four.
But it was Kneubuhl's serving that proved to be the difference.
With the Warriors trailing 1-0 in the second game, Kneubuhl served 10 consecutive points to give Kamehameha control of the match.
He served two aces during his run and was aided by two kills and two blocks by Melemai.
"The ball was just moving and I was just serving to the open spots on the sides," Kneubuhl said.
"He was jump-serving and he wasn't having much luck with that," Kamehameha coach Pono Maa said. "So we had him stay down and his float serve actually ended up being more effective."
Derrick Low, better known as an all-state boys basketball player, led Iolani with seven kills and two aces.
Tyler McCready and Jonathan Grobe, who also play basketball, had four kills each. McCready is also a pitcher for the baseball team.
"We weren't that successful executing the game plan, but the kids played hard today," Ramirez said. "It was a good start and it tells us how much we have to work."
In the girls match, Iolani rolled past Kamehameha 15-9, 15-3.
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