KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Roosevelt's Daniel Taniguchi hit one past Kailua's Daniel Young as the Rough Riders came from behind to win Game 1.
After more than an hour of volleyball, the Roosevelt boys team finally woke up last night. Rough Riders rally
after a slow startBy Tim Crouse
tcrouse@starbulletin.comThe host Rough Riders made quick work of Kailua in the third and deciding game to win an Oahu Interscholastic Association match 15-12, 10-12, 15-3.
"I don't know what happened, but they woke up finally," Roosevelt coach Kaui Mendonca said. "I was waiting for it from the beginning of the match, but the intensity picked up at the end."
Senior middle blocker Evan Patek put down four kills in the final game and fellow senior middle Clint Maki added two more as Roosevelt (3-1) finished the rally scoring game in eight minutes.
"I guess we just ran out of gas," Kailua coach John Miner said.
Kailua, which blew a 12-6 lead in the first game and then battled back from a 10-9 deficit to win the second, couldn't find the court in the deciding game.
The Surfriders (2-2) had just two kills in the game -- and the first didn't come until they trailed 8-1. Kailua had four hitting errors, a lift violation and a service error in Game 3.
Patek led Roosevelt with nine kills, including five in the opening game. He also had three blocks, with the last giving the Rough Riders a 7-1 lead in the third game.
Gregory Hoke did his best to keep Kailua in the match, blasting 10 kills in the first two games.
Roosevelt rebounded from a straight-set loss to division leader Kalaheo on Tuesday.
"It seems like everybody on our side (in the East) is playing each other tough so we don't have any real advantages over any teams," Mendonca said. "So we'll try to play as tough as we can."
The Rough Riders came back from the 12-6 deficit in Game 1 with Patek, Reid Mariushi and Maki in the front row. The three combined for four quick kills as Roosevelt went on a five-point run with Reid Teruya serving, and Kailua never got the momentum back.
In the earlier girls match, Roosevelt beat Kailua 15-11, 11-15, 15-7.
Hawaii School Web Sites
