[ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ]
[ VOLLEYBALL ]
Coach George Ehia had a lot of expectations for his St. Louis boys varsity volleyball team this season. Atger-Wan sends HBA
into consolation bracket
By Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comOne thing he didn't expect was to be scrambling just to advance to the second round of Interscholastic League of Honolulu play. But that's where the Crusaders were last night, in a playoff with Hawaii Baptist, a team that had beaten them 2-1 earlier in the season.
It was a different story at Kekuhaupi'o Gym last night as St. Louis (7-5) swept Hawaii Baptist 15-7, 15-6. The Eagles (6-6) now fall into the ILH's consolation tournament with six other teams.
Strong games by seniors Kaiea Chung and John Atger-Wan propelled the Crusaders into the five-team second round with hopes of making the state tournament still alive.
"The biggest thing this season was the transition from junior varsity to varsity," said Ehia. "Out of 11, only one was on the varsity last year and Isaiah Chang didn't see much playing time.
"The biggest struggle has been to get them to believe they can compete at this level. They've come a long way since the beginning of the season."
Ironically, the biggest mental boost may have come with Saturday's 15-6, 13-15, 17-15 loss to fourth-place Maryknoll. Atger-Wan had the match-ending error and "he took it very personally," said Ehia.
Last night, Atger-Wan took it out on the Eagles with six kills and four block assists.
Chung also had a steady game, with two kills and a block during a 9-0 run in Game 1 that turned a 7-6 deficit into a 15-7 win. He had what Ehia called an exceptional night serving, including serving for the final six points of the match.
"We had some setbacks when we lost some players," said Ehia, who saw senior all-stater Max DeWolf transfer and senior middle Reed Among tear an ACL. "The players have grown together.
"When we played HBA the first time, we lost in three and Game 3 was 15-1. We've been asking for them to show up, mentally prepared for every game. They did tonight."
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