[ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pearl City's Kapena Wong and Michael Adams celebrated last week near the end of their OIA championship victory over Mililani. The Chargers are the No. 2 seed in the state tourney.
Slow starts at this week's state boys volleyball tournament will be punishable by early dismissal from title contention. Stakes high right off bat
By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comWith pool play eliminated from the state competition, the margin of error teams once enjoyed in their pursuit of the crown has been reduced to zero.
"The nice thing about pool play was it gave everyone a chance to get into the tournament before the stakes got raised," Kamehameha coach Pono Maa said. "The way it's set up now, you basically have to fly into it with guns blazing."
The Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys State Volleyball Championship opens tomorrow in Hilo with a new format approved by the state's athletic directors and the HHSAA executive board last summer.
In past years, the field was divided into four three-team pools, with the top two from each pool advancing to the quarterfinals. Starting this year, the boys and girls tournaments were made to adhere to the format used by 12-team state tournaments in other sports.
Pool play gave teams that stumbled early a chance to play their way back into contention. The single-elimination format removes that luxury.
"You can't have one bad game," Pearl City coach Reid Shigemasa said. "But people are also going to say that's how it's supposed to be. ... The best teams are going to show up and we'll just see how it goes."
The unseeded teams open the tournament tomorrow with best-of-three matches at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The winners advance to face the seeded league champions in Thursday's quarterfinals.
The semifinals are Friday with the championship set for 8 p.m. Saturday.
The title match will be televised live by Hawaii Sports Network on Oceanic Cable 16. Live radio coverage will be provided by KKEA 1420 AM.
Defending state champion Kamehameha defeated Iolani twice last week to capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title and the state tournament's top seed.
The Warriors (15-1) and Raiders (14-2) are on opposite sides of the bracket, so a fourth meeting between the teams this season is a possibility for Saturday's championship.
"If you want to be the best, you have to play the best and I think last week showed when two teams go at each other they can reach a pretty high level," Maa said.
"Win or lose we came away feeling good because we're playing at the level we want to play at. Those were great matches and we're looking forward to springboarding off that into the tournament."
The states are a homecoming for Kamehameha starters Adam Tuifagu and Jarrett Day, both of whom grew up in the Hilo area.
Tuifagu is just working his way back into the lineup after battling a variety of ailments throughout the season. Maa said his experience and ability should provide a boost.
"Maybe he'll get to 100 percent when we get there, just on emotion," Maa said.
Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Pearl City will be among the teams hoping to loosen the ILH's 22-year grip on the state title. Not since Roosevelt completed its run of three consecutive championships from 1977-79 has a team other than Kamehameha or Punahou won the title.
The second-seeded Chargers (12-1) feature one of the tourney's tallest front lines, led by Michael Adams (6-foot-2), Jonathan Charette (6-2), Kapena Wong (6-1) and Michael Hardy (6-3).
Pearl City's depth carried the Chargers to a three-set victory over Mililani in the OIA championship match last week. The match left the players grateful for the win but unsatisfied with their performance.
"The kids considered that game against Mililani more of a down," Shigemasa said. "They were really excited to play in the OIAs and even though we were fortunate enough to win they still feel they didn't play up to their potential."
Maui Interscholastic League champion Seabury Hall (11-1) was awarded the third seed and Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Kealakehe (14-1) was given the fourth seed.
The winner of tomorrow's Ka'u-Leilehua match gets the first opportunity to dethrone Kamehameha on Thursday.
"We have to be ready to go," Maa said. "As talented or as good a team as you are, you have to start off strong."
Nissan/HHSAA State Boys Volleyball Championship
All matches at Afook-Chinen Civic AuditoriumWednesday
Match 1 -- Iolani vs. Campbell, 3:30 p.m.
Match 2 -- Mililani vs. Maui, 5 p.m.
Match 3 -- Ka'u vs. Leilehua, 6:30 p.m.
Match 4 -- Waimea vs. Waiakea, 8 p.m.
Thursday
Match 5 -- Mililani/Maui loser vs. Ka'u/Leilehua loser, 2 p.m.
Match 6 -- Seabury Hall vs. Iolani/Campbell winner, 3:30 p.m.
Match 7 -- Kamehameha vs. Ka'u/Leilehua winner, 5 p.m.
Match 8 -- Pearl City vs. Waimea/Waiakea winner, 6:30 p.m.
Match 9 -- Kealakehe vs. Mililani/Maui winner, 8 p.m.
Friday
Match 10 -- Iolani/Campbell loser vs. Waimea/Waiakea loser, 2 p.m.
Match 11 -- Losers of matches 7 and 9, 3:30 p.m.
Match 12 -- Losers of matches 6 and 8, 5 p.m.
Match 13 -- Semifinal, winners of matches 6 and 8, 6:30 p.m.
Match 14 -- Semifinal, winners of matches 7 and 9, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Match 15 -- Consolation championship, winners of matches 5 and 10, 3 p.m.
Match 16 -- Fifth place, winners of matches 11 and 12, 4:30 p.m.
Match 17 -- Third place, losers of matches 13 and 14, 6 p.m.
Match 18 -- Championship, winners of matches 13 and 14, 8 p.m.
Hawaii School Web Sites
