[ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ]
St. Joseph at home After 35 matches, the St. Joseph girls volleyball team is exactly where it planned to be.
with being a favorite
The Big Island team, which has already
beaten contenders, hosts the state tourneyBy Tim Crouse
tcrouse@starbulletin.comThe top-seeded Cardinals are at home, the virtual hosts of the Nissan Girls State Volleyball Tournament in Hilo at Afook-Chinen Auditorium -- just down the road from the small school.
The four-day tournament starts tomorrow and runs through Saturday. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m.
"It's a big advantage when you play on your home court," Cardinals coach Rachelle Hanohano said. "The atmosphere (this season) has been almost overwhelming. We've had a lot of people supporting our games."
The fan support grew so much this season that St. Joseph moved its home matches from the school's gym to the 3,000-seat Afook-Chinen Auditorium.
St. Joseph completed its Big Island Interscholastic Federation season with an emphatic statement, blanking Hawaii Prep 15-0, 15-0 in the BIIF championship game.
"We could have played even better," Hanohano said.
They played well enough during the BIIF season to go 15-0, dropping just a single game, in the season-opening match against HPA.
The Cardinals' preseason was even more impressive, as they racked up an 18-2 record -- with both losses coming to Mira Costa (Calif.) at the Iolani Invitational. St. Joseph beat state tournament contenders like Kamehameha, Kahuku and Monanalua in the preseason.
In fact, the Cardinals beat Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Kahuku twice, OIA runner-up Moanalua four times and Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Kamehameha once. St. Joseph did not play defending state champion Iolani.
St. Joseph, which has just nine players on its roster, has a starting lineup that includes 6-foot-2 senior middle Sarah Mason -- who will attend Oregon next fall -- 5-11 senior outside hitter Kuuipo Hayes, 5-10 junior outside Jazmin Paakaula and 5-5 junior middle Lindsey Lee.
"They have a neat chemistry, they're very unified at this point," Hanohano said. "They have a common goal. They're looking forward to playing (this week).
"All season we've (stressed to the players) to keep things in perspective, to set and achieve goals, one at a time. As long as they communicate and stay together, they'll do well."
Paakaula and Lee are the Cardinals' kill leaders and junior setter Ashley Hanohano leads the team in aces with 33. Paakaula, Lee, Hayes and Hanohano all use the jump serve effectively at times.
"The pressure was there (this year), but when they're on their game, they're pretty unstoppable," Hanohano said. "Their confidence level is high right now. They know they have the talent; right now it's really up to them."
The second-seeded Warriors ran through the ILH schedule unbeaten, also with a 15-0 record. Kamehameha has won 12 state titles, with seven coming since 1991.
The Warriors won three straight state titles from 1997 to '99 under coach Dan Kitashima, and are looking to get back to the top.
"When I came on, Kitashima graduated 13 of 15 players," Kamehameha coach Joey Miyashiro said. "We brought in new kids and it's easier to teach players when they're younger."
Junior outside hitters Mounia Nihipali and Kristen Ponce are the top hitters for Kamehameha, which has a deep bench. Senior Kekai Crabbe is the starting setter, but Kanai Bento and Mgean Kanoa also see time there.
"I think we're at peak right now," Miyashiro said. "Earlier when we played St. Joseph we were two days into tryouts and didn't have a team yet. We're way past that now."
ILH teams have won every state championship since 1981, when Kailua wrapped up the OIA's fifth crown in seven years. Last year Iolani won for the first time, and the Raiders just managed to earn a berth into this week's tournament by winning a three-way playoff with Punahou and La Pietra. Iolani could meet St. Joseph in the quarterfinals.
No. 3 seed Kahuku has played well since losing back-to-back matches in midseason. The Red Raiders (12-2), who have never won the state tournament, dismantled their foes in the OIA tournament, finishing it off with a sweep of Moanalua for a second consecutive OIA title.
The athletic Red Raiders are led by 5-9 outside hitter Tuli Peters, along with seniors Alberta Fotu and Lesina Funaki, junior middles Musie Olevao and Mona Ale and freshman outside Camilla Ah-Hoy -- daughter of head coach Mona Ah-Hoy.
Seabury Hall is the third undefeated team in the tournament. The Maui Interscholastic League champion Spartans (14-0) are the No. 4 seed.
Hilo was the last neighbor island team to win states, in 1974.
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