Kaimuki advances
in OIA boys volleyball
Kaimuki boys volleyball coach Brian Poppinga didn't have to remind his team what was at stake during a critical juncture of their first-round Oahu Interscholastic Association playoff match with Kapolei yesterday afternoon.
Bulldog setter Erik Leong was already reviewing different scenarios in his mind.
"I was thinking we might get sent home -- it set in halfway through the second set," Leong said. "But our team likes pressure."
Behind Leong's passing, the Bulldogs lived to see another day in the postseason, making up a 20-16 deficit in Game 2 en route to a 25-18, 25-22 win over the Hurricanes at Farrington. With the win, Kaimuki advanced to a quarterfinal match with Mililani at 4 p.m. tomorrow. Kapolei, which was playing its first playoff game, finished its season at 5-6.
"Kaimuki just played tough," said Kapolei coach Neil Okamoto. "We got into a hole -- Kaimuki put us into a hole -- and we couldn't get out of it. Passing is always the key and they passed well."
With that in mind, most of Kaimuki's preparation Wednesday centered on its passing.
"All we did was pass in practice yesterday," Leong said. "And the day before, we worked mostly on defense and passing. We needed to work on it because our passing has been on and off. I'm glad we stepped it up and pulled it out."
Added Kaimuki assistant coach Junior Maiava: "We passed better than usual. Yesterday at practice, we worked just on passing for at least an hour. The boys wanted it. They didn't want to go home. They worked too hard to go home (for the season)."
Although Kaimuki (7-3) had the upper hand in Game 1, the Bulldogs found themselves in uphill battle for most of Game 2. Kapolei moved out to an 8-3 advantage after consecutive kills by Sam Alonzo (six kills), forcing Kaimuki to take a timeout.
Instead of reversing the trend, however, Kapolei picked up where it had left off, as Alonzo ripped yet another kill to make it 9-3. But Kaimuki rallied behind the serves of Dexter Tautofi (five kills) and, following a string of errors by Kapolei, the Bulldogs' Emani Kelekolio (five kills) put down a huge kill to produce the first tie of the contest at 11-all. Later, with the score even at 15, Jordan Canionero (six kills) tallied three times for the Hurricanes in a 5-1 run to give Kapolei a 20-16 lead.
"They realized this could be the end, so they had a lot of motivation already," Poppinga said. "(A potential) Game 3 would have been a struggle. Kapolei had the momentum. The whole game had changed. I just told the kids what we needed to do."
A service ace by Tautofi allowed Kaimuki to tie the game at 22 and a violation by Kapolei helped the Bulldogs take a 23-22 lead. Consecutive kills by Kelekolio followed to seal the verdict.
"We came out tough in the second game, but we just came out short," Okamoto said. "That's just how it is -- somebody's going to win, somebody's going to lose. Even though we're out of the playoffs now, this was still a win for us. The whole season was a success."
Yesterday also marked the first OIA playoff appearance for Kaimuki since 1996. At the end of that season, Poppinga gave up the Bulldog job to add credits to his teaching resume and returned this August to lead Kaimuki again.
"We never know who is going to show up on our team," Poppinga said with a smile. "Tonight, half of our guys showed up and half of them didn't. On Saturday, we're going to need our "A" game for Mililani."
Hawaii School Web Sites
Oahu Interscholastic Association
