[ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ]
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Iolani celebrated a state title after beating Kamehameha last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Todd Blankenship, bottom left, and Sean Carney embraced.
Iolani, Punahou win
The Raiders win their
first state volleyball title
The Iolani boys volleyball program has a state championship to call its own.
In a battle to the end, the Raiders won in dramatic fashion, overcoming Kamehameha's tradition and a few personal hardships.
Before a pumped up and noisy crowd at the Stan Sheriff Center yesterday, Iolani prevailed 20-25, 25-15, 27-25 over Kamehameha in the 2003 Nissan Boys Volleyball state championship.
"It's amazing," said senior captain Todd Blankenship, who finished with 12 kills and 10 digs. "It's just great, unbelievable. This is boys volleyball at its best. The volleyball was great and the crowd was nuts.
"I know my mom really wanted me to win this and she's pushed me all the way. In a way, we kind of won the title."
Blankenship's mother is in cancer remission and outside hitter Barry Kang's mother, Ann, died earlier this year after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.
The Raiders, who were seeded No. 1, understand there are more important things in life, but toppling the two-time defending state champion Warriors was an achievement. It is the first time since 1979 that a team not named Punahou or Kamehameha won the title.
The Warriors seemed headed for a three-peat early in the match. Kamehameha jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Game 1. Setter Ainoa Miyashiro scored the Warriors' first two points with a kill and a solo stuff. The Warriors expanded their lead to 14-7 when Kory Matsukado's kill trickled through the Iolani block.
The Raiders, however, didn't go quietly. Iolani cut Kamehameha's lead to 19-17 on a series of Warrior errors. But the Raiders mishandled the ball and gave up three straight points as Kamehameha pulled away. Adam Tuifagu was all but untouchable in the game, hitting .545 with eight kills in 11 swings. His eighth kill ended the game and gave Kamehameha a 1-0 lead.
"It was a lot easier to watch than coach," Iolani coach Luis Ramirez said. "We were mentally prepared to play a tough match. They're well coached and they have a lot of experience."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Punahou's Julia Sandborn and Pohai Nuuhiwa celebrated after defeating Kamehameha last night for the state girls title.
Iolani bounced back in Game 2 as Kamehameha self-destructed. The Raiders took a commanding 15-5 lead mostly on Warrior hitting errors. Iolani seemed to have the game locked up after taking a 21-10 lead on a Kamehameha serving error. But the Warriors got two kills and an ace by Ronson Olaso to make one final run. They closed to 23-15 before Todd Blankenship blasted two kills to even the match.
"Their mind-set changed after Game 1 and that was part of the difference," said Tuifagu, who led the Warriors with a match-high 16 kills and eight digs. "We've had great matches with them this season, any of them could have gone either way. It's only right that it ended this way, with another great match."
Game 3 seesawed back and forth with the outcome very much in doubt. Iolani led 13-11 after Sean Carney and B.J. Takushi stuffed Olaso. But after the side change the Warriors would rally to tie the game at 14 off a lift call on Iolani. From there, neither team could manage more than a two-point lead.
Blankenship got Iolani to match point first with a kill that ended a great rally by both teams. But Olaso extended the game with his 11th kill of the match. Blankenship and Olaso traded kills to tie the game at 25. Sophomore Kawika Shoji's left-handed dump landed in the middle of the court for Iolani's third match point. Matsukado hit wide on the next point to end the match.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Iolani's Michael Contee, lower left, and Brian Mitsunaga celebrated after the Raiders beat Kamehameha for the state title last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It's the last game of the season and we didn't want to go down losing," said Iolani outside hitter Kyle Pape, who hit a whopping .667 with 10 kills in 15 swings and no errors. "It was so exciting, your heart is pounding. The fans are loud and everyone pulled through and did a good job. "
In the third-place match, Seabury Hall defeated Kealakehe 25-20, 25-22. The Spartans toyed with the Waveriders before closing out both games late.
Senior outside hitter Corey Spence hit .350 with eight kills and two aces to lead the Maui Interscholastic League champion to its best finish in school history.
"Even though we lost to Kamehameha, we didn't feel like we needed to hang our heads," Spartans coach Caleb Palmer said. "The consolation game is usually really tough. But we're fortunate to have the energy level to close out the game. It's (third place) never been done, so they wanted to set their mark."
Kyle Teves hammered a match-high nine kills for the Waveriders, whose fourth-place showing was also their best ever.
Maui defeated Waiakea 25-17, 20-25, 25-22 for fifth place. Gene Rivera led the Sabers with 10 kills and four blocks. Ikona-Kai Wood turned in an all-around performance with nine kills, 11 digs and three aces.
Senior James Creekmur had a double-double in his last high school performance with 15 kills and 13 digs for the Warriors.
In the consolation final, Kalaheo eked out a tight 25-20, 23-25, 26-24 win over Waimea. Sam Wilhoite led the Mustangs with 14 kills. Jeremy McDown had nine kills for the Menehunes.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamehameha's Adam Tuifagu hit past the block of Iolani's Robert Takushi and Kawika Shoji last night.
BACK TO TOP |
The Buffanblu outlast,
outblast the Warriors
Perfect.
Punahou left the Stan Sheriff Center with the championship trophy last night after rallying past Kamehameha 18-25, 25-19, 25-23.
The Buffanblu rode the arm of junior Aneli Cubi-Otineru (18 kills) to claim the title of the 35th Nissan Hawaii High School Athletic Association Girls Volleyball Tournament. Punahou finished the season at 20-0 in winning its sixth state title, and second in four years.
The Warriors ended the year at 18-3, with all three losses coming to their Interscholastic League of Honolulu rivals.
"I think it's the first state championship for all of us," said 5-foot junior setter Pohai Nuuhiwa, who put down the winning point on a dump. "We've watched other Punahou teams win state titles. We wanted one for ourselves.
"All night, we played 1 inch at a time, one point at a time."
Punahou pulled away in the deciding Game 3 as Larissa Nordyke served for five points and Cubi-Otineru connected for three straight kills for a 14-9 lead. Kamehameha rallied to within 20-18 on a service error, two hitting errors by the Buffanblu and a block.
A kill by Nordyke and a hitting error by the Warriors pushed the margin back to 22-18. The teams traded points until Mounia Nihipali's 13th kill pulled the Warriors to 23-21.
Nihipali netted her next attempt to give the Buffanblu match point at 24-22. The Warriors held off the Buffanblu twice until Nuuhiwa's game-ending dump shot.
"I wasn't thinking about anything, it was more on instinct," said Nuuhiwa.
"I don't think Pohai had any other choice, it was kind of a chaos play, " said Punahou coach Scott Rigg, who won two state titles as a Buffanblu player and five as the Punahou boys coach. "We came out, sort of deer in the headlights. We had to inform them that they were playing in a state final. They started believing again."
Elizabeth Kaaihue added 11 kills for Punahou. Cubi-Otineru added 14 digs.
Nihipali finished with 15 kills and Kristen Ponce 10 for the Warriors.
"We played great tonight," said Nihipali. "We had the confidence, but we didn't finish. We came a long way, definitely overachieved."
Warrior coach Chris Blake was not disappointed by his team's effort.
"The girls played their best match of the season," he said. "We just came up a little bit short. One or two points the other way and we'd be getting the first-place trophy."
Instead both the Kamehameha girls and boys teams stood in the emptying arena, to sing the alma mater and share their runner-up finishes.
Kamehameha took control of the tight Game 1 with tough serving, creating problems for Punahou's normally steady passing. Neither team had more than a one-point lead until Warrior sophomore Kristal Tsukano went back to serve with her team leading 8-7.
When she finished, Kamehameha had an 11-7 lead, thanks to an ace and two Buffanblu ball-handling errors.
Punahou closed to 13-10, but two consecutive aces by Mounia Nihipali helped the Warriors pull ahead 16-10. An ace by Shantell Recca that hit inside the back line made it 20-12.
The Buffanblu closed to within 20-15 but could get no closer than that the rest of the way. The Warriors capped it when Nihipali and Anuhea Friel teamed for a game-ending block.
The teams traded sides and momentum in Game 2. This time it was Punahou coming up with the tough serves and Nordyke putting down big kills.
The freshman notched two of her three kills as the Buffanblu went up 10-4. The Warriors rallied to within 12-10 behind Nihipali but could get no closer than four points, the last at 19-15.
Cubi-Otineru was in on a block and had two kills during a 6-4 run, including the game ender.
In the third-place match, top-seeded Kalani rebounded from its first loss of the season to down Moanalua 25-22, 25-21.
Junior Tamari Miyashiro had 14 kills, hitting .324, with 18 digs to lead the Falcons (16-1). Setter Marisa Okamoto, the team's lone senior, had 26 assists.
For the Menehunes (14-4), junior Danie Hout had nine kills and seven digs and senior Resina Nataniele added 13 digs.
"It's always good to end the season with a win," said Kalani coach Aven Lee. "They cried their tears last night, got it all out before today because they knew they had a game.
"Yesterday, there was a sense of pressure (of being undefeated). Today, they played to have fun. It's how we played all year and we needed to get back to that."
Moanalua took a 15-12 lead in Game 2 before Kalani rallied to tie it at 15. Behind Miyashiro's serving, the Falcons jumped out to a 23-18 lead and freshman Puahone Paia put down her fourth kill in six swings to end it.
Kahuku defeated Roosevelt for fifth place 25-19, 25-15.
Sophomore Camilla Ah-Hoy led the Red Raiders (13-6) with seven kills and senior Chazel Fiso added six.
For the Rough Riders (11-8), senior Shellane Ogoshi put down six kills.
Kauai topped Kealakehe 25-15, 25-17 in the consolation final.
Sophomore Kehau Silva had 10 kills to lead the Red Raiders (10-3). Sophomore Tina Moger had seven kills and 13 digs.
For the Waveriders (14-6), seniors Antoinette Alapai and Corinna Oliva had six kills each.
