Kamehameha boys
earn volleyball berth

It will be a homecoming of sorts next week when the Kamehameha Schools boys volleyball team makes its way to the Big Island for the 36th annual HHSAA State Tournament.

With sister campus Kamehameha-Hawaii hosting next week, Pono Maa's troops made sure they would be there by holding off Iolani 25-20, 18-25, 25-22 to claim the second and final Interscholastic League of Honolulu berth in the state tourney.

"This team is the most team-oriented group I have ever been around," sophomore setter Jordan Inafuku said. "Our love for each other is so strong that we can compete through adversity. We are so excited because we have five players ... from Hilo, and we are taking them home."

Kamehameha looked very strong in the first game, as Inafuku benefited from a strong passing game to efficiently run the Warrior offense, which recorded 14 of its points on kills en route to a 25-20 win. Outside hitters Ernie Vidinha and Ronson Olaso combined for 10 kills in the first game, while Inafuku recorded 10 of his match-high 28 assists.

"When we pass well, we can run a more diverse offense," Inafuku said. "If we can pass well, we can get our hitters open for good swings."

Iolani stormed back in the second game to even the match and send it into a third frame, thanks largely to a dominant performance by junior Kawika Shoji. The 2003 Star-Bulletin All-State first-teamer split time setting and swinging, and was equally outstanding doing both, keying a pair of Raider runs.

Shoji led all players with 14 kills and added 16 assists and three blocks.

"We stopped doing what we did well in the first game," Maa said. "Iolani is a good team and they pressured us with their serves and we just couldn't side out, and that makes it really hard to score. We had to refocus on our game plan and execute. A lot of credit goes to our guys. They kept fighting and came back strong."

With Inafuku running the attack, Kamehameha regained the momentum from Iolani, battling back from a 14-10 Raider lead with a three-point run highlighted by a pair of Ronson Olaso kills. The Warriors and Raiders went point for point through the last few points of the match, with Shoji and the Kamehameha offense exchanging kills.