Kahuku girls outlast Aiea
PUKALANI, Maui » Ane Vea slammed 16 kills to rally second-seeded Kahuku past Aiea 24-26, 25-16, 25-22 last night in the quarterfinals of the Nissan Girls State Volleyball Championships at King Kekaulike Gym.
Other quarterfinal winners were Moanalua, top-seeded Punahou and Kamehameha.
"It's just one game down and two more to go," Vea said. "This wasn't our best. We didn't play to our full potential."
The Lady Raiders (14-1) needed a superlative effort from Vea because Aiea played well enough offensively and defensively to win against most teams. Lelani Kleman-Maeva pounded 20 kills (.432) and had eight digs, and Konae Purcell was hot with 18 kills (.293) as Na Alii hit .277 as a team.
"We couldn't stop them," Kahuku setter Leeann Mapu said of Kleman-Maeva and Purcell.
"They were spectacular," Kahuku coach Mona Ah-Hoy said. "We had major problems defending and blocking them."
Still, Kahuku overcame Aiea (12-3) with 34 digs, including 14 by Camilla Ah-Hoy. The junior also had 10 kills against an air-tight Aiea defense. It didn't help Kahuku to come out a bit tense in its first match of the tournament.
"We're playing tight, reacting late to Aiea's serves, just like the first time (in the OIA playoffs)," Ah-Hoy said. "Our jitters should be gone by tomorrow."
Vea was among the Lady Raiders who wouldn't surrender, no matter the early mistakes.
"We knew we were better than that. We worked so hard," Vea said. "Aiea wanted states as much as us."
Shareyn Muneoka directed the Aiea offense and tallied 36 assists.
"Their defense was a little better. They were picking balls up and keying on Camilla," Vea noted.
Every time Aiea solved a problem, Kahuku's balanced attack provided another one.
"We played our hardest, but sometimes things don't go your way. We had to shut down their biggest hitter, but then another came through, and another," Kleman-Maeva said.
Moanalua def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 27-25, 25-16
Danie Hout slammed 10 kills as the Menehunes overpowered a younger but spirited Warrior squad.Hout, hitting .261, also had five digs and three of her team's five aces. Briana Amian added seven kills and five digs for Moanalua (14-2).
Senior setter Lena Yee tallied 22 assists and a team-high eight digs for Moanalua, ranked No. 4 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.
"We played better today. We were more relaxed," Yee said, referring to Wednesday's win over Baldwin. "(Kamehameha-Hawaii) was hitting a lot of dumps, so that got us startled. But after that, we played our game. We didn't let that get to us."
Kapua Kekuewa paced KS-Hawaii with six kills and five digs.
Leonahenahe Aina had six digs to lead the Warriors' defensive effort.
"I thought they were really good," Yee said. "They had a good strategy. Their setter is smart."
Punahou def. Kalani 25-16, 25-18
The defending state champions needed little time to shake off the rust by dismantling the Lady Falcons in two games.The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Buffanblu got seven kills from middle hitter Michelle Luxton, while Elizabeth Kaaihue and Spenser Rigg added five apiece.
"We played real well in both sets," Punahou coach Scott Rigg said. "Especially for sitting around for a day and a half."
Punahou's offense struggled a bit, hitting just .162. Larissa Nordyke had just three kills with a negative hitting percentage, but her team's defense was too much for the smaller Falcons. Pohai Nuuhiwa tallied 19 assists.
"We pass-served some nails all night," Rigg said.
Tamari Miyashiro led Kalani (13-4) with eight kills (.042) and added five digs.
The Falcons had as many hitting errors, 18, as kills for a .000 percentage. Nordyke and Rigg amassed seven digs apiece for Punahou, which improved to 17-0.
"We kind of rolled the dice with matchups. We went with a two-blocker system, and they had Tama in the front," Rigg said. "They didn't switch in Game 2. I was surprised."
Kamehameha def. Kamehameha-Maui 25-15, 25-18
Leslie Aki delivered three of her team's nine aces, and Alexis Robins tallied five kills and six digs as the Warriors overwhelmed the Maui Interscholastic League champions.The anticipation of a big showdown turned out to be a tough defeat for KS-Maui, a team of underclassmen.
"That's no excuse for us," said Sayble Bissen, who had four kills. "I'm disappointed, but all we can do is get ready for our next game. That wasn't even half as good as we can play."
Chauntelle Maduli, Logan Keala and Bekah Torres chipped in with four kills apiece for Kamehameha.
Puni Krueger led KS-Maui with six kills (.857). Brittany Awai had seven digs and 12 assists.
It was a quick match that defused some of the spark for a capacity pro-Kamehameha-Maui crowd.
"It was hard to ignore the crowd, but it made me more fired up," said Aki, who also had four kills.
For Maui natives Deven Bukoski and Tehane Kahalehau, it was almost surreal. The two juniors had a choice between the Oahu and Maui campuses before their freshman year.
Bukoski's father is a graduate of the Kapalama campus, as are Kahalehau's mother and grandmother.
"The crowd cheering for the other side made us more pumped up," said Bukoski, who had three kills.
"It felt weird," Kahalehau added. "But we were ready for it. We wanted to come home and play in front of our fans, even if they weren't cheering for us."
Kauai def. Baldwin 23-25, 25-20, 25-18
In a consolation battle, the Red Raiders rallied past the Bears. Tina Moger pounded 15 kills and Kehau Judd added 12 for Kauai (8-3), the KIF champion.Moger also had four of her team's eight aces.
Ligaya Maldones, a senior, finished with 27 assists and five digs for Kauai.
Jenalle Mailou-Kauai, a sophomore, led Baldwin with seven kills and seven digs.
BOYS
At Kamehameha-Hawaii campus
Punahou def. Kohala 25-8, 25-137
Kaohukauikalai Berg-Hee had eight kills and Matthew Brown posted six as the top-seeded Buffanblu rolled past Kohala and into the semifinals.Punahou, which improved to 14-0, hit .355 as a team to Kohala's minus -.035 in the 36-minute match.
Hana def. Kahuku 20-25, 25-17, 25-20
The fourth-seeded Dragons recovered from a slow start and rallied past the Red Raiders to set up a semifinal meeting with Punahou today.After splitting the first two games, Hana jumped out to a 19-10 lead in the third and hung on for the win. Bryce Oliveira led the Dragons with 11 kills and one error in 25 attempts. Charles Bell led Kahuku with 12 kills.
Kamehameha def. Kalaheo 25-18, 25-10
The Warriors hit .538 as a team in knocking the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Mustangs into the fifth-place bracket.Ronson Olaso had eight kills and Kory Matsukado added seven for Kamehameha, which posted 34 kills and just six errors in 52 attempts. The Warriors put away 19 kills in 24 swings (.708) in the second game.
Elias David had eight kills for third-seeded Kalaheo, which suffered its first loss of the season.
Waiakea def. Kauai 25-11, 25-20
Waiakea, the tournament's second seed, advanced to the semifinals by sweeping the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champions.Jonah Kalima and Jamie Napua Cabatu had seven kills each for Waiakea. Treston Yasso had 20 assists to go with three kills. Kauai's Vaafuti Tavana had a match-high nine kills for the Red Raiders.
Kealakehe def. Nanakuli 25-20, 26-28, 25-23
Spencer Ioane put down 19 kills to lead the Waveriders past the Golden Hawks in a consolation-bracket match. Aaron Amaral posted 16 kills for Nanakuli.STATE VOLLEYBALL
Girls
At King Kekaulike High School Gymnasium, Maui
Seeds: 1. Punahou (ILH); 2. Kahuku (OIA); 3. Kamehameha-Maui (MIL); 4. Kamehameha-Hawaii (BIIF).
yesterday
Match 5: Kauai def. Baldwin, 23-25, 25-20, 25-18
Match 6: Moanalua def. KS-Hawaii, 27-25, 25-16
Match 7: Kahuku def. Aiea, 24-26, 25-16, 25-22
Match 8: Punahou def. Kalani, 25-16, 25-18
Match 9: Kamehameha def. KS-Maui, 25-15, 25-18
today
Match 10: Hilo vs. Waiakea, 2 p.m.
Match 11: KS-Hawaii vs. Kalani, 3:30 p.m.
Match 12: Aiea vs. KS-Maui, 5 p.m.
Match 13: Moanalua vs. Punahou, 6:30 p.m.
Match 14: Kahuku vs. Kamehameha, 8 p.m.
tomorrow
Consolation: Kauai vs. match 10 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Fifth place: Winners of matches 11 & 12, 5 p.m.
Third place: Losers of matches 13 & 14, 6:30 p.m.
Championship: Winners of matches 13 & 14, 8 p.m.
Boys
At Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii campus
Seeds: 1. Punahou (ILH); 2. Waiakea (BIIF); 3. Kalaheo (OIA); 4. Hana (MIL).
yesterday
Match 5: Kealakehe def. Nanakuli, 25-20, 26-28, 25-23
Match 6: Punahou def. Kohala, 25-8, 25-13
Match 7: Hana def. Kahuku, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20
Match 8: Kamehameha def. Kalaheo, 25-18, 25-10
Match 9: Waiakea def. Kauai, 25-11, 25-20
today
Match 10: Molokai vs. Mililani, 2 p.m.
Match 11: Kohala vs. Kahuku, 3:30 p.m.
Match 12: Kalaheo vs. Kauai, 5 p.m.
Match 13: Punahou vs. Hana, 6:30 p.m.
Match 14: Waiakea vs. Kamehameha, 8 p.m.
tomorrow
Consolation: Kealakehe vs. match 10 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Fifth place: Winners of matches 11 & 12, 5 p.m.
Third place: Losers of matches 13 & 14, 6:30 p.m.
Championship: Winners of matches 13 & 14, 8 p.m.
