Eagles outwork
taller Spartans

Using a well-balanced attack and aggressive serving, Hawaii Baptist Academy got its first win of the season by defeating Maryknoll 25-22, 25-19 at the Eagles' home gym yesterday.

Joshua Thompson slammed down a team-high six kills as the Eagles (1-1), ranked No. 6 in this week's Star-Bulletin poll, rebounded from a season-opening loss to No. 1 Punahou on Friday night.

"Today, we just tried to bring as much energy as we could," HBA junior Dominic Hart said.

Maryknoll (0-1) sits right behind HBA at No. 7.

The taller Spartan squad started Game 1 with a thunderous double block of Hart. But they would get just one more block for the rest of the match.

Hart, who used his leaping ability and powerful swing, pounded four of his five kills in the first game. Eventually, he was slowed down by the two Maryknoll blockers he faced every time the ball came his way.

"Maryknoll did a good job of keying in on him," HBA coach Teoni Obrey said. "But we're not a one-man show. Even though he's the most dynamic player out there, we try to spread it around.

"It's only his second year playing volleyball ... so he's going to be something special for us not only this year, but the following year."

With the Eagles' right-side attack controlled, the Spartans kept within two points until the second half of Game 1. Though the Spartans later tied the game at 17, the middle attack of HBA began to click.

After Hart registered his second hitting error of the game, the Eagles went to junior middles Danny Cosson and Sean Lum.

"They do a lot of great things," Obrey said. "They try to beat teams by being a little bit quicker."

The last four kills for the Eagles came from quick attacks from the middle, including three by Lum.

Maryknoll outside hitter Tyler Tsukazuki helped keep the Spartans close, posting four of his match-high nine kills in the first game. But he also collected three errors in each game, sailing balls wide crosscourt.

Jordan Durant contributed six kills, while Tri Borne added five.

Errors cost the Spartans throughout the match, which was their first of the season. In Game 1, the Spartans tallied nine hitting errors and three service errors. For the match, they committed 15 hitting errors, six from the service line without an ace.

The Eagles slowly pulled away from the Spartans early in Game 2. A 6-2 HBA run made it 17-9, topped off by an ace by Cosson. The Eagles posted three aces in the set.

Obrey said the win was good for his young squad, which has just two seniors.

"This is probably the best squad I've had since I've been here," said Obrey, who is entering his fourth year as head coach. "Hopefully, we can make a run in the postseason."

HBA is the only Division II team ranked in the Top 10.

Cosson and Hart agree that a run at the state championship is a priority. However, the main goal is to "go all out every game," said Cosson.