LIHU‘E — The Kapa‘a Lady Warriors (4-6) notched their first win over the Kaua‘i Red Raiders (6-4) this season with a 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 26-24 victory, Saturday at the Kaua‘i High School gym in Lihu‘e. Senior middle blocker Tori Tuttle did
LIHU‘E — The Kapa‘a Lady Warriors (4-6) notched their first win over the Kaua‘i Red Raiders (6-4) this season with a 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 26-24 victory, Saturday at the Kaua‘i High School gym in Lihu‘e.
Senior middle blocker Tori Tuttle did much of the damage up front, tallying 21 kills and 13 blocks in the match.
Kapa‘a took control of the opening game with the score tied at 13. The Lady Warriors won eight of the next nine points to grab a 21-14 lead. Senior setter Mele Yama closed out the game with an ace off a deceptive jump serve. Yama had five assists and two digs in the opener.
Kaua‘i looked determined to turn around the match and opened the second game with a 6-1 run. The teams battled back and forth through the middle stages of the set until the Raiders had five game points at 24-19.
Outside hitter Shyanne Sadora had a huge dig during the rally and Malia Kagawa finished off the point, closing the door on the game and evening the match at 1-1.
Kaua‘i’s Janessa Grady had four assists and a kill in the game. Middle blocker Reanna Javinar had three kills and a block.
Kapa‘a middle blockers Leinaala McCabe and Ciara Wainwright combined on three double blocks in the game. Yama had four assists.
The third game was tight throughout, with neither team able to extend to a reasonable lead, until Kapa‘a rattled off five straight to take a 20-16 edge. However, Kaua‘i came storming back with four straight points of its own, to once again even the contest.
With the game tied at 22-22, Kapa‘a setter Jessilyn Artaho-Aki set up outside hitter Hartley Dabin for a kill and a one-point lead. Kapa‘a won the following point and Yama then assisted on the game-winner to Tuttle, giving Kapa‘a a 2-1 lead in the match.
Dabin came up big with five kills and a block in the game for Kapa‘a. Artaho-Aki had eight assists, while Tuttle led the way with eight kills.
Javinar had four kills for Kaua‘i, while Teal Basquez had three kills and two blocks.
The Lady Warriors showed no signs of letting up and seemed eager to end the match quickly, jumping out to a
9-2 lead in the fourth game. The Raiders fought back and cut the deficit to three points at 16-13.
With Kapa‘a holding a 23-21 lead, a long rally at the net seemed to end with a Kaua‘i point on a Basquez winner, but the officials conferred and ruled that there had been four hits, resulting in Kapa‘a grabbing three match points.
The Raiders stayed focused and managed to save all three, but the Lady Warriors would not be denied and took the 26-24 victory when a Kaua‘i kill attempt ended up in the net.
Tuttle had four kills and six blocks in the final game. Kaua‘i’s Waileia Kanealii had 10 assists, giving her 22 for the match.
In JV action, Kaua‘i swept the three-game series by a score of 25-17, 25-10, 25-18.
