LIHU‘E — Waimea notched its second straight road victory as the Menehune won in straight sets over the very capable Island School Voyagers, 25-19, 25-19, 25-22, Saturday night at the Island School gym.
After two straight five-set affairs, Waimea managed to avoid a longer match, though Island gave them plenty of reason to think this one could also go the distance.
Outside hitter David Kaohelaulii led the Menehune with eight kills in the match. He also had two digs and a block.
Corey McDown seemed to struggle in the opening game, but quickly got comfortable and finished the night with 26 assists, by far the most in the match, to go with four blocks, two kills and an ace.
Dane Harding was a force at the net, recording eight blocks and seven kills.
Ryan Kanahele had seven blocks, six kills and two digs for the Menehune.
Libero Chase Parongao continued to keep points alive for Waimea, finishing up with seven digs and an ace.
Island School got off to a slow start on the stat sheet, but began working its points and finishing more at the net as the evening wore on.
Setter Logan Domingo tallied 14 assists, five kills and three digs.
Outside hitter Brennan Wortmann led the team with six kills in a balanced front line. Sam Dunham added four kills, two digs and an ace.
J-Riley Louis notched four digs, three kills and an ace, while Brandon Taylor had three blocks and two kills.
The opening game started off as a back-and-forth affair, but after a tie at 11-11, Waimea put together an 11-2 run to grab a nine-point lead. Trailing 24-16, Island saved three game points, but Waimea put the opener away when McDown hit David Kaohelaulii for the winning kill.
The second game was almost a blueprint of the first, as a 7-2 run gave Waimea a 20-15 advantage. The teams traded points until a long rally ended as an Island kill attempt sailed outside the court, giving Waimea its second straight 25-19 victory.
The Menehune started quickly in the third, jumping out to a 6-1 lead, then taking their biggest of the game at 13-7. But the Voyagers battled back and three straight points brought them to within a single digit at 22-21.
The Menehune won the next two points, the second on a Kaili Lagundino ace, to set up three match points.
Island saved the first, but it was again the combination of McDown to David Kaohelaulii that sealed the deal with a kill to end the match.
At Kapa‘a High School, the Kaua‘i Red Raiders put together a straight-set victory of their own over the Warriors, 25-11, 25-17, 25-15, getting some revenge from an opening-night defeat.
Waimea and Kaua‘i now each sit at 3-1 on the season, with Kapa‘a at 2-2 and Island at 0-4.
In junior varsity action, the Waimea Menehune won all three games against Island School, 25-14, 25-16, 25-13, before the varsity took the court at the Island School Gym.
At Kapa‘a, the Warriors came from behind to pull out a 30-32, 25-17, 25-15 win over the JV Raiders.
Back on the court Wednesday, Kaua‘i will host Waimea with JV getting underway at 5 p.m., followed by varsity no earlier than 6:30 p.m.
Kapa‘a will have its third straight home match when Island School comes to the Bernice Hundley Gym, with the same timetable.
