WAIMEA — After three consecutive road victories, the Waimea Menehune had a chance to wrap up the first round of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation with a victory in their home gym. The Kapa‘a Warriors had other ideas. In a back-and-forth,
WAIMEA — After three consecutive road victories, the Waimea Menehune had a chance to wrap up the first round of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation with a victory in their home gym.
The Kapa‘a Warriors had other ideas.
In a back-and-forth, five-set slugfest, the Warriors came out on top with a 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-9 victory to create a three-way tie for first place in the KIF, as Kapa‘a, Waimea and the Kaua‘i Red Raiders all sit at 4-2.
A playoff will be necessary this week to determine a first-round champ, though details have not yet been determined.
Kapa‘a had plenty of excuses to mail this one in, especially given the fact that it was Prom Night for Kapa‘a High School, but even trailing two sets to one, the Warriors fought back to keep themselves in the mix for a first-place finish.
Rui Yap was a game-changer for Kapa‘a, leading the team with 17 kills and showing a tremendous serve that netted him six aces in the match.
Kekoa Colipano was the distributor, finishing the night with 29 assists while adding in three kills and two blocks.
Sean Michael Shigematsu, who spent the early part of the day watching his future University of Hawai‘i teammates Vidinha Stadium, tallied nine kills, four blocks and two aces.
Stephen Greenleaf was a consistent offensive weapon on the outside, finishing off 15 kills.
Waimea’s Corey McDown put together a game-high 35 assists, adding seven blocks and five kills to his totals.
Kevin Killerman and David Kaohelaulii each finished off 16 kills, while Ryan Kanahele added six.
Dane Harding had 10 blocks to go with four kills and two aces.
Neither team took control of the opening set until, tied at 19-19, Kapa‘a put together three straight points, then finished off the set when Colipano hit Greenleaf for a kill and a 1-0 lead.
Waimea held a steady lead throughout the second set, growing out to a seven-point edge at 22-15. Kapa‘a got back to within three, but a Killerman kill off a McDown feed evened the match at one set apiece.
The third was again neck-and-neck, with neither team holding more than a two-point lead until the final point when, leading 24-22, the Menehune watched a Warrior shot fall outside the court to put themselves a set away from a first-round title.
Kapa‘a’s Yap put together four straight points off his serve, including one ace, to take an 11-7 lead, but Waimea responded with a 4-0 run of its own, including an ace from Kanahele.
Leading 19-17, Kapa‘a forced the issue and ran off five straight points, then finished the set off with a Yap kill to head to the decisive fifth set.
A Dane Harding ace gave the Menehune a 5-3 lead, but the Warriors took control from that point, capitalizing on Waimea miscues and finishing when given the chance. After a long rally, a Waimea shot fell wide, giving Kapa‘a the match and creating the tie atop the standings.
Kaua‘i High School also moved to 4-2 with a straight-set victory over the Island School Voyagers (0-6) at the Island School gym.
Junior varsity matches were played following the varsity on Saturday, to accommodate the upperclassmen getting to prom.
Kapa‘a came away with a 2-1 victory over Waimea, 21-25, 25-22, 25-11.
Results from theKaua‘i-Island JV match was unavailable as of press time.
