KAPA‘A — Even in defeat, the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors gave their fans in attendance a thrill on Senior Night. Kapa‘a managed to save six straight match points in the fourth set, sending the evening to a decisive fifth set, but
KAPA‘A — Even in defeat, the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors gave their fans in attendance a thrill on Senior Night.
Kapa‘a managed to save six straight match points in the fourth set, sending the evening to a decisive fifth set, but ultimately just falling short as the Kaua‘i Red Raiders notched a 25-27, 25-19, 25-14, 24-26, 15-10 victory, Friday night in Kapa‘a.
Holding a slim 11-10 lead in the fifth, Kaua‘i’s Shyanne Sadora finished a kill on a Waileia Kaneali‘i set to give the Raiders a two-point advantage.
Kapa‘a saw its shots sail long on the following two points, setting up four match points for Kaua‘i. This time, the Raiders needed just one as it was again Sadora finishing off a Kaneali‘i pass for the 15-10 win.
The true drama came in the fourth set as Kaua‘i, holding a 2-1 lead in the match, took control early, winning six of the set’s first seven points.
Back-to-back Kaneali‘i aces gave the Raiders a 16-7 lead, which they held on their way to six match points at 24-18.
The Warriors saved the first two, then two more as Tylenn Morita had consecutive kills on passes from Jessilyn Artaho-Aki. The senior setter then took matters into her own hands, putting away the ensuing point, forcing a Kaua‘i timeout with a 24-23 lead.
The Raiders set up their offense and had a kill attempt cross-court, but watched it bounce wide, tying the set and sending the gym into a fever pitch.
The next point was a carbon copy as Kaua‘i had another kill attempt drop outside the sideline, now giving Kapa‘a an improbable set point at 25-24.
Ciarra Wainwright, who served throughout the comeback, finished things off in style with an ace.
The two sides battled back and forth in the opening set, Kapa‘a picking up its second set point on an Artaho-Aki block/kill. The Warriors got the 27-25 win as a lift was called on the Raiders after a long point.
Leading 11-10 in the second set, Kaua‘i used a 6-2 run to create some distance and later came away with the win on a Sadora ace, knotting things up at one set apiece.
The third set was all Raiders, who used a 9-1 run to take an 18-9 lead, cruising from there and going up 2-1 on the night.
Teal Basquez was the offensive leader for Kaua‘i, often the go-to player when the Raiders were in crucial situations. She finished the night with 23 kills and seven digs.
Outside hitter Malia Kagawa followed with 16 kills and three aces. Sadora had 10 kills, nine blocks, three digs and two aces.
Reanna Javinar led the team with 15 blocks, adding five kills.
Kaneali‘i had a match-high 47 assists, putting up at least nine in four of the five sets. She added three digs and two aces.
Jennifer Grady had five kills, four blocks and five assists.
On the Kapa‘a side, Tylenn Morita again led the way with 17 kills, adding six digs.
Artaho-Aki had seven kills with a team-high 21 assists, as well as seven blocks and three aces.
Hartley Dabin had seven kills and seven digs, while Wainwright had six kills and a team-high 14 blocks.
Seniors Artaho-Aki, Dabin, Sierra Mayer (four digs, three assists), Morita and Shannon Paleka (five digs) and their parents were all honored prior to the match.
In the junior varsity match, Kaua‘i took the first two sets by a score of 25-14, 25-21, before Kapa‘a won the third, 25-23.
Results from the Waimea Lady Menehune-Island School Voyagers match at Island School were unavailable at press time.
Waimea hosts Kapa‘a and Kaua‘i hosts Island School, Tuesday.
