PUHI — The Island School varsity boys volleyball team used all the help that was available Friday to get past Kaua‘i High in four sets, 25-21, 25-17, 21-25 and 25-20, during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation game contested at the near-capacity Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus.
Earlier in the evening, the Red Raider junior-varsity boys gave up one set to the JV Voyagers, 26-24, 25-21 and 23-25, to set the tempo for the nightcap.
“You know who’s missing?” asked Tori Kagawa, the Waimea head coach who was in the gym because the Menehune’s opponent Kapa‘a was participating in the ‘Iolani tournament on O‘ahu. “Dylan (Date) is not here.”
To adjust for the gap created on the Voyager left side and overflowing into the middle, Josh Dobashi’s touches came from the back row to compensate for the hitting, and senior Hanalei Wann-Keli‘iho‘omalu was moved to left middle to overlap blocking and hitting duty from the left side.
Michael Fitzgerald got a lot more touches on the right side hitting, and Kaelen Suzuki-Kaohi got his share of touches in the middle with coverage on the right side.
Kaua‘i High capitalized on the gap and quickly established an 8-5 lead in the opening set on Voyager net violations and passing errors as the lineup adjusted, and Ernesto Alcones making a statement on the eighth point.
But the Voyagers answered with strong Dobashi hammers and knotted the contest 8-8.
Hits from Raiders Syrus Delos Reyes, Cade Myers and Tyrus Duran put Kaua‘i up 15-13, only to have Dobashi pull the Voyagers back into the race on a series of Raider miscues, including service errors.
Voyager Orion Magaoay served up a string of unanswered points before Kaua‘i High stumbled on an error at the net.
Errors were key to the Kaua‘i High play after dropping the first and second sets to miscues. The Voyagers dropped the third set on a hitting error, and a Raider hitting error closed the night.
With the victory, Island School continues its undefeated string entering the final week of round 1 when the Voyagers make the trip to the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a Tuesday, with the JV contest serving up at 5 p.m. and the varsity contest to follow, but not earlier than 6:30 p.m.
Kaua‘i High School will make the trek to the Clem Gomes Gym to face Waimea, with the JV contest starting at 5 p.m. and the varsity matchup to follow, but not earlier than 6:30 p.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
