WAIMEA — It took a couple sets for the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors to find their rhythm, which suited Waimea just fine as the Lady Menehune got off to a quick start and continued to be efficient in a 25-13, 25-13,
WAIMEA — It took a couple sets for the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors to find their rhythm, which suited Waimea just fine as the Lady Menehune got off to a quick start and continued to be efficient in a 25-13, 25-13, 25-22 win, Friday night at Waimea High School.
Jayme Jacinto led Waimea’s attack with 10 kills on the night, followed by Tatiana Rita with nine. Rita added four digs and three blocks to her night’s work.
Mariah Oliver tallied five kills and five blocks, as Brandee Victorino had six kills and three blocks.
Setters Searra Kaohi and Fiare Moe set up their teammates with 14 and 12 assists, respectively.
Vakeesha Lagazo led Waimea with six digs.
Tylenn Morita was the top scorer for Kapa‘a, finishing the night with 11 kills.
Jessilyn Artaho-Aki filled up the stat sheet, ending up with eight kills, 13 assists, four blocks and two aces.
Ciarra Wainwright and Tiore Daligcon each had six blocks, while Justice Kimura added four.
Shannon Paleka came up with five digs.
Waimea’s hot start began with the girls taking the first five points of the match and then forcing a Kapa‘a timeout, holding a 7-1 lead.
A six-point deficit was as close as the first would get, as Waimea extended its lead and eventually put the set away on a Jazzy Bradbury kill.
The second set followed a similar path. Tied up at 4-4, Waimea went on an 8-2 run, forcing a Warriors timeout at 12-6.
Leading 14-10, the Lady Menehune rattled off six of the next seven points to build a solid cushion. Holding a 24-13 advantage, Waimea saw a Kapa‘a shot sail wide to take the 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three appeared to begin on the same course as the first two, with Waimea grabbing a 4-0 lead off the bat.
But Kapa‘a began to rally, winning five straight points to take the leaded, aided by two Nani Brun aces.
The two sides traded points and kept within reach of one another, as Kapa‘a took an 18-16 lead on an Artaho-Aki ace, utilizing the short serve.
Waimea responded by nabbing six of the next seven points for a 22-19 edge and managed to maintain that margin the rest of the way, notching the victory as a Kapa‘a block attempt went wide.
Waimea improves to 2-0, while Kapa‘a falls to 0-2.
In the junior varsity match, Waimea took a three-set victory, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21.
The Island School Voyagers played at Kaua‘i High School with the Raiders coming out on top with a 3-0 win, 25-22, 25-12, 25-20.
In the Island-Kaua‘i JV contest, Kaua‘i was again a 3-0 winner, 25-9, 25-22, 25-9.
Kaua‘i is tied with Waimea at 0-2, as Island School drops to 0-2.
The standings will begin to take shape on Tuesday, as Kaua‘i hosts Waimea and Island hosts Kapa‘a.
