WAIMEA — The defending KIF champions were swept Wednesday night. Kapa‘a, the reigning volleyball champions for both the girls and boys, dropped close games at the hands of the hosting Waimea High School Menehune behind a mixed plate of hits
WAIMEA — The defending KIF champions were swept Wednesday night.
Kapa‘a, the reigning volleyball champions for both the girls and boys, dropped close games at the hands of the hosting Waimea High School Menehune behind a mixed plate of hits and strong defense.
The Warrior men, who lost a lot of their championship roster to graduation, captured Game 1 25-17 before succumbing to the hitting of Waimea’s Calsen Agrade and Chris Newcomb. Waimea went on to take the remaining three games 25-19, 25-23, 25-23.
Turning point for the Warrior wahine came late in Game 1 when strong outside hitter Brittney Carvalho emerged out of a huddle nursing an injured hand.
At that point, Kapa‘a controlled the contest 24-20, but a pair of errors and a Chaslee Delanoza hit pulled Waimea to within a point, 23-24.
A Kapa‘a net violation combined with two more Warrior miscues to end their momentum as Waimea took a close 26-24 Game 1 to the bench.
The Menehune wahine — with Nue Wong and Delanoza peppering from the outside and Cheri Kua and Brytney Lanng hammering away up the middle — went on to take the remainder of the games 27 -25, 25-23.
The Menehune ladies controlled Game 2 through 18 points before Kapa‘a tied the contest 18-18 behind a smash from Poerava Gantt.
Following point exchanges, a hit from Carvalho tied the contest at 22.
A Kapa‘a hitting and service error gave the nod to Waimea and the Menehune put a lid on Game 2 with Tialei Agader dinking the ball up the middle.
Waimea held a 23-15 advantage in Game 3 before Kapa‘a scrapped back behind six unanswered points before falling 25-22 on another Kua dink up the middle.
During the 6-0 run, Gantt, Mai‘lika Napolean each had kills and the Menehune committed four hitting errors before Wong broke the string with a push up the middle.
In the boys’ contest, Newcomb pulled Waimea into the lead on a hit from the opposite side for the 21-19 read in Game 2 before a Kapa‘a error at the net and an Agrade block sealed the deal 25-19.
The changed hands early and often throughout the next two games — right up until the end. Keelan Sakuda iced the Menehune win with a slam down the middle after Kapa‘a’s Chance Bukoski kept the Warriors alive by saving a Newcomb bomb from the back.
The Menehune make the trip to Kaua‘i High School Saturday for a meeting with the Red Raiders. The boys game tips off at 5 p.m. with the girls to follow, not starting before 6:30 p.m.
KIF JV volleyball players will meet at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a for a round-robin tournament featuring all three schools at 10 a.m.
