KAPA‘A — Waimea High School girls volleyball split its series with Kapa‘a High School on Tuesday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation girls volleyball matches played at Bernice Hundley Gym.
The junior varsity Menehune squeaked past the Warriors, 25-22, and on the momentum gained from the opening set win, held off the Kapa‘a for a 25-16 and 25-16 set wins before a good-sized audience.
The varsity Menehune, garbed in pink warmups ahead of October being celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, could not carry on the JV momentum, and fell in three sets to the Lady Warriors, 17-25, 19-25, and 17-25, in their first meeting of the KIF girls volleyball season.
“It appears we’re going to have to play the game that was rescheduled due to the school lockdown created when police were searching for a shooting suspect. That rescheduled game will be played on Oct. 3 in Waimea,” said Kapa‘a High School Athletic Director Greg Gonsalves.
“The girls volleyball KIF standings are pretty tight, right now. Kapa‘a is in the lead with one loss. Over at the Kaua‘i High School gymnasium, both Kaua‘i and Island School have two losses, each. The loser at the Kaua‘i High School gymnasium will have three losses in the first round.”
The make up game will be played during one of the first round playoff dates.
During the opening set on Tuesday, Kapa‘a pulled away from a 5-4 lead when setter Taira Samiano served up a plate of point enhanced with hits from Olivia Malafu and Olivia Jenkins for a 10-4 lead.
Waimea answered when Kaylen Lewis returned service, enhanced by a Menehune block, to pull to within three points.
Trailing by 10 points, 13-23, Lewis returned to the service block for four points, enhanced by hits from Kalia Yaris and Warrior hitting errors to pull to within six points before whacks from Malafu and Ku‘uipomakamae Hunt put the set away for the Warriors.
Similarly, in the second set, Waimea looked at a 14-23 hole before Chaslee Aki served up five points spiced with an ace and a hit, before Kapa‘a’s Sierra Summer whacked one and the Menehune were called for a net violation.
Kapa‘a carried the third set with long tenures in the service block from Kailee-Ann Baltazar and Summer with Malafu banging hard before the Menehune suffered a hitting miscue to end the night.
The KIF girls volleyball games continue on Thursday when all four KIF varsity squads will take the floor before OC16 television cameras at the new Kaua‘i High School gymnasium. Island School will face Kapa‘a starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by Waimea and Kaua‘i High School starting at 7:30 p.m.
The OC16 television crews will continue their extended coverage on Kaua‘i by broadcasting the Kapa‘a High School Homecoming football game on Friday at Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex. The JV game kicks off at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity game starting 30 minutes after the JV game ends.
