KAPAA — Kapaa High School’s varsity girls volleyball team overcame a six-point deficit in the first set en route to defeating Waimea 3-0 at home Tuesday night. The Warriors (6-1 KIF, 1-0 second round) swept the Menehune, 25-23, 25-6 and
KAPAA — Kapaa High School’s varsity girls volleyball team overcame a six-point deficit in the first set en route to defeating Waimea 3-0 at home Tuesday night.
The Warriors (6-1 KIF, 1-0 second round) swept the Menehune, 25-23, 25-6 and 25-17.
“That’s what we struggle with. We wait for the game to come to us when rather we should just step up and go,” said Warriors head coach Evan Costa about working through that Menehune surge in the early stages of the opening set. “That’s our challenge with our girls … I knew going into this game that Waimea was going to be tough, and you saw it tonight.”
While Waimea (2-5 KIF, 0-1 second round) tested Kapaa’s resolve early on, momentum shifted in the second set as the Warriors jumped to a 15-1 lead.
The Menehune surrendered six aces in that set — three of which were served by Kapaa junior Tori Daligcon, two from junior Mahinai Haaheo and one from senior Eryka Keoho.
“I don’t usually serve and play back row, so that just felt so good,” Daligcon said about scoring the three aces. “We were just on it (in the second set) … We just kept playing our game.”
Dalicgon also had four kills in the night, including ones that won her team the first and third sets.
“Our mental game (was stronger). We didn’t get so down when we made mistakes. That’s what we’ve been working on ever since we lost to Kauai High. I think that was really great tonight,” she said.
Waimea head coach Chad Delanoza said lack of effort was mostly why his team lost, especially by a large margin in the second set.
“That’s basically what hurt us more than anything … Coming together as a team has been a real battle for us right now,” the Menehune coach said. “We had a good week of practice. It showed in the first game that we were a little more prepared. Then we fell off the bus a little bit and we couldn’t get back on because we lost sight of what we wanted to do.
“Everything reflects me and what I do. I was disappointed for them because that’s not who they are … It was a tough thing to watch,” Delanoza added. “I think they know the second game was really bad on their part. They know and they recognize it, and we’ll move on and hope for the best.”
Earlier in the night, Waimea’s junior varsity team beat Kapaa 2-1, winning the second and third sets 32-31, 25-12. Kapaa won the first set 25-9.
Kapaa will host Island School (0-7 KIF, 0-1 second round) and Waimea will host Kauai (6-1 KIF, 1-0 second round) on Friday. The JV games begin 5 p.m. and the varsity will follow.
