WAIMEA — The Warriors are in the driver’s seat and are in position to win the season’s first round.
Kapaa High School’s varsity boys volleyball team defeated Waimea High School, 3-1, Tuesday evening at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea — 25-11, 25-15, 26-28 and 25-19.
“Very excited and stoked for the boys about the way they were able to execute a complete,” said Kapaa head coach Kapule Kaona. “I thought they did a great job in the first two sets. In the third and fourth, that’s when things started to get a little tense. We started to tense up in our play and what we were doing, therefore let them in the door. … But to come out and close that fourth set, I was very happy and proud for the boys. We’ve never been in a situation where we really to fight for those last five points or those last three points.”
Kapaa (4-1 KIF) can clinch the first round with a win over Kauai High on Friday. A Warriors loss Friday would lead to at least one first-round playoff match at a date and location to be determined.
“Coming back into practice, we’re going to try to emulate what we did in those first two sets. If we can execute what we did, I like our chances going into Friday night,” Kaona said. “But once again, as we’ve known in the season this year, it’s been very tight and close. It could be anybody’s game, anybody’s night.”
En route to winning the first two sets by double digits, the Warriors scored 22 kills in the first two sets while the Menehune totaled just five.
“Everything was going well. We were executing on every part of our game plan,” Kaona said. “That is the best we’ve seen the boys play all season long. That’s what we’ve seen in practice. … They executed the game plan from the get-go and what we needed, as far as those first two sets.”
Waimea head coach Alton Shimatsu said in the early sets, the team simply wasn’t “mentally prepared.”
“It took us a while to come back and find our game. By the time we did, it was a little too late,” Shimatsu said. “We always had a chance. They fought to the end, and to me, that counts for something. To start off rough like that, and to come around and turn this game into a competitive match, it says a lot about them. They know their potential, but they know that they have to bring it out every time they play.”
After the second set, Waimea (3-2 KIF) regrouped inside the locker room rather than stay on the court.
The Menehune did have a better showing afterward and won the third set, 28-26. Menehune senior outside hitter DJ Pabre scored a kill to give Waimea a 27-26 lead, and then the team clinched the set on a Warriors error.
“Not much was said, actually. It was more of, I demanded things,” Shimatsus said of that locker room meeting. “I demanded serves. Our serving was horrible in the first two sets. I demanded serves. I demanded that they just play. Kapaa’s a good team, and they’re going to earn their own points. We cannot just give up free plays to them. So, I demanded that they keep their serves in and that they just play.”
Late in the fourth and tied at 19-19, Kapaa took a three-point lead on three Menehune errors. Warriors senior opposite hitter Noah Rall scored the match-winning kill.
Rall totaled eight kills for Kapaa. Warriors junior outside hitter Kiran Costa led the team with 21 kills and seven digs. Junior outside hitter Kesomi Fonua had seven kills and two digs.
Warriors sophomore setter La’akea Gonsalves had 31 assists, two digs and an ace. Junior libero Pomai Rabago-Kaiwi had 10 digs, one ace and three assists.
Pabre had eight kills and five digs for Waimea. Senior outside hitter Jacob Delos Reyes had 12 kills and five digs.
Menehune junior setter Shayne Simbre-Medeiros had 19 assists, an ace and six digs. Senior outside hitter Regis Lomongo had six digs, three kills and an assist.
Kapaa also won the junior varsity match, winning all three sets — 25-17, 25-23 and 25-19.
In the night’s other varsity match, Kauai defeated Island School in straight sets at the Wilcox Gymnasium in Puhi — 25-15, 25-16 and 25-12. The Red Raiders also won the JV match — 25-4, 25-4 and 25-4.
Kapaa will host Kauai High (3-2 KIF), and Waimea will host Island School (0-5) on Friday to conclude the first round. The JV matches will begin 5 p.m. and the varsity will follow.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
