PUHI — Kapaa High School’s varsity boys volleyball team defeated Island School in straight sets Friday evening.
The Warriors beat the Voyagers at the Wilcox Gymnasium at Island School — 25-20, 25-15 and 25-7.
“We had a tight start in the beginning. The score reflected that,” said Kapaa head coach Kapule Kaona. “We had a different lineup tonight. We had some different players due to injury as well as sickness. But that’s no excuse. We expect every single person to step up. But there was a lack of communication and energy in that first set. There was a lot of nerves.”
He added: “I think once we got over that, they were able to relax a little. As the game progressed on, they felt a lot more comfortable. In our wrap-up, they (said) they played a lot more together. We played loose. We weren’t playing tense and tight. They were just having fun.”
Kapaa (9-1 KIF, 4-0 2nd round) recovered from an early deficit in the first period to tie the score at 20-20 before winning the set.
Warriors senior libero Justin Paleka got dig and his ball landed on the Voyagers side for the set-winning point.
Kapaa then went on to win the next two sets by wide margins.
“I think that was a big thing, just getting that first one. Once we got that first one, I think there was a lot of weight that just dropped off their shoulders. ‘OK, whew. Let’s play,’” Kaona said. “(Before that), there was, ‘Oh, my gosh. I hope we don’t screw up. I don’t want to make the error.’ It was just playing with a tentative mindset and not a ‘go after it’ and proactive mindset.”
Island School (0-10 KIF, 0-4 2nd round) held the lead for most of the middle part of the first set.
Before the Warriors went on a run to win the set, the Voyagers had a 20-17 lead before Kapaa called timeout.
“We started off really good like how we normally start off, and then we eventually die out like how we did,” said Island School head coach Kylie Silva. “We still haven’t found out a solution for that. Even though we only have two games left, we’re going to try and finish strong. Every day, we’re still going to learn something new. We’re going to try to figure that out.”
Silva added when his team was leading early on, the team was playing with “no fear.”
“No fear of making mistakes. No fear of losing or anything. They just played,” he said. “We started the game like that, but once one person makes a mistake, everybody shuts down. It’s a mental thing. For us, it’s the mental game. It’s not our skill or anything like that we got to work on. It’s our mental toughness.”
Paleka finished with 12 digs, two aces and a kill for Kapaa. Junior setter Rusdan-Rocket Ahuna had a match-high 28
assists along with two kills and an ace.
Warriors junior outside hitter Kiran Costa had 12 kills, five digs and an ace. Junior outside hitter Raine Youne had seven kills and a dig. Junior middle Ali’i Brown had six kills.
Voyagers sophomore outside hitter Kieran Mitchell had six kills and five digs. Junior middle Aidan Offley had three kills, a block and an ace. Senior outside hitter Reece Valencia had three kills and seven digs. Junior middle Luke Reynolds had three kills and a block.
Voyagers senior setter Ryan Yavinsky had 13 assists and two kills. Senior libero Emi De La Mora had eight digs.
Kapaa also won the junior varsity match against Island, winning all three sets — 25-14, 25-17 and 25-15.
Kapaa will host Waimea (5-5 KIF, 1-3 2nd round), and Island School will play at Kauai High (6-4 KIF, 3-1 2nd round) on Tuesday. 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.
