From TGI Staff Kapa’a High School, battling from the losers’ bracket at the Waimea Invitational Volleyball Tournament, emerged as the second best finisher Saturday. The Warriors would have had to defeat tourney champion, Waiakea, twice to take the title. They
From TGI Staff
Kapa’a High School, battling from the losers’ bracket at the Waimea
Invitational Volleyball Tournament, emerged as the second best finisher
Saturday.
The Warriors would have had to defeat tourney champion, Waiakea,
twice to take the title. They were only able to beat the Big Island team
once.
On paper, however, Kapa’a shouldn’t even have been in the title
match. In Friday’s round-robin portion of the tourney, the Warriors finished
the day sixth out of nine teams.
“Friday we just kind of went through some
different lineup combinations,” Warriors coach Manny Henriques said. “Saturday
we kind of brought out the tried and true.”
Kaua’i High School looked to be
the islands best shot at a high finish. The Red Raiders went into Saturday’s
double-elimination tournament ranked third.
But after passing Honoka’a in
Saturday’s first round, Kaua’i lost to eventual-champion Waiakea, and
Honolulu’s Castle in succession to fall from contention. The Waimea varsity
team fell in consecutive matches Saturday, as did the Menhunes’ jayvee
squad.
Kapa’a, meanwhile, squeaked by Waimea’s varsity squad to set up its
first showdown with Waiakea. The Warriors lost in consecutive games, and fell
into the losers’ bracket.
From there, Kapa’a cruised by Honoka’a, fought
its way past second-ranked Kohala and upset Castle in a thriller.
Henriques
said he got solid play from Kekoa Chun, his 6-foot-5 middle hitter/setter, as
well as from middle hitter Rhyan Greenleaf.
“Those two were very productive
for me Saturday,” Henriques said. “It was good to see them playing so
well.”
Henriques said the emergence of Ben Kuhaulua, a fixture on last
year’s jayvee squad, came as “a pleasant surprise.”
As did Henriques’ kids’
decision to battle after dropping the second-round match on Saturday.
“I
didn’t know how the guys were going to react after losing that one so early,”
Henriques said. “It’s a long fight to battle back from that. There has to be a
decision to want to win after that.
“And that’s what they
made.”
Henriques said that, as always, Waimea head coach Bobby Kamakele
“ran a quality tournament that offered a very pleasant experience.”
