KAPA’A – In what was expected to be a real battle, the Waimea girls varsity improved to 2-0 in a one-sided 15-5, 15-2 road victory over Kapa’a. The Menehunes were led by outside hitter Britnee Boeder (8 kills, 3 service
KAPA’A – In what was expected to be a real battle, the Waimea girls varsity improved to 2-0 in a one-sided 15-5, 15-2 road victory over Kapa’a.
The Menehunes were led by outside hitter Britnee Boeder (8 kills, 3 service aces) and senior setter Ashlee Vea (17 assists, 7 digs).
The Warriors recorded 11 team kills but were guilty of 13 hitting errors on the evening.
The Warriors travel to Kaua’i High next Wednesday to battle the Red Raiders with junior varsity action commencing at 3 p.m.
The Warriors were led by Sharlene Carillo (4 kills, 5 digs). Kelly McBride had five digs.
The Menehunes enjoyed an 8 to 1 service ace advantage over the home squad, and recorded 19 kills with only four hitting errors.
Waimea boys edge Kapa’a in three, 7-13, 15-9, 15-13
KAPA’A – The defending KIF champion Waimea Menehunes boy’s varsity squad improved to 2-0 with a come-from-behind 7-13, 15-9, 15-13 victory over Kapa’a to spoil the Warriors home opener Saturday night at the Bernice Hundley Gym.
The Menehunes came out flat in game 1 – with only a day to prepare for a team they hadn’t seen intact until game-time and playing without starting senior setter Talon Abat (shoulder injury suffered at the conclusion of Wednesday’s home contest), it was to be expected.
Kapa’a, on the other hand, began the match clicking on all cylinders. With setter Kyle Mahoney (34 assists on the night) at the service line and the visitors suffering through a mini-hitting slump, the Warriors jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage.
Waimea cut the edge to 5-4 but 6 unforced hitting errors and exceptional back row passing by the home squad helped bump the lead to 11-7. Consecutive passing and hitting miscues ended the set as the game clock ticked to 0:00.
With just under three minutes left in the second game, the Warriors found themselves down by a 10-9 mark. Menehune middle Casey Kaohelaulii served out the set which culminated in a Joshua Vinzant (team-high 12 kills) smash off the Kapa’a double block to square things at 1-1.
High leaper Desmond Rodrigues (7 of 10 kills) and powerful Ricky Rodrick (8 of his match-high 13 put-aways) came alive for their respective teams in the third-and-deciding set. A Waimea time out with :18 to play found the Menehunes up 14-12 with the serve. A pair of Rodrick kills, however, left the Warriors down 14-13 with a few ticks left. A rocket smash by Vinzant gave the ball back to the Menehunes and defensive specialist Steven Fountain’s soft floater resulted in a Warrior overpass which Kaohelaulii dumped to the open floor to end the hard-fought affair.
In his relief stint, junior setter Erwin Wright ably stepped it up with 38 assists to lead all players.
My hat goes off to our kids but also to Kapa’a, Coach Bobby Kamakele stated after the match, “We made a lot of unforced errors and gave them early advantages in every set. We were lucky we could have easily lost the first two.”
