The Hawai’i High School Athletic Association announced the 37th Annual NewCityNissan.com Volleyball State Championship brackets yesterday, which includes the first-ever 12-team division II championship. Kapa’a’s girls squad, the KIF champs for the first time in 35 years, weren’t given a
The Hawai’i High School Athletic Association announced the 37th Annual NewCityNissan.com Volleyball State Championship brackets yesterday, which includes the first-ever 12-team division II championship.
Kapa’a’s girls squad, the KIF champs for the first time in 35 years, weren’t given a seed, despite being ranked in the top 10 of the state girls volley-ball poll by The Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
“We just gotta go up there and play. We’re not worried about the seeds. If you want to be the champ, you gotta be the champ. The way I see it is that we get to play more games,” Kapa’a head coach Kaipo Kealalio III said.
But the Warriors might be without the services of their main hitter, Poe Gantt, who went down with an injury on Wednesday night during practice. “She won’t be practicing. It happens sometimes. That’s something we have to deal with. We’re not banking on her playing or not,” Kealalio III said.
The Warriors will start their state title quest against the OIA’s Kaimuki, on Monday, Nov. 7, starting at 5 p.m. If Kapa’a advances, they will move into the championship bracket against the tournament’s fourth seed, Honoka’a, on Tuesday, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
St. Francis, Radford, Seabury Hall, and Honoka’a took the top four seeds in the division II bracket. Meanwhile, Kapa’a’s boys team got a little more respect, by attaining the fourth seed in the tournament.
“I thought we would’ve been seeded higher. Waipahu was seeded higher and we beat them in the pre-season. I think that reflects the lack of respect for the KIF. They (HHSAA) should automatically tell the KIF that we’ll never be seeded. But it’s good because we’re automatcially in the quarter-finals,” Kapa’a head coach Merrill Carvalho said.
Although the team was ranked in the state’s top 10 for six straight weeks, Kapa’a still wasn’t able to get one of the top two seeds in the division II bracket.
The Warriors will face the winner of Hana and Honoka’a, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, starting at 3:30 p.m.
HBA, Hilo, Waipahu, and Kapa’a took the top four seeds in the division II tournament.
“We beat Seabury twice and Hana lost to Seabury once. We have to beat two good teams early on. It’s going to be tough” Carvalho said. The tournament begins Monday, Nov. 7 and concludes Thursday, Nov. 10.
The sites of the tournament have changed from the original plan to ensure maximum manpower at each site in the 48-team extravaganza, one of the largest in Hawai’i high school history. McKinley High and Kamehameha Schools will host the division I boys and girls, respectively, Monday through Wednesday.
The divison I championship will conclude Thursday, Nov. 10 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Punahou School and Radford High will host the division II boys and girls championships, respectively. All games will remain at these sites on all four days of the tournament.
Results will be available on the HHSAA website, www.sportshigh.com, at the conclusion of each game.
