WAIMEA — Waimea High School’s boys volleyball coach Tony Magaoay walked into last night’s match against Kaua‘i High School thinking it would be a quick game. “That’s what I thought when I came in but these guys must be getting better
WAIMEA — Waimea High School’s boys volleyball coach Tony Magaoay walked into last night’s match against Kaua‘i High School thinking it would be a quick game.
“That’s what I thought when I came in but these guys must be getting better as the season goes on,” he said. “Kaua‘i came in playing hard.”
Waimea (6-0) eventually overcame the pressure to beat the winless Kaua‘i (0-5) in four games, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25 and 25-23.
“It was a tough one,” Magaoay said. “We’ve never played that lineup before but I’m glad they pulled it out.”
Waimea’s Calsen Agrade hit a season high 21 kills while setter Jared Matsumoto also posted his highest numbers so far with 31 assists. Alton Shimatsu was a surprise hero last night with 11 kills and two aces.
But early in the night, Game 1 could’ve gone either way with Kaua‘i’s Travis Stine hitting six of his 12 hits on the night and was half of three huge double blocks early on, staking the Red Raiders to an early lead. But Waimea came back with Kelsey Hesapene serving for six in a row to take a slim lead they hung onto to win by two.
Game 2 didn’t go by any faster. Both teams played solid defense, stifling the scoring before Waimea pulled it out 25-20. In Game 3, Kaua‘i again took the lead early but this time held on, withstanding an Agrade-led charge to win by four.
Game 4 went back and forth with neither team showing dominance. Kaua‘i squandered numerous opportunities to get ahead with too many service errors. Defense kept them in it, blocking several hits from Agrade. In the end it was Waimea’s defense that won it when Matsumoto posted a solo block by Matsumoto against Kaua‘i’s Danny Riggle to end the game and the match.
The girls games, however, weren’t as close. Waimea (6-0) swept Kaua‘i (1-4) in three, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-21.
Waimea’s Nue Wong hit for eight kills and had two aces and teammate Chaslee Delanoza contributed with five kills. Setter Nani Dennis tossed up 15 assists.
In Game 3, the closest of the night, Waimea head coach Chad Delanoza gave his bench some playing time.
“I wanted to put some other girls in to see what they could do under stressful circumstances,” Delanoza said. “You got to take care of all of your kids because you never know who could save you in the long run.”
Kaua‘i High plays Kapa‘a at home this Wednesday at 5 p.m.
