The unseeded Waimea High School boys volleyball team goes into Monday’s state tournament match against Hawai‘i Prep with a huge disadvantage. The team’s two biggest hitters, Chris Newcomb and Calsen Agrade, are both injured. “Chris is at 60 percent right
The unseeded Waimea High School boys volleyball team goes into Monday’s state tournament match against Hawai‘i Prep with a huge disadvantage. The team’s two biggest hitters, Chris Newcomb and Calsen Agrade, are both injured.
“Chris is at 60 percent right now,” said head coach Tony Magaoay. “He moves like an old man on the court. He can’t move, he can’t jump.”
For Agrade, it’s his shoulder.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t really anything about Hawai‘i Prep,” Magaoay said. “We’re just going to have to play the best we can. I want to at least get past the first round.”
To prepare for the match, Magaoay has been drilling all the players.
“Aaron Vea and Markland Soliva have been playing well,” he said. “They didn’t play all that much during the season, but they’re playing good now.”
But he’s not really worried about Monday’s match. If they do get past Hawai‘i Prep, they’ll play second-seeded Hana High from Maui.
“In the past, Hana’s always had real athletic players,” Magaoay said. “Not necessarily the tallest, but they’ve always had the types that moved well and played well.”
Setter Jared Matsumoto shares his coach’s concern for the team.
“Our two best hitters are hurt. All the guys have to step it up,” he said. “But it’s not hard for me to set the other guys. It’s actually easier because I won’t be setting in one place. Blockers usually watch Chris and Calsen.”
Despite his ongoing back problems, Newcomb is eager to play.
“I want to show them that we can really play and that we’re more than just Division II,” he said. “We should be able to play with the big boys.”
The biggest challenge for the Menehune could be adjusting to less games per match.
“In KIF, we play five games. With this tournament, it’s only three,” Newcomb said. “With five games, we usually have time to warm up. With this way, we don’t have much time leading up to the third game.”
This is only the second year for Division II volleyball. Last year, Kapa‘a High School captured the first title. This is Magaoay’s first year coaching varsity volleyball. Although he knows winning is a long shot, he hopes to bring Kaua‘i another trophy.
“I got to keep it Kaua‘i,” he said. “What I’m hoping for is when Monday comes, the adrenaline kicks in and they forget about all the injuries. But at the same time, I don’t want to play them and make their injuries worse.”
Waimea won its spot in the state tournament by defeating Kaua‘i High School on Oct. 18.
The boys leave for O‘ahu today.
They play Hawaii Prep at 6 p.m. at host school Radford High School.
