WAIMEA — The first round title will not need a playoff to determine its rightful owner, as the Kaua‘i Red Raiders knocked off the Waimea Menehune by a 3-1 score to clinch the first-half championship. Kaua‘i (5-1) held off Waimea
WAIMEA — The first round title will not need a playoff to determine its rightful owner, as the Kaua‘i Red Raiders knocked off the Waimea Menehune by a 3-1 score to clinch the first-half championship.
Kaua‘i (5-1) held off Waimea (3-3) by scores of 25-13, 25-19, 22-25, 25-14 to claim the opening round, led by Donovan Harrison’s 19 kills and 8.5 blocks, as the leaper continued to show his adeptness at the net.
Dane Bautista finished up with 10 kills and two digs, including four spikes in the early going of the first set that got the Raiders off to a strong start. Blaise Ferguson had nine kills and four digs, while Kaleo Tin had five kills and six digs.
Joseph Machado finished with four kills and five blocks and Kevin Reyes had a match-high eight digs — four of them coming during a single point in the fourth set.
Jon Butac led all players with 35 assists for Kaua‘i, as the setter also chipped in three kills and 3.5 blocks.
Kaili Schumacher-Lagundino had another big night for the Menehune, leading the way with 15 kills, adding 1.5 blocks.
Kalen McCracken scored seven kills and had 5.5 blocks for Waimea, while Josh Quinlan had seven kills and 2.5 blocks. Chase Parongao had four assists to go with five digs, while Devan Banasihan had three digs.
John Tangalin put up a team-high 26 assists, 24 of them coming in the final three sets.
The Raiders got off to a hot start, jumping ahead 6-1 in the opening set and forcing a Waimea timeout while holding an 11-4 lead. They held close to a 10-point lead for most of the set and built a 24-13 advantage before a Menehune shot went wide on the first set point to give Kaua‘i a 1-0 lead.
The second set was much tighter, with the score tied 12 different times before Kaua‘i used a 6-2 run to take a 22-17 lead. The Raiders picked up five set points and wasted little time converting when a Waimea shot went out to put the Menehune in the 2-0 hole.
Waimea refused to quit and took a 9-5 lead in the early going of the third set, but Kaua‘i evened things up at 12-12. That’s when the Menehune took command and went on a 4-0 run, capped by back-to-back aces from Schumacher-Lagundino. Yet a 20-15 lead was not safe as the Raiders used a 5-0 run and an ace of their own from Tin to even the score, once again.
Tangalin set up Schumacher-Lagundino for a spike to create three set points at 24-21, and the same pair duplicated that result two points later as Waimea got back in the match with the 25-22 win.
The Raiders clearly didn’t want to let the opportunity slip away and put together a 10-3 run for a 14-7 lead in the fourth set. Holding a 20-9 edge, Kaua‘i had six digs within one point — four of them coming from Reyes — before a Waimea error ended the action. Leading 24-14, Randon Valenciano set up Butac for the final spike and the first-round title.
The night’s other varsity matchup saw the Kapa‘a Warriors take a 3-1 win over the Island School Voyagers at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a, by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23. The win puts Kapa‘a (3-3) in a tie for second place with Waimea, while Island School (1-5) rounds out the boys standings.
The JV match was a 3-0 win for Kapa‘a (25-14, 25-22, 25-22).
The Kaua‘i-Waimea JV match ended in a 3-0 win for Kaua‘i (25-15, 25-21, 25-20).
The boys’ second round will get underway on Tuesday, when the Red Raiders will host the Warriors at Kaua‘i High School and the Menehune will be home again to face the Voyagers at Waimea High School. JV will begin at 5 p.m. with varsity to follow.
