LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders have been nipping at the heels of the first-place Kapa‘a Warriors for most of the season. Kaua‘i has played inconsistently at times, but the same could not be said Friday night at
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders have been nipping at the heels of the first-place Kapa‘a Warriors for most of the season. Kaua‘i has played inconsistently at times, but the same could not be said Friday night at Kaua‘i High School gym.
The Red Raiders played its best volleyball of the season in one of its most important matches of the season to beat the Warriors 25-20, 26-28, 25-20 and 25-16.
The Red Raiders are now the master of its own destiny as it takes its spot atop the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation standings in the second half.
The Warriors did not roll over lightly, which resulted in one of the more hard-fought matches of the season. In the end, the Raiders played flawlessly to capture the win — its fourth straight.
Set three was the key for Kaua‘i. The Raiders just dropped a heart-breaker in set two 26-28, and the momentum was in Kapa‘a’s favor.
The Warriors then jumped out to 7-4 lead early and it looked like Kapa‘a would run away with it. Kaua‘i had to fight back and eventually tie things up at 15-15 off of an ace from Grant Basquez. With the score still tight at 21-20 in favor of Kaua‘i, it was a pair of timely kills from Archie Vallatini and Kalawai‘a Judd, which propelled the Raiders to the win and took back any lost momentum.
Kaua‘i had a number of players contribute to the win and it was a team victory from top to bottom.
“They showed a lot of heart,” said Kaua‘i Head Coach Merrill Carvalho. “Last night was a complete team performance and team win.”
The Red Raiders setters, Marcus Carvalho and Randon Valenciano, did a fantastic job of setting up different hitters, which kept the Warriors blocking scheme mostly at bay.
“We have been working with our setter to spread the ball around,” Carvalho said. “It makes it easier for our hitters with one-on-one blocking, and we can usually win that.”
Kaua‘i’s overall intensity throughout the game was
noticeable. The Raiders needed to scratch and claw to keep some points alive, and it never faltered in its mental game — something Carvalho has been working on in practice.
“The last few practices have been really intense,” Carvalho said. “The boys wanted to start practicing harder and it has really shown the last two games.”
The Red Raiders have now won four-straight matches to improve its record to 6-2. With four matches left, Kaua‘i can wrap up the second half and force a playoff with the Warriors.
“We are just focused on one game at a time,” Carvalho said. “We have four more games and just need to take them one at a time, and continue to have intense practices.”
The Warriors drop to 6-2 on the season, and will be playing Waimea Tuesday at Kapa‘a High School.
Kaua‘i will play Island School on Tuesday at Island School.
• Rick Killeen, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or sports@thegardenisland.com.
