LIHUE — Kauai High School’s boys volleyball team beat Waimea in straight sets Tuesday night. The Red Raiders (7-2, 3-0 in second round) won 3-0 with scores of 25-18, 25-23, 25-13 on their home court. Despite the win, Kauai head
LIHUE — Kauai High School’s boys volleyball team beat Waimea in straight sets Tuesday night.
The Red Raiders (7-2, 3-0 in second round) won 3-0 with scores of 25-18, 25-23, 25-13 on their home court.
Despite the win, Kauai head coach Merrill Carvalho said his team didn’t play its best.
“We had no energy in the first two sets. Our play was sloppy,” Carvalho said. “I think if Waimea limited their errors, it would have been a different game. I think Waimea would have pulled off the win based on the way we were playing.”
After winning the first set, Kauai found itself it a hole early in the second. Waimea (3-6, 1-2 in second round) had an 18-11 lead at one point.
Costly mistakes, however, allowed Kauai to catch up and tie the score at 23 before completing the comeback to take the second set.
Red Raiders junior Kalawaia Judd said the team came together after coach Carvalho called a timeout.
“He said we need to play with authority, play with passion,” Judd said. “I guess (we) weren’t ready. We weren’t in it.”
Judd added that the team might have been overconfident going into the matchup after beating Kapaa on Friday.
“I think we probably thought it was going to be a breeze, but it wasn’t. Waimea brought it to us,” he said.
Menehune head coach Enoka Karratti said his team played “carefree” during the first half of the second set but then played tentatively as the set progressed and Kauai started to catch up.
“They did that really good at Island School. They were playing loose,” Karratti said. “When we were on the ropes, from my opinion, I thought they looked like they didn’t want to make the mistake. Then they made the mistake … We just got to play loose and be consistent.
“Before the third set started, the boys actually ran their own huddle. The seniors were talking to the boys trying to recoup them … I was kind of impressed that the seniors took it and they tried to spark something,” he added.
Carvalho said he hopes this game will teach his team to not take games for granted.
“We can’t afford to play like this,” he said. “We have a lot to play for. If we did lose tonight, we would have been hitting the panic button for Tuesday.
“We cannot take anything for granted. That’s what I’ve been telling our team. Waimea’s hungry for a win. If we let our guard down, we’re going to be the team that they beat,” he added.
Waimea will play at Kapaa and Kauai will play at Island School on Friday. The junior varsity games will begin at 5 p.m. and the varsity games will begin no later than 6:30 p.m.
