KAPAA — The Warrior wahine were pushed to their limit, but came through in the end. Kapaa High School’s varsity girls volleyball team was victorious in its home opener, defeating Kauai 3-1 Tuesday night. The Warriors (3-0 KIF) won by scores
KAPAA — The Warrior wahine were pushed to their limit, but came through in the end.
Kapaa High School’s varsity girls volleyball team was victorious in its home opener, defeating Kauai 3-1 Tuesday night.
The Warriors (3-0 KIF) won by scores of 25-21, 25-18, 18-25, 27-25 at the Kapaa High School gym.
“We just wanted to show that all the hard work is really paying off,” said Kappa junior middle Tori Daligcon. “Our theme is ‘Hana pono,’ and that’s ‘Step over the line.’ … That’s what drove us tonight on those last couple of points. We really dug deep and stepped over that line.”
After trailing for most of the fourth set, the Red Raider girls rallied to take a 25-24 lead.
Kapaa then scored the next three points to seal the deal. Daligcon scored the game-winning kill for her team.
“All I told them was, ‘Girls, Kauai High isn’t going to give it to you. You got to go take it. What do you got?'” said Warriors head coach Evan Costa. “Kauai High is the most experienced team in KIF this year … I knew exactly how tough of a road this would be for our girls.”
Daligcon said getting that last kill after regaining the lead late in the final set was an adrenaline rush.
“When that ball came back over, I just wanted it,” she said. “We weathered the storm. They’re good. Our next game against them is going to be really close, too.”
Kauai (2-1 KIF) won the third set after surrendering the first two to Kapaa. The team carried some of that momentum in the fourth set, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
“It’s the small mistakes that kept on piling up,” said Kauai head coach Dorene Matias. “We’ll meet them three more times. So it’s not the end, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Red Raiders junior outside hitter Adrienne Graycochea added she and her teammates weren’t able to keep the momentum in the last set after things fell in their favor during the previous one.
“We just got to focus on communication, passing more, serving more (aggressively) and being there for each other when we’re down,” Graycochea said. “Knowing where you are on the court and being ready for any ball that comes to you.”
Earlier in the night, Kapaa’s junior varsity team beat Kauai’s JV squad 2-1. The Warriors won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-12. Kauai won the third set 25-18.
Waimea beats Island School in straight sets
WAIMEA — The Menehune varsity girls volleyball squad defeated Island School 3-0 at home Tuesday night.
Waimea (1-2 KIF) won all three sets 25-16, 25-17, 25-17.
“We served a little better than the last two matches,” said Menehune varsity head coach Chad Delanoza. “We had less unforced errors. That gave us more opportunities to score.”
He added he hopes to take what worked that night and carry it forward as he and his team try to get back in contention.
“It’s good to get at least one win under your belt. Anything is possible. It’s the start of something,” Delanoza said. “We talked about getting better in practice, controlling the things we can control and continue to work and support each other.”
Waimea’s JV team beat Island School 2-1 by scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-17.
Waimea will play at Kapaa and Island School (0-3 KIF) will play at Kauai on Friday. JV games begin 5 p.m. and the varsity will play no earlier than 6:30 p.m.
