LIHUE — Kauai’s Breena Farias ignited the junior varsity team when she scored an ace in the third set Friday at the Red Raiders’ gym. But that wasn’t all because while in her rotation, Farias bagged a kill down the
LIHUE — Kauai’s Breena Farias ignited the junior varsity team when she scored an ace in the third set Friday at the Red Raiders’ gym.
But that wasn’t all because while in her rotation, Farias bagged a kill down the line, thrilling the crowd even more as the Kauai varsity girls took a 3-0 win over Island School in a match that was over in just over an hour.
“Breena was one of the team managers,” said Dorene Matias, the Kauai coach. “We put her on the roster in the second round.”
Farias joined Adrienne Graycochea, Kawehi Harris and Harley Kaeo in leading Kauai to a 25-9, 25-4 and 25-7 win over the Voyagers.
Earlier in the evening, Kauai coach Daryl Date kept the Kauai JV record unblemished as the Red Raiders put a 3-0 win to bed, 25-13, 25-8 and 25-13.
“Tonight’s game sets the tone for the next couple of games,” Matias said. “The last time we faced Island School, we struggled. We have two more games, both crucial and difficult, so I’m glad the girls worked tonight.”
Francis Takasaki of the Kauai coaching staff said the girls worked on improving their performance on the court, Graycochea leading the charge with nine kills on 12 attempts in the series where Kauai controlled the match throughout.
Harris finished the night with five kills on eight attempts, and team captain Kaeo had a perfect five kills on five attempts, adding a pair of big blocks to the mix.
Leisa Eto led the defensive effort with three blocks in the win.
“We hit a speed bump,” said Brad Sato, the Island School coach. “Kauai High played a tough match, and our girls may have been distracted because high school was on a Teachers Institute Day break. This is like last week when fall break broke the routine.”
Autumn Warnock started strong and got some help from Brianna Griep, who had nice touches in the middle, and Katie Davidson had some moments of glory, but the Voyagers could not get a string going.
“These are the last few games for the seniors,” Matias said. “I expect them to give their best because this is it. The team is on schedule with their workouts and their focus is on the right things.”
Kauai next hosts Waimea Tuesday while Island School returns to the Wilcox Gym to host Kapaa.
The JV games serve up at 5 p.m. with the varsity games starting no earlier than 6:30 p.m.
