WAIMEA — Kapaa High School’s varsity boys volleyball team beat Waimea, 3-1, Friday night at Waimea High School. “Our biggest concern after a big win (on Tuesday) was how were they going to respond. Our passing was pretty shaky, but
WAIMEA — Kapaa High School’s varsity boys volleyball team beat Waimea, 3-1, Friday night at Waimea High School.
“Our biggest concern after a big win (on Tuesday) was how were they going to respond. Our passing was pretty shaky, but also with my brother not being here, it was interesting to see how they would react,” said Warriors assistant coach Kahananui Kaona. Kapaa head coach Kapule Kaona was tending to other obligations and not available Friday.
“A win is a win, but it was ugly,” Kaona said. “For these boys, physically they have the talent. But if you watch, there’s always those little mental things.”
Kapaa (8-3 KIF, 4-0 second round, 0-1 playoff) jumped out to 24-13 lead in the fourth set.
A series of attacking errors on the Kapaa’s side, however, helped Waimea close the gap to single digits. Shortly after calling a timeout, Warriors junior opposite hitter Max Nice got the final kill to end the set, 25-19.
“I was definitely worried when they got to the high teens, but I was confident we could pull off one more point,” Nice said. “It was a load of relief off our shoulders.”
Prior to winning the fourth game, the Warriors won the first two sets, 26-24 and 25-23. Senior outside hitter Rudy Agoot got the winning scores in each game.
“Mainly our coverage and our passing wasn’t the greatest. In order to have kills, it starts with the passing to get good set and then get good hits,” Kaona said. “They weren’t as consistent as we usually are.”
Waimea (5-6 KIF, 1-3 second round, 0-1 playoff) won the third set, 25-22. Senior outside hitter Bobby Oliver recorded nine kills, a block and an ace in that game.
“We were pretty much in the whole game. Besides that last set, it wasn’t to the point where we had to come back from a big lead,” said Menehune head coach Alton Shimatsu. “Even though it’s late in the season and it’s my first year head coaching, all I look for is growth in the boys. But it’s always hard to lose one this close.”
Agoot had 16 kills, two aces and a block for Kapaa. Nice had 13 kills and two aces. Middle hitters, junior Mosese Fifita and sophomore Carson Schmick, each got nine kills.
Oliver totaled 24 kills, one ace and a block for the Menehune. Junior middle blocker Jayden Fu had seven kills, three blocks and two aces. Sophomore setter Carl Mecham had seven kills and an ace.
Kapaa’s junior varsity team also won its match, winning all three sets, 25-20, 25-16 and 25-20.
In the night’s other game, Kauai High beat Island School in straight sets, 25-18, 25-19 and 25-20. The Red Raiders JV team also won, 2-1. Kauai won the second and third sets, 26-24 and 25-21. The JV Voyagers won the first set, 25-14.
Waimea will play at Kauai (9-3 KIF, 3-1 second round, 2-0 playoff) and Kapaa will play at Island School (0-10 KIF, 0-4 second round) on Tuesday. The JV games will begin at 5 p.m. and the varsity will follow.
