PUHI — The Red Raiders had to come from behind in every set to come away with a win on the road and stay in contention for the season’s second round.
Kauai High School’s varsity girls volleyball team defeated Island School, 3-1, Friday night at Island School’s Wilcox Gymnasium in Puhi — 25-17, 25-18, 14-25, 25-23.
“That is our thing that we need to work on — starting from point one. We need to start as soon as we get out onto the court,” said Kauai head coach Kehaulani Regidor. “It’s been our weakness so far.”
After falling in the third set, Kauai (6-3 KIF, 2-1 2nd round) again trailed early in the fourth set.
Down 19-16, the Red Raiders went on a five-point streak. An ace by Red Raiders senior outside hitter Maria Gojkovic gave Kauai a 20-19 lead.
Later in the set, Island School tied the scoreline at 23-23 on a kill by Voyagers sophomore opposite hitter Wailana Marvin.
A kill by Red Raiders senior middle Hailey Iha gave Kauai a 24-23 lead. An ace by freshman outside hitter Kaleonahe Bukoski clinched Kauai the fourth set and the win.
“We just made sure that we were loud, that we picked up the pace and that kept the momentum going,” Gojkovic said. “We said, ‘This is not going to the fifth. We got this.’”
Regidor said: “We got a lot of people to play. We saw the changes, what we need to do more in practice to prepare for the next game. We’ll practice hard and learn from what didn’t work tonight, what did work and stick to it.”
Island School (1-7 KIF, 0-3 2nd round) had a lead early in each of the four sets.
In the third set that Island won, Voyagers junior outside hitter Ashley Mecham scored consecutive aces to give the team a 14-4 lead. Senior outside hitter Izzy Ancharski scored the set-winning kill.
In the fourth set, Island had a 17-13 lead before Kauai rallied.
“It was, for the sets we couldn’t finish, it was more about not being able to push through,” said Island School head coach Kylie Silva. “The fatigue, and then not being able to recover from our mistakes. Our girls, they tend to focus on the errors a lot more. … Once we can get over that obstacle and not even worry about errors, just learn from it and move on, we can be a better team overall.”
Gojkovic led Kauai with 11 kills and two aces. Iha had eight kills and a block. Bukoski ended with six kills and an ace. Red Raiders senior middle Rebecca Zenger was also among the team leader with six kills, a block and an ace.
“We wanted to have fun playing because that’s when we play the best,” Gojkovic said. “We just focused point after point. It was rough, but we made it.”
Mecham totaled a match-high 19 kills along with four aces and a block for Island School.
“She is our heavy hitter. She adds (stability) to the team,” Silva said of Mecham. “Skill-wise, she helps us out through tough times. She will go far. She’s just one of those players that can do it all.”
Marvin had five kills for Island School. Ancharski ended with three kills and an ace. Junior opposite hitter Katie Cook had three kills and a block.
Kauai also won the junior varsity match against Island School. The JV Red Raiders won all three sets — 25-20, 25-20, 29-27.
Kauai will host Waimea (8-1 KIF, 3-0 2nd round), and Island School will play at Kapaa (3-6 KIF, 1-2 2nd round) on Friday. The JV matches will begin 5 p.m. and the varsity matches will follow.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
