WAIMEA — Torrid hammer exchanges etched out the Kauai Interscholastic Federation girls volleyball crown, Tuesday night at Clem Gomes Gym.
Island School’s Ashley Mecham and Waimea’s Raelee Samio were in the leading edge of the slugfest that unfolded before a near-capacity audience at Waimea High School facility where Island School (3-2)entered with a must-win-to-stay-alive posture against the Menehune, who faced the possibility of the KIF title with a win.
“The girls decided they wanted to change the attitude,” said Waimea coach Brandi Hori-Moises. “They went out there and did it — together.”
The Menehune (5-0) battled through three hard-fought sets to claim the crown — 26-24, 26-24, and 25-20 — over the Island School Voyager women.
“Inexperience is what did us in,” said Island School coach Darrick “Deej” Peleras. “We hoped they would get over it, but they had a hard time putting it away.”
During the opening set where both teams stalemated the lead six times, including at 23-23 that was set when Mecham whacked the ball from the back row to knot the contest, June Hsu blocked a Waimea hit for the go-ahead only to run into a service error. Miscues sealed the Voyagers’ fate.
The three-minute break between sets rejuvenated Island School who took a 9-6 lead in the second set behind a string of serves from Mecham that included an ace, a solid whack, and a hit from Jaden DeSouza.
Waimea answered on a tandem blocking effort by Makeyah Wisneski and Kepler Niccore before the Voyagers took over with a five-point string of serves by Hsu who got help with hits from Wailana Marvin and Menehune errors for the 15-7 margin.
The Menehune wouldn’t go down, Tehani Togioka taking the service block for a six-point string that included whacks from Samio combining with Voyager mistakes for the 13-15 deficit.
Facing a 23-19 hole, the Menehune clawed back on hits by Togioka, Isabella Bateman, and Samio, but still chased a point when Mecham’s hammer forced the side, 24-22.
Another costly service error to the Voyagers kept Waimea in the chase before Samio, combined with Togioka in the service block to seal the second set on Voyager mistakes.
“This was so close,” Peleras said. “We had our chances, but we committed critical mistakes at crucial times. This is the inexperience. I hope the girls get over this because they all played a great game. Waimea came prepared, too, but I’m so proud of how the girls battled. They gained valuable experience from this.”
With the victory in the second set, momentum shifted in Waimea’s favor, and despite a back-and-forth third set, the Menehune settled the night behind a hit up the middle from Niccore.
“This was a great game for everyone,” Hori-Moises said. “To come back from that deficit in the second set was truly a comeback.”
Earlier in the night, the Waimea Junior Varsity were 2-1 winners over the Island School JV squad — 25-23, 23-25, and 25-23.
Over at the Kauai High School gym where the Red Raiders were celebrating Senior Night, the Kauai JV preserved its string of wins with a 2-1 edge over the Kapaa JV — 25-22, 25-23, and 19-25.
The varsity Red Raiders dropped 3-1 to the Warriors after capturing the third set, 17-25, 20-25, 25-20, and 19-25.
With the KIF title win, Waimea presented the game ball to Maka and Tevin Shigematsu in honor of their mother Nalani who lost her battle with cancer Friday morning.
“Even through her struggles, she was always smiling and encouraging the kids,” Hori Moises said. “She supported so many kids in so many ways. She was a part of the community and brought pride to the Westside. The community has so much pride in what she did, and this honor is to pay tribute to all those who came before us and left us the legacy. We are family.”
The Waimea High School Menehune celebrate its Senior Night Friday when they host Kauai High School at the Clem Gomes Gym. Island School will host Kapaa High School at Wilcox Gymnasium. The JV games at both sites start at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity encounter.
The Menehune will participate in the New City Nissan Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II volleyball state championships on Oahu, Oct. 23 through 26. During the course of the regular season, Waimea remained unbeaten headed into the tourney.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com
