LIHU‘E — There were almost five sets Tuesday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation boys volleyball games contested at both the Kaua‘i High School gym and at the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus in Puhi.
But there weren’t fifth sets at either location, and the results surprised a lot of people as the Menehune broke their losing skid by edging out the Voyagers in four sets, 25-13, 25-15, 14-25 and 25-22.
Earlier in the evening, the Voyager junior varsity was 2-1 winners over the Waimea JV, 25-13, 25-23 and 23-25.
Similarly, over at the Kaua‘i High School gym, the visiting Warriors edged the Red Raiders in four sets, 26-24, 19-25, 25-18 and 26-24.
Kala Rall’s whacks were reinforced by strong touches by Nakoa Kimi, Anthony Durocher, and later in the series, Moku Tolenoa, whose touches triggered cheers from the Kapa‘a fans.
The Red Raiders battled back with stalemates and point exchanges taking place over three sets. In the fourth set, Kaua‘i High broke away from a 23-23 stalemate on a lift call against the Warriors. Rowan Bodine and Durocher each smacked one for the 25-24 go-ahead. A Kaua‘i High passing error ended the possibility of a fifth set, 26-24.
That same scenario took place in the first set where Kapa‘a broke the 24-24 deadlock on a Bodine whack and a lift call against Kaua‘i High sealed the deal.
Kaua‘i High set the stage earlier in the evening by taking the JV series over Kapa‘a, 21-25, 25-8 and 25-19.
With the win, Waimea improves to 4-4 on the KIF boys volleyball season, tying with the Warriors who are also 4-5 on the season.
Island School, despite dropping to 5-2, still holds the lead. Kaua‘i High, despite showing strong in the previous two outings, drops to 2-5.
Kapa‘a next makes the trip to the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea Friday for a match against Waimea, with the JV games serving up from 5 p.m. The varsity contest starts following the conclusion of the JV matches, but not earlier than 6:30 p.m.
The Voyagers make the trip to the Kaua‘i High gym in Lihu‘e Friday when the JV matches get underway from 5 p.m. and the varsity contest to follow, but not earlier than 6:30 p.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
