WAIMEA — Waimea High School girls volleyball celebrated its Senior Night, or the last home game of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation season, and the return to full strength of the Menehune wahine team.
The junior varsity Menehune were 2-1 winners after rebounding from an opening set drop to the visiting Kaua‘i High School team, 21-25, 25-15, 25-16.
The Kaua‘i JV loss keeps the Red Raiders looking for its first win with just one more game remaining, against Island School on Friday at the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus in Puhi. Waimea joins Kapa‘a JV, which swept the Island School Voyagers, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18 at the Island School campus.
With the win, the Kapa‘a JV remains undefeated with just one more game remaining against Waimea JV, who will visit Kapa‘a at the Bernice Hundley Gym on Friday.
On the varsity courts, the Menehune honored two of its graduating seniors — Haley Zina and Safina Sandblom — by taking Kaua‘i High in four sets, 25-27, 25-23, 25-13 and 25-23.
Waimea also returned to a full compliment of Menehune players and, with the Round 1 title in hand, will wait to see who wins the Round 2.
Kaua‘i High, with the Tuesday night stinger, faces a key game on Friday when it visits Island School, which dropped their game to Kapa‘a in five sets, 25-10, 20-25, 25-19, 24-26 and 11-15 at the Wilcox Gymnasium. The outcome of that contest helps determine the winner of Round 2.
Waimea, current title holder of Round 1 with a 6-0 record, dropped the first set on Tuesday after the Red Raiders came from behind to lock up the battle.
Trailing 13-21, Kaua‘i High’s Jaclyn Oshiro took the service block for a string of seven unanswered points, including an ace, combining with a tandem block by Edyn Naka‘ahiki and Mikayla Alonzo to pull to within a digit, 20-21.
Net violations on both sides stalemated the contest 22-22 before the Menehune regained the lead, 24-22 on a Kaulana Hui Hui Caberto hammer, only to give the Raiders possession on a Waimea hitting error. The Raiders’ Makenzie Nii aced for the advantage, and an Alonzo hammer coupled with a Menehune hitting miscue gave the Lady Red Raiders the 27-25 win.
Regrouping during the break, Waimea came back to take the next three sets in order, 25-23, 25-13 and 25-23, despite strong challenges by Kaua‘i in sets two and four.
The KIF closes its regular season girls volleyball on Friday when Kapa‘a, celebrating its Senior Night, hosts Waimea, and Island School, also celebrating its Senior Night at the Wilcox Gymnasium, hosts Kaua‘i High. The JV games serve up from 5:30 p.m. at both locations, followed by the varsity contests starting 25 minutes following the end of the JV matchups.
Playoffs, if necessary, are scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with sites to be determined.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
