KAPA‘A — Island School needed four sets to secure the Central Pacific Bank Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation boys volleyball crown on Saturday night at Bernice Hundley Gym on the Kapa‘a High School campus.
The crown came following a four-set win 25-23, 25-23, 24-26 and 25-22 before a nearly full house of appreciative fans.
Earlier in the evening, the Kapa‘a junior varsity squad claimed a two-set win over the Voyagers 25-19 and 25-23.
Opening the first set on the varsity floor, Kapa‘a broke away from an 8-8 stalemate behind five straight points served up by Steeler Burley to a 14-8 bulge with Burley’s string reinforced by a pair of whacks from Kapa‘a senior Kyle Baunsit, a thump from Austin Green and a solid Warrior block.
The Voyagers answered with a string of points by Orion Magaoay to knot the contest at 15-15.
Burley put Kapa‘a up 17-15 before Island School capitalized on a trio of Warrior hitting errors and a net violation to go up 19-17 on a three-point service string by Michael Fitzgerald. Following more exchanges, Island School capped the first set on a Kapa‘a hitting error.
Voyagers’ big Bodhi Jones led the second set, coming up with an ace in his six-point service string to a 17-8 Voyager lead en route to a 25-13 final that came on yet another Warrior hitting miscue.
Kapa‘a took an early 5-3 lead in the third set until Voyager senior Kash Lanini served up a string of points to a 10-5 Voyager lead that was laced with hits from Michael Fitzgerald, Lanini and Kaelen Suzuki-Kaohi.
Kapa‘a answered when Naela Mokuahi took the service block for 10-9 deficit, and Filisi Hunt knotted the game at 10-10. Following more tight point exchanges, Kapa‘a took a 24-23 bulge on a Voyager net violation only to have Jones hammer out a 24-24 deadlock.
Kapa‘a broke the logjam on a whack from Baunsit and a block by Green for the 26-24 lead.
Trailing 11-8 in the fourth set, Hunt took the service block for five straight points, enhanced by hits from Baunsit and another Voyager net violation to take a 14-11 lead, the first time in the set Kapa‘a was in the driver’s seat.
Mokuahi broke a 19-19 deadlock with a pair of points enhanced with hits from Green and Hunt for a 22-19 advantage.
But Magaoay took the service block for Island School and came up with five straight points enhanced with whacks from Michael Fitzgerald and a Kapa‘a net violation for the 25-22 win and the CPB KIF title.
Kapa‘a went about celebrating Aloha Night for six graduating Warriors — Baunsit, Saxon Kimball, Alakai Sakai-Giddens, Steeler Burley, Miles Green, and Mokuahi.
With the title in hand, Island School will represent the KIF at the 2024 New City Nissan Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II boys volleyball championships that will contest from May 9-11 on O‘ahu.
