Pilipa‘a swept three straight matches to claim the Silver Division championship Monday at the 41st AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championship tournament in Orlando, Fla. ADVERTISING Pilipa‘a swept three straight matches to claim the Silver Division championship Monday at the
Pilipa‘a swept three straight matches to claim the Silver Division championship Monday at the 41st AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championship tournament in Orlando, Fla.
The Big Island girls high school-level team finished with an 11-2 match record in the tournament’s 17s Premium Division, good for 10th place overall.
On Monday, Pilipa‘a defeated Asics KIVA 17 White 25-23, 25-18, NASA 171 KE 25-13, 25-19 and then Top Select 17 Elite 25-19, 25-14 in the consolation final of the 87-team division.
“I am very proud of this team that played hard, never quit and got better throughout the tournament,” Pilipa‘a head coach Chris Leonard said of his seven-player squad.
The Big Islanders finished pool play Sunday with an 8-1 record. But they fell to LAVA from Los Angeles 16-25, 25-23, 15-11 in a challenge match to get into the gold medal round.
Pilipa‘a completed pool play Sunday with wins over NSA, 25-21, 25-22, Elite VBTC 17 Black, 25-18, 25-11, and previously unbeaten Team Pineapple of Indiana, 25-20, 25-15.
Pilipa‘a team members included Zoe Leonard, Kadara Marshall, Ke’ala Watson, Ka’iu Ahuna, Alysyn Fuata, Taylor Alicuben and Kamalani Fujikawa.
