KEAAU – Kamehameha’s Alyssa Pelanca stabbed the ball out of midair for a steal near the middle of the pool and swiftly swam on the counterattack, scoring on a breakaway against athletic Waiakea goalkeeper Kaira Chang.
It was an agile and alert play, and it earned Pelanca an immediate spot on the bench next to coach Dan Lyons. The Warriors’ lead had grown too high.
“Just trying to get everybody in the game,” Lyons said Wednesday after Kamehameha’s 13-7 victory in BIIF water polo. “Everybody got to play.”
Getting six goals from Katelynn Kubo and five more from Pelanca, Kamehameha (5-1), as expected, pretty much did what it wanted, jumping out to a a 9-1 lead.
Barring a major surprise, six-time defending BIIF champion Kamehameha will spend the rest of its contests tuning up for a rematch with Hawaii Prep (5-0) on April 16. Earlier in the season, Ka Makani throttled Kamehameha, which was playing without Kubo and Pelanca.
At the other side of Naeole Pool on Wednesday were the work-in-progress Warriors.
Waiakea (1-5) features just one senior and three juniors, but coach Haley Rosehill jokes that she can’t stay away. She’s back for her third stint and intent on getting the program back to the HHSAA tournament. It might be an uphill battle this season, but Rosehill has already taken Waiakea to states two times (2011, 2012).
“My team is really young, and really, all it’s going to take is time,” Rosehill said. “At one point, I had all freshmen and sophomores out there. This team has a lot of potential, and I can see them going really far.”
Waiakea flashed glimpses of that potential later against Hilo, as junior Kelee Shimizu’s seven-goal onslaught carried the Warriors to a 10-7 victory, their of the season.
Another junior standout for Waiakea is Chang, who made several fine saves against Kamehameha despite facing a constant attack, then swam in the second half and scored twice, including once on a nifty backhand play.
“She is a very strong goalie and she benefits in the goal,” Rosehill said. “But she has a wonderful shot, so I try to give her rest.
“Kamehameha is really good at counterattacking. One on one is almost a guarantee, but she stopped three or four of them. Take away the counters and she really shines.”
Hiwa Kaapuni and Seizen Alameda also scored for Kamehameha. Kaitlyn Tengan recorded a hat trick for Waiakea.
The Vikings (1-4) fell into a fourth-place tie with Konawaena, despite Jaelyn Estabilio’s hat trick. Tengan, Jamie Velasquez and Reina Kuwaye-Tamanaha added tallies for Waiakea.
