Not only can you throw out the records Friday in the BIIF Division II volleyball semifinals, but you should. In fact, you’d be downright silly not to do so.
Not only can you throw out the records Friday in the BIIF Division II volleyball semifinals, but you should. In fact, you’d be downright silly not to do so.
Hawaii Prep coach Sharon Peterson can count her team’s victory count, four, on one hand, but in a way Ka Makani overachieved while navigating the power-packed Red division.
“At the beginning of the year, we didn’t know if we’d win a game,” Peterson said, “but they’ve come a long way. I think this is the (boys) team I’ve enjoyed coaching the most because they have fun and work hard.”
Ainsley Keawekane only needs one finger to count his team’s loss, though the Wildcats faced much fewer tests playing in the weaker Blue division.
Taking two different routs to get to the same destination, defending champion HPA and Konawaena start a busy slate of volleyball Friday at Kealakehe High at 2:30 p.m.
“It worries me some that (HPA) played a tougher schedule,” Keawekane said, “but as long as my team shows up, we should be all right. It should be a great match.
“Sharon is a great coach, so we know they will come out sharp.”
The Division I semifinals feature two rematches and two potential mismatches – it would take a huge upset if Kamehameha and Waiakea didn’t meet again in the championship for what would be their third match of the season.
There is more uncertainty in Division II, where everyone is still getting to know each other. Like HPA and Konawaena, Kohala and Pahoa haven’t played this season.
“It’s wide-open,” Keawekane said.
The Wildcats are healthy and at full strength for the first time since early in the season. Outside hitter Benjamin McKinley and libero Anthony Ward missed Konawaena’s only loss, a two-setter at Pahoa.
McKinley gives the Wildcats a formidable hitting combination to go along with Kealii Kuahuia.
“Not one person is going to star for us, but if you’re looking for that one guy, it’s Ben,” Keawekane said.
Of course, Ka Makani doesn’t figure to be intimidated after having bumped elbows with Kamehameha, Waiakea and Kealakehe a total of six times.
“That made us mentally tough and helped us grow,” Peterson said.
Outside hitter Ghar Pautz is HPA’s most experienced and dangerous player, but the veteran coach also likes the way setter Ethan Stake and opposite hitter Zach Chaikin have progressed.
Behind undefeated Kamehameha – the only semifinalist in either division that has already secured a berth to the HHSAA tournament – the Daggers enter with the second-longest winning streak in the league, having won nine in row since a season-opening three-set defeat at Konawaena.
Since then, Pahoa has picked up steam with addition of outside hitter Keinan Agonias, and Keawekane considers the Daggers’ Kaelen Padilla one of the best liberos in the BIIF.
“They aren’t the tallest team, but they are very scrappy defensively,” Keawekane said.
Also a member of the Red division, Kohala’s best win came earlier in the season at HPA, but it lost to Ka Makani at home and didn’t pick up its fourth victory of the season until a sweep at home Tuesday against Christian Liberty in the first round. Like HPA, what the Cowboys lack in momentum they may be able to make up for by being battle-tested.
“We’re not going to meet anyone tougher than Kamehameha,” Peterson said. “They (D-II) teams may be good, but they won’t be that good.”