Waiakea outside hitter Kayla Kahauolopua offered a master class in shot-making while fellow senior Jordyn Hayashi played blanket defense on the volleyball court like she normally does.
Waiakea outside hitter Kayla Kahauolopua offered a master class in shot-making while fellow senior Jordyn Hayashi played blanket defense on the volleyball court like she normally does.
Behind that combination of offense and defense, Waiakea defeated Kamehameha 27-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 in a BIIF Division I showdown Thursday night at the Warriors Gym.
Kahauolopua cranked 21 kills, and Hayashi picked up 29 digs, stabilized the serve-receive and was an effective second setter on out-of-system or scramble plays.
Junior setter Angel Navor did a nice job finding the hot hammer and distributing the ball. Melina DeVela added 14 kills, fellow senior middle blocker Jazzy Alston had six, and opposite Cadelynn Kahauolopua had six kills for Waiakea (7-1).
Kamehameha sophomore hitter Tiani Bello blasted 16 kills while the team’s other standout sophomore, Nani Spaar, added 13 kills. The visiting Warriors (5-1) didn’t have much hitting depth beyond that. Tehani Kupahu-Canon was next with four kills.
Kayla Kahauolopua and Bello put on a hitting show with different but entertaining styles.
Kahauolopua displayed a crafty combination of power and finesse shots. When the defense thought she’d smoke a fastball, the 5-10 senior outside hitter would drop a tip-shot changeup.
Bello also has soft shots and a good feel when to use them, but power is her calling card. Sometimes, she banged the ball so hard it bounced off defenders like a pinball machine.
Waiakea wasn’t supposed to win the 27-25 first set, not trailing 24-19, but Cadelynn Kahauolopua served five straight points, including a pair of aces, against Kamehameha’s shaky serve-receive passing.
Down again at 25-24, DeVela knocked down a kill, Kamehameha had hitting error, and DeVela won a battle at the net to put down set point.
In the 25-17 second set, Waiakea struggled with its hitting accuracy and had 13 unforced errors. The serve-receive was wobbly and surrendered three aces. That’s 16 free points, and Kamehameha gladly welcomed the generosity.
Game 3 was tied at 23-23. Then Alston drilled a kill and blocked set point. Waiakea helped itself with three aces, and Kamehameha hurt itself with three service errors.
Waiakea kept itself in the running for the BIIF regular-season title, which includes the first of the league’s two berths to the HHSAA tournament.
Kamehameha doesn’t have the six-rotation hitting depth that Hilo has (no one in the league does), but the visiting Warriors will get challenged again.
On Monday, the musical chairs fight among Hilo, Kamehameha, and Waiakea continues with the Vikings at Kamehameha’s Koai’a Gym.