KAILUA-KONA — Kealakehe may have exited the court the winner in straight sets Saturday afternoon, but for the Makua Lani girls volleyball program, the season has already been a historic one.
The Lady Lions — who did not start playing volleyball at the high school level until 2012 and had not picked up a victory until 2015 — defeated Konawaena a week ago and it was a win few saw coming.
The Wildcats, a perennial powerhouse and four-time BIIF Division II champion led by coach Ainsley Keawekane, had never lost to Makua Lani until that five-set thriller in which the Lions came from two sets down to win 9-25, 12-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-13.
“That was a momentous win for the program and especially for our seniors,” said Makua Lani head coach Milton Alcos. “The fact that it was our first win against them, that was a big plus.”
Coincidentally, the head coach of the Wildcats, Keawekane, started the Makua Lani girls volleyball program. He coached there for two seasons.
“I had this club player, Karissa Komo, and she wanted to play volleyball at Makua Lani but the only way they would start a program is if they had a coach,” Keawekane said. “At the time I did not really want to coach high school. I liked to coach at the club level that way I could go and see all of my girls play at different schools. But she was really enthusiastic about playing and was willing to put the time and hard work in, so I said I would coach.”
That first-year program did not find a lot of success on the court as far as wins and losses.
“We lost every single game that year,” Keawekane said. “But I enjoyed coaching them and there were a lot of kids on that team with potential. They were competitors.”
Fast forward to the present, and Makua Lani is making strides as a program. The Lions currently sit at 3-4 and in the hunt in a very crowded Division II field with 10 teams.
BIIF squads are split between Division I and Division II this season, rather than the Red-White-Blue format that had a short run on the Big Island.
In the Red-White-Blue breakdown, Makua Lani found the win column with regularity last season, going 10-6. However, playing out of the bottom division the Lions never played some of the best schools in the BIIF Division II, such as Konawaena and Hawaii Prep.
“I like that we changed back, because in volleyball, a lot of times you play down to your competition,” Alcos said. “With the old schedule we never would have had a chance to play — and win — against a program like Konawaena.”
The new schedule also allows Makua Lani a chance to reach the playoffs.
“Everyone should have a chance,” Alcos said. “It is good for the program and good for the school.”
Makua Lani is currently trying to survive through a heavy Division I schedule, with a gauntlet of games this month against Kealakehe, Hilo and Keaau.
Against the undefeated Waveriders, who have only dropped one set so for this season, the Lions lost 25-11, 25-6, 25-9.
However, the field is still wide open in Division II and Makua Lani has some talented players such as Monilaite Moniati, Hannah Eli and Enjolique Hughes. All three are seniors.
“Moni is a big asset to our program,” Alcos said. “She passes well and can read the game.”
Coming full circle, all three players also play club volleyball with Keawekane.
“There are actually seven girls on Makua Lani that would come out and practice with me but Moni, Hannah and Enjolique traveled to the mainland with the club,” Keawekane said. “I am happy for them, with the way they stepped up to play against us, but I also felt bad for my girls at Konawaena. We had them the first two sets and could not finish. They just wanted it more.”