KEAAU – It wasn’t a vintage Kamehameha performance on the volleyball court, but the Warriors got the job done against Kohala in a BIIF season-opening match on Wednesday night at Koaia Gym.
Behind a barrage of 14 aces, the Warriors swept the visiting Cowboys 25-10, 25-11, 25-18 in a rout that lasted about an hour.
The Warriors, the BIIF Division I runner-up last year, were led by Kamau Maka’ike, who pounded 14 kills and senior libero Kamaha’o Kawelu, who dropped five aces.
Kamehameha is missing the power of Nalu Kahapea, who’s playing basketball at Peninsula Community (Wash.) College, where he recently scored 31 points against Everett.
Last year, the Warriors carried 19 players on the roster. This season, there are 14 players, including several with experience, including junior setter Davin Masanda, Maka’ike, and Kawelu.
Blake Baclig added seven kills, Chyston Loa, who logged playing time as a freshman, had six kills while Blane Baclig and Chase Hunter-Bridges had five kills each.
Kyrell Mateo knocked down seven kills while Isaiah Salvador and John Nicolas had three kills each for the Cowboys, who struggled with their serve-receive passing.
Kohala’s best offense was unforced errors from Kamehameha. The Cowboys scored 39 total points, and 22 were giveaway points on hitting errors, service errors, or violations. Those mistakes accounted for 56 percent of Kohala’s offense.
That’s something Kamehameha coach Sam Thomas noticed right away.
“We need to communicate better,” he said. “We didn’t do a good job. We gave them a lot of freebies because of a lack of communication. Obviously, both teams had the jitters, too.”
In the first set, Kawelu served 10 straight points, including four aces, to push the Warriors ahead 22-9.
In Game 2, Kohala’s first four points came on Kamehameha unforced errors. But the Warriors closed the game with a 9-1 run, capped by an ace.
The Cowboys kept it close against Kamehameha’s bench in the third set, trailing 14-13. But an error, a Maka’ike kill, and an ace by Gavin Galimba closed the match.
The Warriors figure to be a strong contender to challenge for the BIIF title and qualify for states for a 14th consecutive season.
Defending BIIF champion Kealakehe lost four starters to graduation, including player of the year Anthony Trevino.
Waiakea, which missed states for the first time since 2015 last year, also figures to be a stiff challenger. The Warriors return their top two hitting threats in Peter Suiaunoa and Makana Kaehuaea-Credo.
The BIIF Division II crown likely runs through Hawaii Prep, the two-time defending league champion. Ka Makani returns their top two hitting threats in Kala Thurston and Stormer Horton.
Kohala last reached states in 2012.
Meanwhile, Thomas did manage to find a few bright spots.
“We’ve got good kids. We just need them to jell,” he said. “Chase is in his second year of volleyball. I think he’s going to make a big difference. He’s tall (6 feet 5) and athletic.
“Davin Masanda did a good job getting the middles involved. That’s one of our goals. He did a good job with that.”