KEAAU — Waiakea has experience pulling off miracle comebacks, winning the BIIF title over Hilo in 2017, down 2-0 in sets.
The Warriors rallied in a different way against Kealakehe for a 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 14-25, 17-15 win in the BIIF Division I semifinals on Tuesday night at Keaau High’s gym.
In the other semifinal, Kamehameha swept Hilo 25-15, 25-11, 25-14 in a rematch of last year’s championship.
Waiakea (12-2) plays Kamehameha (14-0) for the BIIF crown at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Kamehameha’s last crown came in 2014.
The season is over for Kealakehe (12-2) and defending BIIF champion Hilo (10-4).
It was supposed to be Kealakehe’s year with their two best players, middle blocker Anastasia Tuifua and setter/hitter Aulike Kaiawe, as seniors and not having ever gone to states.
Both had monster matches. Tuifua had 26 kills on 47 swings and hit .383 while Kaiawe had 12 kills on 40 swings and hit 20 and had 40 assists.
Kii Takata and Kailee Kahawaii added nine kills each for the Waveriders, who hit just .158 and had 33 hitting errors.
Kelsie Imai slammed 16 kills on 35 swings and hit .371, Michelle Vintero added 11 kills and Bethany Honma had 10 kills for the Warriors, who hit .201 and had just 19 hitting errors.
In the fifth set, Kealakehe served for match point with a 14-13 lead, but Vintero had a kill to tie it. Kahawaii had a dump shot to give Kealakehe another shot to win the match. But Sierra K-Aloha tied it.
Then Vintero put down kill for a 16-15 lead, and Kealakehe had a hitting error for match point.
In the first set, Kealakehe committed an unhealthy 15 unforced errors, making life too easy for the Warriors, who had just eight giveaway points.
The Warriors scored their last three points on unforced errors. Game point came on a Kealakehe service error.
In the second set, Kealakehe cut down on its mistakes with eight unforced errors, but Waiakea was far more efficient with just four giveaway points.
Too often, whatever shot the Waveriders hit, even hard ones, the Warriors were well-positioned to dig the ball and return fire.
Kealakehe still struggled with its ball-control, offering wobbly passes on serve-receive as well as passes off hitting attacks.
In Game 3, the Waveriders had 12 unforced errors and the Warriors had eight unforced errors. But Kealakehe did a much better job with its serve-receive passing, allowing All-BIIF setter Aulike Kaiawe to work a bit of her magic.
Tuifua had six kills, finding open spots on the floor, and Kaiawe knocked down game point.
In the fourth set, the Waveriders played their most efficient ball with just four unforced errors; the Warriors had five giveaway points.
Kealakehe was powered by self-belief, playing with focus and confidence, two things missing in the first two sets.
Tuifua had four kills in the set and a solo block on set point to force a Game 5.
But the Warriors had fewer self-induced mistakes. They had just three unforced errors in the final set while the Waveriders had five giveaway points.
Kamehameha easily swept Hilo, holding the Viks to a .012 hitting clip and blasting balls at a .330 percentage.
Nani Spaar had 11 kills and hit .500, and Tiani Bello had 11 kills and hit .320 to lead the Warriors.
Mahala Kaapuni and Taylor Canon each had five kills to lead the Viks.