One week after failing to capture an elusive BIIF championship, Hawaii Prep finally broke though at the HHSAA tournament.
For the first time in five tries, Ka Makani are headed to the quarterfinals.
Senior Kirra Brown and freshman Parker Lewis each slammed 15 kills Wednesday night in Honolulu as BIIF runner-up HPA beat Molokai 25-15, 25-15, 25-21.
Ka Makani (10-6) hit .234 and and outblocked the Farmers (11-4) 6-1, advancing to face second-seeded Waimea at 5 p.m. Thursday back at Farrington High School.
HPA had lost four consecutive first round matches at states – winning just one set in the process – dating back to a win against Radford in 2014. Ka Makani are the only BIIF team remaining in title contention after Konawaena and Ka’u each lost in the first round.
After hitting .393 in winning the first set and leading from start to finish in as Game 2, Brown and Lewis led Ka Makani from an 18-18 tie in the third set. Each put down three kills, the final two from Lewis ending the match.
Molokai hit just .045, with 28 kills and 23 attack errors.
Amy Russell added seven kills for HPA, Brown hit .345 with four blocks and three aces, Jenna Perry posted 19 digs and Mikela Parris and Malia Camero added 15 assists apiece.
On Oct. 16 at Keaau, Konawaena outlasted Ka Makani in five sets to win its fifth BIIF title in six seasons, but the Wildcats fell in a five-setter Wednesday against hard-charging McKinley, 16-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-2o, 15-11 at Kaimuki High in Honolulu.
The Tigers (10-4), the OIA’s third-place team, scored eight of the final nine points of the match in a contest in which neither team hit at a high rate.
Malie Grace pounded a match-high 19 kills with 17 digs for the Wildcats (12-5), who compiled 38 kills and 35 hitting errors for a .017 attack percentage. Keisielynn Casuga contributed seven kills and Braelyn Kauhi and Kailee Llanes-Kelekolio served three aces apiece.
McKinley hit just .045 but had better balance. Atiyona Mose and Kaimana Bothelo‐Patoc each smacked 15 kills, and Jada Dias had 10.
Grace’s final kill put Konawaena ahead 10-7 in fifth set, but the Tigers scored the next six points to take control.
Also at Farrington, the Trojans never got on track in a 25-20, 25-18, 25-13 loss to ILH runner-up University, finishing with 19 kills and 28 hitting errors.
Ka’u (9-8), the BIIF’s third-place team, was led by freshman Chelsea Velez’s 10 kills.
The Trojans take on Molokai in consolation play at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Farrington. The Wildcats face either La Pietra at the same time at Kaimuki.