Waiakea needed a good match against Hilo on the volleyball court, win or lose, and the Warriors got one on Friday night at the Vikings Gym.
The Warriors prevailed with a 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 27-25 win over the Vikings to kick off their BIIF Division I seasons.
Makana Kaehuaea-Credo slammed 17 kills, Cole Shiroma added nine, Noah Narvaez had six, and Samson Thomas contributed five kills for the Warriors, who fell to Kamehameha in the BIIF semifinals last year.
“It was an eye-opener for our boys, knowing that we can do the job,” Waiakea coach Napua Canda said. “As long as we stick together, support each other and remain confident we’ll be all right. Our boys bonded a little bit better, and we’re starting to play for each other. Everybody knows their job, and we trust that everybody does their job.”
Kaala Deitch pounded 20 kills, Keanu Quranitsas-Hayes added eight, and Logan Thomas had four kills for the Vikings, the BIIF runner-up last season.
The key point in the match was Game 3 when the Warriors reeled off 11 straight points to seize a 17-6 lead. The Vikings had nine unforced errors during that stretch.
One big difference was the setting. Waiakea was more consistent with its two setters, junior Davin Arkangel and freshman Claymon Morante, whose older brothers Clayton and Clayson also played for the Warriors.
Hilo junior setter Lester Walker was an All-BIIF honorable mention at libero last year. It’s his first year as a setter.
“Claymon is going to be a big factor to our team this year,” Canda said. “He adds a lot of value to this program, and with him being a freshman, the future looks very exciting, especially with a bunch of athletic freshmen on our JV team.
“With him and Davin setting, it gives us more options on the attacking side of the game, and I think our attackers did a very good job tonight, waiting for their set, seeing where the block was and keeping the ball in play.”
The option Canda was referring to was the Warriors always have three hitters in the front row. Morante has a high volleyball IQ and often gave his hitters one-on-one opportunities.
In the offseason, Canda worked with Arkangel on his hitting, knowing Morante would land on the roster. Unlike his brothers, who were hitters, the youngest Morante has a good set of soft hands.
“Claymon has a good pair of hands,” Canda said. “If we continue to roll like we did, I think we’ll be all right.
Kaehuaea-Credo last reached states as a freshman in 2017. He’s now the main gun, but Canda believes he can still get technically better. He’s got a bit of an elongated swing, but like Morante he grew up playing volleyball.
“His approach and swing still need a lot of fixing, but he keeps the ball in play, and he’s being a lot more aggressive. That’s what we need from him,” Canda said. “Cole is starting to be a lot more aggressive, and we worked on his arm swing with the Pilipaa team.
“It’s good to see all the Pilipaa boys out here, whether they’re on the Hilo or Waiakea side. It feels good for us coaches to see them out there playing.”
By his standards, Deitch had a bit of an off match. The BIIF player of the year had some hard slams and racked up seven kills in Game 2 and six kills in Game 3.
But the Warriors made sure to keep him busy.
“We wanted to serve him, make him move left to right, short, long,” Canda said. “A lot of people say stay away from the best passer, but we did a good job of making him move and taking him out of rotation, and that definitely helped us as well.”
A lot of the drama was saved for Game 4.
Waiakea got a block to take a 24-23 lead and served for match point. But Deitch ripped a shot to tie it 24-24. The Warriors hit long to give Hilo a shot at serving for match point.
But the Vikings had a service error, and Shiroma drilled a kill to hand Waiakea a 26-25 lead. Shiroma had a solo block to end the match.
Hilo first-year coach Adam Tuifagu had a philosophical take on the loss. He lost four starters off last year’s team.
“It came at a good time for us,” he said. “One quote the boys shared at practice was either you win or you learn. And at this point in the season, it was a very good learning experience. In the fourth set, those sets are going to be the measure of us in the future. It’s a testament to the level of volleyball in Hilo.
“We expect it to be a good race, and hopefully we can be a part of raising the level and caliber of what’s going on in boys volleyball.”
The Vikings did that, and the Warriors walked out with the victory with much appreciation.