KEALAKEKUA – Hawaii Prep’s backs were against the wall.
Late in the fourth set of the BIIF Division II volleyball championship Thursday night, Konawaena was on a roll. The Wildcats had just won the previous two sets and were up 20-18, just five points away from clinching yet another BIIF title.
It was at that point when the switch was flipped for Ka Makani. Capped by a Parker Lewis kill, HPA won seven of the next eight points to steal the fourth set. The momentum carried through into the following set, allowing Ka Makani to take the victory – and the crown – with a commanding 15-9 win in the decisive fifth, claiming the title by a score of 26-24, 13-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-9.
“The defense was great,” said HPA’s head coach Sharon Peterson on what finally clicked late in the fourth set. “Margot (Lewis) picking up balls. Brooke (Samura) was playing wild out there; she seemed to get everything. Malia (Camero) putting up some great sets. It really was a team effort. It all came together at the perfect time.”
HPA also gained a huge boost from the presence of Lewis, who missed Ka Makani’s Oct. 19 contest at Konawaena: their only loss of the season. The HPA junior led the way with 15 kills, none bigger than the set-clincher in the fourth.
“Our energy was just a lot different,” Parker said. “We all had a lot of energy; we were cheering at every single point. We just got momentum.”
Her coach was quick to attribute the momentum swing to some key plays made late by Lewis, particularly at the end of a number of long, back-and-forth rallies late.
“When she steps up and puts it down, it makes us all jump and scream,” Peterson said.
Defensively, rally after rally was started by outside hitters Samura and Lewis, who combined to record 34 digs on the night.
Konawaena, of course, didn’t make it easy for Ka Makani. After HPA claimed a back-and-forth first set where neither team led by more than three points, the Wildcats opened up the second set on a 7-1 run and quickly evened the match at one set apiece. Konawaena never trailed en route to winning in the third set, either, setting the stage for HPA’s theatrics late.
For an HPA team with eight juniors and seniors, winning in five was just a little bit of redemption for the last time these two teams met with the BIIF championship on the line in 2019.
“We played them my freshman year in the BIIF Championship, too,” Parker said. “We lost in the fifth set. It was cool after two years, COVID and stuff, to come back and win.”
With the win, the 7-1 Ka Makani also earned the BIIF’s top seed at next week’s HHSAA Division II tournament, and likely a much-needed extra day of rest after playing on the road at Pahoa and Konawaena in back-to-back nights.
“I don’t know how they do it; I give them a lot of credit,” Peterson said. “They did really well tonight with the mental game, staying calm. They put it all together.”
The first round of the HHSAA tournament starts next Wednesday, with the championship match slated for Saturday, Dec. 11.