KEAAU – Waiahuli Akau was pleasantly passive for Kamehameha’s BIIF water polo semifinal.
She scored two goals but was otherwise happy to let others get their feet wet Thursday in the Warriors’ 10-3 victory against Kealakehe at Naeole Pool.
“I like how everyone got to shoot, it wasn’t just me, and everybody got a chance to handle the ball and work with it,” Akau said.
She may well need to be more assertive in Saturday’s championship match against top-seeded Hawaii Prep, which beat Waiakea 13-6 in the earlier semifinal. Each winner secured a berth in the HHSAA tournament. In the regular season, Ka Makani (6-0) surged past the Warriors 16-7, and the match wasn’t as close as that score would indicate.
“That was on us,” Kamehameha coach Kaena Horowitz said. “We just have to go back to work, and back to our fundamentals.”
Oliliu Wise scored three of her four goals in the first half Thursday as Kamehameha (5-1) took control, sending the Waveriders (3-3) into the third place match Saturday against Waiakea (2-4) for the league’s final state berth.
Among the new contributors for Kamehameha was Jerni Duarte, who took three shots and celebrated her 16th birthday with a goal, and Hulali Wei’s effort was notable by its length.
“We’re getting better at communicating and getting into better shape,” Wei said. “Before I was dying, I couldn’t even play a quarter.”
HPA, seeking its first BIIF title since 2016, was led by Maile Imonen’s five goals. Lia Craven scored four and Ali Wawner added a hat trick. Ka Makani led 13-3 after the third quarter. Grace Nichols led Waiakea with three goals, while La’akea Nakoa-Oness put home two.
Kiana Wiley scored two goals for Kealakehe, which trailed 7-1 at halftime.
By then, Akau knew she could somewhat relax, though she appreciates the improvement shown by Kamehameha and the league as a whole.
“At the beginning, we didn’t really have a plan,” she said. “I feel like it was just throw the ball down to our fastest swimmer. I feel like that for everyone, even HPA,” she said. “All the teams have been working the ball into the set (position). We have cross-drives going in. Mostly working on the sets and the outside shots.”
Tennis
Waiakea retained legitimate hopes of a championship sweep at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, with all four of its top seeds advancing into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Singles play started Thursday, with Waiakea cousins Paul Brilhante and Jade Brilhante dropping but a game between them.
In her draw, Jade Brilhante could be on a collision course with the second seed, Kamehameha’s Denby Nagata. They did not meet during the regular season.
“It would be toss-up,” Waiakea coach Bill Brilhante said before the tournament started. “Denby growing up was one of the top-rated juniors in the state.”
At the bottom of the boys draw is second-seeded Iori Furuhata of Waiakea.
Should Paul Brilhante and Furuhata reach Saturday’s final, Bill Brilhante said, “Generally Paul has the upper hand in scrimmages and practices. But, in the case of all the draws, anything can happen. The stress of the tournament, everybody watching, strange things can happen.”
On Wednesday, Waiakea’s top two doubles tandems – Kiora Kunimoto and Chloe Takahashi, and Maika Nucci and Bruin Yomono – each advanced, combining to drop but one game.