HILO — The Ka ‘Umeke ‘Ka‘eo boys varsity volleyball team beat St. Joseph High School 3-1 Friday night at the Hilo High School gymnasium.
The first set saw fierce competition between the pair, with the score bouncing back and forth. Ka ‘Umeke’s front line accounted for a great deal of its points, with hitters Rhyese Carriaga-Roberts and Manaiakalani Paige each notching five kills. The Cardinals worked cohesively — with Koen De La Cruz, Dustin Petras, Treysyn Carvalho and Noah Soistman each accounting for multiple points. Ka ‘Umeke overcame a deficit to win 25-23.
The Cardinals rebounded to win the second set 25-20. Carriaga-Roberts maintained his status as a beast up front, notching three more kills and three digs. St. Joseph kept its composure and capitalized on its opponent’s errors throughout the set. Soistman continued to stand out with more blocks and digs. Paige also showed out with two more kills.
The third set concluded with a big, 25-15 Ka ‘Umeke victory — exciting the large and rowdy crowd which had congregated in support. Paige set the tone for the set by acing the first serve. After an error briefly gave the Cardinals possession, Ka ‘Umeke took back possession and went on a six-point run served by Emory Haili — who recorded two aces in the process.
Carriaga-Roberts terrorized St. Joseph with a whopping six kills throughout the third set. Paige had two more kills and a dig, and Hoomalu Phillips made a couple plays with a block and a kill. Despite the set loss, the Cardinals’ Daniel Eftink saw success, notching a block and a kill.
Set four was by far the most exhilarating, with both teams on their A-game. Carriaga-Roberts noted three more kills early on, bringing his total to 17. Paige recorded two more aces and two kills, as well as a six-point streak while serving. St. Joseph began to resist Ka ‘Umeke’s front line, with Eftink and Andrei Acierto each notching multiple digs. Keli‘i Tanaka also started to assert himself on Ka ‘Umeke’s front line with two kills.
Despite Ka ‘Umeke’s early lead, the Cardinals began to nip at its heels near set point. With Ka ‘Umeke leading 23-20, Axel Reid made a clutch dig which was followed by an error on the other side to bring St. Joseph within striking distance at 23-21 — then another error brought it another point closer. Carriaga-Roberts came in with one of his signature kills to bring his team to set point, but a serve error reduced Ka ‘Umeke’s lead to 24-23.
With the game on the line, Carriaga-Roberts smashed down a game-winning kill — bringing his kill total to 18.
The Cardinals will travel North on Saturday to play against Laupahoehoe Public Charter.