Wednesday night saw Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) boys volleyball come into full swing.
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WAIAKEA 3 – KEA‘AU 1
Waiakea High and Kea‘au High’s boys volleyball teams opened up the season and got right into BIIF Division I action on Wednesday night in Puna.
WHS’ varsity team prevailed 3-1 — winning the first set 25-18, losing No. 2 26-24 and winning the third and fourth sets 25-18 and 25-12, respectively.
Kea‘au’s JV team defeated the Warriors 2-1 — winning the third set 16-14 after losing the second 25-18 and winning the first 25-23.
Waiakea is now off to a 1-0 start, while the Cougars are 0-1. Both teams have a busy weekend ahead, as they will take part in the Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i invitational tournament today and Saturday.
The Warriors and Cougars will clash again at 7 p.m. today at KSH’s La‘amea Gym during the tourney’s pool play. Waiakea and Kea‘au are both in Pool D with O‘ahu’s Nanakuli High and Mililani High.
All of Pool D’s matches will be played at La‘amea Gym — with pool play starting today and ending mid-morning Saturday. The Cougars’ first game will tip off at 3:15 p.m. today as they take on Mililani. The Warriors’ first matchup of the tournament will be at 4:30 p.m. today against Nanakuli.
Waiakea and Kea‘au will get back into BIIF play next week. The Warriors will play away Tuesday night at KS-Hawai‘i, and on Thursday night at Hilo High. The Cougars will also have a road test against the Vikings, playing Saturday.
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PARKER 3 – CLA 2
Parker School won an exciting match against Christian Liberty Academy to earn its second win of the new season.
The Bulls won the opening set 25-11, but the Canefire answered right back — tying things up after a 25-19 second set. Parker won the next frame 25-13, but CLA responded with another close set victory by winning 25-20.
In the fifth and final set, the Bulls escaped 15-0 to earn the 3-2 victory.
Parker (2-0) next plays Waimea rival Hawaii Prep at 6 p.m. Monday in Ka Makani’s Castle Gym. The Canefire (0-1) will look to right the ship against Honoka‘a at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Dragons’ gymnasium.
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KONAWAENA 3 – KANU 0
Konawaena High handled Kanu ‘o ka ‘Aina Charter in straight sets — 25-17, 25-6 and 25-11.
The match started with some competitive back and forth, with Kona missing a few kill opportunities at the net — which allowed Kanu to keep pace with the defending BIIF Division II champions.
Kanu’s Lukela Landers additionally recorded a few masterful spikes on the home team’s defense. Wildcats coach August Dias called a timeout midway through the first set once Kanu cut the early deficit to 14-13.
Coming out of the timeout, Kona never looked back — changing its attack by using fake spike opportunities to confuse the opposition. This charge was led by the sibling star duo of Elijah and Ellison Morgan, who took turns hitting the ball to the middle of the floor — generating a multitude of points that kept the Wildcats in the driver’s seat.
Dias’ group took the same approach for the remaining two sets, which was enough to cruise to victory.
Now 1-0, their next step in the process will be against Parker at 5 p.m. Wednesday at home in Kealakekua. The Wildcats will also take part in this weekend’s tournament at KS-Hawai‘i — playing at 4:30 p.m. today against ‘Iolani School and at 8:15 p.m. against Kalani High.
Kanu fell to 0-2, and will next play at Pahoa at 6 p.m. on Monday.