KAILUA-KONA — Prior to Wednesday’s Central Pacific Bank/Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II Boys Volleyball Championship against second-seeded Parker, Hawaii Preparatory Academy team captain Nicholas Pigotti gave a team speech that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
“I told the guys that we need to have bruises everywhere, be sore everywhere and completely lose our voices in this game,” he told West Hawaii Today postgame. “And if we weren’t walking out of this game with at least one of those things, then we didn’t want it.
“I think all three of those things happened for us in this game.”
Pigotti’s comments would be a severe understatement, as Ka Makani and the Bulls battled back and forth in one of the most exciting matches of the season inside Kealakehe High School’s gymnasium. Neither team won sets consecutively, but HPA was able to escape in the decisive fifth set to clinch the island crown. Heading into the night, both teams were 1-1 against each other in 2025.
It is also the red and white’s first BIIF title since 2018.
“We felt like it could have gone either way,” Ka Makani coach Daena Craven said. “We really didn’t know how it was going to end. Parker did such a great job against us.”
HPA won the opening set 25-20, but Parker quickly made adjustments and bounced back with a 25-21 second-set win sparked by timely blocks and aggressive spike attacks from senior Beaudin Schad. Ka Makani responded with a 25-15 third-set win, but Parker refused to lay down — forcing a fifth set by winning the fourth, 25-15.
The final frame of the match was cinematic, as both teams increased their defensive intensity as the crowd roared. HPA held a slight lead for the entire set, and was able to win 16-14 to seal the deal.
“We knew coming into this match that they weren’t going to give it to us easily,” senior Kena Craven added. “Last time we played them, they had a few players out, and we were at full strength. So we just had to fight and compete.”
Ka Makani finished the BIIF season 11-4, but things weren’t as bright in the beginning of the year. HPA was 3-4 at the midway point of the schedule, dropping three straight to Konawaena and Kealakehe in late March and early April. But Pigotti and Craven believed things really started to gel as the season went on, and once the group started to play more familiarly with one another, HPA took off.
The champs are now on an eight-match win streak.
“After that third straight loss (to Kealakehe on April 9), we came together as a team and made it a goal to not lose a match for the rest of the season,” Pigotti said. “And we’ve stayed true to that so far.”
“Things really clicked in the middle of the season during practices,” Craven added. “We just grinded it out. A lot of our guys had barely touched the volleyball before, so seeing them progress means a lot to me for it being my last season.”
Daena Craven also pointed to the senior leadership of Kena Craven, Pigotti and Cam Root for helping keep the ship afloat during the rough stretches of the season and for taking charge in the team’s turnaround.
“It’s been amazing working with these athletes,” she said.
Ka Makani will be the No. 5 seed in the state tournament, which begins late next week. HPA will be matched up with fourth-seeded Radford at 5 p.m. Thursday on Oahu.
Ka Makani is confident in their ability to make a deep run at states, believing their momentum will carry over if they maintain the same energy and mindset they’ve held over the last several weeks.
“I want to thank our coach, Auntie Daena … she really puts it all together,” Pigotti said. “But if you look at our team, we have the athleticism and players who are skilled at their positions. But for a deep run, we need the energy. We’ve lost some sets where we didn’t have the energy we needed, but when we have it, we dominate. It’s going to take 100% energy each game, all of the time.”
While Parker fell short of the island title, the Bulls will join HPA on Oahu — set to take on No. 1 Le Jardin in the first round at 7 p.m. Thursday at Radford High School.
The Bulls finished the season 9-6 overall, which was a two-win improvement from a year ago.
Hilo 3, Kona 1
Immediately following the BIIF DII championship, first-seeded Hilo and No. 1 Konawaena played for the Division I title, and the Vikings were able to maintain perfection. Hilo won in four sets to finish the season with an unbeaten 14-0 record.
It was the first meeting between the two teams this season.
The Vikings won the first two sets 25-15 and 25-20, looking like it was going to be a sweep. However, the Wildcats adjusted and made a run in the third frame, winning the set 25-22 to stay alive.
The fourth and final set was the closest frame of the match, but Hilo’s talent prevailed and won 25-23 to clinch the island title.
The Vikings’ 2025 conference season was nothing short of dominant, winning in straight sets in 10 different matches. They were awarded the No. 3 seed in the DI state tournament, which begins early next week. Hilo will have a first-round bye and take on the winner of Kamehameha-Kapalama and Mililani at 5 p.m. Thursday at Castle High School.
Kona officially ended its conference season at 12-2 overall, including an eight-match win streak leading up to the title match. The Wildcats will take on Aiea in the first round of the state tournament at 3 p.m. Monday inside Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium.
