LAURA SHIMABUKU/Stephens Media
Marley Strand-Nicolaisen slams one of her 29 kills Saturday night to bring Ka’u High its first BIIF title. The Trojans beat Konawaena in four sets in the Division II final.
LAURA SHIMABUKU/Stephens Media
Ka’u’s Kerrilyn Domondon sets Saturday in the BIIF Division II volleyball final against Konawaena.
LAURA SHIMABUKU/Stephens Media
Konawaena’s Kaela Avanilla spikes the ball to a waiting Marley Strand-Nicolaisen on Saturday night duing the BIIF Division II final.
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
KEALAKEKUA — Marley Strand-Nicolaisen put together a five-star, across-the-board performance to help the Ka‘u girls volleyball team make school history Saturday night at Konawaena High’s Ellison Onizuka Gym.
She clobbered 29 kills to carry the Trojans over Konawaena 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 25-15 for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II championship, the school’s first for either the boys or girls programs.
The 5-foot-11 senior middle blocker also had three aces and three blocks. Strand-Nicolaisen also showed her diverse hitting skills, getting six kills from the back row, two on the right side and a pair of well-placed roll shots.
She was consistent from start to end, drilling seven kills in the first, nine in the second, six in the third and seven in the fourth, while also serving as a primary passer for setter Kerrilyn Domondon, who set balls on a dime all night long.
Kaila Olson provided additional firepower, knocking down 16 kills, including six in the final set for the Trojans (16-2), who only lost to Division I powers Kamehameha and Hilo.
Like Ka‘u, the Wildcats (13-5) also had their share of history chasing the BIIF championship. They were looking to end a long drought. Their last BIIF title was 1998, when there wasn’t statewide classification.
It’s only recently that Ka‘u has become a BIIF title contender, coinciding with the progress of seniors Strand-Nicholaisen and Olson and junior Toni Beck, the team’s nucleus.
The Trojans have qualified for states for three straight years and it was their second attempt at the BIIF championship. They fell to HPA in 2010.
The Wildcats seem poised to be BIIF title contenders for the next several seasons. Courtney Kaupu is a key senior starter, but a young nucleus features junior setter Makani Wall, middle Rayne Izumi-Baltero, sophomore outside hitter Kaela Avanilla and freshman hitter Chanelle Molina.
Any time Molina had a clean ball to hit, she blasted fastballs and finished with 14 kills. Avanilla and Kaupu, who picked up volleyball a year ago, had 11 kills each.
Both teams had jitters early in the match. Ka‘u had six service errors in the first set while Kona had five.
But in the final set there was no stopping the Trojans’ march toward history. They went on a four-point run to grab a 22-12 lead, and Olson capped Ka‘u’s finest season to date with a kill against a double-block.
