By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sportswriter
Waiakea coach Ecko Osorio and his outside hitters Mamane Namahoe and Manny Malasaga spoke in coordination and with big smiles, calling the one-hour sweep over Hilo the team’s best performance of the season.
Namahoe and Malasaga passed clean balls to setter Mano Thomson, received gems in return and pummeled 12 and 11 kills, respectively, in Waiakea’s 25-15, 25-9, 25-18 victory over the Vikings in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation volleyball match on Friday night at the Warriors Gym.
The next time the Warriors (10-2) and Viks (4-8) are likely to meet — at the BIIF tournament semifinals — the stakes will be much higher, with a berth to the Division I state tournament on the line.
When Hilo wasn’t busy throwing a double block at Namahoe and Malasaga, Waiakea’s other weapon, 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker Ian Witten, made the most of his one-on-one opportunities, taking a mighty swing each time, and slamming 11 kills.
The Vikings’ lonely offense relied on the right arm of junior hitter Makoa Tandal, who finished with seven kills. His brother, senior setter/hitter Makana Tandal, added three kills — a lack of team firepower often exacerbated with free balls because of poor passing.
“We played clean and didn’t make a lot of unforced errors,” Osorio said. “A lot of our hitters passed really well. Mamane was really effective with his swing. He hit line and he was effective going high off the block when they stacked on him. He also hit on the right side and put balls away.”
Waiakea has been to states every season since 1996. However, Osorio isn’t booking the team’s plane tickets for a 17th straight trip just yet. Despite little resistance from Hilo, the veteran coach expects something different in Round 3, set for Wednesday, April 25 at Waiakea.
“When something like a state berth is on the line, both teams will play hard,” he said.
Namahoe liked his team’s defensive effort, plugging gaps in the backcourt when balls leaked through the big block of Witten and the 6-2 Cameron Boucher, the other middle. Namahoe is 6-0 while right-side hitter Maikai Gahan is 5-11 and Malasaga and Thomson are 5-9.
“It’s the best game we’ve played so far,” said Namahoe, a first team All-BIIF pick as a freshman last year. “That’s how we should be playing. We really improved our ability to play defense. We struggled with that in the beginning of the year. We worked on drills and focused on balls behind the 10-foot line.”
Like Osorio, he doesn’t expect the Warriors to resemble a bullet train and roll over the Vikings again.
“I guarantee Hilo will come back with a strong attitude,” he said. “They’ll come back for revenge.”
Unlike Namahoe, whose blood bleeds volleyball with his experience at USA High Performance camps, Malasaga is a relative newcomer as a senior, picking up the sport as a sophomore on the junior varsity.
It’s his first year starting, and he’s enjoying every moment on the court. If there were a contest for biggest smile, Malasaga would be an easy winner. His play gave him good reason to grin.
“It’s amazing and feels good being on the court. You get that first taste when the game starts,” he said. “I liked how I passed. I kept my confidence up. It was my best performance of the season.”