By JOE FERRARO
By JOE FERRARO
Stephens Media
KEALAKEKUA — Hawaii Prep boys volleyball coach Sharon Peterson simulated a world of frustration for her team during practices, making up what sophomore Tyler Van Kirk called “bogus calls” to intentionally rattle Ka Makani and test its mental toughness.
It prepared them for Saturday’s Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II championship at Konawaena, when a rash of errors and a few calls HPA found questionable created real adversity for Ka Makani.
“It’s not what happens to you but how you respond,’’ Peterson said.
HPA responded with the composure Peterson hoped for, and it earned something Ka Makani will never forget: the school’s first-ever boys volleyball title.
Senior Keanu Yamamoto collected 17 kills and 14 digs, Van Kirk added 13 kills and 11 digs, and junior Jevin Ching pounded 13 kills as HPA defeated defending champion Kohala 29-27, 11-25, 25-23, 27-25.
Both Ka Makani (11-6) and the Cowboys (12-5) will represent the BIIF in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state tournament, which takes place May 3-5 in Honolulu. Pahoa (9-9), which defeated Ka‘u (12-5) 25-19, 25-16, 25-12 in the tournament’s third-place match earlier in the day, will also compete in the state tourney.
In the regular season, Ka Makani lost two heartbreaking five-game matches to Kohala, leading two games to none in the last meeting before a furious Cowboys rally.
When asked what got HPA over the hump Saturday, Ching brought up the team’s composure in Game 4 on Saturday.
“It seems like every time we play, we get a shaky call and fall apart,’’ Ching said. “We would get tight and choke a little bit, but not today. We held it together.’’
Ka Makani led 14-10 in the fourth game but then went through a drought in which it committed six hitting errors. Officials also whistled HPA’s Van Kirk for three lifts, helping Kohala take a 19-16 lead.
But Ka Makani regrouped, and it was Van Kirk who hammered a kill that put HPA a point away from its crown at 26-25. A Kohala hitting error then set off a boisterous celebration.
Van Kirk credited Peterson for creating pressure on Ka Makani during practices.
“Anything she thought would mess with our heads,’’ Van Kirk said when asked to describe the practices.
Kohala coach Chai Wilson credited HPA for playing better during the match’s most crucial points.
In the first game, which featured 17 ties, Ka Makani erased two game points. With HPA down 27-26, Van Kirk reeled off three straight kills, hammering down a Kohala overpass on the decisive kill. In Game 3, Ching pounded down a kill off a block on match point.
“I believe they were more hungry on game points,’’ Wilson said. “They were hungry to win.’’
Senior D.J. Wong led Kohala with 25 kills and four aces.
However, the Cowboys succeeded in Game 2 with a versatile attack, with Kulia Aveiro-Kalaniopio collecting four of the team’s seven aces. Wong and Elias Hood each had three kills in the game, while Popo Roxburgh Devin Cadiente had two apiece.
“In Game 2, we played Cowboy volleyball,’’ Wilson said.
Aveiro-Kalaniopio finished with 28 assists and five aces. However, he sprained his ankle during Game 1 and was visibly limping during the match. Wilson called him the “heart” of the team, and the Cowboys coach took him out of the match during Game 3.
“I wanted to pull him from the beginning, but he’s a competitor,’’ Wilson said.
Overall, Wilson was pleased with his team’s performance, crediting HPA for playing at a higher level.
“We just lost to a great team,’’ Wilson said.