By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
As he got closer to the finish line, Hawaii Prep outside hitter Jevin Ching produced a string of impressive performances that kept getting better, polishing off his senior volleyball season in style.
The Big Island Interscholastic Federation campaign finished a month ago, but Ching’s play during the postseason and Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state tournament will be unforgettable for him.
The 6-foot-3 outside hitter compiled a .444 hitting percentage during league play. Then, when the matches carried more weight, Ching turned up his game. He hit .534, knocking down balls every other time he took a swing.
The better than 50 percent hitting was against Hualalai in the BIIF first round and Ka‘u in the semifinals, and eventual state champion Hawaii Baptist, Farrington and Campbell on Oahu. The Ka Makani took fifth at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament.
Ching was named the BIIF DII Player of the Year, in a vote by the league’s coaches, after the format returned to a round-robin. Last season, there was a power-stacked Blue division and a Red division. Ching was on the Blue second team last year.
“By the time he got to the state tournament Jevin felt that no one could stop him,” HPA coach Sharon Peterson said. “Against Hawaii Baptist, he had 20 kills and he averaged 20 kills throughout postseason play.
“From his freshman year, I enjoyed watching him grow as a person and as a player. He just keeps getting better physically and mentally, and I can say without hesitation that his best is yet to come.”
Others on the first team are HPA junior middle Kama Paio, Pahoa senior outside hitter Nick Fisher, Christian Liberty senior hitter Keenan Freitas, Ka‘u senior hitter Donald Garo, Pahoa senior setter Joseph Lefiti, and Konawaena junior hitter Gabe Trevino.
Ching couldn’t be reached for comment.
Last summer, he played club ball on Oahu for Kuikahi, which is coached by Teoni Obrey.
Who’s that?
He’s the Hawaii Baptist coach. And despite working with Ching all summer, Obrey still couldn’t figure out a way to stop him in the first-round match at states. Ching torched the Eagles for 20 kills. But HPA had no answer for 6-7 Eagle senior Michael Fisher’s 27 kills.
In the consolation match against Farrington, a school with an enrollment of over 2,000 students, Ching had 10 kills in the three-set victory. In the fifth-place match, he dropped 17 kills on Campbell in a two-set sweep, exacting a bit of BIIF revenge.
In the BIIF semifinals, Ka‘u shocked HPA in five sets. The Trojans played Campbell in a state play-in match and lost in five games. So, HPA did Ka‘u a solid, putting a damper on the Sabers’ final match.
Despite the hiccup to the Trojans, all season long Ching was not only productive, he was also dependable. He was the offensive workhorse and ball-control spark plug. Time and again, he took the swings to get HPA valuable points or made the pass to set the tempo.
“Regular season and postseason combined Jevin took 610 swings. Our next highest was 374 attempts,” Peterson said. “He was definitely our go-to guy who was very hard to stop. We relied on Jevin to set the tone in every match as one of our primary passers and most dynamic hitter and he did.
“With his ability to see the block and his explosive jump he was hard to contain. His ability to carry such a big load took the pressure off of his teammates and they in turn played at a higher level. To say the least, he will be greatly missed.”