HHSAA volleyball: Konawaena pushes through to state semifinals

HONOLULU — La Pietra had three really good power hitters, but Konawaena on Thursday had two things that were much better: Chanelle Molina and a champion’s poise.

It wasn’t easy but the Wildcats prevailed over La Pietra 25-23, 22-25, 30-28, 25-23 in the quarterfinals at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state championships at McKinley High’s gym.

The No. 1 seed and Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Wildcats (16-0) next play No. 4 seed Kalaheo or St. Francis in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Kaimuki High’s gym.

Molina (24 kills, 23 digs), her sister and setter/hitter Celena Molina (12 kills, 20 digs), and McKenna Ventura (15 kills, 15 digs) all had double-doubles.

Their younger freshmen sisters were also scrappy on the defensive end. Cherilyn Molina picked up 15 digs and McKayla Ventura added 10 digs.

Jessica Akiona slammed 20 kills, Peri Green hit everywhere for 16 kills and Savana Breene knocked down 15 kills to lead the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up Panthers (10-7).

The Wildcats are the defending Division II state champions, and when they needed to draw on that big-game experience they did.

“It was determination,” Kona coach Ainsley Keawekane said. “That experience helped a lot. The girls were falling apart and were mad at each other (in the second set). I told them to remember what’s on our T-shirt, ‘Family, school and volleyball.’ Then they stuck together and that was really important.”

In a first-round sweep over Hana on Wednesday, 6-foot middle Breene had 13 kills and 5-7 outside hitter Green added 11 kills. The Panthers outhit the Dragons from Maui, .316-.067.

It was a much different story against the athletic Wildcats, who outslugged the Panthers, .192-159, and had more kills, 63-53.

Like the Wildcats, who return all their starters next season, La Pietra is scary good and young. Green is just a sophomore while Breene and Akiona are only freshmen. Green and Akiona are superb shot-makers like Chanelle Molina, and Breene is a big-time slugger.

However, the three Panthers accounted for 96 percent of the offense, and the Wildcats stacked their block accordingly. But Kona was outblocked, 10-5, because La Pietra is really tall and mobile on the front line.

Kona won the first set 25-23 due to Chanelle Molina’s seven kills and her team’s balance with far better firepower, 19-10 in kills. It helped that middles Ventura and Ihi Victor combined for five kills to provide a diverse attack.

The Panthers had a lot of assistance to take the second set 25-22. Down 18-14, Kona committed nine unforced errors down the stretch to hand La Pietra a 24-22 lead.

Green, who has a tip, roll and cut shot, smoked six kills, and Akiona, a left-hander with a forceful swing, added three kills, including set point.

The third set was a fantastic thriller that Kona won 30-28. Both teams fought off set point twice. But the Wildcats turned to their trump card: that big-game savvy.

Ventura had a roll shot, and Alissa Nahale-Blanco closed the set with another roll shot that dropped in the middle of La Pietra’s perimeter defense.

Akiona, Green and Breene each had five kills. That was all of the kills.

Kona countered again with balance; six players had at least one kill. Chanelle Molina and Ventura led the way with seven kills each while Celena Molina added four kills.

In the fourth set, Chanelle Molina, a 5-7 junior outside hitter, took over and pounded the final three kills to conclude the tightly contested quarterfinal.

La Pietra is a private school for girls in grades 6 to 12 located at the foot of Diamond Head. The enrollment is under 250 students.

The Panthers, who didn’t quality for states last year, have a bit of history with the Wildcats, who are making their fourth consecutive appearance.

In 2012, La Pietra edged Kona in five sets in the first round. That was a state breakout game for a precocious freshman named Chanelle Molina, who had 14 kills and four aces.

But her main sport is basketball and she announced her presence on the state’s biggest stage in the Division I tournament in winter of 2013, with high-volume production and deft all-around skills, including ball-handling, footwork and quickness — traits that transfer to volleyball.

The then-freshman point guard led Kona in scoring with 15.0 points per game and a runner-up finish to Kamehameha-Kapalama for the state crown. Last season, as a sophomore, Molina had 27 points, but the Wildcats lost to Mililani 54-51 in the quarterfinals.

She’s still hunting for her first state championship in basketball. But at least, Molina has one for volleyball, and is on the prowl for another, with a big date against the Kalaheo-St. Francis winner in the semifinals.

Chanelle Molina’s competitive spirit had her wanting to do more. Keawekane convinced her the best weapon is teamwork. That and Kona’s champion’s poise.

“Chanelle said, ‘Coach, I want to play middle. I want to set.’ I told her, ‘You can’t play the whole game by yourself. You have to let the rest of girls help you.’ She did,” Keawekane said. “It takes a whole family to be successful and that’s how we won.”

Hawaii Baptist 3, Hawaii Prep 0: Keri Lum put down 13 kills, and the third-seeded Eagles swept Ka Makani in a quarterfinal at Kaimuki High in Honolulu.

BIIF runner-up HPA (11-6) produced only 17 kills on 97 swings, hitting negative .021. Senior Gabbie Ewing led the way with eight kills. Ka Makani will face Kailua (7-9), Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up, in a consolation match at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Kaimuki.

Emily Wada added 11 kills for St. Francis (11-3), the ILH champion.

Radford 2, Honokaa 0: Noel Phillips had eight kills as the Rams eliminated the Dragons in a consolation match, 25-17, 26-24 at Kaimuki High.

Senior Monica Muskat finished her career with seven kills for Honokaa (10-9), the BIIF’s No. 3 team, while Randy Iona and Kayla Requelman each had five.

Radford (6-8), the OIA’s No. 3 team, advances to Saturday’s seven-place match.