Hilo’s roofing company built a big, tough wall that overwhelmed Kealakehe no matter how hard the West Hawaii team slammed the ball.
Hilo’s roofing company built a big, tough wall that overwhelmed Kealakehe no matter how hard the West Hawaii team slammed the ball.
The Vikings defeated the Waveriders 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 in the BIIF Division I semifinals on Friday night at Hilo Civic, clinching their first berth to the HHSAA state tournament since 2009.
In the other semifinal, Kamehameha swept Waiakea 25-15, 25-17, 25-19.
BIIF defending champion Kamehameha (14-0) already has a berth to the HHSAA state tournament, which will be held May 8-9 and 15-16.
The season is over for Waiakea (9-5), which had its 19-year streak of reaching states snapped. The Warriors lose only one senior in middle Keni Nakayama.
Hilo outblocked Kealakehe, 7-3, which doesn’t seem like a whole lot. But numbers can be deceiving. Sometimes, timely roofs are the best type of blocks.
It’s also beneficial when the big guns are having a good day. Bradley Comilla and Justice Lord each had 14 kills, Sione Atuekaho had six and Maikah Tandal added five for the Vikings (12-2).
Seth Lincoln hammered 16 kills, Peni Kalavi added six and Kaimi Wilson had five for the Waveriders (11-3), who came up short on points and effective play down the stretch, lacking a crafty roll or tip shot to counter a stacked block.
Take the second set for a great example.
It looked like the ‘Riders had the game in the bag with a 21-17 lead. But it disappeared under an avalanche of unforced errors (blocks equal hitting errors) and tentative play.
After Tandal put down a push shot on a soft Kealakehe swing, the Viks tied it 21-21 and scored the last two points on back-to-back blocks from Atuekaho and Raymond Rowe against Lincoln.
Hilo somehow swept, despite more unforced errors, 31-25, and trouble with its serving. The Vikings had more service errors than the ‘Riders, 10-3.
However, the Waveriders were their own worst enemy in the clutch.
In Game 1, they trailed 24-22, but tied it with a Hilo hitting error and a Lincoln kill. That good feeling turned into disappointment with consecutive hitting errors.
Sort of the same thing happened in the third set.
Kealakehe was one point away from going home, behind 24-21. But a Viking hitting error and a Kalavi kill provided a brief fighting chance with the score 24-23.
Only it ended on another Waverider hitting error when the ball didn’t clear the net.
Kealakehe loses three key senior starters in outside hitters Lincoln and Wilson and middle blocker Kalavi, all big offensive parts.
At least, the Waveriders, who last went to states in 2004, return steady junior setter Kainoa Snively, who made on-the-money dishes and kept his team within striking distance each set.
However, too many hitting errors, and a tough Hilo block has one squad going to states for the first time in five years, and the other staying home.