The Kamehameha volleyball team has the potential to be as good or better than previous editions, in the eyes of coach Guy Enriques.
The Kamehameha volleyball team has the potential to be as good or better than previous editions, in the eyes of coach Guy Enriques.
That’s a pretty high benchmark, considering the Warriors won the last two BIIF titles and finished second to longtime nemesis Punahou at the HHSAA Division I state championships.
The Warriors graduated four starters, including their top offensive threat (Emmett Enriques) and best defender (Kekaulike Alameda).
The two other guys, Paki Iaea and Hanale Lee Loy, were tough middle blockers and added presence to the senior leadership council.
In a Yin and Yang way, Kamehameha coach Enriques is all about positive affirmation, but he’s also a realist.
“We have talent. We’re young but hungry,” he said. “It all comes down to how much growth we can make in maturity.
“It’s mental toughness, staying focused in practice, being open-minded to the coaches. This team can be as good or better than past teams. The potential is there.”
His two oldest sons, Evan Enriques (Stanford) and Emmett (Cal Baptist) both liberos in college, shared one thing in common.
Besides their last names and their all-around ability, both played with a tunnel-vision focus, especially Evan, who produced one of the most incredible feats in state tournament history.
As a sophomore in 2012, Evan walloped 42 kills on 114 swings and piled up 12 digs in Kamehameha’s five-set loss to Punahou in the state championship.
Out of his brother’s shadow last season, Emmett smashed 33 kills on 90 attempts in a four-set loss to the Buffanblu for a second consecutive runner-up finish in the state championship.
In another Yin and Yang way, it’s likely Kamehameha’s best shot at a state title because Punahou’s most indispensable player, Micah Maa, and the engine of the last four championships is at UCLA, which takes a backseat to no other school but only in men’s volleyball.
Still, there are a few weeds to pull out of Kamehameha’s garden of potential.
“We’re young and can’t maintain the ability to stay engaged for a length of time to completion in practice or games,” Enriques said. “It’s our emotional stability. They’ll get riled up. Their posture is not good and body language is another tell-tale sign.”
The league altered the format from best of five to best of three. The girls played with that change in the fall. Now, the boys get to try it for the spring season.
Of all the BIIF volleyball teams, it affects deep-bench Kamehameha the most. There are 16 players on the roster. There are only six starting spots.
In the past, the Warriors would run their starters out for the first two sets and turn to the backups to gain experience and close out the match.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence but all the BIIF girls teams — Division I Waiakea and Kamehameha and Division II Konawaena, Hawaii Prep, and Pahoa — lost their opening matches at states.
The last of the Enriques brothers, junior twins Addie and Avery, are 5 feet 10 and will transition from setting to hitting.
Both are solid ball-handlers and fill the role of libero, a position that takes the majority of attempts on serve-receive, when they rotate to the back row.
Maybe one or both turn into a big-time hammer like their two older siblings. If not them, there are a host of candidates to audition for that role of offensive option No. 1.
Last season’s No. 2 outside hitter was Isaiah Laeha. The 5-10 senior was on the Kamehameha soccer team along with junior setters Kameron Moses and Naia Makuakane. The soccer team wrapped up its season on Saturday at the state tourney.
The succession plan was the twins would replace Emmett when he graduated, and Moses and Makuakane, who both play on coach Enriques’ Southside club team, would take over setting duties.
At practice, there’s a scoreboard to keep tabs on every Warrior’s efficiency. Lack focus and mishit a ball or shank a pass, and that will drop you down the totem pole.
That’s the biggest carrot on a stick for Enriques, who has so many players in a musical chairs battle for his six starting jobs.
Pukana Vincent, an athletic 5-10 senior, is in contention for the setting position. He can rely on his basketball hops to help Kamehameha’s block.
It’s a crowded competition for the two left-side hitting spots. There are the twins, Laeha, and juniors Malama McKeague, Israel Mata, and Makana Manoa.
On the right-side hitting post, 6-2 junior Chase Carter is the returning starter. The other returning starters are Laeha and the Enriques twins.
Carter is the tallest on the team and has really long arms, always a useful attribute for volleyball. He also has a nice arm swing and tons of Oahu club ball experience.
He has a fair amount of competition for his job, which requires timing when hitting because the ball has to travel across the body. There’s Vincent, if he’s not the setter, and 6-1 senior Kainalu Whitney.
Don’t forget
Well, that about wraps it up. Oops, there are the middle blockers. That’s the position that brightens Enriques’ day when he thinks about his team’s garden of potential.
Vincent’s hoops teammate Nalu Kahapea, a 6-1 sophomore, and Jarvis Bento, a 6-1 junior, are the front-runners for the two MB positions.
“We have two blockers who have never started that can be the best the program has ever seen if they keep progressing,” Enriques said.
The Warriors are changing their blocking scheme, switching from zone to a read-and-react. In zone blocking, two or three roofers would camp at a spot and force an attacker to hit over or around a blue uniform wall.
It was a conventional strategy with solid ball-handlers like Evan, Emmett, Addie or Avery Enriques or Alameda filling a lane and digging balls.
Not so fast
Hilo, the BIIF Division I runner-up, graduated five valuable starters in hitter Bradley Comilla, middles Justice Lord and Sione Atuekaho, setter Maikah Tandal and libero Trevor Castro. All landed on the All-BIIF first team.
Last season, the Vikings, under coach Ben Pana, swept Kealakehe in the BIIF semifinals to return to states for the first time since 2010.
Waiakea had the misfortune of being the No. 4 seed in the BIIF playoffs and was swept by Kamehameha, snapping a streak of 19 straight state appearances.
However, Waiakea returns five starters, including Ty Nishimura, an All-BIIF first team pick at outside hitter.
Emmett Enriques and Iaea were Kamehameha’s only All-BIIF first team selections. Both are gone, opening a door for an old foe. In a revenge match, Waiakea hosts Kamehameha on Saturday, March 12.
“Waiakea is good. They’re going to push us,” Enriques said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we came out second (in the league). They’re that good. They’ve got the same people back from the last couple of years.”
Either Kamehameha or Waiakea has captured every BIIF title since 2003, when Kealakehe won it.
In a Yin and Yang way, they’ve been perfect partners, pushing each other to fulfill their potential — a reason March 12 will be circled on their calendars.