Keaau’s girls volleyball team plays scrappier in Game 3 than in the previous two sets, but as a whole the most spirited contest at Hilo High comes in the stands.
The Cougars’ fans make their presence felt with words of encouragement during a spurt, but the Vikings’ junior varsity team, an impromptu pep squad, will have none of it, cheering and shouting down all comers in partisan unity.
Through it all, Keaau coach Kawaileleohi’ilawe, a one-man stats crew, stoically stands on the sideline Monday night charting his team’s progress. Kawaileleohi’ilawe doesn’t just tabulate the good stuff – Kaumaka Sibayton finishes with seven kills and Makalei Watson adds five – but the not so good as well.
“Too many errors,” Kawaileleohi’ilawe said of his team. “We put the percentages out there for the players to see. They need to see improvement, and we use data, not opinion.”
So if a player tells her coach she had five kills during a match, she better be able to back it up.
“If not, it’s opinion, and that doesn’t count for us,” Kawaileleohi’ilawe said.
What does count in his eyes is that Keaau shows signs of getting better, and more often than not the Cougars have done that this season. Though on this night, a 25-18, 25-10, 25-22 BIIF loss to a far more experienced team, Kawaileleohi’ilawe sees signs of regression, habits that should have been corrected in August.
“But that’s OK, it’s Hilo,” Kawaileleohi’ilawe said.
He’s in his first season back at the helm of the girls squad after previously coaching both volleyball programs at Keaau, and as a club coach with the Keaukaha Cuzins he’s well-versed in the Division I pecking order.
Keaau High is just a handful of miles away from the club volleyball programs that feed talent to Hilo, Waiakea and Kamehameha, but the Cougars are practically on their own island when it comes to putting together a roster.
“That’s where it all begins and we’re trying to gain some interest in club play, but the distance and the money issue make it tough,” Kawaileleohi’ilawe said.
He knows what’s coming when Hilo standout Kawai Ua eyes a set and crisply rips a kill down the line because he’s coached Ua, and other Hilo players, with the Cuzins.
“It’s beautiful to watch them,” Kawaileleohi’ilawe said
While Hilo, Waiakea and Kamehameha can put the full complement of six club players on the floor whenever they want, Kawaileleohi’ilawe is happy to have three on his roster: juniors Sibayton and Chynesty Acia and sophomore Watson all have experience playing with Pilipaa.
The Cougars improved to 4-7 with a 25-13, 25-15, 25-20 victory against Laupahoehoe on Wednesday night, staying ahead of Kealakehe (3-7) for fourth place in Division I. Keaau swept the Waveriders on Aug. 27, and if the Cougars can beat Kealakehe again on Sept. 30 in Kailua-Kona, they should be on their way to the BIIF playoffs.
“We’re coming along,” said Kawaileleohi’ilawe, who breaks a volleyball team’s maturation process down to four stages.
Keaau has moved on from the “forming” phase and is “storming” with hopes of reaching “norming” in the next few weeks. The ultimate goal is “performing” – the level at which Hilo, Waiakea and Kamehameha play.
“It’s going to be a trying year at times, but we are going to get there,” Kawaileleohi’ilawe said.
And when the Cougars do he’ll have the stats to back it up.
