KAILUA-KONA — Facing match point late in the fourth set at Kealakehe High School, the visiting Wildcats of Konawaena battled back to take a five set victory against their west side rival.
KAILUA-KONA — Facing match point late in the fourth set at Kealakehe High School, the visiting Wildcats of Konawaena battled back to take a five set victory against their west side rival.
Konawaena struggled early on, making several costly mistakes as the Waveriders took two of the first three sets 25-19, 21-25 and 25-17. The fourth set was a crucial battle with the Wildcats needed extra points to put away Kealakehe 29-27 before rolling in the final set 15-8.
“It was an exciting game,” said Konawaena head coach Ainsley Keawekane. “We struggled, especially in the third set, but I told the boys to have fun out there and the more they had fun the better they did.”
Kealakehe (4-2) took a commanding 17-11 lead in the opening set behind the play of Anthony Trevino, who was blasting shots over the net. The Waverider setter repeatedly went back to the big hitting Trevino early on and the chemistry was strong.
In the second set, Konawaena (4-2) jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind the play of setter Benjamin Mckinley, who did way more than his job title entailed. He was all over the court, setting, getting kills, saving crucial plays with tough digs and serving well.
“I played pretty well today, but I felt I probably could have played a little better,” Mckinley said. “I could have been a little more consistent on my sets and I need to spread the ball around a little more, but other than that it was a good game.”
Keawekane believes his talented junior setter has all the physical tools to play at the college level.
“Benjamin is an up and coming player and I can see him doing well at the next level,” Keawekane said. “We are only working on his confidence. Hopefully by playoff time he will be ready to go.”
While the Wildcats took an early lead in the second set, Kealakehe battled back for a 5-5 tie. They would go up 12-9 before Konawaena turned the tide once again, rallying for a 21-20 lead behind the play of hard hitting Viliami Kaea at the net.
“He is my Tongan boy,” Keawekane said. “When he is on, nobody can block him consistently.”
After Konawaena tied the match at 1-1 after finishing off the second set, Kealakehe bounced back to dominate the third set. Freshman Isaiah Hooper caught lightning in a bottle for the Waveriders, recording several kills on the way to an easy set victory for a 2-1 advantage.
The momentum was on Kealakehe’s side heading into the crucial fourth set. The Waveriders went up 4-2, but Konawaena reeled them back in. That happened several more times before the Wildcats took charge with an 20-18 advantage.
The Waveriders still trailed by two, four points later but rallied to tie the set at 22-22 off a kill by Trevino. The set was tied again at 24, 26 and 27.
Kealakehe actually had match point at 27-26, but Austin Aukai, playing his first season of volleyball, hit a nice touch shot down the line to keep Konawaena alive.
“He played well and really showed off his athleticism,” Keawekane said. “He stepped up and had to play the back court too, which he doesn’t usually do for us. But he came up clutch.”
On the next point, Konawaena’s Mckinley snuck a second hit over the net for an untouched point. On the next point, Kealakehe hit the ball deep to put the Wildcats back in the match.
The fourth set seemed to take the wind out of the Waveriders. In the final set, Konawaena dominated, jumping out to a 14-7 advantage. At 14-8, Wildcat outside hitter Keli’i Kuahui spiked the ball down the line for the match winner.
For Kealakehe, the loss was a tough one to take.
“We did not play well and made to many mistakes,” said Kealakehe head coach Kahinu Lee. “We were not doing what we were supposed to do and we have to communicate better. Konawaena is a good team. They are scrappy and fought hard. They won a good match.”