KEAAU — More than a dozen boys varsity volleyball teams converged on Kamehameha Schools Hawaii on Friday and Saturday for KSH’s 2023 Boys Volleyball Classic.
In attendance were Big Island schools including KSH, Hilo High, Waiakea High, Keaau High, Ka‘u High, Konawaena High, Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo Charter and Pahoa High — as well as Oahu schools Mililani High, Radford High, Waipahu High, Leilehua High, McKinley High and LeJardin Academy.
On day one, all teams were divided into four-team pools in which they played a round robin. Each team was ranked depending on its success in its pool. On day two, the pools were re-sorted, with each containing teams that ranked the same in their day one pools.
For example, the top-ranked teams from each day-one pool joined each other in the same pool on day two.
Saturday’s top-ranked pool included Hilo, Mililani, Waiakea and Radford — which dominated the pool and went undefeated in the tournament.
KSH went 5-1 in the tournament, losing to Mililani on day one and landing in the No. 2 pool on Saturday.
“I wasn’t too happy with how we performed,” KSH head coach Sam Thomas said. “I think we could have done a lot better. We tried changing our lineup around, but we were still up and down.”
An all-tournament team was created using coaches’ nominations — which was comprised of Jhase Yee-Madrona of Leilehua, Maluhia Tandal and Kanoa Pana-Nathaniel of Hilo, Fetulimoeata Manase and Trevin Matsuba of Mililani, Isaiah Milovale-Hartison of McKinley, and Claymon Morante of Waiakea.