The Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i varsity volleyball team tied with defending state champion ‘Iolani School for third place during its Labor Day Classic volleyball tournament.
The three-day tournament saw 24 teams from the across the isle, state and mainland compete in pool play and brackets.
Otay Ranch High School — of Chula Vista, Calif. — placed first in the ‘gold’ bracket, defeating Campbell Hall (Studio City, Calif.) 2-1.
KSH fell 2-0 (25-19, 25-14) to Campbell Hall during the semifinals, and ‘Iolani was swept by Otay Ranch in sets of 25-18 and 25-24.
The third-place finish bodes well for the Warriors, who fell to ‘Iolani in the HHSAA DI championship last year and are looking to make another run at it with a younger roster.
In the quarterfinals, KSH defeated Moanalua High 2-1 (22-25,25-23,15-13). Going into the tournament, Moanalua was considered a contender for first place, as well as a prospect for the state title.
The semifinal loss was KSH’s first and only loss of the tournament — as it went undefeated in pool play and 8-1 overall, sweeping Otay Ranch during pool play and also defeating University Lab, Ironwood Ridge (Ariz.), Kalaheo HS, Waiakea HS, West Salem HS (Oreg.) and Damien HS.
Hilo HS placed No. 13 — falling 2-0 to Kalaheo in the first round of the gold bracket, then losing 2-1 to Eleanor Roosevelt HS in the first round of the gold consolation bracket. The Vikings went 2-6 overall, defeating Bend HS 2-0 (25-23, 25-24) and Seabury Hall 2-0 (25-15, 25-23) during pool play.
Despite success during the first day of pool play, Waiakea HS went on a losing streak and ended the tourney at No. 17. After losing 2-0 to Moanalua during their opening match, the Warriors won three matches straight — defeating Cypress HS 2-0 (25-18, 25-21), Kaimuki HS 2-0 (25-11, 25-11) and West Salem HS 2-1 (25-22, 21-25, 16-14). After that, Waiakea took four straight losses to finish 3-5.
BIIF DI volleyball action will resume this week. Today, KSH will host Kea‘au HS and Waiakea will host Kealakehe HS. For both matches, JV starts at 5 p.m. and varsity follows.
At 5 p.m. (JV/V) on Friday, Hilo will host Waiakea.
