The BIIF DII volleyball regular season is one match away from being over.
The weekend saw most of the season’s final matches, including Ka‘u HS’ victory over Honoka‘a — which ended the Trojans’ season at a perfect 12-0.
Ka‘u 3 – Honoka‘a 0
The Trojans closed out the season with their sixth straight sweep and twelfth straight win, walking away undefeated.
The Dragons fell in straight sets of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-19.
Ka‘u ends the season standing firmly at the top of BIIF DII, and will receive a bye until the BIIF DII playoff semifinal — which it will host on Oct. 26.
Honoka‘a fell to 4-7, but has one outing remaining — a rescheduled match at Christian Liberty Academy on Monday at 5 p.m.
Currently standing at No. 7, the Dragons will face a higher seed in the first round of BIIF DII playoffs — slated for Saturday.
Ka ‘Umeke 3 – Makua Lani 1
Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo ended its first season in the BIIF with a hard-fought victory, overcoming Makua Lani Christian in a closely contested match on Friday at Kona Old Airport.
Ka ‘Umeke won the first set 25-20, but the Lions bounced back to win the second 25-21. Ka ‘Umeke took the third set 25-19, then narrowly avoided a five-set game by winning the fourth set 26-24.
Makua Lani’s season ends at 2-10 and in the No. 12 standing. The Lions’ two victories were against Kanu ‘o ka ‘Aina and Laupahoehoe.
Ka ‘Umeke closes out at 3-9 and in the No. 11 standing. Besides Makua Lani, Ka ‘Umeke also defeated Kanu ‘o ka ‘Aina and CLA.
Konawaena 3 – Laupahoehoe 0
The Seasiders fell in their last match of the season on Saturday morning at home.
The Wildcats won quickly in straight sets of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-11.
Konawaena closes out the regular season at 10-2 in BIIF DII’s No. 3 standing, its only losses being to Ka‘u and HPA.
No. 1 Ka‘u, Konawaena and No. 2 HPA will all earn automatic BIIF DII playoff berths, with Ka Makani and the Trojans receiving a bye all the way to the semifinals.
The Wildcats will receive a first-round bye, and host their quarterfinal match — which will be against the winner of a match between the No. 5 and No. 8 seeds, and will take place Oct. 24.
Now at 4-9 and in the No. 10 standing, Laupahoehoe will not have a chance at a postseason unless a tie occurs in the BIIF standings.
Kealakehe 3 – Kea‘au 2
Correction: In a Friday article in the Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today that Kealakehe HS’ volleyball team was 0-10. This was incorrect, as Kealakehe defeated Kea‘au 3-2 on Monday for its first victory of the season. West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald regret the error, and congratulate the Waveriders on their first win.
The Waveriders outlasted the homestanding Cougars to take their first victory, 3-2, on Monday night.
After falling to a 0-2 deficit — as Kea‘au won the first two sets 25-18 and 25-14, respectively — Kealakehe powered through and won the next three sets straight by scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 15-9.
This was the second-to-last regular season outing for both teams, and Kea‘au’s final home game.
Each of them will be back in action for their final regular season outings on Tuesday. The Waveriders will play away at Waiakea HS — with JV’s first serve set for 5 p.m. and varsity following.
Kea‘au will face Hilo HS, in a match that was rescheduled from Friday (Oct. 13).
Now 2-9, Kea‘au holds the No. 4 BIIF DI standing and therefore remains in the playoff picture. However, if the Cougars lose to the Vikings and the Waveriders defeat the Warriors — Kea‘au and Kealakehe would enter a tie with 2-10 records. If that happens, a tiebreaker match will be played Friday, Oct. 20 — site to be decided.
Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i will enter the BIIF DI playoffs in the No. 1 seed, and will host the No. 4 team for the semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 26.
At 7-3, Hilo stands at No. 2 — and Waiakea at No. 3 with a 5-5 record. If Hilo loses its next two matches and Waiakea wins its next two, they will enter a tie. Otherwise, Hilo will host Waiakea for the semifinal.
Kealakehe’s JV also defeated Kea‘au on Monday.