Tuesday night saw the quarterfinal rounds of the Central Pacific Bank/BIIF DII volleyball playoffs.
No. 3 Konawaena High defeated visiting No. 6 Parker School, and homestanding No. 4 Kohala High downed No. 5 Pahoa High.
Of the four teams remaining in the tourney — Kohala, Konawaena, No. 2 Hawai‘i Prep and No. 1 Ka‘u High — three will advance to the HHSAA DII state playoffs.
The semifinals will be held tonight. The championship and third-place match are slated for Saturday at Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i.
The third-place match will begin at 3 p.m., and the finals will begin at 5 p.m. The winner of the third-place match, the runner-up and the champion will all receive berths at states — which begin Nov. 7 on O‘ahu.
The BIIF DII champion will receive a first-round bye for the state playoffs.
The BIIF DI finals will also take place Saturday at KSH, with the match slated for 7 p.m.
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KONAWAENA 3 – PARKER 0
Down in the second set, Konawaena girls volleyball called timeout.
Trailing 12-11 after winning a close 25-20 first set, the Wildcats needed to change their approach if they wanted to close out Parker.
After talking amongst each other in the brief break, Konawaena never looked back — winning the frame by closing on a 13-2 run and winning the third in 25-15 fashion to complete the straight-sets sweep.
The Wildcats implemented better communication, serving and defense in the 3-0 win. The Bulls showed aggression and heart throughout the night, but Konawaena’s offensive talent up front and in the serve department was too much to overcome.
While Parker’s season has come to an end, Konawaena will continue on to play HPA in the semifinals at 6 p.m. tonight in Waimea.
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KOHALA 3 – PAHOA 0
Though the Daggers kept the score close, they were unable to overcome the Cowgirls.
Kohala defended its home court, prevailing in straight sets of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-21.
This was the Cowgirls’ second sweep of Pahoa on the season, as they defeated the Daggers during the regular season in late September.
Pahoa ends its season 8-4 in regular play and 9-5 overall, defeating St. Joseph School in the first round of playoffs last Saturday.
Kohala has advanced to 10-3 overall (9-3 regular season), and will be back in action tonight to face undefeated No. 1 Ka‘u High.
The Cowgirls and Trojans have not encountered each other since early September, when Ka‘u dealt Kohala its first loss of the season (3-0) during its third outing.