KAILUA-KONA — Hundreds gathered inside Old Kona Airport’s Kekuaokalani Gymnasium on Saturday morning to watch two Kona-side girls volleyball teams face off in a midseason match. Through togetherness, resilience and communication, Kealakehe beat Ehunui in three competitive sets.
Down at least once in each set, the Waveriders dug deep and fought back in each deficit — ultimately coming out on top at the end of every frame.
“I think the urge to fight and win was what helped bring them back,” head coach Mervlyn Simmons said postgame. “Our coaches’ notes helped us a lot, too.”
Kealakehe won 25-23, 25-21 and 26-24. Both teams displayed relentlessness on both sides of the floor — diving at the ground at a number of spikes to save the ball. There were several instances of long rallies during possessions, causing an uproar of excitement within the crowd watching from the bleachers.
‘Riders freshman Ha‘aheo Llantero-Naphiha‘a finished with a well-rounded match to lead the team’s offense, posting five service aces, three kills and three assists. Sophomore teammate Mahie Bailey led Kealakehe in kills with eight, while also notching five aces. Junior Jillian Blanford and senior Layla Grace also combined for six aces for the ‘Riders. Grace additionally chipped in six kills.
The ‘Riders are now at 3-4 near the midway point of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) regular season slate. With Kealakehe being a younger team with just two seniors, Simmons is impressed with the team’s growth in just a handful of matches. She also hopes to fine-tune the lineups more as the season progresses.
“The girls are starting to understand the mental and IQ aspect of the game, but now it’s all about maintaining our confidence,” Simmons said.
“We just hope to keep building our trust with one another as the season goes on. That way, our team chemistry will get better.”
However, the ‘Riders won’t have long to celebrate the win. They have a quick turnaround for their next outing — scheduled to rematch Ehunui at 5 p.m. tonight at Kealakehe High School.
The ‘Io are at 2-4 on the season, sitting in the middle of the BIIF Division II standings.
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Kanu 3, MLCA 2
Kanu o ka ‘Aina and Makua Lani Christian Academy battled in five hard sets Friday night at Old Airport. Kanu was able to escape with the win and move to 2-5 on the season. The Lions fell to 0-7, still in search of win No. 1 of 2024.
Kanu will have a big test this week in the Kona area once again. It will take on the Konawaena Wildcats, one of the BIIF DI’s top teams, at 5 p.m. Wednesday inside Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium.
Makua Lani will host Honoka‘a at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Kekuaokalani Gymnasium. Junior varsity will play first.
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Konawaena 3, Kohala 1
Konawaena girls volleyball reached win No. 6 of 2024 after a four-set bout with Kohala on Friday in Kapa‘au.
The Wildcats took care of business handily in the road trip, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-14. They remain in third place in BIIF Division I standings behind unbeaten Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i and Waiakea.
After a successful last week, Kona (6-1) will next play Kanu on Wednesday night.
The Cowgirls (3-4) fell to below .500 and will next travel south to the Kona proper to take on Kealakehe at 5 p.m. Wednesday inside the Waveriders’ gymnasium. Junior varsity will kick things off first.
Other matches
West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald could not obtain results from the following weekend matches by Monday’s deadline. If any readers have results, please email clangs@westhawaiitoday.com.
• 9/14 Ka Umeke at Laupahoehoe
• 9/13 Pahoa at Kea‘au