Kamehameha coach Guy Enriques got what he wanted: a challenge from rival Waiakea and a hard-earned victory. ADVERTISING Kamehameha coach Guy Enriques got what he wanted: a challenge from rival Waiakea and a hard-earned victory. It also helped to catch
Kamehameha coach Guy Enriques got what he wanted: a challenge from rival Waiakea and a hard-earned victory.
It also helped to catch a break. One of Waiakea’s best players, Claysen Morante, was on a mainland school trip and didn’t play.
Behind its cleaner play and versatility, Kamehameha defeated Waiakea 27-25, 25-23 in a BIIF Division I showdown on Saturday at the Warriors Gym, where an energized atmosphere stayed all night long.
Kamehameha (6-0) sits in the driver’s seat for the BIIF regular season title, which includes the league’s first berth to the HHSAA state tournament.
Waiakea (2-1) still has a shot to spoil those plans because in the Red bracket the two teams will meet again in the regular season.
Avery Enriques smashed seven kills, all in the first set, and switched to libero in the second game to lead Kamehameha. Isaiah Laeha added six kills, all in the second set, while Avery Enriques had five kills and Nalu Kahapea chipped in two kills.
“We really needed this, a tough game to see if we could hold tough,” Kamehameha coach Guy Enriques said. “We tried different lineups because we’re going to the mainland for two weeks on Monday.
“The twins (Avery and Addie) are equally good in the back court. We’re still working on our blocking. We got tooled, and Waiakea busted through even though we knew where they were going.”
Ty Nishimura pounded 10 kills, five in each set, and Kolby Aiona had nine kills, including seven in the first game, to lead Waiakea, which had more unforced errors than the visitors, 25-20.
“We’re getting better,” Waiakea coach Ecko Osorio said. “It was a good effort. The kids are pretty confident. We’ll be better when we get one of our best players back. Claysen has great skills and is an all-around player. He’ll be big for us.”
In the first set, Waiakea dug itself into a hole with 14 unforced errors; Kamehameha had nine giveaway points.
That helped Kamehameha take a 21-15 lead, but the home team stormed back behind Aiona and Nishimura, who drilled an off-the-block shot for a 24-23 lead.
But Avery Enriques answered with a tip shot and later sandwiched a pair of kills around Waiakea’s 14th giveaway point.
In the second set, Kamehameha put in its 1B team: Laeha, Pukana Vincent and Kainalu Whitney at the outside hitting posts. Vincent had an immediate kill and a solo block to tie it 11-11.
Much later, Laeha hammered a point from the right side, Addie Enriques added another kill, and Waiakea’s 11th unforced error closed the match.
“We served a little tougher, but Waiakea did a great job scrambling,” Enriques said. “We really got what we wanted. Waiakea is a good tough team. We went up on them and they came back, and we showed some mental toughness.”
