HILO – Kapolei was tall, put up a suffocating block, and hit bullets, but it was the smallest Hurricane who caused the biggest trouble for Waiakea on the volleyball court.
In a rematch from last year, Kapolei prevailed over Waiakea 25-23, 25-19, 18-25, 24-26, 15-11 in the first round of the HHSAA Division I state tournament Monday at the Warriors Gym.
The season is over for BIIF runner-up Waiakea (15-4), which loses four senior starters in outside hitters Kakano Maikui, Kryssie Okinaka, Cassie Emnase, and setter Taniah Ayap, and three others in Haart and Heavyn Chung, and Chelsea Guillermo.
“We did what Waiakea does best. We fought back and made it last five sets,” Maikui said. “We definitely didn’t want to get swept in our gym, especially with half our team being seniors. We came together after losing to Hilo (for the BIIF title).”
Kapolei (12-2), the OIA No. 3 team, plays ILH champion and No. 2 seed Kamehameha-Kapalama (14-2) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Moanalua High’s gym.
In the final set, 5-foot-2 Jayleen Abregana, the smallest Hurricane, went back to serve with the visitors behind 11-10 and closed the match with hard sinkers that presented Waiakea’s serve-receive passing with all sorts of problems.
During that five-point spurt, the Warriors didn’t bump over any free balls, but they couldn’t get a clean set and smoke a ball either. When the Hurricanes returned fire, they swung for the fences and found the floor.
Kapolei’s Anela Pakaki-Pias, a 5-10 junior outside hitter, had a field day in Game 5. During that run, she knocked down all five kills and recorded 23 kills on 48 swings on a sizzling .354 hitting clip.
Abregana added 15 kills while Amryi Paris had 11 for the Hurricanes, who had a .162 hitting percentage and 64 kills, almost every single one a thunder shot.
“They’re a big hitting team,” Waiakea coach Ashley Hanohano said. “That’s one advantage the Oahu teams have. They play against other big hitting teams. I still thought we did well. I hope Hilo does really well.”
The Vikings (15-3) play ILH runner-up Iolani (12-4) in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at McKinley High’s gym on Oahu.
Maikui, who hit from the left and right posts, blasted 22 kills on a match-high 67 attempts and hit .254 while Okinaka added 12 kills, and junior middle Melina Devela had nine kills and hit .300 for the Warriors, who finished with a .152 hitting clip and 54 kills.
“Kakano is a phenomenal all-around player,” Hanohano said. “She’s smart, strong, and a great leader.”
Besides kills, Kapolei had more digs, 96-81, and aces, 7-4. But Waiakea had one more block, 11-10. Devela led the roofing charge with six stuffs.
Hayashi had 31 digs, Okinaka 16, Maikui 15 and Ayap 10. Kapolei’s Tiffany Mook had a match-high 40 digs. Like Okinaka and Maikui, Pakaki-Pias also racked up a double-double with 17 digs.
Last year at states, Kapolei beat Waiakea 25-18, 25-14 for fifth place.
Early on, the Hurricanes made accurate passes and played at a really quick tempo, setting and attacking balls before Waiakea’s block could put up a wall. They won the first two games and looked on target for another sweep.
But the best way to throw off a team that runs a fast pace is to serve tough. Ayap and junior libero Hayashi didn’t collect a lot of aces, three and one, respectively, but their tough serves chased Hurricane setter Olivia Transfiguration past the 10-foot line.
That gave Waiakea a chance to put up a roof of its own and rack up a bunch of stuffs, especially with Ayap behind the line because she got on a serving roll in the third set, reeling off five straight points, including an ace, for a 23-15 lead.
A Kapolei service error handed Waiakea a 24-18 lead, and Hayashi served another tough ball that the Hurricanes hit for an error to extend the match.
The Warriors did a good job hiding Ayap when she rotated to the front row. She’s 5-1 and the middle blockers, Jazzy Alston and Devela, had a busy time covering her territory.
“When we played against Hilo and Taniah was on the bench, we had a drought of points,” Hanohano said. “We needed to make a sacrifice (with blocking) with our setter running the offense. I thought it worked out for us.”
Most people would think that Waiakea would also have an edge when Abregana, a senior outside hitter, rotated to the front. But she made the OIA West first team last year because she has pretty good hops, a nice asset for her hitting and blocking. Pakaki-Pias made the second team.
So basically, the Hurricanes didn’t have a weak rotation, and they always held a height advantage across the board.
At 6-1, Devela is the tallest, and Maikui is next at 5-9 for Waiakea. Like Pakaki-Pias, middle Alexis Mareko is 5-10 while hitters Paris and Malelega Bartley, and middle Kaile Tuisamatatele are all 5-11.
Kapolei’s height helped. It was hard for Waiakea to find hitting holes. And the smallest Hurricane was deadly and so was her pal.
“I thought No. 2 (Abregana) made a big difference from the back serving, and No. 10 (Pakaki-Pias) was effective as an outside hitter,” Hanohano said. “But I’m really proud of the girls. They ended their season with a bang and on top. The seniors got to truly relish a great hard-fought game and a high-intensity game.”
