WAIMEA – Tuesday night’s cross-town rivalry ended the exact same way it started: in the hands of Ka Makani’s Brooke Samura.
The Hawaii Prep junior setter opened the match with a pair of aces to set the tone for the night against Parker, as Ka Makani continually forced the Bulls out of system with aggressive serving in their 25-17, 25-12, 25-10 victory.
“We’ve been working on serving tough,” said Hawaii Prep head coach Daena Craven. “I was proud of the girls. We just came off the Kamehameha tournament, so we’re practicing all sorts of things and trying to implement some of the things we learned.”
At the end of the third set, it was Samura again who served as Ka Makani went on an 11-0 run to seal the victory. In all, Samura recorded eight aces on the night, including two in that final third-set run.
After a somewhat close first set, Hawaii Prep found ways to keep their momentum rolling in the final two sets, recording a 9-0 run in the second in addition to the match-sealing run in the third.
“We knew Parker was going to be a very scrappy team,” Craven added. “They were a tough team tonight; they were a lot tougher than I think the second game and third game scores reflected. We had to keep the pressure on them; they could have switched the momentum at any time and taken it away from us.”
Ka Makani benefited from a balanced attack, led by seven kills from Parker Lewis, six from Elaina Head and five from Margot Lewis.
Craven was extra excited about the turnout Tuesday, making a point to emphasize how much of a lift the fan support provided to both teams.
“This was a full gym, good energy, and it really brought the kids up in a way that we haven’t seen in the last couple years,” she said. “We appreciated that. I think it really lifted the energy.”
The win lifted Hawaii Prep’s BIIF season record to 4-0 as they prepare to travel to BIIF Division I leader Kamehameha (7-0) on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Kamehameha swept Pahoa (1-4) 25-5, 25-7, 25-15 Tuesday night to remain unbeaten in BIIF play, as well.
Parker (0-3) will host Makua Lani (0-2) on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.