WAIMEA — From the very first serve, it was utter domination.
Following Hawaii Prep Academy girls volleyball’s season-opening win over St. Joseph last week, Ka Makani was looking to ride the momentum into Kanu o ka ‘Aina’s program Tuesday night at Castle Gym.
HPA succeeded in that goal, handling Kanu in straight sets — 25-5, 25-3 and 25-10. Ka Makani’s strong serving and communication collectively proved to be the biggest factors in the 3-0 rout. HPA remains undefeated (2-0) in the early season while Kanu drops to 0-2.
“This was a good match for us to stay focused while working on some things (for later in the season),” Ka Makani head coach Daena Craven said postgame.
“The connectivity between us in this game was strong,” senior middle blocker Meleana Warfield added.
HPA took a big lead early, sparked by strong serving from junior outside hitter Elaina Head — who finished with seven aces in the first set alone.
Ka Makani started the match leading 13-0. Outside hitter Mya Pinkert added some powerful kills while freshman Chloe Willman provided stout blocking defense at the front of the net.
The second set was much of the same for HPA — but this time was led by a multitude of efficient serves from setters Maile Imonen, who notched nine aces, and Brooke Samura, who had four in the frame.
Kanu showed more aggressiveness in the final set, jumping out to an early lead. But Ka Makani’s communication when setting up teammates for kills sparked a short comeback for HPA, who never looked back after finding that groove in the middle of the frame. Margot Lewis and Head combined for five kills in the set to help close out the match.
“Since we don’t have a set starting lineup, we’ve been really trying to work on moving people around, which starts with good communication,” Craven said.
Pinkert led Ka Makani in kills with seven, while Imonen had a game-high 14 aces in the serve department. Head was right behind Imonen in aces with nine.
Collectively, HPA recorded 32 aces across the three sets.
“Serving is the strongest aspect (of our team), so it’s really nice to see all the hard work we’ve done in practice pay off,” Warfield said.
Up next
While the win feels nice for Ka Makani, it has a quick turnaround for tonight’s matchup against Parker at Castle Gym. The Bulls have also started their season undefeated (2-0) while not losing a set.
The home match will serve as a viable early-season test for HPA.
“We just need good energy,” Craven said of Thursday’s match. “We will be excited to play.”
“We need to take everything we’ve learned from the last two games and play our own game (against Parker),” Warfield added.
First serve is scheduled immediately following the junior varsity match, which starts at 5 p.m.
