Girls volleyball

It had been 31 days since the ‘Iolani girls volleyball team won a match when it took the floor last Friday in its final game of the ILH second round. Winless since sweeping Punahou on Sept. 12, the Raiders needed a win over the Buffanblu and a Kamehameha win over Maryknoll the next day to ensure they’d get a shot in a playoff to earn the right to defend their state championship. ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey called their 25-15, 25-16, […]

Unranked Mililani had the power. Fifth-ranked Moanalua had the grit. They also had Hula. Senior libero Hula Crisostomo and freshman Tayli Ikenaga put on a digging exhibition for Na Menehune in a 25-19, 25-15, 25-16 sweep of Mililani. Moanalua (13-0) will meet another unbeaten powerhouse, Kapolei (12-0), in the OIA title match on Wednesday at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium. The Lady Trojans brought a lot of firepower, but Moanalua’s back row was relentless, tough and skilled. “Hula wasn’t there her […]

The quest for a first Division I girls volleyball championship at Kapolei is also a chance to quench a thirst. In the relatively short history of Kapolei, there has been one crown: OIA Division II in 2008. The coach then is the same coach now, Naidah Gamurot. On Monday night, she saw her Hurricanes overcome some offensive struggles to sweep Waianae 25-22, 25-19, 25-19. The ‘Canes hit just .193 against a scrappy, tall Seariders defense. “A win always feels good,” […]

The Kamehameha Warriors suffered their second loss of the season last week and are no longer a unanimous No. 1 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Girls Volleyball Top 10 released Monday. The Warriors (10-2), who dropped a four-set match to then-No. 2 Punahou, received nine out of 10 first-place votes and kept their No. 1 ranking. The Buffanblu (5-7) got the other first-place vote, but tumbled to No. 3 due to a three-set loss to ‘Iolani (5-7). The Raiders and Buffanblu […]

There’s no denying it. Going best-of-5 in the playoffs makes a world of difference in the OIA. After an entire regular season of best-of-3, even higher-seeded teams that got a first-round bye felt the difference. At Kapolei, Waianae got two key performances off the bench in a 25-21, 25-17, 21-25 25-23 victory over East No. 2 seed Castle. The Seariders were the stronger team for two sets, hitting .462 in the opening set and .310 in the second. Waianae, the […]

Maybe it was the energy of roughly 100 fans in the building. Maybe it was just that eternally powerful Kahuku mana. It took all the Kapolei Hurricanes could muster on Thursday night to pull out a 25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24 quarterfinal win over the Kahuku Red Raiders. The ‘Canes, top seed from the West, improved to 11-0 and will meet West rival Waianae in the semifinals on Monday. The win gave Kapolei a state-tournament berth, but Kahuku had the ‘Canes […]

Kelly Ong doesn’t ask for a whole lot when it comes to her Farrington Governors. Ong insists on complete focus, and in the midst of a 25-21, 25-15, 25-23 sweep of Campbell on Wednesday night, maybe she’s right to be persistent. The Lady Governors (8-4) started the third set off slowly, losing the sharpness and crispness that marked the first two games. They rallied and made the game close, but in the middle of a time out, the Lady Governors […]

For a stretch, a dominant Aiea squad couldn’t seem to get a handle on the volleyball. After rolling to a 25-14 win over Kalani in the opening set, the air in Farrington’s Walter Kitamura Fieldhouse seemed to thicken. Oven-ish came to mind. And the ball seemed more like an sphere covered in grease. Aiea committed six double hits and added seven hitting errors as Kalani tied the match with a 25-22 win. “He was calling it tight, but consistent,” Aiea […]