(Didn’t have enough space in the print edition this morning, so here goes.)
Kamehameha 3, Kamehameha-Hawaii 0
The Kapalama campus Warriors were in total control from start to finish against their sister campus from the Big Island for a 25-15, 25-13, 25-13 win in quarterfinal play of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships at Farrington’s Richard Kitamura Fieldhouse.
Setter Alohi Robins-Hardy fed the KSH defense a steady diet of attacks from the middle with 6-foot Pikake Laumauna (eight kills) and 6-foot Haley Paakaula (seven kills). The two middles finished with three blocks apiece.
“We had a lot of things to work on. In general, we had a lot of serving errors, which is something we can control,” Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. “The ball control was pretty decent tonight and the girls played well enough to win. I’m proud of them.”
Brittany Ann Kalepa added seven kills for unseeded Kamehameha (11-3), the runner-up from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. Misty Ma‘a added five kills and five digs, while Robins-Hardy tallied 25 assists.
KS-Hawaii, the No. 3 seed in the tourney, hit -.113 against Kapalama’s big block and tough back row, which was led by Chelsey Keoho (five digs).
Harley Woolsey and Shae Kanakaole had four kills each to lead KS-Hawaii (10-4), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion.
“I’m proud of my girls, they finished well against Kapalama,” KS-Hawaii coach Kyle Kaaa said. “We knew what they were doing, but we just didn’t take care of things on our side of the court. We’re a young team, and felt the pressure, but they did a good job.”
Kapalama used various combinations during the regular season, but stuck with Robins-Hardy at setter for much of the way last night.
“We have a lot of options. Faith (Ma‘afala) is a great setter. Kelsey (Renshaw), Faith and Alohi are great setters. Our defense allowed us to do a lot of good things,” Blake said.
The six-time defending state champs will square off with Mililani tonight.
“Mililani’s a great team. They’re well coached and they have a couple of great players,” Blake said. “It’s a matter of us playing a better match tomorrow.”
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