HBA sweeps Molokai for sixth-straight D2 title


Hawaii Baptist's Caleb Fisher puts down a kill attempt against Molokai. Fisher had a game-high 21 kills to help the Eagles win their sixth straight Division II title. Brien Ing | SL

Hawaii Baptist Academy claimed their sixth-straight Division II state title as they swept Molokai, 25-15, 25-15, 25-20 in the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Boys Volleyball State Championships at Neil S. Blaisdell Center on Friday afternoon.

"It feels great, I'm proud of the seniors for them to get four in a row. It's exciting to see what the future holds and to see what they accomplished," said HBA coach Teoni Obrey.

The Eagles finish the season undefeated at 21-0 overall to win their eighth overall state championship under coach Obrey and the seniors who were with this program since their freshman year win their fourth-straight title.

Caleb Fisher and Brett Miller were the 1-2 punch that led the Eagles' attack. Fisher had a game-high 21 kills and Miller added 17.
Davin Rausch helped made Fisher and Miller shine as he distributed 40 assists, added 10 digs and three service aces.

"We were fortunate that those guys had pretty good games and they did a good job," said Obrey, on Fisher and Miller.

"It surreal and it's an incredible feeling. It's a lot of hard work and we finished strong," added Miller. "Our libero passed well and Nick (Caballes) on the outside, the team should be solid next year."

Kaimana Kahale led the Farmers with eight kills, Lekili Burrows added six kills, and John Duvauchelle had 25 assists.

The Eagles set the tone early in the first set with a 5-0 lead and pulled away to take the first set, 25-15.

"It took us about halfway through set one to execute what we wanted to do. We don't see that type of offense in our league. So we settled down and we had some touched balls and force them into some errors to get separation," said Obrey.

"Brett and I get along well, we play club together and we feed off of each other so it's a good system. Davin (Rausch) played really well and Dru (Pang) passed well," said Fisher, who hit .463 in the game and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Molokai led briefly to start the second set before HBA tied it up and both teams traded points. The Farmers kept it within three, but the Eagles went on a 8-1 run to close out the set, 25-15.

"Their adjustments were quick and we don't face that in our league," said Molokai coach Hale Domingo.

HBA took a eight-point lead in the middle of the third until Molokai started battling back and cut it within three, 23-20 prompting the Eagles to call timeout. Two consecutive kills from Fisher ended the match.

"We watched them playing against Damien and they play with a ton of energy and the momentum carries them through a lot of points. We were trying to side out to stop that energy and momentum. We were successful and the third set they showed why they were the MIL champs and showed a lot of heart. We were fortunate to get the win," said Obrey.

Molokai outlasted Damien in five sets to reach their first-ever title game and it's been quite a journey for the seniors and coach Hale Domingo.

"I've been in this program as a head coach for four years, so my seniors this year were the freshmen I started with. We haven't been here since 2005 or 2006. The emotion these kids had or whatever they had in the tank, they brought it tonight, but we came up a little short. I lose six seniors and they are special, but we have a big underclass," said Domingo.

DIVISION II All-Tournament Team:
Shaun Apiki, Damien
Kaimana Kahele, Molokai
Brett Miller, Hawaii Baptist
Dru Pang, Hawaii Baptist
Davin Rausch, Hawaii Baptist
Saxsen Shiira, Kapaa
Michael Sterner, Molokai
 
Most Outstanding Player: Caleb Fisher, Hawaii Baptist



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].