Team Piko’s Keauhoulani 17s team celebrates after defeating Laulea Volleyball Club’s 18U Black team in the championship match of the 18 Girls Division at the inaugural Aloha Summer Classic. CJ Caraang | SL

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16061853_HU2A0105_18FINALS_ALOHA_SUMMER_CLASSIC.jpg - CJ Caraang | SL

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Team Piko's Keauhoulani 17s team defeated Laulea Volleyball Club's 18U Black team in straight sets to take first place in the 18 Girls Division of the inaugural Summer Aloha Classic at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Piko won by set scores of 25-12 and 25-21 to finish with a 7-3 record over the three-day tournament.

"This inaugural event is fabulous. All of the Hawaii clubs need to be a part of this," said Piko club director Lehua Kadooka. "It's so exciting to know that one of our teams happened to win the championship."

"Everyone thought of it as a big tournament because not a lot of Hawaii teams go up (to the mainland) and play in these kinds of tournaments," added Malie McClure, who had eight kills to lead the Piko offense. "It was good to have our own tournament as a state."

McClure, a sophomore-to-be at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, also had five digs and two aces for a solid all-around performance. Leni Bartley and Kacie Miyama each added six kills while Shanise Mersburgh chipped in two more. Libero Raienna Schenbeck Chang was a stalwart in the back row with a match-high 16 digs. Setters Piikea Lopes and Kamalu Makekau-Whittaker combined for 21 assists. 

Laulea, who had players from Kapolei, Pearl City, Aiea and Damien, was on a seven-game winning streak before falling in the title match. Jayleen Abregana, a senior-to-be at Kapolei, led Laulea in the loss with eight kills and six digs. Johnneen Kapua had four kills, Kaheanani Mojica and Maycee Kealoha each had three more, and Kilinoe Gora finished with two kills to round out Laulea's offense. Setter Kamalani Cachola dished out a match-high 20 assists while libero McKayla Apo racked up 12 digs.

Piko used a strong defense in the opening game to jump out to a 8-0 lead before Laulea scored its first points of the match. 

"We got to play defense really easy because we were shifting and communicating as a team," said McClure. "Once we started playing as one everything fell into place."

Laulea, who trailed 16-4 at one point, couldn't make the right adjustments to recover and dropped set one, 25-12.

"They served us tough and they got us," said Laulea director Tristan Ehia. "We had some tough matchups and we just didn't adjust. We got into a rut and they put all the pressure on us."

The second set was a different story as it featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes. No team led by more than three points until a 5-0 run sparked by Abregana's swings and Apo's serving helped Laulea take a key 18-14 lead.

Piko took advantage of a serving error and climbed back to tie it at 18 apiece thanks to back-to-back kills by McClure and an ace from Bartley. The two teams traded the next two points before Laulea went up 21-19 thanks to two Piko errors. Piko would keep Laulea scoreless the rest of the way as it went on to win, 25-21.

"That Laulea team, they're just awesome," said Kadooka. "They have super good players from the West side. It's good to go against the top competition here in Hawaii. We love playing against Laulea. They'll win one, we'll win one, so it's nice to know that we were able to peak at the right time and put it together."

Although his team fell short in the final match, Ehia was pleased with how the inaugural tournament panned out.

"The girls had fun and it was a nice experience. Overall I think this was a great success."

More information on the tournament can be found here: http://alohasummerclassic.com