Girls' D1 state volleyball tourney resumes Friday


The final four teams remaining in contention in the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Volleyball State Championships will converge on Oahu this weekend.

In the semifinals Friday at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium, defending champion and No. 1 seed Kamehameha will take on Kapolei in the 5 p.m. match, while No. 2-seed Moanalua will battle Punahou in the 7 p.m. match.

Here's a look ahead at those matches, which will be televised live statewide on XCast (digital channel 1020). The winners advance to the 7 p.m. title match Saturday at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena.

-Kamehameha vs. Kapolei, 5 p.m.
The Warriors (15-0) are one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the tournament. They had a first-round bye and swept Waiakea (25-11, 25-18, 25-23) in a quarterfinal match Saturday. Senior outside hitter Tiyana Hallums, a Gonzaga-commit, led the way with 12 kills and 12 blocks. Senior Leila Holt took over the setting duties after an injury to starter Kamalani Akeo in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu-finale on Oct. 23. Holt registered 33 assists, four aces and four digs against Waiakea.

The Hurricanes (13-3) placed second in the Oahu Interscholastic Association tournament after finished third in the Western Division. They swept past Castle (25-13, 25-22, 25-17) in a first-round match Friday and rallied past fourth-seeded King Kekaulike (22-25, 18-25, 27-25, 25-18, 15-8) in Saturday's quarterfinal round to set-up the semifinal showdown against the Warriors. Senior opposite Savannah Baldomero served up 10 aces against Castle and senior outside hitter Shekinah Clarke put down a match-high 20 kills and hit .421 to lead the way against the Maui Interscholastic League-champion Na Alii.

-Moanalua vs. Punahou, 7 p.m.
Na Menehune (15-0) won their third OIA league title in a five-set thriller against Kapolei back on Oct. 24, which was the only time they were taken to five sets this year. They had no problems with OIA East-foe Kahuku (25-21, 25-13, 25-22) in a quarterfinal match Saturday after a bye in Friday's first round. Junior outside hitter Jojo Kruize had 15 kills with six digs, senior opposite Lia Gaogao added 14 kills with eight digs and senior middle hitter Cassady Teixeira added 10 kills and two blocks in the win over the Red Raiders.

The Buffanblu (4-3) qualified as the second-place team from the ILH. Their only three losses this season have come against Kamehameha. They had little difficulty in their first two matches of the tournament last weekend at Kamehameha-Maui. Punahou dispatched Nanakuli (25-13, 25-15, 25-10) in a first-round match Friday and handily defeated Big Island Interscholastic Federation-champ and No. 3-seed Kamehameha-Hawaii (25-14, 25-17, 25-15) in Saturday's quarterfinal round. Senior outside hitter McKenna Granato had 12 kills, five aces and four digs against Nanakuli and added 11 kills and five digs against Kamehameha-Hawaii. Junior middle blocker Lillie Klemmer also had 11 kills against the Warriors Saturday.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].