Kamehameha downs Iolani in straight sets

Naone Cannon led the Warriors to a 2 set win over the Raiders with 9 kills on the night. Steve Erler | Special to SL

After nearly dropping a set in its season-opener against Mid-Pacific, Kamehameha left no doubt in its first road game of the year.

The Warriors swept host Iolani, 25-14, 25-15 to improve to 2-0 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I play Thursday night. Naone Cannon led the scoring effort for Kamehameha with a match-high nine kills, six coming in the final set.

"We just wanted to finish strong," said Cannon. "Coming from the game against Mid-Pacific, we didn't do so well so we really wanted to pick it up and play to the best of our abilities."

Cannon was one of eight Warriors to register a kill in the match. David Kaaa knocked down six kills, Kahiau Machado had three more and Kapu Mau and Kobe Young added two kills each. Also with kills for the Warriors were Auston Distajo, Kapena Keolanui and Kalawaia Fano.

While Cannon finished with the most kills overall, Kaaa was the leading man for the opening set. He picked up five of his six kills in the first set alone.

"David is an outstanding player," Cannon said on Kaa. "He knows his stuff. He knows what to do when it needs to be done."

Although the Raiders dropped to 1-1 in league play, Iolani coach Carl Rallita is taking his team's first loss of the year as a learning experience.

"We're at a stage right now where it's really good to compare ourselves to the rest of the league," said Rallita. "Being that this is our second match, now we can tell what we have to work on. I think we'll be okay down the road."

Hugh Hogland led the Raiders with six kills. Erik Yamada added two kills and six assists and libero Carter Katase had a match-high 13 digs.

Kamehameha will take on Maryknoll next while Iolani has road game against Mid-Pacific. Both games are slated for Saturday.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].