Kalaheo moves to 10-0 with sweep of Kaiser


Kalaheo's Jordyn Reindollar splits the Kaiser block for a kill. Brien Ing | SL
A youthful Kalaheo squad improved to a perfect 10-0 in league play with a 25-17, 25-18 victory on the road over an equally young Kaiser team.

Kaiser would take an early 6-3 lead in set one, but Kalaheo would chip away and eventually take the lead for good at 13-12 on a Nainoa Frank kill. The Mustangs would go on a 6-0 scoring run to take control in the set at 20-13, fueled by junior Reeve Troberg's three aces during that stretch.

The Cougars would come to within 23-17 on a Billy McGivern kill, but Kalaheo would eventually take the first game, 25-17.

The second set started much like the first, with Kaiser jumping out early. But Kalaheo would again respond, with back-to-back kills by Jordyn Reindollar to put the Mustangs up 10-8.

Kaiser would win a joust at the net to see-saw back into the lead at 14-13, but would not get any closer, thanks in large part to three consecutive aces by Frank to put Kalaheo in front 17-14.

"Three huge points (on service aces) that gave us a good lead... it gave us good momentum to really focus on finishing the game." said Frank.

At the same time, the Mustangs' serve was also a double-edged sword of sorts, as Kalaheo yielded points on at least a half-dozen errors from the back line.

"Its the youth of our team, knowing and understanding the game... and the unforced errors and how they can kill our momentum." said head coach Ed Chun.

The Mustangs would survive those unforced errors and take a commanding lead down the stretch, going on a 7-1 scoring spurt that included six kills and two blocks to push the margin to 24-16.

Frank, who finished the game with 5 kills and 3 aces, spiked the game-winner to the floor to end it at 25-18.

Troberg added 3 kills and 3 aces, and Reindollar,the team's lone senior, would put down a team-high 7 kills for Kalaheo.

"When we've got Jordyn and Reeve on, even the middles... we're a hard team to stop." added Frank.

Chun also lauded the performance of junior setter Silila Tucker.

"Silila does a really good job of keeping a balanced offense, and keeping the defense on the other side really off balance. That keeps everybody honest when they're playing us offensively."


Reach Brien Ing at [email protected].