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Michael Lasquero | ScoringLiveMarch 25, 2019, 11:38pm
Mon, Mar 25, 2019 @ Iolani [ 5:00 pm ]
KAPIOLANI — This one was good enough to watch in theaters.
After two hours and five sets, it was No. 3 Kamehameha who came out victorious over No. 4 Iolani in a 25-20, 14-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13 win in an ILH Division I match at the Father Kenneth A. Bray Athletic Center Monday night.
Both teams brought the fire power with 112 combined kills, but in the end it was defense that sealed the deal for the Warriors, who defeated the Raiders for the second time of the season to improve to 6-1.
Back-to-back combo blocks by Kamehameha's Gannon Chinen and Aiden Koanui on Iolani's leading hitter Kupono Browne (22 kills) clinched the win for the Warriors as the Raiders (3-4) dropped their third straight contest.
"They played phenomenal defense," said Iolani coach Jordan Inafuku. "That was a high quality match I thought. The side out game was high on both sides so you can't afford to make any mistakes really. They played some great defense at the end. That's our league. It's super close."
Christmas Togiai led the Warriors' attack with a double-double of 22 kills and 13 digs while Matthew Saffery dished out 44 assists with 11 digs and two kills in Kamehameha's 5-1 offense. Chinen added 12 kills, Cruse Aea had 11 more and Ezra Evaimalo rounded out the attack with eight kills.
"From the beginning we went over staying together as one team," said Saffery. "It's nice having different options. Everyone has to make their own contributions to help better the whole team. Everyone is playing their role and it's really showing this season."
The victory was also a critical one for Kamehameha in terms of qualifying for the state tournament in the first week of May. If the Warriors win out the rest of the first round — which would include a win over top-ranked Punahou (7-0) — they can force a playoff for the league's first round title, which gives the victor an automatic berth into states.
If Kamehameha is unable to beat the Buffanblu, it still is in a great position to claim second place in the first round with three matches left in the round. Being the first round's second place team does not guarantee a state berth, but it still helps the Warriors stay alive if they place third or lower in the second round and Punahou wins both rounds. In that scenario, Kamehameha would playoff against the second place team of the league's second round for the second and final D1 state berth for the ILH.
"The boys knew what the deal was," said Kamehameha coach Randy Nako. "It was big for both sides too."
The start of the match was a back-and-forth affair before Kamehameha started to pull away in the middle stages of the opening set. Libero Kawika Simon's back set to the Aea on the outside gave the Warriors their largest lead of the frame, 16-10, forcing an Iolani timeout. Kamehameha eventually took the set, 25-20, after a service error into the by Browne.
The second set was a much different story.
Kamehameha committed 13 of its 33 hitting errors in the second stanza to help the Raiders tie the match, 25-14. Iolani also blocked well in the set, recording six of its 13 total blocks. Kilo Scanlan and Carter Kamana led the effort with two solo blocks and four block assists each.
"Both sides played good, it came down to who was blocking the better," Nako said after the match. "The sets we lost, they out-blocked us and they started serve-receive better than us, so that's what gave them an advantage."
The Warriors had the early jump in the third set, taking a 3-0 lead thanks to two overpass kills by Togiai. Kamehameha's lead quickly grew to 8-2 after a Simon serve rolled off the net for an ace, prompting a Iolani timeout.
Back-2-back combo blocks by Gannon Chinen & Aiden Koanui gives Kamehameha the 2-hour, 5-set win over Iolani, 25-20, 14-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13. Christmas Togiai had 22 kills & Matthew Saffery had 44 assists for the Warriors (6-1), who handed Iolani (3-4) its 3rd straight loss. — Michael Lasquero (@SL_Mich) March 26, 2019
Back-2-back combo blocks by Gannon Chinen & Aiden Koanui gives Kamehameha the 2-hour, 5-set win over Iolani, 25-20, 14-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13. Christmas Togiai had 22 kills & Matthew Saffery had 44 assists for the Warriors (6-1), who handed Iolani (3-4) its 3rd straight loss.
The Raiders battled back after the break and tied it later at 12, 13 and 14, but a pair of hitting errors after the score was 14-all gave Kamehameha a cushion that it was able to ride out to a 25-19 win.
Iolani bounced back in the fourth set and held the early lead before seizing it for good on a kill by Kawika Lee (17 kills) off the Warriors' block. Back-to-back blocks by Kamana grew the Raiders' lead to 15-10, prompting the first Kamehameha timeout of the frame.
The Raiders' lead continued to balloon until Kamehameha called a timeout when the score was 24-17 after Kamana and Makani Hiltner blocked a soft attack by Chinen. Kamehameha earned the next three points to make the score respectable before Iolani tied the match, 25-20, on an illegal block.
Even though Kamehameha did not win the fourth set, Nako said it was imperative that his team get some momentum heading into the fifth and final set.
"It was critical that we scored the two, three, four points, to at least get to 20 to at least get some momentum back. That kind of carried us in the fifth, then it was just up-and-up who was going to make the play."
The Raiders are out of the running for the league's first round title, so they will look to winning the second round, which uses a tournament format. Iolani does not play another game until next month, which will give the Raiders a good training block, Inafuku said.
"Our schedule has been a little front-loaded so we had a lot of athletes coming from soccer and basketball so we have a good week and a half here to practice, which is more than we've had ever.
"I think they're ready to work hard. They've been playing a lot better. We're on the up. We're pleased. We're happy with the play, we just have to execute and get the victory."
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