Kahuku won this one in the classroom.
The Red Raiders’ volleyball team put all of its best guys on the floor together for the first time this year and swept Waipahu 25-22, 25-15, 25-15 in the first round of the OIA Red playoffs at Mililani on Tuesday night.
"The beginning of the year was kind of rocky because most of our players were not able to play, some were injured and some because of grades and whatnot," first-year head coach Joaquin Lessary said. "But our main key players are back onto the court now, and this is when we need them for the OIA playoffs."
The Red Raiders have won five matches in a row, all of them sweeps, after starting the year 2-5. The improved play actually started with a 25-21, 25-20 loss to No. 9 Kalaheo.
"I think the best we played was against Kalaheo, even though we lost," Kahuku setter Micha Maiava said. "That gave us hopes that we can play like them and fight for our spot in the OIA."
The Red Raiders jumped on the Marauders for a 7-0 lead in the first set on Tuesday. They held that margin up until game point, when Waipahu reeled off five straight points before junior Noel Thorp buried a kill from the middle to end it.
Kahuku was even more efficient in the second and third sets, taking a 13-5 lead in the second and 17-7 in the third.
Ala Tito and Thorp each led Kahuku’s attack with six kills, with Thorp doing it without an error. Keaunui Ah You and Jurell Kai each contributed four kills.
"I just tell them to stay strong and finish strong and keep up our intensity," Lessary said.
Johnny Tuia led the Marauders with six kills, but made five errors.
Waipahu, which earned first-round byes the past two years as one of the best in the West, slipped to 4-7. The Marauders won’t play until next Tuesday when they begin their fight through the loser’s bracket.
Kahuku gets a day to practice before meeting No. 6 Leilehua in the Mules’ gym on Thursday. Leilehua is the top seed in the West and undefeated, but that doesn’t faze the new-look Red Raiders.
"I’ve never really heard anything about Leilehua," Maiava said. "Things will take care of itself if we have a good practice tomorrow and show up on Thursday ready to play like we played Kalaheo."
Kahuku had more coaches (3) than players (2) on its bench on Tuesday, but hopes to get juniors Jackson Kaio and Ty Shintaku back by Thursday.
"We don’t know yet if they will play, but we are hoping they will," Lessary said. "We haven’t seen Leilehua, but we heard good things about them so we are expecting a great match."
