Carey Williams was worried about her serving, wanting to get the ball in.
She not only served in, her nine aces were a major factor in Kahuku’s 25-11, 25-16, 27-25 win over Kamehameha-Maui in Friday’s first round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I State Championships at Moanalua.
Williams also had nine kills for Kahuku (13-2) and ShaRae Niu had 36 assists. The Red Raiders, the OIA’s fifth-place team, will play at No. 2 seed Moanalua (14-0) in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Na Menehune, the OIA champion, had a first-round bye and beat the Red Raiders in the regular season.
"Kind of under pressure, trying to be aggressive and get it in," said Williams, who had nine of her team’s 12 aces.
Selai Damuni and Danielle Brown had seven kills each for Kamehameha-Maui (10-4). The Red Raiders outhit the Warriors .298 to .096.
"Our serving was working for us and we did a really good job with the serve-receive," said Kahuku coach Lee Lamb. "If we take care of those two things, the game is going to go well for us."
Williams had four aces to help Kahuku lead 11-1 in Set 1. Her sixth and seventh aces of the match helped the Red Raiders take control early in Set 2.
"We don’t see anything like that. Williams has a strong, really good serve. She took us out of our rhythm right away," said KS-Maui coach Bala Spencer.
Williams’ kill out of the back ended a 6-0 KS-Maui run and gave Kahuku an 18-17 lead in Set 3. Damuni had three kills to help the Warriors tie it at 22. Williams then buried a kill from the left and served up an ace to put Kahuku, which was playing with several reserves, at match point.
After a KS-Maui timeout, Williams served into the net and a hitting error by Cheyenne Teo tied it at 24.
"One of the biggest things I told them was, ‘We’re here, let’s show up,’ " Spencer said. "And they realized if they just play, things will work out for us."
Teo’s kill put Kahuku at match point again, but Peninataua Sao’s service error tied it at 25. Phoebe Grace buried two kills in the middle to finish the match.
Kahuku middle hitters Grace and Jasmine Niutupuivaha established themselves early in the match and finished with nine and seven kills. Grace also had three blocks.
"We just had to push each other and it’s just all mental," Williams said.
Waiakea 3, Mililani 2
The Warriors rallied past the Trojans 21-25, 11-25, 25-16, 25-11, 15-6 in a quarterfinal match at Moanalua.
Waiakea (13-4) will face No. 1 seed and defending champion Kamehameha (15-0) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Moanalua.
"We came in with a fire," said Waiakea junior middle Kadara Marshall. "We worked so hard and we were determined not to lose that streak. We got here by pushing and determination. When we got back onto that court for the third set, we decided we weren’t going to lose. We were going to work hard and get through it."
Kylee Ancheta’s back-to-back aces gave the Warriors a 12-6 lead in the final set, part of a 7-0 run to finish the match.
"We just wanted to keep the momentum going into the fifth set because we ended the fourth set very well," Marshall said.
Punahou 3, Nanakuli 0
McKenna Granato had 12 kills and hit .800 and Lillie Klemmer added eight kills while also hitting .800 as the Buffanblu cruised to a 25-13, 25-15, 25-10 victory over the Golden Hawks at Kamehameha-Maui’s gym.
Kiani Tuileta had 34 assists for Punahou, which will play Kamehameha-Hawaii on Saturday. Natalia Kaopua had 13 kills for Nanakuli.
Kapolei 3, Castle 0
Kaile Tuisamataele and Shekinah Clarke both had nine kills, with Tuisamataele hitting .500, and Annika San Nicolas had 32 assists to carry the Hurricanes to a 25-13, 25-22, 25-17 victory over the Knights at Kamehameha-Maui’s gym.
Trystin Ramos and Boogie Tiumalu each had five kills for Castle.
DIVISION I TOURNAMENT
FRIDAY
First round
At Moanalua
>> Kahuku def. Kamehameha-Maui 25-11, 25-16, 27-25
>> Waiakea def. Mililani 21-25, 11-25, 25-16, 25-11, 15-6
At Kamehameha-Maui
>> Kapolei def. Castle 25-13, 25-22, 25-17
>> Punahou def. Nanakuli 25-13, 25-15, 25-10
SATURDAY
Second round and consolation
At Moanalua
>> KS-Maui vs. Mililani, 3:30 p.m.
>> Moanalua vs. Kahuku, 5 p.m.
>> Kamehameha vs. Waiakea, 7 p.m.
At Kamehameha-Maui
>> Castle vs. Nanakuli, 2:30 p.m.
>> KS-Hawaii vs. Punahou, 4 p.m.
>> King Kekaulike vs. Kapolei, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Semifinals
At McKinley High gym
>> King Kekaulike/Kapolei winner vs. Kamehameha/Waiakea, 5 p.m.
>> KS-Hawaii/Punahou winner vs. Moanalua/Kahuku winner, 7 p.m.
Nov. 8
At Blaisdell Arena
Third place
Semifinal losers, 3:30 p.m.
Championship
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
