Kamehameha is back in the big dance.
Devin Kahahawai drilled 25 kills and had four blocks as No. 2 Kamehameha outlasted No. 3 ‘Iolani 25-22, 25-17, 27-25 before roughly 400 spirited fans at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium. The Warriors eliminated the Raiders from the ILH double-elimination tournament and claimed the league’s second state-tournament berth.
Kamehameha won the last state tournament, in the fall of 2019. The Warriors have 22 koa championship trophies in girls volleyball, including 10 under longtime coach Chris Blake. Kahahawai and senior classmate Maui Robins were part of the ’19 state title team.
“It feels good. Honestly, it’s deja vu from sophomore year,” said outside hitter Maui Robins, who had 18 kills and 18 digs. “Me and Devin had a talk before this and said we got to stick together. We’re seniors and we have to be here for the team. Sophomore year, we had to lean on our upperclassmen, but this year, we are the upperclassmen.”
Middles Adrianna Arquette (five kills) and Moana Peaua (four kills, block) provided balance in the Warriors attack. Sierra Scanlan dished 25 assists and Marley Roe had 21. Libero Payton Olivera had 14 digs, Scanlan had 10 and Roe hustled for eight.
Kamehameha (8-4) will meet top-seeded Punahou on Saturday as the tourney continues. Regular-season first-place finisher Punahou, which sealed a state berth two weeks ago, needs one win to capture the tourney and claim the ILH title. Kamehameha needs to beat Punahou twice to win the tournament and set up a winner-take-all match for the league crown.
Senna Roberts-Navarro had eight kills, as did senior setter/outside hitter Mokihana Tufono, who also had three aces and 10 assists for ‘Iolani (6-6). Kamehameha had won three of four previous matches with ‘Iolani, which played without two key starters who are injured.
“We’re just happy to be in this opportunity,” Blake said. “We found a way to make a few changes and do some good things today. ‘Iolani fought really hard. They made a lot of changes. Moki did a lot of great things. Senna did a lot of work. We’re happy with the adjustments, and when it came down to it, to execute how we did was a good win for us.”
The visiting Raiders took advantage of an overly pumped-up Kamehameha squad in the opening set. The Warriors had a 10-7 lead, but committed eight hitting errors as ‘Iolani jumped to an 18-14 edge.
“We came out with a little too much, so we’re kind of just bombing away, not thinking smart,” Kahahawai said. “The turnaround with Maui going with that smart change-up, and just us coming together and saying, ‘Hey, we got your back, you guys got ours. We’re going to swing, you guys can help us, we’ll cover you.’ Just to have that trust with each other kind of gave everyone that relief. If I hit into a block or if I try and go for the swing, they got my back. That was a big thing for us.”
Kahahawai had two kills and two blocks during a rally that gave Kamehameha the lead. Her block on Tufono tied it at 20, and Peaua roofed Haley Goto for the lead. After two more kills by Kahahawai from the right side, the lead was 23-20.
‘Iolani got no closer than two points.
Robins’ overpass landed on the Raiders’ side of the net for the 25th point.
The Warriors took control in Set 2 with their serve. Sydney Sniffen had their only ace in the second set, but ‘Iolani couldn’t get a consistent attack rolling. The Warriors opened a 7-2 lead and led all the way.
In Set 3, Kamehameha led 13-7, but ‘Iolani made a big run, capped by back-to-back aces by Tufono, to take a 19-18 lead.
The lead changed hands three more times, with Kamehameha going up 25-24 on a hitting error by Tufono, though the Raiders insisted to the lead official that it was deflected by the Warriors.
Tufono’s kill tied it at 25, but kills by Kahahawai and Robins ended the set and match.
The energy in Kekuhaupio was a constant roar for the team in blue.
“It’s just the atmosphere in the gym and being allowed spectators,” Kahahawai said. “Our student section really came through in the end. It was so good.”
