It was a long four years for the ‘Iolani Raiders, but their return to the state championship is golden.
Brooke Naniseni drilled 16 kills, Senna Roberts-Navarro had 10, and libero Tessa Onaga came up with 34 digs as top-seeded ‘Iolani swept upstart Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 in the Division I final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships on Friday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
‘Iolani went 24-5 overall this season, returning to states for the first time since winning in 2018. This is the fourth state title for the Raiders. The first was in 2001 under Ann Kang. Current coach Kainoa Obrey guided the Raiders to titles in ’16 and ’18, and now, ’22.
“The biggest thing is I’m super happy and proud of the kids, how hard they worked every day in the gym. We push them, test them, challenge them. To come out and play the way they did throughout the tournament, it feels great, man,” Obrey said. “I’ll probably cry a little bit with them later. They played their hearts out. Coach Guy (Enriques of KS-Hawaii) is a great coach. His staff did a great job. They came prepared and made a great run.”
Naniseni was, like her teammates, business-like on and off the court. Never too high, never too low.
“What we worked hard at over the past couple of months, I think it’s very well deserved that we won the championship,” said Naniseni, who recovered from an ankle injury during the season.
“It feels awesome. We put in the work in the gym every day. I really think we earned it,” said Roberts-Navarro, who added 13 digs.
Middles Mari Lawton (nine kills) and Callie Pieper (seven) were also instrumental in stifling the Warriors, who were red-hot through the state tourney. KS-Hawaii was, frankly, practically unstoppable for the past five weeks, winning 22 consecutive matches from the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas, back to the Big Island, and to the recent Southern California Invitational.
However, ‘Iolani matched KS-Hawaii’s discipline and execution, and then some. Lawton spent her junior year recovering from a knee injury, but showed her explosiveness and skill to cap her comeback.
“All the years I’ve been on varsity, we haven’t won and we haven’t even been to the state championships. When I got hurt, it was really tough. I didn’t even know how to feel,” Lawton said. “I went to physical therapy every day. This was everyone’s dream and today it came true.”
Eryn Hiraki added 18 digs and Baylee Goeas Galdeira tallied 10 digs for ‘Iolani, while setter Maya Imoto-Eakin was vital with 40 assists and 14 digs.
Sarah Schubert and Kilinoelehua Helm led KS-Hawaii (37-6-1) with eight kills each. Junior Maela Honma had 38 kills combined in KS-Hawaii’s sweep of Punahou and reverse-sweep win over Kahuku, but ‘Iolani limited her to five kills in 51 swings. Middle Taina Kaauwai finished with four kills in 18 swings against constant pressure from Lawton and Pieper.
“We wanted to get here, we got here. I wish we could’ve performed a little bit better, but ‘Iolani is a really good team,” Enriques said.
As usual, the Raiders were relentless defensively, laying out pancake digs while limiting Honma to one kill and keeping Kaauwai without a kill while taking a 14-9 lead in the first set. Roberts-Navarro had four kills and Naniseni had three at that point.
The Warriors got within 17-14 after a dump kill by setter Tacoma Kelson and a hitting error by Naniseni. However, ‘Iolani went on a run, getting three kills from Naniseni to open the lead to 22-15. Following a net violation by KS-Hawaii, Pieper drilled two kills to give the Raiders a 1-0 edge in the match.
KS-Hawaii hit .055 in the opening set, while Naniseni racked up seven kills for ‘Iolani.
The Raiders opened the second set with a 6-2 lead, but KS-Hawaii chipped away. Savanna Colliado dropped an ace, and Kaauwai had a kill and a block to push the Warriors ahead. Kelson was key at serve.
After a diving dig by Schubert landed on ‘Iolani’s side of the net, the Warriors had an 11-9 lead. The margin stretched a bit to 14-11 after an ace by Schubert and an ‘Iolani hitting error.
Lawton came up clutch with two blocks on Honma, sparking an 8-1 run that gave the Raiders a 19-15 lead.
After Naniseni roofed Honma and drilled a kill, it was 22-16.
Up 23-17, Imoto-Eakin had a kill on a joust, then delivered an ace to end Set 2.
By this point, KS-Hawaii’s hitting percentage was down to .000, but the Warriors kept attacking and rallied for a 13-11 lead in Set 3.
‘Iolani took advantage of KS-Hawaii hitting errors, then tied it at 16 on a kill by Lawton.
Down 18-16, the Raiders kept feeding Lawton, who had two more kills to help her team take a 19-18 lead.
Naniseni returned to the front row, sending two kills down as the Raiders stayed ahead, 22-20. After a tip kill by Helm and a blast by Schubert, the Warriors tied the game at 22.
KS-Hawaii, a team built on precision, stumbled with a net violation and a hitting error. Pieper then ended it with a smash from the middle.
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Third-Place Game
Kahuku def. Mililani 25-16, 25-16
Fifth-Place Game
Punahou def. Kapolei 25-16, 26-24
