Getting pushed to the brink twice didn’t faze Na Menehune of Moanalua.
Kai Rodriguez drilled 17 kills, Justin Todd added 12 kills and one block, and Zachary Yewchuk had eight kills, three blocks and two crucial assists down the stretch as Moanalua rallied past ‘Iolani 22-25, 25-21, 17-15 to capture the Hawaii Boys Volleyball Invitational championship on Saturday.
Malu Wilcox dished 20 assists and AJ Matsumoto had 16 as Na Menehune withstood the best ‘Iolani could give.
“It was a really bad championship match for us, but we somehow figured out a way to still get the win with all of the mistakes. The leadership on the court shone through and they figured things out,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said.
Earlier, Moanalua faced match point against Beckman (Calif.), trailing 24-21 in Set 2 before rallying for a 16-25, 26-24, 15-10 semifinal victory. Beckman is ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Super 25 national poll. No Hawaii teams are ranked.
In the title match, ‘Iolani led the third set 11-6 as Waipehe Winchester hit an ace, Bryson Leong and Shaun Nakao added aces when their serves trickled over the net, and Tyler Van Cantfort scored on a dump shot. Rodriguez got going (five kills in Set 3), Yewchuk’s block on Nakao tied the game at 14, and Moanalua took the lead on Todd’s kill on an overpass.
‘Iolani tied it at 15 on a right-side kill by Winchester, but he followed with a service error. Wilcox then delivered an ace for the final point of the match.
It was the fourth matchup of the season between the two squads.
“Every time we play them, they get better,” Cabanting said. “They’re reading us a lot easier, which is great for us. It forces us to do things that we’re not quite used to. It’s an awesome opportunity for Zach to be at that service line when it mattered and be able to make those serves, and make it difficult, and Kai and JT stepping up when they needed to. That’s absolutely big for us.”
Winchester finished with 13 kills, and Casey Lyons tallied eight kills and three blocks for ‘Iolani. Van Cantfort had 27 assists and four kills, and Nakao chipped in four kills.
“A little bit disappointed, but very encouraged with the progress the team is making. This is the best we’ve played them,” ‘Iolani coach Jordan Inafuku said. “We’re more learning how to unlock what we can do. This is the best example of us playing close to what we can do. It starts with the passing. We’re able to pass and we have just enough at the different positions to spread it around, and that gives us a chance against a team like that.”
The final few points were not designed to be set by Yewchuk, a 6-foot-8 senior transfer from Damien who is originally from British Columbia.
“Not planned, but we always say if you can make the play, make the play. He got a little bit too involved in it, but he kept making the play, so that’s where we want the kids,” Cabanting said. “At critical times, off of a serve, off a couple of blocks, he was big for us, absolutely. When a kid is like, ‘I’m going to make every play,’ you let him make every play.”
It turns out Yewchuk played some setter five years ago as he started out in the sport. On Saturday, the instincts were still there.
“Setter took first ball a couple times, a couple of scramble plays. I throw up a hittable ball sometimes,” said Yewchuk, who is an opposite/middle. “I really work to keep my skills. That was looking kind of iffy at times, but we pulled through.”
The Raiders had the smaller lineup, but their passing and Van Cantfort’s direction provided opportunities.
“They’re not just tall and long. They’re very smart, big and making moves up there, showing things and taking them away, and they’ve got great defense behind it,” Inafuku said. “Once they dig a ball, they’ve got three good options to put it away, so you’ve got to put the first one away. Our boys did a great job.”
‘Iolani led the opening set 16-8 before Moanalua went on a 13-6 run, cutting the lead to 22-21 on an ace by Todd, a 6-9 senior. Inafuku had tried in vain to call a timeout before Todd’s serve, then got it after the point. Todd then had a service error, followed by a back-row hitting error. A Lyons kill closed out the opening set.
Moanalua led the second set 16-14 before the home team closed it with an 11-3 run. Winchester, who had just two kills in the first set, had six kills and an ace in the second.
Yewchuk, Todd and Rodriguez are all signees with Hawaii. Todd is originally from Texas and Rodriguez is from California.
“Hopefully, we establish a good enough culture for volleyball for them to choose to come to school here,” Cabanting said. “We’re hoping it goes our way this year. We’ve been able to get into the (state) championship match with the kids that we had. We’re so used to not having the talent, not having the skills, not having the physicality or the height. It’s very different this year because we have that coupled with the work ethic and the culture we’ve established. We’ve still got to work and get better each day.”
The Gold Bracket was loaded with two qualifiers from each of the four pools. That’s where Hawaii Baptist rallied to oust Kamehameha 22-25, 25-21, 15-9. In the same sub-bracket, ‘Iolani swept University 25-20, 25-13. The Raiders then swept HBA 25-16, 26-24 to reach the final.
On the other side, Moanalua zapped Orange Lutheran 25-17, 25-17, and unbeaten Beckman eliminated Hilo from title contention 25-15, 25-18.
Moanalua then rallied to topple Beckman in the semis.
“We’re very grateful for this tournament and the opportunity we had to get better the past couple of days, for everyone that helped us do that,” Inafuku said. “It’s a great, fun tournament. The mainland teams, the neighbor-island teams, the OIA, ILH, we try to mix it up. What’s really cool is the boys hang out together here and get to know different teams and the camaraderie’s been great. We’re really thankful for ‘Iolani and all of our volunteers for helping us do that.”
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Hawaii Boys Volleyball Invitational
Pool play
Thursday
Palos Verdes def. Kamehameha-Maui 25-17, 25-22
Beckman def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-23, 25-19
Hilo def. Hawaii Baptist 20-25, 28-26, 19-17
Kamehameha def. Mid-Pacific 25-20, 25-19
Palos Verdes def. Hilo 15-25, 25-22, 15-13
Beckman def. Mid-Pacific 25-14, 25-19
Hawaii Baptist def. Kamehameha-Maui 25-14, 25-8
Kamehameha def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-14, 25-17
University def. Poway 28-26, 25-23
Kaiser def. El Camino Real 28-26, 18-25, 15-13
Moanalua def. Roosevelt 25-7, 25-10
’Iolani def. Orange Lutheran 21-25, 25-13, 15-11
Poway def. Roosevelt 25-19, 25-11
Orange Luteran def. El Camino Real 25-22, 25-23
Moanalua def. University 25-11, 25-21
’Iolani def. Kaiser 25-13, 25-16
Friday
Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Mid-Pacific 25-22, 25-22
Hilo def. Kamehameha-Maui 25-15, 25-9
Beckman def. Kamehameha 25-20, 22-25, 15-13
Hawaii Baptist def. Palos Verdes 25-12, 25-17
Orange Lutheran def. Kaiser 25-21, 25-19
University def. Roosevelt 25-13, 25-20
’Iolani def. El Camino Real 25-18, 25-18
Moanalua def. Poway 25-15, 25-17
Gold Bracket
Quarterfinals
Beckman def. Hilo 25-15, 25-18
’Iolani def. University 25-20, 25-13
Silver Bracket
Quarterfinals
Mid-Pacific def. Palos Verdes 21-16, 21-16
Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Kamehameha-Maui 21-14, 21-15
Kaiser def. Roosevelt 22-20, 21-14
Poway def. El Camino Real 15-21, 21-12, 15-12
Saturday
Gold Bracket
Quarterfinals
Hawaii Baptist def. Kamehameha 22-25, 25-21, 15-9
Moanalua def. Orange Lutheran 25-17, 25-17
Semifinals
’Iolani def. Hawaii Baptist 25-16, 26-24
Moanalua def. Beckman 16-25, 26-24, 15-10
Final
Moanalua def. ’Iolani 22-25, 25-21, 17-15
Third place
Beckman def. Hawaii Baptist 25-20, 22-25, 15-10
Consolation
Kamehameha def. University 25-23, 25-20
Orange Lutheran def. Hilo 25-13, 25-22
Fifth-Place
Orange Lutheran def. Kamehameha 18-225-18, 16-14
Seventh Place
University def. Hilo 25-15, 25-23
Silver Bracket
Semifinals
Mid-Pacific def. Kaiser 21-15, 22-20
Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Poway 21-18, 18-21, 15-12
Final
Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Mid-Pacific 21-15, 21-17
Third place
Kaiser def. Poway 21-18, 21-23, 15-12
Consolation
Palos Verdes def. Roosevelt 21-15, 26-24
El Camino Real def. Kamehameha-Maui 18-21, 21-13, 15-13
