There is a new purple reign in Division II boys volleyball.
Pearl City captured its first state crown with a 31-29, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22 win over MIL champion Seabury Hall on Saturday night in the final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships at Blaisdell Center.
Senior Fati Seei-Tofi had 16 kills and 14 digs, and freshman Keahi Kaneakua tallied 15 kills to spark fourth-seeded Pearl City (14-2) over the third-seeded Spartans. Seventh-year head coach Sean Chang put a lot of trust into his experienced squad, which included 12 seniors.
“Seabury Hall is a lot tougher in person. Indescribable feeling. It’s something that I feel we worked from the beginning for, we had a dream about. It’s a dream come true,” said Chang, a Pearl City alumnus. “We tweaked during the season and we found the right lineup.”
Seei-Tofi didn’t start on fire — just one kill in 10 attempts during a wild first set. As the offensive flow of Pearl City’s attack balanced out, his efficiency improved.
“We just had a slow start. We weren’t doing our jobs, and we weren’t hitting well, either. Transitioning into the second set, we fought so hard to win the first set, we didn’t want to let that go,” Seei-Tofi said.
Seabury Hall (8-3) took the second set, but Seei-Tofi and the rest of the attack found their rhythm.
Kaneakua was a key factor early on with four first-game kills. Like many of the Chargers, he plays for Quick Sets Volleyball Club, where he is a setter and outside hitter. He began the season as a part-time setter. Hearing about state-title aspirations was an eye-opener.
“Yeah, I was surprised. It was hard. I didn’t think we would get this far, to be honest,” Kaneakua said. “But Tyrus (Williams) and Fati, and Coach (Chang), they talked to me a lot.”
The glue man is senior libero Williams, who finished with 27 digs and four assists.
“Not only is he crazy on defense, but he is literally the heart and soul of this team,” Chang said. “He’s the first one who said, ‘I want a state championship.’ “
Williams’ relentless hustle was a significant factor against Seabury Hall’s twin destroyers, Thomas Russell (22 kills, 18 digs) and Tyler Russell. He wasn’t alone in that belief. Seei-Tofi smiles when he recalls the discussion about a state crown in week one.
“I had the same exact thing in mind,” Seei-Tofi said. “One of the very first practices, we all wrote down our goals and shared it with each other. (Williams) just so happened to share it first.”
The drama unfolded from the opening serve. Pearl City frittered away an early 7-4 lead, committing a litany of mistakes with hitting errors, a rotation violation and a net violation. That, along with an ace by Thomas Russell, had Seabury Hall on the brink of victory at 24-19.
Then the boo-boos shifted to the other side of the court. A net violation and a hitting error by Tyler Russell brought Pearl City within 24-23.
After Christian Ronquilio’s kill, it was tied at 24.
Tyler Russell’s kill boosted the Spartans back up, 25-24, but the game was tied five more times, back and forth.
Down 29-28, Pearl City’s Tiandrew Taimanao came through with back-to-back kills over the middle. A hitting error on Tyler Russell ended the opening set, though video footage showed the ball on the sideline, which could have been ruled a clean point for the Spartans.
Seabury Hall bounced back with a 4-1 lead in set two, but the Chargers came back to tie it at 18. Tyler Russell stepped up with five kills and middle Anthony Martin chipped in two as the Spartans tied the match.
Pearl City had a setting error and hitting error to end the second game, but regained momentum in set three. Down 5-3, the Chargers surged ahead and withstood every run. Sile Sataraka had two blocks and Kaneakua had two kills during a late push by Pearl City. Ronquilio roofed Tyler Russell to open the Chargers lead to 24-21 and a hitting error by Thomas Russell ended the set.
With a 2-1 lead in the match, the Chargers trailed 18-13 in set four. The Spartans tired, however, committing hitting errors as Pearl City made another comeback. A block by Taimanao and Ronquilio brought the Chargers within one point, and a roof by Ronquilio on Tyler Russell tied it at 21.
Seei-Tofi’s kill lifted Pearl City into the lead. A hitting error and rotation violation by Seabury Hall turned it into a 24-21 edge for Pearl City.
Tyler Russell’s kill brought it within two points, but his service error ended the match.
It was a long haul for Seabury Hall, which struggled early on.
“At the start of the season, we were horrible. Our first game, we got destroyed by Molokai, which is a really good team,” Tyler Russell said. “But we improved a ton. Both our middles did amazing. Everyone stepped up and it was really fun. The best part is our team had an amazing experience.”
The Chargers came in as the fourth seed in D-II after winning the OIA title. They edged Konawaena 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 24-26, 15-10 behind 24 kills by Seei-Tofi, 41 assists by Ronquilio and 32 digs by Williams.
Seei-Tofi had 24 kills in just 35 attempts as Pearl City stunned top-seeded Saint Louis 25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 28-26 in the semifinal round on Friday. Ronquilio had 60 assists, diversifying the attack through Kaneakua (16 kills) and Taimanao (10 kills).
The Spartans swept ILH runner-up Le Jardin, then rallied past OIA runner-up Nanakuli 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-12, 15-12 on Friday. Thomas Russell led the MIL champions with 21 kills and Luca Connor dished 50 assists.
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HHSAA/New City Nissan Boys Division II Championship
Fifth place
Konawaena def. Le Jardin, 24-26, 25-20, 15-12
Third place
Saint Louis def. Nanakuli 25-20, 16-25, 19-17
