The finale will have an ILH flavor again.
Kalaweloilehua Chock drilled 12 kills and Kamana‘o‘okalani Goldstein added 10 as ILH runner-up Kamehameha swept OIA champion Moanalua 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 on Friday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. This sets up an all-ILH finale pitting league champion and top seed ‘Iolani against the defending state champion, Kamehameha (16-8 overall). It will be the seventh meeting of the two powerhouse programs this season.
“They’re very well coached. No secrets. We’ve seen each other and it’s going to come down to execution and play,” Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. “For us, we’re blessed to be in this opportunity in this part of the season. For us to step up and play our best match in the last match of the season is our goal.”
The Division I final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships will be tonight at 7 at BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center, following the Division II final.
“We saw them last night. They’re very, very skilled. We wanted to make sure we had the service pressure we needed. We did a pretty good job with that. Our team was able to execute our plan well and we were able to come out with the victory tonight,” Blake said.
Senior Zaria Queen, a Stanford commit, led second- seeded Moanalua (26-5 overall) with 14 kills in 43 attempts.
“She definitely got her kills. She’s a talented player. For us to do what we did to control what she did, we’re proud of our girls,” said Blake, who has led the Warriors to 12 state championships. “Our passing was so-so based upon their serving, but once we settled down a little bit, we were able to distribute the ball and be a little more balanced.”
Moanalua was hoping to reach the state final for the first time in school history. Kamehameha’s defense was air-tight. With Alohalani Chun, Kealoha Lyons, Chock, Goldstein and Tiahna Aldeguer contesting at the net, the back row led by Ashli Lum (14 digs) was relentless.
Queen was one of only two Menehune with a positive hitting percentage. Jerney Tang-Silva had two kills (-.111), while Chloe Fukumitsu had four (.100). Middle Surfia Grounds finished with four kills (.000).
“They were just there. We really wanted it, but they came out better,” Tang-Silva said.
Kamehameha’s middles combined for 14 kills and 5.5 blocks. Lyons had eight kills (.467) and Chun had six (.300).
“I think we’re going to have a lot of energy for the championship match. We’re an energetic team and this really boosted our spirits,” Lyons said.
“In practice, we run the middles a lot. Moanalua’s defense, having that bunch (double block at the pin) is something we’re used to running at practice,” Chun said. “It was a good defensive night and a good passing night for us, so we were able to run the middles as much as we can. Our connection is good with our setters.”
Aldeguer, a sophomore, dished 36 assists and added seven digs. Goldstein led the Warriors with 17 digs.
“Ultimately, the team that was going to win was the team that executed. We had four or five opportunities to take the set, but under pressure situations, can you execute in those big moments, and we just couldn’t execute it. A big part, of course, is Kamehameha,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said. “Their defense was phenomenal today. They made us swing one more swing, one more attack, one more set. We just couldn’t execute it at the right time.”
Moanalua led 6-3 in game one as Chock didn’t quite get a clean swing early on. The Warriors surged ahead, nonetheless, with a kill from Goldstein, for a 17-13 lead.
Two roofs by Grounds helped Moanalua rally to tie it at 17.
After four more ties, Kamehameha went up 24-23 on a roof by Chock on Queen. Kalamakuokanaauao Crabbe put the game away with her third kill, which fell untouched in the back row with two Menehune looking at each other to give the Warriors a 1-0 edge.
Back-to-back aces by Natalie Fukumoto helped Moanalua stay with Kamehameha, 11-all, Kamehameha got two kills from Lyons and one from Chock on the right side to open a 15-11 lead.
Moanalua got within 16-14, but Chock delivered a smooth roll shot on the right side for a point, then notched an ace on the ensuing serve for an 18-14 cushion. Aces by Melahi Palencia and Faith Iokia opened the lead to 23-18. Lyons’ roof on Tang-Silva closed out game two.
Lyons already had two blocks entering the third set. She added two more roofs as the Warriors opened a 5-1 lead. Kamehameha’s block dominated much of the night, but a four-point lead dwindled to 18-16 after a roof by Tang-Silva and a hitting error by Crabbe.
Crabbe responded with a kill as the Warriors closed the match with a 7-3 run. Goldstein’s kill sent Kamehameha to the final, where the Warriors will go after their 25th state crown.
“I’m excited. This is something we’ve worked for all season. ‘Iolani’s really a great team,” Chun said. “They have really good players on their side of the court so it’s going to be a really good matchup. I’m just ready to ball out tomorrow.”
