KAILUA-KONA — Kealakehe proved that last week’s straight-set victory over Waiakea was no fluke when they did the same in a BIIF Division I semifinal match on Monday in their home gym.
The Waveriders won home court advantage by beating the Warriors in the final game of the regular season, and used that edge to notch a 25-14, 25-22, 25-22 victory in the semis.
“This was an awesome win and having home court advantage is always a plus,” said Kealekehe head coach Kahinu Lee. “Waiakea brought it like we thought they would and they played a great match, but our boys stuck together as a team and believed in themselves.”
With the win, the Waveriders head back to the state tournament for the first time since 2004. Kealakehe also qualified for the BIIF championship match, where they will meet Kamehameha on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Konawaena.
The teams split the regular season series, but the Waveriders earned the most recent win, pulling off a two set comeback to down Kamehameha 18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11.
The Waveriders claimed three straight championships under the coaching of Lee in the early 2000s, a fact that was not lost on one of the team’s captains this year, Anthony “Head” Trevino.
“It means a lot knowing that our coach was there pushing that generation and now he is doing the same thing for us,” Trevino said. “Kamehameha is a good team so the match is going to be a good one. They are tall, they can jump and they are a good program.”
For Lee, the semifinal victory was the result of a lot of hard work and dedication.
“The kids trusted the process, they believed in it every day,” Lee said. “Everyone played well today. It was a team effort.”
Trevino led the offense, picking up a game high 15 kills. In the final set of the match, the senior scored the final two points off a block and a spike.
“It’s all about the rotation, but I like to accept the challenge if it is there,” said Trevino when asked about always seeming to come up during the clutch situations of matches. “Most of the time it works out.”
Isaiah Hooper followed Trevino with 11 kills. In the second set, Hooper helped the Waveriders overcome a small deficit by recording three kills in the span of five points to put Kealakehe up 9-7.
Waiakea managed to make a big comeback after falling down 22-15 in the second set, closing the gap to 22-22, led by blocks from Kainalu Garcia and Elijah Blankenship. However, Hooper sent a soft-touch shot over the net to catch the Warriors off-balance to end the six-point run.
Kealakehe took advantage of several unforced errors early on in the match to go up 1-0. During a five-point and seven-point run late in the opening set, the Waveriders did not need to record a kill as Waiakea struggled to put the ball over the net and inbounds.
In the final set, Kealakehe trailed 16-13 before winning four of the next five points to tie. Both teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the set. With the score tied at 22-22, A Waiakea player hit a serve in the net, setting up Trevino’s final two points for the victory.
“It seemed like we started off strong and then would fall off, but this team has good heart and good drive,” Trevino said. “This team knows how to come together and we did that tonight.”
Makana Kaehuaea-Credo led Waiakea with 12 kills.
