The lone championship banner hanging in Ka‘u’s gymnasium is about to get some company.
Ka‘u downed Honokaa in a thrilling five-set match, 26-28, 25-17, 25-20, 16-25, 15-13, in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II Championship to capture the school’s first title in boys volleyball and second BIIF title in school history Friday at Kealakehe gymnasium.
“It is such a relief of pressure,” Ka‘u head coach Josh Ortega said. “The goal for our team all season has been to bring home the banner. It was a little sketchy on the final point because (Honokaa) did get a piece of the ball and those guys are real scrappy. You are praying for the best, but when that ball finally dropped it was a relief.”
Junior outside hitter Cameron Enriques registered 19 kills in the match, including the game winner. Senior middle blocker Larry-Dan Al-Navarro added 17 kills and six blocks.
“Being a BIIF champion feels really good,” Enriques said. “Everything just dropped for me when I saw that final point.”
Honokaa senior outside hitter Chance Salva delivered a dozen kills and digs in the losing effort. Shyrome Batin tacked on 15 kills and Makana Loo managed 12 digs for the Dragons.
Ka‘u and Honokaa will each play in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament, but Saturday’s victory earned Ka‘u a seeded berth and a valuable bye.
Ortega also coached the Ka‘u girls volleyball team that brought home the title in 2012. However, he does not see a lot of similarities between the two.
“The boys are a lot different,” Ortega said. “Comparing the two, I think girls are more straightforward and it is more mental. With the boys you have to be aggressive and get up there and yell.”
Honokaa took the regular-season matchup between the championship contenders in five sets April 19. That contest served as a solid indicator coming in that the BIIF championship matchup would not be a quick one.
The teams volleyed the lead several times in the first set, before the Trojans rallied to take an 18-14 advantage. Led by the play of Salva and Batin, the Dragons responded to the early adversity. The duo propelled Honokaa to a 28-26 win in the set.
The Trojans shook the jitters off after the opening set, rallying behind the power of Al-Navarro and the skill of Enriques. While Al-Navarro powered through blocks, Enriques’ leaping ability at his outside hitter position helped him find holes in the Dragons defense.
“We kept our heads up high,” Enriques said. “We tried to never get down when we fell behind.”
With a 2-1 lead in the match and on the verge of a championship, the Trojans’ nerves surfaced. A bevy of unforced errors and miscommunications doomed the Trojans, leading to a lopsided 16-25 loss in the fourth set.
“I asked them during the break why they were making it so hard on themselves,” Ortega said. “They seem to like to make it interesting.”
The Trojans fell behind early in the fifth set, but rallied for four straight points to take the lead. Ka‘u never looked back from there. Nine points from the dynamic pair of Enriques and Al-Navarro — including a momentum swinging block by Al-Navarro — sealed the championship for Ka‘u.
Ka‘u relied on six seniors during the title run. Many of them pulled double-duty by also participating in baseball which, Ortega admitted, led to some problems getting a full squad together for practice. However, the quality of the work on the court never suffered.
“It’s always a pleasure to close out the season like this,” Ortega said. “It’s nice to know they battled so hard at baseball and then managed to put in another two hours at volleyball practice and give it their all. This title really represents their efforts.”
