HONOLULU — Gabbie Ewing had a double-double with an identical 26 kills and digs to carry Hawaii Prep over Radford in a back-and-forth thrilling roller-cost match on Wednesday.
The resilient Ka Makani outlasted the Rams 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 16-14 in the first round at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state championships at Kaimuki High’s gym.
Hawaii Prep (11-5), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up, next plays No. 3 seed Hawaii Baptist (11-2), the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, at 7 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals at Kaimuki.
Ula Brostek added seven kills and five aces, all valuable points, but freshman Madi Lee’s serving in the final set gave HPA a big-time momentum boost.
Lee served five straight points to give HPA a 6-2 lead, which later evaporated. The match was tied 9-9 and 13-13, and from there the fun began.
A Ka Makani hitting error pushed the Rams ahead 14-13. Then on Ewing’s third attack attempt, she put the ball down to tie it 14-14. Lee was back on the service line, and she passed a clean ball to Elisabeth Jim, who set Alaina Bradley and she slammed a kill down for a 15-14 lead.
Then Lee fed Radford another tough serve, HPA worked another set to Ewing and the Rams couldn’t handle the return for a hitting error, their 37th unforced miscue to Ka Makani’s 33 giveaway points.
Radford (5-8), the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s No. 3 team, was led by Noel Phillip’s 12 kills and 6-foot-2 Chloe Snyder’s 11 kills.
It’s HPA’s ninth consecutive appearance at states with the best finish being last year’s loss to Konawaena in the championship in four sets.
Hawaii Baptist won three consecutive state crowns from 2007 to ‘09. Last season, the Eagles lost to Roosevelt in the first round in five sets, despite a double-double from Emily Wada (14 kills, 23 digs).
