HONOLULU — La Pietra had three good power hitters, but Konawaena on Thursday had two things that were much better: Chanelle Molina and a champion’s poise.
It wasn’t easy but the Wildcats prevailed over La Pietra 25-23, 22-25, 30-28, 25-23 in the quarterfinals at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state volleyball championships at McKinley High’s gym.
The No. 1 seed and Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Wildcats (16-0) next play No. 4 seed Kalaheo (10-4), the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion, in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Kaimuki High’s gym.
Molina (24 kills, 23 digs), her sister and setter/hitter Celena Molina (12 kills, 20 digs) and McKenna Ventura (15 kills, 15 digs) all had double-doubles.
Their younger freshman sisters were also scrappy on the defensive end. Cherilyn Molina picked up 15 digs and McKayla Ventura added 10 digs.
Jessica Akiona slammed 20 kills, Peri Green hit everywhere for 16 kills and Savana Breene knocked down 15 kills to lead the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up Panthers (10-7).
The Wildcats are the defending Division II state champions, and when they needed to draw on that big-game experience they did.
“It was determination,” Konawaena coach Ainsley Keawekane said. “That experience helped a lot. The girls were falling apart and were mad at each other (in the second set). I told them to remember what’s on our T-shirt, ‘Family, school and volleyball.’ Then they stuck together and that was really important.”
In a first-round sweep over Hana on Wednesday, 6-foot middle Breene had 13 kills and 5-7 outside hitter Green added 11 kills. The Panthers outhit the Dragons from Maui, .316-.067.
It was a much different story against the athletic Wildcats, who outslugged the Panthers, .192-159, and had more kills, 63-53.
Like the Wildcats, who return all their starters next season, La Pietra is good and young. Green is a sophomore while Breene and Akiona are freshmen. Green and Akiona are superb shot-makers like Chanelle Molina, and Breene is a big-time slugger.
However, the three Panthers accounted for 96 percent of the offense, and the Wildcats stacked their block accordingly. But Kona was outblocked, 10-5, because La Pietra is tall and mobile on the front line.
Konawaena won the first set 25-23 due to Chanelle Molina’s seven kills and her team’s balance with far better firepower, 19-10 in kills. It helped that middles Ventura and Ihi Victor combined for five kills to provide a diverse attack.
The Panthers had a lot of assistance to take the second set 25-22. Down 18-14, Konawaena committed nine unforced errors down the stretch to hand La Pietra a 24-22 lead.
Green, who has a tip, roll and cut shot, smoked six kills, and Akiona, a left-hander with a forceful swing, added three kills, including set point.
Hawaii Baptist 3, Hawaii Prep 0: Keri Lum put down 13 kills, and the third-seeded Eagles swept Ka Makani in a quarterfinal at Kaimuki High.
BIIF runner-up HPA (11-6) produced only 17 kills on 97 swings, hitting negative .021. Senior Gabbie Ewing led the way with eight kills.
Emily Wada added 11 kills for St. Francis (11-3), the ILH champion.
Radford 2, Honokaa 0: Noel Phillips had eight kills as the Rams eliminated the Dragons in a consolation match, 25-17, 26-24 at Kaimuki High.
Senior Monica Muskat finished her career with seven kills for Honokaa (10-9), the BIIF’s No. 3 team, while Randy Iona and Kayla Requelman each had five.