Kealakehe is off to a promising start in the 2015 volleyball season with two straight wins, including a victory over the 2014 BIIF runner up Waiakea on opening night.
The Waveriders dropped the first set to The Warriors on Friday before surging back to win the next three sets and the match. Kealakehe won 20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23.
“We showed a lot of heart and we toughed it out,” said Waveriders coach Kahinu Lee. “We made a lot of mistakes but it is something we can work out. We stuck together and played as a team and that is what gave us the win.”
Kealakehe followed up the big win with a dominating three-set victory against Christian Liberty Academy on Saturday. The Waveriders won 25-7, 25-15, 25-16.
“We still have some fine tuning,” Lee said after the match with CLA. “But it was nice to get the boys working together and playing as a team.”
Kealakehe jumps out to a 2-0 record thanks to a dominating front line of blockers, led by Peni Kalavi, Jonah Kaulia, Kanoa Snively and Kaimi Wilson. The team also has two kill artists on the outside in Seth Lincoln and Brandon Leialoha.
Against Waiakea, the Waveriders had an early lead in the first set, going up 5-1 before Waiakea came back. At 12-all, the Warriors started to pull away thanks to a four point run. Kaniela Alviar picked up a couple of kills late in the set to lead Waiakea to a 1-0 advantage.
In the second set, Kealakehe again jumped out to a lead, going up 5-2. The Warriors served back into the match behind Alviar, who picked up five straight points. Late in the set, Lincoln and Leialoha turned the tide with a couple of kills. Kalavi also added a couple of points to tie the match at 1-1.
The Waveriders took the lead in the third set behind the net play of Kalavi and Snively. The duo was nearly impenetrable up front, picking up block after block. The scoring formula was the same in the third set with Kealakehe taking an early lead only to see Waiakea come back. The Warriors went up 11-7, but then the front line went to work. Kealakehe took the lead at 13-12 and never fell behind again to go up 2-1.
In the fourth set, Waiakea took a 6-2 advantage before the Waveriders went on a roll, going up 15-10. The service game of Keni Nakayama and Zach Coachola put the Warriors back in the match by cutting the deficit to one point. Waiakea then tied the set at 21 off the serve of Alviar. Kealakehe went up 23-21, but the Warriors tied the match once more. After taking over on serve and going up 24-23, Lincoln slammed down the winning point for the Waveriders.
Against CLA on Saturday, Kealakehe pulled away early, In the first set, the Waveriders went up 12-3 behind the service game of Wilson and the net play of Kaulia and Leialoha. Lee cleared his bench in the second set and Kealakehe continued to dominate, going up 5-0. They never looked back for the straight set win.