Konawaena defeated visiting Pahoa in four games 25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-15 in the opening round of the BIIF Division II playoffs on Tuesday night.
Konawaena advances to face No. 1 seed Ka‘u in the semifinals at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo on Friday.
The Wildcats were able to take advantage of Pahoa’s rotation by dominating the net when hard-hitting Dagger Torrell Thomas was isolated in the back row.
“This was a good win for us and the kids were kind of pumped,” Konawaena head coach Ainsley Keaweakane said. “It was a do or die and they stepped up and listened to instructions.”
The opening game went back and forth early on. A kill by Thomas tied the contest at 5-5, but he was soon forced to rotate to the back. Konawaena would take an 8-6 lead and then pull away, going on a roll behind Kalalena Santiago, who spiked the ball on consecutive occasions to put the Wildcats up 12-7.
Pahoa won the ball back but it was turned over quickly and Konawaena’s D’Angelo Vierra ended a run with three kills in a row to put his team up by nine. The Wildcats closed out the first game from there with Pahoa hitting the final point into the net.
Pahoa dominated the early minutes of the second game, taking a 12-4 lead behind Thomas, who could not be stopped, spiking and blocking at will when he was at the net. Once Thomas rotated to the back, Konawaena was able to make a charge, cutting the deficit to three.
The Wildcats tied the game at 16 behind the service game of John Kaawa and the net play of Anthony Ward. Ward then went to the line and nearly served out the match, putting his team up 24-17. Konawaena took the game when a shot was hit out of bounds by the Daggers.
The Wildcats could not find their rhythm early in the third game, giving points away with shots in the net and out of bounds. Pahoa struggled offensively as well, but held a slight two point advantage at 11-9 before Kaawa stepped to the line and tied the game at 11.
Thomas rotated back to the front and quickly blocked two shots to put the Daggers up 16-13. Thomas finally exited the front row with his team up 20-15, and the lead would hold.
“That kid is such a great athlete,” Keaweakane said. “He plays with a lot of heart but sometimes it takes a whole team to pull through and make a win happen.”
Konawanea hit around Thomas early in the final game, and the Wildcats were able to take an 8-3 advantage. Once Thomas rotated tot he back, the Wildcats increased their lead to 11. The lead would never be threatened and match point was won when Kaneala Kaaihue’s spike was blocked out of bounds by the Daggers.
In the other D-II first-round game, Hawaii Prep defeated Honokaa 25-13, 25-14, 25-13 to advance into the semifinals to face No. 2 seed Kohala on Friday.