There was excitement in the air every time Kayla Kahauolopua hit the ball.
The 5-foot-8 sophomore pounded 13 kills, and Waiakea swept Hilo 25-21, 25-18 in a BIIF Division I volleyball match on Tuesday night at the Warriors Gym.
It wasn’t just Kahauolopua who sparkled. The Warriors (4-0) received well-rounded performances from setters Hiilei Ishii-Chaves and Taniah Ayap, middle Kadara Marshall and libero Jordyn Hayashi, and defenders Casi Gacusana and freshman Makena Hanle.
Marshall added four kills while Ishii-Chaves and junior middle Cassie Emnase had three kills each.
In an interesting matchup, Waiakea stuck its best two blockers, Marshall and Ishii-Chaves, on Hilo sophomore outside hitter Kawai Ua, who had to work hard to earn her seven kills. The Marshall and Ishii-Chaves pair produced five blocks.
“Obviously, defense is a huge focus for us,” Waiakea coach Ashley Hanohano said. “We had to shut Kawai down. We practiced for her all the time. She’s an MVP-type hitter. To work our offense, we had to cover our defensive end first.
“I liked our intensity from the beginning. I felt like Hilo did a good job defensively.”
Alexus Paglinawan, a sophomore like Ua, chipped in with five kills for the Vikings (2-2), who were the opposite of the diverse Warriors and set mainly the left-side post.
Kahauolopua pounded four of Waiakea’s last five points to close the first set, 25-21. Tied 21-21, she showed her hitting versatility, slamming kills from the middle, down the line and splitting a double block.
“Kadara is going way over the block and she’s strong in the middle,” Hanohano said. “That allowed us to open up our wings. We wouldn’t be anywhere without our three players (Hayashi, Gacusana and Hanle) in the back. They were great at passing. I love having two setters. They have different mindsets and give us different options.”
Kahauolopua finished with seven kills in Game 1 to offset the combined production of Paglinawan, who had four kills, and Ua, who knocked down three kills.
She pointed to Waiakea’s defense as a key to the sweep.
“Our defense was on top of its game,” Kahauolopua said. “That made it easier for us to run our offense. I thought my hitting was good. I had a lot of adrenaline. I was hitting to wherever was open.”
The Vikings camped on Kahauolopua with double teams, but that opened the door for one-on-one swings for everybody else.
Once the Warriors started rolling, they started to look like championship material. Waiakea last won a BIIF title in 2009.
But coach Hanohano was in hold-your-horses mode. She still sees room for improvement. The Warriors did allow four aces.
“We still can improve,” she said. “We have things to work on. But this win tells me we’re heading in the right direction.”