After wrapping up a perfect 16-0 regular season over the weekend, two-time defending state champion Konawaena will head into the Division II BIIF volleyball playoffs as the heavy favorites once again on Tuesday
But despite the Wildcats’ undefeated record, Konawaena head coach Ainsley Keawekane said the season wasn’t without its challenges.
“It was never a walk in the park for the kids. I was tinkering with finding the perfect lineup,” Keawekane said. “For most coaches there is never really a perfect lineup. Sometimes, something goes wrong and the lineup could have been right and it just did not show. Fortunately for us, I have a bench that I can call upon to do the job when they are asked to do it.”
While the lineup might not have been perfect in the eyes of the Wildcats’ head coach, it did produce a perfect record. The team has been led by Chanelle Molina up front, and she has had a great supporting cast around her which has included her sisters Celena and Cherilyn, as well as McKenna Ventura, McKayla Ventura and Ha’ena Keawekane.
Chanelle Molina has been her usual dominant self up front, knocking down kill shots with force and accuracy. However, Chanelle could not do what she does without the assistance of Celena, who has shown great timing and accuracy as the squad’s primary setter.
McKenna Ventura leads the team in blocks at the net, while McKayla Ventura, Cherilyn Molina and Ha’ena Keawekane are the service line aces.
When the Wildcats are healthy and clicking, they have been as dominant as any team in the state, but health has been a major concern for the team over the past month.
Celena Molina, Ha’ena Keawekane and Mercedes “Ihi” Victor have all been sidelined with injuries. But Victor — who was out four to five weeks with a back injury — and Keawekane — who missed time with a severely sprained ankle — are both back in the lineup as the team prepares for a playoff push. However, Celena Molina could possibly miss more time as she battles a shoulder injury.
While she has been out, McKenna Ventura has been filling the void in the center of the court.
“She has stepped up to become our setter and she is doing a beautiful job,” said Ainsley Keawekane.
With injuries and a best-of-five set up for the playoff games (the regular season was best-of-three) more emphasis will be put on the bench players when games matter the most over the next couple of weeks.
The regular season format means that the bench players are most likely coming in with a lot less work than they have had in previous seasons.
“Some coaches did not like the change to the regular season, but I think it teaches the kids how to get the job done right away,” Keawekane said. “But the best 3-out-of-5 format will definitely effect our stamina, so I have been preparing the team over the last couple of weeks to player smarter and not harder. The team that wins the fifth set will not be the team that is the most talented. It is the team that can make the right decisions late in the game under pressure.”
As for who poses the biggest threat to Konawaena heading into the playoffs, Keawekane said that all the coaches on the Big Island know who to prepare a team for the playoffs and any team could produce a potential spoiler game.
However, the biggest challenge to the team may be internal, as Keawekane tries to keep his girls from looking past the BIIF playoffs and into the HHSAA tournament.
“At times this season I have had to reel them back in because I don’t want them to look ahead to states,” Keawekane said. “They just get so excited about going and I have to tell them that we have to get into the BIIF playoffs first. We are trying to take it one game at a time.”
Konawaena will open the Division II playoffs on Tuesday with a quarterfinal home game against Christian Liberty at 6 p.m.