KEALAKEKUA — Konawaena kept its hopes alive to reach the HHSAA tournament for the eighth straight year on Monday with a dominating three-set victory over Honokaa in a BIIF Division II quarterfinal match at Ellison Onizuka Gym.
The Wildcats have not missed out on the state tournament since 2011, but Kohala ended the regular season on top to earn the automatic state berth for states, leaving the rest of the D-II schools to fight for a slot.
Konawaena defeated the Dragons 25-12, 25-17, 25-12 for the privilege of taking on Hawaii Preparatory Academy in the semifinals on Wednesday. The winner will advance to the title game on Thursday, as well as clinch a state tournament spot.
The Wildcats are hosting the semifinals for Division II, which start at 4 p.m.
Konawaena lost to Hawaii Prep in the regular season, but also played the game without heavy-hitting striker Keala Acol.
“Keala had a concussion and we did not have her when we played them last,” said Konawaena head coach Ainsley Keawekane. “It’s a tough blow when you lose a key player on the team, but we will have her this time so we will see if it makes a difference.”
In the Wildcats’ quarterfinal match, the team did not come out of the gate as well as Keawekane would have liked, but still took a 6-0 advantage in the first set behind the service game of Malie Grace and the hard hitting of Acol.
“It wasn’t as fast as I wanted the kids to come out tonight,” Keawekane said. “There was a little bit of confusion early on, but they figured it out, worked it out and were able to find their rhythm.”
During the opening six-point run, Acol picked up a block and two kills. She would be just as dominating all night.
“I think I played pretty well and kept safe by listening to all my coaches,” said the transfer student from Florida, who moved to the Big Island to play her senior season at Konawaena. “I love these girls like my sisters and we clicked really fast.”
Pi’ikea Purdy was a standout for the Dragons at the net early on in the match, helping her team fight back into contention when they closed the gap to 8-6. However, Grace picked up several kills in the back end of the set to help Konawaena pull away.
Acol closed out the opening set with two kills over the final four points and also picked up an ace for the final point. She made several tough digs in the game, showing her versatility, something the transfer student had not previously had the opportunity to do.
“Back in Florida, Keala was a middle,” Keawekane said. “But I told her she is not going to play middle for me, she is going to play right side and I may move her all over.”
This was perfectly acceptable to Acol, who told her coach she will ‘play wherever.”
“She is having the time of her life,” Keawekane added. “She learned to pass here, learn to dig balls here and I am glad we were able to share that with her.”
The second set was more of a back-and-forth battle between the two schools. Neither side picked up three straight points until mid-set, when the Wildcats took a 14-8 advantage off a kill by Acol. Acol finished the set with five kills and an ace.
Honokaa answered back with five points to close the gap to two, which was aided by Konawaena being out of rotation.
However, the Wildcats finished the second set on a seven-point run, which included three kills by Grace.
“She is like the silent beast, she never talks or voices anything, she just plays humble,” Keawekane said. “When we push her, she takes the next step.”
Also helping close out that second set run was Kailee Llanes-Kelekolio, who picked up a kill, and Marina Nitta, who added an ace.
The Dragons took their first leads of the contest in the final set, going up 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before Konawaena went on an 8-1 run. Acol, who was held quiet by a few timely Honokaa blocks early in the set, started to find a gap mid-set, picking up two kills on a five-point run to put her team up 18-8.
Kehaulani Faleofa also had a solid game at the net, which culminated with two blocks and a kill late in the third set.
“Keahau has been on in all of our games. She gets a lot of blocks,” Keawekane said. “That is all her job is as a blocker, touch as many balls as you can and redirect the ones you can’t.”
Grace closed out the set and the match with three straight kills to help the Wildcats advance, which also ending the season early for Honokaa for the second straight year.
“We played really well today,” Grace said. “As for Hawaii Prep, I think we need to just communicate more, but also play how we have played our last two games against Honokaa and Kohala.”