KEAAU — It becomes sort of a feeding frenzy when Kamehameha’s water polo team annually ventures to Oahu for preseason competition, and all too often the Warriors are the bait.
But that’s the point of the trip. Coach Dan Lyons is happy to throw his girls into the deep end of the pool against state juggernaut Punahou. The sink-or-win dynamic once again was on display last week during a trip to Iolani’s tournament.
“I learned that we have a lot to learn,” senior Emma Kanoa said Thursday at Naeole Pool. “The best thing that happened on Oahu was we kept our patience. Even though we knew we weren’t necessarily going to win the game, we learned a lot.”
The Warriors usually put their knowledge to good use on the Big Island.
After a stinging defeat in 2017 that ended the program’s BIIF reign and kept it home from the state tournament, Kamehameha started last season in usual fashion. Playing Punahou’s backups in the preseason, coach Dan Lyons proudly recounted that the Warriors fell 22-3. But they went on to claim their first unbeaten BIIF campaign since 2014 with an eighth crown in nine seasons, and by the time they got to states they were ready to challenge the Buffanblu’s first-teamers in the semifinals.
Punahou pulled away en route to winning its 11th title in a row, but the Warriors’ season-long improvement wasn’t lost on senior Aleia Awai, the team kahu.
“It was more about mindset,” Awai said. “We grew in confidence and we grew in understanding ourselves in what we can do.”
It will come as no surprise to their BIIF rivals that the Warriors figure to be able to accomplish a lot more this season.
In one of five matches scheduled for its pool Saturday, Kamehameha will hit the water against Kealakehe, the two-time league runner-up, with what Lyons thinks is perhaps his largest team, 30-plus players, and one of his fastest.
Kanoa, one of three all-BIIF first-team returnees along with Aubrey Carter and Nani Spaar, is primed to step into the role vacated by Lahela Rosario, who loomed large at the 2-meter set position and was the 2018 BIIF player of the year.
“It’s definitely a lot more pressure,” Kanoa said, “because Lahela was the backbone of our team last year. I did learn a lot from her. I was attached to her all of the time, and I’m prepared to be the 2-meter player.”
As the Warriors ruled the BIIF from 2010-16, one of the program’s secrets was that, by and large, it stayed on top without the benefits of many accomplished swimmers on their roster.
That’s no longer the case. Carter, Spaar and Noe’ula Lindsey ignited the Warriors to silver in the 200-meter relay at the BIIF championships and a sixth-place finish at states, and Carter was a bronze medalist at BIIFs in the 50 free.
“There is only one ball, what we have to do is figure out how to do things in more of a collective way,” Lyons said. “Emma could be a person we count on more, but I think we’re going to see Aubrey and Cassidy (Farias) play different roles.
“The thing about Aubrey is she is competitive and she’s very athletic, and she’s going to use her athleticism however we need it.”
Carter and Farias, an honorable mention selection last season as a junior, are listed as attackers, but Lyons doesn’t like to pigeon hole them into certain spots. That’s also the case with Spaar, who can use the length that helped make her co-BIIF Division I volleyball player of the year as junior in a variety of roles in water polo.
“Probably the best goalkeeper in the state,” Lyons said, “but she’s a great 2-meter defender as well, and we’re just learning that.”
Awai could play goalkeeper if Spaar is needed elsewhere, and Lyons is high on the potential of Lindsey and fellow sophomore Ocean Akau, who shined in the preseason.
“They’re going to step up,” he said, “and it’s going to be a case of asking, ‘Where did they come from?”’
Kamehameha was able to play nine matches on Oahu, just one fewer than during the regular season. As with any campaign, Lyons hopes the arc of improvement begins Saturday and steadily rises until the end of the season.
“I think our team is really great and really close,” Awai said. “I like the bond that we have. Sometimes it’s serious and sometimes it’s not. I really like that about us.”
The Warriors and two of their senior leaders also appear to have good memories. Awai pointed to the loss against Kealakehe in the 2017 BIIF semifinals as a lingering “anxiety” that no one wants to see repeated.
“I think we’re still motivated since that loss,” Kanoa said, “and we are coming to win again. Still. It never ends.”