Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i’s annual boys volleyball tournament concluded on Saturday, ending two long days of action.
Hawaii Baptist Academy defeated Mililani High 2-1 (25-15, 25-21, 15-9) to win the gold bracket championship, while Waipahu High swept University Lab School 2-0 to win the silver bracket final.
Participating teams played a day and a half worth of pool play matches, then on Saturday, the top two teams in each pool advanced to the gold bracket — while the lower-ranking teams continued to the silver bracket.
18 teams took part in the tourney, nine from O‘ahu and nine from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) — KS-Hawai‘i, Hilo High, Waiakea High, Kea‘au High, Kealakehe High, Kohala High, Konawaena High, Pahoa High and Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo PCS.
Of the BIIF teams, four made it to the gold bracket — KSH, Hilo, Waiakea and Konawaena. KSH went the furthest, entering the final four — where they lost 2-0 to HBA (25-21 and 25-22). KS-Hawai‘i ended the tournament in the third-place match, where it lost 2-0 to ‘Iolani School.
KSH and the Vikings clashed in gold bracket play, and the Warriors knocked Hilo out 2-0 (25-19, 25-14). Konawaena and Waiakea met in the first round of the gold bracket, in which the Wildcats emerged victorious 2-0 (25-14, 25-14). Kona was knocked out of the quarterfinals by Mililani, 2-1 (25-22, 17-25, 15-8). After their losses, Hilo and Konawaena each fell in consolation matches against Waialua High and Kalani High, respectively.
BIIF boys volleyball will come into full swing this week with 15 matches slated — three on Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, two on Thursday, three of Friday and two on Saturday.
KS-HAWAI‘I
The tournament was a great starting point and trial run for the defending BIIF Division I champions, who are entering a new era after graduating a number of last year’s seniors — many of them starters.
“The big difference is that we lost six seniors,” KSH head coach Sam Thomas said. “We lost our starting center, we lost our starting middle, we lost our outside hitter and our libero. So pretty much, we tried to backfill from the season. We have six new seniors who have some talent, so it should be an interesting season.”
Despite all the turnover, the Warriors are not young or green — with many new seniors stepping up and ScoringLive All-Hawaii Third-Team selection Kullen Pua entering his junior year.
At this point, it’s all about figuring out where everyone fits.
Thomas said that three of his most prominent seniors are Loheau Boshard, Kalena Launiu and Kahili Paleka.
“Those three look very promising,” Thomas said. “We’ve also got a good bunch of middles. Tanoa Latiti’s a sophomore, but he’s advanced his skills and is about 6’1. On the opposite side, we have Kala Makaike and Nainoa Paio — those are really good players.”
