Four points behind at the end of the fourth set, the Maui Warrior boys volleyball team was defeated by the Baldwin Bears.  On Wednesday, April 13, at the Baldwin gymnasium, the undefeated Bears met the Warriors for the second time this season. 

Except for the third set in which the Bears were in front from the start, each set followed a familiar pattern. The Warriors would start out in the lead, the game would get tied up in the early to mid-teens, and the Bears would pull ahead.

The Warriors (3-6) won the second of the four sets against the Maui Interscholastic League champions.  The Warriors led through the first half of the set, but the Bears caught up and tied, 12-12.  At one point after that, the Warriors were behind by six points, but came back and sealed the win, 25-23.

In the fourth and final set of the night, the Warriors had attained an eight point lead, but the Bears came from behind, tied the set at 18-18 and then took the win, 25-21.

Sophomore setter Kekoa Uyechi said that the boys experienced “fatigue and [they] lost control and focus on what was key for each individual set.”

“We could have focused a lot more,” he said.  He felt it was “overplaying and a lot of errors” that affected the final score.

Leko Carvalho, a senior on the Bears team who plays middle, helped his team gain important points with several kills per set. Still, the scores were close.

“We could’ve done better. We made simple mistakes, but we’ve been practicing hard,” Carvalho said.  “They [the Warriors] did good too and gave us a fight.”

Despite the errors and fatigue that affected the Warriors in this game, the team and coaches have high hopes for the end of the season.

“We are overcoming some pitfalls and trying to get others to pick up quicker.  We set goals this week and met them,” Head Coach Robert Brede said.  “We can only get better,” he said.

The Warriors next chance to do that is Tuesday, April 19. They’ll take on King Kekaulike High School at 6:00 P.M. at King Kekaulike.