The varsity volleyball girls continue to steamroll their way through the season with this week’s early wins over Baldwin High School on Saturday, Oct. 1, and Lahainaluna High School on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
In last night’s four sets against the Lunas, the Warriors won sets 1, 2, and 4, only giving up set 3 as Head Coach Bala Spencer rotated the entire team through the line-up.
After the Warriors won the first set with a commanding lead, 25-12, Coach Bala slowly began to introduce different mixes of girls into the play near the end of the second set, which they won 25-17. Junior Raven Poepoe was a strong factor in these sets, with many kills to her name.
In the third set, the two teams were evenly matched until the Lunas started to tighten up their offense and capitalize on Warrior errors. They ran up the scoreboard to 24-19, Lunas, and thought they had the game won once, but it was ruled that both sides touched the net on the play, and the point was re-played.
This time, the Warriors scored, and their hopes for a clean 3-set sweep were alive until the Lunas put the 25th point up and won, 25-22.
The final set was anybody’s game, with the teams matching each other point for point. Both teams were committing multiple errors. The Warriors struggled with working together in unfamiliar combinations, but in the end, they surged ahead and won 25-23.
And, on Saturday, Oct. 01, while many Maui residents enjoyed the third day of the Maui Fair, the girls volleyball Warriors took on the Bears at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku gym in a midday match.
The first set ended in a kill by outside hitter, junior Anuhea Kaiaokamalie. The final score was 25-16, Warriors.
In the second set, freshman Gabby Cordoba, the Bears’ defensive specialist, led the team to a 6-point lead early on with six unanswered serves in a row. That lead ended with a kill by junior Sheylin Patao, the Warriors’ opposite/outside hitter.
The Warriors were ahead for most of the game after that, until the Bears tied it up 20-20. The set ended 25-22 with another kill from Kaiaokamalie.
The third and final set began with the Warriors in the lead, the first four points scored with junior Bobbi Kalama serving. Then, Junior Sienna Davis, outside hitter for the Warriors, served as they went from a 2- to a 6-point lead, but the Bears stacked up the points as the set came to an end.
Head Coach, Bala Spencer said, “It was a good match. We worked on some stuff all week long. We like when matches are close and there is good competition.”
The Warriors showed their love for competition as they pulled together and ended the final set with kills by junior middle blocker Leimana Kane, Kaiaokamalie, and the final kill by Davis, winning the set with a final score of 28-26.
“We put a lot of intensity on the court, and went all out, and didn’t hold back,” Davis said.
Come out for the next Warrior home game this Thursday, Oct. 6, as the girls take on Maui High School. The JV game begins at 4:30 p.m., and the varsity game will begin at 6:00.
This will be their annual Dig Pink breast cancer awareness match, so they are asking supporters to wear pink to show unity against breast cancer. Opportunities to honor loved ones, get information about breast cancer, buy dig pink t-shirts, and win prizes will all be there.
Other Ka Leo O Na Koa staff contributed to the writing of this report.
