The volleyball girls of KS Maui came out winners in both JV and varsity matches over the Baldwin Bears last night at a packed and sultry Baldwin High School gym. Both JV and varsity won three sets with JV scoring 25-20, 21-18, and 21-13 and varsity scoring 25-13, 27-25, and 25-21.
The varsity game was a heated one between two top competitors. The first set began with a runaway lead by the Warriors. Junior Leimana Kane had a 7-point service run right at the start, and the Bears could never catch up, committing error upon error.
But, the Bears returned to the court in the second set ready to compete. They took an early lead, and the Warriors trailed or barely led until the game reached 20-20. The Warriors hung on until a kill by junior Sienna Davis tied the game at 25-25. The Bears’ middle blocker Taylor Badois mistimed a jump, putting the Warriors up by one, and a kill by Kane ended the set with the Warriors leading 27-25.
Davis was on fire in last night’s games, making multiple kills throughout the night.
She said, “Our defense did a really good job. Our blockers were helpful, and so was the crowd. We expected a lot of people, and that helps to get us all excited and do better. I felt like I was on it.”
The third set was equally exciting. It was up and up all the way when an 8-point service run by sophomore Taylor Awai rallied the Warriors and took the score from 16-19, Bears, to 24-19, Warriors. Play was intense, with each team fighting for every point, but the game ended, 25-21, with a final point awarded to the Warriors when the Bears hit the ball into the net.
Coach Bala Spencer acknowledged Baldwin as one of the lady Warriors’ biggest competitors.
“It’s because we know each other well; we know each other’s tendencies. Baldwin plays on strong emotions, they play their hearts out. So in practice, we put the girls in situations they might run into on the court. We prepare to play for states. They practice to play us,” Coach Bala said.
Earlier in the evening, the JV matches were no less intense. The first set of the JV game, was up and up with multiple service errors by the JV Warriors, compared to the Bears who committed few. However, as the match went on, the Warriors warmed up, started playing together, and rose to the Bears’ challenge, pulling out the first Warrior win of the night.
They started the second set behind, giving up the first four points to the Bears, but pushed by Kelia NeSmith’s service run of five points, the Warriors took the lead.
NeSmith said, “I was happy that I got serves in because it was helpful for my team to win.”
From there, the JV Warriors led the second set, though the Bears rallied for four points bringing the score to 16-11 mid-game. The second set ended with a kill by freshman Tiare Laufou and a win for the Warriors.
The Warriors led throughout the third practice set and won that one as well, 21-13.
