The KS Maui boys volleyball Warriors lost their battle against the Seabury Spartans tonight, March 29, 2012, at the KSM gym. The Spartans won all three sets with the Warriors coming closest in the second set.
“We came out slow in the beginning,” Junior Kahiau Andrade said.
“Even though we lost tonight,” Head Coach Robert Brede said. “It was a big improvement from Tuesday’s game.”
The Warriors lost to the Maui High Sabers on Tuesday night at the KS gym in a three-set series that started out competitively with the Warriors and Sabers going point for point in the first set, but the Warriors lost momentum in the final two sets that were marked by lackluster play.
In tonight’s game, the Spartans gained an early five-point lead against the Warriors in the first set. The Warriors were able to come within two points of the lead early in the set, but they could not catch the Spartans.
Tonight’s Warriors were completely different from the athletes of Tuesday night. They scrambled for the ball and scored on many incredible and, sometimes, iffy plays.
Halfway through the first set, in one of the night’s interesting plays, the ball bounced off senior Koa Rodrigues’ shoulder, returning it over the net on the single hit, and scoring a point for the Warriors when the Spartans were caught unprepared.
Despite their scrappy play, the Warriors lost the first set, which ended 15-25 with a kill by the Spartans.
The Warriors stayed close to the Spartans in the second set. The Warriors started with a short lead over the Spartans early in the set, but the Spartans tied it up several times, eventually taking the lead and winning the set.
“They [the Warriors] pulled it together in the second set,” Coach Brede said. “We kept it at least at a two-point difference.”
“It showed that we could keep up with one of the best teams on Maui,” Andrade said.
The fans were treated to another spectacular play in the second set when Kekoa Uyechi, attempting to save a ball, slid from the sidelines almost headfirst into the bleachers.
The end of the second set was also full of excitement. The Warriors pulled into a tie with the Spartans, 22-22. Bringing the score to 23-24 on the next serve, the Warriors had a chance to win the set, but the Spartans scored their final point when, thinking a ball would land out of bounds, the Warriors let it go. The ball was deemed good, and the second set ended 23-25.
The two-point win was too close of a call for the Spartans.
“I hated the second set,” Spartan Coach Caleb Palmer said. “I don’t like the lack of urgency we had on the team.”
Early in the third set, the Spartans gained a large lead over the Warriors and kept the Warriors at three points until the Spartans had thirteen and a ten-point lead.
“We had many service errors and passing errors,” Coach Brede sad.
The third set ended 14-25 with the Warriors’ final serve hitting the net and securing the win for the Spartans.
“Any time your team can get a win, it’s really important,” Coach Palmer said.
The Warriors will be looking for their next win when they play Na Alii at the King Kekaulike gym on Tuesday, April 2, 2012, at 6 pm.
