The boys volleyball team lost their first game of the Division I Maui Interscholastic League competition to the Baldwin Bears at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium on March 19, 2013. The Warriors lost all three sets, by just a few points each.
“The game was exciting enough,” Warriors Head Coach Robert Brede said, “but it was still a little disappointing.”
The Warriors and Bears went nearly point-for-point during the beginning of the first set. Opposite hitter Christian Martin Chu scored the first kill of the game.
When the Bears started to gain a lead on the Warriors, they made small errors that allowed the Warriors to slowly catch up.
“KS scored a lot on our errors in the beginning,” Bears Head Coach Kalei Houpo said. “They did well on converting our errors into points.”
The Warriors and Bears struggled to gain the winning two-point lead at the end of the first set, but the Bears eventually came out on top, 30-32.
“They simply made fewer errors than we did,” Coach Brede said.
The Bears were able to get a four-point lead on the Warriors early in the second set by cutting down on the number of errors that they made in the first set. At the same time, the Warriors increased in the number of their errors, and communication broke down in the middle of the set.
The Warriors rallied from a six-point deficit to take the lead for the first time at 21-20. Junior libero Walter Kaeo was strong with service returns and digs, and the Warriors made nine kills, but their run stalled, and they lost the set 21-25.
“We relaxed and woke up in the second set,” Coach Houpo said.
The third set was a repeat of the second with the Warriors lagging behind by five points or so, rallying to within a point of the lead at 20-11, but ultimately losing with the same score, 21-25.
“We had some trouble with communication,” Coach Brede said. “The team doesn’t put each other down, but they get quiet when they are frustrated,” he said.
Fans also got a look at the skills of sophomore Anson Souza, who played a solid third set as a defensive specialist, on a team comprised mostly of seniors.
The Warriors play at the Iolani Invitational this weekend, but they’ll be back on Maui for their away game against Seabury Hall on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m.
