Nā Aliʻi put away boys volleyball in three sets

Hanalei+Hoopai-Sylva+and+Hanalei+Alapai+block+King+Kekaulike%CA%BBs+Nakuluai+Morando+during+their+game+on+Wednesday%2C+March+9%2C+at+Ka%CA%BBulaheanuiokamoku+Gymnasium.+N%C4%81+Ali%CA%BBi+won+the+game%2C+3-0.

Photo by Quinn Williams

Hanalei Hoopai-Sylva and Hanalei Alapai block King Kekaulikeʻs Nakuluai Morando during their game on Wednesday, March 9, at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium. Nā Aliʻi won the game, 3-0.

After three tough sets, the Kamehameha Maui boys volleyball team suffered their second loss of the season, this time to King Kekaulike, 0-3, Wednesday night at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium.

“I think we made every error that you can make in volleyball,” coach Robert Brede said.

Nā Aliʻi, who stole all three sets, maintained a good lead throughout the game, allowing Kamehameha Maui to lead only twice, once at the beginning of the night and again at the beginning of the third set. The game ended with all three sets going to Nā Aliʻi, 25-15, 25-13, and 25-14.

“I think we were all disappointed in tonight’s game, but its good for us to see what we have to work on as  a team,” junior Hanalei Hoʻopai-Sylva said.

Coach Brede said the team wasn’t in the game mentally, and they “dwelled on mistakes instead of rebounding,” which was a large issue in this game.

But it didn’t begin that way. The Warriors led the game in the first set by 3 points, but later allowed Nā Aliʻi to catch up and win. The Warriors led again in the beginning of the third set by 2 points, until Nā Aliʻi eventually surpassed them.

Coach Brede also said that everything they were making mistakes with today, they had practiced.

“Mentally, it didn’t register,” he said.

The two teams were unevenly matched from the outset, with only two seniors and eight juniors on the Kamehameha side compared to five seniors and five juniors on the King Kekaulike side.

Coach Brede put in players who don’t usually see time on the court to try to change the momentum of the game.

“They need to go with confidence,” he said.

Hoʻopai-Sylva agreed that the team needed more confidence.

“We should have stayed a bit more focused and confident in ourselves,” he said.