Lady Governors volleyball defeats Maui Warriors
Photo by courtesy of Kahu Wong
Junior Kimani Fernandez-Roy blocks with precision, flanked by freshman Logan Spencer in the first round of the New City NIssan state volleyball championships at the Maui Warriors’ home gym, Oct. 24. The Farrington Governors won, 3-0, and advanced in the tournament.
Farrington girls volleyball won, 3-0, against Kamehameha Maui, in the first round of the state tournament at Ka’ulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium, Oct. 24.
In the first set, the Governors scored the first three points before the Warriors scored. From that point in the game, Farrington stayed a few points ahead of Kamehameha until they pulled ahead by nine points and led 15-24, just one point away from a win, but the Warriors dug deep and racked up nine points to tie at 24-24 with consecutive serves by Aliah Ayau and a final kill by Talia Leauanae.
When Farrington’s Shaniah Paleafei hit the next ball out, the stands went wild as Kamehameha Maui pulled into the lead 25-24, but a set must be won by two points, so the teams continued to play.
Governor Molimau Heimuli tipped the ball right over the net on the next play, fooling the Warriors and tying the score at 25-25, but Kimani Fernandez-Roy slammed the next ball back over and put the Warriors up one more time, this time at 26-25.
The Governors overpowered the Warriors with an ace by Paleafei followed by a ball that just dropped between a ring of Warriors, and Farrington won, 28-26.
Senior Kylee Yamashita shoots over the heads of Molimau Heimuli and Dayna Kahanu.
People in the crowd, throughout the game, were on their feet crying out cheers to encourage the players at this state-level event.
During the second set, the Warriors scored the first point but did not stay in the lead for long. The teams exchanged power spikes and played vigorously. In the end, the Lady Governors won the set, 25-19.
Coach Bala Spencer said,”It was not what we expected, but we didn’t give up or roll over.”
For the third set, Farrington quickly put up points and stayed ahead of Kamehameha until they had a 5-point lead at 12-7.
Then junior Aliah Ayau stepped up to serve. The momentum swung, and the Warriors eventually pulled into a 12-12 tie with the Governors.
After that, the teams matched each other point-for-point tying seven times until the score reached 23-23. People sitting in the stands chanted “Warriors” or “Governors” depending on which side they were sitting on.
As the ball was passed from one end of the court to the other the tension increased as the Warriors tried to stay in the game and keep their hopes of continuing in the state bracket, but the Governors got the last two points and ended the game, 25-23, with a slam by Paleafei and with Farrington winning all three sets.
With the ending of this game, the volleyball season also ended for the KS Maui girls.
Including pre- and post-season play the girls had an 18-7 win-loss record including games against mainland teams and schools from around the state.
Coach Bala attributed their winning season and qualifying for the state championship to the experience of the seniors, among other reasons.
“The leadership of this team and the four seniors it’s amazing. They are leaders on and off the court,” he said.
With five juniors, one sophomore, and five freshmen on the tournament team, the Warriors are looking to make a strong return to the court next year.
*Editor’s note: Errors in this article have been corrected. Corrected material is in italics. We regret the errors and mahalo those who brought them to our attention.
