Warriors overcome Nā Aliʻi win streak
Photo by Aaron Veincent
Seniors Hanalei Hoopai-Sylva and Keahi Jacintho jump for a block against Nā Aliʻi. The Warriors got their first win in four years against Nā Aliʻi, Saturday, April 15, at their home gym.
The Kamehameha Maui Warriors brought home their first win against King Kekaulike in four years Saturday night at Kaʻulahenuiokamoku.
Although they lost against Nā Aliʻi early on in the season, the Warriors gained experience with their style of play and were able to make adjustments. They also reported for the game with a full roster, which added to their ability to win.
“We were missing a few key players that day [of the first loss], which, if we had, we probably could’ve won that night,” junior Noa Vierra said.
The night’s game against their strongest rival meant a lot for the team since all members were present.
“If we win our next two games, which one is against King Kekaulike, we will be first and guaranteed to go to states,” team captain Austin Peters said, regarding the upcoming MIL tournament games.
Winning that night against King Kekaulike, meant they have a higher possibility of placing first in the MIL tournament, April 26-28, since Nā Aliʻi has been their biggest threat, “although we’re already guaranteed the second seed in the MIL tournament,” Peters said.
With that in their mind, this night’s game had a lot riding on it, but the Warriors played a tight and strong game starting with their first set and a close win of 25-21.
After that Nā Aliʻi started to make careless mistakes in the second set and weren’t fully covering the court.
Meanwhile the Warriors kept their firm push, keeping to smart play and resulting in them winning the second set 25-18.
Going into the third set, the Warriors began to fall short.
Both the team captain and head coach agreed that the boys’ passes were not great.
“Serves also got to be in, that’s another setback we have that we cannot let happen,” head coach Robert Brede said.
The team also had a lot of balls slipping through uncovered areas on the court. The warriors lost the third set 21-25.
Going into the fourth set, the team was reminded of what was on the line, and they entered the fourth set strongly motivated.
“King Kekaulike is our biggest rival, and over four years we were never able to beat them. So to finally come in, we knew we could beat them, and we wanted to prove that,” senior Hanalei Hoopai-Sylva said.
With a quick change of their mind-set, the team came out victorious through their tight set of going up-and-up. The final score was 25-22.
The next game for the Warriors will be Tuesday, Apr 18, at home at 6 p.m. against Maui High.
For the full game schedule and score updates click here.
