LAIE, Hawaii — Two weeks before the New City Nissan/HHSAA girls volleyball state tournament, Kamehameha coach Chris Blake took a page from “Hoosiers,” the classic film about the upstart Hickory High basketball team that improbably won the 1952 Indiana state title.
Blake and the Warriors traveled up to BYU-Hawaii’s George Q. Cannon Activities Center and pulled out the measuring tape.
“The net’s still going to be 7-(feet)-4, the court’s going to be 60 feet,” Blake recounted of the lesson on Nov. 9, the night before the state final. “It’s a little different with the sight lines … but volleyball’s volleyball no matter what the venue is.”
The Cannon was a new site for a girls volleyball state championship in Hawaii; the state boys tournament was also there last spring as a result of the Neal Blaisdell Center’s renovations and Stan Sheriff Center’s unavailability.
In the end, the coach was right — the location made no difference. The dynastic Warriors prevailed on the North Shore on Nov. 10, just as they have in the Hilo Civic Auditorium, in Upcountry Maui, in the NBC and in the SSC under Blake.
Kapalama took Punahou’s best blows and threw them back at the Buffanblu in the endgame of a 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22 battle.
It was the 24th Division I girls volleyball state title for the Warriors. In the HHSAA's primary team sports of football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball, only the Punahou boys volleyball program has been more successful in state history, with 39 titles, including the last 10.
The Kamehameha girls have been nearly as dominant over the last two decades; Friday was their 12th title in the last 18 years of state competition, with trophies hoisted at six different state tournament sites since 2005.
But this year the Warriors were coming off something unprecedented in Blake’s tenure — a complete absence from the state tournament, a first for Kapalama since 2001. Injuries contributed to Na Koa’s early demise and what became a long offseason.
“Proud of our team. It’s been a long 12 months leading up to our season,” Blake said in the post-match euphoria at BYUH. “Did a lot of reflection, both as a staff and as a program. Things have to evolve and we were proud of the way the girls (did).”
While he said that a strong conditioning program under Vern Lilly has been a constant, last year the team was not able to do its standard regimen as a consequence of lingering COVID-19 restrictions. Work on the track, in the weight room and with plyometrics — all things players can expect to encounter at the next level — resumed.
“We went back to basics in terms of that and it was a key part for us to do that kind of work this year,” Blake said.
Following sweeps of Moanalua and Baldwin and the tense title game against Punahou, hitter Adrianna Arquette, middle Tia Kapihe and setter Emma Lilo were named to the all-tournament team.
Arquette, a University of Hawaii signee, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after putting down 17 kills with a match-high 18 digs and six block assists.
Punahou had lost four straight ILH matchups to its rival coming into the championship, but had proven it could win on the right night with its five-setter at home over the Warriors in September. Senior utility hitter Lulu Uluave, a BYU commit, played up to the moment with 18 kills and 17 digs.
Coach Tita Ahuna went to backup hitter Indigo Clarke with starter Haumea Marumuto struggling early. Marumoto was limited to two kills, but Clarke responded with nine — including two crucial kills late in Set 2. Her shot down the right sideline evened the match at 1-1.
“She did a fantastic job off the bench,” Ahuna said. “We knew that we were going to need her sometime in the game.”
The Buffanblu kept the momentum going into Set 3, which setter Rella Binney opened up with a solo block of Arquette. Punahou had a 18-16 lead, then fell behind 23-20. Punahou rallied back within one before Kapihe and Arquette put down kills for a 2-1 lead.
“We definitely gave as much heart as we could,” said Binney, who had 42 assists, 12 digs, two aces and two blocks. She is bound for the University of Texas.
“When it did click, it was our focus, our discipline and doing our jobs on the court,” Binney said. “And when it wasn’t, it was just unfocused. We came short and it’s a bummer but they are a great team.”
Kamehameha middle Aloha Chun went out with an injury scare midway through the match but Blake was able to go to Sydney Cazimero the rest of the way, even with Chun later cleared.
Things appeared lost for the Buffanblu as they trailed 18-11 in Set 4, only for them to make a last stand and run off eight straight points for a 19-18 Punahou lead.
“It’s the last game. You gotta leave it all on the court. We gave it our all, we fought to the end, so I can’t be mad about that,” Binney said.
But the Warriors showed the poise of a champion and captured the next three points to reassert control at 23-20. Uluave put down a kill and Reese Teves served an ace to get Punahou back within one, but the back-breaker was a marathon point that ended with Kamanao Goldstein’s kill through a double block at the left pin.
Blake called it “one of the best plays that I’ve been a part of.”
Said Arquette of the rally, “Both teams’ defense were good. Blocking, the hustle. Emma Lilo … really did a good job of distributing the ball and yeah, we were able to put it down.”
Lilo said long rallies are a specific scenario that the Warriors train for.
“Being able to stay engaged and be aggressive on the last swing (is key), and Kama did a great job on that,” Lilo said.
Senior Kalei Watson, who had to carry the load at hitter for Kamehameha late last season when key teammates were injured, was superb as a back-row option with 17 digs. Like every match, she wore her trademark pink arm sleeve to support breast cancer awareness.
“It was a different kind of energy,” said Watson, who is bound for Utah Tech to play with her old Warriors teammate and friend Marley Roe, of the final push. “We came together as one as a team, and I felt like that was going to take us to the end. The end part of the game we knew was our game, and we just kept fighting, didn’t let any balls drop and that’s why we knew we were going to (take it).”
Kala Chock, who came up huge in the final with 16 kills on .394 hitting, put it down on match point and the Warriors, so unused to what happened last year, dogpiled on the bouncy BYUH floor.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.