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LAIE, Hawaii — The Kamehameha girls volleyball team again met the moment that mattered most.
The Warriors ceded five of six matches to rival Iolani during the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season, but for the second straight year, their late-season polish matched that of the gleaming wooden floor of the Cannon Activities Center at BYU-Hawaii. Kamehameha put together its best match of the season in a 25-16, 25-16, 15-25, 25-22 defeat of the ILH champion Raiders in the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I final on Saturday night.
It was Kamehameha's record-25th title in the sport, and fourth in the last five editions of the state tournament. Thirteen of them have come under coach Chris Blake.
Punahou and University Lab are next with nine titles.
[Note: See below for more photos of the HHSAA girls volleyball championships.]
Blake called it a complete team win from players, coaching staff and support staff.
“Our goal has always been to play our best match at the last match of the season," Blake said. "We had to get better every time, and that’s one of our mantras, to always improve every opportunity that we have."
In the Division II final earlier Saturday at BYUH (see below), Hawaii Baptist Academy swept Le Jardin for the Eagles’ fifth title, and first since 2015. Coach Myles Shioji was at the helm for all five.
Kamehameha (12-6) grew increasingly competitive in its outings against Iolani (14-2) as the season progressed. The Warriors, who made sophomore Tiahna Aldeguer their primary setter late in the season, took a match off the Raiders in the ILH tournament and had a chance to force an additional playoff game before falling.
At this time last year, Aldeguer was a freshmano on the JV who was sick at home and had to watch Kamehameha's four-set state title win over Punahou at the Cannon Center on TV.
"I cannot believe it, at all," she said. "Last year I did not think I’d be starting and playing and winning a state championship."
Echoing her coach, she called it a total team win.
The Warriors’ top pin hitters, Kala Chock and Kamana‘o Goldstein, put down 17 kills apiece Saturday as Aldeguer distributed 52 assists and dug 16 balls. Goldstein had 19 digs and libero Ashli Lum added 15.
Aldeguer credited Lum for more than just her digs stat.
"Ash went off," she said. "Not only her skill, but her mindset was so good today. It’s always good, but today she held us together. She was like the glue of our team."
Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey credited Aldeguer for the Warriors' improved play over the last two weeks, in which Kamehameha took its first match of the season from Iolani in the ILH tournament and threatened to do so again in the next.
"Throughout the season they’ve kind of been moving some pieces around," Obrey said. "They made that change the last couple weeks going into the tournament, and it was a big help. They got some consistency. Got some reliability out of her. That kid played really well for them. In my opinion, that kid made that team a whole lot better for the last two weeks, for sure."
Iolani was going for its second state title in three years, but the moment proved elusive after the Raiders missed the state tournament last year. Clearly deflated when the first two sets didn't go their way, they staged an impassioned rally in the third and made a last stand from down 20-13 to within 21-20.
"We expect that from Iolani," Blake said. "They’re very well coached, they’ve got a lot of great players. For us, it’s important to continually trust the process of what we’re doing, and when it came down to it, we talked about how we’re built for this kind of play. Endgame’s our game, and we’re able to execute when it mattered the most right here, at the end part of Set 4."
Chock, a 5-foot-10 junior and tournament Most Outstanding Player, recorded a block and put down a kill to give the Warriors match point, but she rolled her ankle in the process.
"It was looking back and at the score and seeing that we’re right there," Chock said of pushing through. "I have to keep going, I have to do this for the team, for the Princess (Bernice Pauahi Bishop) and for the program."
Iolani's Annaura Reid-Gillet recorded a solo block on the first match point, a lengthy rally, before Kamehameha put it away on Chock's swing from the right pin.
The Warriors brought their best service game to bear Saturday — a steady diet of floaters. The Raiders seemed thrown off early by the deceitful knuckleballs; although Kamehameha had only two aces, Iolani was out of system for much of the first two sets, over which it hit .000. It was difficult for the Raiders' dynamic setter, Bailey Nakanelua, to get into a groove.
"We ran into a good serving team and we didn’t see it well," Obrey said.
He noted the youth of his team — more than half Iolani's roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores — and said the night would be a hard-earned lesson for a fresh push at a title next season.
"It doesn’t go your way, it hurts. Losing hurts," Obrey said. "It’s never fun, at any level, especially in a championship game. You come in with a plan and it just didn’t work out that way. You’ve got to again tip your cap to Kamehameha."
Poema Kalama-Kingma led Iolani with 13 kills and 15 digs. Senior hitter Callie Pieper added 17 digs, but was held to seven kills on 46 swings. Raiders junior setter Bailey Nakanelua had 29 assists, 11 digs and four kills.
"It’s going to be different for us next year because we’re losing some very important seniors to us," Nakakelua said, "so (we're) just using this loss as a motivation and bringing it to next year and using it something we can bring back and win this championship."
Kalamaku Crabbe had 12 kills and middles Alohalani Chun and Kealoha Lyons combined for 14 more and nine block assists for Kamehameha.
With a familiar blend of defense and patience, Hawaii Baptist Academy wore down opponents all season and finally claimed the HHSAA Division II trophy with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-16 sweep of Le Jardin at BYUH.
Most Outstanding Player Marisa Nakata led the Eagles (13-2) with 17 kills, 10 digs and two aces while Brooke Brennan supplied seven kills and three blocks.
Five Eagles had seven digs or more.
"It’s a part of us every year," said coach Myles Shioji, who has led HBA to all five of its girls titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2015). "You look at the matchups, the rosters on paper — we’re not particularly big. We have to do things really well with serve-receive, defend and keep balls alive. Keep rallies alive as long as possible and try to score points. It’s a point of emphasis every year."
He said this team, led by seven seniors, was particularly good at refreshing its emotions after each point, especially the good ones, to maintain focus.
Sydney Kennedy led the Bulldogs (11-5) with 15 kills.
Note: This story has been updated with interviews and photos.
Note: This story's primary photo caption has been updated to reflect that Alohalani Chun hugged Megan Chun. Another teammate was previously named.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.