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Koa Laboy

University Lab volleyball  •   #32    

A few months ago, the near-future did not look so promising for Koa Laboy and the University Lab School boys' volleyball team.

Not long after standout pin hitter Trey Ambrozich suffered a back injury late in the basketball season that would force him to miss the upcoming volleyball season, Laboy – the Jr. ‘Bows' left side hitter – suffered a severely-sprained ankle that brought with it a bleak prognosis.

"Koa got hurt in the beginning of our season," UH Lab coach Jonah Reyes recalled of the injury that took place just two weeks into the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular season.

"He had a pretty bad ankle sprain in our first match against Le Jardin and he was having a great match," Reyes added.

Laboy, a 6-foot-3 junior and six-rotation player, had just returned from a USA Volleyball clinic in Colorado when the injury occurred.

"The doctor said he would be out six-to-eight weeks – pretty much out for the season – but he and his mom said, ‘We'll be fine.' He scraped it and massaged it and was spending a lot of time in rehab – he said it the most painful thing he had in his life and he's had torn ACLs before – so he rehabbed really hard and tried to get back as soon as he could," Reyes said.

Eventually Laboy did return to full form and in his absence, the Jr. ‘Bows were able to build depth.

"We were lucky enough to have a team good enough and skilled enough to work hard and uphold our standards of where we want to be and help us achieve these goals we set as a team," Reyes detailed.

With reigning ILH Division II Player of the Year Micah Nakasato – the lone senior on the team – pulling the strings from the setter position, University Lab was able to run the table and finish 11-0 in league play, which culminated with a second straight ILH title.

The ‘Jr. Bows were seeded first in last week's New City Nissan/HHSAA D2 State Championships. In Thursday's quarterfinal-round sweep of Kau, Laboy recorded 15 kills, nine digs, three aces, two block assists and one assist. He followed that up by putting down 23 kills with seven digs, two aces and one block assist in Friday's sweep of Molokai in the tournament semifinals.

"If you saw the Molokai game, you'd see that Koa hits a really heavy, really fast ball. He's gritty and a hard worker. He's just a gamer and a competitor and he jumps well," Reyes said.

Laboy, who has been a captain since his freshman year, took his production to another level in Saturday's championship match against Le Jardin. He took 98 total swings and finished with 40 kills, 21 digs, three aces and one block assist to lead his team in the five-set victory, UH Lab's third in as many tries against the Bulldogs this year.

"It's really hard to beat a team three times and so it was a big relief to be able to close that out, so I feel a sense of relief, I feel happy for the kids – they really deserve it. They worked really hard for this. It's something they all truly wanted and I think it was wanted more than individual playing time," Reyes said.

He went on: "Everybody who wasn't in the starting lineup asked themselves, ‘what role can I play to help achieve these goals that we set as a team,' and they challenged our starting team in practice and ran drills to be the best we can be."

In three state tournament matches last week, Laboy tallied 167 total swings. He notched 78 kills against 29 errors for .293 hitting percentage, along with 37 digs, eight aces, four block assists and one assist.

"Koa is a great offensive player, but he's not just an offensive player. We pride ourselves on the fact that we're a serve-and-pass team, so we have some really good passers and a really good setter and Koa is always one to bring up his setters and passers, but just the fact that he could come back from an injury and play three games in a row – I don't think there's many high school kids that can take between seventy-five and a hundred swings three nights in a row," Reyes stated.

Laboy was subsequently selected by media covering the state tournament as its Most Outstanding Player. His athletic ability, however, is only part of the story with Laboy.

"He's also just a really good kid. He's really humble, he's always trying to get better, he's in the gym pushing his teammates with the understanding that if he can get his teammates better, it's going to help him and the team as a whole. He'll always work and inspire, even partner up with the freshmen on the JV team and things like that," Reyes said.

Although Laboy is supremely talented on both the volleyball and basketball courts, he is able to strike a balance between being ultra-competitive and an endearing teammate.

"There's kids that are there to have a good time and sometimes that fun can take away from growing, from getting better, from winning and then there's some kids there to win and they're so serious that that takes away from having fun and I think Koa is a perfect example of that balance of being able to have fun, but also taking it serious and getting better," Reyes said.

The state championship is a program first for the Jr. ‘Bows, who reached the title game a year ago but lost to Saint Louis in four sets. Reyes said the heartache of that defeat fueled Laboy and the rest of his players on their run to a state crown this spring.

"Sometimes losing is a really good teacher and we found that to be true. Nobody wanted to feel that again this year and so when we got in the gym we all looked at ourselves and assessed, ‘where can we get better?,' " Reyes said, "and Koa really stepped up and we were able to get better in the season, during the season we were able to get better and this time the chips fell our way."

Reyes noted that one consistent trait about Laboy is his tendency to get better the deeper the match goes.

"He's kind of a freak of nature in that respect and he just loves the game so much that even if he's tired he's gonna play as hard as he can. Even if he's injured, he's gonna work to get back and coming back from that injury as fast as he did says a lot and he's just such a good teammate that he's able to feed off of his teammates and his teammates are able to feed off of him just because of that energy that he brings," Reyes described.

In addition to Laboy, Nakasato was also named to the all-tournament team at last week's state tournament.  

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Jericho Adolpho, Molokai — Had 18 kills, 11 digs and one solo block in a three-set win over Waialua 

Nalu Akana, Punahou — Had 29 assists, 11 digs, six kills, two block assists, one solo block and an ace in a three-set win over Mililani and had 10 kills, 23 assists, six digs, one solo block and one block assist in a four-set loss to Kamehameha 

Lansyn Amigo, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 39 digs, two aces and one assist in a five-set win over Castle 

Aukanalii Arcala, Castle — Had 18 kills, five block assists and two digs in a five-set loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Loheau Boshard, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 17 kills, four block assists and one dig in a five-set win over Castle 

Kaleb Cui, Kailua — Had 27 kills, seven digs, two aces, one solo block, one block assist and one assist in a four-set loss to Konawaena 

Tyler Duranceau, Mililani — Had 22 kills, eight digs, one block assist and an ace in a four-set win over Aiea and had 16 kills, seven digs and four block assists in a four-set win over Kamehameha 

Roman Felipe, Roosevelt — Had 45 assists, eight digs, two kills and two block assists in a four-set win over Maui 

Mark Fitzgerald, Island School — Had 22 digs and three assists in a five-set loss to Le Jardin 

Michael Fitzgerald, Island School — Had 13 kills, 14 digs, three aces, two solo blocks, one block assist and an assist in a five-set loss to Le Jardin and had 11 kills, 10 digs and one block assist in a three-set win over Waialua 

Elijah Flores, Le Jardin — Had 26 kills, 10 digs, one solo block and an ace in a five-set win over Island School, had 22 kills, 13 digs, three aces, one block assist and one assist in a five-set win over Konawaena and had 31 kills, 12 digs and one block assist in a five-set loss to University Lab 

Jake Heidsleck, Le Jardin — Had 19 digs, four kills, one solo block and an ace in a five-set loss to University 

Elau Hoopai-Waikoloa, Molokai — Had 15 kills, four digs, two assists and one solo block in a three-set loss to Konawaena 

Bodhi Jones, Island School — Had 29 kills, four digs, two block assists and one solo block in a five-set loss to Le Jardin 

Kaua Kahaulelio, Waialua — Had 15 digs and one assist in a three-set loss to Molokai 

Laakea Kamahele, Le Jardin — Had 16 kills, 17 digs, one solo block, one block assist, one ace and an assist in a five-set win over Island School and had 19 kills, 10 digs and one block assist in a three-set loss to University Lab

Kawehi Kaneakua, University Lab — Had 31 assists, one kill, one dig, one block assist and an ace in a three-set win over Kau, had 41 assists, five digs, two aces and one kill in a three-set win over Molokai and had 68 assists, nine digs and one kill in a five-set win over Le Jardin 

Shane Kelly, Waialua — Had 17 digs, nine kills, one solo block and an assist in a three-set loss to Island School 

Trevor Kwak, Moanalua — Had 16 kills, one dig, one solo block and one block assist in a four-set loss to Kamehameha 

Cyres Lacar, Waialua — Had 27 assists, 12 digs and one block assist in a three-set loss to Island School 

Orion Magaoay, Island School — Had 48 assists, 12 digs, one kill and a block assist in a five-set loss to Le Jardin and had 19 assists, 13 digs and one block assist in a three-set win over Waialua 

Aris Mateo, Mililani — Had 21 kills, four digs and one solo block in a four-set win over Kamehameha-Maui 

Trevin Matsuba, Mililani — Had 18 digs, three assists and one ace in a four-set win over Aiea 

Fidelis Mauigoa, Aiea — Had 16 kills, nine digs, one block assist and one assist in a four-set loss to Mililani 

Elijah Morgan, Konawaena — Had 10 kills, 19 digs, two solo blocks, two block assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Le Jardin 

Ellison Morgan, Konawaena — Had 25 kills, four aces, two digs and one solo block in a four-set win over Kailua, had 18 kills, 12 digs, two assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Le Jardin and had 16 kills, three digs, two aces and one assist in a three-set win over Molokai 

Travis Nakamoto, Konawaena — Had 44 assists, six digs, two kills, two aces, one solo block and a block assist in a four-set win over Kailua and had 49 assists, five digs, five kills, three block assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Le Jardin 

Micah Nakasato, University Lab — Had 14 kills, seven digs, one ace and an assist in a three-set win over Kau and had 26 kills, 13 digs, five assists and two aces in a five-set win over Le Jardin 

Brennan Nakayama, Le Jardin — Had 55 assists, eight digs, one kills, one block assist and an ace in a five-set win over Island School, had 50 assists, nine digs, two block assists, two aces and one kill in a five-set win over Konawaena and had 61 assists, nine digs and one block assist in a five-set loss to University Lab 

Nainoa Paio, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 17 kills, seven digs, five block assists and one ace in a five-set win over Castle 

Peyton Pana, Hilo — Had 13 kills, 11 assists, five digs and two aces in a three-set win over Kamehaeha-Maui 

Cody Pili-Rumusod, Castle — Had 10 kills, 14 digs, 31 assists, two block assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Damien Pili-Rumusod, Castle — Had 24 digs and three assists in a five-set loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Alika Plette, Le Jardin — Had 22 digs, three assists and one ace in a five-set win over Island School, had 20 digs, five assists and two aces in a five-set win over Konawaena and had 27 digs and one assist in a five-set loss to University Lab 

Teaho Pope, Molokai — Had 11 kills, 10 digs and three aces in a three-set win over Waialua 

Luke Prangnell, Maui — Had 17 kills, four block assists, two digs, two aces and one assist in a four-set loss to Roosevelt 

Kullen Pua, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 16 kills, 12 digs, two aces and one block assist in a five-set win over Castle 

Kenna Quitan, University Lab — Had 21 digs and three aces in a five-set win over Le Jardin 

Harryzen Soares, Kamehameha — Had 16 digs and six assists in a four-set win over Punahou 

Jackson Swirsky, Le Jardin — Had 15 kills, two block assists, one solo block and a dig in a five-set win over Island School 

Jesse Tuipulotu-Davidson, Kailua — Had 42 assists, five digs, two kills and one block assist in a four-set loss to Konawaena 

Brayden Van Kuren, Kamehameha — Had 54 assists, seven digs, two aces, one kill and one solo block in a four-set win over Moanalua and had 41 assists, eight digs, one kill and one block assist in a four-set win over Punahou 

Kainoa Wade, Kamehameha — Had 15 kills, seven aces, three digs and one solo block in a three-set win over Campbell, had 20 kills, six digs, two aces, one block assist and one assist in a three-set win over Hilo, had 36 kills, three digs, three block assists and one ace in a four-set win over Moanalua and had 34 kills, 11 digs, three block assists, one solo block and one ace in a four-set win over Punahou 

Malu Wilcox, Moanalua — Had 39 assists, four digs, two aces, one kill and one solo block in a four-set loss to Kamehameha 

Evin Wong, Konawaena — Had 18 digs, three assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Le Jardin 

Jonathan Yadao, Roosevelt — Had 19 kills, 12 digs and two aces in a four-set win over Maui 

BASEBALL
Dallas John Bukoski, Kauai — Batted 4 for 4 with an RBI in a win over Kapaa 

Shannon Fee, Saint Louis — Allowed one earned run on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 innings pitched in a loss to Kamehameha 

Noah Ibadan, Kauai — Batted 2 for 4 with two doubles, two RBI and one run scored in a win over Kapaa 

Greyson Osbun, Kamehameha — Allowed one hit and one walk with four strikeouts in five scoreless innings pitched in a win over Saint Louis  

Makana Fake

Kamehameha water polo  •   #1    

As the lights got brighter, Makana Fake got better.

Fake, a senior goalie for the Kamehameha girls' water polo team, shined last week to help the Warriors successfully defend their title at the Kyo-ya Hotels/HHSAA State Championships.

Kamehameha coach Anthony Cabrera praised the play of the first-year starter and team captain, who was selected by the media as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

"She just kept getting better throughout the season and the tougher the situation, the better she seemed to perform," Cabrera said of the 5-foot-9 Fake.

Fake made nine saves in Saturday's championship match against rival Punahou, the No. 1 seed in the tournament and Interscholastic League of Honolulu titlist. It was the sixth meeting between the teams this season. All three of Kamehameha's losses came at the hands of the Buffanblu during the ILH season, including a 9-7 overtime loss in their penultimate matchup two weeks prior in the league final. They split the season series, 3-3.

"She was a standout in all of our games against Punahou this year. She really came with her A-game in all three of those (wins)," Cabrera said.

Prior to her team on the Warriors' varsity-1 team, Fake played both on the intermediate and varsity-2 squads. As a junior last year, she backed up standout ‘keeper Kahala Neumann, an All-ILH selection in 2023. Cabrera said that the relationship between the two was beneficial to both parties.

"She and Kahala had a friendly competition to push each other to be better goalies and I think Makana learned a lot from Kahala last year and really used that this year and embraced the starting job. She just has worked really hard to perfect her goalkeeping skills. I think we saw glimpses here and there (last year) and this year really was the culmination of her putting it all together to help her team out," Cabrera said.

Punahou dominated the sport for more than a decade before Kamehameha had a breakthrough in 2023 to end the Buffanblu's string of 13 consecutive state championships. The result was the first state crown since 2006 for the Warriors. Subsequently, they found themselves in unfamiliar territory entering this season.

"I think our team in general had some ups and downs throughout the season. Obviously we're in a different position than we've ever been before, we've never been the defending state champs and I think that put a different pressure on us and the team really came together and performed in the championship," Cabrera said.

After finishing second to the Buffanblu in the ILH, Kamehameha had to play four matches in six days in last week's state tournament. It opened with a 14-4 win over Mililani in the opening round Monday, then routed third-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii, 17-1, in Thursday's quarterfinal round. They followed that up with a 12-6 win over Iolani in the semifinals Friday – in which Fake scored one of her three goals on the season – to reach Saturday's title game.

"It was the end of the quarter so time was running out. We had the rest of her teammates swim up and she went up past half and walked in and sank a half-court lob shot, which was just super impressive," Cabrera described. "She's just a super athlete. If she hasn't been a goalie she could definitely play another position in the pool, but luckily for us she decided on goalie."

Cabrera describes Fake as the "quarterback of our defense.

"She gets the defense in the proper position and lets them know where to go so that they're funneling the ball to her and she's at her best when she's raising her teammates up to perform their best," he said.

The Warriors needed to be at their best Saturday. They faced a two-goal deficit with less than two minutes to play in regulation before Tea Brandon scored to cut Punahou's lead to 7-6. Isabella Wailele Kapali then netted the equalizer with just 37 seconds left in regulation and Fake turned back the potential game-winning goal just before the buzzer sounded.

Kamehameha went on to score two goals in overtime and got another pivotal stop by Fake between the posts late in the contest.

"Punahou had five seconds left to tie it up in overtime and she really didn't leave very many openings for them to shoot on and she may have tipped it, but I think it ended up barring out, which sealed the victory for us," Cabrera said.

Cabrera credited Fake and the rest of his players for digging deep to complete the come-from-behind win.

"I just think it shows our grit and determination. We always try to preach to the girls to never get too high and never get too low and I think those three overtime games versus Punahou going into the state championship game really helped us show that we can and we have the ability to do it, we just gotta keep working and never give up. The fact that the girls were able to persevere and come through in that situation is a testament to their resiliency," Cabrera said. "I'm just so proud of them and for proving that hard work pays off."

In addition to Fake, who will play collegiately at UC San Diego next year, the Warriors were also represented by Laikuakamahina Wong, Ava Gurney and Brandon on the all-tournament team.

GIRLS WATER POLO

Ava Aguilera, Punahou — Scored four goals in a win over Roosevelt 

Tea Brandon, Kamehameha — Scored three goals in a win over Punahou 

Kimberly Cassens, Roosevelt — Scored three goals in a win over Hawaii Prep 

Tuua Cravens, Kahuku — Scored four goals in a win over Roosevelt

Kimie Ginoza, Kaiser — Scored four goals in a win over Kalaheo and scored three goals in a win over Baldwin 

Kaileilani Harvey, Kamehameha — Scored four goals in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii and scored three goals in a win over Iolani 

Paige Heiken, Kalaheo — Scored three goals in a loss to Kaiser 

Maile Imonen, Hawaii Prep — Scored six goals in a loss to Roosevelt 

Maya Maki, Kahuku — Scored five goals in a win over Kamehaeha-Hawaii 

Jaeci Ota, Roosevelt — Scored three goals in a loss to Kahuku 

Jochel Oba, Roosevelt — Scored four goals in a loss to Punahou 

Synnove Robinson, Punahou — Scored three goals in a win over Kaiser and scored four goals in a loss to Kamehameha 

Eliana Schiffner, Kaiser — Scored six goals in a win over Kalaheo and scored three goals in a win over Baldwin 

Alexi Sueoka, Iolani — Scored three goals in a win over Kahuku 

Jayzlyn Tomisa, Roosevelt — Scored four goals in a win over Baldwin 

Isabella Wailele Kapalı, Kamehameha — Scored three goals in a win over Mililani 

Laikukamahina Wong, Kamehameha — Scored three goals in a win over Punahou 

Leinaala Wong, Kamehameha — Scored three goals in a win over Iolani 

SOFTBALL

Shelby Baguio, Damien — Batted 2 for 3 with a double and three RBI in a loss to Waimea 

T. Camelo, Waimea — Allowed three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks in a five-inning win over Damien 

Nikki Chong, Kamehameha — Batted 2 for 3 with three runs scored in a win over Maryknoll 

Emalia Emmsley, Kealakehe — Batted 2 for 3 with two walks and two RBI and pitched a complete game in a win over Waiakea 

T. Harris, Waimea — Batted 3 for 4 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored in a win over Damien 

Rihanna Joaquin, Kealakehe — Batted 2 for 4 with a triple, walk, three RBI and one run scored in a win over Waiakea 

Katherine Keizer, Kealakehe — Batted 3 for 3 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in a win over Waiakea 

Kezia Lucas, Kamehameha — Homered and drove in three runs in a win over Maryknoll 

Lexi Santiago, Waiakea — Batted 2 for 3 with a walk, one stolen base and three runs scored in a loss to Kealakehe 

Mikaela Scarbrough, Kamehameha — Batted 2 for 3 with a double, one walk, five RBI and two runs scored in a win over Maryknoll 

Palehua Silva, Maryknoll — Homered and drove in three runs in a loss to Kamehameha