Raiders stave off Crusaders in three sets

Iolani setter Shane Harimoto puts up a set during the first set of an ILH Division I contest against Saint Louis Tuesday night. Michael Lasquero | SL

Iolani was able to bounce back from its loss from a week ago with a 25-11, 25-27, 25-13 win over Saint Louis in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I match at Iolani's Lower Gymnasium Tuesday night.

The Raiders improved to 6-2 in league play with the victory and kept the Crusaders (0-8) winless on the season.

Using its combination of height and athleticism, Iolani was able to gain an offensive rhythm in the first set of the match, something that it seemed to be missing last week against defending champion Punahou.

"They were focused and played with the right intensity in the beginning," said Iolani first-year coach Jordan Inafuku.

Hugh Hogland, Ryan Van Cantfort and Alex Wallen each registered three kills in the first set as a part of a balanced offensive attack that saw seven Raiders score early.

After the decisive margin of victory in the first stanza, coach Inafuku made the decision to put his reserves in at the start of the second.

"They've earned it," said Inafuku. "We only give them that time because they've earned it in practice. We thought that we could play effectively with them in, so we did it."

The Iolani reserves backed up their coach's words and built an 18-13 lead after a Carter Lau kill, which forced a Saint Louis timeout.

The Crusaders didn't go down without a fight however, taking advantage of multiple mistakes by Iolani to gain momentum.

"Too many loose hitting errors going down the stretch there," said Inafuku. "I think they were trying to be aggressive, they're just trying to find the balance between being aggressive and being smart attackers."

The Raiders recorded nine hitting errors to go along with three service errors in the second set, which allowed Saint Louis to ultimately tie the match at 1-1.

Inafuku didn't shy away from his choice and stuck with his reserves to start the final stanza. When the score stood at 5-5, he made an adjustment to bring starting setter, Shane Harimoto, back into the game and his presence was immediately felt.

With Harimoto in the Raiders went on a 9-2 run, including three kills by Lau, and effectively sealed the match.

Inafuku had high praise for his team and how they adapted their play throughout the contest.

"They made the adjustment over the match," said Inafuku. "A bit smarter shots, understanding when they needed to be aggressive and when they needed to hit the ball on the court and that improved over the match."

Although Saint Louis has yet to win a game this season, both sets that it has taken have been off of Iolani, which shows that they have what it takes, according to Crusaders coach Dion Chan.

"Well, if they can continue to do the right things and take a set from bigger (volleyball) schools, that's terrific. That means that they're doing the right things to gain that win. But sometimes, it's not just about the win, because they can learn things out of losing games too. It's just they have to play the right way."

Iolani saw four of its players score more than five kills and was led by Lau who had eight.

Quinn Deaton led Saint Louis with four kills, a dig and two block assists in the loss.