OIA Girls Volleyball
No. 10 Kapolei sweeps Waianae, 25-20, 25-16


  



Mon, Oct 2, 2017 @ Kapolei [ 7:30 pm ]


FINAL  1   2   3   4   5      
WNAE (10-5) 20 16 0 - - 0
KAP (14-3) 25 25 0 - - 2

KAPOLEI - Setter Olivia Transfiguracion is like a thermometer on Kapolei's volleyball team: she knows who has the hot hand.

Transfiguracion registered 20 assists and the No. 10 Hurricanes swept visiting Waianae, 25-20, 25-16, to remain on top of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division.

The Hurricanes (8-0) can clinch the division's top seed for the OIA Division I tournament with a win Wednesday at Waialua. By beating the Seariders (6-2) and Mililani (8-1), Kapolei has the head-to-head tiebreakers on its two closest opponents in the division.

Transfiguracion distributed the ball pretty evenly with her teammates. Alexis Mareko had eight kills and Anela Pakaki-Pias added seven to lead the Hurricanes' attack. Michelyn Pililaau and Tihani Guzman had five and four kills, respectively. 

"She's gotten really good about sensing who's on and when and what to do," Kapolei coach Naidah Gamurot said of her junior setter. "The girls talk about it on the court, too, and they'll give her suggestions, but ultimately, she makes the suggestion."

Transfiguracion has been the starting setter since her freshman year. 

"She's good about sensing the court. This is her third year she's set with them, so she had a good feel about them. She's just smart," said Gamurot.

Transfiguracion was a little modest of her performance

"I didn't play club (in the offseason) this year so I'm still getting the hang of it," Transfiguracion said of her setting. "I'm kind of working on it, still."

Her distribution, though, says it all.

"I just look for the hot hitter," she said. "That's what my coach tells me. Everybody's good, but sometimes we have our off-days, so she says just look for the hot hitter."

It wasn't easy at the outset for Kapolei, which trailed 11-5 in the first set before a service error by Acazia Tolentino-McCabe made it 11-6 and sideout to the Hurricanes. With Pakaki-Pias serving, the Hurricanes scored five consecutive points to tie the set at 11. Waianae regained the lead at 12-11 but the set tied five times, the last at 20, before Kapolei closed out Waianae with five unanswered points with Pakaki-Pias serving.

"I think we stayed as one team," Transfiguracion said of outlasting the Seariders in the first set. "We didn't come apart or anything. We just kept pushing and trying to focus on what we had to do."

"They were more aggressive, taking more risks," Waianae coach Wilhelm Wagner said of Kapolei. 

The second set was dominated by the Hurricanes, which never trailed.

Kapolei recorded seven aces, three by Pakaki-Pias.

"(Our) passing was a little off, setting choices were bad, hitting, everyone was trying to overpower the ball," Wagner said.

Jasmine Fonoti had five kills and three total blocks to lead the Seariders in the loss.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY



MORE STORIES

Le Jardin, University Lab advance to set up all-ILH state D2 final

The Bulldogs rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to eke past Konawaena, while the Jr. Bows swept past Molokai.

Wade powers Kamehameha past Moanalua, into D1 finale

Kainoa Wade poured in 36 kills in a four set win over Na Menehune, setting up a rematch with ILH nemesis...

Balanced Buffanblu attack proves too much for Trojans

Adam Haidar and Brody Badham put down 10 kills apiece and Punahou had six players finish with at least...

Moanalua set to clash with Kamehameha in D1 semifinals

Na Menehune and Warriors dominated their quarterfinal matchups, setting up a rematch of last year's semifinals.

Molokai, University Lab post sweeps to reach D2 semis

Jericho Adolpho put down 18 kills to help take down Bulldogs in Farmers' first state tourney appearance...

Lacar's versatility paying off for Bulldogs; Wildcats ride Lebrun-Ward to clinch state berth

The senior libero-turned-setter played a pivotal role to lead Waialua to its first OIA D2 title, while...