Chase for the Championship
ILH powers lock in for D1 state title rematch


Josh Pacheco | Special to ScoringLive
October 26, 2018, 11:52pm

 


KAKAAKO — For the fourth time in as many years, Kamehameha and Iolani will meet for a state title in the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.

Both Interscholastic League of Honolulu powers faced brief bouts of adversity in the semifinals, held at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium, but ultimately advanced in three-set sweeps to punch their tickets to Saturday night's finale.

Kamehameha, the ILH D1 champion, has had the edge in the last three championship matches. The Warriors won the title in 2015 and 2017, but Iolani had Kamehameha's number in 2016, winning in four sets over the then-ILH champion.

Kamehameha coach Chris Blake has a vast amount of experience coaching championship teams. Under his leadership, the Warriors have earned nine of the school's 19 state titles.

"We have a lot of senior leaders. A lot of (players) on our team have been working so hard together and knowing what we have to do," Blake said. "We're seasoned, we're battle-tested."

Kamehameha has had the upper hand on Iolani throughout the ILH season. While the Warriors only loss in league play came in a five-set loss to the Raiders on Oct. 16, Kamehameha won the other five matchups during the season.

Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey only has one state championship to list on his coaching resume but feels that the experience on this year's squad, as compared to last year, can make a big difference.

"We have five seniors this year versus one last year, so that definitely helps in the leadership category, and just being prepared fully for what's to come," Obrey said.

While he admits that his team's attack relies heavily on junior Elena Oglivie, Obrey believes that his team exhibits better balance than teams he has fielded in the last few years.

"We might have a little more balance in our offense … we try to move the ball around to our middles, our back side and our other outsides," said Obrey. "This group is just treating things point by point."

Saturday's title tilt will guarantee a 16th consecutive state championship in Division I for an ILH team. The Raiders and Warriors will meet to earn the crown at the Neal Blaisdell Center. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Kristen McDaniel put up 29 assists and put down five kills and five digs to help lead the Raiders back to the state title game. Pete Caldwell | SL    Purchase image

Iolani 3, Mililani 0

Iolani's path to Saturday's championship wasn't as smooth as the 25-17, 25-20, 25-14 final tally would indicate.

After a relative cruise through the opening set, Mililani opened up the second frame by going up 10-3, prompting Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey to deliver a stern reminder to his team in the only timeout he used all evening.

"We always kinda stray off a little bit throughout every match we play," Obrey explained. "The basic message was to find who we are and just remember that. Don't try and extend too much, and definitely don't do too little."

Obrey's experienced group answered the call. At one point in the set, the Raiders scored seven points in a row, a swing that would see the lead change for good as Iolani propelled to an 18-14 lead.

Mililani, the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion, initially struggled to stay afloat after losing the second set, dropping the first three points in the third frame. The Trojans would fight back at one point to take an 8-7 lead in the set after a Gabby Naniseni kill, but Iolani would score six of the next seven points to put the match away.

Iolani's Elena Oglivie led all players with 15 kills in the match while adding 17 digs. The junior committed just three errors in 37 total swings. Setter Kristen McDaniel tallied 29 assists, and Mokihana Tufono accumulated five of the Raiders' nine aces.

"We really kinda focused hard on our serving tonight against Mililani, and we wanted to get them in in tough situations, get them out of system, get our defense working a little easier for us, and we were able to do that," said Obrey. "I'm happy we were able to execute our gameplan going into tomorrow."

Falanika Danielson led Mililani with nine kills. Aysia Miller and Starr Sergent each added eight, with Miller contributing a team-best 23 assists and the Trojans' only two service aces.




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