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Warriors rose to the challenge with match-turning run in set 2




Chris Blake could feel this one slipping away. 

But the longtime Kamehameha girls volleyball coach couldn't just watch his team do so without imploring his players to make a stand. 

So with the Warriors already a set down against first-place Punahou Tuesday, he called a his second timeout in a span of three points after the Buffanblu reeled off a 9-1 run to take a 19-15 lead in set 2. 

Strongly implored, might be a better characterization of the nature of Blake's directive during the 60-second stoppage. 

"His whole message was that we all have to do our own jobs, that this is a team sport and we weren't doing our jobs at the time, which is why (Punahou) got such a huge lead, so he really motivated us to start picking it up, realizing it's a team and everyone has to do their jobs," said Warriors senior outside hitter Nadia Koanui. 

"That's how we pretty much came back together, was finishing what we had to do," she added. 

That's just what Blake's bunch did, reeling off a 6-1 run to surge ahead of the Buffanblu, 21-20. 

"We challenged them, they stepped up and we came back and we pushed that and then ended up winning that set 2, so that was a good step for us," Blake said. 

He elaborated on the discussion during the timeout just prior to his team's tide-turning run that ultimately led to a 25-22 set 2 victory to even the match at one set apiece. 

"I think that's the part of it is, Punahou is well coached, they were coming after it and we talked a little bit about the things that we had to do and what I was very proud about is that they answered the call," Blake said. 

The Warriors went on to win set 3 by a score of 25-21, but saw the Buffanblu storm back with a 25-19 win in set 4 to force a deciding fifth set. 

This time, Blake didn't have to say much at all. 

"That's the thing that we're really proud of is, the coaching staff didn't say too much between sets four and five," said Blake, whose team captured the momentum early in set 5 and never let go of it for a 15-9 win. 

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"What our leaders and captains did was come together and talk about the things that they need to do as they continue to take ownership of this team, but again, it's a testament to everybody's work and the things that they're doing, so it's a great win for us," he added. 

Blake made sure to include the contributions of senior Maui Robins, who missed her fourth straight match due to an ankle injury. 

"Although Maui is not on the court, she's getting everybody connected and the bench was in it, so it really was a great team win for us," Blake said. 

Replacing the production of Robins, an All-Hawaii third team outside hitter as a sophomore in 2019, has been a team effort, to be sure, but Koanui — whose 11 kills were second most for the Warriors Tuesday behind Devin Kahahawai's 33 — has played a big part in filling that void. 

"I think she did wonderful," Blake said of the 5-foot-8 Koanui. "We've been asking a lot from her and she's been a solid rock for us the whole season. Devin's been out with the (U18) national team, Maui getting injured, but she's been a very important core for us — handling our serve-receive, being pretty effective in terms of her defense, but especially her offense today — just mixing things up, doing those kinds of things and when the chips are down, she made a lot of great plays for us."

Koanui is in her third varsity season, but her first as a starting pin hitter. She made the team as a sophomore in 2019 and then was injured last year and unable to play during the ILH's abbreviated spring season of her junior year. 

"It's been one of the harder things — because Maui is one of the best hitters in the state — and I had to step into this new role, but I felt like my team backed me up with it and that's the thing is we have so much faith in all our other teammates that when I go up to swing — I'm probably one of the shortest in the gym — but when I look behind me I know that my teammates are going to get every ball up so it doesn't matter how hard I swing because in general we all just keep swinging because we all know we're going to cover each other's backs," Koanui explained. 

But Koanui did admit to having some butterflies in her stomach for another reason Tuesday night: it was the Warriors' first time playing in front of a crowd this season. About 100 fans, mostly parents of players from both teams, were permitted to attend the match at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium. The match was slated to be televised live statewide, but the Spectrum crew at the site lost power about 20 minutes before first serve. 

"It was the most stressful thing ever," Koanui said. "The other games were not stressful at all; I was not stressed, I was relaxed when I played. Tonight, knowing your parents are in the stands, knowing a bunch of other parents were in the stands, knowing it was supposed to be on TV, it was so stressful. Super stressful."

The win was Kamehameha's fifth in its last six matches and third in a row. It is now tied with Punahou at 5-2 atop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings with two matches to go. 

Should the Warriors and Buffanblu finish with identical records after the nine-game first round, there would be a playoff for the first round title — which comes with an automatic state tournament berth and the top seed in the second round (double-elimination tournament). 

The top two teams out of the ILH qualify for states, which is scheduled for early December. For Blake, that equates to a lot of time for growth. 

"The idea for us is to continue to build as we're not necessarily where we need to be yet, but it's good because we have some more time to build," he said. "Usually this time of the year we're running into states and we're not even done with our first round yet, so we've got another couple of months, hopefully, to make things work."

Surely, Blake and the Warriors won't let that time slip away.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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