Honolulu, HI
No. 18 nationally ranked and No.1 Hawai'i ranked, ‘Iolani Raiders, opened up their ILH home debut with a four-set victory over the Kamehameha-Kapalama Warriors. The two rivals are looking for a playoff berth with states being a little over a month away. The 'Iolani Raiders look to keep their momentum going and the warriors look to pull an early upset against the defending state champs.
Coming off a strong preseason that included a second-place finish at the Ann Kang Invitational, ‘Iolani entered the matchup looking to continue its momentum as they worked towards another state championship run. Leading the way is Junior S/OPP, Taimane Ainu'u, who recently came back form playing with the U-23 USA Woman's Volleyball team and earned Gold in Croatia. Along Ainu'u, Oregon beach Volleyball commit, Poema Kalama-kingma and USC Beach volleyball commit, Georgie Lee, have been a powerful trio who have been making it difficult to play against.
The Warriors are no strangers to the competition and championship pedigree. The Warriors led by Senior L/Ds Faith Iokia and Sophomore OH/OPP Sauimoana Purcell who are the warriors key players in making a strong postseason run. Both teams with a undefeated ILH record at 1-0, it was important to make a statement early in the season.
The Raiders started the match strong, controlling the opening set and taking it 25–15. Kamehameha responded in the second set playing more aggressively and taking advantage of mistakes from ‘Iolani to win 25–18 and even the match at one set apiece. With the match tied, ‘Iolani came out of the break with its strongest stretch of the night. The Raiders took control early in the third set and pulled away for a dominant 25–10 win, putting themselves back in front 2–1.
Kamehameha did not go away quietly in the fourth. The Warriors stayed within striking distance throughout the set and made ‘Iolani work to close out the match. The Raiders eventually finished off the fourth set 25–21, securing the 3–1 victory.
The second set was a key moment for Kamehameha, as the Warriors became the first Hawai‘i team to take a set from ‘Iolani this season. But the Raiders answered immediately, outscoring Kamehameha 50–31 across the final two sets to close out the match.
For Kamehameha, the loss showed that it can compete with one of the state’s top teams despite dropping the final two sets. For ‘Iolani, the win keeps the Raiders moving forward in ILH play after a strong preseason. The two teams now move on to the rest of their ILH schedules, with both looking to position themselves for the postseason.
Final Score: 'Iolani 3 - Kamehameha-Kapalama 1
25-15 I 18-25 I 25-10 I 25-21
For more pictures, head over to our photo gallery
pictures taken by: Pakela Wheeler - @pakela._
