Na Ali‘i Enters High Stakes Game As The Underdog
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usThe Aiea boys volleyball team warmed up to playing the role of the underdog in its Oahu Interscholastic Association semi-final match-up with the Eastern Division’s top seed Kalani last week.
On Wednesday, Na Ali’i find themselves in much the same position as they meet West rival Waianae in the OIA title game. The Seariders won both regular-season meetings between the teams en route to winning the Western Division, but the stakes are higher this time around, even though both Waianae and Aiea have already clinched berths in the upcoming Nissan Division II State Volleyball Championships.
“The boys want it really bad,” Aiea coach Erin Okamoto Coker said of what would be the school’s first OIA title in boys volleyball.
Aiea delivered the school its first regular-season Division title in its 36-year history of boys volleyball last season when they won the West. Na Ali’i were defeated by Waipahu in the OIA title game before regrouping to take third in the Division II state tournament last November. That Aiea will make a second straight appearance in the OIA title game Wednesday is perhaps even more impressive this year, after Na Ali’i lost several standouts from its 2005 team. Of the six seniors on its current roster, several are first-year players, with only Pili Taitin having played all four years of high school. Since transferring from Campbell following his sophomore season, his impact on Na Ali’i has been significant, and his leadership remains one of the keys to Aiea’s bid for an OIA championship this week.
Taitin missed the first AieaWaianae encounter (a 25-18, 25-15 defeat on Sept. 23) because of academic issues, but has found his form when it matters most. He has also taken on the role of Coker’s coach on the floor.
“He brings everybody together,” Coker said .“The boys depend a lot on Pili and Keli’i Aleaga to do our hitting. Pili understands the game well - he’s been playing for four years - and I depend on him a lot to communicate with the kids. It takes everyone - the kids have to be able to go somewhere else (with the ball when Taitin and Aleaga face the block) - but if those two don’t come ready to play, we have a hard time.”
In addition to Taitin and Aleaga, Na Ali’i also boast Norton Jae Bolibol, Daniel Oshiro, Derrick Rabaino, Ryan Santiago, Chad Secio, Joseph Stowers, Dylan Alao, Randy Bautista and Henry Jarman.
As her team prepared for Waianae late last week, the emphasis was as much on Aiea’s mind-set as repetition during practice, according to Okamoto.
“It’s a mental game as well as a physical one,” she said. “Physically, the boys match up real well with Waianae. We thought we could have beaten them last time. We’re working on the boys mentally right now.
“I think we’re finally coming together by realizing that the opponent is the other guy and not each other,“she added.“Physically, the team is going good. The boys adjusted well the other night (in the win over Kalani). We had lost the first set, and it was pretty bad, but we came back. Being under-dogs, and Kalani being No. 1 (in the East), gave us a lot to strive for, and the boys are gaining more and more confidence as we go along.”
In Waianae, Na Ali’i will face a team stacked with year-round players who are active in Hawaii’s Clubs, the same kind of participation that Coker is striving for at Aiea.
“Getting the kids to play in outside leagues is a key (to long-term success),“she said.“They (Waianae) have a lot of good all-around players.”
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