Na Ali’i Flying High On First-round Bye In OIA Tourney
By Jack Danilewicz
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The Aiea girls volleyball team spent the last month pursuing the top seed from the West for the OIA post-season tournament. Now, its mission is to take advantage of it.
In clinching the Red West crown with a win over Waianae last Tuesday, Aiea assured itself of a first-round bye this week. Na Ali’i will host a quarterfinal matchup next week against a team to be determined later. For its part, Aiea would almost seem better served without a break as it has been playing as well as anyone lately, but veteran coach Blythe Yamamoto welcomed the nearly week-and-a-half break between games and sees it as one of the rewards for assuming the No. 1 seeding.
“Anytime we can spend more time in the gym (practicing), it’s a good thing,” said Yamamoto, whose team finished undefeated at 12-0. “The girls are starting to pick it up a notch already, and we’ll go even harder in practice. We don’t look at it as a momentum-stopper.”
Veteran leadership has gone a long way toward its success to date with Danielle Grace, Mele Samisoni and outside hitter-turned-setter Kelly Leopoldo all having followed up solid ‘08 seasons with stellar play this fall. All were OIA First Team All-Stars in 2008, and Grace was the league’s Player of the Year, a feat she could match again in the coming weeks.
“They’ve definitely tried to better themselves from last year,” Yamamoto said of the group, which also has benefited greatly from a talented supporting cast that includes sisters Taylor and Tiara Fetui and Ashley Liilii. “Everyone has been playing well - it hasn’t been the
same player carrying us. They’ve all been working as a team and doing their jobs. “
Aside from maintaining a customary frantic pace in practice, Yamamoto said Aiea would prepare for the playoffs by “staying with the same routine.”
Its OIA quarterfinal match next week is its biggest to date, as it must win to assure itself one of the league’s five berths for the Division I state volleyball championships next month. A loss would send them into battle for the fifth and final berth. Aiea won the Consolation Championship last year at the state tournament, defeating both Kamehameha-Hawaii and Baldwin following a first-round loss to Moanalua.
While undefeated in the Red West, Aiea enters the post-season a battle-tested team, given the parity that exists in the league. “Any team in the West can beat anybody on any night,” Yamamoto said. “It’s a matter of showing up every time.”
That should be the case again in the OIA tournament. While the teams are all familiar with one another at this stage, Aiea’s own emphasis is on itself entering the post-season. “A lot of it is eliminating mistakes and playing as a team,” she said. “You have to be a team. One girl cannot carry a team alone.”
Defense remains Aiea’s strength coming out of its regular season, in the coach’s view. “We rely on it a lot,” she said. “I think we’re putting it together as a team, and we’re more in post-season shape now. We’ve seen huge improvement in all of the girls, physically and mentally.”
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