Na Ali’i Work Hard On Volleyball Court
By Jack Danilewicz
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For all the talent across its roster, the 2009 edition of the Aiea girls volleyball team is “workmanlike” two weeks into the OIA Red West season, and longtime coach Blythe Yamamoto wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We just trying to get better every day - that’s our goal,“she said.“So far, they’re doing it. They’ve responded, and our chemistry has been really good.”
Much is expected from Aiea this fall, and it was solidly on course through its first three games, racking up wins over Leilehua (25-13, 25-11), Radford (25-17, 25-22) and Pearl City.
Last week, Na Ali’i were to play Leilehua and Radford again to complete the season series with both before turning their attention to Thursday’s rematch at 7 p.m. with Pearl City at home.
“It’s really hard to beat a team a second or third time,” Yamamoto admitted. “They know where we hurt them last time, and they’ll make adjustments. It becomes a chess match. What helps us is that we’re really versatile.We have a lot of kids who can play multiple positions.”
The forecast for Thursday’s match is for another close encounter. The Chargers were only a few plays from sweeping the season series in 2008. Instead, they lost both games to Aiea in four and five sets, respectively. On Aug. 27, the Chargers held a 14-6 lead in Game Two before Na Ali’i went on a resounding 10-0 run to close out a 25-22,25-22 victory.
As in the first meeting,Aiea’s focus is largely on the defensive side, according to Yamamoto.“They’re big and physical at the net, and our blockers will have to know at all times where their hitters are going with the ball,” she said of Pearl City, which took a 3-1 record into last weekend. Senior Reyna Acosta and juniors Tanisha Buford,Marie Fujii, Keani Passi and Tabytha Inong were all key components for Pearl City a year ago when it went 9-3 in the Red West and finished third behind Aiea and Mililani.
Aiea counters with seniors Danielle Grace, Mele Samisoni and outside hitter-turned-setter Kelly Leopoldo. Grace was Player of the Year in the West last season and has lived up to all preseason hype to date. Her eight kills helped drive Aiea across the finish line in its win over Pearl City recently. Samisoni was equally huge in the first match with Pearl City with a key block and a kill that jump-started their closing run. Leopoldo had 13 assists and five kills in leading Na Ali’i's attack.
“Amazingly, all three are playing better than last year,” Yamamoto said of Grace, Samisoni and Leopoldo, First Team All-West selections in 2008. The trio has also benefited greatly from a talented supporting cast, highlighted by Ashley Liilii and sisters Taylor and Tiara Fetui.
While currently among the front-runners in the West, Yamamoto downplayed her team’s position, noting that “we still haven’t seen three teams - Mililani, Waianae and Campbell.”
Following Thursday’s game, Aiea will have seven days off before they travel to Waianae Sept. 17 for the first of two meetings with the Seariders this season.
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