Stellar Showings From Na Ali’i Predicted In OIA Title Play
By Jack Danilewicz
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When it comes to the OIA girls volleyball tournament, members from the East could practically sign their own figure to the checkbook in recent years. Since branching off into two divisions in 2004, teams from the East have won all three Division I titles. And while Radford claimed a DII title in 2005, you have to go even further back to Pearl City’s 1997 championship under Stephanie Shigemasa.
Teams from the West have won the league’s overall title just three times since 1988. After enduring a regular season in the ultra-competitive West in recent weeks, Aiea coach Blythe Yamamoto sees the gap closing between the teams in the two regions.
“The West will represent themselves real well this year,” she said. “In the past, it’s been East, East, East. This year, there’s a bunch of teams in the West that can go far and perform well.” None more so than Na Ali’i, who take a perfect 12-0 record into the OIA tournament, which begins this week. Aiea was to play either Campbell or Farrington on Tuesday in hopes of advancing to today’s second-round match.
The OIA tournament continues next week with semifinal matches Tuesday and the championship set for Friday. Both the semifinals and the title game will be at McKinley. Aiea’s perfect regular season this fall comes on the heels of a 6-6 season in 2007 that saw it begin 1-5 through the West’s first round of play. Those struggles, not to mention a series of close matches this year, have brought the team closer together.
“Our mental attitude (has improved),” said the coach, whose team has won 17 of its last 18 league games, dating back to 2007. “There were many matches this year that could have gone either way, but mentally the kids hung in there. No one has been concerned with who’s getting the kills or sets. Whoever is on the court is representing the team, and everyone has carried the team at different times. They haven’t had to look to one or two players to have an awesome game. They know they can do it together as a team.”
While Na Ali’i and its coaching staff have been keeping track of the rest of their OIA counterparts, the emphasis is all on Aiea as it begins the post-season. The top six finishers in the OIA’s post-season format earn berths for the state volleyball tournament, which will be Nov. 5-8 at Stan Sheriff Center.
“Our focus the whole year has been on taking care of us. Preparing for one team or the other is not much different. The teams are all good, so whoever we face is going to be very big and athletic. Our focus is definitely more on what we do and on working together as a team.”
Aiea is led by veterans Michelle Lambayan (libero) and Kelly Leopoldo (outside hitter). Both players were First Team All-Conference selections in 2007 in a vote of league coaches, while middle blockers Mele Samisoni and Danielle Grace and outside hitters Natasha Souza and Ashlei Li’ili’i have also figured big in Na Ali’i's success.
As in past years, defense has been Na Ali’i's forte. “We’re always focused on our defense, and this year it’s strong. Even our bigger girls can play defense, and that’s made a huge difference.”
Na Ali’i are also looking to start fast in their matches this week after a nearly two-week layoff between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the tournament. Yamamoto saw the break as a positive, given the constant pace of the OIA’s regular season.
“The season is pretty condensed, and it’s pretty intense, so we gave them a couple of days off to heal and get our bodies back,” she said. “The break is a good thing. A team also gets hungry when it sits out. They can’t wait to get back and compete again.”
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