Gavin Cook’s Mustang Team Reaching High At The Net
By Jack Danilewicz
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Tyler Caswell and Pono Wong go
up for a block against former
Kalaheo volleyball star Chris
Hatori. According to the team,
Kalaheo alumni often turn out to
play against them at practices.
Photo by Nathalie Walker, staff
photographer.
Banners noting past titles are prominently featured in the Kalaheo gym, but first-year men’s volleyball coach Gavin Cook believes there’s still room for more.
“What we really want is an orange one - those are the state championship banners,” noted Cook, who took over the program from Sivan Leoni in the off-season. “That’s the dream - the goal is always the same here.I’ll bet it’s been over 20 years since an OIA school won a state championship (in volleyball). We take it step-by-step, beginning with the OIA. Every year anything less than an OIA title is a disappointment. That’s a standard Sivan built. It’s a lot to live up to, but the kids expect it themselves.”
As the Mustangs enter their second week of play in the OIA East, a handful of key holdovers from last year’s team, which finished 14-2 overall, lead the way. Kalaheo won its second straight OIA title under Leoni last fall and went on to a riveting run through the state tour-ney, where they eventually finished third. (Not since 1979, when Roosevelt won its third straight title, has a public school won a state volleyball championship.) Leoni resigned in the off-season, but the appointment of Cook, an assistant in the Mustang program last season and a former UH stand-out and teammate of Leoni, made it a smooth transition.
Back in the fold from 2005 are Chase Moses, Tyler Caswell and Clifton Pires. All seniors, they figure to rate among the better athletes in the division, having also competed for Chico Furtado’s Kalaheo basketball team last winter. Moses and Pires are both 6-feet-2, while Caswell is one of the state’s taller volleyball players at 6-6.
“Our strength is our offense,especially our serves,“said Cook, whose team travels to Kaimuki at 8 p.m. Saturday for its next match.“We’re a big team, but with all that size comes a lack of speed. We’re concentrating on our defense and our conditioning. Blocking is our biggest strength.”
A middle hitter, Moses “is an all-around guy who can play anywhere - he jumps really well and he’s really quick and athletic,“Cook said. “He’s making a sacrifice for our team by playing in the middle, where he’s really strong. In college, he would be more of an outside hitter. Tyler has a good sense for the game. He puts up a huge block; he’s a force at the net. So far (in pre-season), he’s been unstoppable in the middle. Clifton is pretty well-rounded. He’s a really good basketball player also.”
Cook is also high on a supporting cast of senior outside hitter Timothy Moyer, junior outside hitter Pono Wong and sophomore setter Christian Kepa, who succeeds four-year starter Chris Tumaneng.
“(Kepa) has been pressed into action.We’ve put a lot on his shoulders, but he’s handling it really well. It’s a lot of pressure to put on a sophomore.He comes from an athletic family, and he has good sense of where to go with the ball.”
“Timothy (Moyer) has really improved,” Cook added. “He’s our anchor as far as ball control goes, and Pono has a good all-around game. Playing club in the off-season has helped all the guys.”
Despite a solid returning nucleus, Cook acknowledged heavy losses to graduation last spring.
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