Lady Mustangs Facing Kaimuki In OIA Volleyball Championship Round
By Jack Danilewicz
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Case Jenkins jumps for the ball.
Photo from Coach Hoku Liu.
The ability to handle the moment amid the ebb and flow of a match has been an area of focus all season for the Kalaheo girls volleyball team.
“At practice, we’ve really tried to simulate every pressure situation,” said first-year coach Hoku Liu.“We can’t be there on the floor to hold their hands. We have to have the ability to transfer what we do in practice to a game situation and, lately, they’ve been able to do that really well. That has helped the girls to keep their composure.”
With that in mind, no better example of the Mustangs’ ability to respond to pressure can be found than in last Thursday’s Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II semifinal encounter with Radford, when Liu’s team rebounded in resounding fashion from a loss in Game 1 to claim the match 25-27, 25-16, 25-23. The win rates as one of the most significant in Kalaheo girls volleyball history, as it not only lifted them into this Wednesday’s OIA championship game (7 p.m. at Farrington) against Kaimuki, but it also punched the Mustangs’ ticket for the upcoming Nissan girls’ state volleyball championships.
“We’re extremely happy with the progress we’ve made this season,” said Liu, whose team will take a 10-4 record into Thursday’s match with Kaimuki. “At the beginning of the season, we set our goals, and I think some of the girls weren’t sure that we’d be able to (be in their current position) in one year. They all wanted to go to states. They’d lost 12 seniors off of last year’s team, but we’ve been blessed with great kids. They’ve made it easier for us to help them excel.
“Kids will be kids,” she added with a laugh. “For our seniors, they’ve never been this close, so they’ve been basking in the moment. They should be proud of themselves. This is good for everyone all-around.”
Kalaheo finished its regular-season at 8-4 to earn the second seed out of the East for the OIA Tournament. The Mustangs defeated third-seeded Campbell out of the West Division 21-25, 25-21, 25-15 in their first-round playoff game Oct. 19 to advance to their OIA quarterfinal match-up against Radford, which had been top seed from the West.
A year ago, Liu coached the Kailua boys volleyball team to an 8-6 record, only a year after they’d gone 1-13.A Waimanalo resident, she took over the Kalaheo girls team in June and readied herself for the transition that goes with any coaching change. Veteran leadership has aided her cause.
A pair of stellar upperclassmen - outside hitters Case Jenkins and Sabrina Blanco - have been Kalaheo’s team leaders to date, while setter Daneen Williams, middle blocker Brianna Elliot,setter Caira Pires, outside hitter/middle blocker Kiana Wasson and middle blocker Carli Huihui have formed a solid supporting cast.
“Individually, each of our girls has come into her own,“said Liu. “We knew coming into the season that we could have a good team. The challenge has always been getting them to play as a team. That is something that we work on every day in practice.”
Regardless of how the Mustangs fare the rest of this post-season, Liu is excited about the program’s future prospects.
“The underclassmen in the program have a lot of talent,“she said.“We’ll be doing a lot of team-building (in the coming year).We believe strongly in that.”
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