Pono Wong Leads Mustangs To State VB Tourney On Maui

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Kalaheo boys volleyball coach Gavin Cook has always been able to count on his team to respond after a tough outing.

That held true again last week - perhaps when they needed it most - as the Mustangs tried to move past a disappointing 25-20, 25-7 loss to Waianae in the semi-finals of the OIA’s Red post-season tournament on Tuesday.

“It’s kind of good timing for us so we can re-focus and get back to work,” said Cook, whose team took a 9-5 overall record into the OIA’s third-place game last Thursday night. “The kids always do (bounce back) after a loss, so we had a good practice (on Wednesday). Not to take anything away from Waianae, which played well, but we kind of self-destructed against them.

“I think we came into our first playoff game (a 25-15, 25-17 win over Kalani May 1) really focused, I thought, but maybe we won that match too easily because it seemed like we let down. I hope we can come with the kind of intensity we had a couple of games ago.”

The Mustangs hope to be at their best this week when they travel to Maui for the New City Nissan Boys State Volleyball Championships. As they are unlikely to be among the seeded teams, the Mustangs expect to take part in a first-round game on Wednesday. Pairings for the tournament, which will run Wednesday through Saturday, were to be announced Sunday afternoon.

“It’s exciting,” Cook said, “and it should be quite an experience.

It (going off-island) helps with our togetherness and playing well as a team.”

Kalaheo, which finished second in the OIA and fourth in the state last season, is led by senior outside hitter/setter Pono Wong, an all-conference selection and one of the state’s top players, middle blocker Shawn Hipa and setter Christian Kepa, who has been trying to shake off the effects of an injured hand that forced him to miss Kalaheo’s last three regular-season games.

“Shawn (Hipa) has been quiet and steady; he’s definitely a key player like Pono,” Cook said. “Christian is almost healed, but he’s still playing hurt. He’s usually one of our clutch players, but because of the injury, he’s been making mistakes he normally wouldn’t make.”

D.J. Chang, Giovanni Wozniak, Taylor Tadani and Ken Uchida have also played key roles for the Mustangs this spring. Following their matchup with Mililani in the third-place game last Thursday, the Mustangs were left with a four-day break from action to both heal and prepare for the state tournament. A healthy Kepa would help the Mustangs run their offense with more precision, according to their coach.

“Passing is the biggest key for us,” Cook said.“It is where we had difficulties versus Waianae. When our passing is going, we can get our offense going, which is where our strength lies. We hope we can run our middle and open things up on the outside.”