It’s ‘Crunch Time’ For Na Ali‘i
By Jack Danilewicz
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Pearl City High School senior,
Jasmine Pahokoha-Malia prepares
to pass the ball. Photo from
Dayne Teves.
The Aiea High School volleyball team closing out its regular season this week may be a different outfit personnel-wise than the one that brought home the Division II West Conference title last fall, but that doesn’t mean there’s no unfinished business for Na Ali’i if they make the 2006 post-season.
“There’s some sense of urgency,” said Aiea coach Erin Okamoto Coker, whose team also finished third in the DII state volleyball championships last season. “Last year was the first time the Aiea (boys volleyball team) took home a banner, and they want to do something again. We haven’t reached our peak as a team yet - we’re still working on that.”
At press time, Na Ali’i were preparing for a key match-up with Kailua that was to take place over the weekend. On Wednesday, they play host to Waialua at 7 p.m. in a contest that will serve as Aiea’s homecoming game and senior night rolled into one. The match is of significance to Na Ali’i for a number of reasons. Aiea wants to take some momentum into the upcoming Division II OIA playoffs as well as avenge an earlier (25-21, 25-21) loss to the Bulldogs Sept. 6. Aiea was without senior standout Pili Taitan in that game, but figures to have his services this time around. He was still mending from an injury in the middle of last week, but had returned to practice.
“He creates balance and gives us more stability. He gets the kids together and picks them up. We had no one out there to take charge in our first game (with Waialua), but it also showed the rest of the team what they can do without him.”
Last week, Na Ali’i were trying to shake off the effects of a two-game losing skid to Waianae in their previous two games. Despite the setbacks, Coker saw improvement between the matches. Unlike in 2005 when Aiea put a veteran team on the floor, her 2006 team is heavy with first-year seniors.
“After we lost to them the first time (Sept. 23), we were letting balls hit the ground,” said Coker, who is the daughter of the late Longy Okamoto, a legendary volleyball coach at McKinley. “We came back to practice and talked about having to be more aggressive at the net. (In the second match Sept. 29) we blocked better, but still couldn’t execute our offense.
“Our defense was good,” she added. “We were a different team (than in the match five days earlier). If we played them one more time, I think we’d do better.”
A chance for redemption against Waianae is likely in the upcoming post-season, but it is Waialua that is much on Na Ali’i's minds this week.
In addition to Taitan, Aiea is also hoping for a big match from outside hitter Keli ‘i Aleaga, a 6-foot-4 junior, and senior Derrick Rabino, who made the transition from outside hitter to defensive specialist three games into the regular season.
“They’re really improved from last year,” Coker said of Waialua. “They had a couple of big hitters and a (good) setter who was a hitter last year. If we can stop their hitters, I think we have a good chance.
“It’s crunch time for us now,” she added. “We (coaches) can only tell them so much, and the rest is up to the team.
“Hopefully, they’ll work together, and we’ll get to a point where we reach our peak.”
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