More than 50 years after it became an official state tournament sport in the Islands, the University Junior Rainbows have finally won the Core Trophy in boys volleyball.
In a great performance, junior Koa Lavoie had 40 kills on 98 attempts and senior Mika Nakasato had 26 kills on 63 swings as University finished 25-22, 25-27, 27- Defeated Le Jardin 25, 25-27, 15-12. The Division II finals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships were held Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena.
“It feels great,” said Labai, a 6-foot-4, two-sport standout. “It hurts so much. My legs are killing me.”
Labai missed six weeks of the ILH season with an ankle sprain. Coach Jonah Reyes had his team do some light practice before Friday's semifinal round, but Lavoie wanted a full-out practice.
“I just wanted to come back from my ankle injury and get as many reps as possible,” Labai said. “We have great players. We came out every night and competed. We got it done.”
Lavoie was unable to sit through five sets.
“I was a little wobbly, but I tried my best not to show it,” Labai said. “I'll definitely rest tonight. I'll probably fall asleep as soon as I get home.”
Nakazato clung to the core trophy after the match.
“We train every day to fill positions and always step up. We work hard in practice.” “What I told myself is I have to work hard for my team. This is my last year, so I did my best for them.”
Laboy will be without a teammate.
“Mika is probably the best leader I know. He's the best volleyball player I know. I've always played with him,” Lavoie said.
ULS Athletic Director Walt Quitan's joy was on another level. The 1988 graduate has had many close finishes.
“I can't believe it. I'm so happy. Tears of joy. I had a lot of silver coins. We lost to Punahou (in the finals) in my junior year,” he said.
Despite injuries to key players like Labai and Trey Ambrosic before and during the season, Reyes and his program went undefeated in the ILH and state tournaments. The Junior Bowes defeated Kau (25-16, 25-19, 25-15) and fifth-seeded Molokai (25-21, 25-17, 25-14) to finish the season 14-0 and advance to the title match. .
“We look forward to having Trey back next year,” Lavoie added.
Reyes and his staff have a system that is rooted from the intermediate level all the way up to the national team.
“It feels good to play in this air conditioning. Please keep the floor clean,” Reyes said. “We talked about conditioning last year. Trey didn't come close. This season we were without our core players (six weeks). We were at a disadvantage and Micah had to lead the team. Ethan (Brass) has to lead the team. We're just grateful to have such great kids. They're very humble and no matter how many sets they win. I'm here for it. I'm always getting better at passing. I'm always getting better at serving.”
Kawehi Kaneakua had 68 assists, and Laboy and Kena Kitan each had 21 assists.
Unseeded Le Jardin (9-7), coached by longtime guru Lee Lam, defeated ULS in their first ILH regular season game. When they played again on April 3rd, the university escaped with a five-set victory. This week, the Bulldogs faced Island (25-21, 16-25, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11) and second-seeded Konawaena (22-25, 29-27, 21-25, 25-18). 15-9) advance to the state finals.
LJA was also seeking its first state title in boys volleyball. This was Lamb's first year coaching the boys since 2017. His women's program has been strong for years.
“I love the progression from start to finish. They're all heart. They're solid and they pay attention to detail,” Lamb said of his sons. “They worked really hard to maintain it and improve it.”
Elijah Shore-Flores, a 6-3 senior, had an impressive 31 kills on 72 swings. Rakea Kamahele added 19 kills on 64 attempts. Middle Jackson Swirski had nine kills and two blocks, and Brennan Nakayama had 61 assists.
ULS gave up three points to Le Jardin due to hitting errors in the early going. The Bulldogs led 5-4 and held the momentum for much of the first set. With high-handed attackers like Flores and Kamahele, it sometimes looked easy.
Losing 22-21, the Junior Bowes finished the game strong. Labai got a right side kill off a double block and ULS took a 23-22 lead after a hitting error by Kamahele. Labai made an ace, and Nakazato finished the first match with a goal from the right side.
The second set was no different. LJA stepped up with back-to-back kills, including one on an overpass after Kaneakua's serve, as Lavoie erased a 22-21 lead.
However, Flores scored to tie the score at 23, and Lavoie's hitting error gave the Bulldogs a 24-23 lead. LJA held game point twice before Swirski roofed the brass to tie the game at 1-all.
The third set became a battle of attrition as big names Labai, Flores, and Kamahele began to show signs of fatigue. Labai took 36 swings in the first two sets, but Flores (21) and Kamahele (25) were still loaded.
LJA, which was trailing 20-17, rallied and took a 21-20 lead with kills from Kamahele, Flores, middle Kara Fraser and a hitting error from Nakazato.
LJA's rotation violation hurt, but Vincent Thomas regained the lead on the roof. Flores' goal gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 lead.
Two batting errors and one service error destroyed LJA's advantage. With the score tied at 25 and ULS leading the match 2-1, LJA's Jake Edsick and Swirski misfired on swings to take the lead.
The Bulldogs led 23-21 in the fourth set, but looked like they were going to run away again. Labai added two kills, Nakazato added one kill, and Junior Bowes tied the score with 25.
Flores gave his team the lead with his 25th kill, and a hitting error by Nakazato ended the set, sending the match into a fifth game.
In the fifth set, Nakazato had four kills and ULS took a 9-7 lead. Labai, who had 84 swings into the final set, had back-to-back kills to give Junior Bowes its largest lead at 11-8.
Consecutive missed hits by ULS gave LJA an 11-10 lead, but Labai caught up with his 40th kill, and Blas' roll shot landed in the heart of the Bulldogs' defense for a 13-10 lead. .
Flores tried his best with another shot, but a high, wide set led to a missed hit.
And Nakazato scored the final kill without a fight.
