The Iolani Raiders agree on the next possession here in set 1!
The jinx has been broken.
After the Iolani Raiders had their win streak snapped at 10 a week ago, they broke through with a long-awaited sweep over the Kamehameha Warriors in the ILH Championship first game, 25-14, 25-23, and 25-21, at Iolani High School on Saturday!
Kamehameha’s Sauimoana Purcell drew first blood in the first set, but Iolani was just getting warmed up.
Kamehameha’s Sauimoana Purcell prepares for a serve here in set 2!
Georgie Lee got the Raiders on the board on the next possession. That ignited a massive 18-7 Raiders run, which included seven straight, to take an 18-8 lead! That included aces from Mary Kate Kawakami, Poema Kalama-Kingma, and Hailey Bell!
Iolani’s Mary Kate Kawakami (11) prepares to serve the ball in set 1!
A Kealoha Lyons block for Kamehameha ignited a mini 5-2 Warriors run, but they were too far back to pose a threat.
Iolani’s Lee scored three kills in the waning moments to take the first set for Iolani, 25-14!
In set two, Iolani got out to a much-needed good start, as opposed to the slow starts in the second sets in their home win on Sept. 12 and their road win on Oct. 1. They started with a 10-4 run punctuated by a Kawakami ace!
Mary Kate Kawakami with another serve in set two!
“In practice, we’ve been really good at finishing,” said Kawakami. “Even the other night against Punahou, we were able to finish that, even though they were up!”
Kamehameha made some pushes, but Iolani kept a sizable lead until the closing stages! An Iolani service error and an Emilynn Won kill ignited four straight as part of an 8-4 surge to put Kamehameha down, 21-20!
Iolani got a break when a Kamehameha service error happened on the next possession. A Kalama-Kingma kill allowed Iolani to keep its lead until the end, and Iolani took set two, 25-23!
Poema Kalama-Kingma with a serve in set two!
After Kamehameha’s Lilly Chan began set three with a block, kills from Iolani’s Elle Arceneaux and Lee ignited a mini 5-2 Iolani run to take a 5-3 lead! The Warriors tied off a Raiders service error, but Iolani’s Kalama-Kingma got her team the lead back with a kill on the next possession.
Iolani’s Elle Arceneaux (1) goes for the kill over two Kamehameha Warriors in set 2!
Kamehameha came back to retake the lead via a 7-2 run, which included five straight to take a 12-9 lead. It included a Kalena Diaz ace! They could not run away and hide from Iolani.
“Our seniors are very calm leaders, and they lead our team really well,” said Kawakami.
Iolani tied Kamehameha six times, the last at 19 off an Annaura Reid-Gillet kill! That Gillet kill was the beginning of a critical 7-2 Iolani surge to end set three! Lee delivered the final kill for the 25-21 win and 3-set sweep!
Iolani’s Georgie Lee with a big serve here!
“As a team, we all rally around each other, and our responsibilities, and executed the scout, and that really helped us,” said Kawakami.
Kawakami plans to celebrate by hanging out with teammate Arceneaux in Waikiki.
These two teams will return to Iolani High School for game two of the ILH Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 5 pm HST!
