With an outpouring of community support, the Pahoa High School boys volleyball team will be able to make its state tournament debut.

The Daggers were close to canceling their trip to this week's New City Nissan/ Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division II State Championships due to a lack of funds, but Big Island community members and Pahoa alumni have lent their support to cover costs for airfare and hotel. Eighteen players, coaches and parents will leave Hilo International Airport at 2:38 p.m. today for Honolulu. The Daggers (8-6), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation's third-place team, plays Hana (8-2), last season's Division II runner-up, in tomorrow's first round at Radford.

"Last (Sunday) night was a stalemate. Today, various people from Pahoa, a lot of phone calls from alumni, concerned donators from Honolulu, they was willing to donate but we didn't have an approved account for transactions," Pahoa coach Ikaika Marzo said last night.

"There was no way we could get it from Honolulu. We relied on our own community and families to donate money for our team to get going. There was a lot of concerned citizens on O'ahu and in our community. They came through and supported us 100 percent."

Marzo said callers from O'ahu offered to buy lunch or chip in for other costs. The Daggers beat Ka'u last Thursday night in the BIIF playoffs to clinch the school's first state tournament berth. Since then, coaches scrambled to find the cheapest way to get the Daggers to O'ahu. Previous fundraising efforts didn't help cover all the travel costs, with airfare averaging around $200 and a five-night hotel stay costing $2,000. If the team had booked its flight earlier in the season, it would have risked paying a cancellation fee if it didn't qualify for states.

Marzo broke the good news to his players at yesterday afternoon's practice.

"We told them there was a lot of people sponsoring us going," Marzo said. "They were really happy. In the same token, there's that feeling we have to prove something. We have to go up there and work our hardest and show their money wasn't a waste. They were practicing really hard and doing something about it.

"They're still shell shocked about it, nervous like any new person would be. They're really excited, on the same token scared. It's the first time they have an opportunity like this. Now they're ready."

Marzo hopes his team can overcome first-tournament jitters.

"This group is pretty new to the game, but how they play is like they're not new to the game," Marzo said. "They approach it with confidence, which is what we always lacked."

Marzo said his staff and players have learned a lot from this experience. Next year, they'll plan earlier.

"Next year, we'll be well aware of everything and should take into consideration to plan early," Marzo said.