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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 15, 2009

No. 3 HBA stops No. 1 'Iolani

Photo gallery: Prep volleyball

By Stanley Lee
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

HBA's Kyle Barretta tries to split the double block of 'Iolani's Chris Llarenas, left, and Tyler Cundiff in the first set of last night's Interscholastic League of Honolulu match.

ANDREW SHIMABUKU | Honolulu Advertiser

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A win over top-ranked 'Iolani was hardly an upset for Hawai'i Baptist.

Given the Eagles' recent performances against their league's top teams — which are the best in the state — and their powerful hitting combo of Ryan Leung and Branden Kaneshiro, the Eagles have nearly erased any doubt about their Division II classification.

Especially after the loud cheers following last night's win.

Leung had 13 kills, Kaneshiro added seven and host Hawai'i Baptist rallied from a second-set letdown to beat No. 1 'Iolani, 27-25, 18-25, 25-19, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu volleyball match last night.

The third-ranked Eagles, the highest ranked Division II team in the Advertiser's statewide poll, improved to 8-1.

David Fink had 10 kills and Chris Llarenas added nine for the Raiders (10-2).

'Iolani is the defending Division I state champion while HBA won the Division II title.

"Not at all," said Leung, when asked if his team's win was an upset.

"Our defense, we dug a lot of balls and we blocked a lot of balls," Leung said. "We got a lot of touches on blocks."

Hawai'i Baptist beat No. 4 Kamehameha in an ILH match earlier this season and took No. 2 Punahou to three sets before falling. 'Iolani beat then-No. 1 Punahou last Thursday.

The Raiders responded well from that win with a good practice on Saturday. But after a shaky Monday practice, coach Mike Among was worried.

"We turned it around in Game 2 and then just was really shaky, we couldn't find a rhythm, even in Game 2," Among said. "HBA played awesome. They definitely put us in trouble.

"They played smart. We knew where they were going and tried to stop them, but they were still able to get their kills. They knew where we were going at times and got stuff blocks on us."

In the third set, the Raiders cut an 8-4 deficit to 11-10 after an Eagle service error. Leung then put down a kill and teamed with Kyle Barretta for a block that made it 13-10. Fink had a kill for the Raiders, but Leung had another kill, and two Raider errors made it 16-11 and forced an 'Iolani timeout.

"Coach told me to be aggressive," Leung said. "I was kind of playing a little scared of making a mistake."

'Iolani got within four points on four occasions, the last at 22-18, but West Hatae's kill made it 23-18. After a kill by Fink, Leung had a kill to make it match point, and 'Iolani hit into the antenna to end the match.

"They give us a lot of confidence, they are confident on the outside," Eagles coach Teoni Obrey said of Leung and Kaneshiro. "When our passing isn't there, they are able to make up a lot of our mistakes."

Tied at 13 in the second set, Nick Christman had a kill and Fink had an ace to give the Raiders the lead for good. The Eagles closed to 18-16, but Taylor Donovan had back-to-back kills to give 'Iolani a 20-16 lead.

Fink had three more kills and Tyler Cundiff added a block to help the Raiders close out the second set.

"We haven't been in this position," HBA coach Teoni Obrey said. "Our program is new to playing those big games. We had the same letdown against Punahou. We were able to win Game 1 and we had a letdown."

'Iolani rallied from several four-point deficits midway through the first set to tie it 20-20 on an Eagle error. The teams traded sideouts and Leung's kill put the Eagles ahead 24-23.

Donovan had two kills for 'Iolani, but a Raider service error tied the set at 25.

Leung and Barretta's double block made it 26-25, and the Raiders hit into the net to end the set.

"Sometimes in the beginning of the game, we come out too intense and too fired up, and we miss a lot of serves and easy plays," Obrey said. "Once we settled down, we felt we could take advantage of some matchups."

With 'Iolani's loss, Punahou (10-1) clinched the ILH first-round title and a state berth.

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.