Kalani girls volleyball keeps rolling with road win against rival Kaiser

HAWAI’I KAI — Nothing like a little East Honolulu rivalry.

The Kalani girls volleyball team pulled away for a 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 road win over rival Kaiser Monday night in an OIA East match.

Senior libero Jaci Miyasaki had a serving run of seven straight points that took the Falcons (5-2) from a 14-11 deficit to a 18-14 advantage to flip the momentum in the fourth and final set to help push Kalani to victory.

Miyasaki finished with a match-high 22 digs, five aces and two assists and took home HSRN’s “Grinder of the Game” award, which is presented by Timmy T’s Gourmet Grinders Sandwich Shop.

The rivalry between Kalani and Kaiser runs deep as Miyasaki said it was payback for when the Kaiser football team defeated the Falcons, 49-7, two Fridays ago. The presence of the Cougars’ cheering section, dubbed as the “Cougar Cage,” was also felt as they were decked out in construction gear.

“It feels great because we lost to them last week in our football team. It’s great that we were able to come in strong and beat them in their home gym,” said Miyasaki.

Miyasaki is one of the few veteran players that was on the Kalani team that reached the state tournament last season. After getting their fifth win of league play, Miyasaki said the young team is starting to play to their potential.

“We’re slowly making progress. It’s a rough start, but now we’re starting to get the ball rolling and we’re ready for anyone.”

Freshman Rohm Takamoto had a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs with three aces while junior opposite Ariana Taylor had 11 kills and two blocks. Middle Alina Stephenson was also solid with nine kills, including match point, and three blocks.

Samantha Niide put down nine kills and Hana Engelhardt had seven kills and two blocks to round out the offense. Starting setter Tatum Frias also was a weapon at the service line with four aces to go along with her 27 assists.

Kaiser freshman Hatesa Sopoaga led the Cougars (2-6) in the loss with a match-high 13 kills.