Pahoa, Kona capture Big Island boys volleyball titles in playoff triumphs

Pahoa had to survive every swing of momentum, but the Daggers found enough resolve to finish the job and end a 14-year wait for an island crown. In the BIIF Division II championship at Kea‘au High School gym, Pahoa outlasted Ka‘u in five sets, 21-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-22, 15-10, to win its first Big Island boys volleyball title since 2012.

The title match fit the rivalry that had already defined the season. Pahoa and Ka‘u had met twice before the championship, and both of those 2026 matches went five sets. Ka‘u had also swept Pahoa in Pahala during the 2025 regular season, 25-8, 25-15, 25-23, a reminder that the Daggers had been chasing this breakthrough against a program that knew how to push them to the edge.

Pahoa’s comeback in the fourth set changed the match. After dropping the first and third sets and trailing 2-1 overall, the Daggers held on 25-22 to force a decisive fifth frame, then closed it out 15-10 to secure the title. For Pahoa, the win carried more than a line in the record book. It marked a program breakthrough for a school that often has to fight for recognition in the island sports landscape, and it showed that East Hawaii volleyball can still produce championship-level depth.

Kona delivered a different kind of championship statement on the same floor. The Wildcats swept Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii 25-17, 26-25, 25-22 to claim the BIIF Division I title, and the result was their third sweep of the Warriors this year. Kona’s clean finish suggested not just a hot postseason run, but a season-long edge over one of the league’s toughest opponents.

Kona celebrated the title with coach Shawna-Lei Kuehu, while the setting at Kea‘au gym again served as the island’s neutral stage for playoff crowning moments. Together, the two champions pointed to a shifting map in Big Island boys volleyball. Pahoa’s grind-it-out win showed how dangerous a resilient East Hawaii program can be, while Kona’s sweep underscored the kind of control that travels well in postseason play. In a BIIF where Konawaena had stacked three straight Division II titles before Hilo broke through in 2024, both results reflected the same truth: island volleyball remains deep, competitive and hard to hold for long.