KIF Boys Volleyball Heats Up With Fierce Midseason Matchups Across Kauai

Kapaa's Warriors came into the Kauai High School gymnasium on March 31 as the KIF's top team, and they left with a hard-earned win over the Red Raiders — but not before Kauai put together one of the more dramatic set rallies of the young season.

In the second set at the Lihue gym, Kauai dug out of a 12-21 hole with Pierson Fox leading the charge. A pair of Fox hits trimmed the gap to 14-21 before Kapaa's Tyler Thornton and Cyson Woodward pushed the score back to 23-14. Undeterred, Kauai stormed back on serves from Laurence Ganir and a combination of Fox and Ganir hits that pulled the Red Raiders to within 22-24. Fox registered Kauai's 23rd point, bringing the gym crowd to its feet, but a Red Raider hitting error on the next rally sealed Kapaa's win and ended what had been a stunning comeback attempt. The set, only the second Kapaa has dropped all season, nonetheless left no doubt about who closed it out.

Earlier in the night, Kauai's Adamm Moe tested Thornton repeatedly, while Fox also cut through the blocking attempts of Kapaa's Jaxon Capeli and Isaiah Noguchi. On the other side of the net, Andrew Durocher drove at Kauai's John Ibe and Trestyn Reis. Through each exchange, the Kauai High School cheer squad held nothing back, and Dylan Takata's hustle on a scrambled loose ball in the first set captured the Red Raiders' determined, if ultimately unsuccessful, night. Tower official Steven Carvalho tracked every disputed touch as the energy inside the gym stayed at full volume.

Across the island at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea, Island School delivered the evening's biggest upset. The Voyagers fell behind two sets to none against Waimea's Menehune, who picked up two sets, before mounting a comeback that forced a fifth set. Island School claimed the decider by two points, earning the program's first win of the KIF season.

Heading into the March 31 matches, Kapaa led the first-round standings with four wins, ahead of Kauai and Waimea at two wins apiece while Island School had yet to win a match. The results reshuffle the picture heading into the next round of conference play.

The next KIF boys volleyball matches are scheduled for Friday at two sites: Kapaa hosts Waimea at the Bernice Hundley Gym, with JV action at 5 p.m. and varsity to follow no earlier than 6:30 p.m., while Kauai travels to the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus in Puhi for a simultaneous matchup. With Kapaa still in command but the standings compressing, those Friday results will carry real weight for postseason seeding.

Kapaa's Warriors came into the Kauai High School gymnasium on March 31 as the KIF's top team, and they left with a hard-earned win over the Red Raiders — but not before Kauai put together one of the more dramatic set rallies of the young season.

In the second set at the Lihue gym, Kauai dug out of a 12-21 hole with Pierson Fox leading the charge. A pair of Fox hits trimmed the gap to 14-21 before Kapaa's Tyler Thornton and Cyson Woodward pushed the score back to 23-14. Undeterred, Kauai stormed back on serves from Laurence Ganir and a combination of Fox and Ganir hits that pulled the Red Raiders to within 22-24. Fox registered Kauai's 23rd point, bringing the gym crowd to its feet, but a Red Raider hitting error on the next rally sealed Kapaa's win and ended what had been a stunning comeback attempt. The set, only the second Kapaa has dropped all season, nonetheless left no doubt about who closed it out.

Earlier in the night, Kauai's Adamm Moe tested Thornton repeatedly at the net, while Fox also cut through blocking attempts from Kapaa's Jaxon Capeli and Isaiah Noguchi. On the other side, Andrew Durocher drove Kapaa attacks at Kauai's John Ibe and Trestyn Reis. The Kauai High School cheer squad held nothing back through each exchange, and Dylan Takata's scramble on a loose ball in the first set captured the Red Raiders' determined, if ultimately short, night. Tower official Steven Carvalho tracked every disputed touch as the energy inside the gym stayed at full volume.

Across the island at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea, Island School delivered the evening's biggest upset. The Voyagers fell behind two sets to none before mounting a comeback that forced a fifth set, then claimed the decider by two points for the program's first win of the KIF season. Waimea picked up two sets in the match but could not hold the lead when it mattered.

Heading into March 31, Kapaa led the first-round standings with four wins, ahead of Kauai and Waimea at two wins apiece with Island School still searching for its first victory. The results reshape that picture considerably as the season moves into its decisive conference stretch.

The next KIF boys volleyball matches are set for Friday, with Kapaa hosting Waimea at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapaa, JV at 5 p.m. and varsity no earlier than 6:30 p.m., while Kauai travels to the Wilcox Gymnasium on the Island School campus in Puhi. With the standings compressing and every set now carrying seeding implications, neither matchup offers anything close to a safe night.