Takata leads KIF boys volleyball all-star selections for Kauai High

Dylan Takata’s senior season ended with Kaua‘i High’s first boys volleyball title in 11 years, and now the Red Raiders’ standout has another honor: Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year. The 12th grader was one of five Kaua‘i High players named to the 2026 boys volleyball all-star lineup, a strong showing that underscored how deeply the Red Raiders shaped the island’s spring season.

Kaua‘i High’s all-star representation stretched across the court. Takata and 10th grader Pierson Fox were selected at outside hitter, while 12th graders Jaxon Capeli of Kapa‘a and Emry Piturachsatit of Kapa‘a joined 10th grader Kanai Huihui-Caberto of Waimea at middle blocker. Kaua‘i High coach Micah Young was named Coach of the Year, a fitting cap to a season in which the Red Raiders climbed past Kapa‘a to take the Central Pacific Bank KIF crown.

The championship came on Tuesday, May 5, at the Kaua‘i High School gymnasium in Līhu‘e, where Kaua‘i outlasted Kapa‘a 3-1, 25-23, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, before a capacity audience. Coaches and officials from Waimea High School and Island School were also in the gym, a reminder that the title match drew attention well beyond one campus. Kapa‘a entered the night as the 2025 champion and the first-round winner, but Kaua‘i finished the job and delivered its first boys volleyball title since 2015.

The Red Raiders’ surge was built in the second round, when they beat Kapa‘a in five sets in a late-April regular-season match to seize the lead. In that 26-25, 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 15-11 win, Young and his staff adjusted the rotation to get Takata more touches and to help setter Sean Carbonel spread the ball more effectively. Those changes carried into the title run and helped turn Kaua‘i High’s depth into a championship edge.

The all-star list also reflects the wider shape of boys volleyball on Kaua‘i: Kaua‘i High’s depth, Kapa‘a’s two selections, and Waimea’s presence in the middle show a league that stayed competitive across the island. That matters in a federation first organized in 1937 with Kaua‘i High and Waimea, later joined by Kapa‘a in 1946, and now home to eight member schools competing in 29 varsity sports and eight JV sports. In a season defined by tight matches and campus pride, Takata and the Red Raiders set the standard.