![Kayla Afoa is the only returnee from last year's all-state team on Kamehameha's roster, but she will get help from Brooke Ka’awa and Shiloh Pelaras. Cindy Ellen Russell / Star-Advertiser](https://www.hawaiiprepworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/warriors-630x399.jpg)
The Punahou girls volleyball team showed what it has to work with last week, now its rival Kamehameha’s turn.
The Warriors will begin their 2015 season in their own tournament, taking on 15 other schools from around the islands in the Hawaii Volleyball Invitational.
The tournament begins on Thursday at Kamehameha and runs through Saturday, when a champion will be crowned after a 1 p.m. title match.
Kamehameha, ranked No. 2 in the latest Star-Advertiser media poll, opens with Waimea and meets Kailua and ‘Iolani II on the first day.
After that, things only get tougher. The other pools include:
Pool 2: No. 3 ‘Iolani, Kalaheo, St. Francis and Nanakuli
Pool 3: No. 4 Moanalua, Mililani, Castle and Kamehameha-White
Pool 4: No. 6 Kahuku, No. 7 KS-Hawaii, Hawaii Baptist and Kamehameha-Blue.
Kahuku and KS-Hawaii open the tournament against each other at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The defending state champion Buffanblu looked impressive in reaching the Ann Kang final before losing, but comparing them to Kamehameha this early is impossible.
‘Iolani didn’t get to play Punahou at the Ann Kang, but avoiding the Warriors might not be so easy. The Raiders rolled through their competition but lost to Santa Margarita in the semifinals before Punahou lost to the Eagles in the final. Both Punahou and Iolani pushed Santa Margarita to a third set within three points of winning.
Here is the complete schedule:
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