Girls volleyball

To a non-volleyball expert, Annika San Nicolas’ sets were perfect. And they were great for Kapolei coach Naidah Gamurot all season long. San Nicolas, whose Hurricanes play Moanalua in the state third-place match Saturday at the McKinley High gym, is looking to play volleyball in college next year and is in contact with a few schools. But, there is a communication problem. “She (San Nicolas) has always wanted to play libero and that’s what she wants to play in college,” […]

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced on Thursday that McKenna Rose Granato of Punahou has been selected to the Under Armour Girls High School All-American Team. Granato, a 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter, is one of 150 players selected, which includes just 24 players on the First Team. She will play with other first-team picks in an exhibition match prior to the NCAA Final Four on Dec. 19 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okl. Granato is a returning […]

It is Thursday already, which means the Kamehameha Warriors are 48 (or so) hours away from capturing another girls volleyball state championship. Or you could say we’re 48 hours from another Kamehameha-Punahou state final. Maybe it’s 48 hours from a Punahou state title, knocking off the regular-season ILH champs (Kamehameha). Wait. Maybe Punahou (14-3) doesn’t even make the final. The Buffanblu are outstanding, killer, dominant outside the ILH, right? They’ve got to deal with a powerful Moanalua (15-0) squad that […]

2018: Iolani 3, Kamehameha 0 25-23, 25-21, 25-18 Elena Oglivie puts down an incredible 28 kills on 70 swings and the Raiders sweep the Warriors. Kristen McDaniel passes out 35 assists for the Raiders, who benefitted from 20 digs from Grace Wee and another 15 from Cameryn Ann Nagaji. Braelyn Akana leads the Warriors with 15 kills and Keonilei Akana added 11 on 40 swings. 2017: Kamehameha 3, Iolani 0 25-20, 25-22, 31-29 The Warriors get kills from seven different […]

Seeing former players — elite ones, no less — grow a little older is no surprise. But seeing them as head coaches, that’s teetering on surreal. Waiakea took the court on Thursday against No. 1-seeded Kamehameha in what was the basic David-versus-Goliath scenario. Except that Waiakea has been coached for the past two seasons by Ashley Hanohano, who knows a little something about overcoming giants. Wind the clock back about 12 years and Hanohano, Lindsey Lee and Jazmin Paakaula were […]

Despite some big-time playoff contests, there was very little change in Tuesday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser Football Top 10. The top eight places remained the same, with Punahou and Mililani keeping the top two spots. Hilo (10-0) moved up to No. 9 after its 32-0 victory over Kealakehe to seal the BIIF championship and a spot in the Division I state tournament. Leilehua (6-2), which did not make the postseason, dropped to No. 10. In the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Girls Volleyball Top 10, […]

Moanalua will have the benefit of some home cooking in the early stages of the state division I volleyball tournament. The OIA champion Na Menehune are seeded second behind Kamehameha and gets to play at home in the second round against the winner between Kamehameha-Maui and reeling Kahuku. Most importantly, Moanalua avoids an ILH team for an entire week withe the new regional system. Punahou and Kamehameha have been in the state final each year since 2008. First round, Friday […]