As Waiakea knows, defense wins championships, and it helps to have a libero like Jordyn Hayashi stopping an opponent from scoring, and a pair of mobile blockers like Kadara Marshall and Brianna Ridgway putting up a brickwall.
Hayashi recorded 26 digs as Waiakea dethroned Kamehameha 18-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-22 for the BIIF Division I championship on Saturday night at Hilo High’s Gym, snapping the private school’s five-year reign.
Waiakea’s block also made its presence felt, with more stuffs than Kamehameha, 7-5. Marshall and Ridgway shared roofing honors with three stuffs each for the public school.
It wasn’t just the front and back row, but also the subtle play from Waiakea junior right-side hitter Lindsey Maikui, who passed a ton of clean balls to setters Hiilei Ishii-Chaves and Taniah Ayap.