Saint Louis takes a step up with win over Hawaii Baptist
Mar. 9—Coming off a Division II state championship, Saint Louis rallied for a 21-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-16, 15-9 win over Hawaii Baptist on Friday night.
Carson Lee, TJ Setik and Rex Paguirigan are on a new mission.
Coming off a Division II state championship, Saint Louis rallied for a 21-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-16, 15-9 win over Hawaii Baptist on Friday night.
Lee led the way with 17 kills. Six were in the fifth set, and four came in the final game. Setik finished with 10 kills, including five during the crucial fifth set. Paguirigan dished out 40 assists and added two blocks in a virtually flawless performance. Blaize Arakawa contributed seven kills, middle Christian Stevens tallied five kills, and middle Kekama Cosma chipped in four kills and a match-ending ace.
Presley Longfellow paced the Eagles with 26 kills and two aces. Joseph Giles had 13 kills, middle Preston Gonzalez had five kills and Brendan Aoki chipped in four kills. Setter Kamden Kaneshiro-Takeuchi was the glue man with 47 assists, one ace and one block.
Coming off a four-set loss to 'Iolani on Tuesday, Saint Louis is 1-1 in ILH D-I play. HBA, which lost to Kamehameha on Tuesday, is 0-2.
"We practice tomorrow (Saturday ), 9 o'clock, " HBA coach Teoni Obrey said. "The guys are working on new positions, getting used to each other. Four guys are playing new positions. We graduated pretty much our entire starting lineup. They're learning how to play together, but it's just the beginning. Our two outsides were middles last year. Right now, we're consistently inconsistent."
The longtime coach wasn't surprised by Saint Louis' cohesion and poise.
"They're just feisty. You can tell they're mature. They played the big points well, " Obrey said. "At the end, game to 15, they did a really good job. Playing Division I with us makes our league way stronger. We're super excited."
Saint Louis was the Division II league champion 2022 and'23. The Crusaders were a combined 29-8 in ILH play. The Crusaders won the D-II state title last year. The victory is the first in ILH Division I play for Saint Louis in nearly a decade, coach Keenan Paulos said.
"I think that's the first D-I win since the school made the move down to D-II in 2016. We took our first step. I told the boys we always wanted to be back in this position, " Paulos said. "To be in D-I, to compete against the best. I first said we want to play D-II, to have a chance to be back-to-back state champions. I talked to my 10 seniors. These guys made the right choice and today was the start. These guys are very excited.
Lee was at his best in the final set. Using his vision and a mix of power, deception—the side-eye technique—and finesse, he racked up four kills as Saint Louis opened an 8-5 lead. Longfellow had back-to-back hitting errors that allowed the Crusaders to extend the lead to 11-7.
HBA got no closer the rest of the way. Cosma, who had five service errors, closed the night out with an untouched ace.
Hawaii Baptist will play at 'Iolani on Tuesday, then hosts Mid-Pacific on Thursday.
Saint Louis will be home for matches with Punahou on Wednesday and Kamehameha three days later.
This spring, three-sport athlete Pupu Sepulona is not playing volleyball for the Crusaders. Yet. Saint Louis just captured its third basketball state championship in a row.
"Pupu is such a dynamic athlete. He's such a big presence here at Saint Louis. He does so much for the school, " said Paulos, who is an elementary school counselor at Saint Louis. "We're not going to say Pupu is not going to play. He's kind of up and down. It's a mystery. I think it's more of a mental break. He dominates in three sports. It's tough. If he makes that choice to come back, then great. It's a brotherhood. Next man up. We're always supporting him."
