On May 6, the HBA boys varsity volleyball team won the Division 2 championship trophy for the sixth straight time.
The game took place at the Blaisdell Center Arena where HBA defeated Molokai High after three sets (25-16, 25-15, 25-20).
On their championship winning game, HBA coach Teoni Obrey noted that the team “did a good job of playing the point.” He added, “We didn’t let our mistakes and errors affect the next play. We played pretty efficient volleyball the entire state tournament.” Obrey said his favorite moment of the game was the last point because they had gotten into a rally with Molokai and the score was 24-20, with HBA in the lead. “Nic Caballes passed the ball to our setter who set Caleb Fisher on the left pin. Caleb went to his go-to shot down the line and hit it hard. The top ref called the hit “out” but the lines person called it “in.” There was a bit of a delay with no one really sure what the call was. After several seconds of confusion, they ruled the ball “in” and that’s how the match finished. A little anti-climatic but we’ll take it,” said Obrey.
Looking back at the season, sophomore libero Dru Pang said, “It was a great experience to be on this team because of the talent that we had. I feel that we were successful because of the discipline we had to learn to get better every day.” Senior middle blocker Samuel Nishimiya noted that from the beginning of the season, the team treated every opposing team the same way so that when they were faced with harder teams, their performance would not differ. “In my opinion,” he said, “the coaches, parents and fans led us to our victory. We play for each other, and to make our parents proud. HBA has the best coaching staff throughout the state. They know the game well and give us everything we need to be successful.”
Senior outside hitter Brett Miller said that it was “surreal” to play his last high school volleyball game. “It has been a great four years,” he said. “I wish the best of luck to the underclassmen as they continue the tradition.”
Senior outside hitter Caleb Fisher led the team with 21 kills in the championship game and was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Miller, sophomore setter Davin Rausch, and Pang were also named to the all-tournament team. The team finished their season undefeated, (21-0) and there were fourteen players on the team, including five seniors: Caleb Fisher, Brett Miller, Samuel Nishimiya, Dillon Kodama, and Jeffrey Zhang.
