On paper, Island Pacific Academy’s girls volleyball team looked a year away from being a contender again in ILH Division III.<\/p>\n
And head coach Stan Vincent was among those who foresaw the Navigators being in rebuilding mode. That mindset quickly changed, however, when IPA began its ILH slate.<\/p>\n
The team entered last Thursday’s season finale with Lanakila Baptist still undefeated (11-0) and clinching the ILH DIII title. The Navigators also qualified for the DII conference tournament’s “play-in” game against Hanalani, which was to take place last Saturday. The winner of that game advances to a second round matchup versus DII’s top seed, Hawaii Baptist Academy.<\/p>\n
“When we started, we weren’t looking at going very far,” admitted Vincent, who coached IPA to the DIII title in 2012 as well as a second-place finish last fall. “We’d lost half of our team for various reasons, and I had to bring up a bunch of kids from the (2013) JV team just to have a varsity team. We brought up five sophomores, and they jelled particularly well with the juniors and seniors we did have.<\/p>\n
“Our chemistry was very positive on the court,” he added. “They played well throughout the season.”<\/p>\n
Six of IPA’s wins were decided in two games, with only five matches going the full three games.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been a strong serving team, and that has served us well, so to speak,” he continued. “We keep the pressure on, and we’ve scored more points that way than anyone else.”<\/p>\n
IPA’s roster included seniors Kaelyn Estenson, Celina Li and Vicki Nishii, junior JC Hitzeman, and sophomores Taylor Kodani, Kalena Spotkaeff, Shania Duran, Katie Gordon and Caitlin Komatsu.<\/p>\n
The Navigators’ success this season is all the more noteworthy in that IPA doesn’t yet have a gym of its own. The team usually practices at a park in Ewa Beach.<\/p>\n
“All of our practices are outdoors, so we have the wind and the rain (to deal with),” Vincent explained.<\/p>\n
Plans have been drawn up for a gym at IPA, but construction has yet to begin. The Navigators’ volleyball program, meanwhile, is well on its way to establishing itself as a power in ILH Division III.<\/p>\n
IPA’s Intermediate Team also went undefeated during the 2014 season at 12-0 this fall.<\/p>\n
“Success breeds success,” said Vincent. “Now that we’ve had some success (at the varsity level), we’re developing our feeder programs.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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