H O N O L U L U S TA R - A D V E R T I S E R > > S U N D AY 5 / 2 0 / 1 8
SPORTS
1 9
Ryan
Wilcox:
Punahou
Outside hitter
2 10
Jameson
McKibbin:
Punahou
Setter
3 11
Kana‘i
Akana:
Punahou
Opposite
Rounding out the top five on the Star-Advertiser’s Fab 15 list were No. 2 Jameson McKibbin, Punahou’s
setter; No. 3 Kana‘i Akana, a Buffanblu opposite; No. 4 Jon Stanley, Kaiser’s outside hitter, and No. 5 Cole
Hogland, ‘Iolani’s middle and outside hitter.
4 PUNAHOU
Jon
By Paul Honda
Stanley: phonda@staradvertiser.com
Kaiser
T
Outside hitter
he bar, as always, is
quite high for the
Punahou Buffanblu.
The highest
heights. The biggest
ask. Coach Rick Tune’s sys-
tem isn’t built for a spotlight
star. It’s about teamwork. In-
telligence. Accountability.
Ryan Wilcox kept answer-
ing the call. The senior out-
side hitter did all that was
5 13
asked of him. Hitting from
Cole the left. The right. Some-
Hogland: times the back row. Serving
‘Iolani
Middle/
without peer. Passing with
consistency. For the second
Outside hitter year in a row, coaches and
media have voted the
6-foot-3 Wilcox the Star-Ad-
vertiser boys volleyball
player of the year.
“To be honored with this
twice is really humbling. I
wasn’t expecting it. It’s super
cool,” Wilcox said. “What’s
helped me get where I am is
our practices are so compet-
itive. We’re really lucky to
6 14
Kala‘i have such a deep bench. Ev-
Leopoldo: ery day is a battle.”
Moanalua Wilcox, setter Jameson
Outside hitter McKibbin and opposite Ka-
na‘i Akana made it a Puna-
hou sweep of the top three
spots. Libero Shea Suzu-
moto and middle Alaka‘i
Todd made it five Buffan-
blu among the Fab 15 this
season.
Floor leader Jon Stanley
of Kaiser, explosive Cole
Hogland of ‘Iolani and versa-
tile Kala‘i Leopoldo of
Moanalua round out the
7 15
first six. Wilcox, who will de-
Matthew
part for UC Santa Barbara
Saffery: soon, was a near unanimous
Kamehameha selection.
Outside hitter “It’s all about efficiency
for him. He’s not going to
overpower guys. His oppor-
tunities come when the
block gets faked out.
Against two or three guys,
he’s got to hit a smart ball,”
Tune said. “Ryan is steady.
He has a high degree of skill.
He can pass, defend, has a
wicked jump serve and at-
tacks from anywhere. Block-
ing is the only (aspect) he
8 C
Blaze will hone in on, but espe-
Kahikina: cially with his attacking, he
Waianae has so many shots and great
Outside hitter vision. He can dip into his
ALL-STATE BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Shea
Suzumoto:
Punahou
Libero
Max
Slaughter:
Moanalua
Opposite
Jesus
Garcia:
St. Francis
Setter
STAR-ADVERTISER PHOTOS
12
Anthony
tallied 40 assists, one ace
Trevino:
and six digs, and Akana had Kealakehe
13 kills, two aces and eight Outside hitter
digs.
Wilcox also had 15 kills
PLACES 5 ON
(.393), three digs and a block
in a semifinal win over Keal-
akehe. Wilcox had 13 kills
(.310), two aces and six digs
in a sweep of Mililani in the
ALL-STATE TEAM
quarterfinal round.
“What else is there to say
about Ryan? The athleti-
cism, the physicality, the
volleyball IQ — he’s one of
those kids who comes once
in a blue moon,” Moanalua Bradley
Jameson McKibbin, Kana‘i Akana, coach Alan Cabanting said. Tacata:
Shea Suzumoto and Alaka‘i Todd join “You don’t know whether Waipahu
to stand back or to come Outside hitter
Ryan Wilcox on the Fab 15 squad forward on his serve. When
you stand back bracing for
that powerful serve, he
STAR-ADVERTISER’S FAB 15 throws this soft roll shot
into the middle of the court
that only a few spin servers
RANK NAME SCHOOL POS. HT. YR. could do. When you come
1. Ryan Wilcox Punahou OH 6-3 Sr. forward, he throws the pow-
2. Jameson McKibbin Punahou S 6-3 Sr. erful, aggressive serve that
3. Kana‘i Akana Punahou OPP 6-4 Sr. can catch you in the face if
4. Jon Stanley Kaiser OH 6-2 Sr. you don’t move out of the
5. Cole Hogland ‘Iolani M/OH 6-3 Sr. way. He can hit any kind of
6. Kala‘i Leopoldo Moanalua OH 6-3 Sr. attack that he wants, based Nate
7. Matthew Saffery Kamehameha OH 6-0 Jr. on what the defense is giv- Johnson:
8. Blaze Kahikina Waianae OH 6-3 Sr. ing him. Whether he gets Mililani
9. Shea Suzumoto Punahou L 5-9 Jr. blocked or not, he comes Outside hitter
10. Max Slaughter Moanalua OPP 6-0 Jr. back and gets a kill for his
11. Jesus Garcia St. Francis S 5-11 Jr. team. And, more impor-
12. Anthony Trevino Kealakehe OH 6-1 Sr. tantly, he carries this humil-
13. Bradley Tacata Waipahu OH 6-1 Jr. ity on the court that allows
14. Nate Johnson Mililani OH 6-3 Sr. all his opponents to respect
15. Alaka‘i Todd Punahou M 6-8 Sr. him. He’s just a great volley-
ball player.”
Player of the Year: Ryan Wilcox, Punahou
Punahou (13-0) also won
Coach of the Year: Dandi Holder, St. Francis
all matches in a tournament
in Japan during the season.
HONORABLE MENTION The Buffanblu have won a
Listed by number of votes >> Josh Awai, University state title in each season
>> Ryan Van Cantfort, ‘Iolani >> Mofuike Hafoka, St. Francis
that Wilcox and his class-
>> Chance Guillermo, Mililani >> Justin Paleka, Kapaa
>> Kawika Lee, ‘Iolani >> Chad Oshiro, Maryknoll mates played. The streak is Alaka‘i
>> DiAeris McRaven, Moanalua >> Ryan Hong, Punahou at seven years. Todd:
>> Cole Fukumitsu, Moanalua >> Nalu Kahapea, KS-Hawaii Dandi Holder of St. Fran- Punahou
>> Duncan Clark, Moanalua >> Kobe Young, Kamehameha cis was voted coach of the Middle
>> Shane Harimoto, ‘Iolani >> Eric Wong, Hawaii Baptist year after guiding the Saints
>> Isaiah Hooper, Kealakehe >> Dru Pang, Hawaii Baptist
>> Ezra Lono-Soares, Kapolei >> Donovan Leopoldo-Vierra, past Kapaa in the D-II state
>> Jarin Simon, ‘Iolani Kapolei final. Cabanting, who guided
>> Jeremiah Ta’amu-Perifanos, >> Cruse Aea, Kamehameha Moanalua to an unbeaten
Pearl City >> Boris Vukovic, St. Francis OIA season and a win over
>> Wembley Mailei, St. Francis >> Lanson Umufuke, St. Francis ‘Iolani in the state semifinal,
>> Rockwell Adolpho, Molokai >> Kainoa Ferguson, Moanalua
was a close second. Keal-
Coaches comments on all the Fab 15 akehe coach Kahinu Lee
players on hawaiiprepworld.com was a close third. Also re-
ceiving votes were Tune,
Christine Christe of Rad-
toolbox.” over Moanalua in the Divi- ford, Kapule Kaona of
Wilcox had 17 kills with a sion I final of the New City Kapaa, Moani Nahulu-Mahe- Dandi
.361 hitting percentage, four Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volley- lona of Kapolei, Wilhelm Holder:
aces and five digs in Puna- ball State Championships. In Wagner of Waianae and Hale St. Francis
hou’s 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 win the same match, McKibbin Domingo of Molokai. Coach of Year