by Al Linsky
I've never been to a heavyweight championship boxing match, but, the atmosphere in the 'Iolani lower gym was exactly how I imagine it would be at such a fight.
Two champions, an overflow crowd pretty much evenly split between each side, and loud, very, very loud. This was fun. The volleyball was fabulous, some points going on forever, balls being run down that you wouldn't expect, powerful spikes being returned, wow! 
In the end, though, it was the Warriors who captured the key points. The Raiders had their chances, though, never leading in the first game, but tying at 7, 16, 17 and 18.
In the second game, after trailing by a few points, the Raiders actually led 12-8 before the Warriors regrouped to go ahead 18-16. From that point on it went back and forth until it looked like the Warriors would finish it at 24-22. The Raiders dug in and refused to budge, winning the next 3 points to take a 25-24 lead as the Raider fans erupted in a frenzy.
An errant serve and the Andrade-Herring connection finished off the game at 27-25. But, it was a night to remember for all who attended. Both teams now will compete in the HHSAA State Championship. Kamehameha will have the ILH seed and a first round bye. The Raiders will have to get to the finals the "hard way", but they are very capable of doing it to set up what would be a fantastic rematch.
To see more photos, please visit iolani-events.org.
