Boys' volleyball participates in Hawaii tournament

Samo boys’ volleyball traveled to Waikiki, O’ahu, Hawaii to participate in the Hawaii Boys’ Invitational Volleyball Tournament from Wed., March 25 to Wed., April 1. The team played against high schools from across Hawaii and although the players experienced some rough patches, their experience brought the team closer together.Unfortunately, Samo lost each match in the tournament due to tough competition. The team held a meeting in order to improve communication, teamwork and togetherness as a group.“We are all aware of the potential this team has but can’t seem to quite reach it,” outside hitter Tyler Goodman (’15) said. “A lot of it has to do with communication on the court. That being said, the meeting was an open discussion to allow constructive criticism for each other to improve on.”According to Lennon, those losses helped the team prepare for its upcoming Ocean League matches because the team now knows what to improve on after suffering many defeats.“The Hawaiian teams were amazing,” Wright said. “Their defense was incredible. They did not let the ball hit the floor.”According to Sutton-Wills, the teams in Hawaii — including Seadbury Hall, Kealakehe High School, University Laboratory School and Kamehameha School — all played with a high level of intensity and proved to be tough opponents.“They were fundamentally sound,” Sutton-Wills said. “They had a game plan and could execute it the way they needed. They also [were] connected as a team, and we were still getting used to each other’s playing styles. Plus we didn’t have either of our setters for the trip.”During the trip, Samo played without a permanent setter as the team’s setter was sick, according to Goodman.“Unfortunately, our setter was sick and had to drop out the day before we left,” Goodman said. “So it was difficult to adjust to this and we only had so much time to acclimate.”Lennon had to make major adjustments to his game on very short notice. He began slowly, but eventually improved drastically as the tournament progressed, Lennon said.“I had to quickly get my feet to the ball and bend my knees low to shoot out a set that I usually didn’t do,” Lennon said. “At first it was tough. I felt like I wasn’t supplying and helping my teammates as much, but after a while I got used to it and got better throughout the tournament. As the tournament went on, as a team, we got much better.”In addition to uniting more, the team was able to get a better grasp on what players must do to improve in the future.“The tournament part of it was very humbling,” Sutton-Wills said. “It made me realize that we all still had a lot of room to grow.”The players also realized what facets of the game they needed to improve on for upcoming league matches. According to Sutton-Wills, passing was the team’s biggest difficulty throughout the tournament.According to Sutton-Wills, there were apparent differences between Hawaiian and Californian volleyball teams.“In Hawaii, they play a very fast paced game, while most Californian teams focus on getting the ball up and setting it up so that the hitters can slam it to the ground,” Sutton-Wills said.Conversely, there wasn’t a large difference between Hawaiian volleyball gyms and Californian ones, but the atmosphere of the former was quite different, according to Sutton-Wills. For example, many Hawaiian teams came to watch the Samo games, which added to the intensity of the room.Although Samo had some tough times on the court, the team had an enjoyable experience off of the courts. According to Wright, the team attended a luau held by the tournament host high school, Lolani High School.