PUKALANI — This was a fitting opening-night matchup for Maui Interscholastic League boys volleyball in so many ways.

On a chilly evening, it was an across-the-street, Upcountry rivalry between the two teams that own the last five MIL Division I titles. Both sported young rosters and both had their encouraging moments on Tuesday night.

It was two-time defending MIL champion Kamehameha Schools Maui that swept to the victory, 25-16, 25-17, 25-21 over King Kekaulike at Na Alii’s gym.

“It was good,” Kamehameha Maui frontline junior Ethan James said after finishing with a match-high 13 kills and three aces. “I think we cut down on all the errors and that was good. That helped us to execute the win.”

The Warriors feature just one senior, Jayden Tanaka, and lost several standouts off of last season’s MIL championship team.

“What really helped us was the Seabury tournament last weekend,” Kamehameha Maui coach Robert Brede said. “That helped us get things moving around because it was kind of a slow start. We had Kaeo (Pedroza-Kanemitsu), out middle, coming off of wrestling. We’ve got Maikalani (Wong), first time playing volleyball. We lost Iverson (Dudoit), one of our big returnees, one of our middles — the family moved to Molokai.

“So, it’s sort of like a redevelopment. Fortunately we have our returnees: Hao (Awai), Brennan (Mendez), Ethan and Sheldon (Dudoit-Caban). Those guys are big for us.”

So is the youngest player on the roster, freshman setter Kale Spencer, who is the first freshman that Brede has ever named as a team captain.

Spencer, the son of former Kamehameha Maui girls volleyball coach Bala Spencer, dished out 27 assists in his first MIL match.

“That’s one guy I want to give a lot of praise to is Kale,” Brede said. “His IQ in volleyball is spot on. That’s why he’s our captain, that’s why he’s our setter. He knows how to control this team.

“Losing (two-time MIL Player of the Year) Austin Peters from last year, Kale is right there as a freshman. (Spencer) came off of basketball, but when he stepped on the court, problem solved.”

Mendez led the Warriors’ defense with eight digs.

The Warriors fell behind early in the first set, 6-4, before taking command with a 6-0 run. Na Alii closed within 12-10 on a Kamehameha Maui hitting error, but the Warriors went on a 6-2 run to increase the lead to 18-12.

A service ace by James closed out the first set for the Warriors.

In the second set, Kamehameha Maui raced out to a 9-1 lead before King Kekaulike closed within 10-9. The Warriors widened the lead to 18-11 on a kill by Pedroza-Kanemitsu.

A dump by Spencer on the second hit ended the second set.

The final set was tied at 11 and was still just a 19-17 lead for Kamehameha Maui before the Warriors ended the match on a 6-4 run.

Na Alii were led by eight kills from Kai Carbajal and seven by Darius Lauture. Setter Jacob Wittenberg had 12 assists.

“We had a really good opportunity to get these boys going fast,” first-year Na Alii coach Geoffrey Cook said. “Some of the calls didn’t go our way, but we played against a very well-coached team on the other side. We have a lot of great kids on this squad, a lot of young talent. A lot of it shined through in portions — we’ve just got to be a little more consistent.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

Also Tuesday

Lahainaluna def Baldwin 25-12, 25-6, 25-16

Top performers–Lahainaluna: Keahi Shim 5 kills, 4 aces; MJ Domingo 9 digs, 2 aces.

MIL Standings

DIVISION I

W L Pct. GB

Kamehameha Maui 1 0 1.000 —

Lahainaluna 1 0 1.000 —

Maui High 0 0 .000 1⁄2

Baldwin 0 1 .000 1

King Kekaulike 0 1 .000 1

DIVISION II

W L Pct. GB

Hana 0 0 .000 —

Lanai 0 0 .000 —

Molokai 0 0 .000 —

Seabury Hall 0 0 .000 —

Tuesday’s Results

Lahainaluna def. Baldwin 25-12, 25-6, 25-16

Kamehameha Maui def. King Kekaulike 25-16, 25-17, 25-21

Thursday’s Matches

Maui High at Lahainaluna, 6 p.m.

King Kekaulike at Baldwin, 6 p.m.

Friday’s Matches

Seabury Hall at Lanai, 7 p.m.

Molokai at Hana, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s Matches

Seabury Hall at Lanai, 10 a.m.

Molokai at Hana, 10 a.m.