KAHULUI — The atmosphere inside the Shine Matsui Athletic Center on Tuesday night on the Maui High School campus illustrated the importance of this event.

The defending champions from Baldwin beat the Sabers 25-15, 25-16, 25-22 in a girls volleyball match that signaled a little return to routine for the Maui Interscholastic League in the wake of the devastating wildfires that leveled Lahaina town and Upcountry regions three weeks ago.

Chants of “Let’s go Sabers,” “outside,” “Baldwin,” and “Sabers” rang through the packed gym all night long.

“It felt amazing coming back,” Baldwin junior setter Lilinoe Paschoal said as her father Al held her niece Kalia, 2, steps away after the match. “It’s always amazing coming back and playing with the team. It’s always fun playing against the girls that we’ve been playing against for two, three years. So, it’s really fun to see their faces and playing against them again.”

Lili Paschoal had 32 assists, two aces and a block, Ariana Naipo had 10 kills, four aces and five digs, Amanda Naipo had seven kills and four digs, Kuuleimokihana Manaois had six kills, two digs and an ace, and Natronai Anana had 17 kills and two digs for the Bears.

Lili Paschoal loved the atmosphere that included plenty of Baldwin fans in addition to the Sabers’ faithful.

“It was pretty crazy, every point, every point either one side or another was screaming, so the mentality was just active the whole time,” said Paschoal, last season’s MIL D-I Player of the Year.

The first set ended on a hitting error that finished a stellar rally with both teams making incredible digs and swings for a point that went back and forth, with each team looking like it had the advantage several times.

Maui High took an 8-7 lead in the second set on a hitting error. The Bears took the lead back 9-8 on a kill by Amanda Naipo. Naipo delivered another kill moments later to make it 13-8.

An ace by Maui High’s Naua Tongi brought the Sabers within 13-10, but they would not get any closer.

Ariana Naipo smacked home a quick set by Paschoal to make it 16-11 and Imani-Maile Hargis put down the kill on set point to give the Bears a two-set lead.

The Sabers took a 6-5 lead in the third set on a resounding kill by Ava Vaituulala. After falling behind by as many as four points, the Sabers took the lead 16-15 on a kill by Kiera Sam Fong that brought a timeout from Baldwin coach Al Paschoal.

An ace by Anana tied the set 17-17, and the Sabers tied it again at 20-20 on a kill by Lexi Kitagawa. Ariana Naipo put down a kill to give the Bears the lead for good 21-20.

After the lead grew to 24-20, the Sabers enthused the crowd again with two match-point saves before it ended on a service error.

Manaois said she enjoyed the packed gym.

“It was amazing, I thought we weren’t going to have a season due to (the Lahaina fires),” she said. “It was really good, sometimes annoying, but they’re here all cheering for the teams, both teams, not only us.”

Al Paschoal said his team played in black uniforms simply because their normal maroon and Carolina blue jerseys have not arrived yet. He liked the look, mostly because it meant his team was on the court.

“They kind of rushed these over, they’re nice, I like them,” the coach said. “What a healthy atmosphere for the girls, you know what I mean? It’s going to help them if they can clear their minds for three hours, amazing, yeah.”

Maui High coach Kenny Houpo was also impressed with his team and the vibe in the packed house. The Sabers did not provide any statistics after the match.

“The kids are happy, the parents are happy, so we got things rolling,” Houpo said. “We played not so bad after being together for about a month and a half, six weeks, so I’m not complaining. I enjoy what we have, but the good thing is we’re pretty deep. Now we just have got to learn how to execute it.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

MIL VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS

DIVISION I

W L Pct GB

Baldwin 1 0 1.000 —

KS Maui 1 0 1.000 —

Lahainaluna 0 0 .000 ½

King Kekaulike 0 1 .000 1

Maui High 0 1 .000 1

DIVISION II

W L Pct GB

Hana 2 0 1.000 —

Molokai 2 0 1.000 —

Maui Prep 1 0 1.000 ½

Seabury Hall 0 0 .000 1

Kihei Charter 0 1 .000 1 ½

Haleakala Waldorf 0 2 .000 2

Lanai 0 2 .000 2

Tuesday’s Results

Baldwin def. Maui High 25-15, 25-16, 25-22

Kamehameha Maui def. King Kekaulike 25-14, 25-17, 27-25

Today’s Match

Seabury Hall at Maui Prep, 7 p.m.

Thursday’s Match

Maui High at King Kekaulike, 6:30 p.m.