The width of the volleyball court is 30 feet, and Kamehameha-Maui coach Robert Brede decided before the season he wanted Kamuela Kalehuawehe-Valentine to cover as much of it as possible along the net.

The decision continued to pay off last night as Kalehuawehe-Valentine had 10 kills and was in on 10 blocks in Kamehameha-Maui's 22-25, 25-21, 25-22 victory over host McKinley in the first round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships.

Kalehuawehe-Valentine, a 5-foot-10 junior, had been an outside hitter his first two seasons, but moved to middle blocker this season.

"We put him on only one side of the court, on the outside, it only limits his talents," Brede said. "You put him in the middle he has from antenna to antenna where he can hit. And he can even hit from the back."

Kamehameha-Maui (5-5) will face No. 2 seed Roosevelt in a quarterfinal match tonight at 7:30.

Kalehuawehe-Valentine had six kills, an ace and a block in the third game.

"I told my setter to get me the ball," he said. "I felt like nothing could stop me. Everybody else was like, 'give it to Kamu, give it to Kamu.' "

Kamehameha-Maui, the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up, had 12 of its 13 blocks in the first two games.

"We gave them some keys," Brede said. "We have some blockers who don't get over the net. They let the ball come to the block. We need to transition a little bit on our blocking so we can get there a little quicker."

The third game was tied 21-21, but Kalehuawehe-Valentine got two kills, and a block to set up match point. After a Warriors' hitting error, McKinley served into the net to end it.

"These past few years in the state tournament we haven't won one game, so we played with passion and heart," Kalehuawehe-Valentine said. "We really wanted it, we were longing for it for a long time."

Jefferson Pou and Oliver Diguc had 10 kills apiece for McKinley, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's fourth-place team. The pair combined for 11 kills and no errors in the third game.

The Warriors led the first game 22-20, but two kills by Pou, a lift and two hitting errors gave McKinley (8-9) the game.

Kamehameha-Maui went on a 7-2 run in the second game to take a 15-10 advantage. The lead reached 22-15, but the Tigers closed to 23-21. The Warriors took the game on a solo block by Kalehuawehe-Valentine and a McKinley hitting error.

KAMEHAMEHA SWEEPS PEARL CITY

This one was no contest.

Kamehameha executed in all facets of the game in a 25-14, 25-9 victory over Pearl City in a first-round match last night at McKinley.

"Obviously, we executed the things we needed to," Kamehameha coach Guy Kaniho said. "Our passing was real consistent and it allowed us to run our offense. We played pretty darn good defense as well."

Kamehameha (16-3) will face No. 3 seed Kamehameha-Hawai'i.

"It was a good win for us," said Kahale Morgan, a sophomore opposite/setter. "We needed some momentum for tomorrow against our brothers from the Big Island."

Clifton Asuncion had six kills, and Morgan added four kills and three aces for Kamehameha, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up.

The Warriors had only three hitting errors and three service errors for the match.

"They have good fundamentals. They barely make common mistakes like service errors," Pearl City coach Bryson Martin said.

Pearl City, the OIA's No. 5 team, had only 10 kills. The Chargers (12-4) also had six hitting errors and five service errors.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL STATE HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

DIVISION I

Yesterday

At McKinley

Kamehameha-Maui def. McKinley, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22

Kamehameha def. Pearl City, 25-14, 25-9

At Punahou

Waiakea def. Leilehua, 25-17, 25-13

Kalaheo def. Kahuku, 25-20, 25-20

Today

At McKinley

4:30 p.m. — McKinley vs. Pearl City

6 p.m. — Kamehameha vs. No. 3 Kamehameha-Hawai'i

7:30 p.m. — Kamehameha-Maui vs. No. 2 Roosevelt

At Punahou

4:30 p.m. — Leilehua vs. Kahuku

6 p.m. — Kalaheo vs. No. 4 Lahainaluna

7:30 p.m. — Waiakea vs. No. 1 Punahou

Tomorrow

At McKinley

6 p.m. — Consolation match

7:30 p.m. — Semifinal match

At Punahou

6 p.m. — Consolation match

7:30 p.m. — Semifinal match

THURSDAY

At Stan Sheriff Center

Noon — Consolation final

1:30 p.m. — Fifth place match

4:30 p.m. — Third place match

7:30 p.m. — Championship match

DIVISION II

Yesterday

At Kamehameha

Kalani def. Seabury Hall, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22

'Aiea def. Konawaena, 25-20, 25-20

At Radford

Waimea def. Hawaii Prep, 25-21, 25-18

Mid-Pacific def. Honoka'a, 25-19, 25-20

Today

At Kamehameha

4:30 p.m. — Seabury Hall vs. Konawaena

6 p.m. — 'Aiea vs. No. 4 Hilo

7:30 p.m. — Kalani vs. No. 1 Maryknoll

At Radford

4:30 p.m. — Hawai'i Prep vs. Honoka'a

6 p.m. — Mid-Pacific vs. No. 3 Wai'anae

7:30 p.m. — Waimea vs. No. 2 Hana

Tomorrow

At McKinley

6 p.m. — Consolation match

7:30 p.m. — Semifinal match

At Punahou

6 p.m. — Consolation match

7:30 p.m. — Semifinal match

THURSDAY

At Stan Sheriff Center

9 a.m. — Consolation final

10:30 p.m. — Fifth place match

3 p.m. — Third place match

6 p.m. — Championship match

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.