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Three players from the Moanalua boys volleyball team are getting a lot of combined publicity lately.
And with good reason.
The three — seniors Kai Rodriguez, Zachary Yewchuk and Justin Todd — have three things in common, and amazingly so. They:
>> Were all picked for the American Volleyball Coaches Association 16th annual high school All-America first teams.
>> Were all chosen for VolleyballMag.com’s national Fab 50.
>> Are all headed to the University of Hawaii as incoming freshmen this fall and will play volleyball.
Also, Yewchuk (6 feet 7), Todd (6-6) and Rodriguez (6-4) all gave opposing defenses fits throughout the season.
Moanalua, despite having the power trio, finished third at the state tournament behind champion Punahou and Kamehameha. Na Menehune, however, won the third-place match over Kamehameha-Hawaii, 31-29, 26-15.
In its penultimate match of the spring season, Moanalua — in the state semifinals — played gutsy but lost a five-setter to the Buff ‘N Blue, 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-11.
For Punahou, it was the 10th straight state title. For Na Menehune, it was almost a gigantic upset. They were trying to become the first OIA team to win a boys volleyball state title since Roosevelt in 1979.
The AVCA post on Twitter:
The AVCA is proud to announce its 16th annual High School All-America Teams for boys volleyball.
There are 10 players on the first and second teams in 2023 and 3 honorable mention picks. This year's All-Americans are from 19 schools in 8 states.
Release: https://t.co/jGnRQAStBg pic.twitter.com/39QUc6fB6Y— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) June 7, 2023
Moanalua athletics’ tweet about the VolleyballMag.com announcement:
🏐Congratulations MoHS c/o 23 Kai Rodriguez, Justin Todd & Zachary Yewchuk on making the https://t.co/AFtSVCw8Iq Boys National Fab 50 | https://t.co/AV3NFEAyfA https://t.co/XdNzkN10zD
— Moanalua Athletics (@mohsathletics) May 31, 2023
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ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com:
>> Among THE MANY Transfers: Anelu Lafaele To Farrington, Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa To Kahuku
2 Comments
Hi NIck. How do they pick this All American team? I kind of have to disagree with the 3 picks. with all due respect to these 3 players, i got to watch moanloa, punahoe and Kam play some games. Kahale Clini of pun and kainoa wade should have been on the all american team also. Kai Ridriguez is the real deal but the other 2 from moanaloa should have been after both Clini and Wade.3 all americans but couldnt even make the state finals. just my opinion
It is a good point to make, for sure. It’s highly unusual to see three players from a team that didn’t make it to the final game receive All-American status.
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