At 6 feet 6, 'Iolani junior outside hitter Brad Lawson grew into his role as the Raiders' go-to man in volleyball this season.

With former Advertiser Co-Player of the Year Kawika Shoji graduated and playing for Stanford, Lawson became the key weapon for 'Iolani this season and was a force in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

League coaches recognized this by naming him ILH Player of the Year in a recent vote.

Lawson had a match-high 26 kills in a 25-22, 25-27, 25-22 loss to Punahou in the first round, then helped the Raiders to another near-upset of the Buffanblu in the second round when they lost a 22-25, 25-21, 32-30 thriller.

He is joined on the ILH DI all-star first team by three players from Punahou — senior outside hitter Spencer McLachlin, junior outside hitter Erik Shoji and senior setter Riley McKibbin — and two from Kamehameha: senior setter/outside hitter Jordan Inafuku and junior outside hitter Clifton Asuncion.

Hawai'i Baptist senior middle hitter Sean Lum and 'Iolani junior libero Skyler Tajima round out the first team.

McLachlin, McKibbin, Shoji and Inafuku are repeat first-team selections. Shoji made last year's team as a libero.

Punahou's Peter Balding and Kamehameha's Guy Kaniho were named Co-Coaches of the Year.

Balding led the Buffanblu (18-0) to a third straight league title, and Kaniho, a first-year varsity head coach, helped the Warriors (15-3) take second place and earn a state tournament berth.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.