Moanalua makes it quick

With three effective setters making fine ball placements, Moanalua hitter Jojo Kruize delivered 11 kills to lead Na Menehune to a 25-16, 25-17 girls volleyball sweep of Kailua on Wednesday night at the Surfriders’ gym.

By virtue of the win, Na Menehune improved to 7-0 and remained at the top of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division standings along with Kahuku.

The three setters — senior Bryanne Yasui, junior Emree Sato and sophomore Emily Dulaney — kept the offense flowing. Sato finished with 11 assists and two aces, Dulaney added six assists to go along with six kills, and Yasui had three assists.

"We took care of what we needed to take care of and stayed disciplined," Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said. "When we stay disciplined, we become a great team, and I thought we showcased that tonight."

Moanalua, ranked No. 5 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10, had a relatively easy time in the first set, but were pushed in the second, when Kailua took leads on seven different occasions — 1-0, 2-1, 8-7, 9-8, 10-9, 11-10 and 12-11.

"They (the Surfriders) absolutely came out strong in that second set," Cabanting said. "And in that second set, that’s when we have a tendency to get mentally broken down. But the girls remained focused and that’s why our backup setter (Sat0) was able to step up and make a big difference."

Cabanting said Na Menenune were without several starters. Outside Arendia Ruiter has an ankle sprain, and libero Lindsey Ng and hitter Nicole Takamine are ill. Selena Perry, a middle hitter, moved to opposite for the first time and the coach said she was responsible for getting the Kailua hitters to hit wide and long often.

Moanalua began to take control of the second set with two Kruize kills and a Dulaney ace to get the lead up to five, 18-13. The Surfriders hung tough and got to within two at 19-17 on Jasymn Keohohina-Malina’s second home-crowd-pleasing roof of Kruize.

The end came quick with a six-point run as Angelica Hulett and Dulaney pulled through with kills and Katy Ehnstrom added two blocks before Kruize finished it off with a booming kill for match point.

"The first set, we clicked," Kruize said. "The second set, there were a couple of bumps in the road. Kailua was fighting for it. Our training and mental strength earned us the victory."

Tiare Young kept Kailua’s offense in sync with 16 assists, and the Surfriders got seven kills from Delcie Williams, six from Keila Fuatagavi-Sale and four from Keohohina-Malina to go along with her two blocks and ace.

"We expected nothing less from Moanalua," said Surfriders coach Glenn Chong, whose team dropped to 4-3 but stayed at the top among OIA Division II teams. "They are at the top of the food chain. They have always been a force. To stay in the game and score what we did, I thought that was pretty good."