Doug Hee doesn’t mind a little imperfection.

He just won’t go for lack of preparation, especially when an injury changes plans. The longtime Moanalua coach saw his team sweep Waipahu 25-17, 25-18, 25-20 last night in the semifinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red boys volleyball playoffs.

Ranked sixth in the Star-Advertiser Top 10, Na Menehune saw their perfect season continue with a 14th win despite a disciplined Marauders attack.

Hee had reason for concern when outside hitter Ahren DePonte suffered an ankle injury at the end of practice on Monday. Hee switched middle Trevor Tsugawa to the outside and brought Tahi Caldwell, an outstanding leaper, to the middle. Caldwell finished with four blocks.

Waipahu (9-5) had just one hitting error all night, but could not avoid problems behind the back line, committing 13 service errors.

“Our hitters got some kills, but our serves didn’t really help,” coach Julna Pasicaran said. “Moanalua is good; 20 (Richard Harpole) is awesome. Their libero (Kolby Kanetake) is awesome. I don’t think they have too many weaknesses.”

Kanetake led Moanalua with three aces.

Harpole, a 6-foot-3 senior who has signed to play for Hope International University, finished with 14 kills (.600) and two aces. Setters Zarin Augustiro (20 assists) and Brandon Guerrero (10 assists) spread the wealth around. Joshua Buted (five kills), Clinton Winham (five kills) and Caldwell (four kills) helped keep the floor balanced.

Hee was still a bit pent up after the match, but managed a smile. He wasn’t sure when the next match was, and for a second had to be reminded that his team was in the Red final.

“I just take ’em one game at a time, so I don’t jinx anything,” he said. “I feel a lot better now. We’ve played Waipahu before (in the OIA White Conference) and in (best of five), anything can happen.”

“We were afraid of Waipahu’s big hitters,” Hee said, referring to Duketoa Tili and Tatupu Tatupu.

Tili finished with eight kills and Tatupu had six.

Moanalua finished with a .429 hitting percentage, along with 10 aces and 11 service errors. Waipahu hit .386.

Pearl City 3, Waianae 0

After splitting their series during the regular-season, the Chargers looked like a team on the brink of a dream fulfilled.

Joseph Hammond drilled 13 kills, mostly from the right side, and Sean Chang had nine as Pearl City swept the Seariders 27-25, 25-23, 25-23 in semifinal play at McKinley.

The Chargers, under coach Stephanie Shigemasa, have won three in a row since a 5-7 regular season. Setter Cory Quiamzon directed the attack and finished with 36 assists and six of his team’s 11 aces.

“Our chemistry is coming together. We’ve adapted to each other,” the senior said. “I know Waianae has big blocks, so I had to make the moves to get our guys one on one.”

Chaz Ebisu (six kills), Josiah DeMello (five kills) and Jerry Gallardo (four kills) were essential to the Chargers attack against the taller Seariders (9-6).

Werner Nansen, a 6-foot-4 senior, and 6-3 James Rosa had 10 kills each. The two combined for seven blocks as Waianae won the battle at the net, 8-2.

Blayke Marinas distributed 29 assists. Derrick Koani added five kills and Malei Suiaunoa had four.

“Too much is said, not enough is done,” Waianae coach William Wilhelm said. “They said they were ready to play, but they didn’t show it. Pearl City played well. They have a strong defense and they’re aggressive on offense.”

Pearl City will meet unbeaten Moanalua tomorrow for the OIA Red championship.

“I believe that was our best game,” Quiamzon added. “This and our game against Leilehua.”

VOLLEYBALL

ILH
Varsity
Academy of the Pacific def. Lanakila Baptist 25-20, 26-24
Island Pacific def. Le Jardin 25-19, 21-25, 25-23

Junior varsity
Punahou Blue def. Punahou Gold 25-21, 22-25, 25-13
Kamehameha Blue def. Kamehameha White 25-22, 25-11

OIA White playoffs
Kahuku def. Radford 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-21
Castle def. McKinley 25-16, 15-25, 25-12, 25-19

ILH SOFTBALL D-II PLAYOFFS

Sacred Hearts 14, St. Francis 13
Kayla Yim scored the winning run on a error, lifting the Lancers past the Saints in the ILH Division II playoffs.

Kelsie Hee hit a grand slam for Saint Francis.

The same teams will face each other again tomorrow to decide the runner-up in Division II. The winner will play at Kauai at 1 p.m. Saturday for a state berth. The top ILH D-II team is Pac-Five.

At Crane park

Brook Langsi and Ashley Wagner. Jordan Waracka and Kasey Lopez. W—Waracka. L—Langsi.
Leading hitters—StF: Wagner 2-5, 2 runs; Kelsie Hee HR, 5 RBIs; Britney Paranada 3-4, 2 runs; Shailah Fernandez 2-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Tiffany Trantham 2-4, 2b, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Chaena Meyer 2-4. SHA: Tori Nakashima 2-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Jamie Tang 3-5, 3 runs; Janelle Saole 3-4, 2b, 3 runs, 3 RBIs; Waracka 3-3, 2 RBIs; Lopez 2-5; Breanne Flores 2-4; Nicole Daoang 2-4.