No. 8 Mililani silences Campbell

It took a lot to overcome a loud, spirited senior night crowd at Campbell.

The Mililani Trojans just made it look so smooth. Sophomore Jordyn Keamo drilled 10 kills, and Inoa Fields and Alyssa Tanaka added six kills each as the No. 8 Trojans swept Campbell 25-12, 25-13 on Wednesday night.

Coach Val Crabbe’s Trojans (9-0) may be one of the best kept secrets in the state. Coaches who saw them compete with Kamehameha, Punahou and other powerhouse teams in the preseason aren’t surprised.

Keamo, at 5 feet 8, may be one of the best outside hitters in the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Setters Kaila Kikugawa (17 assists) and Casie Gaza (five) had their pick of weapons.

“The best thing we did tonight was keep our spirit up. Even though it was their senior night, our team pushed through,” Keamo said.

Crabbe was all smiles after the match.

“We served well tonight, ran our plays when we had the opportunity, established the middle. It’s all good,” she said.

Ashley Kelsey led Campbell with seven kills, though the visiting Trojans made sure the talented, 5-foot-11 senior got a minimum of touches.

“They run a 5-1, they have only one setter. We know who their go-to hitter is,” Crabbe said. “She’s a great player, definitely.”

Mililani served with precision and finished with five aces with five service errors. It was one of the key advantages against a Sabers squad that had cleaned up most of the West. Campbell (6-2) didn’t have an ace and committed five service errors.

For the match, Mililani had just three hitting errors and had an impeccable percentage of .581. Campbell hit .167.

Nicole Vaa dished 10 assists for the Sabers.

Mililani stormed to an 11-2 lead to simmer down the crowd of about 1,500. The Sabers got within 13-7 after Jazde Tautofi roofed Keamo, but they got no closer for the rest of the opening set.

Campbell had a better start in the second set, but a 10-2 run by the visitors opened a 15-5 lead. Reserve Samantha Fischer, a 5-10 junior, had two empathetic roofs during the blitz. Campbell got within 17-10 on a kill by Tichael Amosa, but Mililani’s serve was too much to overcome.

“They’re a well-coached team. Most of their girls play club and that’s the difference,” Sabers coach Ala Iosefa said. “Strategy-wise, she did a great job. We couldn’t run our offense. We couldn’t pass the ball.”

Kelsey, who has accepted a scholarship offer to play at New Mexico next year, agreed with her coach.

“They played very, very smart, always ahead of us. We had a couple of errors, some defensive errors, but Mililani did their part. They executed when I was in the back row. They played strategically,” she said.

The Trojans may have one of their best teams in school history.

“Let’s just say we’re one of the contenders,” Crabbe said.