Perez propels Moanalua

Erin Perez pounded 10 kills and Katiana Ponce delivered six aces as Moanalua swept Hilo 25-11, 25-5, 25-22 Wednesday night in the Division I opening round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.

"We feel great," said Ponce, a senior who added two kills and three assists in a versatile performance.

"It feels like a redemption game. We’re excited about playing in the state tournament," Perez said, alluding to Moanalua’s third-place finish in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red playoffs.

Moanalua, unbeaten through the regular season, will face top-seeded Punahou at 7 tonight in McKinley Student Council Gym.

"We’re ready," Ponce said.

"We’re excited," Perez added. "We’ve prepared ourselves, so it’s going to be good."

Moanalua (14-2) looked like a team ready to take down the giant.

"Moanalua’s an awesome team. They run like a machine," Hilo coach Olino Kotaki said. "They have a lot of smart hitters, and they’re playing amazing right now. It was nice playing against them."

A crowd of about 300 watched at McKinley as the veteran team, Moanalua, wasted little time and effort in the first two sets before ousting the young Vikings. Perez had five kills in the opening set as Na Menehune dominated with a .450 hitting percentage.

In the second set, Ponce befuddled Hilo with four aces, including three in a row. Hilo, with just three seniors on its roster, looked absolutely stunned for the first two sets. Moanalua hit .700 in the second game as Hilo managed just 15 swings and hit .000.

"Everybody gets nervous," Ponce said. "They’re young, but they’re good."

Hilo fans who made the trek to Honolulu waited patiently.

"Our players were there physically, but mentally some of them were still at the airport," Kotaki said. "Playing here with all the cameras, for some of them it’s a whole new experience."

Kotaki changed the scheme and some personnel before the third set and soon enough the Vikings were blocking and digging like they did in BIIF play. Down 12-5, the Vikings got an ace and a kill from senior Waihilo Chartrand during a 10-2 run.

A hitting error by Perez gave Hilo a 19-18 edge, but kills by reserve Kelsey Chan, Perez and Analise Austin, plus an ace by Taylor Okimoto, put Moanalua ahead 22-19.

Hilo got no closer than two the rest of the way. Silerolia Gaogao’s right-side kill ended the match.

Austin, a 5-foot-11 junior, had five kills and five blocks, and Gaogao, a 5-9 freshman, tallied seven kills and three blocks. Courtney Uyeda finished with 21 assists and two aces.

Aliah Pana and Chartrand led Hilo (14-3) with three kills apiece.

Moanalua hit .319 for the match with 12 aces and eight service errors. Hilo hit .072 with three aces and five service errors.

Kahuku 3, Kaiser 1

Senior Tatiana Brown led the Red Raiders (16-4) with 12 kills in a surprisingly one-sided 25-21, 17-25, 25-13, 25-16 win over OIA Red East rival Kaiser. Sophomore Sina Tonga added seven kills, while sophomore Adora Anae and junior Pati Anae had six kills apiece for the well-balanced Red Raiders.

Sophomore Talia Brown dished out 31 assists for Kahuku, which will meet Maui Interscholastic League champion Kamehameha-Maui tonight at McKinley.

The Red Raiders bounced back after a lackluster second set.

"I feel good about everything but the second game. We executed everything we planned in the first, third and fourth set," Kahuku coach Kaniela Kalama said, noting that the transition, changing benches before the third game, gave his team a chance to refocus.

"We yelled, screamed, jumped around and they get happy. They all have little goals that they write for themselves that they put inside their shirts. So we remind them to read it or feel it, so you remember," Kalama said. "That’s the secret."

Senior Haley Durham led Kaiser (12-4) with 11 kills.

The Cougars seemed to be right back in the match after winning the second set, but an avalanche of errors plagued them from that point on.

Four hitting errors to start out the third set allowed Kahuku to open a 5-1 lead, and the Cougars got no closer the rest of the way. Brown closed the third out with back-to-back aces and Kahuku won the pivotal set easily after nine hitting errors by Kaiser.

Division II
At Kalani

Konawaena 3, Radford 2

Jasmine Ward had 25 kills and three teammates finished in double figures as the Wildcats outlasted the Rams 25-16, 25-27, 27-25, 21-25, 16-14.

Matelita Taumoefolau added 13 kills, five blocks and four aces, and Dawnyelle Awa had 12 kills and Courtney Kaupu contributed 10 kills for Konawaena.

Keahelaumakani Wall had 55 assists for the Wildcats.

Leilehua 3, Kauai 1

Ashlee Vaoili had 12 kills and three aces, and Kaula Kilaulani and Aiea Hamm both added nine as the Mules defeated the Red Raiders 27-25, 25-27, 25-11, 25-13.

Kauai’s Shyanne Sadora had six kills.

At Kaimuki

St. Francis 3, Molokai 1

Kololia Atoia-Williams had 18 kills and Angel Savea added 11 as the Saints beat the Farmers 25-27, 25-16, 25-15, 25-11.

Leenell Hernandez had 10 kills for Molokai, the defending DII state champion.

Sacred Hearts 3, Ka‘u 0

The Lancers beat the Trojans 25-15, 25-23, 27-25.