Moanalua girls volleyball coach Tommy Lake sees value in performing under postseason pressure, and Na Menehune endured just such a test in a three-set victory over Pearl City on Thursday.

Fifth-ranked Moanalua split two dramatic sets with the Chargers then pulled away in the third in a 25-23, 27-29, 15-6 win at Farrington to advance in the OIA Red playoffs.

When Moanalua needed a clutch swing, the sets most often went outside to sophomore Silerolia Gaogao, who finished with a match-high 15 kills. Senior middle blocker Analise Austin put down seven kills and helped spark Na Menehune early in the third set after Pearl City rallied to win the roller-coaster second set.

"This was really big," Lake said. "We have to learn how to play under pressure. We have so many young players, they’re still not used to playing in front of crowds and big matches like this, so for them it’s really good."

Moanalua and Kalani, which swept Castle in Thursday’s second match at Farrington, survived another round in the modified double-elimination tournament and will meet on Tuesday at McKinley prior to the semifinal match between Kahuku and Mililani.

Pearl City and Castle were eliminated from league-title contention but will also play on Tuesday for fifth place in the tournament. Both teams had already secured places among the OIA’s six entries in the Division I state tournament, set for Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

Moanalua — which lists three freshmen and four sophomores on its varsity roster — bounced back from a loss to Mililani on Tuesday with several of the underclassmen playing significant roles. Gaogao was among the most prominent in hammering nine kills in the second set and three more early in the third to help power Moanalua to an 8-2 lead.

"It was kind of anxious," Gaogao said. "But we still pulled together and played as a team and stayed strong."

"She really has a lot of power so if we can get her a ball in a good spot she’s hard to dig," Lake said. "She hits it really hard but a lot of times the (ball) knuckles and makes it even tougher."

Pearl City countered with senior Kaya Chong’s 12 kills, 10 coming in the second set as the Chargers fought off four potential match points to force a third set. Moanalua led 24-22 and edged ahead again at 26-25 before Chong hammered three kills in the next four points to power Pearl City ahead. Moanalua was then called for reaching over the net to end the set.

"That’s a huge step for us to push forward and come from behind," said second-year Pearl City coach Kory Toyozaki.

"(Chong) has come a long way. She did a lot of maturing through the season, as well as the whole team."

The third set wasn’t quite so dramatic as Austin had two early kills in the middle and sophomore Joy Kurasawa served up back-to-back aces to give Moanalua a 7-1 lead.

"I think we wanted to win so much we were really careful, almost too careful," Lake said. "But luckily we played well right at the end."

Kalani sweeps Castle

Rika Okino put down eight kills and the Falcons moved on in the bracket with a 25-14, 25-20 win over the 10th-ranked Knights.

Kalani, which was swept by Castle in their regular-season meeting on Sept. 13, went on an 8-1 run midway through the first set to take control. The Falcons held a far slimmer lead for most of the second set but pulled away by scoring five straight points to break an 18-18 tie. Kalani eventually ended the match on a block by Kaiana Iaea and Puamana Danielson.

"I always tell the girls I just always want them to get better, every step we take we want to keep moving upward and we have been," Kalani coach Janeen Waialae said. "There have been some falls, but it’s been good, they’ve been working hard."