From the first practice of the season, Farrington coach Reagan Agena knew he had the ingredients needed to put together a championship team.

After a season of cooking, the meal turned out just fine.

No. 7 Farrington beat Kailua 25-11, 25-22, 26-24 to win its first OIA championship since 2007, also under Agena. The current Govs and the team from five years ago were two different teams with different strengths and weaknesses, but now they share a common title.

"The 2007 season was special because it was my second or third year and it was nice to build the program up," Agena said. "The teams are pretty hard to compare. This one is special in its own way. But the thing they have in common is that they both bought into the system and believed in it."

Savannah Kahakai is the newest Farrington hero, leading the way with 19 kills. She had her only error late in the second set.

"From day one she has been a workhorse," Agena said. "She is one of the big contributors as far as the energy on the court, it is a blessing having her here."

Trinity Alualu added 12 kills for the Governors and Penina Faumui had eight. The trio had only five errors. Shaeanijanee Naihe led Kailua with seven kills and Raelynn Leong, Keala Kaio-Perez and Patria Vaimaona each had five.

The first set looked like the ultimate excuse for further classification, as Farrington brought an energy that Kailua could not contend with. The Governors teed off on the smaller Surfriders, growing the lead steadily after a 4-4 tie en route to a 14-point win. Kailua only had four kills in the set to Farrington’s 16, with only four errors, and it mercifully ended on an ace by Faumui.

"It came from our crowd, our coaches and ourselves," Kahakai said. "We didn’t want to let anyone down."

After that spanking, Kailua coach Mani Taufa‘asau challenged her team to fight back, and the Surfriders complied. The Surfriders got better as the night wore on, finding themselves down 14-6 in the second set but cutting the margin to 24-22 on a kill by Siani Yamaguchi. Kahakai ended that dream, drilling a crosscourt kill to send it to the third set up 2-0.

"The thing about Kailua, they are a great team, they didn’t back down and that’s a credit to them," Agena said. "They had some adversity but they pushed us, they tested us."

And that third set might keep Farrington coaches up tonight. Kailua, which was swept by Farrington on Tuesday, trailed through most of the set but kept its deficit at a manageable three points most of the way and took the lead 24-23.

Kahakai pounded a kill off the block to tie it then put a pinpoint off-balance slow shot in the middle of the floor on Kailua’s side to take the lead 25-24. Kailua took a timeout to assess the situation but lost the middle during the break. Farrington’s Jeneva Toilolo roofed Vaimaona to give the Governors the gold.

"We just started too late," Taufa‘asau said. "One of our main objectives was to stop (Kahakai), or at least slow her down. She is a great player, I am so proud of our girls they way they fought back. On to states."

Farrington will get the seeded berth at the tournament, but Agena doesn’t expect a state title to come easy. "Everyone is pretty good in the preseason, and they only get better," Agena said. "Throw in the neighbor islands and it is going to be tough."