Adora Anae called the bus ride "a long time to prepare."
No. 3 Kahuku played like it was in a hurry to get back home, only this time, it brought back an OIA Red volleyball championship.
Anae posted a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs, and setter Penina Snuka had 24 assists, eight digs and five kills as the Red Raiders avenged last year’s loss to Mililani in the title game with a 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 sweep on Thursday night at McKinley.
Kahuku (13-1) secured the OIA’s seeded berth in next week’s state tournament with its fourth championship in the past five years.
"I think it’s just a testament to how hard these girls have been working," said Camilla Ah-hoy, who is the third different coach at Kahuku to win an OIA title during that span.
Anae had six of her 15 kills in the third set, including the swing that gave Kahuku a 24-19 advantage. Snuka, who switched up rotations in the second and third sets in order to hit on the outside, ended it seconds later with an ace.
"She’s so important to this team," Anae said of Snuka. "She’s new, but she’s blended in really well, really fast, and she brings a lot of momentum into the game."
After breezing to a relatively easy win in the first set, Kahuku was tested by a Mililani team playing its third match in as many days.
Junior Jordyn Keamo had 11 kills and eight digs and Inoa Fields added nine kills and nine digs for the Trojans (12-2), who went undefeated through the regular season. Their only two loses came to Kahuku this week.
"Truthfully, I think we played them better tonight than Tuesday … even though it only went three sets," Mililani coach Val Crabbe said. "We start to make the errors at the wrong time and we have to fix that."
Mililani took the lead 10 different times in the second set, leading as late as 21-19 before consecutive kills by Snuka tied it at 21-all.
Anae’s fourth kill of the set put Kahuku up 23-22 and a Mililani error gave Kahuku two set points. Jayierra Kapowai kept Mililani alive with a kill to make it 24-23 before Anae ended a long rally with a kill to put the Red Raiders ahead two sets to none.
"We really wanted this championship," Anae said. "The long rides here were all worth it and tonight we played our hearts out because we really wanted it after last year."
Kahuku earns the OIA’s seeded berth in the state tournament, which hasn’t always been a good thing.
The OIA’s seeded team hasn’t made it to the state semifinals in the past five years and twice has been eliminated in its first game.
Kahuku, which has dropped just one set since losing to Farrington in mid-September, has a chance to end that streak.
"Obviously the ILH schools are good — Punahou and Kamehameha — but we got to play them in preseason," Ah-hoy said. "I know our team, as well as (those) teams have gotten better during the season but I still think (we) can keep up with them."