Waipahu finishes perfect in Red West

The Waipahu volleyball team will have another week off, but the Marauders are probably pretty sure they know how to handle a layoff.

Waipahu beat Nanakuli 25-18, 25-22 and then Waialua 25-17, 25-17 at Nanakuli on Thursday to complete an undefeated run through the OIA Red West and capture the top seed in next week’s OIA tournament as well as the right to host their second-round match. Waipahu had not played in 21⁄2 weeks before traveling to Nanakuli.

"I was actually kind of worried," Waipahu coach Julna Pasicaran said. "That is a long wait between games. I’m glad we came out of that. It will be good to host; we haven’t had a home court advantage in the past."

Waipahu (10-0) walked into Nanakuli without having dropped a set this season, but the hosts challenged that record. The Marauders won the first set easily despite six service errors but found themselves down 15-9 in the second before rallying. Waipahu finally tied it at 20-all but got the cushion when Luuga Vailuu knocked down one of his 10 kills and Johnny Tuia followed by laying out and tapping a loose ball over the net and to the floor on Nanakuli’s side for a 23-21 lead. The Golden Hawks crawled to within one but Vailuu hit a steamer and followed that up with an ace to end the threat.

"Waipahu is definitely a great team, very seasoned with a lot of club players," Nanakuli coach Junius Wong said. "For us to even be competitive against them is a good thing for us."

The Marauders were better against the Bulldogs, getting 12 kills from Vailuu to only two errors.

"He’s always done that all season long," Pasicaran said. "He has been really consistent, he is usually good for three or four (aces) a game."

Waipahu wasn’t alone in clinching a regular-season crown on Thursday, as Nanakuli shrugged off its loss to beat Waialua (4-6) 25-23, 23-25, 15-11 in the final match of the evening. The Golden Hawks (6-4) won the OIA White West by a game over Campbell (5-5) and will get the top seed in their tournament in two weeks.