Mililani stops Pearl City in battle of unbeatens

An OIA Red West showdown between two undefeated teams quickly turned into a one-sided affair.
Outside hitter Ashlee Vaoifi finished with a match-high seven kills as No. 5 Mililani handed host Pearl City its first loss with a 25-15, 25-19 victory on Wednesday night.

The Chargers (3-1) appeared sluggish in Set 1 and committed four hitting errors within the first eight points. Balls flew wide or into the antenna as Mililani (4-0) launched a 7-0 run.

The Trojans used a balanced offense and tough serves to take a 10-2 lead after Jayierra Kapowai’s back-to-back aces.

Mililani extended its lead to 18-5 as the Chargers struggled with five service errors and hit -.063 in the first set. Pearl City rallied with three late points, but Taylor Afalava’s kill through the block ended the game.

The Trojans hit .333 for the set and tallied four aces.

“The first set was strong, we didn’t give up as many points and we did things that we worked on in practice: just trying to stay focused all the way through,” Mililani head coach Val Crabbe said. “It was nice I got to play everybody, that’s always a plus, and the people who were put in did their job.”

As Mililani’s starters returned for the second set, Pearl City’s starters finally showed up. The Trojans started Set 2 strong leading 8-3, but after several exchanges and three consecutive hitting errors, the Chargers tied the game at 10-10. An ace by Starr Payton gave Pearl City its first lead of the match at 11-10, but it didn’t last long.

After a Trojan timeout, Pearl City committed its seventh serving error and the momentum shifted back to Mililani. The 5-foot-5 Vaoifi found success down the line and Kapowai’s fifth kill gave the Trojans a 19-15 lead. The Chargers came within one on Whitney Carter’s dump kill but Mililani pulled away once again.

Sarah Liva posted the first block of the night to give the Trojans’ game point at 24-19. Liva ran an inside slide and hammered a sharp angle shot to end the match and maintain Mililani’s undefeated record.

Pearl City finished with a .057 hitting percentage for the match.

Senior Jordyn Keamo ran Mililani’s offense with efficiency as the lone setter and recorded 16 assists and five kills.

“Second set we just got complacent and got silly so I kind of scolded them on that,” Crabbe said.

“Pearl City did well. They can run a really good offense but I think we did OK and I’m always happy with a win.”