Moanalua trips Kahuku

Moanalua coach Tommy Lake told his team to swing away. 

Silerolia Gaogao and Johanna Kruize listened. 

Gaogao recorded a match-high 17 kills and Kruize added 11 as Na Menehune shocked Kahuku 22-25, 

25-20, 15-13 Tuesday night at McKinley. 

No. 7 Moanalua (13-3) will face No. 3 Mililani (13-0) in the OIA Red championship match today. If Na Menehune win tonight, the teams play again Saturday for the league’s seed in states.

No. 4 Kahuku (13-2) earned the OIA’s third spot in the Division Istate tournament next week. Adora Anae finished with a team-high 16 kills, hitting .333 with 12 digs. 

"Kahuku’s such a good team. We can’t play too safe and have a chance to beat them," Lake said. "We just wanted the girls to go all out and swing. Every free ball we give them we have to eat it, so we had to make sure we put some pressure on them."

Bouncing back from their first loss of the season, the Red Raiders looked to Anae in their comeback. The senior outside hitter hammered the first two kills of the match as Kahuku jumped to a 4-1 lead. 

The Red Raiders led by as many as five points in the set, but two Kahuku hitting errors and a kill by Moanalua middle Marina Adolpho brought Na Menehune back within three. 

Moanalua called its first timeout, trailing 20-18, and went on a 4-2 run to tie the set at 22, thanks to several errant Kahuku passes. 

The Red Raiders relied on their quick offense to gain am edge with a step-out kill by Mariah Berard-Kamakeeaina and a dump kill by junior Rachel Blake. Sinamoni Tonga hammered game ball through the block and off Kruize to seal the win. 

Blake started as Kahuku’s setter and guided her hitters to a .349 hitting percentage in Set 1. Anae led the way with six kills, followed by Tonga’s five. Blake would finish the match with 23 assists, 10 digs and three kills.

Na Menehune picked up the pace in Set 2 as Gaogao led a six-point scoring run from behind the service line. After a Gaogao ace, Adolpho stuffed Berard-Kamakeeaina in the middle and another two kills gave Moanalua an 11-7 lead.

Kahuku strung together several clusters of points, but couldn’t sideout enough to steal the momentum. Talia Brown stepped up for the Red Raiders with six kills in the set, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Na Menehune. Moanalua took advantage of Kahuku’s taller block, earning most of its kills swinging for high hands. 

A service ace by Kruize tied the match at one game apiece.

Kruize, a sophomore outside hitter, lit up the offense with six kills and no errors in the second set, along with seven digs.

 Set 3 appeared to go Kahuku’s way, as the Red Raiders jumped to a 4-0 lead. 

Leading 6-2, Kahuku coach Tehani Fiatoa pulled Blake out and threw in 5-foot-11 Sofia Tonga for a bigger block against Moanalua’s hitters. Brown stepped into the setter role and picked up five assists in the set. 

Whether it was the substitution or Moanalua’s momentum, Na Menehune fought their way back with a six-point run. Gaogao and Adolpho added two kills each in the stretch, which was capped by Kamalani Cachola’s ace that bounced off the top of the net.

The Red Raiders tied the game at 11 as Brown and Brittany Waite combined for a block on Kruize. The teams exchanged kills to tie at 13, until Gaogao blasted a ball off Brown that hit the ceiling and went over the net to give Moanalua match point. 

Setter Shaylah Kagehiro went with what works and set up Gaogao once again on the outside. She hammered the ball through the block that resulted in a Kahuku net violation to end the match. 

"I have a lot of confidence in my hitters and they pulled through," said Kagehiro, who finished with 33 assists. "We brought a renewed confidence to ourselves. We really wanted this game and pushed ourselves to the max."

In a match earlier at McKinley, Kalaheo defeated Roosevelt 14-25, 25-21, 15-10 to advance to play Radford today at 5 for the OIA White title. If the Mustangs win, they would play the Rams again on Saturday, with the winner earning the OIA’s seed in next week’s Division II state tournament. Roosevelt earned a spot in states despite the loss.

Punahou earns state berth

Punahou defeated Mid-Pacific 25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17 on Tuesday to clinch the ILH second-round title and the league’s second state berth.

The Buffanblu, who upset then-No. 1 Kamehameha last Saturday, will face the Warriors on Thursday in a playoff to determine the overall ILH champion and the league’s seeded entry in the state tournament. The match will start at 6 p.m. at Kamehameha.