Kristen Miguel pounded 10 kills as No. 10 Mililani fought off Leilehua 25-14, 27-26 before about 800 fans at the Mules’ gym on Tuesday night.
Mililani improved to 3-1 in the OIA West, while Leilehua fell to 3-2. Miguel was the big hitter for a balanced attack, and also helped settle her team down while the Mules made a resounding rally in the second set.
"Our captain brings us together and talks us through it," sophomore setter Hope Carter said. "She’s the team energizer."
With two seniors out with injuries, Miguel was one of just five seniors in uniform for coach Val Crabbe.
Middle blocker Katie Asbery, a 6-foot sophomore, added seven kills. Carter was integral with 20 assists, four kills and three of her team’s seven aces. Nina Torio added two aces, while Asbery and Sarah Legalley (three kills) chipped in one ace each for the Trojans, who had just five service errors.
Leilehua’s 6-foot sophomore, Saramasina Docktor, had five of her six kills in a wild second set. Leilehua had a 10-7 lead, but the visitors went on an 8-1 run.
The Mules battled back as their raucous crowd got into the match, but Mililani opened a 23-19 lead after a right-side kill by Carter. Docktor came through with two kills to help the Mules tie it at 24, then smashed a kill over the middle to give Leilehua a 26-25 lead.
However, a bad pass led to a four-hit violation, and Docktor’s final swing went long as the Trojans pulled out the set and match.
"Our passing fell apart at the beginning. We were out of system," Mules coach Larry Cantero said.
Mililani had five aces in the opening game.
"But it came together. I emphasized to them the mental aspect. It would’ve been pretty good if we went to a third game," Cantero said.
The Mules have some good pieces to make a strong run into the playoffs.
"It was our mind-set. We weren’t talking in the first set. Second set, we were talking a lot more," Docktor said.
"We knew they’ve played a lot of three-set matches. Their setter (Elisha Levasa) started last year," Crabbe said. "We knew we couldn’t take them lightly."
Levasa had an all-around performance with four kills, three assists and one ace. Brittany Pasoquen added five assists and a kill. Jordan Tolentino and Levasa had one ace apiece.
