Waianae was flowing, Waipahu was flat, and the Seariders kept their unbeaten record intact with a 25-17, 25-18 victory Thursday night.
With the smooth-setting Jahren Muliagatele spreading the ball to all of his hitters, Waianae improved to 8-0 in OIA Red West boys volleyball with the win in the Marauders’ gym.
"We’ve been playing well, but had fallen out of a groove the last two games (wins over Aiea and Kapolei)," Seariders coach Wilhelm Wagner said. "We really haven’t played our best since the Mililani game (March 19). It’s little glitches that need some fixing."
Waipahu had effective stretches early in the first set and midway through the second, but just couldn’t keep up with Waianae.
Marauders coach Julna Pasicaran pointed to Waianae’s defense as the biggest obstacle.
"They were so consistent on defense," she said. "They were picking up most of the balls we tried to put down. We’ve got some inexperience and there was some confusion on some of our plays."
Seasiders libero Jonah Poe and teammate Jayden Tanabe-Yeager had a big hand in keeping Waipahu’s kill attempts off the floor.
In the first set, the lead changed hands three times early until Waianae pulled away with a 16-3 run that turned a 7-6 deficit into a 22-10 lead. Hezekiah Agiga slammed down three kills in the surge.
"As a team, we were pretty decent," said Muliagatele, the setter. "The hitters were good and could have done better, but we pushed through. Waipahu was a scrappy team and they gave us some good competition."
The Marauders (5-2) were undefeated until a loss to Campbell on Tuesday.
"This has been an eye-opener," Waipahu hitter Jeminae Solomua said. "We’re back down to Earth. Tonight, we weren’t the team we are in practice."
Solomua had a match-high six kills, and Waianae’s Agiga and Nayton Kuresa pounded down four kills each. The Seariders also got three kills from Akoni Faumuina.
The Marauders’ Andrew Semanu had a big night with three blocks and two kills.
In the second set, Waianae took a 17-9 lead, taking advantage of numerous Waipahu miscues.
However, the Marauders got as close as 18-14, partly on the strength of two Semanu blocks and kills by Storm De Asis, Elijah Taimatuia and Solomua.
With two kills and an ace by Agiga, Waianae stormed toward victory. Poe’s only kill came at an opportune time — to make it 24-17 — and the Seariders finished it off two points later when De Asis hit long.
"Waianae is a real good team. They can pass and they set to all the right areas," Pasicaran said. "And we made more mistakes than usual."
