Leads can disappear instantly with a young team.

With a mix of newbies and a handful of returnees from last year’s OIA championship squad, Moanalua held on for a 25-17, 25-23 win over Crossroads (Santa Monica, Calif.) at the Ann Kang Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Friday morning.

Na Menehune have been playing different lineups throughout the tournament, and their younger players are learning to handle themselves in key situations. Late in Set 2, two of Moanalua’s front-row players were playing on the varsity for the first time.

“Their experience in games where they’re up by seven points starts to come into play, where instead of attacking and being aggressive like they were in the first couple of points, they keep the ball in the play,” said Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting. “It’s that mentality of instead of fighting to win, they’re fighting not to lose.”

Moanalua rallied to take the lead late in Set 2, then held off a final charge from Crossroads. Kills from Jeslyn Spencer and Angelica Hulett put Moanalua ahead 23-20 and Na Menehune served for the match at 24-21. Two Crossroads kills quickly trimmed the deficit to 24-23. But Hulett and Katy Ehnstrom blocked a Crossroads attack to end the match.

“Coach Alan, he wants us to play our game, play it simple and keep to what we do best instead of trying too much,” said Moanalua senior outside hitter Jojo Kruize. “He called a timeout and pretty much (said) have confidence in your passing, our serve-receive has been good, let’s get the ball to our biggest hitters, either me or Angelica at the time, and let’s put the ball away.”

Moanalua started pool play on Thursday and Friday with 8 and 9 a.m. matches — not exactly an optimal time for a team accustomed to practicing in the afternoon. Kruize described the early matches as “character building” and a test to see how fast her team can start. Na Menehune ran off to a 7-1 lead to start Set 1 against Crossroads.

Crossroads rallied to tie it at 13 before Moanalua used a 12-4 run to end the set.

“The main thing is to see our competition, what we’re up against, but also to see what everyone brings to the table and set that foundation so we can start building,” Kruize said.

Moanalua is 2-4 in pool play after going 1-2 on Friday. Mid-Pacific defeated Moanalua 20-25, 26-24, 15-10 and Punahou swept Moanalua 26-24, 25-23.

The three-day tournament finishes Saturday with final pool play matches starting at 8 a.m. and bracket play beginning at noon. The championship match is at 4 p.m.