A first OIA championship for Waialua girls volleyball

Waialua has its first girls volleyball championship.

Kailua had the Lady Bulldogs on the ropes before Waialua rallied for a stunning 25-16, 23-25, 11-25, 25-23, 15-2 win on Wednesday night at Radford’s James Alegre Gymnasium.

Waialua (6-6) will have an opening-round bye in the upcoming Division II state championships. Kailua (4-8) had already qualified. The Surfriders came very close to claiming their first OIA girls volleyball title since 1981.

Waialua’s Alohi Garcia started strong and finished with 15 kills, five aces and 11 digs. Kailia Phillips added 12 kills, nine digs and had a clutch ace down the stretch as Waialua rallied from a 10-9 deficit in Game 5. Tehya Militante added nine kills, providing a big ace in the final set, and Lilinoe Nahinu tallied five kills and six digs. Keone Santiago added 11 digs, while setter Brynn Basilio-Chun finished with finished with 37 assists and two kills.

“I feel very, very happy. I’m so proud to say this is Waialua and this is who we are,” Basilio-Chun said. “We’re not just an underdog. We can do this, too.”

The volume of Waialua fans in the gym was powerful, even with a vocal Kailua crowd. Tears fell from Basilio-Chun’s eyes as she and her teammates exited the gym, searching through an immense crowd for their families.

“Our community, even though we may be small, we have really big hearts and no matter what, they’re always there to support us,” she said.

Ashlyn Tai was phenomenal at times for Kailua, finishing with 20 kills, seven aces and nine digs. Her serving was the fuel for Kailua’s comeback in sets two and three.

“We just needed to settle down and play Waialua volleyball,” Bulldogs coach Bronson Chun said. “We want to start strong and set the tone.”

The Lady Bulldogs opened the match with an 8-1 run. Kailua pulled within 17-13 after a Waialua hitting error, but the Bulldogs closed with an 8-3 run. Garcia tallied three kills and three aces in the first set.

Kailua rebounded and rallied in the second set to take its first lead, 17-16, on a block by Kaylin Cosma. The lead changed hands twice more before the Surfriders closed it with a 6-3 run. Tai was lethal with six kills and two aces in the second stanza.

Kailua then dominated the third set as Tai rolled up five kills and four aces. It look like Waialua was down for the count.

“We knew we just had to take a breath,” Garcia said.

In game four, the lead changed hands six times before a kill by Phillips and an ace by Tehani Militante gave Waialua a 24-23 lead. Phillips’ next kill evened the match at 2-all.

Kailua zoomed to a 5-2 lead and led 10-9 after an ace by Tai. Garcia sparked the final run by Waialua with a kill off a block, and Tehya Militante’s kill pushed Waialua ahead, 12-10.

A roll shot by Tehya Militante and an ace by Phillips opened the lead to 14-10.

Puaolena Kama-Toth roofed Garcia to cut the margin to three points, and an ace by Tai made it 14-12. But Tai’s service error ended the match, a heartbreaking play for the tireless playmaker.

The New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Division II State Championships will begin on Oct. 25 and conclude on Oct. 28.