The sting of defeat turned into sweet revenge for Moanalua on Saturday morning.

Justin Todd pounded 14 kills and Kai Rodriguez had 12 as Na Menehune swept nationally ranked Corona Del Mar (Calif.) 25-22, 25-15, 27-25 to open the Clash of the Titans boys volleyball tournament at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Moanalua (15-5 overall) entered the event ranked No. 6 in the USA Today national rankings. Corona Del Mar is No. 13.

George Bruening led the Sea Kings with 17 kills, including eight in the opening set. Moanalua imposed double and triple blocks on the 6-foot-9 opposite. Corona Del Mar beat Moanalua last month on the mainland, and Na Menehune had to adapt to a key change in the lineup.

“Our passing was a little different. Kaden (Sato) is out, a little injury from our Castle game, so we had to sit him out for today,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said. “We had to move Christian (Tafao), our opposite, into that passing lane along with Chico (Rowan). Corona’s float serve gave us fits when we were up there, and those two did a really great job stabilizing our pass so we can run a really, really strong offense.”

Moanalua had four aces, including two by Todd. Jaycen Bush added five kills, while Zack Yewchuk tallied four kills and two blocks. Setter Malu Wilcox had 27 assists and an ace, and AJ Matsumoto chipped in 12 assists.

Kaden Kavanaugh added four kills for CDM. Setter Ryan Gant finished with 25 assists.

The Sea Kings were without two starters, 6-6 outside hitter Sterling Foley and 6-5 middle blocker Cade Alacano.

“Moanalua came out. They were ready to play. They are a solid team with some pretty good pins. We weren’t prepared to battle, and that’s important for us. They were able to capitalize and really build momentum,” Corona Del Mar coach Katey Thompson said. “We were down a couple of guys. That’s not an excuse for how we played. Moanalua is a fantastic team, but that definitely changes a few things on our side.”

The visitors trailed 6-2 in the opening set before surging ahead 9-7. Moanalua then took command with a 15-8 run. Corona Del Mar trailed 22-17 and closed the gap to 24-22 before Todd ended the set with his fourth kill.

The second set began with a similar trend. Moanalua led 7-3 before Corona Del Mar tied it at 8 on a roof by Thomas Dolak on Todd, a 6-8 senior. Moanalua then powered its way to a 17-7 run as Wilcox distributed the ball to Todd (five kills), Rodriguez (four kills) and Bush (three). Bush’s roof on Reid McCullen ended Set 2.

The Sea Kings had their best game after that, rallying from a 22-20 deficit for a 25-24 lead after a kill by Kavanaugh.

However, two hitting errors and a back-row attack gave Moanalua three consecutive points and a sweep.

“From the last time we played, watching videos, we knew (Bruening) would be hitting in his areas. In the first set, I was getting mad at the boys because we had practiced where they needed to be,” Cabanting said. “Once we got into the second and third sets, they were in the right spots and digging balls, or a least touching the ball. He’s a great player so he got his kills, but it was pretty good.”

Moanalua beat Beckman (Calif.) at the Hawaii Invitational last month, then took the title with a win over host ‘Iolani. They remain sharp despite a lack of elite competition in the OIA.

“We continue what we’re doing. There’s a couple of plays there where we just speed-balled the ball over. I think we can get better at attacking the ball. Those confusion plays are the ones we’ve got to work out,” Cabanting said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re constantly attacking and forcing the other team out of system.”

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CLASH OF THE TITANS

At Punahou

Today

10 a.m. – Punahou vs. Bishop O’Dowd (ewa court)

10 a.m. – Corona Del Mar vs. Santa Barbara (main court)

Noon – Mira Costa vs. Kamehameha-Hawaii (ewa court)

Noon – Moanalua vs. Del Norte (main court)

4:30 p.m. – Seventh place (main court)

4:30 p.m. – Fifth place (ewa court)

7 p.m. – Third place (ewa court)

7 p.m. – Championship (main court)