Ezekiel Afalava-Sablan scorched Castle’s defense with 12 kills and three aces as host Moanalua swept Castle 25-18, 25-16, 25-15 in a matchup of unbeaten boys volleyball teams in the OIA East on Wednesday.
Na Menehune improved to 6-0 in league play while Castle dropped to 5-1. Moanalua’s height advantage was a factor, but it took near-flawless passing to stop a hot Knights squad.
Afalava-Sablan hit .579 and was also part of a stellar passing crew for Moanalua that includes outside hitter Lionel Gannon and libero Christian Cruz.
“We just have to communicate in the back row,” Afalava-Sablan said. “We’re trying to work on consistency. If we’re consistent, we win games.”
Gannon, a 6-foot junior, added 10 kills and one ace while hitting .429. Luke Jones, a 6-5 senior, tallied seven kills and three blocks. Loa McCutcheon, a 6-4 junior, chipped in six kills and two blocks.
Senior setter Malu Wilcox was steady and efficient with 36 assists, adding one kill and one ace. He still has his trademark beard and bleached blonde hair.
“If we make the state championship, I dye my beard blue,” Wilcox said. “To start out the season, it’s been a struggle trying to figure out what tempo we want to run. All the intangibles. But every day we try to get better, working on our passing.”
Wilcox attempted only one dump shot, which landed for his only kill. Otherwise, he was a chef feeding his patrons all night.
“I like to let our hitters eat. The passes were all pretty good, all at the 10-foot line,” Wilcox said.
“We’re hungry,” Afalava-Sablan added.
Coach Alan Cabanting stationed himself near the end of the court, standing for the entire match. Other than some instructions for reserve players late in the match, he didn’t speak a lot.
“We’ve been focusing on our serve and our passing since we came back from San Diego. It’s been so inconsistent and today’s one of those days when it all came together,” he said. “Everybody respects Malu and respects him and they listen to him. He and our co-captains have been leading things we need to do. If we want to be one of the top teams in the state, the consistency has to be a lot better, so I’m glad we put it together today.”
Trisen Kalauokaaea, a 5-8 senior, sparked Castle with 10 kills (.391) and two aces. Kekoa Tani added nine assists and two kills, and Damien Pili-Rumusod dished seven assists. Nanue Sadowski chipped in two aces.
“Moanalua is always a tough team to crack. We tried to prepare as best we could, but the serving took us out of our rhythm,” Castle coach George Ehia said.
Ehia’s team reached the state tournament last year. This season, the Knights traveled to play in the Las Vegas Invitational. They went 7-1, defeating Somerset Sky Pointe (Nev.) in the silver bracket final.
Their strong start in the OIA East included a 25-21, 25-22 21-25, 17-25, 16-14 win at Kahuku. Since then, they beat Anuenue by forfeit, swept Kalaheo, and beat McKinley and Kailua in four-set battles.
“For us to be 5-0 is a testament to the kids. They’ve been working all offseason. We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board and work hard again.
Castle’s next match is against Kalani on Monday.
Moanalua will visit Kaiser on Monday in its next OIA match. Before then, Na Menehune play in the ‘Iolani Invitational, which begins Thursday.
The opening set was close for awhile. Once Moanalua took control with its passing, a 7-2 run followed. Afalava-Sablan had an ace and a back-row kill during the run, which opened Na Menehune’s lead to 11-5.
Castle relied on Kalauokaaea, who had five kills in the first set, and got within 12-11. Moanalua then scored the next five points to close out the set.
In set two, Jones had a two kills and a roof to lift Moanalua to a quick 6-1 lead. Jones added two more blocks and a kill on a Castle overpass as Moanalua extended the lead to 20-10.
