OIA Girls Volleyball
Kahuku turns back Moanalua in four sets to take league title


Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
December 3, 2021, 2:04am

  


Thu, Dec 2, 2021 @ Moanalua [ 7:30 pm ]

Kahuku

3

Moanalua

1

FINAL  1   2   3   4   5      
KAH (13-3) 22 25 25 25 - 3
MOA (15-2) 25 22 20 20 - 1
Kill: K. Garcia (MOA) 26 kills
Blk: M. Taumoepeau (KAH) 5 blk
Ast: A. Iramina (MOA) 26 ast

SALT LAKE — The crown returns back to Kahuku.

The Red Raiders bested host Moanalua in four sets, 22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20, Thursday night in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship match to capture their first league title since 2016.

Kahuku (12-1) got nine or more kills from four different players and totaled 10 blocks to secure its 14th OIA banner, the most of any team in the league.

"It feels amazing and it's so awesome to be a part of a championship win," said senior middle Emmalei Mapu, who had a team-high 14 kills and had a hand in four blocks. "We were able to work together and fight back."

Na Menehune (12-1) was the victor in four sets when the two teams met to open up the regular season, but the Red Raiders made sure to rewrite the script in the rematch.

It just took them a set to figure out how.

Moanalua was the better team to start the contest as its offense operated like clockwork to the tune of 19 kills in the opening stanza.

Strong serving and a diversified attack also broke down the Red Raiders' passing in set one. One example of this came when Kahuku senior Makayla Fonoimoana had a pair of bad receives on back-to-back points that got the Red Raiders into a 17-14 hole that they couldn't recover from in set one.

But Fonoimoana and the Red Raiders fought back, flipping the switch to win the next three sets.

"Our mindset just changed," said Fonoimoana. "We went out there and played with heart and played with passion in this game and did damage."

Kahuku's Makayla Fonoimoana puts down a kill against Moanalua in the OIA Division I championship match. Greg Yamamoto | SL    Purchase image

The Red Raiders' comeback started with the back row. Libero Hehea Polutu stepped up and had a match-high 24 digs. Fonoimoana, the lone six-rotation player in the lineup, also settled down and responded with 12 kills and 13 digs.

Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting admitted after the match that his team keyed on Fonoimoana after the miscues on serve receive.

"She kind of dipped in terms of her passing, but again as a senior, and as skilled as she is and was, she definitely held up and did great for them," Cabanting said.

Kahuku coach Tuli Tevaga added that a lot of the passing breakdown was nerves.

"I think they just needed to calm down and not be over anxious, especially with balls that was not beaming straight at them. Just making sure that as the ball is floating in the air, that we are solid in our base.

"They adjusted really well and I'm really proud of them. That's when the offense started going," said Tevaga, who became the eighth different coach to lead the Red Raiders to an OIA title.

Setters Madison-Marie Mamizuka and ShaCe Niu were both diligent in distributing the ball, finishing with 21 and 20 assists respectively. Mele Taumoepeau and Chalei Reid were also solid attackers with nine kills apiece.

Malu Garcia led Na Menehune in the loss with 26 kills. Kelia Giusta and Leilani Guista combined for 25 kills to round out Moanalua's top hitters.

The OIA championship also gives Kahuku a first round bye in next week's state tournament. The Red Raiders will await the winner between Hilo and Waianae in a 5 p.m. quarterfinal at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium next Thursday.

Moanalua will host Kaiser next Monday in the opening round. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.

NOTE: The OIA website does not reflect all of Kahuku's girls volleyball championships. Kahuku won a title in 1969 (not listed)  via a regular season record of 8-0.


Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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