Kalaheo players celebrate after winning the OIA Division II girls volleyball title. Peter Caldwell | SL

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102514_1301_Kapolei_064.JPG - Peter Caldwell | SL

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After being on the wrong side of the net a year ago, Syenna Masaki wasn't about to let it happen again.

Masaki put down a team-high 10 kills and Siani Yamaguchi added nine kills to lift Kalaheo to its first Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II girls volleyball championship since 2006 with a four-set win over Kailua Friday night at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium. The scores were 26-24, 22-25, 25-20 and 25-17.

The Mustangs (9-4) had the same opportunity a year ago, but fell short against Radford in the title match. This time around they came through to capture just the second league crown in school history and first under coach Roberta Downey.

"It's hard to put into words how this feels, but these girls deserve it. They worked hard for it, they work hard every day," Downey said. "It's a great, great feeling."

Masaki, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter, was a freshman on last season's OIA runner-up team.

"It feels great to finish, because we know how it feels to be on the losing side," Masaki said. "Falling short last year motivated us a lot and helped push us through this year."

Kalaheo overcame a match-high 18 kills from Kailua's RaeLynn Leong to win its sixth straight match. Amber Tai also registered 12 kills for the Surfriders, who fell to 6-8 with the loss and saw their five-match win streak snapped.

Masaki and Leslie Sanchez-Arrelano had four service aces apiece for Kalaheo, which finished with 16 aces — against just six service errors — for the match.

"The strength this year for this team has been our serving," Downey said. "If we can serve, we can serve anybody off the court. When we don't serve we're got to work hard."

The Mustangs trailed late in the opening set, 24-23, but benefitted from a service error and subsequent four-contact violation against the Surfriders before Masaki closed out game 1 with her fourth kill of the set. The play was kept alive by a diving dig by libero Bobbi Anduha.

Kailua broke a 22-all tie in set 2 with three straight points to even the match. Kalaheo used an early 9-0 run in the third set to pull away, 25-20. Kailua held a 7-4 lead in the fourth set, but Kalaheo answered with a 9-2 run to seize a commanding lead it would not relinquish.

The Surfriders were seeking their second league title in school history and first since 1981.

Both teams have already qualified for the upcoming New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II State Championships.