Waianae sweeps past Mililani to remain atop OIA West


Akoni Faumuina puts up a block for Waianae. Isaiah Lopez | Special to SL

MILILANI — Hezekiah Agiga put down a match-high nine kills to lead Waianae to a sweep of Mililani in a battle of unbeatens Thursday night.

The Seariders swept past the host Trojans, 25-20 and 27-26, to improve to 4-0 atop the Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division Standings.

Mililani suffered its first loss of the year to fall to 3-1.

"This is a big win for us, because Mililani is always a threat," Waianae coach Wilhelm Wagner said. "Mililani and Leilehua are always the top teams, Waipahu is coming up and we still have Kapolei, so we don't overlook anybody. Everybody is a threat, so we come out and try to play our best."

The teams entered the match tied for first in the West. The sweep was Waianae's fourth in as many matches, while Mililani had yet to drop a set all season.

"I think we just had to know that we had more experience after playing in three (preseason) tournaments," said Agiga, a junior outside hitter. "We know that (Mililani) is really good, but consistency wins the game, so we knew that if we could stay consistent, we could get the win."

The Seariders used an 11-4 run midway through the first set to take a 20-12 lead. However, the Trojans answered with a 6-1 run to pull within 21-18.

"We were stuck in a rotation that we needed to get out of," Wagner said. "The passing wasn't going as we planned, we were struggling on some passes. We need to get back to work on that."

Isaiah Agiga ended the Mililani run with a solo block in the middle to ignite a 4-2 run to close out game one for Waianae.

Hezekiah Agiga and Nayton Kuresa had nine kills apiece in game one. The Trojans committed six hitting errors and three service errors in the set.

The Seariders built a 14-8 lead in the second set, but Mililani stormed ahead with an 11-4 run to take a 19-18 lead.

The Trojans held a 24-22 advantage, but the Seariders answered with three consecutive points. There were ties at 25 and 26 before Isaiah Agiga put away match point with his kill down the line.

"Sweeping them feels amazing," Hezekiah Agiga said. "We just swept the other top team in the West side, so this one feels really good."

Hezekiah Agiga had six kills and a solo block in the game two.

"That's why he's at that position," Wagner said. "It's hard to replace him. The guy does the job. He works hard, he does his job and he gets it done."

The OIA plays with a cap of 27 in the first two sets. There is no cap in game three.

Kuresa finished with five kills and a dig and Isaiah Agiga added four kills and two blocks. Jonah Poe tallied a team-high eight digs for Waianae.

Sili Fuiava had eight kills and Kingston Nishimura six for the Trojans. Jake Lafata dug a match-high 11 balls and Chason Uruu had three of his team's eight service aces.

Mililani played without starting libero Gavin Custodio (ankle) and middle blocker Tuese Timoteo (shoulder).

"We played well, but overall our passing broke down and that was our main concern with our libero getting hurt at practice (Wednesday) night," Trojans' coach John Ing said. "I think we did OK, we stood with them, but we could have been a little more consistent on the passing and that would have helped us tremendously."

Both teams next play Tuesday. Waianae will visit Aiea, while Mililani will host Leilehua.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].