Moanalua MB Aya Anderson meets Farrington's Chalei Smith at the net to win a joust for a point. Michael Lasquero | SL

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_16083004_20160829-IMG_2922.jpg - Michael Lasquero | SL

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Visiting Moanalua defeated Farrington in straight sets at Richard Kitamura Gymnasium in both teams Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division season-opener Monday night.

Na Menehune (1-0), the defending OIA Division I champions, won by set scores of 27-26 and 25-16.

Moanalua took an early lead in the opening game, but allowed Farrington to come back before winning the set with the 27-point cap.

"I think we're displaying how young we are," said Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting. "There will be times when we can score seven of eight points, and we'll give up seven or eight points just as bad. That's what we have to work on as a team, understanding that we're young and that we have to be able to sustain a high level of play all the way through a game."

It was also the first game that Moanalua was playing in since losing JoJo Kruize, the 2015 OIA Eastern Division Player of the Year, to graduation.

"Now there's not a ‘JoJo factor' factor anymore so that means we have to be a little bit more crisp and a little bit more focused with the things that we're doing," said Cabanting.

Na Menehune rebounded in the second set and never wavered to run away with a convincing 25-16 win. Emily Dulaney jumpstarted Na Menehune in the second game with three service aces to give Moanalua a 7-1 lead before Farrington called timeout.

"I keep telling these girls that we may not have the offensive firepower that we have in previous years, but definitely with our serving and our passing we can match any of the teams that we face this year," said Cabanting.

For the Governors, playing Moanalua was a good measuring stick for themselves as they make the jump from Division II to Division I this year. Farrington was the 2015 OIA Division II champion.

"Moanalua is always a good test," said Farrington coach Barney Choy. "I wish we had a game under our belt to roll into it, but we'll be fine."

Choy said his team was lacking in some of the basic aspects of the game early on in the match, but he was proud of how they battled back late after being down 19-12 and 24-20 in the first set.

"We had a shot at it," he said. "I was proud of them for coming back, that was nice. It's there for us."

After a hitting error by Dulaney made it a 24-21 game, Farrington rattled off four straight points, three of which came on tip attempts, to make it 25-24 in the Governors' favor.

"They changed it up. We talked it about in the timeouts about being smart," Choy said about his team's hitting.

Moanalua came back to tie it at 25 and 26, and took the set on a kill by Dulaney.

The second set was all Na Menehune. Moanalua built on its early 7-1 lead and took leads of 14-6 and 20-12 before completing the sweep.

"The service game was a problem from the get go. We went into a mental shell. That was pretty much the whole game, but we can battle. You'll see their heart come out throughout the season, I'm sure of it," Choy said on the second set.

Moanalua hosts Roosevelt in its home-opener on Wednesday while the Governors will look to get back on track with a road game against Kalani.