Moanalua takes it to Farrington, 25-12, 25-11


Nine different Na Menehune players scored en route to a 25-12, 25-11 sweep of the Governors last night at Moanalua Gymnasium.

A valiant offensive effort from Farrington junior middle blocker/outside hitter, Trinity Alualu (6 kills), wasn't enough to combat the balanced attack of the Menehune, who exploited a struggling Governor backcourt.

Silerolia Gaogao (6 kills), Daisge Smith (5 kills), Erin Perez (3 kills), and a few big swings from junior Jenna Park kept the Govs on their heels for most of the night.

"We just didn't pass well. We lacked some confidence, communication breakdowns, all those things," explained Farrington head coach Reagan Agena.

Following a Perez crosscourt power dink that extended Na Menehune's lead to 6 (9-3) early in the second set, Farrington was forced to call a timeout.

"[In the timeout] I just told them to keep going. Energy was a big thing.  But despite being down, they kept pushing, kept playing," said Agena.

Perhaps the story of the night was Moanalua's reserve middle blocker, Analise Austin. The 5'11" junior had a match-high seven kills, zero errors, and a block.

"No matter what the situation, there's always something to work on. Tonight, we finally got our middle [Austin] to get us going, to get her spacing correct," said Na Menehune head coach Tommy Lake. "She had quite a few kills in there."

"We know you have to be all around and can't always rely on your outside hitters if you want to be successful."

Na Menehune took the first set after jumping to an early 11-4 lead and rode the momentum through the second despite resistance from Alualu, who hammered consecutive kills to bring the deficit to nine (15-6).