Menes extend title game appearance streak with sweep of Hurricanes


Moanalua's Bhrycen Asuncion puts down a kill over Kapolei's Branson Alop in an OIA Division I semifinal match. Peter Caldwell | SL

The streak continues.

Moanalua advanced to its seventh consecutive Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship game with a straight set sweep over Kapolei Tuesday night in the semifinals at Radford's Jim Alegre Gymnasium.

The Hurricanes (10-2) gave Moanalua a good contest, but ultimately Na Menehune (13-0) was just a cut above as they won by set scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-20.

With the mastery of Zackary Miyamoto at the setting positions, five different players were able to record multiple kills. Kalai Leopoldo and Nalu Demello led the way with 11 and 10 kills each. Duncan Clark had nine, Bhrycen Asuncion seven, and Caleb Casinas had four kills to round out the Na Menehune attack.

Although it was a clean sweep for Moanalua, the Hurricanes had an edge in the early going. Moanalua committed 10 of its 22 hitting errors in the first set alone to keep Kapolei within striking distance.

"Kapolei is a good team, we got to be expecting the best from every single team," said Miyamoto. "We weren't ready in that first set. We had the nerves and they're such an energetic, emotional team and we weren't ready for that. That's why we were caught off guard."

The second set was a much different story. After feeling out who Kapolei's main hitters were, Moanalua was able to read and react to put up a solid block.

"Once we make the adjustment with a higher set or seeing where it's going to go to, we can prepare," said acting Moanalua coach Austin Zavala.

The adjustments helped Moanalua take set two, 25-17, over the Hurricanes.

Na Menehune held an early lead in set three, but a 9-2 Kapolei run spearheaded by Branson Alop tied the stanza at 13 and forced a Moanalua timeout. Moanalua was able to score four straight points out of the timeout and never looked back the rest of the way.

Willie Tupua Richardson led the Hurricanes in the loss with 12 kills, 13 digs and three total blocks.

Moanalua will play Mililani, the West's top-seeded team in Thursday's championship game. First serve is slated for 30 minutes after the completion of the Division II title game.



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].