Moanalua sweeps past Hilo in first round of Division I


Moanalua OH Erin Perez puts down one of her team-high 10 kills against Hilo. Peter Caldwell | Special to SL
Erin Perez spiked 10 kills and served an ace and freshman Lia Gaogao added seven kills and four blocks last night as Moanalua swept past Hilo, 25-11, 25-5, 25-22 in the first round of the New City Nissan/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Volleyball State Championships.

Na Menehune, who finished third in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association, improved to 14-2 in the regular and postseason and will face No. 1 seed and Interscholastic League of Honolulu champ Punahou (12-0) in tonight's 7 o'clock feature quarterfinal at McKinley.

Hilo, the Big island Interscholastic Federation runner-up, fell to 14-3 and into today's 3:30 p.m. consolation bracket match against Kaiser (12-4).

Moanalua dominated early in last night's match, using a 5-0 run to jump ahead, 9-3, in the first set and not allowing the Vikings within four points the rest of the way. Katiana Ponce then had three straight aces to highlight a 15-2 start in Game 2 as Na Menehune again won going away.

Moanalua raced to a 9-3 lead in the third set before Hilo clawed back and eventually took the lead at 15-14 on an ace by Destynee Figueroa. The Vikings later led 19-18, but Na Menehune answered with a 4-0 run to go up, 22-19, and ultimately ended it on a kill by Gaogao.

Anuhea Paiva and Daisge Smith each had three kills and Ponce finished with two kills and three aces for Moanalua. Waihilo Chartland had three kills, one block and one ace, Petelisa Ena Tilina-Livai added three kills and one block and Amanda Loffler contributed three kills for Hilo, which played without injured middle blocker Leilani Smith.

Kahuku def. Kaiser, 25-21, 17-25, 25-13, 25-16

Tatiana Brown had 11 kills, one block and one ace and Pati Anae and Sinamoni Tonga each added seven kills, two blocks and one ace as the Red Raiders (16-4) advanced to today's 5 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 4 seed and Maui Interscholastic League champion Kamehameha-Maui (14-1).

The first set was tied at 16-16 before Anae capped a 4-1 run to push Kahuku ahead at 21-17. Haley Durham then had back-to-back kills to help the Cougars close it to 22-21 before Anae finally ended it on a kill.

In Game 2, Durham had three kills and a block to spark a 10-3 run that gave Kaiser a 20-13 lead, which the Cougars maintained until finally ending it on a kill by Courtney Phillips.

The Red Raiders rebounded in the third set by jumping out to a 10-3 lead and Kaiser could not get closer than four points thereafter.

Kahuku also started Game 4 strong with leads of 6-0 and 10-3, and the Cougars could not get closer than five points the rest of the way.

Adora Anae added six kills, Tyra Williams finished with two kills and three blocks and Talia Brown contributed two aces and one block for the Red Raiders.

Durham led Kaiser with 10 kills, two blocks and three aces, Phillips added seven kills and three blocks and Annika Rigterink contributed five kills and three blocks.

Baldwin def. Castle 22-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-10

Kalei Vaivai had 14 kills and Olivia Wallace added 11 kills as the MIL runner-up Bears (12-4) rallied past the OIA fifth-place Knights (11-6).

Baldwin advances to face No. 2 seed and OIA champion Mililani (14-1) in today's 5 p.m. quarterfinal at Farrington. Castle falls into today's 3:30 p.m. consolation bracket match against Pearl City (8-7).

Taylor Badois added nine kills and six blocks, Pepe Laloulu finished with six kills and four blocks and Kasalaine Mataele contributed six kills and two blocks for the Bears.

Joshell Lilio led the Knights with a match-high 20 kills, Quare Pua'auli-Pauhi added 14 kills and Azjuer Fernandez contributed 11 kills and three blocks.

Kamehameha def. Pearl City 25-11, 25-11, 25-22

Amanda Wasco had nine kills and two aces and Misty Ma'a added eight kills and two blocks as the six-time defending champ Warriors (10-3) advanced to tonight's 7 o'clock feature quarterfinal against BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawai'i (14-3) at Farrington.

Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira and Brittany Kalepa each added five kills for Kamehameha, with Kalepa also serving two aces.

Brandee-gail Chun led the Chargers with 10 kills and Kaya Chong led the defense with 14 digs.