Mililani ousts KS-Hawaii in four to reach Division I semis


Mililani ousted fourth-seed Kamehameha-Hawaii in four sets, 25-17, 20-25, 25-10, 25-23, to advance to the semifinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I Girls Volleyball Championships.

Trojans took charge in game one, pushing out to an early 7-3 advantage, but the Warriors chipped away to close the gap to 12-10. But Kamehameha-Hawaii would be forced to call a timeout after a spectacular block by Mililani’s Samantha Fischer at 17-11, and Mililani would continue to pull away in the set, with Jordyn Keamo ending game one with a kill, 25-17.

Again in game two, Mililani took an early lead at 6-3, but Kamehameha-Hawaii worked their way back into the set at 10-9, forcing Mililani to take a timeout.

Points were exchanged between Mililani and KS-Hawaii, until the Warriors' broke away at 12-all, pushing Mililani to call a second timeout trailing 20-17. Trojans would drop the set as Acacia Ka'a'a ended game two with a kill, 25-20.

"We kind of do really well in one game, then (not so well in the next)," said Mililani head coach Val Crabbe, "we gotta pick it up again, we gotta play it steady."

Mililani tookcharge in game three, with Jaylerra Kapowai's ace at 8-1 forcing a Warriors timeout. An onslaught of kills by Fields along with a series of strong blocks by Samantha Fischer kept the Warriors at bay, and a hitting error gave the Trojans the set at, 25-10.

Jordyn Keamo's ace at 5-4 in the fourth set sparked the Trojans, who rallied to push the Warriors to call a timeout at 14-9 after a block by Fischer and Kristen Miguel.

The Warriors would rally, evening the score at 17-all on an Ahuna kill. But a Fields kill would spark another Trojan charge, and a miss hit ball would end the match, 25-23.

"We feel pretty good (about the win)," said Inoa Fields, "going to tomorrow's game, (it's) gonna be a tough game, no matter which team it is."

The Trojans will be face defending HHSAA Division I state champion and top-seed Punahou in the semifinals Thursday at Mckinley's Student Council gymnasium at 5 p.m.