Nanakuli's Natalie Kaopua put down a match-high 16 kills in a win over Waianae. Peter Caldwell | SL

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SALT LAKE — Nanakuli got an unexpected opponent Thursday, but took care of business nonetheless.

Led by a match-high 16 kills from Natalia Kaopua, Nanakuli swept past Waianae in a quarterfinal match of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Girls Volleyball Tournament that was played at Moanalua. The scores were 25-19, 25-15 and 25-21.

The Golden Hawks improved to 9-2 on the season, advanced into Tuesday's semifinal round and clinched a state-tournament berth with the win. The Seariders fell to 6-6.

"It's awesome. I think it's our first state tournament berth for Nanakuli for volleyball, so it feels great," Nanakuli coach Junius Wong said. "We were very close last year in D2 and we couldn't quite get the job done, so this year we definitely came back to prove ourselves that we were worthy of being in D1."

Kaopua, who put down at least five kills in each set, echoed her coach's sentiment.

"It's amazing," said Kaopua, a senior outside hitter. "It's our first time in Division I and we made it to states. It's a big statement for Nanakuli."

The Golden Hawks finished second in the Western Division and earned a first-round bye in the 12-team tournament, while the Seariders were playing their second match in as many days. Waianae, which finished sixth in the West, posted a stunning five-set upset of Roosevelt Wednesday to set-up the showdown with its neighbor down the Leeward Coast.

"We definitely prepared for Roosevelt, but we were able to watch the game yesterday and Waianae exposed Roosevelt's weaknesses and that's why they were here tonight," Wong said. "They did a great job (Wednesday), but they just looked like they were out of gas in the second set tonight."

Seariders' coach Wilhelm Wagner said fatigue was part of the problem, but didn't use it as an excuse.

"We kind of had a lot of fatigue from (Wednesday), but we weren't gassed," Wagner said. "It's a rivalry game, so I think we were over thinking the game a little and it played a big part. We were just lacking confidence to press forward and too afraid to make mistakes. That's what it was."

A bigger factor Thursday was Nanakuli's efficiency at the service line and Waianae's serve-receive struggles. The Golden Hawks had 16 aces for the match, including eight in game two.

"We've been playing this Waianae team for a good three years so we knew who to serve to and in what kind of way," said Kaopua, who had four aces to her credit. "We knew what we had to do and serve tough was one of the main things."

Shaianne Moepono-Techur had five aces, Tipesa-Ella Kakiva three and Emma Kawaiaea two for the Golden Hawks.

"I definitely think we served better today than we have in the past," Wong said. "We definitely went out going for that ace with a high-risk, high-reward attitude."

Nanakuli used an 11-0 run in game one to turn an 11-9 deficit into a 20-11 advantage. Waianae answered by scoring eight straight points to pull within a point, but the Golden Hawks closed out the opening set on a 5-0 run, including three consecutive aces by Moepono-Techur, which set-up Ashley Van Gieson's dink on game point.

Waianae trailed by just a pair of points at 13-11 midway through game two, but Tianna Hanohano's left-handed kill ignited a 12-4 run to wrap up game two for Nanakuli.

The Golden Hawks had to rally in game three, trailing 13-8 before Wong burned his first timeout. His team promptly responded by scoring 13 of the next 15 points to pull ahead, 21-15.

"Our coach calls timeouts at the right time and we get good pep talks from him, so we know we have to pick it up because we shouldn't be down after we get long runs," Kaopua said.

The Seariders pulled to within 21-18, but ultimately fell short in the set, 25-21, and in the match.

"It definitely shows their grit," Wong said of his team. "A year ago this group was not able to finish games and that's kind of what we always talked about — about finishing stronger — and I think we've definitely been executing that a lot better this year."

Nanakuli will play undefeated Moanalua in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal match Tuesday at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

Waianae, which had won four of its last five matches prior to Thursday, can still qualify for the state tournament if it can get by Castle in an elimination match Tuesday.

The Golden Hawks also swept the Seariders (25-19, 25-21) in a regular-season meeting back on Sept. 18.

MOANALUA 3, CASTLE 0: Na Menehune (12-0) swept past the Knights (7-6) 25-15, 25-17 and 25-19 in the late quarterfinal in Salt Lake. Moanalua, the top seed from the Eastern Division, punched its ticket to the state tournament with the win and will play Nanakuli in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium

KAPOLEI 3, KAHUKU 0: The West No. 3-seed Hurricanes (10-2) posted a stunning sweep of the East runner-up Red Raiders (10-2) 25-20, 25-22 and 25-17 in a quarterfinal played at Mililani. Kapolei, which started the year 1-2, has won nine consecutive matches, while Kahuku has now dropped two of its last four matches. 

MILILANI 3, AIEA 1: The West top-seeded Trojans (10-1) needed four sets to defeat Na Alii (8-4) 19-25, 25-14, 25-18 and 25-22 on their home court. Mililani, the reigning league champion, will play Kapolei in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at McKinley, while Aiea will take on Kahuku in an elimination match at Farrington that same day.