OIA Girls Volleyball
Moanalua sweeps Kapolei to reach OIA title game


  



Mon, Oct 14, 2019 @ Moanalua [ 5:30 pm ]


FINAL  1   2   3   4   5      
KAP (14-3) 18 22 19 - - 0
MOA (16-2) 25 25 25 - - 3

SALT LAKE — Fifth-ranked Moanalua swept seventh-ranked Kapolei, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I playoff semifinals on their home court Monday.

Na Menehune improved to 13-0 overall and return to their home floor on Wednesday, Oct. 16 to face Mililani, who outlasted Kahuku in a thrilling four-set win.

"It feels really good. For the seniors, last year a couple points here and there that didn't allow us to get back into the championship match. We depended on the seniors and what they felt last year when they didn't make it," Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said as Na Menehune seek their first title since 2017.

Alexis "Tradie" DeBina-Bautista led Na Menehune with 15 kills and Tayli Ikenaga added 14 kills.

"Tayli is back and it's been nice. When Tayli was out, we had to depend on Tradie and she's coming into her own. She was able to attack a ton of good balls and when we were trading point for point, attack for attack with Kapolei," Cabanting said of DeBina-Bautista.

Allexis Iramina (17) and Aaliyah Allagonez (15) combined to dish out 32 assists. Allagonez had three of Moanalua's service aces and Sonny Rodrigues had the other.

Hurricanes only loss came against defending OIA champion Mililani on Sept. 16 and have gone on a six game winning streak but saw it come to an end to fall to 10-2 overall.

Kapolei will play Kahuku in the third place game at Farrington on Tuesday.

Na Menehune, Trojans, Red Raiders and Hurricanes all claimed spots in the New City Nissan/HHSAA Volleyball State Championships starting on Oct. 21.

Toodie Sopi led Kapolei with 10 kills and Alexis Kepa passed out 23 assists.

Kapolei and Moanalua kept it close before Na Menehune went on a 6-1 run to pull away. Kapolei called timeout on a return error as it trailed, 18-13. Na Menehune took advantage of Hurricane errors and claimed the first set, 25-18.

The Hurricanes trailed in the beginning of the second set before Kapolei clawed back to tie the set at 15 following Sopi's service ace. Kapolei went up by two forcing Moanalua to call a timeout.

Na Menehune benefited from Hurricane attack errors before Aaliyah Allagonez landed a key ace to tie the game at 21.

"Aaliyah came back and we trusted her serve. It was off of her serve, we got those three or four points to get the lead. Once we got the lead, Kapolei second guessed their attacks," Cabanting said.

Amerika Jones and Madison Williams combined for a block and Jones and DeBina-Bautista each got kills for a 25-22 set two win.

"Both sides there were great hitting. A ton of good defensive stands and the big difference was our serve and our pin hitters, whenever we need them to attack the ball, they took care of it," Cabanting said.

Moanalua used the momentum it gained late in the second set and took control throughout the third set. Kapolei brought it within two, but Madison Williams emerged with key blocks and kills to give Moanalua breathing room. Na Menehune led by as much as eight before completing the sweep.

"The serving starting to get even better. The confidence that we got off of the second set. The serve was more precise so we hit our spots, forced them to make plays. Our defense did the work from there," Cabanting said of improved play in the third set.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




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