OIA Boys Volleyball
Trojans make quick work of Bulldogs in OIA West volleyball


  



Thu, Apr 29, 2021 @ Mililani [ 6:00 pm ]


FINAL  1   2   3   4   5      
WLUA (4-3) 17 16 16 - - 0
MIL (6-0) 25 25 25 - - 3
Kill: A. Iha (MIL) 13 kills
Blk: C. Nakao (MIL) 4 blk
Ast: B. Yadao (MIL) 19 ast

MILILANI — Aaron Iha put down a match-high 13 kills and Manase Fetulimoeta added 10 to lead host Mililani to a three-set sweep of Waialua in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division boys volleyball match Thursday night.

The set scores were 25-17, 25-16 and 25-16.

The Trojans improved to 2-0, while the Bulldogs took their first loss to fall to 2-1.

"I thought it was a really tough game for us," said Mililani third-year coach Gabby Maunupau, whose team was coming off of a sweep at Waipahu in their season opener two days prior.

"I mean, playing against Waialua, they looked very physically talented, (but) thankfully we were able to control the ball pretty well, for the most part. We worked through a little bit of our timing issues that we had from the beginning of the season and it looked a lot better than it has been for the past couple of weeks," Maunupau noted.

Iha and Feulimoeta, along with setters Brycen Yadao (19 assists) and Garrison Iha (15 assists), were the beneficiaries of steady passes from their teammates in the back row.

"That was pretty big. Our serve-receive last (game) was our issue for us and we were able to dial that in tonight, which was big," Aaron Iha said. "I think the setters and our connection was way better. The setters were doing a perfect job tonight just delivering the ball where it needed to be."

Maunupau agreed with Iha's assessment.

"I definitely think so, too, and I think we had a lot of opportunity to distribute the ball. We're still working on some things, obviously, but I think it's getting closer to where we want to be at the end of the season — just as a preparation for a real regular-season situation," Maunupau said.

But, of course, there is nothing "regular" about this season, which is a seven-game slate for all teams in the OIA, with no postseason tournament to be held.

Still, for the seniors on Maunupau's team — who had their junior season canceled after just a few games last year — they are relishing every moment for this abbreviated schedule.

"It's exciting that we're having a season," Maunupau said. "It could be worse and I'm glad that we get to see these kids, especially for the seniors."

The Trojans got off to a quick start Thursday night. They seized the lead early in game one with a 12-1 run — which included four kills by Fetulimoeta — that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 14-5 lead.

Mililani stretched its advantage to 23-10 after a kill from the right side by Cade Nakao, but Waialua scored seven of the next eight points to force a timeout by Maunupau with his team leading, 24-17.

"He told us just to relax and to keep the ball inside, to play how we always play and just be consistent," said Fetulimoeta, who had five kills in the opening set.

"We were pretty confident we were able to finish that game," Aaron Iha added, "so we just had to do what we know we could do."

But the Bulldogs' serve out of the timeout sailed long and out to give Mililani game one.

Maunupau said the timeout wasn't just about getting his players to refocus and finish out the first set, but more importantly to keep Waialua from picking up any steam the rest of the way.

"It's a lot of momentum that they were building, especially going into the second set that we had to be cautious of and you could see it in that second set, where they came on really strong from the beginning and stayed with us all the way to double-digits, so I think definitely (the timeout) helped push them a little bit and it also gave us a little bit of leeway because of that one error to close out the (set)," Maunupau said.

Indeed the Bulldogs were feisty in the early parts of set two. The lead exchanged hands five times before Mililani used an 8-2 run that was ignited by an Aaron Iha kill from the left side — one of his six kills in the set — followed by a service ace by Cole Custodio.

The Trojans closed out the second set with a 9-3 run, capped by a double-block by Brayden Yadao and Noah Ernst on set point.

Mililani separated early on in set three. An overpass by the Bulldogs on a serve by Fetulimoeta resulted in an easy kill for Brayden Yadao, which gave his team a 9-4 lead. Later in the set, Brycen Yadao connected on a back set with Nakao from the right side for a kill. On the very next play, he fed Aaron Iha on the left side, who tooled a double-block for another kill. Brycen Yadao then served up an ace to extend it to a 16-9 lead and force a timeout by Waialua coach Bryson Souza.

But it did little to slow down the home team, which closed out the match with a 6-1 run, culminated by a Kawika Kanyuck kill out of the middle.

"Mililani is amazing. They're fast, well-trained — I know their coach very well — so I like what I see with them, too," Souza said of the Trojans.

As for his own squad, Souza felt there were some early jitters that they had to work through.

"I think we did OK. It was not our best game that we played. I think they were kind of timid having never played a fast-paced game yet, but they'll come around," he said. "I think once we settled down and played our game we tended to get better at it and then the trust comes with every teammate that comes in."

Dylan Yadao had five kills to pace Waialua. Sebastian Stone tallied four kills and two block assists, while Tevin Moniz added three kills, an ace and a solo block in the loss.

Iha, one of a half-dozen seniors for Mililani, and Fetulimoeta, one of two sophomores on the squad, combined for 23 of their team's 42 kills. Each had a block assist.

"I think they're definitely the stabilizers on our team," Maunupau said of the pair. "I think also our middles have been working really hard and I think they kind of create the separation that we need on the court, so I'm excited for all of them."

Mililani tallied seven team blocks to four for Waialua.

Nakao and Kanyuck each posted six kills and four block assists in the win. Custodio recorded two of the Trojans' five aces.

Both teams are back in action Tuesday night. Mililani will visit Nanakuli, while Waialua will host Radford.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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