Thursday, October 29, 1998

Pearl City boys,
girls continue
defense of OIA
championships

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

The Oahu Interscholastic Association boys' and girls' volleyball playoffs move into the quarterfinals Saturday with the top seeds facing last weekend's opening-round winners.

Roosevelt's girls, second-seeded in the East, opened the season with losses to Kahuku and Farrington, but haven't lost since.

They face fifth-seeded Farrington at 1 p.m. at McKinley. The Governors feature powerful 5-foot-10 middle blocker Robynn Afe.

"Our strength is defense," Farrington coach Jenic Tumaneng said. "It helps us stay in games."

In the 10 a.m. match at McKinley, the East's top seed, Kaimuki, will meet Mililani.

In other matches at the same site, Moanalua, the No. 2 seed in the West, will face Kaiser at 11 a.m., and Pearl City, the defending OIA champion and the top seed in the West, takes on Kahuku at noon.

On the boys' side at the Moanalua High School gym, Roosevelt, which rallied to beat Moanalua in a playoff opener last weekend, meets league champion Pearl City, the top seed in the West, at noon.

"Pearl City is just a fundamentally sound, all-around team," Rough Riders coach Kaui Mendonca said.

He said his fourth-seeded East team has gotten this far because it has developed its ball control and sense of team unity.

Roosevelt derives experience from senior middle blocker Ryan Arisumi, and vocal leadership from junior outside hitter Regan Ching.

In other boys' quarterfinals, Farrington, the No. 2 seed in the East, will meet Nanakuli at 10 a.m.

The senior-rich Governors are led by senior opposite Joe Navarez, the OIA East Player of Year last season, and 6-foot outside hitter Jason Smith.

In other boys' matches, West No. 2 seed Waianae will face Kahuku at 11 a.m. and Kalaheo, the East's top seed, will meet Mililani at 1 p.m.

The semifinals will be held Nov. 4, with the boys playing at Moanalua and the girls at McKinley.

The OIA championship will be held Nov. 7 at the Blaisdell Arena.

Junior varsity matches at Aiea on Saturday: Kalani vs. Mililani, 10 a.m.; Aiea vs. Farrington, 11 a.m.; Waianae vs. Kaiser, noon; and Roosevelt vs. Kaimuki, 1 p.m.

The JV semifinals will be Nov. 4 at Aiea.