Moanalua, Roosevelt advance

While the pain of defeat lasts for a while, getting revenge makes it all disappear.

No. 4 Moanalua avenged its lone loss of the season with a come-from-behind 25-27, 25-20, 25-14 victory last night over No. 7 Kahuku in the semifinal round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I girls volleyball tournament at McKinley High School. The Menehunes move on to face Roosevelt, which won earlier in the night, in Thursday's championship game to be held at McKinley at 7:30 p.m.

Moanalua (13-1) carried the momentum it gained after winning Game 2 into the third frame, and jumped ahead to a 4-0 lead. But Kahuku answered right back with six straight points of its own.

The Menehunes turned the tables quickly, though, running off 11 consecutive points and taking a great deal of pressure off itself, while leaving a shell-shocked Red Raider squad standing in disbelief. After Kahuku scored a point, the Menehunes went on a 5-1 run to all but put the game out of reach. On Kaleinani Kabalis' spike to end the game, the revenge was complete.

"It was a total team effort," said Menehunes coach Tommy Lake, who insists that avenging the Oct. 10 loss to Kahuku was never a factor in his players' game plan. "That last game, we had a big lead, but it was never safe. They're such a solid team. But (the lead) gave us a bit of breathing space. Kahuku is always going to be a good team, they always come to play, and I've never had a game against them when it was not a war."

Despite the loss, Red Raider head coach Mona Ah-Hoy still has time to tinker, as Kahuku will make an appearance in the upcoming state tournament.

"Moanalua just played a good game," Ah-Hoy said. "I'm just happy we didn't give up (at the end) and tried to come back. We'll be ready (for states)."

No. 5 Roosevelt 2, Kalani 1

In the first semifinal game of the night, the No. 5-ranked Rough Riders used a methodical, grinding attack to sweep past the Falcons 25-19, 25-22.

"I wouldn't say this is what we expected, but we came out with a business-like attitude, and we knew what needed to be done," said Roosevelt head coach Bryan Camello.

Roosevelt (11-3) held a slim 12-11 lead to start the opening game, but used a 10-3 run to open up the lead to 22-14. The Falcons continued to battle with a 4-1 streak of their own, but could not overcome the deficit, which was bolstered by four Rough Rider service aces.

Game 2 followed the same story line as Kalani (9-6) held close, with the score knotted at 13 until midway through the period when Roosevelt utilized a 7-2 run, and pulled ahead to a 19-15 advantage. After crawling back within a point, the Falcons seemed poised to regain the momentum, but the Rough Riders scored four straight points, and won the match on Melana Yamashiro's dink over the net.

Senior outside hitter Hoku Oleole led the way for Roosevelt with six kills and two service aces. Yamashiro chipped in with four kills and two blocks, while middle blocker Jacey Tagavilla added five kills.

"She did a really good job, as she's done all season," Camello said of Oleole. "She's a very steady, smart player, and I really enjoy watching her play."

"It's going to be fun," Camello said of the championship matchup. "Moanalua is a big, physical team and they bring some bombs. We're really going to have to prepare for them."