StarBulletin.com

Aiea maintains an edge over Mililani in OIA Red West


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POSTED: Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Aiea girls' volleyball team always finds a way.

Melelatu Samisoni finished with 15 kills and Kelly Leopoldo added 13 kills, eight assists and three aces as seventh-ranked Aiea beat host Mililani 25-23, 15-25, 27-25, 26-24 in a matchup of the two best teams in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West division last night.

Na Alii (8-0) remained undefeated in league play and is on the fast track toward a No. 1 seed in the OIA tournament after beating the Trojans (7-2) for the second time in 10 days.

“;(Mililani) is almost a mirror image of us with the way they dig everything,”; Aiea coach Blythe Yamamoto said. “;It was an exciting game just like the first game.”;

The Trojans took Na Alii to four sets in the first meeting, but as was the case again, Aiea pulled out the stops when it needed.

“;We did it because of our team,”; Yamamoto said. “;Every single girl on our roster has come up with a big play or a big point at a crucial time in a match to help us win. That's what pulls us through.”;

That was evident last night, as Na Alii got contributions from a variety of players to pull out the win in a hostile road environment.

Danielle Grace added 10 kills and Michelle Lambayan had three aces, including the game-winner to end the match at 2 hours.

Kaala Leopoldo and Natasha Fong combined for 30 assists and Ashlei LiiLii came off the bench to put down four huge kills in the deciding fourth set.

But it was Kelly Leopoldo who came up big as Na Alii's go-to girl. After Mililani dominated Aiea in the second set to square the match, the junior outside hitter stepped up and led Na Alii's charge with five kills in each of the last two games.

“;The team was dependent on me and I brought my game,”; Kelly Leopoldo said. “;The difference in the game was our energy.”;

Mililani dominated the second set, getting at least two kills from four different players and forcing Aiea to hit negative for the set.

The Trojans had opportunities to win each of the last two sets, but committed two service errors after the score was tied at 23 in the third set. Mililani had a 24-23 lead in the fourth, but couldn't put away any of the multiple free balls it had to even the match at two sets apiece.

“;We played our hearts out, but in a game like this, what it comes down to is not committing those errors,”; Mililani coach Val Crabbe said. “;It was a valiant effort on both teams' parts and I'm really proud of the way we played.”;

Candace Soares led the Trojans with 15 kills and 5-foot-11 middle blocker Olivia Freitas added 10 kills and six blocks.