StarBulletin.com

Kamehameha-Maui tops Moanalua for semis berth


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POSTED: Friday, November 07, 2008

One team was mechanical and the other was emotional.

For one night, emotion won out. Ginger Long pounded 14 kills and Whitney Santos had 13 more as Kamehameha-Maui surprised Moanalua 28-26, 14-25, 25-22, 16-25, 15-12 in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Division I state championships.

A crowd of about 1,000 at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupi'o Gym saw KS-Maui (14-0) advance to the semifinal round for the first time.

“;We play with heart and put it out there,”; said Long, a 5-foot-10 sophomore. “;We want to make history for our school.”;

Though the Warriors came in as the fourth-seeded team as champion of the MIL, they've been unranked all season. Moanalua (12-6), runner-up from the OIA, is ranked No. 5 in the Star-Bulletin Girls Volleyball Top 10.

The Warriors played with conviction, running crisp sets and attacking from all angles in a balanced attack: Telissa Tua (10 kills), Sage DeCosta (eight) and Cymbree DeCosta (eight).

Tua and Long presented a formidable block all night and limited Moanalua to a .133 hitting percentage. Kayla-Al Kaluau had a match-high 25 digs.

“;It goes to show that every team needs consistency,”; said Moanalua setter Carsen Mata, who had 42 assists, 11 digs and three kills. “;You got to give them credit. They came out strong. We came out banging, but we ran out of gas.”;

Na Menehune seemed flat after playing an opening-round match with Aiea on Wednesday, but Mata noted that the team had perhaps not fully recovered after playing three matches in three days last week during the OIA playoffs.

“;With OIAs and states, we've been really busy. It's been very tiring,”; she said.

Latricia Taifane led Moanalua with 19 kills (.382). Kaylee Ponce and Lahela Kaili-Laroya had 14 kills each. Ashley Asing had 14 digs and Kiilani Azcon-Parker added 13 to lead the back row.

For KS-Maui coach Charles “;Bala”; Spencer, facing his former team was bittersweet. He coached the Moanalua JV team just three years ago and was very familiar with several of the seniors. Battling the flu, he could barely whisper loud enough to be heard during timeouts.

“;We've been prepared for that,”; he said of five-set matches. “;We just had to follow through.”;

Moanalua seemed to have control in the final set with leads of 3-1 and 7-4. Long, however, was clutch with a kill and a roof of Taifane to help the Warriors rally. A block by Tua gave KS-Maui the lead for good, 11-10, and she added a kill and another block as the Warriors won going away.

 

Kamehameha 3, Farrington 0

Taylor Akana drilled 13 kills, hitting .333, to lead the three-time defending state champion Warriors (18-2) over the Governors 25-16, 26-24, 25-9.

Kamehameha plays Kamehameha-Maui, in a semifinal tonight at Kekuhaupio Gym.

Caitlin Andrade added 24 assists and 11 digs, both match highs, for the ILH titlists.

Junitta Fonoti led Farrington (11-8), the OIA's third-place team, with eight kills. Brandy Vergado-Duclayan had 20 assists and nine digs. The Govs, with 26 hitting errors, hit -.009.