[ HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL ]
Trojans head to
OIA title match
behind Neumanns
On the brink of elimination, the Mililani Trojans turned to the Neumann family to help them stay undefeated.
Junior Scott Neumann's kill won Game 2 and older brother Jesse Neumann's block ended the match as the Trojans advanced to the Oahu Interscholastic Association final by defeating the upset-minded Kalaheo Mustangs 20-25, 30-28, 15-12 in front of a rambunctious pro-Mililani crowd at Farrington.
The Trojans will face Kahuku in Thursday's OIA championship match at McKinley High School as the Red Raiders defeated Campbell in the other OIA semifinal 25-23, 25-14. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
Down 25-24 in Game 2, Jesse Neumann blocked Sam Wilhoite, evening the score at 25 and starting Mililani's incredible comeback.
"I was scared," Jesse Neumann said about facing match point. "We hadn't been in that position before, but fortunately we were able to just fight through it and come back."
While the Trojans prevailed, the Mustangs didn't go down without putting up a fight. After falling behind 7-3 early in Game 1, Mustangs head coach Sivan Leoni called a timeout to settle his team down.
Kalaheo responded with a five-point run and eventually won the first game behind the play of Wilhoite. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker finished the match with 16 kills and six blocks, but it wasn't enough as the Trojans improved to 12-0 for the season with the win.
"Kalaheo is a very strong team," said Trojans head coach Kauanoe Eldredge. "We came out slow and had difficulties passing, but fortunately we were able to put it all together when it counted the most."
Tied at 12 in the third game, a kill by Jesse Neumann and a hitting error gave Mililani a 14-12 lead. The Mustangs called timeout to draw up a play for Wilhoite, but Jesse knew what was coming and blocked Wilhoite one-on-one to send the Trojans into the final.
"During the timeout, Coach told me to shadow their big guy and fortunately I was able to come up with the block," Jesse Neumann said.
Scott Neumann finished with ten kills and Aaron Fujimoto added five for the Trojans. Elias Ayau put down seven kills for the Mustangs.
The Trojans advanced to the OIA championship game for the second straight year. Even though they were on the losing end of last year's title game, the game plan won't be any different this time around.
"We're just going to do what was has worked for us all year," Eldredge said. "We just need to hopefully start out stronger, but a win like this is good. It has given us more confidence."
Moanalua and Kalani will meet in the girls final.
