[ STATE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS ]
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Moanalua's Resina Nataniela blocked a shot by Kauai's Kyrie Simeona as Moanalua's Kepuanani Lee looked on last night.
Moanalua
sweeps
KauaiThe Menehunes rebound from
a rare loss to advance to
the winner’s bracket
Moanalua coach Tommy Lake is the first to admit he doesn't mind changing his lineup.
"I think we've played 15 games now, and I think I've had 15 different lineups," Lake said with a laugh.
But while the Menehunes make their share of adjustments between matches, their mind-set has always remained consistent regardless of their usage of personnel. Yesterday, after finding themselves in the position of having to rebound from a loss for just the second time all season, Lake and Moanalua responded by sweeping Kauai 25-23, 25-21 in the first round of the Nissan Hawaii High School Athletic Association girls state volleyball championships.
With the win, the Menehunes advance in the winners' bracket and meet St. Joseph today in a quarterfinal at 3:30 p.m.. In the tournament's opening match, Roosevelt beat Hawaii Preparatory Academy 25-22, 25-19 to advance to a meeting with top-seeded Kalani in a quarterfinal tonight at 8.
At this stage of the season teams usually use scouting reports in their preparation, but Moanalua (13-2) would seem to have an advantage over its prospective opponents, given Lake's tendency to tweak his lineup.
The latest saw Lake insert freshman Brianna Amian as a starting middle blocker. She moved up from the Menehunes junior varsity for the last two matches of the Oahu Interscholastic Association tournament, but played sparingly. She was informed only moments before the match that she would start.
"I was very nervous, but I knew that we could do it," Amian said.
Added Lake: "Brianna's coming up from the junior varsity has helped us quite a bit. She has a bright future for us."
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kauai's Kyrie Simeona blocked a shot by Moanalua's Alisa Hout in last night's match.
In addition to Amian's inclusion in the lineup, Kathleen Yee played at setter, while Resina Nataniela was used as an outside hitter. Yee had been a defensive specialist for much of the season, while Nataniela has been a setter for a number of the Menehune's matches. Moanalua was led by Danie Hout, who finished with 11 kills and eight digs, while Nataniela had nine kills.
Both games saw Kauai (8-3) make the Menehunes work for every point.
A kill by Kehau Silva gave the Red Raiders their last lead of Game 2 -- 12-11 -- but a series of errors helped the Menehunes to a 4-0 run and a 15-12 lead.
From there, Moanalua went on to leads of 19-14 and 23-18 before Silva rallied the Red Raiders to within 23-20 on back-to-back kills. She could only delay the inevitable, however, as Lee and Nataniela tallied the next two points to finish out the match.
For Kauai's part, Game 1 was the encounter that got away and set the tone for the rest of the match. The Red Raiders held leads of 9-5, 18-14 and finally 23-18 before fading.
With Moanalua down 23-18, a beautiful dink shot by Yee found the middle of the Red Raider defense and began the comeback. After Hout put down a kill, Yee followed with a service ace, and suddenly the Menehunes trailed only 23-21. They took the lead following consecutive errors by Kauai and finished out the game on a kill by Hout.
"It was a slow start for us, but the comeback in Game 1 jump-started us for Game 2," Hout said.
Lake had called two timeouts in Game 2, including one with the Menehunes trailing 23-19.
"We needed to nail it closed," Kauai coach Richard Roberts said. "That's what got us here (to the postseason) -- closing (matches) out."
"They were a little more consistent on their side," Roberts continued. "They had a little bit better defense -- it pulled it out for them, but other than that, the hitting was pretty much head-to-head."
Kauai was led by Silva, who finished with nine kills. Holly Iloreta added nine digs for the Red Raiders.
Roosevelt 2, Hawaii Prep 1: The Rough Riders (11-5) were making their first state tournament appearance in five years, but still won in straight sets -- 25-22, 25-19 -- behind the play of Shellane Ogoshi (nine kills), Kristen Tanabe (8 kills) and Nicole Okada (eight digs).
In Game 2, the score was tied six times before a service ace by Ogoshi gave the Rough Riders the lead for good. Ka Makani (13-4) fought back from a 20-12 deficit to make it 21-19 on a kill by Lokemele Davis, but Melissa Aki (three blocks) thwarted the rally with a kill and a block on Somia Quan ( five kills).
"The atsmosphere in a state tournament is a little different, so it was good for them to get this first one under their belt and calm down everybody because a lot of the kids have never been here," Roosevelt coach Bryan Camello said. "It was a good overall team effort. We could have executed a little better, but a win's a win."
Kamehameha-Oahu 2, Kealakehe 0: The Warriors (16-2)won 18 straight points after a 2-2 tie in Game 1 and held on to win 25-15, 25-17 over the Big Island's Waveriders (13-5).
Kristen Ponce led Kamehameha with seven kills, while Mounia Nihipali had a team-high eight digs. Kealakehe's Antoinette Alapai had a match-high 10 kills.
Kahuku 2, Kamehameha-Maui 0: Camilla Ah-Hoy had eight kills and Chazel Fiso 10 digs as the defending state champion Red Raiders (12-4) defeated Kamehameha-Maui 25-13, 25-19.
Kamehameha-Maui dropped to 8-6.
