Farrington, Kalani advance

Meilene Cenido and Tanya Sale combined for 27 kills as Farrington rallied past Nanakuli 23-25, 25-16, 25-11 last night in the opening round of Oahu Interscholastic Association girls volleyball playoffs.

Farrington (8-4) faces Moanalua, the top seed in the East, in tomorrow's quarterfinal round at McKinley. Nanakuli, the No. 4 seed from the West, finished the season 6-5.

In the late match, host Kalani overcame a spirited effort by Campbell for a 25-16, 25-8 sweep. Kalani, the No. 3 seed from the East, will meet the West's top seed, Aiea (10-0), tomorrow at McKinley.

Farrington's state tournament hopes wavered at the start. The Lady Governors needed a jolt to play their best volleyball before a pensive crowd. With Tarina Taeatafa-Pantastico delivering key plays, Nanakuli opened strong. Farrington's depth, coupled with Nanakuli's inability to stop the Govs at the net, turned the match around.

"Everybody thought we wouldn't win," Taeatafa-Pantastico said of her team's sudden loss of confidence. "Some of us weren't playing from their hearts, doubting themselves."

Cenido, a 5-foot-6 senior, pounded 14 kills. Sale, a 5-9 senior, tallied 13 kills with just one error. She also had three aces.

"When our passing wasn't there, we needed her on the left side," Farrington coach Jenic Tumaneng said of Cenido's solid play.

Fili Crichton, a 5-5 sophomore, came up with a strong all-around performance. She finished with four kills and an ace, while Matalasi Taua'a added five kills and a roof.

Taeatafa-Pantastico, a senior, finished with six kills and three aces. Sierra Nakea, a senior middle blocker/outside hitter, led the Golden Hawks with 11 kills.

Kalani, ranked No. 6 in the state, was certainly not the usual third seed from any division or league. Tamari Miyashiro smacked 11 kills, with just one hitting error, to lead the Lady Falcons. Pua Paia added five kills and four aces.

"I feel relieved," Paia said of Kalani's slow start. "We picked it up."

Koreta Gali, a senior, led Campbell with five kills.

Campbell (5-6) hung tough for a good portion of Game 1. Darlene Medeiros' ace and a Kalani hitting error gave the Sabers a 9-7 lead.

That's when the Lady Falcons began to communicate better.

"We had no communication, and they overpowered us in the middle," Campbell coach Kaui Alohikea-Betham said. "They were awesome defensively. I think our girls were surprised with their quickness."

The game was tied at 11 when Kalani's rash of unforced errors came to a halt. The Lady Falcons, with Keri Hee taking command in the middle, went on a 10-3 run and never looked back.

Paia, a sophomore, had four kills and three aces in the opening set.

Kalani also began calling out Campbell's plays.

"We need to improve our mental game," Alohikea-Betham said. "That's what got our girls thrown off -- Kalani's verbal communication."

Kalani coach Joey Miyashiro missed the match due to other obligations, so her daughter, former head coach Aven Lee, filled in.

"The level of intensity wasn't there at the beginning," said Lee, who guided Kalani to the OIA crown last year.

"I don't know why we came out so flat," Hee added. "We practiced so hard. I give Campbell credit. They played hard."

Waipahu, Roosevelt
sweep into second
round of OIA

There is certainly more than one way to win a volleyball match.

In first-round action at the Oahu Interscholastic Association's girls volleyball tournament, Waipahu and Roosevelt used very different styles and skills to advance to tomorrow's second-round action.

Host Waipahu used a high-powered offensive attack to win its match in straight sets, defeating Kaiser 25-19, 27-25 with five players posting at least four kills.

With junior middle Amanda Misa leading the way with eight kills, Waipahu registered twice as many team kills as Kaiser, pounding out 27 to the Cougars' 13. Noela Noga had six kills, while Taulafo Unutoa contributed five. Nicole Enos and Samantha Misa added four apiece.

"I thought the girls did really well," Waipahu coach Eleanor Lauifi said. "They showed that they really wanted to come out and play and they did everything they were supposed to."

The Marauders used a nine-point run to take control in the first game.

With Kaiser leading 12-11, Waipahu earned a point on a Cougar service error, and then proceeded to serve for eight more scores. Two Enos service aces and three Amanda Misa kills accounted for most of the damage.

Kaiser mounted a big comeback to cozy up to the Marauders late in the set, outscoring Waipahu, 6-1 to pull within five. But as was the case all night, Misa came-up with a big swing, ending the frame on a kill off an assist from setter Paige Olmstead.

Game 2 saw Kaiser and Waipahu battle for momentum throughout, eventually going to extra points. As in Game 1, Kaiser was able to put together a late rally, scoring six consecutive points -- highlighted by a pair of Nahe Kamauoha blocks -- giving themselves a chance to serve for the game at 24-21.

Again it was Misa sparking a Waipahu rally, scoring three points on a block and two kills to lift the Marauders to their eighth win of the season.

"We really picked it up a lot when we were down," Misa said. "It's amazing how we can come back as a team. It was a total team effort."

In the first match of the evening, East fourth seed Roosevelt used an aggressive serving strategy to sweep past Kapolei 25-12, 25-18.

"One of our strengths is our serving," Rough Rider coach Bryan Camello said. "We tried to attack from the get-go and we were able to serve really well tonight."

Indeed Roosevelt did serve well, posting seven service aces, while preventing Kapolei from passing well on others.

Kapolei received a strong defensive performance from 6-foot-1 middle Jerrell Taituave, who had a match-high seven blocks.

Waipahu will meet East second seed Kahuku tomorrow at Pearl City High, while Roosevelt will play West top seed Aiea.

"Aiea's undefeated for a reason," Camello said. "The girls know its a big game, and so does Aiea. The better team will win, and hopefully we'll be on that side."