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Aiea earns trip to Maui
after toppling Roosevelt
It has taken 16 years, but Lelani Kleman-Maeva made sure she finally had a reason to visit Maui.
The 5-foot-11 junior pounded 24 kills and came up with 14 digs as Aiea rallied past Roosevelt last night at McKinley Student Council Gym to claim a berth in the girls volleyball state championships. The state tourney will be held at King Kekaulike High School Nov. 10-13.
With the 22-25, 25-12, 25-20 win, Aiea improved to 11-0 and advanced to the semifinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs. Na Alii will play Kahuku Saturday, 7 p.m., at McKinley.
"It's a relief," Aiea coach Blythe Yamamoto said. "Roosevelt is very good, very scrappy. We knew this was going to be tough."
Aiea, seeded first out of the West, is ranked No. 7 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.
"She was awesome. She took over for them when they needed her," Roosevelt coach Bryan Camello said. "She says, get up on my shoulders, and I'll carry you."
She had 13 kills in Game 2, when Na Alii took control of the match. "In the beginning, we had our jitters, but eventually, everyone did their job," Kleman-Maeva said. "Our coaches said there should be no doubt in our mind that we came to do our job."
Konae Purcell finished with eight kills for Aiea after a sluggish start.
"I was overanxious," Purcell said of Game 1. "I got angry, and I just had to shake off my mistakes."
Senior Miya Frank and junior Justiana Kalilimoku led Roosevelt (9-4) with seven kills each.
"They played their hearts out," Camello said of his team. "A couple of bounces and it could've gone the other way. That's the way it breaks. Aiea is a good team, and that's why they're undefeated."
The Rough Riders, seeded fourth out of the East, played without fear against the taller Na Alii. With Aiea mass-producing errors -- 12 in all for Game 1 -- Roosevelt turned a 1-point deficit into a 23-18 lead. An ace by Chelsea Uchihara and a roof by Marci Maruishi helped Roosevelt en route to the opening-set victory.
Purcell, who had one kill and four errors in Game 1, did not commit another error the rest of the way. With Marissa Komomua anchoring the middle and Purcell contributing on the other side, Roosevelt struggled to slow Kleman-Maeva down.
She amassed 13 kills in Game 2. With the Rough Riders bearing down in the back row, Kleman-Maeva adjusted. Five of her 13 kills in the set were dink shots.
After 23 kills without a hitting error, Kleman-Maeva finally came up short on a swing midway through Game 3, proving that she's human, after all. Purcell came alive in the final game with five kills, including two during a 5-0 run to close out the match.
Moanalua def. Farrington: Danie Hout drilled 15 kills and had seven digs as the Menehunes swept the Lady Govs 25-22, 25-15. Moanalua (11-1), the top seed from the East, will play Kalani in a semifinal match Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at McKinley.
Farrington finished the season 8-5.
