Mililani coach Val Crabbe considers it a privilege to be invited to play in the prestigious Ann Kang Invitational Volleyball Tournament. It was just a bonus to have a 4-0 start.
The No. 6 Trojans romped past Long Beach Poly in a 25-14, 25-20 sweep on Friday at ‘Iolani’s lower gym but dropped their last two matches — a 25-14, 25-23 loss to Mira Costa and a 25-19, 25-19 defeat against Huntington Beach that ended Mililani’s shot at the gold bracket.
"There’s a lot of hustle. We’ve only just really made our team last Wednesday and we had a short period of time to get ready for this," Crabbe said. "But you have all the mainland teams here and we don’t travel, so it’s kind of nice to play them. It’s a privilege for us."
The Trojans didn’t have a chance to watch Long Beach Poly in pool play on Thursday, but stuck to their plan of covering their hitters and playing solid on serve-receive passing.
Mililani’s Ashlee Vaoifi kicked off the first set with a nine-point run behind the service line, lifting the Trojans to a 14-4 lead over the Jackrabbits. The 5-foot-5 outside hitter is coming off season-ending surgery last year, but didn’t seem bothered, scoring three aces off her heavy top-spin jump serve.
The shorter Mililani front line did a good job of containing Long Beach Poly’s left, Nikia Withers, holding her to a team-high three kills in game one. The Trojans extended their lead to 24-10, and Sarah Legalley’s deep corner shot sealed the win.
In Game 2, the Jackrabbits earned their first lead of the match at 10-9, with a kill by outside hitter Erin Williams. The two teams tied 11 times throughout the set. Mililani gained a slight edge at 15-13 with a strategic push into the deep corner by Jordyn Keamo on the first touch. Then at 16-16, both teams experienced a momentum-killing slew of seven service errors within eight points.
"I had to go in the back after that weird run, so I was like ‘Just toss it up and get it over,’ " Keamo said.
She did just that and more.
Leading 22-20, Keamo served two aces that barely caught the back line, giving Mililani aloha ball. Kristen Miguel earned the winning kill on an overpass to clinch the Trojans’ fourth victory in the tournament.
Sarah Liva, a transfer from Hanalani, led the Trojans with six kills in the middle. Outside hitters Keamo and Vaoifi added five kills each. Williams led Long Beach Poly with seven kills, followed by Withers with five.
There are many new faces on the Mililani squad, which returns just five players from last year’s fourth-place finish in the state. The Trojans lost two OIA West first-team all-stars in setter Casie Gaza and hitter Inoa Fields, but still have Keamo, the 2012 OIA West Player of the Year.
Crabbe decided to throw Keamo into the setter position, splitting time with junior Dominique Carter.
"I think the whole state has watched her hit for the past three seasons," Crabbe said. "Really, she’s been one of the main driving forces in our offense. This year she still gets to hit, but she’s been one of our setters so people get to see a different side of her game."
Keamo finished with 11 assists and four aces in the win and has a positive outlook for this upcoming season, which begins on Aug. 28 against Nanakuli.
"I thought that our team did really well because we came out strong, we were playing strong and we ended strong," Keamo said. "Our team looks pretty good. We got the height this year, so good things can happen with that. I feel pretty confident that we can get to where we want to be: the OIA championships."
The Trojans will play in the silver bracket today, but ILH representatives Punahou and ‘Iolani remain in contention for the Ann Kang title. Championship playoffs begin at 11 a.m. today in ‘Iolani’s lower gym.
