An undefeated season might have looked impossible at the beginning of Mililani’s season, especially with just two starters back from last year’s squad.
But at the tail end of the OIA West season, Mililani’s volleyball team is 7-0 after rallying for a 25-20, 26-24 win over host Aiea on Tuesday night.
“It was kind of unique for this new team because we jelled real well and jelled pretty much instantly,” said setter Hope Carter, one of the two returning starters from last year’s team that made the state tournament. “It was easier to work with everyone and get that communication going. We just had a good start.”
Carter had 16 assists and eight kills, and Ashley Pawlak had nine kills for the Trojans, who have yet to drop a set in league play. The way the team has been playing, the unblemished record no longer surprises Carter.
“At this point that we’re at, I wouldn’t be so surprised to be here,” Carter said. “Everyone has worked so hard.”
Both teams traded mini runs in both sets, but the Trojans pulled through at the end of both sets. Christina Betham had six kills and Kamalani Cachola had 15 assists to lead Aiea (4-2).
Mililani trailed 23-21 in Set 2, but tied it at 23 after Carter’s dump over the net and a kill from Pawlak. Kyra Kaloi’s kill put Aiea at set point, but Na Alii then hit long to tie it at 24. Carter then got to a potential overpass and pushed the ball over for a kill, putting the Trojans at match point. Carter then served her sixth ace to finish the match.
“This might have been the best serve game I’ve had,” Carter said. “I just had to take it one by one.”
It was a tough loss for Aiea, especially when coach Blythe Yamamoto repeatedly told the referee that Mililani was out of rotation late in Set 2.
“When those kind of things happen, it’s kind of hard to swallow, especially when we worked so hard to get to this point,” Yamamoto said.
Mililani coach Val Crabbe reminded her team to remain composed in two timeouts late in the match. Crabbe noticed the noise from Aiea’s home crowd was getting to her players.
“She just told us that we needed to keep our focus and play our own game, don’t let the crowd disturb us,” Carter said. “She said keep our minds in it and we will succeed. The crowd was really getting to us, the pressure, we all find that in ourselves, that inner peace.”
Carter served five straight points late in Set 1 to put the Trojans ahead 21-18. Aiea closed to 21-20, but then served long to give Mililani a 22-20 lead. Pawlak served back-to-back aces to put the Trojans at set point, and Kahea Aea’s kill ended the set.
Yamamoto hopes her team remains focused after the loss. Aiea has been working on its mental game throughout the season and that will be a factor when the playoffs begin.
“We got to be focused — it’s our mental toughness that we’re working on,” Yamamoto said. “We’ve been working on that for a while now. We know our ultimate goal is to get into playoffs, get into the state tournament. That’s when we really have to peak.”
Mililani gets another test when it hosts Radford (5-1) on Friday.
