The Pearl City boys volleyball team on Wednesday had something in its arsenal that was lacking in its first go-around with Nanakuli: exceptional serving.

Pearl City had nine aces and Christian Ronquilio finished with 27 assists in a 25-21, 25-18, 25-19 victory over Nanakuli in the final of the OIA Division II boys volleyball tournament at Radford.

“We have this philosophy, where if you go back to serve, you got one job and that is to get that ball in the court,” said Pearl City coach Sean Chang. “As long as we can do that, we’ll be just fine.”

Pearl City and Nanakuli will represent the OIA in the HHSAA/New City Nissan Division II Boys Volleyball Championships, which starts May 5.

The Chargers have won three consecutive OIA titles with the previous two coming in 2018 and 2019. COVID-19 wiped out the last two seasons.

“It means a lot for them to have the opportunity to come out and play and, on top of that, to play well on a big stage,” Chang said.

Keahi Kaneakua had 12 kills and Fati Seei-Tofi added 11 for Pearl City, which lost in four sets to Nanakuli on March 23.

Tiandrew Taimanao had three aces, and Kaneakua, Ronquilio and Tylus Williams each added two for Pearl City (11-2).

“They just cleaned up their serving,” said Nanakuli coach Junius Wong. “They had a lot of service errors against us the first time around. We just couldn’t pass the ball tonight.”

Ronquilio received much better passes and was able to pick and choose who to set.

“It’s great just putting the ball up and letting them go to town on the other teams’ defense,” said Ronquilio, a senior.

Nanakuli (10-2) also struggled to score points with Makoa Kekaula Van Giesen in the back row. He finished with 11 kills.

“We do depend on Makoa to do a lot of heavy lifting in the front court, but no excuses, we have players who have their jobs and we just weren’t able to execute,” Wong said.

In the first set, Pearl City’s Kaneakua, a freshman, had seven kills without an error. The Chargers, the West’s No. 2 seed, went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-12 advantage and then a 4-0 run to go up 21-16.

“He’s been one of our most consistent guys out there and it’s great for him to show up in a game like this,” Chang said of Kaneakua.

There were eight ties in the second set with the final one coming at 15-15. The Golden Hawks, the West’s No. 1 seed, went on a 6-0 run with Pierce Kaeo serving to take a 13-12 lead. The Chargers took command with a 5-0 run with Williams serving to take a 24-18 advantage. After a sideout, Taimanao put down the set-ending kill and followed by letting out a yell and pumping his fist, much like he did after his kill ended the first set.

“Whatever sport I’m playing, whether it’s football, basketball or volleyball, I play with a lot of emotion,” said Taimanao, a senior.

The Chargers, who have won nine in a row, led 21-14 in the third set before the Golden Hawks scored four in a row. Pearl City’s match-ending 4-1 run was capped when Seei-Tofi slammed down an overpass.