It’s all business for the top-seeded ‘Iolani Raiders, who dismantled a hot Mililani squad 25-14, 25-9, 25-15 in the Division I semifinals of the New City Nissan/
HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships on Thursday night at Moanalua.
ILH champion ‘Iolani (23-5 overall) will meet third-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii tonight at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the crown. Senna Roberts-Navarro and Brooke Naniseni were in bazooka mode from start to finish. Roberts-Navarro finished with a team-high 21 kills (.606) and Naniseni had 13 kills (.458).
“The time off was good and gave us rest, and let us practice and get better,” said Naniseni, who looks at full health after an early-season injury.
“We’ve just been sticking to our game plan and executing at a high percentage,” Roberts-Navarro said. “Everyone’s doing their job.”
Maya Imoto-Eakin dished out 40 assists, while Tessa Onaga hustled for 16 digs.
Just about the only times the Raiders let themselves go with celebration was immediately after the win, and in postgame when Onaga returned from a TV interview with a Player of the Game plaque.
“They’re excited. They’re so stoked for Tessa. She’s a big part of why we do well. She’s at the end of every big hit,” Raiders coach Kainoa Obrey said. “We’re excited to have that opportunity to get to one of our biggest goals. I’m happy for the kids, the way they’re playing. I’m happy with the way they’re locked in and ready to play.”
Callie Pieper added seven kills as the Raiders hit .444. ‘Iolani’s defense was relentless, limiting the Lady Trojans to a minus-.011 hitting percentage. Alexis Rodriguez led OIA runner-up Mililani (20-13) with 10 kills and eight digs. Erica Roberts and Thalia Agae chipped in four kills each, and LC Nakagawa had six digs. Anae Asuncion had 17 assists.
The Raiders spent lunch studying video.
“We had a team lunch and watched film on them, just developed a game plan and tried to execute it as much as possible,” Onaga said. “We’re stoked to finally make it to states and the championship.”
The first two sets were runaways, but Mililani stayed tight at 7-all in the third game.
‘Iolani won its first state championship in 2001 under Ann Kang. In ’16 and ’18, the Raiders won state titles under Obrey.
Onaga, a senior, plans to keep the award close by.
“The celebration is for after. I’ll probably put it on my desk in my room,” she said. “When I go to college, my mom can have it.”
The Raiders got a sneak peek at KS-Hawaii during the earlier semifinal match.
“We’re definitely excited for that. We didn’t know what to expect,” Onaga said. “We’ve never seen any film on them, but they look really good. We’re excited for a tough match tomorrow. They had a reverse sweep.”