The Moanalua roofing company went to work on Thursday.
D’Angelo Ross and Luke Jones combined for six of Moanalua’s nine blocks as Na Menehune swept a talented Roosevelt squad 25-16, 25-16, 25-14 in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships on Thursday.
OIA champion Moanalua will play ILH runner-up Kamehameha at 5 p.m. today in the semifinals at Punahou’s Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
“We came in this game just thinking that we’re going to win so we can go against Kamehameha,” Ross said. “We came here to work. (Against Kamehameha) we’re going to have to shut down their outsides. We lost to them in preseason, but it was close overall. We definitely have the ability to beat them. We’re a better team than we were then.”
The aroma of poi donuts wafted through Kekuhaupio Gymnasium as Moanalua withstood some aggressive attacks by Roosevelt (12-5), the fifth-place team out of the OIA. Moanalua swept the Rough Riders during the regular season 25-11, 25-9, 25-14. Roosevelt, however, is a much improved squad under longtime coach Kaui Mendonca.
In set one, the Rough Riders got within 15-12 after a roof by Jonathan Yadao and an ace by setter Roman Felipe. Moanalua closed the set with a 10-4 run as senior setter Malu Wilcox (31 assists) orchestrated a near-flawless attack.
In set two, Roosevelt rallied with help from Moanalua hitting errors and was within 13-11, but Na Menehune got blocks from Jones, a 6-foot-5 junior, to fuel a 12-5 run.
Moanalua racked up four blocks to win the third set going away.
Jaycen Bush led Moanalua (15-0) with nine kills, adding two blocks. Ross, a 6-4 senior, tallied eight kills and three blocks, while Ezekiel Sablan had eight kills and Trevor Kwak added seven kills. Jones finished with four kills and three blocks. Christian Cruz came off the bench for six assists.
“Roosevelt’s three big hitters, when they start getting hot, they’re pretty good. One of their hits was a straight-down hit. Holy crud. Luckily it was just out,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said. “They’re definitely much better now, much stronger offense and defense. We’re playing better, too. We’re reading the ball a lot better. The boys are starting to play like they’re volleyball players and not just athletes.”
Ford Lyons paced Roosevelt with seven kills and two blocks. Yadao had five kills, and Trace Naka‘ahiki added four kills and one block. Felipe finished with 22 assists and two kills.
“Moanalua is very consistent on every play. Our struggle was inconsistency, the errors. We’ve cleaned up a lot of the errors, but you can’t have too many against an aggressive team like Moanalua,” Mendonca said.
It has been a unique, sometimes challenging journey for Roosevelt, which has a new gym under construction.
“We practiced at Farrington five times a week, 7 o’lock at night. Once in a while we practiced at McKinley and Moanalua,” Mendonca noted. “In fact, even last night we practiced at Moanalua after they were done. The kids carpooled and our parents made a lot of sacrifices.”
Moanalua has a major task ahead — facing Kamehameha’s 6-9 hitter, Kainoa Wade.
“It’s about mental toughness. Roosevelt got us into a little bit of trouble,” Cabanting said. “As long as we believe what we are doing and we can come out of any mental rut, we’ll do pretty well against Kamehameha. Beating Kamehameha would be so awesome. That’s what all the boys are gunning for.”
Roosevelt will meet Hilo in consolation play at Kekuhaupio Gym today at 6:30 p.m.
Mililani 3, KS-Maui 1
Aris Mateo put down 21 kills and Tyler Duranceau added 16 as the Trojans topped the Warriors 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 26-19.
Tyce Nakamura dished out 29 assists for MIlilani and Carson Nakamura added 20. Trevin Matsuba had 10 digs.
Punahou 3, Kamehameha-Hawaii 0
The Buffanblu got the best of the Warriors in the matchup between the storied programs, prevailing 25-12, 25-16, 25-18.
Punahou spread the wealth, with Brody Badham leading the way with nine kills, Evan Porter adding eight and six others putting down at least one.
Nalu Akana ran the offense with 23 assists.
Lohea Boshard led Kamehameha-Hawaii with six kills.
Division II
Le Jardin 3, No. 3 Island School 2
Elijah-Shore Flores had 26 kills and Brennan Nakayama finished with 55 assists as the Bulldogs beat the Voyagers 25-21, 16-25, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11 at Damien.
La‘akea Kamahele added 16 kills, Jackson Swirsky had 15, and Alika Piette totaled 22 digs for Le Jardin, which will face Konawaena in today’s semifinals at Kalani.
Bodhi Jones had 29 kills, Orion Magaoay finished with 48 assists and Mark Fitzgerald had 22 digs for Island School.
No. 2 Konawaena 3, Kailua 1
Ellison Morgan finished with 25 kills and four aces as the Wildcats beat the Surfriders 25-16, 15-25, 25-21, 25-18 at Damien.
Mana Dias put down 11 kills and Travis Nakamoto had 44 assists for Konawaena.
Kailua’s Kaleb Cui finished with 27 kills and Jesse Tuipulotu-Davidson had 42 assists.
No. 5 Molokai 3, No. 4 Waialua 0
Jericho Adolpho had 18 kills and Teaho Poepoe added 11 as the Farmers defeated the Bulldogs 25-21, 25-22, 25-23 at Kalani.
Wesly Dela Cruz dished out 29 assists for Molokai, which will play University in today’s semifinals at 7 p.m. at Kalani.
Waialua’s Shane Kelly had 14 kills, Dayton Quick added 12, and Cyres Lacar contributed 29 assists.
No. 1 University 3, Ka‘u 0
Koa Laboy had 15 kills and Micah Nakasato added 14 as the Jr. ’Bows defeated the Trojans 25-16, 25-19, 25-14 at Kalani.
Kawehi Kaneakua had 31 assists for University.
Ka‘u’s Karsen Polido-Tuaifaiva finished with six kills.
