Trystin Lum drilled 19 kills and Emily Robins tallied 16 as Castle defeated Farrington 25-15, 17-25, 25-15, 25-17 to capture the OIA Division II girls volleyball championship on Wednesday night at Mililani gym.
Lum added an ace and a block for Castle, the top seed in the East. Senior setter Lehiwa Kapu dished 42 assists, adding an ace and a kill. Eryn Kealaula Kauanui chipped in five kills and one ace, while middle Brooke Silva had two blocks.
“We switched up the lineup and went off what we knew. The second set was difficult because we were all over the place, but after we shook it off, we were all good and we came back,” said Lum, who will play at UH Hilo next year.
A massive crowd at Mililani, plus TV cameras, amplified momentum early on.
“One-hundred percent. A huge crowd, it’s whoa. Especially Farrington. They have a huge crowd. We had a lot to battle in our minds, but on the court, we’re playing our hearts out,” Lum added.
The title is Castle’s third in OIA D-II and the first under coach George Ehia. The Lady Knights previously won two D-I crowns under Kenneth Rowe (1976, ’77) and one under Pat Gomes (’89).
This year’s team was 6-4 in the regular season against D-I and D-II competition in the OIA East. The Lady Knights beat Waianae 20-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-13 in the semifinal round to advance.
“To win this, it’s mind-boggling. Coach George (Ehia) emphasized energy and positivity, and just putting our hearts out here,” Lum said. “We have nothing to lose. Lehiwa was putting up great sets and it was a collective win.”
Ehia stood near the corner, calmly directing his team from start to finish.
“It feels great. It feels great to bring the program back to the forefront, going back to when Coach Pat was there. Just the community helping build the program up,” he said. “Farrington did a phenomenal job today. They pushed us harder. We kept it basic, serving and passing.”
Farrington (6-7), guided by Raymond Patcho, played with grit after being steamrolled in the opening set, taking a set off Castle for the first time this season in the second game. Castle beat Farrington on Sept. 16 25-23, 27-26, 25-15.
Abelyn Toloai led the Lady Governors with 13 kills and added a block. Kalona Valene Kekahu-Laloulu had four kills and one ace, while McKayla Delosantos added four kills and Casserra Togia White tallied three kills and three blocks.
Junior setter Mariana Soriano dished 22 assists and added four kills.
Lum had four kills and two aces, and Robins also had four kills as Castle eased to a 1-0 lead in the match. Farrington committed seven hitting errors and two service errors.
Soriano fed Toloai heavily as the Governors took a 6-3 lead. Castle tied it at 7 thanks to Robins (three kills, ace), but the Govs went on another run. After Togia White roofed Lum and Castle committed a net violation, Farrington led 14-8.
Castled rallied to tie it at 15 as Lum came through with a block and an ace. Again, Farrington repelled the Knights, going on a 6-1 run. Briana Tsuchiyama-Pearce’s back row dig landed on Castle’s side of the net inbounds, and back-to-back kills by Toloai opened the lead to 21-16.
Toloai, a 5-foot-8 junior, closed out the set with three consecutive aces.
Farrington kept the momentum going in set three, opening an 11-6 lead. However, shades of set one reappeared with flurry of hitting errors and a rotation violation as Castle went on a run. After libero Rylie Matsuda dished an assist to Railye-Marie Makainai-Kon, Castle had a 17-12 lead.
After a Farrington timeout, Kapu’s ace kept the run going. Castle led 22-12 when the Govs called their last timeout. Lum’s fifth kill of the set capped a 14-4 run by the Knights, giving them a 2-1 lead in the match.
After struggling with four hitting errors in the second set, Lum was on point with five kills and no miscues in the third.
In set four, the 5-10 senior had five kills as Castle opened a 13-9 edge.
Farrington has 10 OIA volleyball titles, including three in D-II. The most recent title was in 2015 under Barney Choy.