Coach Alan Cabanting played his cards just right, and Kelia Giusta came through in crunch time.
Sophomore Malu Garcia pounded 24 kills and Giusta, back from a knee injury, delivered six of her 20 kills in the final set as Moanalua rallied for a thrilling 21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12 semifinal win over Mililani on Tuesday night.
The win at Moanalua’s gym — which was at maximum, restricted capacity — thrust Na Menehune into the final of the OIA Division I girls volleyball playoffs. No. 4 Moanalua (12-0) will play Kahuku on Thursday, again at Na Menehune’s gym.
Setter Allexis Iramina dished 43 assists and added five kills plus one ace. Bailey Kaawa had four crucial aces, all in the second set, and libero Zoe Slaughter led a resilient back row. Giusta sat on Monday in the quarterfinal round as Moanalua swept Kaiser, letting a relatively minor injury heal up.
“Coach Alan made a good move,” Garcia said. “A very good move.”
Giusta had a full tank of fuel.
“It was really hard to watch (on Monday). I was really excited to play because it’s the playoffs, but it was really fun just to cheer on my team. The win was great. We made it to today and we’re going to the finals,” the 5-foot-11 outside hitter said.
Jaelyn Tang had 18 kills and Alexis Rodrigues tallied 16 to lead Mililani (10-2), the runner-up from the West. Anae Asuncion had 51 assists, two aces and a kill. Rheana Deen-Jackson added six kills and two blocks in the middle.
Mililani’s serve, as expected, was difficult to handle. The visiting Trojans landed four aces in the first set, including two by Asuncion, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Giusta had just three swings without a kill in the opening set, but was ready to get back into her groove. She had five kills and Garcia drilled four as Moanalua battled back in the second set. With Kaawa at serve, Na Menehune took the lead on one of her aces. By the time she had her fourth ace, Moanalua had a 19-14 lead en route to the set win.
Mililani responded in set three by taking a 12-7 lead on back-to-back kills by Aria Miller. However, Iramina came up with three kills, including an accidental kill on a dig in the back row that landed on Mililani’s side of the net. That gave Moanalua a 20-19 lead. Mililani tied it at 20 and 21, but consecutive hitting errors by the Trojans gave Moanalua an edge. A double-touch by the setter, Asuncion, ended set three.
Coach Val Crabbe’s squad responded with a strong fourth set. Miller and Tang, using as much finesse as power, had six kills apiece. Kills by Tang and Miller, plus a block by Asuncion, sparked a 5-0 run that opened the lead to 22-15 as Mililani forced a fifth set.
The Trojans took a 3-1 lead after blocks by Deen-Jackson and Rodrigues, but Giusta and Garcia stepped up. Giusta’s kill gave Moanalua a 5-4 lead. Mililani tied it at 5, 6 and 7, but Garcia had consecutive kills, and Hokulani Perez’s block on Deen-Jackson opened Moanalua’s lead to 10-7.
Mililani roared back with three consecutive points to tie it at 10, but a service error by the Trojans and a right-side kill by Giusta opened the lead to 12-10.
A net violation by Mililani and another right-side kill by Giusta gave Na Menehune a 14-11 lead. A moment later, her final kill ended the match.
Now Moanalua gets its shot at the title. Under Cabanting, Na Menehune have won three OIA girls championships (2014, ’15 and ’17).
“We don’t really talk about the past,” said Iramina, who wasn’t in high school when Moanalua won its last league crown. “But I’m really hungry for this because we haven’t won it.”
Kahuku 3, Kapolei 1
The East runner-up stunned the top team from the West 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23 to advance. Kahuku (11-1) will play Moanalua on Thursday night at Na Menehune’s gym.
After winning the opening set, Kahuku was in position to take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the second set, it was 20-all when Kapolei got a double block and setter Kilinahe Andrade’s dump shot helped the Hurricanes take a 24-20 lead.
Kapolei’s big block came through twice down the stretch to pull out game two and even the match at 1-all. From there, Kahuku’s back row came through, and Emmalei Mapu (17 kills), Makayla Fonoimoana (13 kills) and Mele Taumoepeau (nine) grew stronger as the match wore on.
