After two road trips to town and a frustrating loss to Kahuku in a span of 24 hours, the Mililani Trojans could have been worn out and washed up.
Instead, they rose to the challenge. Jordyn Keamo had seven kills and two blocks, and Inoa Fields had two crucial aces in the final set as Mililani eliminated Moanalua from title contention in the OIA Red girls volleyball playoffs with a 19-25, 25-21, 15-4 victory on Wednesday night.
A crowd of about 400 watched on a muggy night at Farrington’s Walter Kitamura Fieldhouse. Fifth-ranked Mililani (13-1), which took its first loss in the double-elimination tourney on Tuesday against Kahuku, will meet the same Red Raiders tonight at McKinley Student Council Gym.
Kahuku can capture the title with a win. Mililani needs a victory over the Red Raiders, who are unbeaten in the tourney, to force a winner-take-all match on Saturday.
For now, fifth-ranked Mililani can take a measure of satisfaction in finishing no lower than second in the playoffs. Sixth-ranked Moanalua (12-4) gets some rest time.
"We ended up in third, so that means we probably have to play against Punahou if we get past the first round," Moanalua coach Tommy Lake said of the state championships. "Punahou is a machine."
Mililani coach Val Crabbe was stoked about her team’s rebound from its loss on Tuesday.
"They just wanted another shot (at Kahuku). That first set, yikes. But a couple of girls who didn’t have a good night (on Tuesday) did better this time," Crabbe said. "Tuesday night was brutal."
Fields finished with five kills and a block, while middle Samantha Fischer (four kills, two blocks), Sarah LeGalley (three kills) and Jayierra Kapowai (three kills) all chipped in. Shaylin Sueda had 13 assists and Casie Gaza added 10.
Silerolia Gaogao had seven kills, Johanna Kruize had six and Anuhea Paiva had all five of her kills in the first set to pace Moanalua, which never got into a consistent rhythm. In the first two sets, Na Menehune fell behind 6-3 before Lake had to call time out. Then came the third set, when Fields’ serving dominated. Two quick aces and the Trojans were up 4-0, and with Moanalua’s hitting errors — four in the final game — it turned into a runaway.
After a net violation and a service error by Moanalua, the Trojans led 9-3 and cruised the rest of the way. Even Kapowai, an outside hitter, wound up feeding Fields for a kill during the final run. LeGalley’s right-side kill closed it out.
Mililani hit .172 against a resilient Moanalua defense. But after committing nine hitting errors in the first set, it had just one the rest of the night. Moanalua hit .140 and tallied three aces with seven service errors. The Trojans had four aces and eight service errors.
Shaylah Kagehiro had 15 assists and Kaitlin Kamoe added seven for Na Menehune.
The double-elimination grind is more popular with fans and administrators than with coaches, but Crabbe is embracing it 100 percent.
"I’m just glad we get another opportunity," she said. "Kahuku, they’re ginormous."