Moanalua wins boys’ volleyball title

Keanu Kawaa was up for the challenge.

Becoming the volleyball champion at Moanalua meant the 6-foot-4 senior, who had 22 kills, four aces and a block, to lead Na Menehune to a 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 win over the previous undefeated Mililani, so much for the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I boys’ volleyball championship.

“I feel exhausted,” said Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting.

A roaring crowd of around 400 looked on in the sweltering James Alegre Grammar School on the Radford High School campus. Moanalua (13-0) won his ninth DI OIA title in the last 10 seasons, eight of them under coach Alan Cabanting. With Mililani (12-1) winning the league crown in 2017, Moanalua won the next two before COVID-19 restrictions led to the cancellation of the league and states playoffs in 20-20 and 21-21.

“After coming off this pandemic and not being able to play for two years to get the boys back there, everyone who loves the game of volleyball just come here and compete like we did today, absolutely wonderful,” Cabanting said , a science teacher in Moanalua.

Moanalua held a 9-3 advantage in blocks with five from Keola Demello and three from Christian Tafao. Tafao had too. seven kills and Ho added five. AJ Matsumoto (20 assists) and Malu Wilcox (19 assists, ace) led the attack almost flawlessly.

Na Menehune won the first two sets in a similar fashion. The first game was 5-4 before Moanalua put on an 18-10 run, riding on the power, precision and versatility of Kawaa, who had six kills and two aces.

Game two was 4-3 as Na Menehune started a 19-8 run. Tafao nailed the defense with a block and middle Demello counted three blocks to bolster Moanalua. Another ace from Kawaa during the run helped Moanalua take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Kawaa had eight more kills in the second set. Cabanting replaced him at game point before serving again.

“The funny thing is I pulled him out and he was like, ‘Coach…’ and I said, ‘I know, I know, but in the third set I have to let you go,'” Cabanting said. “He had a couple of aces in the third set at the most critical times. It will be important in the third set.”

Mililani brought a little more fire into game three, leading 9-7 with a block from Stephen Kanuch and an ace from Brayden Yadao. The lead changed hands twice more before Na Menehune used a 14-7 run to take control. Kawaa had a block mid-run as Moanalua opened up a 21-16 lead en route to the sweep.

“The coach just told us keep things simple, don’t get too fancy with our shots, our shots and our plays. Play our game like we did in the postseason,” said Kawaa, who hit .543 and saw Mililani’s constant serving pressure all night.

In the third set, he had eight kills and two aces. As Mililani’s double block took effect, Kawaa countered with cross hits.

“They would take my angle, so I started doing line,” he said.

Kawaa has a 36 inch vertical.

“When I go to the next level of volleyball, I’m going to be smaller compared to other players up there, so I need to get my vertical up to the 40s,” he said.

Manase Fetulimoeata led Mililani with seven kills and Brayden Yadao added six kills, two aces and a block. Brycen Yadao had four kills, one ace, and 17 assists, Kanuch added four kills and two blocks, and James Saffery had four kills and eight assists.

“No. 13 (Fetulimoeata) was her big hitter so we really had to get him out of the game, so we put the pressure on serve and whenever we could we served it,” Cabanting said.

Moanalua opened their playoff run with a 25-11, 25-10, 25-18 in the quarterfinals against Waipahu, who had upset Kahuku. Then it came down to a 25-13, 25-17, 25-14 in the semifinals from Kaiser.

Moanalua played in Clash of the Titans two weeks ago.

“We learned that we can’t hit the ball straight down,” Kawaa said. “We’re going to face bigger and stronger blocks, so we have to keep things high, go further and stay simple. We can’t get fancy. I feel like we improved and learned a lot from this Clash of the Titans tournament.”

Mililani had won his 12 previous games in the OIA Play by Sweep with two exceptions, four-set wins over Pearl City and Kapolei.