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Keanu Kawaa was up for the challenge.
Becoming volleyball champion at Moanalua meant as much for the 6ft 4in senior, who had 22 kills, four aces and a block to propel Na Menehune to a 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 sweep of previously undefeated Mililani. for the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Men’s Volleyball Championship.
“I feel exhausted,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said.
A noisy crowd of around 400 watched the stuffy James Alegre gymnasium on the campus of Radford High School. Moanalua (13-0) has won his ninth DI OIA title in the last 10 seasons, eight of them under coach Alan Cabanting. Since Mililani (12-1) won the league crown in 2017, Moanalua won the next two before COVID-19 restrictions caused the league and state playoffs to be canceled in 20 and 21.
“After coming out of this pandemic that we had and not being able to play for two years, to get the boys back there, everyone who loves volleyball just comes here and competes like we did today. absolutely wonderful,” said Cabanting, a science teacher at Moanalua.
Moanalua had a 9-3 advantage in blocks with five from Keola Demello and three from Christian Tafao. Tafao too. seven kills and Ho added five. AJ Matsumoto (20 assists) and Malu Wilcox (19 assists, ace) led the offense almost flawlessly.
Na Menehune won the first two sets the same way. In the opener, it was 5-4 before Moanalua went on an 18-10 run, overlapping the power, precision and versatility of Kawaa, who had six kills and two aces.
The second game was 4-3 when Na Menehune went on a 19-8 run. Tafao brought the defense in full swing with a block and midfielder Demello hit three blocks to boost Moanalua. Another ace from Kawaa on the run helped Moanalua take a 2-0 lead in the game.
Kawaa had eight more kills in the second set. Cabanting replaced him on a play point before he could serve again.
“The funny thing is I took him out and he said, ‘Coach…’ and I said, I know, I know, but in the third set is when I need you go,” Cabanting said. “He had a few aces in the third set at the most critical times. The third set is when it’s going to count.
Mililani brought a little more fire in game three and led 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 on the run as Moanalua opened up a 21-16 lead en route to the sweep.
“Coach just told us to keep it simple, not to be too fancy with our hits, our shots and our plays. Play our game like we did in the playoffs,” said Kawaa, who hit .543 and saw Mililani’s consistent serve pressure all night.
In the third set, he had eight kills and two aces. As Mililani’s double block became effective, Kawaa countered with cross punches.
“They were taking my angle so I started going online,” he said.
Kawaa has a vertical of 36 inches.
“Coming into the next level of volleyball, I’m going to be shorter than the other players up there, so I’m going to have to increase my vertical until I’m in my 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, an ace and 17 assists, Kanuch added four kills and two blocks, and James Saffery had four kills and eight assists.
“No. 13 (Fetulimoeata) was their big hitter so we really had to get him out of there so we put the pressure on the serve and whenever we could we served him,” Cabanting said.
Moanalua opened their playoff series with a 25-11, 25-10, 25-18 quarter-final sweep of Waipahu, who had upset Kahuku. Then came a 25-13, 25-17, 25-14 semi-final sweep from Kaiser.
Moanalua starred in Clash of the Titans two weeks ago.
“We learned that we can’t hit the ball straight,” Kawaa said. “We are going to face bigger and stronger blocks, so we have to keep things high, go further and keep it simple. We can’t be fancy. I feel like we’ve improved since that Clash of the Titans tournament and we’ve learned a lot.
Mililani had won their previous 12 games in OIA play by sweep with two exceptions, four-set wins over Pearl City and Kapolei.
