Skylan Engleman (2) reaches up to block a kill attempt by Waianae's Kainalu Kahalepauole (14). Tyler Guieb | Special to SL

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SALT LAKE – Although his teammates sang him happy birthday before the game, Skylan Engleman did all the gift-giving Thursday night.

Moanalua, the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East’s top seeded team, continued its dominance through the rest of the league, sweeping the visiting Waianae Seariders in three straight sets in the second round of the OIA Red Boys Volleyball playoffs. With the win Na Menehune (12-0) also clinches one of the six league berths into the Division I state tournament.

“I think with the core group that we have, they’re really starting to play with each other. They’re really starting to understand what high level volleyball is. They’re making the corrections, they’re making the adaptations that they need to do to play the game,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said after the game.

Engleman, Moanalua’s senior setter, was pivotal in Na Menehune’s dominant performance, having doled out a game-high 31 assists.

“I’ve grown to love the setter position,” Engleman said. “I’m actually used to playing libero, (but) throughout the years when I’ve had to develop my setting skills, I’ve just grown a love for it. I just love making my teammates look good and helping them shine.” 

With Engleman setting his teammates up, Moanalua was able to get a grand total of 35 kills, all spread out between eight different players. 

“He runs the offense and he distributes it evenly to all of our hitters. He knows when which hitters are hot,” Cabanting said on Engleman.

Leading Na Menehune’s attack was sophomore outsider hitter Austin Matautia with 10 kills. Dustin Carrier and Victor Zamudio also chipped in with eight kills apiece. 

“Everyone just compliments each other (well),” said Engleman.

Waianae, the fourth seeded team from the OIA Red West, fell to 8-4 in league play. The Seariders earned the right to face Moanalua after sweeping Kaiser earlier this Tuesday. They will look to extend their season with a win over Roosevelt on Apr. 15.

The Seariders held an early 4-2 lead after a Matautia service error. Moanalua responded with a 6-0 run capped by Zamudio’s kill after a long rally. Waianae didn’t do itself any favors with a handful of hitting and service errors, causing them to fall into a 16-8 deficit. Despite a Searider timeout to stop the bleeding, Na Menehune closed out the first set on a 9-1 run to claim the first game, 25-9.

With the momentum in their favor, Moanalua promptly started the second set red hot, going on a 11-0 run that was capped by Reno Young’s block. Waianae could never really recover from the early deficit and Moanalua claimed game two, 25-9.

The Seariders came out in the third set much stronger, making the score as close as 17-14. Moanalua responded to the challenge and finished Waianae off with Matautia kill, claiming the final set of the match, 25-17.

“I’m just happy with our win. I’m happy we played as a team,” said Engleman. “Overall we were just hungry to play. (It) was just overall good fun.”

“We were really focusing in on (it),” added Cabanting. “We take each game as preparation for us when we go into the state tournament.” 

Leading the Seariders in the loss was sophomore Hezekiah Agiga with five kills and five assists. Jahren Muliagatele also contributed seven assists and the team’s lone service ace.

Moanalua moves on to take on Campbell (9-2) in the semifinal round of the OIA playoffs, next Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. at Radford. The Sabers defeated the Rough Riders in a thrilling five-set match. Campbell was initially down 7-1 to start the fifth set, but rallied late to claim the final game, 15-11.

“It’s going to be a good game definitely,” Cabanting said on their upcoming matchup. “We (need to) continue to focus on what we need to do on our side of our court. When we do (that), good things happen.”