NANAKULI — Mililani isn't quite ready to loosen its grip on the Oahu Interscholastic Association just yet.

Led by a match-high 11 kills from Kristen Miguel, Mililani fought off a scrappy Nanakuli team in straight sets in the regular-season finale for both teams Tuesday night. The scores were 25-23 and 25-23.

A crowd of about 200 spectators at Nanakuli's Hugh Taufaafau Court witnessed the Trojans win their seventh consecutive match to finish atop the Western Division at 9-1, while the Golden Hawks suffered their first home loss of the year and fell to 8-2.

"This was a really important win to get for us," Mililani coach Val Crabbe said. "Kristen Miguel, she had a game. I think this was her best game all season."

Miguel, a 5-foot-10, senior outside hitter, led her team in kills in both sets, including seven in game one, when the Trojans rallied from a late 22-19 deficit.

Mililani closed out the set on a 6-1 run, which included four Nanakuli hitting errors.

"I think we had some nerves early on and it was just a matter of settling down and the girls did a good job of that," Crabbe said.

The Trojans overcame seven hitting errors and three service errors in game one, thanks in part to the defense of libero Kayla Magbaleta, who kept numerous rallies going with diving digs in the back row.

"She really quick and I think her softball talent definitely shows when she comes out on the court," Miguel said of Magbaleta, a member of the 2013 Mililani state championship softball team. "She's a player who won't give up and will take anything. I really commend her. She's such a strong, needed piece on our team."

Nanakuli coach Junius Wong also praised Magbaleta, a 5-foot-4 senior.

"We definitely were trying to avoid serving her as much as we could," Wong said of Magbaleta. "We knew she was one of the better liberos in the West. I feel like it didn't really affect us too much, but we just didn't take care of the ball enough on our side."

The Golden Hawks' ball-handling woes continued early in game two, when the Trojans jumped out to an early 7-2 lead.

"I definitely think that slow start in game two was because of our ending of our first set," Wong said. "We played sloppy defense and serve-receive and it showed in the second set."

Still, his team fought back with a 5-0 run out of a timeout to tie it at 7. However, a Miguel kill from the left side ignited a 6-1 Mililani run. Nanakuli battled back used a 6-1 run later in the set to pull ahead 21-20. The teams exchanged points before the Trojans scored four of the final five points to close out the match.

"This match was really big because we've been working really, really hard as a team, not only on the court, but off the court and it just showed how much, as a team, we came together as one," Magbaleta said.

Nanakuli's Natalia Kaopua matched Miguel with seven kills in game one, but was limited to two kills the rest of the way.

"We really practice hard on our blocking and we made sure to try and force ourselves to stay on their right hand and I think that's what we did," Miguel said. "Our blocks we got a lot of touches and I feel like that was really key in the game."

Crabbe, who guided Mililani to its second league title in three seasons last year and a third-place finish in the Division I state tournament, credited Nanakuli for a tough match.

"They're a great team," Crabbe said. "They've got a great offense, their setter did a good job and they got a big front, that's for sure."

Mililani and Nanakuli has already clinched a first-round bye in the upcoming 12-team OIA D1 tournament. The Trojans will enter as the top seed out of the West, while the Golden Hawks will be the No. 2 seed.

"We came out as the West side champions and I feel like that's really going to help us," Miguel said. "I feel like we've got to stay humble and we've got to keep working on our serve-receive most of all and once we got that down we're good to go for the rest of the postseason."

The top six teams finishers from the OIA tournament will qualify for the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championships.