Farrington players celebrate after defeating Kailua in four sets to win the OIA Division II title. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Farrington players celebrate after defeating Kailua in four sets to win the OIA Division II title. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Dayna Kahanu had 16 kills to help Farrington defeat Kailua in four sets at McKinley Thursday night for its 10th Oahu Interscholastic Association girls volleyball title and third in Division II.

The scores were 25-20, 18-25, 25-21 and 25-13.

The Governors (9-5) also got 10 kills apiece from Sariyah Kahakai and Moli Heimuli. Brandy Tauaefa posted 13 digs and Yasmine Montgomery added 12. It was the their sixth consecutive victory and second of the season over Kailua.

"This feels good," Kahanu said, who also had seven digs, five aces and three blocks. "I feel proud that we came from Farrington and got this win."

Govs' first-year coach Barney Choy said Kahanu has improved rapidly over the course of the season.

"I'll tell you a little story about Dayna; I wouldn't admit it otherwise, but she was one of the last kids that almost got cut from the program," Choy said. "She stuck through it. Through all the steps we went through she came all the way through, came all the way back and now she's our go-to girl. I'm very proud of her."

Kahakai, a freshman hitter, and Heimuli, a junior middle, helped shoulder the load and led the emotional charge for Farrington. Kahakai had eight digs with an ace and Heimuli contributed four blocks, two digs and two aces.

"Saryiah, she's crazy that girl," Kahanu said. "She has a lot of energy and she has a good heart. And Moli, too. whenever Moli gets a point she's up there."

Heimuli's tip down ignited a 7-1 Govs' run to close out the opening game, 25-20.

Kailua trailed early in game two, but used a 8-2 run to take the lead for good. Farrington got within a point at 17-16, but the Surfriders benefitted from three consecutive Govs' hitting errors that was part of another 8-2 run, which ended with consecutive kills by Keila Fuatagavi-Sale. Kailua won game two, 25-18, and pulled even at one game apiece.

The teams went back and forth in game four. Kailua took a 21-20 lead on a serving error, but Farrington scored the final five points to win it, 25-21.

The Govs owned the fourth set, using a 5-1 run to lead, 10-5, and pulled away with a match-ending 9-1 run that was capped by Kahanu's ace, one of her team's 13 for the match.

They also dominated at the net with 10 blocks.

"They made a lot of good adjustments: sliding down and posting on key players and taking that away from them," Choy said. "One thing we did was we stayed together, we talked to each other."

Heimuli saw much the same intangibles at play that her coach did.

"We were just playing our game as a team," Heimuli said. "If the communication wasn't there, we wouldn't have won, but the communication was there."

Keila Fuatagavi-Sale had 13 kills and Amber Tai notched a double-double with 11 klls and 11 digs for the Surfriders (9-4), who saw their five-match win streak snapped. They were seeking their second league title and first since 1981. It was the second consecutive year they reached the title match, losing to Kalaheo a year ago.

The Govs have now won nine of their last 10 matches after an 0-4 start to the year.

"When I met these kids, the first thing I noticed was their heart and it really showed tonight," Choy said. "All they did was tap into their full potential. In our gym, basically our motto is ‘full effort' and that's what you saw tonight."

Farrington also beat Kailua in a two-set sweep in the regular season, back on Sept. 21.

Both teams will represent the OIA in next week's New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championships.