HHSAA Girls Volleyball
Moanalua sweeps past KS-Maui, faces East rival Kahuku next


ScoringLive staff
October 24, 2022, 9:21pm

  

Mon, Oct 24, 2022 @ KS-Maui [ 4:00 pm ]

Moanalua

3

Kamehameha-Maui

0

FINAL  1   2   3   4   5      
MOA (12-4) 25 25 25 - - 3
KSM (8-6) 15 18 15 - - 0
Kill: K. Garcia (MOA) 13 kills
Blk: S. Aiana (MOA) 6 blk
Ast: H. DePonte (MOA) 20 ast


In the opening round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I girls volleyball tournament, Moanalua advanced handily to set up collision with league rival Kahuku, taking down host Kamehameha-Maui in straight sets, 25-15, 25-18, and 25-15.

"Coming from like a loss on Oahu in the OIAs (playoffs) I think our girls have learned a lot about like being as a team and to know that we win some, we lose some, and just forget about it and move on to the next one," said Kamaluhia Garcia.

Garcia, a junior outside hitter, led the way with 13 kills and three total blocks, and senior Leilani Giusta added 10 more in a match that took just over 75 minutes.

Na Menehune jumped out early leads in each set, but the Warriors battled back to close the margin at the midway of each.

The much taller Moanalua front line gave the Warriors trouble, with Na Menehune outblocking the home team, 12 to 4.

Moanalua's Sadie Aiana had a match high six blocks, two of them solo.

Additionally, tough serving by Moanalua also kept Kamehameha-Maui off balance in serve recieve, in particular when HayleeDe Ponte was at the back line. She finished with two aces and 20 assists.

Set two was a bright spot for the Warriors, as they went on a 4-1 scoring run to pull within 20-17 late in the set, forcing a Moanalua timeout.

"I think Kamehameha did really great tonite," said Garcia. "They ran some plays where we couldn't really figure it out."

Na Menehune rebounded out of the break in play, going on a 5-1 spurt of its own to take the set, but not without a number of frantic rallies from the scrappy Warriors.

Freshman outside hitter Archer Fabrao led the Warriors with seven kills in defeat.

Division I state tournanment play resumes Wednesday at two sites on O'ahu, with Moanalua taking on Kahuku at McKinley High School.

"I think when we first played them in the beginning of our season we had a lot of new girls we really weren't jelling yet," said Garcia. "Like knowing how to block them (Kahuku),  knowing how to cover them, and I think our girls are ready."

The Red Raiders bested Na Menehune in four sets on Aug. 30, just one game into the season.




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