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Ahren DePonte had 12 kills, two aces and one block last night and Joshua Buted added eight kills and four aces to help Moanalua sweep Kalaheo 27-25, 25-11, 25-18 for its second straight O'ahu Interscholatic Association boys volleyball championship.

A crowd of about 350 at McKinley's Student Council Gym watched Na Menehune finish league play at 16-0 and earn the OIA's top seed and first-round bye for next week's New City Nissan Division I State Championships. The Mustangs fell to 13-4 and will begin state tournament play in Wednesday's first round.

Three of Kalaheo's four losses were sweeps against Moanalua, but the Mustangs were on the verge of snapping that run in last night's first set.

Nalu Tagalicod's kill put Na Menehune up, 23-21, before Kalaheo scored four of the next five points to reach set point at 25-24 after a net violation. But DePonte tied it with a kill and then Moanalua escaped the set after a net violation and hitting error by the Mustangs.

In Game 2, Na Menehune broke a 3-3 tie with a 7-1 run to lead 10-4, then were helped by Buted's three aces during a 12-3 run that made it 22-7.

Buted later had an ace and two kills to help Moanalua race to a 7-2 start in the third set. Kalaheo got as close as 13-11 on a kill by Nainoa Frank, but DePonte capped a 5-1 run later with a block as Na Menehune stretched the lead to 23-15 and he later clinched the victory with a kill to end the match.

Buted finished with five kills and Justin Valliere added three kills and one ace. Frank led Kalaheo with eight kills and one ace, Reeve Troberg added six kills and Luke Owens added three kills and two blocks.


McKinley wins OIA White title

Jerry Wu had 17 kills, four digs and one block to help the Tigers rally for a 19-25, 24-26, 25-16, 25-22, 15-10 victory over Kahuku to win the White (Division II) title.
The Tigers (11-3) will be the league's top seed at next weeks New City Nissan Division II State Championships. The Red Raiders (6-6) also had qualified for the state tournament.

McKinley got down two sets to zero after a substitution infraction broke a 24-24 tie in the second set, allowing Kahuku to steal the set.