PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii โ The Moanalua boys volleyball team has a chance to increase its lead over the rest of the Oahu Interscholastic Association on Wednesday night, but a familiar foe stands in its way.
Na Menehune made its return to the OIA Division I championship match with a convincing 25-12, 25-20, 25-14 victory over Campbell on Monday night at James Alegre Gymnasium in Radford. Coach Alan Cavanting's team will face Mililani in the other semifinal, where Mililani dispatched Castle in three close sets, 25-22, 26-24, and 25-21.
All three of the league's championship matches in the sport post-COVID-19 are between Mililani (12-0) and Moanalua (13-0).
Against Castle, Tyler Duranceau and Alice Mateo each had 18 kills for Mililani, while the rest of the Trojans combined for 13 kills.
For Moanalua, Ezekiel Sablan had 11 kills and D'Angelo Ross had 10 kills against Campbell. Sablan had two solo blocks. Setter Mal Wilcox had 29 assists, eight digs and one ace.
Moanalua has won 10 of the past 11 OIA DI titles, nine of them under Cavanting. The exception was Mililani in 2017, led by coach Trent Niino.
Wednesday's winner will earn OIA seeding for the next state tournament, joining Honolulu's Interhigh League champion Punahou and first-round byes. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation and Maui Interscholastic League will also play their league finals on Wednesday night.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.