Moanalua sweeps HBA to advance to Division I semifinals

TL;DR

Moanalua boys volleyball team swept Hawaii Baptist 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Boys Volleyball State Championships. Lionel Gannon led with 19 kills, helping Moanalua advance to the Division I semifinals.

Key points

Moanalua swept Hawaii Baptist 3-0
Lionel Gannon scored 19 kills
Moanalua finished 13-0 in OIA play
The match was part of the Boys Volleyball State Championships
Moanalua has won seven consecutive league titles

MoanaluaHawaii BaptistNew City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships

After an unbeaten run through the Oahu Interscholastic Association, the Moanalua boys volleyball team is still in gangbusters mode.

Second-seeded Na Menehune got 19 kills from Lionel Gannon and 13 from Jarryn McCutcheon to sweep Hawaii Baptist 25-15, 25-21, 25-21 in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships on Wednesday night at Moanalua.

Gannon hit .424 while adding an ace, four digs and 1.5 blocks for the steady Menehune. Taylor Chung chipped in eight kills (.583) and 1.5 blocks, while Christian Cruz dished 22 assists for Moanalua (15-6 overall).

“The entire week, we scouted HBA (on video). They’re really good. We had a pretty good matchup,” Moanalua outside hitter Lionel Gannon said. “We were making sure we stay on their outside Jason Rivers. He’s really good. We weren’t able to stop him completely, but we took away some of the momentum.”

Na Menehune went 13-0 in OIA play and won their seventh league title in a row. Under coach Alan Cabanting, Moanalua has won 12 of the last 13 OIA championships.

Gannon’s steady, low-key approach is a big part of Moanalua’s resilience.

“I try to make sure the energy is steady. We don’t want any super high highs or super lows,” he said.

Rivers led HBA (12-9) with 17 kills (.359) while Samuel Mokan added 10 kills. Henry Lee added seven kills and four digs, and Tanner Hankey had a match-high 10 digs.

Aaron Woolpert dished 17 assists and Cade Toyofuku tallied 13 assists and six digs.

“We want to come in here and be really aggressive, and we weren’t always playing to win” HBA coach Teoni Obrey said. “Our margin for error is pretty small. Moanalua’s athleticism is there with Punahou and Kamehameha. It’s next level. They have a lot of volleyball kids. They have a lot of volleyball talent. They play downhill.”

The Eagles were third in the ILH regular season at 6-4. After finishing third again in the round-two playoff tournament, HBA went on a crucial two-day trip to the Big Island.

In a play-in match on Friday, Hawaii Baptist swept Keaau. On Saturday, the Eagles swept Kamehameha-Hawaii in the opening round of the state tournament.

“First game of the state tournament there’s always nervousness. The boys executed well tonight,” Cabanting said.

There was no way Cabanting would allow his team to look past a program like HBA, known for knocking giants to the ground over the past two decades.

“Teoni was the first coach that I was under. I was over at HBA for a while and a lot of what we do here mirrors what he does,” Cabanting said. “How calm and positive he is with the guys, I try to emulate it.”

On Wednesday, a robust home crowd energized Moanalua. Gannon had five kills and Jarryn McCutcheon tallied four as Na Menehune took the first set, 25-15.

In set two, HBA stayed close at 12-all before the home team crept away.