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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.
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.
The scores were 25-15, 25-21, 25-21 in favor of Moanalua.
Lionel Gannon with 19 kills and Jarryn McCutcheon with 13 kills were the top performers.
Moanalua had an unbeaten run, finishing with a 13-0 record in OIA play.
Moanalua has won seven consecutive league titles and 12 of the last 13 OIA championships.

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Moanalua connected at all points of delivery against a gritty, but smaller HBA squad and led game three, 13-7. HBA got within 17-16 and refused to wilt. The Eagles were within 18-17 and 19-18.
Na Menehune went on a 4-0 run, sparked by an ace by Gannon. HBA got within 23-21, but Gannon pounded a kill and the Eagles botched the ensuing serve to end the match.
Obrey is optimistic about the wealth of talent returning at HBA next season. Hankey, Mokan and Jaylen Anderson will graduate, while everyone else will return.
“Our senior class is a small group, but did a great job leading our team. We couldn’t have gone this far without them,” he said.
Mid-Pacific 3, Maui 0
The Owls advanced to the semifinals with a 28-26, 25-20, 25-19 win over the third-seeded Sabers.
Sava Miocinovic led ILH runner-up MPI (13-7) with 21 kills. Julian Romine added 12 kills while Nikola Miocinovic dished 31 assists.
Luke Prangnell led MIL champion Maui (12-5) with 16 kills. Andrew Guzman tallied 22 assists.
The Owls trailed 24-21 in the opening set, then seized a 25-24 lead. The Sabers regained the lead, 26-25, but MPI scored the next three points. The last two came on overpass kills to steal a 1-0 lead in the match.
Mid-Pacific plays Moanalua at 7 p.m. in Kamehameha’s Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.
Other quarterfinals
At Kamehameha
Punahou 3, Radford 0
Cameron Porter had 14 kills and hit .321 and Tanoa Scanlan added 11 kills while hitting .391 as the Buffanblu defeated the Rams 25-15, 25-15, 25-16.
Kanalu Akana amassed 35 assists and six digs for Punahou, which plays Mililani at 5 p.m. today at Kamehameha.
Mililani 3, Konawaena 0
Kaito Duranceau had 18 kills and Moises Murillo and Seth Kimura added 10 kills and 11 digs while Isaiah Holeso registered 18 assists as the Trojans swept the Wildcats 25-19, 25-23, 25-20 at Kamehameha.
Mililani meets Punahou in a semifinal match 5 p.m. at Kamehameha.
Maxon McCloskey and Ellison Morgan each had 13 kills for the Wildcats, who play Radford at 6:30 p.m. today at Moanalua.
DIVISION II CAPSULES
No. 1 Le Jardin 3, Kapolei 1
Laakea Kamahele had 22 kills and Jake Heidsieck added 14 as the Bulldogs beat the Hurricanes 25-27, 25-15, 25-21, 25-13 at Aiea.
Brennan Nakayama finished with 32 assists and 12 digs, and Kamahele added 14 digs for Le Jardin, which will face Hana in today’s semifinals at 7 p.m. at Aiea.
Kapolei’s Austin Sou had six kills and 33 assists, and Matahi Makepa added six kills and nine digs.
No. 2 Pearl City 3, Kau 1
Josiah Talamoa finished with 20 kills and six aces, and Reven Otsuka added 15 kills as the Chargers defeated the Trojans 24-26, 25-14, 25-10, 25-19 at Kaimuki.
Marley Ngirmidol posted 46 assists for Pearl City, which will face Maryknoll in today’s semifinals at 5 p.m. at Aiea.
Kau’s Karsen Polido-Tuaifa had 12 kills and Emil Soriano had 29 assists.
Maryknoll 3, No. 3 Kauai 1
Kiai Ilae finished with 23 kills and Haden Agbayani recorded 37 assists as the Spartans beat the Red Raiders 17-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-15 at Kaimuki.
Kauai’s Pierson Fox had 17 kills and Justin Lopez had 34 assists.
No. 4 Hana 3, No. 5 Pahoa 2
Elau Hoopai-Waikoloa finished with 39 kills, 16 digs and four aces as the Dragons outlasted the Daggers 25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 18-25, 17-15 at Aiea.
Kyran Canete had 15 kills, Elima Antoque added 12 and Kanoa Emsley contributed 10 for Pahoa. Ryden Devaney had 47 assists.
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Star-Advertiser staff
Hawaii Prep World
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