Led by Kaia Dunford's 18 kills, 11 digs and two aces, Punahou battled past Kahuku in the opening round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Division I Championships. The Buffanblu won both the first and second sets by an identical 25-19 count, then dropped the third to Kahuku by the same score, before posting a 25-21 win in the set four to take the match win. There was not much separating the two teams in just about every statistical category, with the Buffanblu narr

SALT LAKE — Tayli Ikenaga showed why she was selected as the 2018 All-OIA East Girls Volleyball Player of the Year Thursday night. The Moanalua junior put down a match-high 28 kills to help the sixth-ranked Na Menehune rally past No. 5 Kahuku, 26-27, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11, in a showdown between two perennial contenders. Ikenaga was clutch down the stretch for Na Menehune (5-0) with four of their final five points, which included match point from the middle off a solo

Kahuku middle Mary Fonoimoana puts down a kill over Hilo's Leialii Makekau Whitaker. Pete Caldwell | SL Kahuku advanced to its fourth straight Division I state semifinal with a 25-12, 25-23, 25-19 win over fourth-seeded Hilo Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan Division I Girls Volleyball State Championships at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium. Savannah Taosoga had 17 kills and Mary Fonoimoana added 11 kills with four blocks and two aces to lead the

Kahuku's Keau Kamakeeaina and Mililani's Aysia Miller can both hit and set for their respective teams. Greg Yamamoto | SL Wednesday's OIA Division I championship match at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium will feature two versatile squads. Both Kahuku (12-1) and Mililani (12-0) mixed up their offenses in their respective semifinal wins at Moanalua Monday night. In the Red Raiders' thrilling five-set win over Kapolei, Kahuku started off with a 6-2 offense with Keau Kamakeea

The Red Raiders celebrate after beating Kapolei in the OIA Division I semifinals. Greg Yamamoto | SL SALT LAKE — The fourth straight OIA postseason meeting between No. 9 Kahuku and No. 8 Kapolei did not disappoint. The Red Raiders (12-1) outlasted the Hurricanes (10-2) in a five-set rollercoaster semifinal, 25-21, 12-25, 25-21, 16-25, 15-11, Monday night at Moanalua's gym to advance to the league's Division I championship match. Kahuku, the top-seeded team from the East, will

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Kahuku players celebrated their victory over Kapolei in five sets on Monday. In a match of severe momentum swings, Kahuku was fortunate to find the right gear in the fifth set of a 25-21, 12-25, 25-21, 16-25, 15-11 victory over Kapolei in the OIA girls volleyball semifinals at Moanalua on Monday night. “They took the odd (sets) and we took the even and that’s the wrong way to do it,” said Hurricanes coach Naidah Gamurot. “It was a mome

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Kahuku’s Keau Kamakeeaina and Mary Fonoimoana put up a wall against Farrington on Thursday. Kahuku took one step closer toward the OIA girls volleyball championship that slipped out of its fingertips last year. The Red Raiders celebrated senior night by dropping Farrington 25-15, 25-23 at Kahuku on Thursday night. The win clinched the OIA East title and gave Kahuku (10-1) a bye in the first round of the league playoffs. By los

Kahuku's Mary Fonoimoana fires a kill past Roosevelt's Amber Thi Nguyen-Cheng in the second set of an OIA East contest Wednesday night. Greg Yamamoto | SL MAKIKI — Visiting Kahuku got back into the win column with a 25-20, 25-18 win over Roosevelt in an Oahu Interscholastic Association East contest Wednesday night. The tenth-ranked Red Raiders, who were coming off a three-set loss to Moanalua just two days prior, improved to 5-1 to keep pace among the division leaders. First-

Kahuku’s Mary Fonoimoana placed a kill past Roosevelt’s Lauren Pau-DeSantos in the second set of a match last month. The Red Raiders are one win away from winning the OIA East regular season. Photo by Cindy Ellen Russell/Star-Advertiser. Kahuku was looking for a girls volleyball coach after last season, and they didn’t go very far to find one. They got Michelle Tuli Tevaga, known to many by what she went by during her 2002 state player of the year season for the Red Raiders b