OIA GIRLS VOLLEYBALL DII CHAMPIONSHIP: WAIALUA 3, KAILUA 2

Waialua made school history Wednesday night, winning the OIA Division II girls volleyball championship for the first time.

And that accomplishment was far from easy at the Radford High gym.

The Bulldogs were in a deep hole, trailing Kailua 2-1 in sets before a solid rally led them to the 25-16, 23-25, 11-25, 25-23, 15-12 victory

Alohi Garcia led the way for Waialua (6-6) with 15 kills,11 digs and an incredible seven aces. Kailia Phillips added 12 kills and nine digs, and teammate Brynn Basilio-Chun came through with 37 assists. In addition, Kanoe Santiago dug up 11 balls.

For the Surfriders (4-8), Ashlyn Tai had a match-high 20 kills while hitting .311, and three Kailua teammates wound up with double-digit digs — Hope Kepa (15), Sascha Sanchez (11) and Amber Tania Maikainai (10).

Throughout the match, there were 32 ties and 19 lead changes.

In that crucial fifth set, the Surfriders led 10-9, but the Bulldogs took control thanks to two clutch kills by Tehya Militante, one by Garcia and an ace by Phillips.

With the momentum of a three-game winning streak, Waialua heads to the D-II portion of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships that start Monday.

Kailua, which had its two-game winning streak snapped, will also play at states. The Surfriders were trying for their first OIA championship since 1981, before competition was split into two divisions.