Moanalua girls volleyball coach Tommy Lake consumed a Starbucks coffee during his team's match last night against Farrington.

The caffeine rush and thrilling marathon victory likely made it difficult for him to get much sleep when he got home.

Gabriela Matautia had 28 kills and Erin Perez added 23 as Moanalua beat Farrington, 26-28, 25-23, 25-11, 24-26, 15-6, last night in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference tournament at Farrington.

Moanalua won despite letting a 24-19 lead slip away in the first set. Nä Menehune also let a set point get away in the fourth.

"They didn't worry about losing that first game," Lake said. "They knew this was going to be a marathon rather than a sprint."

Moanalua, the East's No. 1 seed, will play Kahuku (14-1) for the title tonight at 7 at McKinley. Nä Menehune improved to 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the double-elimination tournament.

Kahuku, the East's No. 2 seed, is 3-0 in the tournament, so Nä Menehune will need to win tonight's match and an "if necessary" match Saturday at McKinley to take the title.

The fifth set last night was tied at 3-3 before a 5-0 run with Katiana Ponce serving put Moanalua in control. Farrington had three hitting errors and a service error during the spurt, and the only Nä Menehune kill was by Perez.

Farrington, the East's No. 3 seed, fell to 11-6, 3-2, and finished third in the league.

In the first set, Moanalua went on a 5-1 run to take a 24-19 lead. Farrington forced extra play by scoring five in a row, including a kill by Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo and two blocks by Janell Nance.

It was tied at 26-26 before kills by Fenumiai Tofilau and Angeline Ah-Ching Noga won it for the Governors.

"After we let that slip away, we wanted to slow things down because we know that if we play a patient ball game, the other team will get impatient," said Matautia, a 5-foot-11 senior.

Nä Menehune turned the tables in the second set.

Farrington went on a 4-0 run to take a 21-15 advantage, but Moanalua reeled off nine of the next 10 to get to set point at 24-22. The Governors' Ah-Ching Noga had a kill, but Perez's kill ended it.

The third set was tied at 7-7 when Moanalua turned it on. Perez and Matautia each had five kills in the set for Nä Menehune.

"Overall, we weren't executing as best as we could," said Farrington coach Reagan Agena on his team's play in the third and fifth sets. "We let them take control, and we had to play catch-up."

In the fourth, Nä Menehune went on an 11-3 run to take a 20-18 lead. Perez had four kills during the surge.

Moanalua served for the set at 24-23, but Fraustina Sagapolu's kill tied it, and an ace by Angeline Argel and Moanalua hitting error gave the set to the Governors.

Tofilau had 15 kills to lead Farrington.

WHITE CONFERENCE

The Castle girls volleyball team netted a nice victory yesterday over Kailua.

And it had a lot to do with Joshell Lilio's play at the net.

Lilio had 13 kills, five blocks and two aces as the Knights beat the Surfriders, 32-30, 25-23, 25-15, in the OIA White Conference tournament at Farrington.

"We just worked as a team and played with all our hearts," said Lilio, a sophomore middle blocker.

Castle, the East's No. 2 seed, will play Kaiser (14-3) for the title today at 5 p.m. at McKinley.

Kaiser, the East's No. 3 seed, is 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament, so the Knights will need to win today's match and an "if necessary" match Saturday at McKinley to take the title.

Castle improved to 14-4 and 3-1. Kailua, the East's top seed, dropped to 12-3 and 1-2, and finished third in the league.

Lilio had five kills in the first set, four in the second and four in the third. She had just one hitting error.

"She's a strong player. She poses a big threat on the court," said Castle coach Brannan Bajet. "She's a great player overall."

In the first set, Castle took a 12-6 lead, but the Surfriders went on a 14-6 run to take a 20-18 advantage.

Castle tied it at 20-20 — the first of 10 ties the remainder of the set.

Shelby Lono's ace gave Kailua a 30-29 lead, but kills by Malie Garcia, Erika Jarrett and Lilio won it for Castle

The Knights served for the set five times, and the Surfriders three.

Castle led the second set 23-21, but a Knights' hitting error and Dancel Williams' kill tied it at 23-23. The Knights pulled it out on kills by Lilio and Tiara Kalopodes.

In the third set, Castle went on a 5-1 run to take a 16-9 lead, and pulled away to victory.