Somebody finally took the broom away from the Moanalua High School girls volleyball team, but Na Menehune came back to beat Roosevelt anyway last night 19-25, 25-20, 25-19 to remain undefeated in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association.

Moanalua, which had swept every previous OIA opponent, improved to 8-0 in the Eastern Division with four regular season matches remaining. Defending league runner-up Roosevelt fell to 5-3 before a cozy home crowd of about 350.

Every other team in the East has at least three losses, meaning Na Menehune can clinch at least a tie for the division crown tomorrow with a victory over Castle (0-8). A win tomorrow and at McKinley (2-5) on Tuesday would secure the East's No. 1 seed in the OIA playoffs.

Early on last night, it looked as if Moanalua was ripe for an upset after it dropped the first game and trailed 7-2 in the second. But as they have done all season, Na Menehune did not panic and eventually regrouped.

"The first game, it looked like we just weren't there, and in the second game we started really slow," said Moanalua senior outside hitter Bri Amian, who finished with a match-high 13 kills. "I think the key was our serving — we finally found our rhythm. As long as we serve well, we should be OK."

Roosevelt, which was coming off a stunning two-game loss at Kalani, appeared energized in its compact gym last night and won the first game with a finishing 6-1 run. Junior middle blocker Jacey Tagavilla had three kills and a block to help the Rough Riders break away from an 18-18 tie.

"We came out with the right mindset and made some unreal digs," Roosevelt coach Bryan Camello said. "But we knew Moanalua was going to come back. They started crushing some mean shots."

In the second game, Mele Manutai landed a kill to give Na Menehune their first lead at 19-18, then Amian had three kills as Moanalua ended it with a 5-1 run.

Amian tied the third game at 16-16 with a kill, then made it 20-17 with another slam. Manutai ended it with a solo block.

"It's a good thing we've got some power," Na Menehune coach Tommy Lake said. "Roosevelt is still the surest ball-handling team in our league, and they're the smartest team. They're always tough."

KAMEHAMEHA WINS IN ILH

Kamehameha defeated Iolani, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14, last night in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls showdown.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.