The Wai'anae boys volleyball team had a blast last night, jumping, cheering, screaming and punctuating almost every point with a raucous celebration.

Defending champ Roosevelt simply looked shellshocked.

And even more so after it believed it forced a third game only to have a call reversed as Wai'anae defeated the Rough Riders, 25-16, 28-26, to win the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red Division title last night at McKinley High gym.

Wai'anae, the White champion last year, also won in 1997.

"Right now my mind is on cloud nine," Wai'anae coach Fulton Dela Cruz said. "They played with their heart and didn't stop fighting until the last point."

In Game 2, a call was reversed after a kill by Roosevelt's Kaina Palama was initially called off the block for a Roosevelt point and the 27-25 game point. It was instead ruled as a 26-all tie.

"It hit off the net and went out, and the upper ref called it off the block and I looked at the bottom ref and she said it went out," Dela Cruz said.

Roosevelt coach Kaui Mendonca said he has never seen a call like that reversed.

"I don't know what that was about," he said. "I still don't understand it. I accept it. They can't catch everything."

Two Mickey Molina service aces later, including one that tickled the tape before dropping to the open court, gave the Seariders the victory.

"We knew we had a lot of mixed emotions, so we just let the refs ref and the players play," said Wai'anae junior outside hitter Anthony Robinson, who had 12 kills. "I didn't know I could feel this good."

Neither team was able to gain more than a three-point lead all throughout Game 2. A Robinson kill gave Wai'anae match point at 24-23, but a Seariders hitting error tied it again at 24.

A tip shot by Wai'anae outside hitter Aaron Fogatu gave the Seariders another match point at 25-24, but again Roosevelt tied it on a kill by setter Joby Ramos. A kill by Palama made it Roosevelt game point at 26-25. Then came the reversed call.

It was a different start to the match, with the Seariders gaining leads of 8-3, 12-5, and 15-8 to start Game 1, then maintaining their lead throughout the game, including a 6-1 run at its end.

"We were a little out of sync," Mendonca said. "And they came out with a lot of energy. We knew we should have to match their intensity to get some runs."

Roosevelt and Wai'anae already qualified for next week's HHSAA/New City Nissan State tournament on the Maui. Mililani, Kalaheo and Pearl City join them as the OIA's five berths.