Kamehameha going to state tournament

Defending state champion Kamehameha, seemingly wobbly and vulnerable at times this season, could have been ripe for the picking.

Instead, the Warriors are a Goliath once again. Top-ranked Kamehameha routed Punahou 25-18, 25-21 last night to capture the second-round title and Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship.

A boisterous crowd of about 800 at Kekuhaupio Gym saw Kamehameha (17-1) take little more than an hour to claim the league's seeded berth at the girls state volleyball championships. They did it without any spectacular individual feats, but their machinery was smooth and lethal in its efficiency.

Kanani Herring and Jordan Meredith led a balanced attack with six kills apiece. Bekah Torres tallied five kills, an ace and a roof, while senior Logan Keala provided four kills and an assist.

"It's hard to describe it. We all had the same feel. Everybody was on the same page," Herring said. Setter Kealohilani Kea had 17 assists and two kills.

"I think this is the first match we've played together as a team," the senior said. "We played with our hearts instead of our minds."

"We had a great practice yesterday," Warriors coach Chris Blake said, giving full attention to his team's penchant for falling behind early. "We focused really hard on getting a quick start. We put a lot more intensity into the little things."

Six-foot middle blocker Alex Akana chipped in with two kills and four roofs, including two early that helped Kamehameha take control at the net.

"I had so much fun. We worked together. The passing, the sets got everything going," the sophomore said. Some pre-practice video work on Wednesday, she added, made a difference.

"We did some 1-on-1 (video) study with coach," Akana said. "We learned more on where to go and stuff. In our middles and setters practice, we worked on a lot on post-blocking. I worked on pressing."

Punahou coach Jim Iams praised the Warriors.

"Kamehameha is the class of the ILH, maybe of the state. They served us really well. I hate to take anything away from them, but we didn't respond well," he said.

Third-ranked Punahou (14-3), which will meet Iolani on Wednesday for the ILH's second state berth, never got over the Warrior block consistently. Liz Kaaihue paced Punahou with 10 kills. Larissa Nordyke added seven kills and a roof, and Shawna-Lei Kuehu tallied six kills. Setter Pihana Kea, sister of Kealohilani, led Punahou with 21 assists.

In all, Kamehameha had six roofs and Punahou, which dominated Iolani at the net just two nights earlier, finished with only two.

A slow-starting team in recent matches, Kamehameha was ahead 9-8 in the opening game when three Punahou hitting errors turned the tide. After Keala and Meredith combined for a string of kills, Kamehameha led 17-11 and never looked back.

The Warriors dominated early in the second game. Torres had an ace and a kill as her team went ahead 11-2. Punahou rallied and pulled within 18-14 on an ace by Diana Hiromoto.

After a dink shot fell for Kaaihue, the Buffanblu were within 18-15 and gaining momentum. Nordyke's last kill brought Punahou within 21-20.

Kamehameha never lost the lead, though. Kealohilani Kea's reverse tip started a three-point run that closed out the match.