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Punahou boys, girls
sweep volleyball
crowns
This was a championship Punahou dug deep for.
The Buffanblu came from behind in two games to beat Kamehameha 25-14, 25-22, 27-25 in the championship match of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys volleyball tournament at Kekuhaupio Gym last night.
After dominating Game 1, Punahou (13-0, No. 1 Star-Bulletin Top 10) had to rally late in Games 2 and 3 to pull off the sweep.
"I thought they were going to go toe-to-toe with us," Punahou coach Peter Balding said. "I did not expect to win this in three games. I thought it was going to go down to five games all the way."
Punahou got off to a quick 11-2 start in Game 1 and cruised the rest of the way behind four kills each from Kealii Frank and Spencer McLachlin and four Buffanblu blocks.
After the first game, Kamehameha (10-3, No. 3 Star-Bulletin) coach Pono Maa took his team into the hallway and told them to focus on the game.
"I reminded them what we did to get to where we are," Maa said. "The first match, Punahou did a good job jumping out to a quick lead and that put some pressure on us. It challenged us and sucker-punched us."
Maa's speech worked as the Warriors controlled the second game until McLachlin's kill over a trio of Kamehameha blockers tied it at 20.
Kamehameha tied it at 21 on Kinsley Shelton's kill out of the middle but a kill by Frank broke the game's fifth tie and Punahou closed it out on Riley McKibbin's shot from the left side.
Kamehameha again controlled Game 3 early, but Punahou kept within range as the game was tied 14 times. Punahou took a 21-20 lead after a hitting error by Kamehameha's Ronson Olaso but Kamehameha rallied to hold off two Punahou serves for the match.
A kill by Kaohukauikalani Berg-Hee gave Punahou a 26-25 lead and the Buffanblu sealed it on a double block by TJ Zabriske and Frank.
"We just looked each other in the eye and made a commitment to each other," Berg-Hee said of his team's late rallies.
Both coaches agreed passing played a role in Punahou's rallies.
"I thought we passed when we needed to pass the ball and get a point for it," Balding said. "Credit those guys, they really served us tough. Ronson and Jordan (Inafuku) really got their jump serves going and it gave us some problems.
"They did a good job putting the pressure on our passers and when they did, we couldn't run our offense and we got really predictable," Maa said. "They were able to set up the defense around the block and then transition back to a point. When we don't pass the ball, we're just like any other team -- real basic."
Kamehameha plays at Iolani tomorrow at 2 p.m. in a match to determine the league's second and final berth to next week's state tournament on the Big Island.
Punahou girls win: Aneli Cubi-Otineru had 20 kills and Larissa Nordyke added 15 as the Buffanblu defeated Kamehameha 25-12, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19 for the ILH girls title at Kekuhaupio Gym.
Punahou (16-0, No. 1) coach Scott Rigg said the win was great but told his team that people only remember the state champion, not the ILH winner.
"Our attack wasn't as consistent as usual," Rigg said. "We had a lot of hitting errors and that had a lot to do with the Kamehameha block."
Elizabeth Ka'aihue and Pohai Nu'uhiwa each had 20 digs to lead the Punahou defense. Alexis Robbins had 10 kills and four blocks for the Warriors (14-2, No. 2).
