Buffanblu sweeps into
Invitational semifinals

Essentially, good coaches are good teachers.

Hawaii Volleyball Invitational At Punahou Yesterday's scores (All matches minimum three games) T-3 Pool: Kamehameha def. Hawaii Baptist 25-11, 25-10, 15-6; Hawaii Baptist def. Waipahu 25-14, 25-14, 10-15; Kamehameha def. Waipahu 25-9, 25-7, 15-6. T-4 Pool: Punahou def. Radford 25-17, 25-19, 15-5; Radford def. Kaiser 25-24, 25-21, 10-15; Punahou def. Kaiser 25-8, 25-19, 15-10. T-5 Pool: Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) def. Waiakea 25-15, 25-14, 15-10; Mid-Pacific def. Waiakea 25-22, 23-25, 15-11; Harvard-Westlake def. Mid-Pacific 25-20, 25-19, 15-10. T-6 Pool: Saint Francis def. Moanalua 25-20, 25-22, 8-15; Saint Francis def. Roosevelt 18-25, 25-11, 15-11; Moanalua def. Roosevelt 25-18, 25-24, 15-10. Monday's lower pool scores M-3 Pool: Aiea def. McKinley 25-24, 25-24, 15-14; Waiakea def. Aiea 25-18, 25-17, 15-13; Waiakea def. McKinley 24-25, 25-24, 15-11. M-4 Pool: Saint Francis def. La Pietra 24-25, 25-21, 15-10; Saint Andrew's def. La Pietra 24-25, 25-21, 15-12; Saint Francis def. Saint Andrew's 24-25, 25-21, 15-14. M-5 Pool: Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Castle 25-20, 25-15, 15-6; Hawaii Baptist def. Castle 25-22, 25-17, 15-13; Castle def. Hawaii Baptist 16-25, 15-20, 15-13. M-6 Pool: Christian Academy def. Leilehua 25-18, 25-21, 15-7; Radford def. Leilehua 25-22, 25-12, 15-13; Radford def. Christian Academy 25-21, 25-21, 15-11.

That's why Scott Rigg is looking forward to getting his Punahou Buffanblu back into the classroom, so to speak.

Punahou swept its pool again, toppling Radford and Kaiser last night in the Hawaii Volleyball Invitational at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. The state defending champions will face Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals of the Gold Division today at Punahou.

In the other Gold semifinal, Kamehameha faces Saint Francis. Both matches begin at 5:30 p.m. at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Rigg, the veteran coach who has guided both Punahou's boys and girls teams to state titles, has seen his team play in tournaments for a week straight. The Buffanblu were ousted in championship bracket play at the Ann Kang Invitational last week.

"Because this tournament is not as competitive as the Ann Kang, we're able to look at a lot more players and some different lineups," he said. "But we need to spend more time on team-building stuff. Chemistry's gonna be big for us this year."

Punahou opens its Interscholastic League of Honolulu season Sept. 9 against Hawaii Baptist.

Playing matches every day has given setters Liz Kaaihue and Kaui Robello a chance to refine their skills.

"We're running pretty simple stuff right now, but we'd like to add more elements once we settle down and practice again," Rigg said.

The Hawaii Invitational was played at Kamehameha and Punahou before moving entirely to Hemmeter for the final two days.

Four matches were played simultaneously at each site through last night.

Perhaps the most surprising squad is Saint Francis.

"Our team is hot and cold," Saint Francis athletic director Carey Won said. "I'm a little surprised how well they're playing with less than two weeks of practice."

Kawena Otineru and Kylie Harrington have powered the Troubadours' attack, sparking a 25-20, 25-22, 8-15 upset win over Moanalua last night.

Siutiti Takai, Saint Francis' high-scoring center in basketball, is playing volleyball again after a year off.

"They're tough and kind of steady. No. 5 (Harrington) gives them another hitter, so you can't stack up on Kawena," Roosevelt coach Bryan Camello said of the 5-9 junior. His team pushed Saint Francis before losing 18-25, 25-11, 15-11.

Roosevelt is experimenting with a lot of new players.

"I tried six different lineups," Camello said.

The lab work is going well, though. With just two returning starters, the Rough Riders were extremely competitive in this tourney.

Harvard-Westlake, another team that played in the Ann Kang, defeated Waiakea 25-14, 25-14, 15-10 and Mid-Pacific 25-20, 25-19, 15-10 to reach the semifinals.

Kamehameha, who some observers consider the best team in the state right now, swept past Hawaii Baptist 25-11, 25-10, 15-6 and Waipahu 25-9, 25-7, 15-6.

All of last night's matches were three sets long by rule.

Service points: Moanalua recently decided to allow former Hilo student-athlete Kaleinani Kabalis to attend the school. Kabalis, whose older sister Kahala moved to Oahu and attended Moanalua, was originally told that her transfer was not valid due to guardianship requirements. However, the school changed its decision later and Kabalis is playing in the Hawaii Invitational with the Menehune. ... Former Moanalua coach Sheri Sagayaga is the new coach at Radford.