RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Iolani's Brian Mitsunaga, left, and Barry Kang tried to block a shot by Punahou's Joshua Bninski yesterday.

Punahou shows Iolani
who’s No. 1

The Buffanblu leave the Raiders’
gym with a win in three

Punahou and Iolani entered last night's key ILH match ranked atop the Star-Bulletin state boys volleyball poll. The two teams played up to their rankings, but Spencer McLachlin and the Buffanblu showed why they are No. 1 and the Raiders are No. 2 by remaining undefeated with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-23 win at the Raiders' home gym.

After the Buffanblu took the first game and the Raiders held on to take the second, they started the decisive third game much like they began the night, by going to their star players -- Kawika Shoji for Iolani and McLachlin for Punahou. And while Shoji pounded six kills in the game, McLachlin showed everyone why he was last year's Star-Bulletin Player of the Year and is the front-runner for the title this year. The junior was nearly unstoppable in the final frame, putting down nine kills.

"He's the real deal," Punahou coach Peter Balding said. "He, without a doubt, offensively finds another gear that not too many other people can."

The third game remained closely contested until midway through, when the Buffanblu opened a four-point lead with a Riley McKibbin and Matthew Brown block. But the Raiders responded, cutting the lead to one with a kill by Barry Kang. The Buffanblu slowly pulled away, capitalizing on two consecutive unforced Raider hitting errors late in the game.

Like he did all night, McLachlin pounded the ball crosscourt from the left side to end the match.

"They had made some mistakes that they hadn't made in Games 1 and 2," Balding said. "It was sort of one point here and there, it didn't all piece together. It just worked out that way."

"I told them the difference is in the little things," Iolani coach Mike Among said. "Punahou is an awesome team. They understand about executing those little things. Our guys are starting to believe that, starting to understand that those things make a big difference."

McLachlin finished with a match-high 21 kills, while Shoji collected 14. Middle Kealii Frank and Brown added 11 and nine kills, respectively for Punahou. Brian Mitsunaga recorded seven kills and Brad Lawson had six for the Raiders.

With the win, the Buffanblu improved to 5-0. The Raiders suffered their first loss of the season and dropped to 4-1.

From the first point of the match, the teams turned to their big guns, with McLachlin and Shoji taking the first two swings. But, as would become a pattern, both hitters were dug and the play ended with a kill in the middle by Frank.

The Buffanblu jumped out to a 12-8 lead, but the Raiders scored five straight points to tie the match. The run produced two blocks by Shoji, including a thunderous solo stuff that brought the Raiders' fans to their feet.

"People don't believe when I say, 'Hey, this team is for real,' " Balding said. "Kawika's the guy who makes them for real. And Mike (Among) has done a fantastic job of making those guys into a team."

With the Raiders coming back to challenge the Buffanblu at 22-21, Punahou went to the middle and got a timely kill from Frank, who had mis-hit the ball on the previous play. A kill by McLachlin and block by Frank and McKibbin on Shoji sealed the Game 1 win for the Buffanblu.

Punahou out-blocked the Raiders, 7-6, but touches off the block and tenacious floor defense by both squads resulted in numerous long rallies throughout the night.

"It made for exciting volleyball," Among said. "After a while, those long rallies go to whoever's more mentally tough."

In Game 2, the Raiders fell behind early, trailing 6-2. And although they soon cut down the Buffanblu lead, the Raiders wouldn't take the lead for good until 24-23, when Punahou was called for a net violation after trying to block a hard-hit Shoji shot that sailed long.

Despite the loss, Among said he was proud of his team's effort.

"It's exciting for me because we can fix a lot of things in the gym, at practice," Among said. "And we can get better. We're going to have to get better if we expect to challenge them again."