Punahou in position

For the third time in less than two weeks, the Punahou Buffanblu are within earshot of a state tournament berth.

Again, Kamehameha stands in the way. The Buffanblu put themselves in position by beating Iolani 25-15, 25-17 last night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

With the win, Punahou advanced to the finals of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu tournament and will meet regular-season winner Kamehameha tomorrow. Match time is tentatively set for 6:30 p.m. at Kekuhaupio Gym.

"We've still got so much volleyball left," Punahou coach Jim Iams cautioned.

Iolani, which was within one win of winning a state berth last Thursday, can only sit and hope for a Kamehameha victory. In that scenario, Kamehameha would claim the ILH's seeded berth in the state tourney, and Iolani would have to play Punahou for the second and final berth.

If Punahou (14-2) topples Kamehameha, the Buffanblu will claim the second berth outright, and Iolani would be eliminated, according to Punahou athletic director Tom Holden.

Confusing? Not to the Buffanblu, who just concentrated on winning one match.

"We just wanted to play. Everyone on the team contributed," said senior Larissa Nordyke, who led the way with 10 kills.

Top-ranked Kamehameha (16-1) advanced to the tourney finals with a win over Hawaii Baptist. Last night, Punahou wasted little time or motion against arch-rival Iolani. The Buffanblu received eight kills from Anuhea Keanini, who also had three service aces.

Punahou controlled the match at the net, thanks to a towering block led by Shawna-Lei Kuehu. The 5-foot-10 junior had four of her team's seven roofs. Iolani mustered just one roof as middle blocker Chelsea Hardin saw limited playing time due to an ankle injury.

"One of their better players wasn't in much," Iams noted.

Punahou also got the edge with its serve, amassing four aces to Iolani's one. In the back row, Sydney Yogi led the way with 10 digs.

Lauren Minkel and Marya Kaminski led Iolani (13-3) with five kills each.

With setter Pihana Kea hitting her targets all night, Nordyke was overpowering on the left side, while Keanini was nearly flawless from the right.

"Anu can really hit. She's so explosive. Pihana did a nice job of spreading it around," Iams said.

The win was especially sweet for Keanini, whose sister, Leinani, plays across the net for Iolani.

"It was a lot of excitement for me in the beginning. I really wanted to beat Iolani. They've been beating us since the Ann Kang (tournament)," Anu said, also noting a three-set loss to Iolani in the final regular-season match.

"I'm going to rub it in my sister's face just a little bit," she said.

Punahou rolled to a 9-1 lead in Game 1. Iolani rallied with four points in a row, but the host Buffanblu got hot again. With Nordyke serving well, Punahou got three kills in a row by Keanini to open a 19-7 lead en route to victory.

Punahou went on a run in Game 2 and opened a 15-5 lead behind Kuehu, Nordyke and Keanini. Iolani got no closer than five the rest of the way.

Punahou lost to Kamehameha last week in the first leg of a tiebreaker between the two teams and Iolani. All three had finished the regular season with a 13-1 record. Kamehameha went on to claim a state berth by rallying past Iolani on Saturday.