Punahou rises to top

The look, the touch, the feel … it was all a bit surreal.

And scary. The Punahou Buffanblu had gone unbeaten last year, only to reach the state final and succumb to the relentless, dynastic Kamehameha Warriors. Down 9-4 in a rematch of last year’s final, Punahou called for a break.

From that point on, coach Peter Balding’s squad played the role of state champion well, sweeping six-time defending titleholder Kamehameha 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 before a frenzied crowd at Blaisdell Center.

"I feel blessed, blessed that God gave me an opportunity to be part of this," Balding said. "This is a special group of kids."

Kamehameha coach Chris Blake, who had guided each of those last six title teams, recognizes a champion when he sees one.

"Punahou played excellent. They were the better team, very steady, very disciplined. They played like a champion tonight and we didn’t bring it. We didn’t necessarily have our best match tonight, but a lot of that is Punahou’s doing," he said.

Taylor Dayton, a junior outside hitter, emerged with a team-high nine kills, nearly all from the right side. Kamehameha had lost three times this season to Punahou before the state tourney, normally seeing Tai Manu-Olevao or Carly Kan do their share of damage. Dayton hit .333 and had 10 digs.

"I feel blessed," Manu-Olevao said. "We finally made it. All my teammates supported each other."

Kan finished with six kills and eight digs, while middles Brittney Markwith and Claire Feeley had five kills each for Punahou’s balanced attack. Setter Tayler Higgins, voted the tournament’s most outstanding player, had 28 assists, five kills (.400) and six digs.

"I feel awesome. We were really prepared. This whole season, ever since Aug. 1, we were talking about this night. Coach did a great job of preparing us, making sure we left everything on the court," Higgins said.

Punahou also had a 3-1 edge in aces, thanks to Feeley, a 6-foot-1 junior, who had two.

The Buffanblu, fortified by senior leadership from libero Kat Brooks and outside hitter Tai Manu-Olevao, finished the year 15-0, winning their first girls volleyball state crown since 2004, when Scott Rigg was coach.

Kamehameha, ranked No. 2 for most of the season, finished 16-4 after winning its first three matches of the tournament.

One of the themes of Punahou’s season was having a willingness to "grovel" and go prostrate to dig any ball still in the air.

"We were all (willing) really. We watched a lot of film and we were ready to grovel and dig a lot of balls," Brooks said.

Manu-Olevao, a senior who has committed to play for UH, finished with five kills and five digs as Punahou erased memories of past postseason disappointment. It wasn’t easy early on, though, with Kamehameha looking like a team ready for another magical ride.

"It didn’t matter if we were down five," Manu-Olevao said. "We were still in it, there was still a lot of time. Coach took the timeout and calmed us down.

Misty Ma‘a, a senior who has committed to Miami, led Kamehameha with 10 kills. Amanda Wasko added six kills and eight digs, while Brittany Ann Kalepa and middle Haley Pa‘akaula had five kills each.

Chelsey Keoho was a wiz in the back row and finished with a match-high 20 digs for Kamehameha. The Warriors hit minus-.008 against Punahou’s relentless block, which included the high-leaping Higgins. Punahou hit .132.

"I feel blessed. We finally made it," Manu-Olevao said. "All my teammates supported each other. We have good fun instead of being so serious. Last year, those years … this is now."