‘Iolani gives Punahou all it can handle

For the second time in as many meetings, ‘Iolani pushed defending state champion Punahou to the edge.

Again, the Buffanblu found a way to win.

Remo Gaogao got her roll on with eight of her 12 kills in the final set as No. 1 Punahou escaped with a 25-21, 24-26, 25-19 girls volleyball win at the Raiders’ gym.

Punahou improved to 9-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. ‘Iolani, the only team to take a set from the Buffanblu this season, dropped to 5-4.

Carly Kan also had 12 kills for Punahou, which got plenty of production from middles Brittney Markwith (five kills, two blocks) and Clare Feeley (four kills, three blocks). Punahou outblocked ‘Iolani 8-3.

"We went back to the middle, which I thought we needed to do. I’d like to see my middle hitters hit it around more, but I like how we executed in (Set) 3," Buffanblu coach Peter Balding said. "(‘Iolani) dug a lot of balls."

Tayler Higgins had 35 assists and four timely kills on dump shots for the Buffanblu.

"We did OK. There’s obviously things we need to clean up, but just the way we practice, there’s no way we’re going to stop fighting," the senior setter said. "They really saw a lot of our weaknesses in our passing and blocking. We’ve got to get in the gym and clean that up before Friday."

Punahou hosts No. 2 Kamehameha on Friday.

Raiders coach Kainoa Obrey was pleased for the most part.

"Our game plan was to try and serve them short — their middles are so good — and make their outsides work. We lost a little bit of steam in (Set) 3," he said.

‘Iolani’s serve kept Punahou off balance, and a lineup change by the Raiders put Loxley Keala (10 kills) back into part-time setting duties. That permitted Eesha Chun-Dela Cruz to get nine kills and provide a bigger block.

"They’re such a good team, we served the middle, served short so they couldn’t get out to hit us fast," Keala said, noting the modified 6-2 attack. "Our new lineup helped. It gives us more servers."

Balding agreed about the adjustment by Obrey.

"That takes pressure off Bailey (Choy) to have to play too much along the net. I think that helps them a lot," he said.

‘Iolani’s back row, sparked by Sara Watanabe, was relentless, but in the third set, it was Gaogao’s tactical adjustment that made a huge difference. With ‘Iolani’s back row digging maniacally, Gaogao used finesse to get most of her third-set kills, with roll shot after roll shot. She credited assistant coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson.

"When I constantly swing in the first and second set, they were always digging it up, so I hit it real short," Gaogao said. "Coach Tanya taught me how to do it."

With Punahou down 7-3 — the Buffanblu had to play catch-up in each set — the 5-foot-9 junior used three roll shots to stymie the Raiders, hanging in the air long enough to be out of the sight of the back row.

Feeley, a 6-1 senior, was also a major key with back-to-back blocks during the rally. The visitors went ahead 8-7 on one of Gaogao’s roll shots, endured four more ties with ‘Iolani, then went on a pivotal 8-2 run.

Gaogao’s cross-court shot was followed by a block of ‘Iolani’s Hoakalei Dawson for a 19-13 lead. The Raiders pulled within 20-16 after a kill by Chun-Dela Cruz, but got no closer. A roof by Taylor Dayton, a kill by Gaogao and an ace by Julia Lau ended ‘Iolani’s comeback attempt.

Haley Robinson, a 6-1 senior, added eight kills for the Raiders, and Taimane Passi had two blocks. Choy, a freshman, had 32 assists.