Most of the time, it was a pair of powerful, talented, evenly matched teams battling on the hardwood of Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

But in the clutch, it was Corona del Mar (Calif.) that looked flawless. The visitors got 15 kills from Kevin Fults and 12 kills from Ryan Moss in a 27-25, 26-24, 25-19 sweep of Punahou on Friday night in the Clash of the Titans tourney.

A crowd of about 400 watched as Corona del Mar eked out wins in the first two sets. Setter Matt Ctvrtlik dished out 45 assists and hustled for 10 digs to lead the Sea Kings.

Libero Tommy Casey also had 10 digs to help lead a superb back row. With Ctvrtlik finding his array of efficient hitters, the Buffanblu were busy at work trying to keep the ball alive. Moss, a 6-foot-7 junior, has already committed to USC.

"What makes this group special is the whole team. It’s not just outside hitters, liberos, setters. It’s a group of volleyball players," Corona del Mar coach Steve Conti said. "We knew they had two outstanding players in Micah (Maa) and Tui (Larry Tuileta), so we moved guys around for blocking purposes."

Tuileta, Punahou’s senior outside hitter who is also en route to USC, led the Buffanblu with 19 kills. Maa (10 kills) and Trent Thompson (seven) contributed. Sophomores Wil Stanley (26 assists) and Todd Gruebner (17) helped keep Punahou close.

The teams met a few weeks ago in the Best of the West tournament, a battle won by Corona del Mar (two of three sets).

"We played 2 3/4 great sets. They’re well coached," Punahou coach Rick Tune said. "Their setter did a fantastic job. He had great, difficult sets. He changed the tempo and flow, and not always on perfect passes."

Punahou had a chance to get the edge, leading 24-23 in the opening set after a block by Daniel Andrews on Moss. But Moss answered with two kills, and when the visitors had a 26-25 lead, Moss came through with another kill to give his team a 1-0 lead in the match.

"They have a fantastic setter with a quick, high-accuracy offense," Tune said. "Their guys are hard to match up with. (Moss) is 6-7 and if he gets full extension, he jumps real well and has a real live arm."

The second set finished with another Sea Kings run. Moss gave his team a 25-24 lead with a kill, and the Buffanblu were called for a violation when Maa hustled for a ball above the net and landed under it with his foot beyond the line.

"The guys are hurt. Any time you put so much effort and care, it hurts to lose, but that’s athletics," Tune said.

Tonight, Corona del Mar will play KS-Hawaii and Punahou will meet Mira Costa. The Sea Kings should be on fire again. Conti ran his normal rotation from start to finish.

"It’s not an easy place to play," Conti said. "With the band playing and the fans here, it felt like a college match. That second game was pivotal. The momentum was going their way. The third game, we were a little bit in cruise control and you can’t do that against a team like Punahou."

Punahou, 10-0 in ILH play, is ranked No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Volleyball Top 10.

CDM came to the islands 15-2 and is ranked No. 2 in the OCVarsity.com rankings.

Mira Costa (Calif.) 3, Kamehameha-Hawaii 1

In the first match of the night, Blake Markland put down 17 kills as Mira Costa rallied past Kamehameha-Hawaii 15-25, 27-25, 25-23, 27-25.

Connor Inlow (14 kills, two aces) and Cole Anderson (12 kills) gave setter Billy Kopenhefer (47 assists) plenty of weapons at his disposal.

Carter Kimble added seven kills and Jahlani Tavai came off the bench for two kills and four big blocks.

Mira Costa coach Sean Shoptaw got a spark from two role players.

"Cole came in and did great, and so did Jahlani," he said.

Anderson didn’t play in the first set. He has lost his jersey (No. 1) and wound up playing with another.

Evan Enriques paced the Warriors with 18 kills, two aces and a block.

"It’s always challenging coming here, especially after spring break, not being focused. You worry about not being crisp," Shoptaw said. "That first game was an example of everything going wrong. We played them last year and we know No. 18 (Enriques) is a great player. They’re scrappy and they dig lots of balls. They’ll play all night if you let them."