Punahou polishes off stubborn ‘Iolani

Year in and year out, ‘Iolani has a huge hill to climb when it faces the iron of ILH volleyball, and Wednesday night was more of the same as Punahou downed the Raiders, 25-21, 25-17, at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

‘Iolani (2-2 ILH) came out flying and stood with the Buffanblu for most of the first set before last year’s state runner-up team wore them down.

"I think it was our mind-set that brought us down near the end of the first set and it carried through into the second," ‘Iolani setter Bailey Choy said. "We were pleased with the way we came out in the first set. In the second, I couldn’t get my feet to the ball and that caused our passing to break down."

There were 13 ties during the opening stanza and several ultra-long rallies with not many mistakes by either team.

‘Iolani hitters Anna Uhr and Sierra Buscher fired away to keep the Raiders in the thick of things. Uhr had six of her eight kills in the first, when Buscher plugged away for five of her seven.

Punahou (4-0 ILH) was effective in the early stages, too, as McKenna Granato bombed in five of her nine kills in the opener, with the help of some well-placed sets by senior setter Kiani Tuileta.

"It was definitely a battle from the start," Tuileta said. "We were feeling it out and there were points back and forth. I trust all my hitters, but if things get shaky, I know McKenna will be there to put it down. Our serving and passing game made my job a lot easier."

The Raiders’ last lead was at 18-17 and that’s when things started to break down.

Two ‘Iolani errors, a Granato kill and Vonica Malafau’s kill and block gave the Buffanblu a 22-19 lead and they took it home from there. Malafau capped off the opening set with one of her five match-high blocks.

"She (Malafau) has a knack for the ball," Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson said. "She’s a very good athlete and was part of the state champion basketball team."

Fuamatu-Anderson made a shift that she thinks may have given the Raiders a look that they weren’t used to. She moved Granato from the left to the right to go one-on-one with Uhr, Iolani’s left-side hitter. And she put her opposite on the left side.

"That’s when we started to get separation, so it may have caused some confusion for them," Fuamatu-Anderson said.

In the closing set, Punahou dominated from the start, getting out to early leads of 6-1 and 12-4, thanks to a string of ‘Iolani mistakes.

The Buffanblu’s Dallas Lishman turned in a strong effort in the closer with three kills, while Granato added four kills and an ace.

Lishman’s kill got it to 24-16 and after a Punahou lift, the Buffanblu polished off the win when the Red Raiders’ Buscher hit long.