Injuries can’t keep Punahou from taking Hawaii Invitational

Punahou coach Rick Tune described his volleyball team as resilient in getting through the Hawaii Invitational.

The top-ranked Buffanblu didn’t drop a set in winning all six of their matches in the three-day tournament at ‘Iolani. Punahou made it through with injured players sitting out, reserves taking over and finding ways to finish off matches.

“We’re battling a ton of injuries right now,” Tune said after his team swept No. 4 Moanalua 25-16, 25-23 in Saturday’s championship match. “We got to get healthy and these guys keep finding a way to grind it out.”

Senior outside hitter Micah Ma‘a, who signed with UCLA, sat out Friday’s match against La Jolla (Calif.) with a back injury. He returned Saturday and had 13 kills against Moanalua. Wil Stanley and Rohan Watamull added six kills each. Punahou advanced to the title match after beating No. 3 Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-13, 25-20 in Saturday’s semifinals.

“Not everyone was healthy all the time, we really had to figure out how to get through that,” said Punahou setter Todd Gruebner, who had 17 assists against Moanalua. “I think we really did a good job of working together to push through.”

Tune said resilience is “an essential characteristic of a team. We showed it the whole tournament.”

Ma‘a had five kills in the final stretch of a tight Set 2. Moanalua trailed 21-20 after a triple block by Austin Matautia, Gabriel Cruz and Kamalu Kaaa. Stanley had two kills and Ma‘a had another to put the Buffanblu at match point. A Punahou service error and hitting error helped Moanalua close to 24-23. Gruebner then set Ma‘a in the back row for the winning kill.

“He’s really good,” Matautia said of Ma‘a. “It’s fun to compete against him. It’s sort of like an idol — you want to be that player, you want to be the go-to guy. Just playing against someone as good as him is fun — whether you lose or win, it’s a fun game.”

Kamalu Kaaa had six kills and Karson Cruz had four kills and three blocks for Moanalua, which finished the tournament 5-1. Moanalua adjusted its rotation and served tough to hang with Punahou in Set 2. Cruz’s play in the middle provided a much-needed option for Moanalua, whose outside hitters encountered a big Punahou block on every attack.

“Our middles really helped us out separating the block,” Matautia said. “They knew in our system it’s either me, Kamalu or Seyj (Engleman). They knew they had to separate the block. Without the middles, we wouldn’t have as much kills as we had.”

Stanley and Sam Bradley had five blocks each for Punahou. Bradley had four blocks and a kill to help Punahou lead 12-2 in the opening set. The Buffanblu held the lead the rest of the way.

“We work on it a lot. That’s a big focus of our practices, our defense,” Tune said.

Moanalua beat No. 2 Kamehameha 25-17, 27-25 in the semifinals. The tournament featured the top five teams in the state and Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said the competition tested his players, especially the younger ones who now understand how quick the state’s top players are.

“They grew mentally tough,” Cabanting said. “They understood they’re not going to give up, be competitive and they showed throughout, from the first day against La Jolla to HBA last night and today after we got smashed by Punahou. We came back and competed all the way through and that’s a big show of character, showed that mental toughness that they’ll need when they play games like this.”

Gold

Championship—Punahou def. Moanalua 25-16, 25-23

Third place—Kamehameha def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-19, 26-24

Semifinal—Punahou def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-13, 25-20

Semifinal—Moanalua def. Kamehameha 25-17, 27-25

Fifth place—Hawaii Baptist def. La Jolla (Calif.) 22-25, 25-23, 15-11

Consolation—La Jolla def. Punahou II 25-16, 25-23

Consolation—Hawaii Baptist def. ‘Iolani 25-18, 25-22

Silver

Championship—Westview (Calif.) def. Maryknoll 25-18, 25-23

Third place—Saint Louis def. Seabury Hall 25-18, 21-25, 15-10

Bronze

Championship—Kealakehe def. Kalaheo 25-22, 13-25, 15-13

Third place—Santa Monica (Calif.) def. University 25-20, 25-16