Punahou keeps ownership of ILH

You don’t dethrone a longtime champ without being able to throw a knockout punch.

The Punahou boys volleyball team survived a tough Kamehameha squad to win 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12 on Friday night at Kekauhapio Gymnasium to capture its ninth straight ILH championship.

The Warriors, who haven’t ruled the ILH since 2002, can take solace in the fact that if a champion is only as good as its challenger, they pushed the Buffanblu to new heights.

"It’s not that they haven’t showed me that all year, but they haven’t shown me it in five full sets," Punahou coach Rick Tune said. "It’s real nice because we have been talking about it, because these guys have become students of the game and that makes all the difference. What you saw tonight was a well-executed match by both teams — one or two balls bouncing different ways made the difference."

Kamehameha led Punahou 9-5 in the fifth set before the champions rallied to tie it at 10-10 when Kamehameha’s Nick Ng hit long. Punahou never trailed after that, running out to a 14-11 lead before a net violation. Punahou’s Larry Tuileta made the mistake moot when he rose over the left side of the net and pounded his 26th kill off the right hand of Makoa Camanse-Stevens and to the floor for the match.

"A lot of weight was lifted off my shoulders, I guess," Tuileta said. "The team was playing really hard and that was the first match we actually fought together as a team, and to put it away was unbelievable."

Kamehameha had Punahou on the ropes in the fourth set, leading 24-23 before Punahou’s Kupono Fey buried a kill, and Micah Ma‘a followed with an ace in the corner to take the lead. Kamehameha tied it at 25, but Ma‘a buried another kill and Noah Hayashida followed with an even harder one to force a deciding fifth set.

"They pulled it out in the end," Kamehameha coach Kainoa Downing said. "At that point in time it is all mental and they pulled their mental through and we didn’t. That’s what killed us. We have been so good at it, and to have that happen tonight is unfortunate for these kids."

The Warriors were just fine in the end game early on, taking a 24-22 lead in the first set but giving up a point on a service error by Ng. Cullen Mosher then ended it with a kill that nicked the tape and landed in bounds. Punahou rolled in the second set to tie it, leading 24-16 before Kamehameha ran off four straight points to scare the Buffanblu. Fey then ended a long rally with a kill off the block to win the set.

Kamehameha led the third set 21-16 before the champions rallied again, tying the score at 21 on a double block by Tuileta and Hayashida. The teams traded points twice before Ng buried a ball off the block, and Punahou needed five hits to return a long rally to put the Buffanblu down 2-1.

Punahou appeared to catch a break early in the fourth set when Kamehameha libero Mike Horita cramped a quadriceps muscle and couldn’t continue. Aryn Moura delayed the match, digging around in his bag behind the Punahou bench for his other jersey, then sprinted to the bathroom to change. When he emerged, he took the floor as a libero for the first time this season.

"I hate to say it because I think (Horita) is the best libero in the state, but it didn’t really hurt us," Downing said. "(Moura) came in and did a great job."

Punahou earns the ILH’s seeded berth in next week’s state tournament, just as it has for the past decade. The advantage has brought Punahou six state titles since 2004.