A mere 4 miles separates the campuses of Punahou and Kamehameha schools. When it comes to their boys volleyball programs, it has seemed even closer.

It’s been the Warriors who have terminated the Buffanblu’s two longest winning streaks: first in 1991 when it had reached 11 straight and then in 2001 when it was eight.

Kamehameha will have to wait another year to end Punahou’s latest skein, modest as it is. The Buffanblu, behind the arm of most outstanding player Larry "Tui" Tuileta, successfully defended their title Saturday night with a 25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17 victory in the Division I final of the 44th New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball Championships at Blaisdell Arena.

Tuileta, a junior hitter, put down a match-high 19 kills and senior hitter Kupono Fey added 14 as Punahou (18-2) took home its 31st first-place trophy. It gave Buffanblu coach and alumnus Rick Tune his fourth title in five years.

It was the sixth time since 2000 that the two Interscholastic League of Honolulu rivals met for state bragging rights, with Punahou now coming out on top five times. The Buffanblu also finished 4-2 against the Warriors this season.

"This means so much to us," Punahou senior libero Collin "Scotty" Peros said after finishing with 19 digs. "After Set 3, we know we needed to step it up, cut down our mistakes and we’d be fine."

Tune agreed.

"We just needed to steady out our passing," said Tune, who won two state titles as a player at Punahou. "Serving and passing has been our bread and butter all year and that’s what we needed to do after having a rough stretch of passing.

"I give Kamehameha so much credit. They were resilient. They didn’t quit, didn’t give up after losing the first two. They could have."

Kamehameha (17-4), with all of its losses this season coming to Punahou, was led by senior opposite Nick Ng’s 14 kills. Senior middle Cullen Mosher added 12.

"We played our hearts out," said Mosher, who has committed to play at Grand Canyon next season. "I couldn’t ask for a better senior year. My teammates have been my brothers all these months.

"I’m happy for all my friends on Punahou. They played a great match tonight."

The Warriors hadn’t been swept by the Buffanblu this season, with their three previous losses in three (2-1), four (3-1) and five (3-2). Kamehameha avoided it Saturday with a gutsy effort in Set 3, getting an unexpected boost from sophomore reserve defensive specialist Cody Wong.

Wong went back to serve with his team trailing 7-6. When he was done, the Warriors had taken a 9-8 lead on two kills by senior middle Makana Harrison and one by Ng.

Punahou rallied to take leads of 12-9 and 14-11 on to have Kamehameha respond in a big way.

Ng served for four straight as the Warriors went ahead for good at 16-12.

The Buffanblu could never quite close the gap, pulling to within 16-15 and 21-20, but no closer. Ng put down his team’s last four points to keep alive the Warriors’ hopes for a sixth championship.

Set 4 was tight early with four ties, the last at 7-7. Kupono Fey’s ace jump-started a 4-0 run that included two kills by Tuileta, who has orally committed to play football for Hawaii.

Tuileta added two more as Punahou continued to pull away. At 18-14, the Buffanblu went on a deciding 3-0 run getting a kill by Fey, a late touch call on an attack from Micah Ma’a and a block of Harrison.

"They played a perfect game tonight," Warriors coach Kainoa Downing said. "They played the best they had played us the five other times.

"They are a dynasty."

Punahou had five players with double-digit digs, with Fey, who has committed to UH, adding 17.

Kamehameha also had five players with double-digit digs, with junior libero Mike Horita finishing with 21 and Mosher 17.