No. 2 Kamehameha sweeps past Punahou

For once, the Punahou Buffanblu looked mortal.

Second-ranked Kamehameha made sure of that with a 25-22, 25-16 sweep of No. 1 Punahou on Saturday afternoon before about 300 fans at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium. With Alohi Robins-Hardy setting the tone, the Warriors were dynamic defensively and opportunistic at serve in a surprisingly easy win.

A run of seven points decided the second set, leaving the powerful Buffanblu looking highly vulnerable for the first time this season. Punahou is No. 19 nationally in the CBS MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball Rankings.

Kamehameha is 3-0 in ILH play. Punahou dropped to 2-1 and will get another shot at Kamehameha at Hemmeter Fieldhouse later in first-round play.

"They’ve got live arms everywhere on that court. For us to adjust and continue to persevere, that was a big key," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "Punahou is a great team and they’re well coached."

It was a stunning loss for a Punahou team that had seemed invincible.

"It’s a long season. I’m not worried. We have to figure out how to be more mentally prepared," coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson said. "Kamehameha is scrappy. We knew that. It was a matter of us dealing with nerves, not being patient enough to continue attacking. We’ll work on basic fundamentals and our staff will work on us seeing ourselves playing under pressure. Maybe we tried too hard."

Robins-Hardy, a 6-foot-1 senior who has been an All-State selection in each of her previous three seasons, was an all-around force. She had a team-high six kills, along with eight assists, eight digs and two blocks.

"Ah, I feel good. It was all about the team. We needed to stick together and that’s what we did. We worked hard in practice, came out and did what we needed to do," Robins-Hardy said.

The Warriors looked like the veteran team, but actually have just three seniors.

"It’s somewhat of a big step. We had two good teams the past two years. We didn’t come out as we wanted to, but we’re coming back strong, coming back hard," she added. "We have a young team. I have to lead the team, push the team at practice to improve every day. We know what we need to do. We all push each other."

She wasn’t surprised about the sweep, but her coach was.

"I’m always surprised," Blake said. "It was a good step for us to take. A lot of things we worked on at practice turned out. Punahou is a good team and they’ll continue to improve."

The Warriors had a 15-9 lead in the opening set before the Buffanblu, champions of the recent Ann Kang Invitational Tournament, rallied to take a 22-21 lead. With Mckenna Granato leading the comeback for Punahou, Blake called timeout.

"We settled down. We had to get back to our things," Blake said. "Punahou adjusted and we had to get back to doing the things we do."

The Warriors did that. Robins-Hardy’s kill from the right side tied it at 22, and junior Peyton Spragling blocked a try by Granato to give them the lead.

After Granato’s next attempt sailed out of bounds, miscommunication in the back row led to a soft collision between Remo Gaogao and setter Kiani Tuileta, and the ball fell to the hardwood to end the set.

Punahou had an 8-5 lead in the second game, and it was tied at 12 before the home team seized control. With Spragling at serve, the Warriors went on a 7-0 run with kills from the left and right by Sarah Lau, a roof by Kealani Browne and Lau, and another kill over the middle from Browne.

The visitors got within 21-15, but got no closer.