Punahou tops Kamehameha-Hawaii

For the third time in four years, Kamehameha-Hawaii came from the Big Island to play — and get beaten by — Punahou in the Division I final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships.

The Buffanblu, with Micah Ma‘a and Wil Stanley swinging away, took the title for the sixth time in the past seven years under coach Rick Tune by beating the Warriors 25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13 at the Blaisdell Arena on Saturday night.

"They are a class act," Tune said about the visiting Warriors. "I’m happy to see that there are two teams that have made it to the finals that do things the right way. We don’t (and they don’t) cut corners. We don’t recruit, even though everybody says we do. We don’t practice on blackout days. And if I was a player, I would want to play for (Kamehameha-Hawaii) coach Guy Enriques."

The visitors toughed through a victory in the third set, but got throttled in the fourth.

Ma‘a finished with 26 kills and hit .345 with 15 digs, while Stanley added 16 kills along with 25 assists doing double duty as a hitter/setter.

Todd Gruebner, another Punahou setter, added 25 assists.

"We’ve got a lot of work to do," said coach Enriques, who has three sons on the team who contribute in a big way. "It was a matter of our side not taking care of business. We didn’t set like we needed to. We needed more consistency there. We got everything else we needed. But it’s no secret that everybody would have had to play their best for us to have a chance."

Emmett Enriques pounded 33 kills, but hit just .211. Addison Enriques had 21 assists and Kekaulike Alameda had 16 digs.

"We struggled against their block," Emmett Enriques said. "We’re not used to seeing that kind of a big team on the Big Island."

The first set was tied six times, the last at 20-20, and the Buffanblu finished it off 25-23 on a Stanley kill.

In the second set, Punahou held a big 19-14 lead. Then, late in the set, kills by Stanley and J.B. Kam and an ace by Rohan Watamull put the set away.

Nine times, the third set was deadlocked until an Emmett Enriques kill and a Punahou error gave the Warriors their only set.

"At least we won one set," Emmett Enriques said.

Trailing 15-10 in the fourth, Kamehameha-Hawaii made six straight errors for a 21-10 deficit. A bit later, Ma‘a’s booming kill made it 24-12, and then he smashed another one after an Emmett Enriques kill to clinch the match.

"That’s a great team," Ma‘a said about the opponents. "We were pretty lucky to win. If we play them seven times, I don’t know who wins the series."

Tune said the Buffanblu peaked at the right time.

"I think we played our best matches at the end of the season."

Stanley was really happy for his teammate Ma‘a.

"I’ve been a part of three championships. He’s got four. Not many people can say they’ve done that."

PUNAHOU DEF. KAMEHAMEHA-HAWAII, 25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13

WARRIORS (17-1)

BUFFANBLU (17-0)

Key — s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists.
Service Aces — KS-Hawaii 4 (Avery Enriques 2, Laeha, Addison Enriques). Punahou 2 (Watamull 2). Service errors — KS-Hawaii 10 (Addison Enriques 4, Avery Enriques 2, Makuakane 2, E. Enriques, Alameda). Punahou 5 (Siegfried 3, Maa, Gruebner). Assists — KS-Hawaii 45 (Addison Enriques 21, Avery Enriques 18, Vincent 2, Laeha 2, Alameda, Carter). Punahou 55 (Stanley 25, Gruebner 25, Yogi 3, Maa, Siegfried). T — 1:54 A — N/A. Referees — Dane Hironaka, Denice Hanson.

OTHER D-I RESULTS

Third place
Moanalua def. King Kekaulike, 25-17, 24-26, 15-6

D-I ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

OH— Emmett Enriques, KS-Hawai’i
OH— Isaiah Laeha, KS-Hawai’i
OH— Micah Ma’a, Punahou
OH— Austin Matautia, Moanalua
OH— Wil Stanley, Punahou
S— Todd Gruebner, Punahou
DS/Libero— Kelsey Yogi, Punahou

Most Outstanding Player: Micah Ma’a, Punahou