‘Iolani has tried for years and years to close the gap between itself and ILH foes Kamehameha and Punahou. The Raiders have gotten closer and closer, but never had beaten either of those two.
That changed Saturday, as second-ranked ‘Iolani finally broke through. Its senior-heavy squad swept top-ranked and defending state champion Punahou 25-20, 25-21 at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
"Every year, we’ve come super close," said ‘Iolani’s Sierra Buscher, who had 12 kills. "It’s so great to finally win it."
Moea Kekauoha had 13 kills and Bailey Choy had 31 assists for the Raiders (4-0). Buscher had her team’s final four kills and an ace on match point as the Raiders closed out the match on a 6-1 run.
"I was swinging, being aggressive," Buscher said. "Plus, they were great sets."
The run came after ‘Iolani trailed for most of Set 2. The Raiders handed the Buffanblu (3-1) a bulk of their points on hitting errors.
"Punahou is a good team, well coached, let’s have them earn those points," said ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey. "Good teams don’t need to be given extra points from our end. That was the big stress in that early timeout. We always want the other team to earn points against us."
Piikea Clemens’ kill put Punahou ahead 19-14 in Set 2, but ‘Iolani ran off five straight to tie it at 19. Sandra Zeng’s kill gave Punahou the lead at 20-19. Buscher responded with back-to-back kills to key ‘Iolani’s match-ending run.
"The trend we’ve kind of seen through the early part of the season and preseason is we’re a second-half team," Obrey said. "In the second part of the set, we’re able to make our run, and if we’re up, we can close. If we’re down, we can make a run back. Today they persevered and worked hard through it."
Clemens came off the bench to finish with four kills and a block. The Buffanblu bench saw considerable playing time in Set 2.
"There’s no real dropoff with our kids," said Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson. "They’re all competitors. They all can be starters anywhere on the island."
Fuamatu-Anderson said her team will focus on being more disciplined on the court. ‘Iolani pulled away midway through Set 1 after four straight Punahou errors.
"We committed too many unforced errors, and then of course ‘Iolani came in and just came to play," Fuamatu-Anderson said. "They came in as a team and beat us."
‘Iolani hosts No. 3 Kamehameha on Tuesday, another test for this veteran Raiders squad that has been improving year after year.
"We have a lot of skill on our team, a lot of team chemistry," Buscher said. "We’re very tight on our team. We’re friends, we hang out on and off the court."
