A change of venue made no difference. Punahou reigns supreme in the pool, be it at the University of Hawaii lower campus or the Kapalama Heights of Kamehameha.
The dynastic, balanced Buffanblu jumped out to a commanding lead on the host Warriors in the final of the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Water Polo Championships and held on for an 8-5 victory Saturday, their 11th straight and 13th in the 15 years of the event.
Punahou’s legendary Ken Smith, 71, credited his players for “constantly attacking … in every phase of the game.” He thought it was their best effort of the year.
Nai‘a Young-Kingsbury, Dillyn Lietzke and tournament most outstanding player Christina Hicks scored two goals each, while Dani Kauahi and Kaya Lee also connected. Goalkeeper Sarah Perez saved nine shots, including two of Kamehameha’s five penalty attempts.
There’s been few signs of a slowdown by Smith, who got his usual celebratory toss in the pool from his players.
“(The desire) still burns,” he said, dripping on the deck. “When you get groups like this who want to work so hard like these guys, it really does.”
Punahou jumped out to a 4-0 lead into the second quarter and answered Kamehameha’s first score immediately with a straightaway blast from Young-Kingsbury, one of the team’s four seniors.
“We make that a clear goal on our team, that when you make (varsity) I water polo, you definitely have a purpose,” she said. “There’s nobody that has more importance or more of a part on the team.”
The Buffanblu (12-0) keep building on their remarkable 39-0 mark in state tournament play.
“It definitely sometimes can be a lot of weight on your shoulders,” said Lietzke, a sophomore defensive stalwart, “but also, it’s so rewarding to be able to work hard throughout the whole season and finally it all comes together at the very end.”
Kamehameha (9-5) hosted the tourney for the first time this year after the previous three were played at UH. The Warriors finished runner-up for the fourth straight year.
The hosts rallied to defeat No. 3 Kahuku and No. 2 Baldwin the previous two days, but a large margin Saturday — it was 8-2 midway through the fourth on a vicious wraparound shot by Hicks — could not be undone by three desperation goals. It was a much more respectable outcome than their 9-1 loss in the ILH title game.
“We spotted them way too big of a lead to overcome,” Warriors coach Randy Bart said. “(Our girls) gave it their all, we got a few back, made it fun.”
Senior La‘akea Dedrick ended her Warriors career with a hat trick, including two goals on penalty shots.
All-Tournament
Selected by the HHSAA
>> Nai‘a Young-Kingsbury, Punahou
>> Dillyn Lietzke, Punahou
>> Danielle Kauahi, Punahou
>> Shaye Story, Kamehameha
>> La‘akea Dedrick, Kamehameha
>> Rebecca Buenrostro Gallimore, Baldwin
Goal keeper: Kiara Espeleta, Baldwin
Most Outstanding Player: Christina Hicks, Punahou
